SPARC Supporting People Achieving Real Choice Re8iStered charity No. 1060095 SPARC Annual Report & Accounts and Social Impact Review [SIR] 2023-2024 Year ending 31 March 2024 Agreed by the members Annual General Meeting [AGM] on Monday September 30th 2024. Report published on October 14th 2024. - We believe the most valuable resource we have are the ordinary people that use our servlces. Thls worklng ethos Is called the SPARC Way.- elpizo nhartered Accouniants CONTENTS PAGE Introduction Pages 3 Welcome to this years Annual Report and Social Impart Review ISIRI Page 4 About SPARC: what's in a narne and the tornmunities we serve. Page 5 Meeting the four maln areas of soclal need in people's lives Page 6-7 The annual in-house~Quality of Life~ survey of SPARC members [Oct12024] Page 8 A snapshot of SPARCS work duringthis lastyear. Page 9 Page 10 SPARC'S projects and servi¢es. Page11 An example of SPARC'S work: the proposed new -Life- projert. A Roadmap for members of SPARC. Page 12 Page 13 Assessment and Tracking individual progress of our member5. Page 14 What does it mean to have a learning disability and its social impact? Page 15 The"SPARC Way.: our values and how we work. A Financial health check: progres5. challenges and opportunitie5 Page 16 Pages 17-19 Planning the future ". the role of our-critical friends- in quality & governance. Statement of Trustee5' Respon5ibilitie5 Page 20 Independent Examiners Report Page 21 Statement of Financial Activities Page 22 Balance Sheet Page 24 Notes to the Accounts Page 25 Building the SPARC Way. Introduction The trustees of SPARC present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charitys trust deed, the Charities Act 2011, and the Statement of Recommended Prartice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 102) leffective 1 January 2015). The board of trustee5 are satisfied with the performance of the charity during the year and the position at 31 March 2024 and consider that the charity is in a strong position to continue its activities during the coming year, and the charitys assets are adequate to fulfill its obligations. purp se Purpose and activities of the SPARC Charity The charitls objectives are: The relief of people with learning disabilities in the area defined in clause 2 {hereinafter called the area of benefit). It shall advance the education of such persons to preserve their good health, relieve their sickness and povety and provide recreational facilities in the interests of social welfare for such persons with the object of improving their quality of life. Contact details for SPARC SPARC [Supporting People Achieving Real Choice] Registration Number 1060095 Date of registration 11 January 1997 Chair of Trustees: Mick O. Gorman Registered office: 69, Nicander Road, Liverpool, L18 1 HU Mobile: 07792-110-390 Email: micko8orman@blueyonder.co.uk Website: www. ri Building the SPARC Way. WELCOhlE Welcome to SPARC'S Annual Report & Social Impact Review [SIR] This year's Annual Report and Accounts[2023-2024] also includes our Social Impact Review [SIR] to help assess the progress SPARC has made to improve the quality of life of its members who are people with Learning Disabilities. We are pleased to report that a great deal of positive work has been undertaken during this last year. In the 30 year5 of SPARC'S existence the lives of most people with learning disabilities in the UK has improved incrementally and our small charity has played its part in this positive change However, a great deal more work needs to be done to challenge the ongoing national picture of discrimination, inequality, social exclusion. poor health . and disability hate crime which many of our members still experience. Serious health inequalities remain and life expectancy is still much lower for people with learning disabilities. The appalling mortality rates suffered by people with learning disabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic is a national scandal and this negative experience has since eroded confidence and trust by many families towards local services. This problem is highlighted by the large numbers of people . labelled by the media as so-called "ghosts". who are still missing and "off-the- radar of services since the end of lockdowns . Health inequality therfore remains one of SPARCS four key priorities along with challenging criminal exploitation, improving personal safety and creating more opportunities for open employment for our members. The fact that the majority of SPARC'S elected Trustees, staff and volunteers are either service users, family carers or professionals working in the field of learning disability, provides the energy for SPARC'S work. It is these people with lived experience who drive SPARC'S services to ensure they remain "fit for purpose- for our 296 members. This last year has once again been challenging and SPARC would like to thank its staff and volunteers and in particular. Catherine Mannlon and Phil Haden. who have worked tirelessly during the current cost of living crisis. The members of SPARC approved this report at their Annual General Meeting