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2021-03-31-accounts

Children’s Discovery Centre East London Trading as Discover

Trustees’ Report and Financial Statement For the Year ended 31 March 2021

"An absolutely incredible resource. The focus on stories is great and the staff are always really warm and helpful. I’ve taken my 4-year-old and 1 year old separately and they both loved it and interacted with it in totally different, but equally satisfying ways. Great outside space, cafe, and bookshop too!" - Visitor

Charity Registration No 1070468 Company Registration No 03479284 (England & Wales)

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON

CONTENTS PAGE

Legal and Administrative Information … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2
Chair’s Report … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
3
The Trustees’ Report … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4 - 15
The Auditor’s Report … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 16 - 18
Statement of Financial Activities … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 19
Balance Sheet … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 20
Statement of Cash Flows … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 21
Notes forming part of the financial statements … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 22 – 33

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Trustees Stephen Crampton-Hayward – Chair Stephen Crampton-Hayward – Chair
Martin Clarke – Treasurer (Re-appointed on 27 January 2021)
Oghenevese Aghoghovbia (Appointed on 29 September 2021)
Katy Beale (Resigned on 17 March 2021)
Victoria Dance (Appointed on 29 September 2021)
Vaseem Khan
Andrew Murray (Re-appointed on 27 January 2021)
Amit Rama
Joe Robinson (Appointed on 27 January 2021)
Giorgia Stewart (Appointed on 29 September 2021)
Michelle Wright
Jasmin Wun
Company Secretary Stephen Crampton-Hayward
Chief Executive Karla Barnacle-Best
Charity Number 1070468
Company Number 03479284
Registered Name Children’s Discovery Centre, East London
Registered Office 383 - 387 High Street
Stratford, London E15 4QZ
Telephone 020 8536 5555
Fax 020 8522 1003
Email team@discover.org.uk
Website www.discover.org.uk
Auditor Haysmacintyre LLP
10 Queen Street Place
London EC4R 1AG
Bankers
National Westminster Plc Beverley Building Society Cambridge and Counties Bank
1– 11 Broadway 57 Market Place Charnwood Court
Stratford Beverley 5B New Walk
London E15 4DX East Yorkshire HU17 8AA Leicester LE1 6TE
Nationwide Building Society Charity Bank Redwood Bank limited
Nationwide House Fosse House The Nexus Building
Pipers Way 182 High Street Broadway,
Swindon Tonbridge Letchworth Garden City
Wiltshire SN38 1NW Kent TN9 1BE Herts SG6 3TA
Hampshire Trust Bank
PO Box 74003
London
EC2P 2QR

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CHILDREN'5 DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 Chairfs Report "Enjoyedo reLTlly lovely visit to Discover Children'5 Story Centre in Sep 2020. The 5tfJff were all extremelvfriendly ond helpful the place wosspotless t7nd well Covidmunagedondstill rem¢7inedo very enchanting ploce to visit. 100% recommendt7tion to uttend." For Discover, along with the rest of the cultural sector and the UK as a whole, 202012021 was a challenging time. The organisation has been incredibly grateful for, and moved by, the warmth of support of funders, wsitors, participants. and partners. In tum Discover has aeknowledged its responsibility to continue to be a resource for the local community, to the re- buildin8 of the sector and to enable children and their families to have fun, play and leam together. Due to Covid-19 restrictions DiscovEr rernained closed for 10 months of 2020121. However, it was able to craft a Positive, thoughtful response to take it through a turbulent, ever-ch3n8ing period. We committed to sustaining services for our key tar8et groups including Mi8hty Me83 and Story Sandwith participants with whom we comrnunicated on a regular basis, treating bespoke on-line storie5 as well as sending books and craft packs. We developed a digital offer for our wider families •p and local schools with fun 3nd engaging stories and activities that maintained our profile and increased our support base. We promoted stsfl well-being Wlth the implementation of a Working from Home good practice model. regular communication including with those who were furloughed through online di5CUS5ion5, phone calls. ernai15. information bulletins and informal social events. There w3s financial support of staff through topping up pay to 100% for furloughed staff., acknowledging that this was crucial particularly for those people who are part-tSme or les5 well paSd. This included all cèsual staff up until be8lnning September when the bulldlng re-opened. We demonstrated commitment to freelancer5,' honouring payment5 for all engagements including cancelled activities and commissioning artists for online work and development of future activities. There was extensive planning and investment to ensure that when we ￿-opened the building could function in a Safe, re- ssuring way for visitors and staff and still deliver a much needed joyou5 experience. We are proud of what we achieved in the most difficult circumstances. W& are a resilient or8ani53tion', we have responded to the obstacles and limitstions created by Covid-19 and found ways to adapt our operation and create a viable pathway forward. The strength of the business model accompanied by prudent governance and management, had built up reserves that have helped mitigate against an enormous Ios5 of earned incorne during 2020121. Thanks to invaluable assistance from our fund&rs, hi8her than anticipated numbers of visitors returnin8 to Discover when open, and the CJRS scheme, we retained a healthy level ol reserves at the end of March 2021. I would like to thank all the trusts, foundations and businesses that provided flexible and sustained support and were so understanding at this difficult tirne. Arts Council England and Newharn Council for their continued cornmitrnent, a5 well 3S BBC Children in Need, Drapers Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Henry Smith Charity, Leathersellers Company, London Community Response Fund, London Marathon Trus¢ Man Charitable Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Rix Thompson Rothenburg Foundation, Royal Docks. Span Trust, St8vr05 Niarch05 Foundation. Telford Homes, and Veolia Environmental Trust. I would like to th8nk Winkworth Sherwood for their invaluable pro bono legal advice. I would also like to thank the many public and private agencies that work in partnership with us. l èm gratefu5 to everyone who has supported us thi5 year including partners, teachers. and our wonderful visitors. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my other colleagues on the 8oard, as well as all our staff for their commitment. skill and passion. We are committed to rebuilding our programme, embracing the positive adaptations made in the last twelve months, ensuring that the broadest possible range ol children and adults can &n8a8e, Ènjoy, and creatÈ. Stephen Crarnpton-Hayward Chair

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Objectives and activities

Summary of Objects as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association:

to promote, maintain, improve, and advance public education in the arts, sciences, humanities, and technology, in particular by the provision, promotion, and maintenance of facilities and amenities for the education of children, young persons, and their families, and to relieve poverty, in particular by providing or assisting in providing recreational or other leisure-time facilities and amenities for children and young persons and their families.

Vision, aims and services

Our vision:

Children develop a life-long love of stories including reading, writing, and drawing. This matters because it links to success in learning and communication, creative and imaginative development, and is a source of pleasure.

