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2023-03-31-accounts

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Parent Workshop
Helping Children Manage Worries and Anxiety - FREE 7 week programme each
Wednesday 10:30-12
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At Fellowship House, Congleton, CW12 1DP
Book now by emailing FamiliesandCommunitiesTeam@Visyon.org.uk or call 01260 290000
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Annual Review and Accounts 2022/23

Registered Charity Number 1107951 Registered company number 5250758

Contents...

  1. Chair’s Review

  2. CEO’s Review

  3. Therapy Team Update

  4. Wellbeing Update

  5. Family & Community Update

  6. Volunteers

  7. Fundraising Highlights

Welcome...

Welcome to our 2022/23 annual review and accounts. This review highlights the challenges that continue to be faced by young people in our community and the excellent, innovative work done to support them and their families. We hope you enjoy reading about our year.

  1. President’s Review

  2. Report of Trustees

  3. Financial Review

  4. Auditors Report

  5. Statement of Financial Activities

Our Charity Visyon is a charity that supports the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children, young people and their families across Cheshire East.

Visit www.visyon.org.uk, or call 01260 290000, to learn more about how our charity supports children, young people and their families with mental health & emotional wellbeing across Cheshire East. Contact us..

fundraising@visyon.org.uk administration@visyon.org.uk accounts@visyon.org.uk

Chair's Report by Andrew Brabban...

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The last year has, in general, been a stable and successful one for Visyon. It has been a relief to not have to manage the direct impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, although we continue to see its impact alongside the cost-of-living crisis.

Financially, as you can see from this annual report, we have had a positive year returning a welcome surplus after last year’s deficit. In the current financial climate our expenses increased from last year as they have for most of us. However, thanks to the fantastic efforts of our Fundraising Team we managed to raise income more than our costs. The team have been diligent and innovative in finding ways for us to raise funds to continue our work. In particular, I would like to highlight the ‘Challenge Events’ this year which raised over £25k through the generous efforts of our supporters who took on challenges and raised sponsorship by skydiving, running, walking and cycling for our benefit – our sincere thanks to everyone.

volunteer and work with Visyon in the future. The pandemic broke the rhythm of these placements, it will take some time for this to re-establish and work through and so we felt the impact last year.

The trend of increasing complexity of the cases presented continues. Last year the average number of Causes for Concern per month was up 36%; this is not a one-off, the previous two years rose 39% and 30%. As a community we need to be worried about the cost-of-living crisis adding unsustainable stress to families, society, schools and other institutions not yet recovered from the impact of the pandemic.

As always, I express my personal thanks to the members of our board of Trustees who are volunteers and give their time to provide diligent governance of Visyon and make their skills and expertise available to support the Senior Leadership Team. In September last year, we were very pleased to have Barry Brennan join the Board, Barry

From an operational perspective, we benefited last year from our efforts the previous year to put in place stronger management of our waiting lists and open communication with our commissioners. As a result, I am pleased to report waiting lists have been kept under good control and we saw virtually all children and young people within our target timescales despite some challenges with staff vacancies. Historically, Visyon has taken on placement counsellors, this brings new people in every year to support the counselling services delivery and often these people go on to

Chair's Report continued...

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brings experience of financial services and organisational governance and made an immediate contribution joining our Financial Sustainability Group. In February this year, Andrew Leahy left the Board after 7 years as a member, Visyon were privileged to have the benefit of Andrew’s clinical knowledge and his support has been very much appreciated.

Finally, can I thank everyone who contributes to Visyon: the staff, the leadership team, the volunteers, the fundraisers, the children and young people and those who share what we do with those who might need our help. Visyon would not be what it is without your contributions. We look forward to another year supporting the emotional health of children, young people and their families.

Feedback from Parent Workshops...

Nice to know the next steps of support

Helped me understand anxiety

CEO's Report by Theresa Pass...

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As we approach another year here at Visyon it is always with great pride that we look back at what has been achieved.

2022/23 saw another year of challenges for our clients and we continue to see an increase in the number of young people accessing our specialist services. As their presenting issues become more complex the Visyon team remains dedicated to enhancing their expertise, capabilities, and experience to offer the high quality specialist support needed.