held on Monday September 30th 2024 and along with the Social Impact Review [SIR] includes user-friendly infographics and images to help improve its accessibility to our members. Thank you. Mick O. Gorman Chair of Trustees of the SPARC charity [ October 14th 2024] . Building the SPARC Way. About SPARC NAME? What's in a name? SPARC ["Supporting People Achieving Real ChoiceT is a small charity based in the borough of Halton and which sit5 on the banks of the River Mersey. Our charity currently supports 296 people with a Learning Disability aged 16- 28 years. SPARC was first established in July 1995 by a small group of concerned parents, and became a registered charity in January 1997. Our name describes the aim to provide practical opportunities for people with a learning disability to make reasoned choices about the aspirations they have in their lives. To help do this SPARC provides a portfolio of projects which share a common thread of promoting life-skills in health and welfare, employment, personal safety and improving Social inclusion. A snapshot of the local communities SPARC serves Most of SPARC'S work takes place in working class communities in Halton which is geographically located within the Liverpool City Region. The borough of Halton has a population of 129,000 and from the last Indices of Multiple Deprivation: IMD (Dec: 2019), is ranked within the 1 Oyo most deprived local authorities in England . It is a place where 19.6% of local children live in povew and in the Riverside and Kingsway wards , where many of our SPARC members live, these are communities which have experienced historically high levels of deprivation over many decades. The lastjoint Strategic Needs Assessment reported that: 9.696 residents in Halton are defined as fuel poor 290A) of school pupils receive free school meals 30% of households are in problem debt JOB Intergenerational social inequality for people with learning disabilities: Structural Inequalities in terms of employment & income, health & disability, education & skills, crime and barriers to housing and services, is always exacerbated for the most vulnerable groups in society including the members of SPARC who have learning disabilities. Building the SPARC Way. THE FOUR MAIN AREAS OF SOCIAL NEED IDENTIFIED BY OUR MEMBERS The following infographic identifies the four main areas of social need the members of SPARC have identified as their priorities from feedback captured from our reporting tools, as follows: The "Ideas Clearing House" forums for the members to share experiences1 concerns. SPARCS annual in-house "Quality of Life" survey of its members. External Inputs and advice by our "critical friends- including the Lloyds Bank Foundation and Constructive Partnerships Ltd. This evidence provides the drivers for SPARCS projects and services which are designed to meet the four areas of social need..: 1. Improving people's health and welfare by better access to local services 2. Keeping people safe in their community 3. Learning skills for the world of work 4. Providing more opportunities for creative social enterprise The 4 main areas of social need Identified by the members of SPARC. Building the SPARC Way. How this social need impacts on the lives of the members of SPARC Declining access to local services: After a decade of austerity and ever-stricter eligibility rules imposed by hard-pressed councils, we know that 72% of SPARC members are now effectively out of service and "off the radarf. of statutory agencies, until they experience a crisis in their lives. These are people who are now so-called "ghosts" by the media because they do not use local services like the NHS, Public Health, Education, and Welfare Rights because of low confidence and diminished expectations since Covid-19. The recent report by the Children, Commissioner Rachel De Souza["Missing Children": Sept12024] has identified thousand5 of vulnerable people still missing from education and local services since the health pandemic. Poor health and welfare: People with a learning disability still experience premature death rates on average 18 years less than the general population [" NHS Digital Report 20191]. SPARCS annual members survey[OcU2024] has reported that 58% have associated poor health like diabetes, obesity and poor mental health but only 13% have seen their GP for an annual NHS health check. The ONS has also reported that during Covid-19 the mortality rates for people with Learning Disabilities were 6 times higher than the national average during lockdowns .