Our Mission:

We aspire to be an inspirational cultural resource, rooted in the borough of Newham, one of the UK’s most diverse areas and resonating through east London and beyond. We provide excellent artistic, creative, play and learning experiences for all children to support and develop their imagination, creativity, curiosity. We are committed to celebrating the artist in every child and promoting access to the arts for all children regardless of ability or socioeconomic status because we believe the arts are critical to child and youth development and to strong and vibrant communities.

Charity category

Charity Act 2011 classifications

Services

To achieve our objectives our services include:

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

History

Background

Discover was established by a group of east London community leaders, educationalists, and local parents in 1997 to develop a hands-on learning resource for children and families. Discover was registered as a charity and limited company in 1998. Supported by Arts Council England and the London Borough of Newham, the Story Centre opened in 2003 and was the first children’s museum in the UK to focus exclusively on stories and children’s literature. 1,486 square metres is leased to a nursery and two training organisations.

We completed a £1 million capital project in 2016 delivering wonderful new Story Worlds on two floors, a dedicated story telling space for 0-3’s, refurbished events and party rooms, spacious new café, and improved reception area and shop. This was followed by a second phase capital project in 2019 which included deepening engagement by installing additional equipment to enhance the learning and creative play elements on the Story Worlds and improving learning facilities for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We have just completed an exciting and enchanting re-development of our Story Garden.

"Slides, rice cakes, climbing frames and tree houses with actual upholstered settees! Where can you find such wonderful things? At the @discover_story Stratford of course! The new play garden is absolutely beautiful and jam packed with everything a small human could possibly desire! There is a mud kitchen, musical pipes a mini climbing wall and lots, lots more to feed and encourage their young minds to use their imagination, discover and enjoy reading and to use and explore the equipment and the garden in fun ways."

Case for need

Based in east London, we serve a young, vibrant, culturally diverse (68%), transient community many of whom face complex socio-economic challenges. East London has seen the highest increase (16%) in London’s population over the past 10 years. Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham, and Hackney have some of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK. The two highest rates of children living in poverty are in our home borough of Newham (53%) and our neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets (57%), according to the London Poverty Profile 2020. Newham has the highest number of households (44.52%) and more specifically, 4,500 children, living in temporary accommodation.

Newham has the second lowest cultural engagement in London (Active Lives Survey published 2018) with disadvantaged children affected most by the reduction in the number of enrichment opportunities offered through schools. 72.5% of Newham’s Lower Super Output Areas lie in the bottom 3 Deciles of the most deprived areas in England according to the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation. Communities in east London have been significantly affected by high numbers of cases of Covid-19 and no doubt the effects of this will be felt in ways that are not yet reflected in the above data.

Surveys have found a strong link between poverty and lack of participation in the arts. As family and public resources become tighter, this will mean that children growing in low-income households will have even less opportunity to engage with arts and culture. The barriers range from the practical, cost of travel, tickets, time, and lack of information. Equally powerful are attitudinal barriers, including people thinking that the arts and culture aren’t for them or a fear of the unknown.

Despite facing these multiple disadvantages, children are achieving above the national average in their end of Primary School SATS tests. Discover is proud to contribute to this positive development and will continue to work closely with the schools and families to support these children’s ongoing achievements and progression.

Newham is a borough that has been through an extra-ordinary amount of change over the last few years, much of which is ongoing. One of the significant factors is the vast number of new homes that are being built in the area, particularly within Stratford and round the site of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This not only brings a greater density of residents but will also ultimately result in a changing demographic. However, near what is likely to be more affluent communities with greater disposable income, there remain longer established communities as well as growing refugee communities who are alienated from much of the prosperity and opportunities of the new neighbours. Responding to the needs of all sectors will be important in forthcoming years.

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

In terms of schools, recovering from the pressures and demands of supporting children and staff through a year of Covid-19 will be a slow process. Whilst there will be a significant need for activities that explore well-being and mental health, flexibility will be required to enable schools to take up any offers.

Review of activities for period ending March 2021

Covid-19 Update

Our local community included many of the people most affected by Covid-19; Newham had the highest number of furloughed jobs in London (Newham Recorder, February 2021), and the Newham Universal Credit Claimant rate rose by 231% compared to a London average of 167% (ONS February 2021). Discover responded with both a targeted and universal offer for children and families.

Over the last 12 months we created 33 digital story, author and craft videos for children and their families. Digital content was created in house and was freely available. Videos were distributed via YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram with number of views steadily growing. We also created other digital resources, curating a wide range of book recommendations, and supporting the sector through promotion of online activities by other organisations. We commissioned five

artists/organisations to work with Mighty Mega (a weekly Saturday arts club for children with disabilities and their siblings) and delivered a consistent programme of 37 bespoke sessions for them, Story Sandwich (delivered in partnership with the Magpie project which provides support for mothers and children under five in temporary or insecure accommodation in Newham), and Children’s Forum that each offered a range of different carefully conceived activities. This virtual engagement was enhanced by the distribution of craft packs and books to participating families to extend creative engagement with the online content. Mindful of the pressure on schools we created 10 digital packs to support learning which were distributed free to over 1,500 teachers via our education newsletter.

There was financial support of staff through topping up pay to 100% for those who were furloughed. In addition, there was a commitment to freelancers, honouring payments for all engagements including cancelled activities and commissioning artists for online work and development of future activities.

To rebuild audiences and core activities when open we created a Covid secure way of delivering reduced capacity sessions which retained play and interaction opportunities through rigorous surface cleaning and materials rotation. We also reworked spaces to find new, safe ways to run activities. We were proud to collaborate with Andersen Press to host a Monsters exhibition which showcased work by established illustrators joined by participants from Pathways; a 2-year programme for illustrators from backgrounds which are under-represented in children’s publishing.

Children and families were delighted to return to Discover and during the 2 months that we were open we welcomed 13,401 family visitors to the centre. We were able to run Story Sandwich sessions in person which were well attended, and we had two visits by nursery classes, which was a highlight of the period, and delivered 3 physical outreach sessions in two schools. This helped us to trial safe delivery in the Covid context as well as test new sessions that we had redeveloped over the summer. During September and October of this year we re-opened Fairy Tales ; to enable distancing we reduced the capacity by 50%. In October 2020 we opened BLinK BLonK , a new commission from Slot Machine. While we were only able to run a limited number of sessions before closure once again it felt like a significant achievement to create new work.

As we moved into 2021/22 we reviewed lessons learnt from the previous year and prepared once again for re-opening. With robust systems in place and a well-trained staff, we were able to re-open as soon as restrictions were lifted. We are pleased to report that we have had limited numbers of Covid-19 cases within Discover but, as cases within the UK have risen, there have not surprisingly been occasions when staff have been required to self-isolate. This has left the team depleted at times and we are grateful for the hard-work, resilience and spirit that has enabled us to remained open. Importantly, visitors and staff continue to comment about how safe Discover feels. We continue to embrace a hybrid model of working, for example maintaining a weekly digital Mighty Mega offer alongside in person sessions, to promote wider access particularly for the most vulnerable.