Visyon is committed to prioritising prevention and early intervention programmes as the most effective way of addressing young people’s mental health long term. By providing young people and the community around them with knowledge, tools and access to specialist services we can prevent the exacerbation of mental health problems, reducing the need for more intensive and costly treatments later in life. Visyon continues to build programmes around the prevention/early intervention approach; working in partnership with schools, commissioners and the wider community to focus on programmes that build resilience in young people and offer learning opportunities to help our local communities understand the impact of mental health and the importance of emotional wellbeing for young people in developing strategies to manage their own mental health over time.

I want to acknowledge the dedication of the Visyon team and thank them for their commitment to providing high quality interventions for young people. Our team continue to listen to young people and families and look at more creative ways to engage and share their wealth of knowledge and expertise through: webinars, social media platforms, self-care kits, therapeutic stories, school-based art projects, workshops and collaborations with schools.

I would also like to extend a heart-felt thank you to the amazing Visyon supporters from across our community, and the Trusts and Foundations who have listened to the sector and recognise the challenges we are collectively facing. The move by some funders to extend funding to multi-year and unrestricted terms has demonstrated an understanding of the challenges of the sector that stems from truly working in partnership.

CEO's Report continued...

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As we move into 2023/24 we will be embarking on a new strategic journey to accommodate the changing environment children and young people find themselves in. We continue to embrace the lived voice from our experts by experience to shape our services, with their feedback being incorporated into the new five year strategy.

Our new Fundraising Team is working with local supporters and businesses to offer new and creative ways to increase their social impact by ensuring the young people of the region, who are also the future workforce of the region and the next generation of parents, build resilience across the community and help to create safe spaces for all of our young people.

Experts by Experience...

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The lived voice of children and young people, who have first-hand experience of Visyon’s services, are our experts by experience.

Below are the main feedback themes from our 2022/23 client feedback survey. These were incorporated into the new five year strategy and will continue to guide us and shape Visyon services.

Helped me

‘Our Visyon’, our young people’s group, has continued to be the lived voice of the charity. Over the year they have been involved in staff recruitment panels, attended events and have co-delivered our peer support training in schools.

Helped me understand how I think/feel

Initial Contact Team Update...

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The Initial Contact Team are the first point of contact for parents, children and young people accessing Visyon’s services. The team take pride in offering a listening ear to those who contact Visyon looking for support. We understand it can be a daunting experience looking for guidance with mental health so they ensure our community feel heard and supported when contacting Visyon.

Through 2022/23 the Initial Contact Team...

supported 1,104 parents and young people

took 671 referrals raised 405 concerns to the safeguarding team

The team have continued to experience an increase in referrals from 11-14 year olds, since COVID-19, with parents calling in distress whilst their child is in crisis.

Throughout the last year, the team has witnessed an increased number of people contacting Visyon looking for information

and guidance not offered as a service here at Visyon. This has created a greater need for signposting on to other support services that are available outside of Visyon’s remit or geographical area.

This signposting has included...

The initial contact team started to record incoming signposting enquires from November 2022 - March 2023 and recorded 16 hours providing signposting to 93 people.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to help me, I just didn't know where to turn.”

“It all makes sense now, thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

Therapeutic Team Update...

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The Therapeutic Team have had a busy year; even with COVID now being in the background, young people continue to need our support. The team have witnessed a rise in the number of risk concerns following the impact of the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis. Cases of self-harm and thoughts of suicide are presenting at an earlier age than we have seen historically. Our Safeguarding Team continue to ensure that each case is looked at individually and dealt with thoughtfully and professionally. They have liaised closely with other agencies to support with this and to gain a better understanding of the risks our children and young people were presenting with. As a result we have redesigned the way we record our risk concerns. The team plan to use the insight built over the next financial year to develop our services to meet the changing needs of children, young people and their families.

During 2022/23, on average, 66% of children and young people who attended an Open Access or Assessment appointment had a cause for concern linked to them. This was an increase from 53% in 2021-22. In light of the increase in the risk we have seen, we completed a review and redesign of our Open Access process to develop a more in-depth Assessment for those young people presenting with a risk concern at the point of referral. This has allowed us to monitor safety and risk very closely as soon

as children and young people contact Visyon. It has also allowed us to gather information to build a better referral onto partner services, if signposting is needed at this point.

'The Visyon team continue to develop their specialist skills to provide effective support solutions and this years training has included: visits from organisations sharing what they do around bullying, bereavement and hate crime, training from guests focusing on Gaming Addiction and the Chimp Paradox Model. Five team members completed ‘World Awareness for Children In Trauma’ training and our annual safeguarding training focused on ‘Harmful Sexualised Behaviour’.

