Chair’s report 18Oct2010

Firstly, it seems impossible that I have now completed my first year in office and I have enjoyed my role despite having some very challenging things to deal with.

The last school year was, overall, very successful – however with the loss of 22 children to Reception this September it certainly became apparent during the summer terms that we were facing a tough financial year in 2010-2011. On top of the loss of children, we were also faced with a rent increase and with fewer children registered for the new school year we had a £5,000 deficit to deal with.

We took a number of steps to reduce the deficit as follows:-

• I spoke to Julie Silk regarding the proposed rent and she and the governors were incredibly accommodating
and reduced this from £5 to £3 per hour for the next school year. This immediately saved us £2,128.

• I had meetings on an individual basis with all the staff and everyone agreed to drop two mornings for the
first two terms. We also had to reduce Jayne’s additional admin hours as this was due to be reviewed in
July. Bearing in mind this meant a change to their contracts, their willingness and support were very much
appreciated. This saved us over £3,000 for the next year.

• Lastly, and with much regret, it was agreed that we would have to make Susan’s administration role
redundant – it was an incredibly hard thing to do and not something I would wish to have to do again!
However, this again saved us another £1,000 a year and so our mission was accomplished.

We had a marketing campaign before the end of term and put adverts in various local papers and postcards and flyers in shops and post offices. Once September came, fortunately so had a few more children and so although numbers were still low they were gradually increasing.

Paula has advised that after taking into account the necessary cutbacks, Pre-School should break even – we under estimate what is involved and she has done a tremendous job this year. In an age of austerity, we will continue to face difficult financial times ahead and we all need to be aware of this. Fundraising is going to be a crucial part of our Committee and I look forward to everyone being involved in this during the year.

I have been meeting termly with Julie Silk and I think she will agree that this has proved very useful and ensures that there is a good working relationship and clear communication. It has also been encouraging that some of the staff have met with After School Club in an effort to iron out issues that have arisen. Pre-School has become more involved in the primary school’s PTFA events and I have received really positive comments regarding this.

The new access gate was installed earlier this year and has worked very well - it appears that all the parents have adapted to the change in drop off and pick ups – the roof repairs have also helped with this as obviously there is no current access from the playground. I know that for Julie Cook in the office, this arrangement has made a real difference.

Jan and I are keen to rewrite our Business Plan as this needs updating to reflect the changes that have happened or are likely in the future and I would welcome so real input into this at our December meeting.

Lastly, I would like to say that from undertaking this role it is so apparent what a dedicated team our staff are and their willingness, adaptiveness (roof repairs!) support and understanding continue to ensure that
Pre-School is a real success.