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

"It was such a pleasant experience, my grandsons loved the fairy tales and there was so much space for them to move around and play with the reduced numbers. Staff were very welcoming and everywhere was being cleaned throughout our time there, therefore it felt a very safe experience in the current climate. I am exempt from wearing a face mask and I really appreciated the additional wristband that showed this and avoided having to explain multiple times. I think you have made a tremendous effort in ensuring your reopening was safe for everyone and yet not in any way affecting the experience of the children. Thank you."

Overview

2020/21 was the third year of our business plan 2018-2022.

The three core themes driving the plan are:

1) Excellence and Engagement

1) Excellence and Engagement

Artistic Activity

For the first 5 months of the year Discover was closed. We speedily moved to creating regular high quality online stories developed, delivered, edited, and promoted inhouse by our team who showed great flexibility and rapidly acquired new skills to take on this challenge. The online stories were freely available for families via YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

“Based in east London, the magical Discover Children’s Story Centre has, for the past year, been sorely missed. But it’s still possible to get your fix of author events, activities, fairy tales and art sessions. The Centre’s YouTube channel is a feast of free videos. Watch the Drag Pirates on their voyage to create a better world, join illustrator Alex Willmore for a reading of his book, The Big Trip, or join Discover’s story builders as they tell tales from around the world.” www.thegreenparent.co.uk

When able to open, we were determined to offer as much of a fun, interactive experience as possible despite the restrictions imposed by Covid-19. A key element was increasing the frequency of free stories delivered by our Story Builders on the Story Worlds as these could be done at a safe distance in well ventilated areas. We re-invented our spoon puppet activity by creating individual packs for each visitor; this had an added benefit of reducing waste. We retained our costumes, puppets, books, paper, pencils, and crayons keeping visitors safe through a rigorous process of laundry and quarantining.

Exhibitions

Fairy Tales , designed by Discover with author David Litchfield and illustrator Ross Montgomery, re-opened in September 2020. Visitors were delighted to explore the enchanting locations from the three bears’ bed and breakfast to fairy tale town, to the land of dark woods, a golden palace, a bustling gingerbread cafe and mysterious treasure cave. Again, we kept all the interactive features that bring the exhibition alive, with staff working tirelessly to clean surfaces, and rotate and disinfect props and play items to support safety.

“What an amazing day at the Story Centre in Stratford. We love the enchanted forest and the intricacies of the Space area with the spaghetti corridor. Their new outdoor playground is fantastic with poles, muddy kitchen and rockets...but today's discovery was the wonderful world of Fairytales”.

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

The need to enable social distancing throughout the building made us re-think our use of spaces. The first floor Storytelling Room was no longer appropriate as a closed in space for 20 people. So we took the opportunity to host a temporary exhibition in collaboration with Andersen Press which allowed us to open up the room and invite visitors to wander in and out in small self-regulating groups. Celebrating 40 years of David McKee’s iconic picture book Not Now, Bernard , illustrators including Rob Biddulph, Posy Simmonds, Chris Riddell, Lydia Monks, Axel Scheffler, Marion Deuchars and Tony Ross created unique pieces based on their own ‘Inner Monster’ or Bernard’s famous purple monster in the garden. Established illustrators were joined by participants from Pathways; a 2-year programme for illustrators from backgrounds which are underrepresented in children’s publishing. Thirteen artists from the programme took part, with many displaying their art for the first time. Entry was free with a day pass and the pieces in this exhibition, plus many more, were auctioned online by the publishers to raise money for Action For Children.

Over the last 12 months we have also been developing The Story Hotel which will be the next exhibition for our 2-8 year old visitors. The concept is based on a fantastical hotel run and visited by monsters, aliens, animals, and a whole other host of creatures, with a Whodunit it style experience to add a back story to attract older children. We commissioned illustrator Rob Biddulph to work with us on the exhibition; Rob has amazing character design and did a draw along video twice a week of some of his characters on YouTube for children during lockdown which proved very popular.

0-5’s programme

We commissioned Slot Machine, in collaboration with Story Builders Minnie Wilkinson and Vickie Holden-Swinton, to develop a new 0-5’s event that was due to take place in May. Determined to honour the commitment and create new work the commission was completed over the summer and BLink BLonk was delivered from October in room 2.2. which was suitably spacious and airy. It was delightful to see children and adults enjoying live performance. Whilst the run ended abruptly when we had to lockdown once more we were pleased to reach agreement from Slot Machine to revive it when we next re-opened in May 2021.

Learning

During the year the Community and Education team maintained regular contact with vulnerable and disadvantaged families in Newham, east London and beyond, providing regular tailored support to people isolating in the most difficult circumstances. Additionally, dialogue was maintained with schools to ensure resources were created that were appropriate and required to complement their difficult job home-schooling young children.

Mighty Mega

Mighty Mega Club is one of our core projects; a weekly Saturday arts club for children with disabilities and their siblings providing access to artist-led activities all year round. Despite being closed, we were determined to maintain regular contact with our members. We launched a new member newsletter in July which helped us better monitor digital engagement with members while we remain closed. Our first fully digital Mighty Mega term wrapped up in July with a final video from artist Jasmine Hall, of Jasmine Hall Dance. Handprint Theatre were commissioned to create a bridging video between terms, to provide members and families with more information about our closure, and our plans going forward. We continued with Moulded Theatre, providing a programme which was again delivered digitally. We hoped in mid-October to re-commence inperson sessions for families but after consultation with other specialists and internal reflection we decided it was not yet safe to do so due to members complex health vulnerabilities. Therefore we engaged Handprint Theatre to deliver online sessions that provided familiarity for members to support engagement at a difficult time. This was followed by an invitation to explore folktales and songs from around the world with Story Builder Paula David. At the end of the financial year we started working with Together!2012 artist Hazel Brill who delivered a multi-sensory series of digital workshops. Families were once again sent physical activity packs to support their engagement with the workshops.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the wonderful videos, sharing craft and fun. My twin boys are huge fans of anything space and Hazel Brill is fantastic! The space helmet project was a great idea, they found it fun and engaging. We also really enjoyed Paula’s stories The Old woman and the Pumpkin was our favourite. We have been to discover many times and your online platform is the next best thing. We love how you are diverse and inclusive. It’s evident that so much work and thought has gone into everything and we really appreciate it.”

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Children’s Forum

It was challenging to engage our Children’s Forum online. However, amongst other remote activities they reviewed The Tale of a Toothbrush – A Story of Plastic in our Oceans by M.G. Leonard, illustrated by Daniel Rieley as part of our regular “Book of the Month” feature. This has proved to be a great way, amongst other things, of promoting books that raise important issues and/or platform under-represented writers and illustrators.

