REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05368531 {England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1108855 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UIYAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMEIYTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 FOR LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERL Y HOME-START EAST SUSSEX A COMPANY LIMITED BY CUARANTEE Woodgate Accounting Services Limited Chartered Certified Accountants Unit 43, Newhaven Enterprise Centre Newhaven East Sussex BN9 9BA LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THF. YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 Page Report of the Trustees I to6 Independent Examiner's Report Statement of Financial Activities Balanc¢ Sheet 910 10 Notes to the Financial Stalements 11 to20 LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERL Y HOME-START EAST SUSSEX REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Cornpanies Act ?006, present their report with the financial stalements of ihe charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles, the Companies Act 2006 and the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities- Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective January 2019}. CHAIR'S OVERVIEW 2023124 l am pleased io introduce the Home-start East Sussex Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023124 The Charity has had a very successful year with the domestic abuse recovery programme and Child to parent violence (CAPVA) programme coniinuinb to see excellent outcomes. They both continue lo be in high demand, and we are currently managTing? three year waiting lists. We secured funding for tria&ye support for those on the CAPV A waiting list, which will enable us lo Cary out safet>, and support plans for ihose fam ilies who are waitingy for a place. We have applied for funding 10 provide the same service for those wailing tor the domesiic abuse recovery programme. The Lolli.¥ Blo.ssom programme trains ex-clients of our domestic abuse recovery programme to become peer support facilitaiors. This year we trained three further facilitators. increasing our cohort 10 seven. They have delivered fivL peer support groups throughout the year. supporting 28 clients and. by the end of the year. we were able to creale our first paid Trainee IDV A posi and we hope to recruil from amongi the peer support faci litators. We have also secured fundin& for two pi loi schemes.. MU￿a￿lI￿Al Mon£'J'.Sulelv in RL>luiion.8hip.s; and TcLnaxL HLulihJ' Rc'lulicJn.%'hip.s. We hope that both will increase Ihe spccirum of support and education that we can provide to fam i lies in F.a5t Sussex. To reflect this wider spectrum of servic¢ provision. and our expertise in domestic and fain i lial violence. the board resolved thai il was lime to forgie ahead with our own identity as a charity supportingy women, children and fam ilies with special ism in domestic abuse. We will leave the Home-siart UK federation on l. April 2024 and become known as Lolus Fam i lies, the namesake of our longesl-standingy service. We thank everyone at Home-start UK for helpingy to make this a smooth tran51tion. In January at our AGM, we said goodbye to two board members, Helen Edwards and Maureen Jack50n, boih of whom had been involved not only as trustees but also volunteers on our home-visiting) service. We thank them tor their contribution and wish them th¢ very best for the future. We appointed Becky Reid and Gail Gray to Ihe board. Becky had been with us for a year as an observer and meniee, having joined us Ihrougyh the UK Board Apprentice scheme sel up by the Department for Levellingi Up. Housingy and Communities. We were pleased that BeLky decided to slay on with us as ai the end of the scheme. Gail brings over 30 years of experience in the charity sector. specialising in supportingi women and families. I wish them both a very warn) welcome and look forward lo working with them over the coming years. Our knowledgeable, skilled and profe55ional team of Staff, led by CEO Kate, along with our dedicated board of trustees, are committed to providing gFold standard early intervention and recovery services, empoweringy women io make their familie5 safer and more secure. We are grateful to our funders who continue to make this possible. Jayne Rice-oxley Chair of the Board of Trustees FINANCIAL REVIEW We were delighted to start working this year with Charlie Living5 from Chariot House, who ha5 so much charity experience and a qualification in charity accounting. Their knowledge has ensured that our financial perfomance is being efficiently and effectively controlled and monitored. Our domestic abuse Recovery service and child to parent violence (CAPVA) service remained in high demand during 2023-24 and w¢ w¢re battling long waiting lists. Throughout the year our fundraisingy efforts meant that we not only mel our deficit budgel, bul we also SL¢ccessfully managed to secure further direct funding for- an extra evening CAPVA programme to meet the need5 of working parents the licence and stsfflvolunteer preparation training to run a NSPCC DART programme in future years once we have secured delivery funding a CAPVA IDVA who can carry out safety & support plans with clientslfamilies on our CAPVA waiting list. By 2025-26 we plan to have transitioned to a triage model. more Community Engagement & EDI hours to ensure that we are meeting the needs of clients with disabilities. LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 This exlra funding rneani ihat our income was higher than initially budgeted. In addition, we received funding in 2023- 24 to deliver Iwo new pilot services in 2024-25: Managing Money Safely in Relaiion5hips and Relationship Goals.. Healthy Rclationships for Teenagers. For the year under review, we are reporting income at £325.906, expenditure at £281,176 and a net surplus of £44,730. The surplus has increased our toial reserves at year-end to £143,196, made up of unrestricted reserves of £47,007, restricted reserves of £1,640 and designated reserves of £94,549 We welcome the fact that we ended 2023-24 with a surplus as it means that at l April 2024 we had a 2024-25 deficit budgyet ot onlv £42k. This is considerably lower than the deficit at the same