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2023-08-31-accounts

The Tonbridge Children's Workshop Financial Statements and Annual Report for the Year Ended 31st August 2023

The Tonbridge Children's Workshop Trustees Report for the Year Ended 31st August 2023

This report includes information required by the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting by Charities 2005.

SECTION A - REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Name: The name of the Charity is The Tonbridge Children's Workshop (TTCW). The main operating name of the charity is High Hopes which is explained further under objectives and activities.

Charity Number: The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission, Charity Number 1069911 and was first registered in April 1998.

Charity Principal Address: Room 3, Christ Church United Reformed Church, High Street, Tonbridge, TN9 1SG

Trustees

Name Office (If any) Dates acted if not
for whole year		 Date of
resignation
Rev Deryck Charnock Vice Chair
Joanne Ramsden Chair
Jill Beard Responsibility for
safeguarding
Jemimah Spalding
David Balcombe
Mark Rigby Treasurer Held post to 13th
September 2022

SECTION B - STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Description of the charity's trusts:

Governing Document: The Charity is governed by a Trust Deed, copies of which are available, and it is constituted as a Charitable Trust.

The activities of The Tonbridge Children's Workshop (TTCW) are overseen by the Trustees in accordance with the provisions of The Trust Deed and as such the Trustees are responsible for the financial and general oversight of the work.

The trustees continue to expand the work of the charity and to ensure each aspect of governance is in good shape in order to support planned growth.

The Trustees had 6 meetings in the year in person. There was also an additional meeting in June one evening to discuss the leaving of one employee and the extension of hours and role of another employee.

In August, one of the trustees announced their decision to take a break as trustee from July 2024 for family reasons.

In February, the trustees and staff met to have a Vision Day.

In October 2022, the charity said goodbye to one of the employees, who was leaving to set up a similar venture in another part of the south-east, closer to her home.

The financial administrator (a qualified accountant) has continued to oversee the financial administration of the charity, including the writing of budgets and the preparing of accounts. In September 2022, the treasurer vacated their office.

A few policies were updated to reflect changes to the law.

Appointment of Trustees: Candidates for becoming trustees are selected by taking advice from the leadership of the local Christian community, notably Tonbridge Area Churches Together (TACT), existing trustees and other stakeholders - e.g. schools and churches. Potential trustees are interviewed by at least two trustees, normally including the chair. They are subsequently invited to see the work of TTCW in action, for example by visiting a school assembly. Following this they may be invited to the next trustees meeting where they gain a fuller understanding of the work and may ask questions and meet the rest of the trustees. The candidate is then asked to withdraw, and existing trustees discuss and then vote on the appointment at a Special Meeting called for the purpose. If successful, the candidate is invited to become a trustee and if they accept this will complete their appointment. The trustees seek to appoint a diverse mix of backgrounds, experiences and skills that will fully represent the community and users we serve and who will be able to contribute to the work of the charity. Continual efforts are in place to find and appoint new trustees.

Additional governance issues:

TTCW continues with a closer operational tie to the local churches by consulting with leadership and stakeholders before implementing its mission – adapting its practice, if necessary, to accommodate the needs of the community.

SECTION C - OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document:

"The advancement of the Christian Faith and the advancement of religious and other education for the public benefit and in particular for the benefit of children and families."

We call our main schools work "High Hopes". We believe that Hope is part of God’s plan for every child, and the natural response to encountering God. We visit all the children in the ‘High’ name of God to share our Hope in him and the positive impact of the Christian life. We also believe that children should ‘aim high’ and be ambitious in their personal and spiritual development. We are passionate about children achieving good and great things, and we know that it is hope that sustains them as they aim to fulfil their potential.

Review of activities and achievements:

In September 2022, we welcomed Lisa to the team as a full-time schools’ worker. There then followed a handover period as another employee (Emily) prepared to leave to start up a similar venture in another part of the southeast. It was a time of small changes in the team, starting the year with 2 part time employees and one full time employee, as well as a part-time administrator and a finance administrator. Early in 2023, a volunteer came on board to assist at Fun Club and another volunteer left to pursue a career in education.

Autumn highlights included leading the children’s work for Pembury Baptist Church, visiting Mark Beech to lead their church service, and leading a Harvest celebration for 600 children at Somerhill schools. In December, Mike and Lisa delivered a series of ‘Supersemblies’ to explore the nativity story in 15 schools.