Catching Words

Whilst we completed all books that were created as part of 2019/20 Catching Words, due to restrictions we were not able to deliver year 3 of the project. We were incredibly grateful to Paul Hamlyn for allowing us to move the funding to un-restricted core funding to support organisational viability.

Story Sandwich

Activities for Story Sandwich members, delivered in partnership with the Magpie project which provides support for mothers and children under five in temporary or insecure accommodation in Newham, continued with pre-recorded videos. We also arranged for a large order of picture books, purchased through Newham Bookshop, to be distributed to families via Magpie. When open for 2 months in the autumn we were delighted to welcome back mothers and children into the centre for bespoke sessions and regular play. In February, when our doors were once again closed, two Story Builders delivered a live remote workshop with Story Sandwich families hosted by our partner Magpie Project. The workshop included stories, songs, and some activities for families.

EU Project – Educating Children on Gender Equality ( Ed.G.E )

This was the second year of this project co-developing and implementing an educational methodology based on creative art/cultural practices to enhance education on gender equality. We commissioned a researcher to undertake desk-based research on the State of Art in Gender Equality. The aim was to report on the current situation regarding Gender Equality in the UK. This included looking at previous/recent surveys and research; curricula, action plans and educational policies; initiatives and good practices to inform the development of the project.

Creative Wellbeing Project

We explored possibilities for a new funded project to support pupil wellbeing and mental health as they return to school. We surveyed 16 local teachers to get their thoughts on needs in-school and where arts/culture activities might support in terms of pupil wellbeing and mental health. Recent research from the DfE, NSPCC and other mental health charities also supported our proposal ideas. Funding was secured to enable us to deliver a 10-week workshop series in three schools across Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Hackney in autumn 2021. The project will focus on creativity and children’s mental health in response to the impact of Covid on local schools and the local community .

Teachers Forum

We maintained the Teachers Forum to better engage local teachers in our work and offer direct professional development opportunities to literacy leads and primary educators; members met online four times during the year to discuss project, process and learning practice.

The monthly Education newsletter was established as a useful tool for communicating with schools with over 1500 subscribers and a strong opening rate between 15-20% per newsletter. Additionally, we developed educational activities to go alongside our storytelling videos to be shared with schools.

Events

Over October half-term we showcased recorded events by David Litchfield and A-Line Arts. In February half-term we were delighted to host a recorded event by Alex Willmore, and then one from Joe Coelho and Fiona Lumbers for World Book Day. Exhibitions and Creative Events departments collaborated on a drop in audio and sensory installation for the First Floor Story room, with Kaveh Rahnama commissioned to write the script. This developed into Untold Stories which was finally able to launch when we re-opened in May 2021. During February the BBC World Service hired Discover for two days filming to record an Iranian version of Jackanory. The stories told promoted equality and inclusion and were broadcast to around 50,000 Iranian people living in London.

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Newham Word Festival

We undertook preparation for the third Newham Word Festival – due to be delivered in June 2020 but postponed due to Covid-19. We had programmed an exciting range of national and local authors and illustrators and an increased number of commissions reflecting the variety, breadth, and diversity of Newham communities. However, as planning continued through the year it became clear that flexibility of approach would be required to ensure that regardless of any delay in lifting restrictions there would be a core festival programme.

Therefore working with the same artists and commissions wherever possible, towards the end of 2020/2021 we agreed a programme combining online (primarily pre-recorded but with some live streamed) events, and in person events both outdoors and inside venues. All schools’ sessions were planned to be pre-recorded as we could not guarantee that they would feel ready to attend in person. Similarly several events led by disabled arts organisations, including Together!2012, were scheduled to take place online as they did not feel that their artists or audiences are yet ready to attend in person. The hybrid Festival was successfully delivered in June/July 2021.

2) Reach

Re-focusing activities

With our doors closed, Discover was mindful to offer a carefully curated range of activities to support people. We focused on what we do best, creating playful, intimate, imaginative storytelling events that were delivered online and freely accessible to all on a variety of platforms and suitable for everyday media and technology including phones. The story videos, book recommendations, author events, activities and more that we have shared in 20/21 have seen significant interaction. Across our networks, 20/21’s video content has had over 87,000 views. Our bourgeoning digital offer enabled us to reach families who were not be able to physically visit Discover. During the first three months of 2021 we refined our model to create regular fortnightly stories, premiering at the same time on the same day with scheduled trailers and follow up activities, which led to a significant increase in video views.

In terms of reach there were benefits to the online mode of working. Our membership of Mighty Mega extended to include people who had not previously been able to attend in-person sessions for geographical, timetabling, or other reasons. Whilst it is important to acknowledge in-person sessions allow a depth of engagement, inter-activity and social engagement that is special, the on-line offer is a clearly a highly valuable development. It is therefore being continued in tandem with the much anticipated invitation for members to return to the Discover centre.

During the two months we were open in 2020/21, alongside our general family sessions there were free weekly sessions with Story Sandwich, and a limited number of visits by Mighty Mega members who have free annual passes. We subsidised general ticket entry at £6.50 per person, £5.50 for Newham residents/concessions, with a reduced rate for a group of four, 1- 2’s £2 and 0-1’s free.

Partners

Z Arts were not able to re-open The Tiger Who Came to Tea and the Adventures of Mog the Forgetful Cat during the year but retained the exhibition ready for future visitors. We had helpful conversations sharing planning and approach to navigate this difficult year. They remain valued partners and will be receiving Fairy Tales when it ends its run at Discover.

A close relationship was maintained with Newham Council, primarily as we navigated postponement of and planning for future delivery of the third Newham Word Festival.

We continued to be active in local forums including representation on the board of Stratford B.I.D. (Business Improvement District), attendance at and input into Newham Council’s Community based Covid-19 response. We also contributed to strategic conversations as part of a nation-wide story organisations leadership group. Emerging from an Arts Council Englandled one-off meeting, this group subsequently convened on a regular basis to share re-opening planning and delivery intelligence and experience. A valuable support space was created and again lessons were learnt about the speed and ease of connecting on-line rather than always requiring time-consuming and less environmentally friendly travel to a physical location.

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CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Marketing

The work that was done to improve our marketing structure – particularly our new website, digital reach, booking and CRM system (Spektrix) and family networks stood us in good stead during the last, turbulent year.

Our booking system Spektrix, introduced in September 2019, continued working well and provided us with invaluable data on our customers. Using a web-based booking system was crucial when remotely refunding customers after our closure. Working with our web developers and Spektrix we were able to change to a ‘Session Pass’ model and adjust visitor numbers to good effect.

Our social media following continued to grow steadily – pre-closure our posts from the centre had great reach with lots of active sharing and commenting as well as numerous influencer posts directing new visitors to us throughout the year. During 2020/21 our Facebook following grew by 10% and Instagram grew by 11% with high engagement rates from those followers (likes, shares and video views).