Corporate volunteers have also renovated the old music and art therapy room in the Congleton base. An additional counselling room is now available for our volunteer and placement counsellors and there is a great space to accommodate our wellbeing group sessions.

vis EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE Year to date total April 2022 - March 2023 Knulsford 13 1664 13 Wilmslow children and young people offered Macclesfield 100 88 sessions across Cheshire East. s Chapel 136 Congleton 20 S59 iddfewich andbach 65 Alsager 317 97 303 Crewe Other 41 Nantwich Young people's top presenting issues this month... Anxiety Mental health children andyoung people offered support by our charity in 2 Self-esteem Family School Relationships 88 Safeguarding concerns raised in March 2023 914 Safeguarding concerns raised to date 131 Young people attended groups in March 2023 813 Young people attended groups to date 75 Parent sessions offered in March 2023 527 Parent sessions offered to date

Emily's Story Sharing your storyof IK)w you overcame your challenges, with Ihe suppon of Visyon, will become someone else's inspiration to make a positive change and highlight the support we offer. It will demonstrate the impact of donations on the lives of children, young people and their families and encourage further support for our charity. If you have a story please email fundraising@visyon.org.uk and share your own Visyonjourney with us. Emily's story will resonate with many young people, parents and teachers as the number of children and young people being recorded as'persistently absent. from school has increased following the pandemic. They are missing more than 10% of their sessions, according to Government data, this equated to 23.5% of students in Autumn 2021. 'Emily was able to identify ways to support herself through her more anxious days and was able to adapt the coping strategies we discussed to best suit her. By the end of her 6 counsellSng sessions she was able to reflect on events in her life where she had struggled and to express how she had either helped herself, asked for support or could make a change to make the situation feel easier for her., It was at this point 15 year old Emily spoke to her parents about her slruggles and together they went to speak to her school. 'Golng to school and trying io stay in lessons was difficult, so I was missing out on things that I needed to know.. Emily s counsellor- Georgina 'When we spoke to my teacher they suggested I went to see my doclor and they told us about Visyon. My Dad rang to speak io Visyon and I was offered an appointment the following week where I told the lady about my ongoing struggles with social anxiety and my regular panic attacks.. .1 achieved my goal of wanting to feel more confident going out with friends., '1 was struggllng to do thlngs wlth my family and any changes to plans made it difficult for me to cope.. '1 attended some anxiety workshops and met other young people like me. it helped me to learn ways to help myself when I was feeling anxious. I was also offered some counselling appointments where I could talk more personally about my anxiety and panic attacks., 'Sometlmes I sald thlngs that I dldn't even reallse I was thinking., 'My Mum and Dad were offered the chance to attend parent workshops al Visyon too. They got links to Visyon webinars so they were able to understand my anxiety and how to support me in the best way possible.. Yo wole¢t th• id￿rthY has klndty Emlty and

Wellbeing Update...

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The Wellbeing Team has continued to offer a flexible model of support to young people including both one to one sessions and groupwork. Our aims are to help them feel less alone with their difficulties, recognise their existing strengths and learn new skills to better manage their mental health.

In April 2022 we introduced ‘Practical Strategies’ sessions whereby young people can have up to 4 individual sessions with a Wellbeing Practitioner offering targeted, practical support. This is proving beneficial to young people in 4 different ways...

On average young people accessing mentoring have increased their self rated Outcome Scores from 1.8 to 6 (out of 10 where 1 is not at all and 10 is achieving this all the time). Typical outcomes that Young People have set for themselves include “I want to be able to manage how I am feeling”, and “I want to like who I am”.

The most common referrals for mentoring were around anxiety, low mood and school based difficulties, often due to their neurodiversity.

While we still have a library of recorded webinars available online we have seen less demand, so we are delivering more inperson workshops. To date we have offered these in a variety of settings including schools, Scouts and Guides groups meaning they are reaching a much wider section of the community and fulfilling our aim of offering preventative based support to build resilience in the community.

A range of creative groups were offered including...

‘

Family and Community Update...

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The Families and Communities Team have continued their journey of equipping the significant people in children and young people lives with the appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills to support mental health. Our team, parents, carers, teachers and pastoral staff have united and been proactive in taking a solution based preventative approach to children’s mental health and wellbeing.