Spring 2023 was a period of reflection for the team and trustees as we came together to pray and seek God’s purpose constructing a new vision for the mission post-Covid. School and church visits continued throughout the year, reaching 25 schools in total. Unfortunately, poor internet connection made working in the office challenging for the team for the remainder of a financial year.

Throughout the year the charity’s school visits were a consistent success. The team worked closely and collaboratively with the Spinnaker Trust to write a comprehensive assembly pack entitled ‘It’s Jesus’, the High Hopes school visits being used as a honing ground for developing the material. Now complete, ‘It’s Jesus’ enables teachers and school visitors to lead worship which covers most of Jesus’ teaching and activities across a whole year.

Other significant achievements include Fun Club and Holiday Club (in partnership with St Andrew’s Church, Paddock Wood). Fun Club continued to grow throughout the year and also attracted volunteer support.

In late autumn, our administrator became ill and went on long term sick leave, remaining in our prayers and - through special dispensation agreed by the trustees – on payroll throughout. In the summer, Lisa resigned her post to return to church ministry as a families’ minister. Team leader Mike was able to increase his hours to pick up Lisa’s workload and continue the school visits.

Looking ahead, we are pleased that Debbie’s health has improved and hope that she is able to return to work in the autumn to support Mike with the frontline work.

Future Goals

Improve links with local churches.

Set new mission goals and team requirements.

Honour and maintain our established ministry while reviewing and evaluating the work of the charity.

Encourage new High Hopes volunteers to assist with assemblies and possible new fun clubs.

Recruit new trustees with a range of experience.

To continue writing such policies as deemed necessary at the time.

To continue promoting the profile of High Hopes and develop new fund raising activities; establish a strategy team to focus on fund raising.

Financial Review

Our financial period runs from 1[st] September 2022 to 31[st] August 2023. During the year, our income, which is made up primarily from local donations, was £35,712 compared to the previous year when it was £35,796. This is a 0.2% decrease on last year.

There were no live performances of the pantomime because of illness and so, for the second year in a row, donations from schools that have occurred in the past at this event did not happen.

In the past, we have looked to local grants to increase our income but last year we did not apply for any local grants.

Donations from individuals, including some gift aid, came to £20,642 with a further £12,342 coming from churches. A total of £588 came from schools and other organisations. Church giving has increased by £687. It should be noted that these were one off donations from an additional five churches.

Our staffing costs have increased from £33,333 to £39,093. This is because we had three members of staff for the entire year, one of whom worked full time. In the previous year every employee worked part time.

The trustees are mindful of the risk to funds on a long-term basis because of the pandemic and possible decline in church attendance in some areas. However, at present, the risk is not so great as to affect the reserve. We recognise that church income continues to be affected by the cost-ofliving crisis, and, as such, the giving from our regular donors might change significantly. We will instigate strategies to address this if required.

The charity’s regular supporters have been contacted throughout the year and are showing an ongoing commitment to continue funding our work.

Our opening bank balance was £42,068 and our closing balance was £32,531. The lower balance reflects the increase in outgoings (mainly staff costs) this year. There is also a gift aid claim which has yet to be made for this year. A gift aid claim was made in September 2022, but this relates to the previous year.

Reserve Policy

The Trustees always aim to keep 3 months’ worth of expenditure in the bank account as a reserve. Monthly expenditure for this purpose is usually calculated as an average from the previous financial year’s spending. Three months spending for the financial year 2022 to 20223 amounts to £11,312.

We ended our financial year with a bank reserve of £32,531 which exceeds the reserves policy level. The financial administrator supplies regular accounts, and the chair would convene an urgent extraordinary Trustee meeting if the bank balance went below the level of 4 months’ worth of expenditure.

Related Parties Transactions

None of the Trustees received any remuneration, benefits or expenses during the year. There is one related party transaction: Zachary Ramsden receives payment for his services as financial administrator (£685 in the year ending 2023) and he is married to the chair of the trustees.

Office space is rented from Christ Church, Tonbridge.