We cross promoted and undertook reciprocal marketing in our newsletter and on social media with peer organisations such as Little Angel, artsdepot, Ministry of Stories, Jackson’s Lane and more. We continued to use Instagram Stories to tell the behind the scenes story of Discover. These more spontaneous posts are popular with our core audience, with several hundred active views for each story – and help bring people into more familiar relationship with our organisation. We also ensure we tag key partners such as publishers, helping to build ongoing relationships by using our content.

Our regular email newsletter is now managed through our booking system and can be easily subscribed to as part of the online, phone or front of house booking process. This has seen a 50% increase in subscribers in the past year, with 13,500 now receiving our fortnightly updates and good rates of click through and booking.

Volunteers

We were not able to work with volunteers over the last year, but we look forward to them once again playing an important role in supporting Discover’s exhibition development, evaluation, events, and programmes in the future.

3) Resilience and Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Discover recognises its responsibility to protect the environment and is continually working to reduce the environmental impact of our work as a venue, in the office, as a landlord and through our external programmes. Our policy aims to maintain an economic working environment that strives to promote energy efficiency, recycling of waste materials and the use of recycled products in the pursuit of creating an economic and environmentally friendly workplace. We also comply with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations, and requirements.

We continue to implement our Environmental Action Plan including changing to a renewable energy supplier, installing more low energy light bulbs, operating light sensors where possible in the building, using recycled materials and recycling elements within capital and exhibition designs, and offering tap water and bottle refills to customers.

Investing in our Building and Resources

To maintain a safe environment, we purchased a substantial amount of equipment for the physical opening of the site including sanitiser & wipe dispensers, toilet door locks to allow single family use and a fogging machine to disinfect hard to wipe areas. We began preparation to develop our Story Garden to offer better access and improved opportunities for outdoor hands-on experiences and learning through play which, as mentioned earlier, was successfully completed to great acclaim in July 2021.

At the beginning of October 2020 our long-term tenant moved out of 379-381 High Street. We retained existing sub-tenants on the ground and second floors. Undertaking a significant amount of work to improve the building, we were pleased to find a tenant for the third floor who moved in at the beginning of June 2021, and to agree terms with the ground floor tenant who will shortly be expanding into the first floor.

11

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Priorities 2021/22

Structure, Governance and Management

Discover is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The Board of Trustees, which is responsible for the direction and management of Discover, is elected by members. Membership of the charity is open to any individual who supports the aims and policies of the company and is approved by the Trustees.

The Board has overall responsibility for the strategic control and direction of Discover with day-to-day management delegated to the Chief Executive. Discover’s Board is elected by members at its AGM. The Board currently meets bi-monthly.

Discover’s Articles of Association state that the Board must consist of between 3-20 Trustees. Current Board membership includes Trustees with skills and experience in development, education including SENCo, finance, fundraising, human resources, law (including property), pr and communications, regeneration, and writing.

New Trustees receive a copy of the Discover Trustee Induction pack which includes information on their legal obligations under charity and company law, information about the charity and a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. They also receive information about the decision-making processes, Board structure, and receive a copy of the Business Plan. During the year the charity provided indemnity insurance for its Trustees.

12

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Discover Management Team
Chief Executive (0.8) Karla Barnacle-Best
Deputy Chief Executive Paul Callaghan
Finance Director (0.6) Mary King
Head of Development (0.8) Kathy Everett
Head of Learning (0.8) Stephanie Bennett
Head of Operations Richard Smith-Gore
Head of Marketing (0.7) Jessica Ziebland
Head of Creative Events (0.6) Natalie Chivers

Discover’s remuneration policy states that key management salaries are determined through consideration of our financial position and constraints as well as testing against the wider market. Salary levels are initially agreed by the Finance Committee, which then makes a recommendation for approval by the Board.

The Board has established a Finance and Personnel Sub-Committee but during 2020/21, because of Covid-19 and the temporary closure of Covid-19, the full Board met monthly to scrutinise and oversee the detailed financing of the charity including management account forecasts, cashflow and reserves position. Since the start of 2021/22 we have reverted to a schedule of six meetings per year. When necessary, the Board also establishes working groups or offers additional support on specific areas, e.g. capital projects, governance, fundraising and website development.

Public Benefit

We have referred to the advice in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. This includes a review of the Commission’s guidance on public benefit and fee charging. Discover relies upon grant income and fees from admissions to cover its operating costs. In setting the level of admission prices, the Trustees consider the accessibility of the Centre to those on low incomes. Admission is heavily subsidised for both schools and family visitors. We seek to provide several free days for local families each year as well as free entry to targeted groups via specific projects and offers.

The Story Centre is used by families and community groups during weekends, school holidays and after school. During termtime, school groups from Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 visit Discover and have structured sessions led by Story Builders, which are designed to support key skills such as language, literacy, creative, social, and personal development. Many of our beneficiaries come from the six east London boroughs which represent some of the most disadvantaged communities in the UK.

Financial Review

In 2020-21 Discover’s total income was £1,589,478 (2019-20: £1,963,931) this represents a 19% reduction from the previous year. The revenue comes from a variety of sources including earned income from admission fees and rental income from sub-letting space. Income also comes from grants, from trusts and foundations and commissions from a variety of sources to deliver specific services. The total expenditure in the year was £1,548,175 (2019-20: £2,035,295). The overall general fund position has increased by £878 with the fund balance at year-end of £461,642 (2019-20: £460,764).

Fundraising

13

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Financial Sustainability

Discover was closed for 10 months of the financial year due to COVID-19. This had a significant impact on our fundraising streams. Whilst we had some major reductions in the usual income streams, we were very successful in obtaining grant income. Total visitor income was £105,980 (2019-20: £924,699). Our earned income for the year was £323,307 (2019-20: £1,408,759). Grant income was £1,233,160 (2019-20: £515,135).

Reserves policy

The Trustees have established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (the free reserves) held by the charity should be at least three months of expenditure. On 31 March 2021 the free reserves of the charity were £461,642 (2019-20: £460,764) representing approximately 90% of our 3 months of expenditure.

Investment Policy

The Trustees have considered the most appropriate policy for investing funds and in the current economic climate they felt it prudent to spread the cash across six savings accounts with different degrees of accessibility to maximise interest.

Risk Management

The Trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

The Trustees view the current risks to be financial, the main risks being:

To mitigate the financial risks, the Board of Trustees reviews cashflow, management account forecasts and income targets at each meeting. A key priority has been set to build up the level of reserves again over the next five years. To mitigate the personnel risks, the Board of Trustees reviews key staffing issues and succession planning.