Our Family Wellbeing one to one support service offered to the Holmes Chapel Primary Schools, and others more widely across Cheshire East, has continued to provide guidance and support for parents. This service helps the parent recognise their strengths and build their own resilience to positively impact the support they are providing for their children and young people.

During 2022/23 they have participated in the Local Authority Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Family Hubs Transformation Project and worked with our community partners to identify the needs of children and their families in Cheshire East.

Alongside this the Families and

Communities Team offer our Parent Open Access sessions and by continuing to work collaboratively with our Counselling Team colleagues, they have been able to provide a holistic approach for our parents from an early stage, when they need it the most.

The Families and Communities Team have worked closely with the Wellbeing Team to continue to identify the needs within the local community and consolidate and align the service offer of both teams. Children and young people remain at the centre of what the team do when they look to offer holistic and appropriate support.

They have been successful in establishing strong working relationships within Cheshire East, within the school and social care communities, enabling them to hold our Parent Carer Workshops at various venues across Cheshire East. Our reach to those families that are unable to attend the Visyon base, due to personal or work commitments, has increased and enabled us to target our most vulnerable, hard to reach families.

MOll￿S Story Sharing your storyof IK)w you overcame your challenges, with Ihe suppon of Visyon, will become someone else's inspiration to make a positive change and highlight the support we offer. It will demonstrate the impact of donations on the lives of children, young people and their families and encourage further support for our charity. If you have a story please email fundraising@visyon.org.uk and share your own Visyonjourney with us. Molly's story has become increasingly common, with aro(Jnd one in four 16 to 24 year olds self- harming at some point (NICE 2023) Early intervention support, such as that offered here at Visyon. can support a young person to find alternative coping strategies. Yi8yon gave Molly a confidentlal Space to explor• her relatlonshlps and the cholces avallable to her In how sh• reacted and responded In $ltuation$ of conflicL Her past was explor￿ by complellng a tlmellne of r Ilf•, thls enabled her to See how many past events she was stlll holdlng on to due to feellngs of embarrassment and regret., 'My mum contacted my school about counselling support due to me feeling angry, stressed and my recent self-harming. which I'd been doing for around 12 months.. '1 was lucky to have Jo. from Visyon. working in my school and I was referred for 6 sessions of counselling where I was assessed and we completed a Safety Plan together., Molly's counsellor- Jo .1 felt that self-harming provided me wlth distraction, by feeling physical pain I thought it helped me gain some conlrol.. '1 was given details of other distractions that may help me when having thoughls of self-harm and Jo helped me explore my anger by completing worksheets. I gained more self-awareness and an understanding of my triggefs and ways to calm myself down before I felt overwhelmed., 'I'd get angry and stressed by other people, how they acted and what they said, this would lead to arguments and fall outs with my family and friends. 'During my sessions Jo helped me recognise helpful distractions such as drawing. I have now stopped self-harming I have been able to gain more control of my life in different ways by the choices l am making. I feel able to cope more and feel less stressed., T7)_ , .1 have been able to let go of the past and I'm able to look forward to future plans like college!, T• • slor*

Volunteers...

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Our Fundraising Team made it their mission in 2022/23 to get the Visyon brand out and about across Cheshire East. As a team of two they couldn’t possibly have achieved this without the support of many volunteers. Thank you to the volunteers below for their time during the year collecting donations, selling tickets at our popular Sweet Treats Tombola and cheering on our amazing challenge event supporters...

A special thank you goes to Jenna

Mulroney, since the amazing mural project Jenna has continued to share her creative talents with Visyon as a volunteer at various fundraising stands across our region. From pebble painting to pumpkin painting she has been incredible at them all.

During the year Visyon has been fortunate enough to have volunteers join us from Siemens in Congleton. Whilst companies can support Visyon with donations and their employees volunteering, our charity helps them achieve their objectives such as boosting staff moral, increasing their positive brand identity and providing PR opportunities.

In 2022/23 our event and corporate volunteers gave 230 hours of support.

Within the Therapeutic Team volunteers directly provide support to young people and families, supporting their mental and emotional health through one-to-one counselling and parent workshops.

In 2022/23 our service volunteers offered

A big thank you to all our volunteers for their time and the difference they make to young people and their families.

Fundraising Highlights...

