OUR LADY'S FIRST STEPS PRE-SCHOOL

Registered charity 1018543 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BANKFIELD UNDER 5'S

Provision of care and education for under 5's and wrap around education for children up to the age of 12 years

Objects

THE AIMS OF THE PRE-SCHOOL ARE TO ENHANCE THE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN PRIMARILY UNDER STATUTORY SCHOOL AGE BY ENCOURAGING PARENTS TO UNDERSTAND AND PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF THEIR CHILDREN THROUGH COMMUNITY GROUPS AND BY:(A) OFFERING APPROPRIATE PLAY, EDUCATION AND CARE FACILITIES, FAMILY LEARNING AND EXTENDED HOURS GROUPS, TOGETHER WITH THE RIGHT OF PARENTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE ACTIVITIES OF SUCH GROUPS, ENSURING THAT SUCH GROUPS OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL CHILDREN WHATEVER THEIR RACE, CULTURE, RELIGION, MEANS OR ABILITY;(B) ENCOURAGING THE STUDY OF THE NEEDS OF SUCH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES AND PROMOTING PUBLIC INTEREST IN AND RECOGNITION OF SUCH NEEDS IN THE LOCAL AREAS;(C) INSTIGATING AND ADHERING TO AND FURTHERING THE AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Get email alerts

Latest income

£817k

Latest spending

£765k

Registered

1993

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted funds increased to £73,551, supported by a positive bank balance of £70,022. The trustees report that reserves are maintained at a level equivalent to three to six months of expenditure, which they consider sufficient to continue activities in the event of a significant drop in funding.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: three and six month’s expenditure (held: £74k)

“It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure.” — page 4

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education). This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or by this site.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Complaints policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Risk management
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Volunteer management

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Total income

£817k

Total spending

£765k

Reserves (reported)

£74k

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~1.2 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (100% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Angela Teeling
ELAINE GASKIN

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Halton

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/08/2025	£817k	£765k
31/08/2024	£791k	£780k
31/08/2023	£676k	£754k
31/08/2022	£673k	£644k
31/08/2021	£581k	£626k

Common questions

Is OUR LADY'S FIRST STEPS PRE-SCHOOL financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted funds increased to £73,551, supported by a positive bank balance of £70,022. The trustees report that reserves are maintained at a level equivalent to three to six months of expenditure, which they consider sufficient to continue activities in the event of a significant drop in funding. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Community Fund	19/10/2016	£10k	Exciting, Fun & Challenging Play Project at Our Lady's First Steps

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with FIRST STEPS NURSERY.

FIRST STEPS NURSERY income £1.5m
ST PETER'S PRE-SCHOOL (STAFFORD) LTD income £400k
STANTON PARENTS AND UNDER FIVES income £158k
ST ANNE'S PRE-SCHOOL (CHINGFORD) income £142k
ST MARGARETS PRE-SCHOOL LACEBY income £171k
CHARNOCK RICHARD PRE-SCHOOL income £165k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
OUR LADY'S FIRST STEPS PRE-SCHOOL	£817k	—	above	—	no doubt
FIRST STEPS NURSERY FY2025	£1.5m	—	unclear	—	no doubt
ST PETER'S PRE-SCHOOL (STAFFORD) LTD FY2025	£400k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
STANTON PARENTS AND UNDER FIVES FY2025	£158k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
ST ANNE'S PRE-SCHOOL (CHINGFORD) FY2024	£142k	—	above	—	no doubt
ST MARGARETS PRE-SCHOOL LACEBY FY2025	£171k	—	above	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.