LEYF Annual Review - Making An Impact, 2009-2010

Making an impact 2009/10

“It’s really important that children mix with others from different backgrounds”

“My children have felt happy, safe and cared for every step of the way”

The power of positive relationships In hard times, the most vulnerable become the hardest hit. This makes what we do all the more important, reminding everyone that investment in Early Years is the most valuable investment anyone can make; with dividends enjoyed by all.

A child’s care and learning is shaped by trust in relationships – with other children, adults and the community. Working on this principle, we have helped to build a better future for more than 1500 children over the past year. We have also helped an increasing number of young people transform themselves from NEETs (not in employment, education or training) into qualified childcare staff. Strongly committed to generating true social capital, we employ local people wherever possible, and so further support the local economy and creation of ever more vibrant communities.

Working closely with Children’s Centres, we continually encourage the positive integration of high quality Early Years education with local services and community interests. We also believe the best nurseries are by nature intergenerational, so do all we can to capture the wisdom of the old and weave it into learning for the young.

We constantly strive to understand the difference we make and are about to complete a research project, hoping to accurately measure and then increase any useful and sustained impact we might have. We are also working with the University of Middlesex to examine the possibility of franchising our social enterprise model of childcare; again as a means to share and extend this impact.

Feedback from this year’s parent and staff surveys has been tremendously positive. But we are always looking for innovative ways to improve our reach – such as responding to the needs of 94% of UK parents* who find it helpful to talk to others about parenting problems. We hope our revamped website will soon begin to address this.

Nutritious food is critical for children; and work with our experienced nursery chefs to promote this has been very successful. We are now developing the first ever national training qualification for chefs working with the under 5s.

Our ambition is for our model to be adopted as best practice, so more children and parents learn the pleasures and benefits of good food and home cooking.

We also procure much of our food from a co-operative of farms in Kent, so children experience fresh, local and seasonal food whilst we support British farmers.

We are currently well placed to achieve our strategic objectives over the next three years and value the support of our Trustees; they continue to act as champions of LEYF and carefully monitor our progress as we... > Create an outstanding children’s service > Deliver creative ways of linking nursery and home to support children’s learning > Develop an innovative Centre for Research, Learning and Development > Influence policy by sharing research and knowledge across the UK

We would like to finish by thanking the children for making our daily lives such a joy. We are privileged to have the company of so many bright minds and personalities. We are delighted that parents continue to entrust their care and early education to us, resulting in a huge increase in siblings across our growing family of community, Children’s Centre and workplace nurseries. Our staff are equally in a class of their own; their constant enthusiasm and hard work a true inspiration. The genuine love and care they have for the children and what they do makes them an outstanding and crucial ingredient in our continued success.

In much the same way as with our children, it seems this new Big Society simply equates to the creation of real world social networks, connecting people and developing opportunities for individuals and organisations. And since such positive relationships are the bedrock of LEYF, we must finally thank not only our families and staff, but every donor, contractor, supplier, colleague and supporter across London. We really appreciate your contribution in making LEYF the exciting organisation it is today; one ready to take on a challenge and never in doubt, when reminding the world that small children matter.

June O’Sullivan, CEO Tim Willis, Chair

* Source: Barnardo’s

“LEYF reduces my stress. I have a better relationship with my child and with my husband”

“I don’t think I could trust another nursery like I do this one”

I provide children with a fun and exciting experience at nursery; caring for them, carrying out observations and supporting them during activities. I also help to teach them life skills, promoting their self-worth and confidence, so they hopefully leave nursery and go on to become well-balanced individuals who want to go on to achieve great things in life. Nicola, LEYF Apprentice

“I don’t always have the energy at home to do the great variety of things Umar does here”

“It is great that the whole community can be involved”

Key achievements 2009/10 Successfully

Established dedicated Centre for Research

rebranded

Learning & Development

name and vision

Featured case study

with new Launched

first Apprenticeship

Programme

in the final report from

Launched first

Continuing Professional

End Child Poverty

Development

First overseas project

for sector

with War Child in Uganda

programme

practitioners

Achieved First UK third Ofsted childcare Outstanding provider to be (at Carlton Hill) awarded

Invited Social to sit on Government’s

Society Winner of Sustain’s Big Stakeholder

‘Good Food on a

Public Plate’ Award

Group

Enterprise

Mark Opened first workplace

nursery for the

House of Commons

Established in 1903 and with 260 staff across 20 community, workplace and Children’s Centre nurseries, we continue to build a better future for London’s children, families and local communities thanks to our passion for excellence in Early Years education, training and research. With our unique and socially inclusive approach, we make a real difference to the lives of more than 1500 children and their parents every year, helping them develop a passion for learning, regardless of their background.

Thank you for your help with affordable fees over the past year. It has really helped knowing that I could bring Ayesha in that bit earlier – and allowing her to stay that little bit later than our official hours, without me being charged extra.

94% of our parents are happy or very happy with the quality of care and attention their child receives

75% of staff choose to stay for 3 or more years

Fundraising report

“ …early engagement pays a very high rate of return.

The dividend is 12-16% per year for every £1 of investment – a payback of four or five times the original investment by the time the young person reaches their early twenties and the gains continue to flow throughout their life.” Sinclair (2006)

Research clearly shows that high quality care and education makes a huge difference to the long term success of all children, especially those from more vulnerable backgrounds or in poverty.

By investing in a child’s learning from the start, we not only reap great benefits as a society but also enable children and their families to contribute directly back into their own communities.