A new Fundraising Team was in place for 2022/23 with a focus on rebuilding the community connections, identifying new sources of funding and diversifying our funding streams. Businesses, groups and individuals within our community raised money through choosing Visyon as their charity partner, taking on a challenge event or hosting their own fundraising activity. We’re very grateful to each and every single supporter that has helped to make a difference to young people’s mental health.

Team Visyon

We saw the creation of ‘Team Visyon’ who took on some incredible challenge events throughout the year.

Our first skydive day was a huge highlight. A team of four completed the highest skydive in the UK at 15,000ft! Thank you to Georgina, Amy, Ash and Ethan for raising an amazing £3,728 in sponsorship.

Visyon had the pleasure of being Sandbach Striders charity partner for the 2022 Sandbach 10k, they donated a huge £2,500. This was topped up by youngster, Euan Mitchell, taking on the 2k Fun Run and raising a wonderful £222 in sponsorship. All this was thanks to Karen Wright for nominating us to be the clubs charity of the year. Karen also ran the London Marathon in October 2022 raising a further £525.

One of Visyon's trustees, Adi Dean, took on a 2 week cycling challenge, riding from Lands' End to John O'Groats and raising £1,595 in the process.

Local business owner, Dermott Hughes, of West End Agri, secretly trained for the London Marathon early each morning and surprised family and friends by completed the London Marathon back in March raising £2,630.

Our local supporters...Fundraising Highlights continued...

Company donations

We are fortunate to have some generous businesses in our region who simply like to make a donation, thank you to the following.

Property developer Chancerygate and contractor Triton Construction who made a £2,000 donation. The two companies worked together to deliver the Norse Trade Park on Viking Way in Congleton.

West End Agri also made a generous £3,000 donation at Christmas as part of their continued annual support for Visyon.

Last but not least is Kanga Health, long term supporters, who donate to Visyon every month, this helps us to plan knowing we have a stream of sustainable income to make a difference to our young people.

Our Community Supporters

Volunteers ventured out on a cold December night collecting £327.61 from generous residents across the Bromley Estate in Congleton. Volunteers from Kings School also accompanied Santa and nominated Visyon to receive their £598.51.

Dream Beams complete the National 3 Peaks Challenge. This group of incredible young people, led by Jemima, Annabelle and Katie, took on the challenge of hiking 26 miles, over the 3 highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales, all within 24 hours. Their achievement's didn't stop there - they also raised a fabulous £20,273.60! Young people supporting young people makes us super proud, thank you to all the team for helping Visyon be here for more young people.

Sponsors Needed!

Would your group or company like to sponsor our next newsletter, a fundraising campaign or one of our young person's counselling rooms? Various packages are available, please call Linda on 07377 353 790 to learn more.

President, Brian Davey’s Reflections...

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As Visyon prepares for its 30th year in 2024 we have been reflecting on the changes we’ve seen over this time.

I’m privileged to say I have been part of Visyon since it was formed in October 1994 by my late friend Elizabeth Pugh, and her then husband Richard Forester, who were the parents of 16-year-old Lucy, who sadly took her own life.

A small group of incredibly supportive community members agreed that there needed to be appropriate support for young people struggling with their mental health. At the time, mental health was a fairly taboo topic for young people and adults, yet research showed that there were high rates of young people under 25 in the UK taking and attempting to take their own life. At that time, we knew of only 3 other independent agencies offering support to young people in the whole of the country.

The group contacted the 3 Congleton High Schools and distributed a questionnaire to pupils and staff. The overall response was that young people would welcome a place to contact when life became too difficult. The founders worked tirelessly to secure funding to make this a reality and the first donation of £500 was given by East Cheshire Trust. It was estimated that the charity would cost £43,000 a year to run.

In 1996, Visyon made a successful application for charitable status and appointed the first BACP qualified volunteer counsellor who began work in one of the local high schools following the death of one of their pupils. In September 1997 the

doors opened to the first Visyon base in Congleton, offering drop in sessions twice a week. These were provided by volunteer youth workers and the volunteer counsellor. Around 30 young people were seen during this year and a weekly counselling service began in one of the local high schools.

In 1998, Visyon was awarded its first 3 year grant of £75,000 from South Cheshire Health Authority allowing us to take on the first paid Therapy Services Manager and make the volunteer counsellor a paid post. Drop-in sessions increased and 80 young people were given counselling sessions and 149 the following year. Visyon secured their first multi-year funding from the National Lottery in 2000 and 637 hours of direct counselling were recorded and 179 young people were seen.

