Oakley Pre-school - Transition from Unincorporated Charity to CIO.

In Autumn 2024, Oakley Pre-school Group will cease to exist, and will be replaced by Oakley Pre-school CIO. This is a purely administrative change, moving from an Unincorporated Charity to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

Whilst the children will not notice any difference, it does require Pre-school to have a new legal charity registration, a new registration with Ofsted, new funding agreements and new bank accounts. There has been lots of admin work in the background!

Below are some of the key questions and answers - we will add to this as we go through the process!

Is Pre-school going to change for my child?

No, absolutely not. The staff are the same, we will run in exactly the same way on a day-to-day basis and your family’s regular session schedule will continue like normal.

Does my agreement with Pre-school change?

No it doesn’t - your terms and conditions get moved across to the new entity. You will receive official notification of this as we move through the transition process.

How will the change happen?

Oakley Pre-school is a membership charity - all families become members when your children join. As such, the committee called an Extraordinary General Meeting of the charity on October 10th 2024, at which a vote was taken to dissolve Oakley Pre-school Group and transfer all assets and liabilities to Oakley Pre-school CIO.

When will the change happen?

Oakley Pre-school CIO was registered with Ofsted on 23rd September 2024.

The official transfer took place on 1st November 2024.

Why is Oakley Pre-school moving to a CIO?

1. Unincorporated charities leave committee members financially responsible and liable. Under a CIO, the setting is it’s own legal entity therefore giving more protection for committee members. This therefore removes the need for trustee insurance.

2. As an unincorporated charity, we are required to have 60% of our committee being parents. As a CIO, we do not have this requirement - making it easier to keep running if we do not get parent volunteers.

3. Staff are allowed to apply to join the committee - recognising the huge contributions of the staff and increasing the knowledge of Early Years in decision-making and setting the plans for the setting.

What does this mean with Ofsted?

We have a brand new registration with Ofsted (Oakley Pre-school CIO), registration number EY2806505. Newly registered settings do not have an official grading, and we will be expecting our first inspection as a CIO within 30 months (so by March 2027). Oakley Pre-school Group was graded “Good” at our inspection in October 2023 - the CIO isn’t officially allowed to use that grading, but we all know that it relates to our wonderful setting!

Can I still use my government funded hours with Oakley Pre-school CIO?

Yes, absolutely! Oakley Pre-school CIO is registered with Buckinghamshire County Council as a funded provider so nothing changes.

Do I pay Pre-school fees to the same bank account? What about Tax Free Childcare?

No. The new bank details are Lloyds Bank: Sort code 30-99-50, a/c 60909362. For Tax Free Childcare please search for Oakley Pre-school CIO.

Is Pre-school still a charity?

Yes, absolutely - just a different legal type of charity. We are still registered with the Charity Commission. We will still have a board of trustees and continue to operate with the same philosophy from the last 60 years - providing affordable childcare and educational opportunities for children in Oakley & the surrounding villages.

All families of children attending both Wraparound and Pre-school/Nursery sessions become members of the charity when their children commence sessions. As Family Members, 1 representative from each family can become a trustee of the charity.

The Constitution of Oakley Pre-school CIO is available to view here.