About
Ridgeway Playgroup Ltd is a non-profit company limited by guarantee and is a registered charity. We were formerly known as Eastcombe Playgroup. In 2007, management committee members were hard to find and those who did offer to stand as trustees were uncomfortable with the structure of the playgroup as it was an unincorporated association. This legal structure made the management committee personally responsible for any debts the group may end up with! Given the unpredictable nature of local requirements and successive government’s funding strategies for early years education, this liability was hardly likely to attract the volunteer effort needed to run a community charitable group.
So, we incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. We have directors under the terms of the companies act and those same directors are trustees for the purposed of charity legislation. Parents become members (the non-profit equivalent of shareholders) and in return for a maximum liability of just £1 in the event of the group being wound up, parent members get to stand as and vote for directors. They also get to vote on other important things such as changes to the rules (memorandum and articles of association) that the company operates by.
The directors are responsible for the company meeting it’s statutory obligations as required by OfSTED, Companies House and The Charity Commission. They decide fiscal policy, setting up of fund raising committees and such like (drawn from the membership) and they interview and appoint staff. The directors have all the same responsibilities as any company director and charity trustee but they are not permitted to be paid for their time.
It was an enlightening, challenging and often tortuous process changing from an association to a new legal entity but it was worth it if only because we have already found it much easier to attract new trustees than before. We’d encourage any playgroup to do it and we’re happy to answer any questions you have if this helps other groups thrive.
Use the comments feature to ask questions (please do not include confidential information, all questions and all answers will be published for the good of all) and we’ll answer them as soon as we can. Perhaps some others will benefit from our experiences!