Helping us make a real impact on the lives of children, families and the local communities we serve, the generous support of our donors is critical.

Despite the economic climate, we successfully maintained our fundraising income at £1.1m for 2009-10. Although corporate support was reduced, a greater focus on trust fundraising realised a growth of 35% in this area alone. The cost of generating funds was £72,894, revealing only 6.6% of fundraising income was spent on fundraising costs.

We are already experiencing cuts in public sector funding which is obviously a concern. Although we do everything we can to access every available funding stream, very few streams contribute to the running costs or maintenance of our services. When new places are being created in the private sector, providers will charge higher fees.

LEYF still serves low income families who cannot afford such fees, so we aim to reduce our reliance on inconsistent government funding by continually seeking out funds from other sources, helping us to become an increasingly sustainable social enterprise.

But we really need your support if we are to continue developing new opportunities for both children and their families.

Elaine Angelis Fundraising Manager

John’s placement in the nursery was very helpful to both of us. It helped him with speech development and to socialise better.

It gave me time to focus on my Adult Education training.

More than 90% of our parents would recommend their nursery to a friend

Around 2/3 of our staff are local

47% of our nursery places are subsidised* *not including standard Nursery Education Funding

Highlights

“ It helped Hura on speech development and to socialise better, whilst I gained a sense of direction career wise through training.” One of four parents recently benefiting from our campaign ‘A better future’.

A Better Future We received £41,500 towards our campaign, ‘A better future’. Supporting families with short-term childcare places means parents looking for work gain a greater sense of self-worth and greater financial security for the whole family.

At the same time, life chances of the child are improved through access to quality care, early education and support.

Early Years Resources At LEYF play activities and experiences are planned around the developmental needs and abilities of the children. Thanks to funding from various donors we have been able to provide a range of quality resources including bi-lingual books, outdoor play and ICT equipment.

Running costs and building works We are very grateful for our unique Centre for Research, Learning relationship with Westminster City and Development Council, who have worked closely with Thanks to £54,472 funding from The us since 1903 and continue to contribute Rose Foundation and Westminster City to our running costs. Support also comes Council, we have been able to refurbish our from other local authorities, including training facilities and can now deliver Level Camden and Barking & Dagenham, 3 Certificates in Children’s Care, Learning as well as public sector bodies such as and Development as part of our popular Children’s Centre funding, Early Years Apprenticeship Programme. Launched in Development and Childcare Partnership October 2009, our first cohort consisted and the Big Lottery Fund; all of which mostly of young people not in education, helps us to maintain our nurseries to employment or training aged 16-24 yrs. a very high standard.

Financial review Income LEYF’s income rose by 9% in the year ending March 2010 (from £6.6m in 2009 to £7.2m in 2010), mainly due to increased occupancy of our nurseries and the addition of Wellgate Children’s Centre Nursery in Barking and Dagenham.

Contract Income £1.7m, 23%

Expenditure LEYF’s expenditure rose by 14% in the year (from £6.5m in 2009 to £7.4m in 2010), partly as a result of increased occupancy (mainly staffing costs) but also due to ‘restricted’ funds received in 2008/09 being spent in 2009/10.

Restricted funds are those amounts received which are only to be spent on specific areas of expenditure.

Expenditure in training costs represents our investment in our Centre for Research, Learning & Development (CRLD) for our own staff, apprentices and sector practitioners.

Income

Grants and Donations £1.1m, 15%

Parental Fee Income £4.4m, 62%

Premises Costs £0.7m, 9% Operating Costs £0.6m, 8% Training Costs £0.4m, 6%

Expenditure

Administrative Costs £0.3m, 4% Staff Costs £5.4m, 73%

We now support 30 apprentices

2/3 of our parents consider us better or much better than other childcare arrangements they have previously experienced

Thanks to donors

Design: www.playnedesign.co.uk

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to all our supporters who helped us to transform the lives of children and families in the last year: Ancaster Trust (The) Awards for All Beatrice Laing Charitable Trust (The) Charlotte Bonham Carter Charitable Trust (The) Charlotte Marshall Charitable Trust (The) City of Westminster Charitable Trust Development Securities Early Childhood Services Edward Harvist Trust Fitton Trust (The) Fruit Stall Give it Away HSBC Global Asset Management John Laing Charitable Trust

John Lewis Partnership Kathleen Laurence Trust (The) Lions Club Mackintosh Foundation Marsh Christian Trust (The) Portman Foundation (The) Reuben Foundation (The) Richemont Holdings (UK) Ltd Rolls-Royce plc Rose Foundation St Giles-in-the Fields & William Shelton Educational Charity St Stephen’s Rochester Row Saddlers Company Charitable Fund

Auditors Sayer Vincent Chartered Accountants 8 Angel Gate City Road London EC1V 2SJ Solicitors Bates, Wells & Braithwaite 2-6 Cannon Street London EC4M 6YH Bankers National Westminster Bank Plc P.O Box 2 27-29 Horseferry Road London SW1P 2AZ

SFIA Charitable Trust Sandra Trust (The) Steel Charitable Trust (The) Swire Charitable Trust (The) Tesco Charitable Trust The Honourable Sociwety of Lincoln’s Inn Visa Westminster Collection (The) Westminster Grocery General Stores Wyseliot Charitable Trust (The) Westminster Amalgamated Charity Zurich Community Trust

121 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4LX Tel: 020 7834 8679 Fax: 020 7233 8393 www.leyf.org.uk info@leyf.org.uk Registered charity No. 299686, Social Enterprise and Company Limited by Guarantee No. 2228978