The treasurer (at the beginning of this year) was a member of the Christ Church congregation. His only connected party declaration was that he was both an Elder of Christ Church and the convenor (Chair) of their Fabric (property) Committee. He was also a member of the CC Finance committee. He had declared to both TTCW and CC his position(s) in each organisation and took steps to mitigate potential conflicts of interest, such as not voting on TTCW or CC issues in their respective meetings or removing himself from parts of meetings when appropriate to do so. He also ensured confidentiality and separation between TTCW and CC meetings.

All payments are authorised by two authorised signatories. Steps have been taken to add additional signatories to the list of those able to if usual signatories are away or ill. The chair of trustees is not a signatory.

Additional Comments

It is the opinion of the trustees that the charity can continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future. Due to the changes in staffing, we project a break-even position for the year ending 2024.

Once again, the charity and trustees would like to express their grateful thanks to all the individuals, churches and organisations who have given so generously to support the work of High Hopes. Their support and encouragement have enabled this work to continue and have also helped raise the profile of children’s work in and around Tonbridge. Without this support our highly valued work could not continue.

Joanne Ramsden

Mrs Joanne Ramsden (chair of trustees)

On behalf of the trustees of The Tonbridge Children’s Workshop

2nd January 2024

The Tonbridge Children's Workshop The Tonbridge Children's Workshop 1069911
Receipts andpayments accounts ments accounts CC16a
For the period
from
~~ee~~		 01/09/2022
~~ee~~		 To 31/08/2023
~~ee~~
Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Restricted Endowment
funds		 Total funds Last year
to the nearest
£		 to the nearest to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Individual donations andgifts 20,642 - - - - 20,642 23,910
Donations andgifts from other organisations 12,342 - - - - 12,342 11,655
Fundraisingevents 70 - - - - 70 45
Billed school and church activities 588 - - - - 588 186
Interest 70 - - - - 70 -
Legacy 2,000 - - - - 2,000 -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
Sub total(Gross income for AR) (Gross income for AR) 35,712 - - - - 35,712 35,796
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see
table).
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total receipts
35,712
-
-
35,712
35,796
~~=————~~
A3 Payments
Direct school costs 553 - - - - 553 408
Charitable donations - - - - - - 400
Rent and rates 1,371 - - - - 1,371 1,088
Insurance 673 - - - - 673 336
Admin costs 83 - - - - 83 174
Computer costs 597 - - - - 597 1,160
Travel and subsistence 1,531 - - - - 1,531 1,116
Bank charges 60 60 93
Staff salaries 39,093 39,093 33,333
Training 400 400 200
Subscriptions 195 195 181
Payroll fees 378 378 147
Accountancy 285 285 285
Sundryexpenses 30 30 49
**Sub total ** 45,249 - - - - 45,249 38,970
A4 Asset and investment purchases,
(see table)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total payments
45,249
-
-
45,249
38,970
~~——————~~
Net of receipts/(payments)
- 9,537
-
-
- 9,537
- 3,174
A5 Transfers between funds
-
- -
-
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
42,068
- -
42,068
45,242
Cash funds this year end
32,531
-
- 32,531
42,068
~~===>=>~~

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

17/01/2024

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
the trustees
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s
own use
B1 Cash funds		 Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Debtor: Gift aid reclaim
CAF Bank
Details
Details
Payroll fee
Details
PAYE
Independent examiner fee
Signature
Joanne Ramsden		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
32,441
-
-
-
-
-
32,441
-
Agreement Error
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
2,201
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
General fund
236
General fund
285
General fund
140
-
-
Print Name
Joanne Ramsden		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
Joanne Ramsden Joanne Ramsden 02/01/2024

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

17/01/2024

2

2 January 2024

adventus accounting solutions Supporting Charitable Organisations

Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of The Tonbridge Children’s Workshop Charity Registration Number 1069911

I report on the accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 which are set out on the pages following.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and Independent Examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

adventusaccounting@btinternet.com 07523 622979 www.adventusaccounting.wixsite.com/website

Independent Examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Yours sincerely

Martyn Burt

B.Sc.(Hons), ACMA, CGMA

adventus accounting solutions Ashby Acres Chapel Lane Ashby-cum-Fenby Grimsby DN37 0QT

e-mail: martyn.burt@btinternet.com or adventusaccounting@btinternet.com Telephone: 07523 6229679

adventusaccounting@btinternet.com 07523 622979 www.adventusaccounting.wixsite.com/website ~~PT~~