Accounting Compliance

The Directors confirm that the accounts comply with current statutory requirements and with the requirements of the charity’s governing document.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Discover for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are required to:

14

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time. the financial position of the comp3ny and to enable it to ernsU￿ that the financial Statements comply with the Companles Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the a55ets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the Trustees are aware.. There is no relevant audit inforrnation of which the charitable companvs auditors are unaware. The Trustees have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken to make any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. The Directors have prepared this report in accordance with the special provisions of Part Vll of the Cornpanies Act 2(M)6 relating to small companies. Approved by the Board of Directors on.. Stephen Crampton-Haywèrd Chair 15

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Children’s Discovery Centre East London for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Chair’s Report and the Trustees’ Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

16

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Report (which incorporates the directors’ report).

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 14, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the regulatory requirements of the Charity Commission, and regulations regarding safeguarding, health and safety, and employment law, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, payroll taxes and sales tax.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to the posting of inappropriate journal entries or the manipulation of accounting judgements and estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

17

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Lee Stokes (Senior Statutory Auditor) 10 Queen Street Place For and on behalf of Haysmacintyre LLP, Statutory Auditor London EC4R 1AG

Date: 01 December 2021

18

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Notes
INCOME
Income and endowments from:
Donations and Legacies
Grants Receivable
2
Donations and Gifts
3
Charitable Activities
Operation of Centre and Outreach
4
Other Trading Activities
Contract Income
2
Sponsorship Income
Investments
Rents Receivable
Interest Receivable
Other Income
Total Income
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
Fundraising and Marketing
6
Charitable Activities
Development of the Centre
Operation of the Centre and Outreach
Total Expenditure
7
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfer between funds
16
Net movement in funds
Fund Balances brought forward at 1 April 2020
Fund Balances carried forward at 31 March 2021		 General
Funds
£
516,425
7,442
106,230
-
-
203,577
4,760
20,809
859,243
156,695
82,275
788,751
1,027,721
(168,478)
-
(168,478)
3,851,152
3,682,674		 Restricted
Funds
£
716,735
-
-
13,500
-
-
-
-
730,235
-
-
520,454
520,454
209,781
-
209,781
162,811
372,592		 Total
2021
£
1,233,160
7,442
106,230
13,500
-
203,577
4,760
20,809
1,589,478
156,695
82,275
1,309,205
1,548,175
41,303
-
41,303
4,013,963
4,055,266		 Total
2020
£
515,135
17,651
1,029,824
65,750

30,000
283,185
3,207
19,179
1,963,931
175,994
87,537
1,771,764
2,035,295
(71,364)
-
(71,364)
4,085,327
4,013,963

The notes on pages 22 to 33 form part of these financial statements. Details of comparative figures by fund are given on page 33.

All income and expenditure are derived from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006 and includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

19

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2021

Company Registration No 03479284

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible fixed assets
11
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock
Debtors
12
Cash at bank and in hand
CURRENT LIABILITIES
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due
within one year
13
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL NET ASSETS
Unrestricted
Designated - Building & Strategic Fund
17
General Funds
Restricted Funds
16		 £
£
3,126,032
22,949
114,225
875,583
1,012,757
(83,523)
929,234
4,055,266
3,221,032
461,642
3,682,674
372,592
4,055,266
2021		 £
£
3,365,388
22,949
96,007
744,607
863,563
(214,988)
648,575
4,013,963
3,390,388
460,764
3,851,152
162,811
4,013,963
2020		 £
£
3,365,388
22,949
96,007
744,607
863,563
(214,988)
648,575
4,013,963
3,390,388
460,764
3,851,152
162,811
4,013,963
2020
4,013,963
3,851,152
162,811
4,013,963

The notes form part of these accounts.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on: 1 December 2021 and were signed below on its behalf by:

Martin Clarke Treasurer

20

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the
Statement of Financial Activities
Adjustments for:
Depreciation Charges
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
(Increase)/Decrease in stocks
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
Cash in hand
Total Cash and Cash Equivalents		 2021
£
41,303
259,418
(4,760)
(18,218)
(131,465)
(20,062)
4,760		 2021
£
146,278
(15,302)
130,976
744,607
875,583
2021
£
875,583
875,583		 2020
£
(71,364)
268,360
(3,207)
(1,466)
56,337
107,789
(72,215)
3,207		 2020
£
356,449
(69,008)
287,441
457,166
744,607
2020
£
744,607
744,607

21

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2015) (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019) and the Companies Act 2006.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

1.2 Going Concern

The trustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The review of our financial position, reserves levels and future plans gives trustees confidence the charity remains a going concern for the foreseeable future.

1.3 Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to income, it is probable that income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

1.4 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised in the period in which it is incurred and is allocated to the activities to which it relates. Where necessary a best estimate of allocation between activities is adopted.

The cost of raising funds comprises costs associated with generating funds including the cost of staff directly engaged in fundraising.

Charitable expenditure comprises costs directly attributable to running the Centre’s core charitable function as well as the other programmes run.

Governance costs are those associated with the governance of the charity, compliance with statutory obligations and costs related to the strategic management of the Charity.

Support costs are attributed to each activity and are apportioned on the basis of staff time spent.

1.5 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at 379-381 improvements 15 years Long leasehold improvements - specific offices 20% on cost Long leasehold premises 50 years Exhibits 8 years Furniture, Fittings & Equipment 25% on cost

Assets under the course of construction are not depreciated until the work is completed and the asset brought into use.

1.6 Leasing and hire purchase commitments

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged against income on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

22

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

1.7 Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Stock comprises materials used during workshops and refreshments and souvenirs for resale.

1.8 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

1.9 Cash in bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments.

1.10 Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

1.11 Restricted funds

Restricted funds are funds received subject to specific conditions imposed by the donor.

1.12 Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds are funds which are expendable at the direction of the Trustees.

1.13 Employee benefits

Short term benefits

Short term benefits including holiday pay are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received.

Employee termination benefits

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accrual basis and in line with FRS 102.

1.14 Financial instruments

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors. A specific provision is made for debts for which recoverability is in doubt. Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant access bank accounts and used as working capital. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes and provisions.

1.15 Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the accounting policies, trustees are required to make judgement, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affected current and future periods.

Judgements made by the trustees, in the application of these accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are deemed to be in relation to the depreciation rates of tangible fixed assets and are discussed above.