[ONS12019]. Stay safe online Crime and the Criminal Justice System: The members of SPARC are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by criminal gangs. who attempt to groom them as'fake friends".This is sometimes called "Mate Crime" and from SPARC'S annual members survey we know that 21 % of our members have experienced contact with criminal gangs or they have been the victims of hate crime. The Prison Reform Trust report "Nobody Know￿. shows that 28% of the prison population in England have a learning disability due to inadequate screening procedures by the Police and Courts to divert vulnerable people away from the criminal justice system. Unemployment: Only 5% of people with a learning disability have paid employment in the UK although it is recognized that a job is often the best form of natural social inclusion [BASE: report 2019]. We know that 83% of SPARC members are long term unemployed but 64% would like a paid job and yet only 7% have ever used a Job Center due to diminished confidence. Loneliness and social exclusion: Many SPARC members lead extremely lonely lives and 75% are trapped at home for up to 5 days each week. The fear of hate crime and limited social opportunities for meeting other people often results in grinding isolation and poor physical and mental health that erodes aspirations and exacerbates a culture of fatalism. Building the SPARC Way. Y￿ETHE ANNUAL MEMBEP SURVEY The annual "Quality of Life" survey of SPARC members [October 2024] Each year SPARC conducts its annual"Qualityof Life" survey of its members and families. Thi5 year we achieved a very good 87% response rate from the membership using a structured questionnaire with 10 questions that explored access to local services: health and welfare: aspirations for employment and the levels of disability hate- crime experienced. XEY POIITS The main findings from the survey: Most SPARC members t720AJ] are'off the radarf, of statutory services until they experience a life crisis like poor health or become victims of crime. 5PARC now provides the only regular provision for 74% of our 296 members . Four main areas of social need have been identified= keeping safe= improving health and welfare: learning skills for work: and more opportunities for social enterprise. Most of our members are happy [86%] with the quality of services provided by SPARC. The OcU24 survey reported that: 72% of our members do not access council social day-care services. 43% have lost or had reduced services in the "transition" from childrens to adult services. 78 1>6 of members have an average reading age of just 7-9 years and therefore cannot engage with most NHS and Public Health plarforms based upon the formal written word. 83% are long term unemployed although 64% said they would like a paid job but only 7% have ever visited ajob Center. 73% cannot use public transport like a local bus or a train independently 75% are trapped at home for up to 5 days each week and experience severe loneliness 580h have associated poor health like diabetes, obesity and poor mental health but only 130 have seen their GP for an annual NHS health check. 65% have experienced disability hate crime but only 3% have reported incidents to the police 21 % reported attempted grooming lexploitation by criminal gangs and loan sharks 36% of our families now rely upon local food banks 38% currently use payday loans or loan sharks but only 12% have ever had a professional welfare benefits assessment. 78()6 of the SPARC'S elected Trustees staff and volunteers are parents, family carers or professionals working in the field of learning disability- 86% of members said they like the flexible delivery of service5 combining group work with Zoom workshops and 1,.1 fieldwork. 74% of members report that SPARC is the only local service they now have regular contact with during the week. Building the SPARC Way. A snapshot of SPARCS work this year Numbers supported: a total of 296 individual members and carers supported this year . E Projects/Services provided: SPARC currently provides a suite of 7 plt projects/services supported by a mix of grants , with volunteers or are self-funded by SPARC itself. Flexible delivery of services: many SPARC members are still isolating following the Covid-19 lockdowns, and so we have provided a flexible delivery of services including face-to-face group work, fieldwork and online learning sessions. Improving health and independent living. our projects have promoted healthier lifestyles and this has led to a 12 96 increase in the numbers of 5PARC members attending for annual GP/NHS health checks. Developing Ideas and aspirations for the future: the members have invested a lot of time sharing their ideas for new social enterprises like their exciting new -Life" on-line project. Improving financial health: SPARC'S income has continued to improve incrementally with new funding from the Lloyds Bank Foundation, People's Health Trust and Postcode Lottery alongside increased unrestricted income from our work with direct payments. Positive Feedback: our recent in-house members survey [Oct12024] reported that 86% are happy with the quality of services provided and 7496 said that SPARC is the only local service they have regular contact with during the week. External reports and consultancy to improve quality and governance= External reports kindly provided by'critical friends" like Constructive Partnerships Ltd and the Lloyds Bank Foundation consultants are helping to improve the resilience, governance and the quality of SPARCS business planning. Building the SPARC Way. SPARC'S projects and services SPARC currently provides a suite of plt projects. which are supported