Visyon has gone from strength to strength, having a positive impact in changing the lives and futures of so many. May the support of our community allow this to continue for many more years to come.

About Visyon...

Visyon promotes and improves the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people and their families through the provision of a range of services, including individual therapy, group work, mentoring, creative activities and support for parents and families. Visyon is based in Congleton, Cheshire and delivers services to children and young people in Cheshire. Visyon was established in 1994 by a group of volunteers whose experiences identified the need for a community based, flexible and easily accessible service for young people and families experiencing emotional distress and in need of support. In 2004 Visyon became a charitable company limited by guarantee.

Objects of the Charity...

The objects of the charity are:

Visyon Descriptor...

Visyon is a safe place you can come when you need help. We are really good at helping children and young people work out what is troubling them and what they can do about it. Whether you are confused, upset, worried, feeling hurt or angry about anything, there is somebody at Visyon who will listen and help you decide what you want to do next.

Governance of the Charity...

Governance, Organisation and Administration

Visyon is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It is governed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 5 October 2004 and amended on 25 March 2010. Visyon is registered with the Charity Commission and Companies House. Anyone over the age of 18 years can become a member of the charity. At 31 March 2023 there were 39 members.

The administration is carried out by the directors who together are known as the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has delegated the day to day running of the organisation to the Chief Executive Officer, who reports into the Board on a quarterly cycle.

Role of the Board of Trustees...

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the charity. The Board's duties are to:

Sub-group Structure...

Three sub-groups have been appointed with delegated responsibility for scrutiny in three areas:

Each group is chaired by a Trustee and is attended by a further Trustee, the CEO and relevant members of the management team.

Recruitment, Selection and Training of the Board of Trustees..

The Trustees are elected by the members, the number being decided at the Annual General Meeting. The Trustees have the power to co-opt up to 7 further Trustees. When co-opting Trustees, the Board has regard to the requirement for any specialist skills. Trustee application and induction processes have been established, through which training requirements are identified and addressed. In addition, training opportunities are taken up when offered by third parties.

The balance of Trustees' skills and experience has been reviewed on an ongoing basis during 2022/23 and the Board is satisfied that it has an optimum broad range of skills. Trustees have experience that covers the following areas:

Structure of Board of Trustees...

Board meetings are held quarterly.

Sub-groups meet on a bi-weekly and monthly basis and have delegated responsibilities as outlined in the sub-group Terms of Reference.

Attendance of Trustees at Meetings of the Board..

Trustees are required to attend formal meetings regularly and not to miss more than three meetings in succession. During 2022/23 the Trustees attendance was as follows:

2022/23 Dates of Meetings Dates of Meetings Dates of Meetings Dates of Meetings
16.05.2022 22.08.2022 21.11.2022 20.02.2023 Total
attendance
Andrew Brabban No Yes Yes Yes 3/4
Andrew Leahy No Yes Yes - 2/3
Adrian Dean Yes Yes Yes Yes 4/4
Avarni Jagpal No Yes Yes Yes 3/4
David Parkinson No Yes Yes Yes 3/4
Jonathan Clay Yes Yes Yes Yes 4/4
Helen Butters Yes Yes Yes Yes 4/4
Robert Morton Yes - - - 1/1
Barry Brennan - - No Yes 1/2
Sharon Conlon Yes Yes No Yes 3/4

President...

The Board appointed Brian Davey as the new president of Visyon Limited on 14th September 2020, following the untimely death of Visyon's President, our founder, Elizabeth Pugh. in January 2020. Brian has been involved with Visyon from the beginning and previously served as Chair of the Board.

Risk Management..

The organisation has Strategic and Operational Risk Registers, a Business Continuity Plan and a Risk Management Policy.

This ensures:

Other specific areas of risk as may be identified by the Board

Risks that have been mitigated this year have included:

Staffing and Volunteers..

Visyon is able to offer the level of service that it does due to the dedication and professionalism of its staff and volunteer team. At the end of March 2023, Visyon had 36 members of staff, 13 of which were employed on a full-time basis, with the other 23 working in part-time roles. Visyon has a team of volunteers who provide invaluable contributions to the work of the charity by carrying out a range of roles including Trustees, Therapists, Administrators and a handyman.

Declaration of Interests...

Trustees are required to declare interests that are relevant and material and declarations are requested at each meeting. A record is maintained of all relevant and material interests by the Company Secretary and this record is available on request. Staff are also required to inform the organisation where an outside commitment, e.g. membership of a school governing body, may potentially give rise to a conflict of interest.