In the view of the trustees, no assumptions concerning the future or estimation uncertainty affecting assets or liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

23

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

2
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS RECEIVABLE
Analysis by Funder:
Arts Council England
BBC Children in Need
Drapers Charitable Trust
The Edward Gosling Foundation
European Union
Garfield Weston Foundation
The Henry Smith Charity
HMRC
L & Q Place Makers Fund
Leathersellers Company Charitable Fund
London Borough of Newham
London Community Response Fund
Macquarie Foundation
Man Group plc Charitable Trust
National Lottery Community Fund
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
People's Postcode Lottery
Greater London Authority (Royal Docks Team)
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Veolia Trust
Grants
Contracts
Capital
Revenue		 Unrestricted
£
95,597
-
-
-
-
-
-
416,225
-
-
-
-
4,603
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
516,425
516,425
-
516,425
-
516,425
516,425		 Restricted
£
150,000
56,028
10,000
-
-
174,700
75,000
-
-
-
13,500
14,800
-
24,635
119,422
67,650
-
-
24,500
-
730,235
716,735
13,500
730,235
-
730,235
730,235		 2021
Total
£
245,597
56,028
10,000
-
-
174,700
75,000
416,225
-
-
13,500
14,800
4,603
24,635
119,422
67,650
-
-
24,500
-
1,246,660
1,233,160
13,500
1,246,660
-
1,246,660
1,246,660		 2020
Total
£
93,870
49,784
-
5,100
27,557
-
34,100
12,595
38,500
10,000
65,750
-
11,827
24,980
43,022
46,350
12,950
28,000
24,500
52,000
580,885
515,135
65,750
580,885
52,000
528,885
580,885

24

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

2
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS RECEIVABLE
Analysis by Funder:
Arts Council England
BBC Children in Need
The Edward Gosling Foundation
European Union
The Henry Smith Charity
HMRC
L & Q Place Makers Fund
Leathersellers Company Charitable Fund
London Borough of Newham
Macquarie Foundation
Man Group plc Charitable Trust
National Lottery Community Fund
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
People's Postcode Lottery
Greater London Authority (Royal Docks Team)
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Veolia Trust
Grants
Contracts
Capital
Revenue		 Unrestricted
£
93,870
-
-
-
-
12,595
-
10,000
15,750
11,827
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
144,042
128,292
15,750
144,042
-
144,042
144,042		 Restricted
£
-
49,784
5,100
27,557
34,100
-
38,500
-
50,000
-
24,980
43,022
46,350
12,950
28,000
24,500
52,000
436,843
386,843
50,000
436,843
52,000
384,843
436,843		 2020
Total
£
93,870
49,784
5,100
27,557
34,100
12,595
38,500
10,000
65,750
11,827
24,980
43,022
46,350
12,950
28,000
24,500
52,000
580,885
515,135
65,750
580,885
52,000
528,885
580,885

3 DONATIONS AND GIFTS

DONATIONS AND GIFTS
Donations
Donations in Kind
Gift Aid		 2021
Total
£
5,388
-
2,054
7,442		 2020
Total
£
10,004
2,250
5,397
17,651

All donations and gifts were unrestricted.

25

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

4 OPERATION OF CENTRE AND OUTREACH

Family admissions
School admissions
Shop and café income
Birthday party lettings
Hire of space
Community income
Education and participation commissions		 Unrestricted
£
94,274
385
12,289
(1,375)
407
-
250
106,230		 Restricted
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2021
Total
£
94,274
385
12,289
(1,375)
407
-
250
106,230		 2020
Total
£
619,392
70,664
234,643
27,680
17,804
33,877
25,764
1,029,824

The expenditure on operation of centre and outreach in 2020 was unrestricted.

5 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

ET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
2021 2020
The result for the year is stated after charging: Total Total
Auditor's remuneration £ £
- Statutory Audit 9,250 9,250
- Other audit services - 5,025
Depreciation 259,418 268,360

6 FUNDRAISING AND MARKETING

NDRAISING AND MARKETING
Direct Costs
Salaries
Governance Costs
Support Costs
Direct Costs
Salaries
Governance Costs
Support Costs		 Fundraising
£
419
40,677
1,576
20,939		 Marketing
£
10,675
53,224
1,786
27,399
93,084
Marketing
£
28,433
52,652
1,968
22,889
105,942		 2021
Total
£
11,094
93,901
3,362
48,338
156,695
2020
Total
£
29,127
98,654
3,818
44,395
175,994		 2020
Total
£
29,127
98,654
3,818
44,395
63,611
Fundraising
£
694
46,002
1,850
21,506
70,052		 175,994

Fundraising is mainly from Trusts and Foundations. Discover does not undertake street collections or cold calling.

26

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

7 EXPENDITURE

Direct Costs
Direct Project Costs
Capital Development
Salaries
Support Costs
Governance Costs
Staff costs
Audit
Other Support Costs
Bank Charges
Depreciation
Insurance
Office Costs
Printing & Postage
Professional Fees
Stationery
Telephone
Direct Costs
Direct Project Costs
Capital Development
Temp/Consultancy Costs
Salaries
Support Costs
Governance Costs
Staff costs
Audit
Other Support Costs
Bank Charges
Depreciation
Insurance
Office Costs
Printing & Postage
Professional Fees
Stationery
Telephone		 Fundraising
& Marketing
£
11,094
-
93,901
2,335
1,027
-
114
25,739
1,083
19,493
111
1,108
79
611
156,695
166,458
Fundraising
& Marketing
£
29,127
-
-
98,654
2,334
1,484
161
22,482
855
18,671
237
1,358
83
548
175,994		 Development
of Centre
£
111
-
52,884
1,479
578
-
64
14,496
610
10,978
62
624
45
344
82,275
88,659
Development
of Centre
£
331
439
-
56,214
1,479
941
102
14,247
542
11,833
150
860
52
347
87,537		 Operations
£
51,741
-
667,026
19,874
7,292
-
811
182,843
7,692
138,470
784
7,874
564
4,338
1,089,309
1,321,882
Operations
£
339,247
-
-
715,172
19,874
12,640
1,373
191,399
7,278
158,962
2,020
11,560
705
4,667
1,464,897		 Outreach
£
13,453
-
132,570
4,178
1,449
-
161
36,340
1,529
27,521
156
1,565
112
862
219,896
334,016
Outreach
£
69,089
-
-
151,492
4,178
2,657
289
40,233
1,530
33,415
425
2,430
148
981
306,867		 Total
2021
£
76,399
-
946,381
27,866
10,346
1,150
259,418
10,914
196,462
1,113
11,171
800
6,155
1,548,175
1,911,018
Total
2020
£
437,794
439
-
1,021,532
27,865
17,722
1,925
268,361
10,205
222,881
2,832
16,208
988
6,543
2,035,295		 Total
2020
£
437,794
439
1,021,532
27,865
17,722
1,925
268,361
10,205
222,881
2,832
16,208
988
6,543
2,035,295

27

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

8 EMPLOYEES

The average number of employees during the year was as follows:

Number of Employees
Direct Charitable Expenditure
Fundraising and Publicity & Marketing
Staff Costs
Wages and Salaries
Social Security Costs
Pension Costs
Senior Management Team salaries totalled
Senior Management Team is composed of the following number of posts:
Chief Executive Officer
Deputy Chief Executive
Finance Director
Head of Development
Head of Learning
Head of Operations
Head of Marketing
Head of Creative Events		 2021
49
5
54
2021
£
884,221
55,313
34,713
974,247
2021
£
301,310
2021
0.8
1.0
0.6
0.8
0.8
1.0
0.7
0.6		 2020
58
5
63
2020
£
946,125
67,628
35,644
1,049,397
2020
£
321,954
2020
0.8
1.0
0.6
0.8
0.8
1.0
0.7
0.6

There were no employees whose annual emoluments were £60,000 or more (2020: nil). There were no settlements or compromise agreements during the year (2020: nil).