by a combination of grants . our wonderful volunteers or are self-funded by SPARC itself. The Always Here 4 U project: now self-funded by SPARC and provides support and training for isolated members to learn how to stay safe and deal with disability hate crime. The Enhance programme: funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation to help build the long-term resilience of SPARC. The U-choose project: this is our in-house Digital Publishing House and is self-funded by SPARC: it enables SPARC members to design their own bespoke accessible information for non-readers using'pictures rather than words" The Filthy Fingers project: supported by the Postcode Lottery and the Bally Thomas Trust and is a social prescribing project to help people learn how to grow food from "pot to plate" The Ventures Club: Direct Payments funded and aims to engage with people isolated in the community to meet together and make new friends. YINDTHE GAP The Mind The Gap project: Supported by Awards For All and aims to support people to better access local services.. The new"Life" online members club: a proposed new project that SPARC is currently developing as a social enterprise and a potential subscription platform. The idea is for people with learning disabilities to share their own ideas, experiences through short films and podcasts. Building the SPARC Way. EXAMPLE An Example of SPARC'S creative work: the proposed new "Life" project. SPARC 5upportsng PEoplc AcniEVin£ Rc31 Choii Register￿ thaTity No". 1C*0095 The Life project: an infographic Preamble The members of the SPARC charity would like to explore the portential of their LIFE projert. This is an online forum to enable people with Learning Disabilities to share their life experiances and aspiratations- promote social inclusion and normalisation= and develop social enterprise. Input by members of SPARC (*) film and storyboawd eF8ation Input by "othe people w¢th learnlng disabilltles nationally. (101 Th8 Roal Comi Professiond Creators Joe Tottey netork Student placerr Qual￿ Control Slgry)ostlng to servlcas using accessible inf4)rn7a. tion for-non.rea(lers- Safeguarding ko-f i 2t Monthty club ¥Ub8C￿p- tioD8 by wKlivMJuJs thJnate to SPARC Corwrate Grants. Commissions NHS / Public heajth Building the SPARC Way. STAIZ A Roadmap for the members of SPARC l. Referral routes: 2. Entry and Induction: M05t ofour members have eithersem-reterred thernselvesor byb d05efamilyarer. akhovgh recenttytherehas a150 been an increase of relerralsfrom'other"external profe55K>nal agenc￿& These inc5ude 5(Kial 5eNce5 and the police regarding indMdua15 they have KleDtified a5 at potential risk. M05t rnetnbef5 OISPARC are young people aged 18to 25 with a diagnosed Moderate Learning Disability IMLDI and currentlymake up 72% of our membership. This cohort 15 unable lo acce55 Othercouncil S￿la1 care Services because of the application of 5tricteligibility rule5. The remainin9 member5128%1olSPARChove rnorew them toacclimatlze and cFM)ose which of the services best serve rheii needs and Trniere515. In fhis Induciion phase SPARC will also begin Its screening and assessment profiles to help identify base line needs and rreasure subsequent progress by the member. These will Include the Personal ltyfovmaifjon Pwfile IPIPI. checking ECHP plans ènd ASDANtoassesslIt*rn￿ sklll START 3. Participation and Attè*dancè: 4. Quality controls CkJTannual Quality of Ltle survey iepTrrt5 that 86% of Q¥T membersar*happywfjth the4u•ltiyof iheSr expeflen¢es d parfrcularly thr attention given to I 1 sUPPTrrt A number ofas5È55menl lools are used like Ihe. ASDAN Every- d•yLtying FuwKii¢)nal Skllls=•nd the HASI aNI LDSQ pr files to Irack individual progre55. SPARC holds monthly feed- b￿1 forums with the n*mbets ané most importantly the -IdeasClearfh4 House" events capture dSrect feedback from members and familiestoassess Ihe impact of our services. SPARC also Invite$e￿ema1-C1ilfjcal frlends- like Construc- tlve Partr*rships Ltd toassess the qualilyof our services& Most of our rnetnbers stay invoW with SPARCfor an JveTr a9eof 3.-4 year5 arKJ areable 10 rdl onlioll OH pro)￿ts a5appr priate to rneet theirneeds Our attendance recofds shows that ofthe membership has regulèrcontxtwith SPARC 5ervice5 each rnonth whilst the rest have interrnittet)tcontactof at least6 attendances in an aver- ageyear. 5. Planned exitand outcomes: FINISH SPARC work5 hard to pTo¥ide and Itnprove therangeof QPPDrtunitie5availab1eforourrDembe￿ when theyfinally leave.we retognise. however.that setious ineoualit*s still exist when they tnove on in theiT live5 like the83% who are trapp￿1 in k>ng-tetrn unernploytnent and the 58% of rnembeT5 reporting poor health. Weare however making progre5SWith 9%otmember5 gettiny paid employment compared to the 4.5% nationallyfor people with learning di5abilitie& SPARC hB55uc(e55fully SUPPOrted it5 rnefftbws into flt jDb5 With largeernpl¢rfft5 like ASDA, Te5COs and Matalan whi15t the intrc¥Ju(tTonof the HASI and LDSQ 5creeningtODlshas seen redurtion of 11%of membEr5 at riskfrom in¥ol¥ernent in thé criminalju5titesy51em. FlThal evaluaiion and feedba