Social Impact..

Visyon provides its services within the charitable objects for which it was established, these being the preservation and protection of good health and in particular good mental health of children, young people and adults, plus the advancement of education of the public in matters relating to mental health. These objects are addressed through the provision of a broad range of therapeutic activities to children, young people, their parents and families.

Visyon's activities are designed to achieve outcomes that are positive not only for the individual child or young person but also impact on families and the wider communities of Cheshire. The cost to society of supporting lifelong mental health challenges is significant and can be ameliorated by providing effective interventions for children and young people such as those offered by Visyon.

Visyon's services are free to the children, young people and families who access them. All services are paid for by grants, donations and fundraised income. The organisation accommodates the requirements of children and young people, by using community locations wherever there is a demand and where funding allows. Currently, the organisation is working in the geographic area of Cheshire East Council, with some services also available in areas of Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The Trustees have carefully considered the requirement for public benefit reporting in accordance with guidance issued by the Charities Commission.

Environmental, Social and Governance Statement..

In 2023 Visyon reviewed the Vision, Mission and Values of the organisation to align with our continued commitment to the communities we serve. Entwined in this review were our ESG principles and our statement of intent and commitment to:

Financial Review and Results for the Year.

The total income for the year ending 31 March 2023 was £997,301 (2022 - £837,095), the total expenditure was £928,225 (2022 - £880,464) and the net result for the year was £69,076 (2022 - (£43,369)). The net asset position at the year end was £459,272 (2022 - £390,196), of which £173,837 (2022 - £178,981) is unrestricted and £285,435 (2022 - £211,215) is restricted.

Visyon aims to use as much of its financial and other resources as possible for the purpose of meeting the charities objectives. All of the programmes and activities undertaken by the charity aim to support children and young people to improve and maintain their mental health. Our work with families and public awareness campaigns assist us to achieve greater awareness and understanding by the public of issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing and how these impact on children, young people and society.

All our services are provided free of charge to our beneficiaries, allowing for greater access to early assistance, advice and support. Across Cheshire East we aim to offer a range of interventions, choice of venue and opening hours that improves efficacy and accessibility irrespective of the individual circumstances of the beneficiary.

The voluntary sector experiences increasingly challenging times with more charities competing for less funding, reporting criteria becoming increasingly complex in some areas, and hard decisions to be made regarding which particular pot of money to vie for. Each financial year starts with an element of calculated uncertainty, and often focus has to be placed on bringing in funding for the current financial year, rather than looking forward to the next two - five years, focusing attention on longer term planning and sustainability. 'The sector is starting to see an increased understanding of the sector from some funders, with a shift towards multi-year and unrestricted funding and building relationships with the charities they support to help target funding effectively. Visyon continues to diversify funding streams to increase long-term sustainability and reduce reliance on individual funding streams.

Fundraising...

Visyon is very grateful to the organisations and individuals who have supported the charity during the year through donations, fundraising activities, gifts-in-kind and volunteering.

2022/23 Gift In Kind Donations equated to the value of £2,996.

2022/23 Events and Corporate volunteering equated to 230 hours.

We would like to thank the following for their support during 2022/23:

Grants

The National Lottery Cheshire Community Foundation The Leatherseller’s Foundation Garfield Weston Edward Gostling Foundation Postcode Neighbour Trust Children in Need Ann Rylands Small Donations Programme Evan Cornish Foundation Assura

Company Support

Gladman George & Dragon, Holmes Chapel Eze Talk Chancerygate Together Triton JWC West End Agri Leftfield Ben Mulroney Wealth Management The Config Group Kanga Health Recipharm

Community Support

Congleton Lawn Tennis Club Macclesfield Netball Club Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School Dane Valley Swimming Club

Pop at the Lock Music Festival Dream Beams Sandbach 10k Knutsford Lions Club Holmes Chapel Boxing Club Congleton Tangent Abbeygate College Double Visyon Congleton Santa Collection St Lawrence Church, Biddulph

Individual Support

Investment Powers...

The Trust Deed authorises the Trustees to make and hold investments using the general funds of the charity but no such investments are currently held.

Reserves Policy...