9 TRUSTEES

Vaseem Khan was paid £725 for services for Newham Word Festival (2020: nil).

No other Trustees received any remuneration from the charity in the year (2020: nil). No Travel and other expenses were reimbursed to any other Trustees during the year (2020: nil).

10 RELATED PARTIES

Vaseem Khan, Trustee, received £725 for services for Newham Word Festival. (2020: nil).

28

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

11 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2020
Additions
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Charge in Year
At 31 March 2021
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020		 Discover
Discover
House
Story Centre
£
£
985,000
4,426,443
18,704
-
1,003,704
4,426,443
560,256
1,751,528
15,539
181,503
575,795
1,933,031
427,909
2,493,412
424,744
2,674,915
Leasehold Premises		 Exhibition
£
403,632
-
403,632
169,186
50,454
219,640
183,992
234,446		 Furniture,
Fittings &
Equipment
£
204,638
1,358
205,996
173,355
11,922
185,277
20,719
31,283		 Total
£
6,019,713
20,062
6,039,775
2,654,325
259,418
2,913,743
3,126,032
3,365,388

Net book value at 31 March 2021 represents fixed assets used for:

Leasehold Premises
Discover Discover Computer
House Story Centre Exhibition Equipment Total
£ £ £ £ £
Direct charitable purposes
Operation of the Centre - 2,493,412 183,992 20,719 2,698,123
Leased Property 427,909 - - - 427,909

The Sub-leased building represents expenditure on 379/381 High Street, Stratford which is a property subleased to Skills for Growth/Landmark on a 10 year lease from Oct 2015. The building improvements specifically for the tenant are being depreciated over the period of the lease.

The Sub-leased building was revalued at 11 October 2006 by Glenny LLP, Chartered Surveyors, on the basis of open market value at £985,000. This resulted in an unrealised impairment loss of £289,135 which was accounted for in the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2006. The Trustees do not believe that there has been a further permanent diminution in value since 11 October 2006.

29

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

12 DEBTORS

Trade debtors
Rent
Prepayments and accrued income
CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year
Taxes and social security costs
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2021
£
32,881
-
81,344
114,225
2021
£
20,575
51,848
11,100
83,523		 2020
£
33,723
7,311
54,973
96,007
2020
£
38,034
85,526
91,428
214,988

13 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year

14 DEFERRED INCOME

Total deferred income at 1 April 2020
Amounts realised in the year
Deferred income in the year
Total Deferred Income at 31 March 2021		 2021
£
62,449
(62,449)
-
-		 2020
£
22,343
(22,343)
62,449
62,449

15 SHARE CAPITAL

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have any share capital. Each member guarantees up to £5 payable in the event of a winding up under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

30

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

16 RESTRICTED FUNDS

RESTRICTED FUNDS
Capital Garden Project
Community Projects
Phase 2 Capital Project
Capital Garden Project
Community Projects		 Balance at
1 Apr 2020
£
52,000
110,811
162,811
Balance at
31 Mar 2019
£
16,063
-
101,892
117,955		 Income
£
-
730,235
730,235
Income
£
-
52,000
384,843
436,843		 Expenditure
£
-
(520,454)
(520,454)
Expenditure
£
(439)
-
(375,924)
(376,363)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
Transfers
£
(15,624)
-
-
(15,624)		 Balance at
31 Mar 2021
£
52,000
320,592
372,592
Balance at
31 Mar 2020
£
-
52,000
110,811
162,811

The Phase 2 Capital project represents improvements to the Story World. The transfer of funds represents unrestricted funds spent on capital expenditure.

The Capital Garden Project represents improvements to the Story Garden.

Community Projects represents income and expenditure in relation to promoting the objectives of the charity in the local area.

17 DESIGNATED FUNDS

DESIGNATED FUNDS
Strategic Fund
Building Fund
Strategic Fund
Building Fund		 Balance at
1 Apr 2020
£
25,000
3,365,388
3,390,388
Balance at
31 Mar 2019
£
92,607
3,561,533
3,654,140		 New
Designations
£
95,000
20,062
115,062
New
Designations
£
-
72,215
72,215		 Expenditure
£
(32,486)
(259,418)
(291,904)
Expenditure
£
(17,685)
(268,360)
(286,045)		 Transfers
£
7,486
-
7,486
Transfers
£
(49,922)
-
(49,922)		 Balance at
31 Mar 2021
£
95,000
3,126,032
3,221,032
Balance at
31 Mar 2020
£
25,000
3,365,388
3,390,388

The Strategic Fund is for essential maintenance and repairs of the building and garden. The Building Fund represents the net book value of the tangible fixed assets held at 31 March 2021.

31

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

18 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS
Fund balances at 31 March 2021 are represented by:
Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Fund balances at 31 March 2020 are represented by:
Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
545,165
(83,523)
461,642
321,218
Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
675,752
(214,988)
460,764		 Designated
Funds
£
3,126,032
95,000
-
3,221,032
3,756,734
Designated
Funds
£
3,365,388
25,000
-
3,390,388		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
372,592
-
372,592
117,955
Restricted
Funds
£
-
162,811
-
162,811		 Total
Funds
£
3,126,032
1,012,757
(83,523)
4,055,266
4,093,313
Total
Funds
£
3,365,388
863,563
(214,988)
4,013,963

32

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020

INCOME
Income and endowments from:
Donations and Legacies
Grants Receivable
Donations and Gifts
Charitable Activities
Operation of Centre and Outreach
Other Trading Activities
Contract Income
Sponsorship Income
Investments
Rents Receivable
Interest Receivable
Other Income
Total Income
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds
Fundraising and Marketing
Charitable Activities
Development of the Centre
Operation of the Centre and Outreach
Total Expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfer between funds
Net movement in funds
Fund Balances brought forward at 1 April 2019
Fund Balances carried forward at 31 March 2020		 General
Funds
£
128,292
17,651
1,029,824
15,750
30,000
283,185
3,207
19,179
1,527,088
175,994
87,098
1,395,840
1,658,932
(131,844)
15,624
(116,220)
3,967,372
3,851,152		 Restricted
Funds
£
386,843
-
-
50,000
-
-
-
-
436,843
-
439
375,924
376,363
60,480
(15,624)
44,856
117,955
162,811		 Total
2020
£
515,135
17,651
1,029,824
65,750
30,000
283,185
3,207
19,179
1,963,931
175,994
87,537
1,771,764
2,035,295
(71,364)
-
(71,364)
4,085,327
4,013,963

33