The reserves are held in a low-risk account, with immediate access, attracting the best rates from the "High Street Institutions". Reserves are built up from balances of funds (restricted and/or unrestricted). The level at which the reserve fund is to be maintained is agreed between Visyon management and Trustees during annual budgeting based on a number of defined factors including an assessment of known risks. It may also include items of known but currently unquantifiable risk. The level of reserve fund should not normally exceed that required for three months operating costs.

Statement of Funds at 31st March 2023...

Unrestricted funds £173,837 Restricted reserves £285,435

Investment Policy...

All amounts in the current account over £500 are transferred daily to an interest-bearing savings account. All investments by the charity will be in ethically acceptable funds to be agreed by the Board.

Grant Making Policy...

Under normal circumstances, the charity does not make grants. There may be small grants made from specific projects for supporting clients. The funding body concerned will specify the conditions of the grant.

Strategic Report Structure, Governance and Management...

Governing document...

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Legal & Administration Information...

Charity name: Visyon Limited Working title: Visyon Registered charity number: 1107951 Registered company number: 5250758. Company registered in England and Wales Registered company and operational address: Fellowship House, Park Road, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1DP Company Secretary: Theresa Pass Chief Executive Officer: Theresa Pass Auditors: Hammond McNulty, Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1ET Bankers: NatWest Bank Plc, 46 High Street, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1BE Board of Trustees: Andrew Brabban Andrew Leahy - resigned 06/02/23 Adrian Dean Rob Morton - resigned 30/06/22 Helen Butters Jonathan Clay Avarni Jagpal David Parkinson Barry Brennan - appointed 18/10/2022 Sharon Conlan - appointed 18/10/2022

The Directors of the charitable company are Trustees for the purpose of charity law and are known collectively as the Board of Trustees.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities...

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

Company law requires the trustees 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 those financial statements, the trustees are required to :

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets 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:

Auditors

The auditors, Hammond McNulty LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. Report of the Trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the Board of Trustees, as the company directors, on 15th September 2023 and signed on the board's behalf by:

A Brabban-Brown, Chair of the Trustees

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of Visyon Limited.

Opinion...

We have audited the financial statements of Visyon Limited (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31st March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement 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 (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company 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 Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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:

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 Report of the Trustees.

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

Responsibilities of Trustees...

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, 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.

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of laws and regulations that affect the company, focusing on those that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on its operations. Key laws and regulations that we identified included the UK Companies Act, employment and pension legislation, health and safety regulation, anti bribery, corruption and fraud, money laundering.

We enquired of the trustees and reviewed legal fees for evidence of non-compliance with relevant laws and regulations. We also reviewed controls the directors have in place to ensure compliance.

We gained an understanding of the controls that the directors have in place to prevent and detect fraud. We enquired of the directors about any incidences of fraud that had taken place during the accounting period.

The risk of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud was discussed within the audit team and tests were planned and performed to address these risks. We identified the potential for fraud in the following areas: manual journal entries , management bias through judgements and assumptions in significant accounting estimates, in particular in relation to apportionment of deferred income and significant one off or unusual transactions and the potential for management override.

We reviewed financial statements disclosures and tested to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations discussed above.

We enquired of the trustees about actual and potential litigation and claims.

We performed analytical procedures at the planning stage to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that might indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.

In addressing the risk of fraud due to management override of internal controls we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates were indicative of a potential bias.

Due to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing fraud or noncompliance laws and regulations and cannot be expected to detect all fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations.

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 Report of the Independent Auditors.

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 auditors' 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.

Mrs Marie Shenton FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Hammond McNulty LLP Statutory Auditor Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1ET

15th September 2023

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Balance Sheet 31st March 2023

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 15th September 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

A Brabban-Brown - Trustee

Cash Flow Statement

for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st March 2023

Ways to support...

Visyon couldn't support anyone without the incredible generous support we receive from our donors and fundraisers. We know times are tough right now but the ideas and creativity that we see from our supporters continues to amaze us. Contact the Fundraising Team, at fundraising@visyon.org.uk, if you'd like to support Visyon with one of the following options or have an idea of your own you'd like to make a reality!

Organise an event such as a BBQ, bake sale or quiz night

Sign up to a regular donation - this helps us plan for the future

Set up payroll giving at your workplace Sponsor our newsletter, campaign or a young person's counselling room Give in memory of a loved one

Support us whilst you shop!

www.easyfundraising.org.uk - sign up to and see your favourite brands donate to the cause you care about whenever you shop with them.