lime last year, which stood at £70k and which we managed to cover throug¥h successful fund-raising during the year. However, we are alert lo the fact that the financial landscape remains challengiing. and inflation is likely to slay high and our budgei expenditure is subject lo change. Leavin&J aside ihe extra direct funding wh ich was included in our overall income figure for the year, il is reas5uringi that 2023124 expenditure is once a&Tain in line with the budget projection agyreed al the slart of the year. As always, Ihe CEO and trustees will proartively work to increas¢ income and reduce expenditure to break even by the end of the year. 0￿ECTIVEs AND ACTIVITIES H()IMe-Slart Easi Sussex is a small, local, independent charity founded in 1996 thai is aftilialed lo SafeLives and Home- Start UK. Championing a Whole Family Approach, the charity offers East Sussex families early help and recovery services which improve safety, resilience and ouicomes or reduce the chance of a problem giettingy worse or being repeated. HSES re¢ognis¢s that our service5 are part of a network of servi¢es, processes and interactions which aim 10 help children, youn& people and famil ies at the earliest opportunity or as 500n as possibl¢ atter crisis has passed. HSES is committed to working with external partners to Iransfomi I￿al services and systems lo achieve significant and suslainud outcomes tor East Sussex tamilies facing complex Challengies and problems". HSES has been awarded SafeLives Leading Lights accreditation - Ihe gFold star standard for domestic abuse services. This means that all services have empowennent, resilienc¢, and client safely al their core. In 2023-24 Home-start East Sussex ran three services and one wraparound service: Lotus non-crisi5 domestic abuse recovery programme.. 6-week group that supports female victim-5urvivors lo re¢ov¢r and move forward with their lives and keep themselves and their children safe in future. Lotus Blossom: Second year of the project developing Lotu5 follow-on group5 facilitated by trained ex-Lotus clients Who's in Charge? programme: 9-week group ihat supports parents experiencing child to parent abuse and violence to help reduce family risk and improv¢ parenl-¢hild relationships. We were also able to offer one-to-one IDVA support to clients attending our services that had experienced domestic abuse including child to parent violence. This included safety planning. advice relating to court, legyal support, child contact, liaison with social services and schools, accessing healih services, parenting children who may be traumatised by domestic abuse, benefits, housing, and emotional support. We also escalated clients to high-risk services if necessary. Over the year Home-start East Sussex had an average of 9 employees, three sub-contracted workers, 9 trustees and 5 volunteers. Some employees carried out more than one role. LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX RF.PORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 ACHIEVEMEIYTS AND PERFORMANCE The Lotus Domestic Abuse ReLL)very progJramTne supported 71 females across 5 programmes, reaching 96 hildren. Who's in Chargeg child to parent violence programme supported 66 parents and carers across 4 programmes. reaching 102 children. We provided one-to-one IDV A support to I I I clients attending groups with 173 children. In 2023-24 we did not receive any referrals for our TNBI IDVA service Ex Domestic Abuse Recovery clients who had been trained lo become Peer Support Facilitators delivered their first support groups. One staff member attended YPVA training. The YPVA pathway is for victims of domestic violence and abuse where the person is under 18. The YPV A worker is specifically trained and accredited to support young people at hig,h risk of serious hami from domestic abuse. Upskilled two staff with Level 3 Safeguardin& Lead training. All staff and volunteers attended the NSPCC DART training. Domestic Abuse, Recovering TobTether (DARTTM) helps chi Idren and Mothers gyei back on track after exp¢riencingy domestic abuse. Prepared for SafeLives Leadingp Lig)hts Reac¢redilalion Feedback from our clients confirmed that 940/0 felt their menial healih and wellbeing had improved; 99 /0 reported that their social support had improved. 940/0 felt their risk ot hann had reduced: 96 1 feli Ihe service had had a posilive impact on their children: (if applicable) 980/0 of those applicable reported that ihe service had had a positive impact on their relationship with Iheir partner. 95 % overall posiiive outcomes across all services. THE FUTURE The longi_lerin qualily and security of our current services and the development of quality new service5 are our highest priority. In 2024125 we will be: Changying the charity narne to Lotus Fam ilies and promoting the new name. Upskilling) staff lo be able to confidently support sexual abuse victim-survivors. Ensuringy our continued success by regular moniloringp of our financial position. ongoin&y hamessinbp ot our talented teams, skills and 'can-do" allitude and remainingy a learning? org?anisation. Recruiting one of our ex-clients who became a peer support facilitator, into a Trainee l DV A role. Actively seeking more funding lo run additional groups to meet the higyh demand. Identifying funding for the DART Programme. Delivering our new pilot projects,. supporting children with healthy relationships and women with managing money safely in relationships. Reviewing local gaps in service provision and set up new pilot service5 that are within the Scope of our Objects. LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT The Board of Trustees governs the charity in accordance with the company's Memorandum and Articles of Association; it sets the objectives and provides leadership and strategic direction. The Board delegates the day-to-day managemeni of the charity to the Chief Executive Otricer. She is assisted by a small team of mainly part time staff. The Board of Trustees mel on five occasions during the year and received regular reports from the Chief Executive Officer, Staff, and accountant. Three sub-committees dealing with matters of finance, community fundraising and personnel advise the Board as and when required. Each meets according to need and advises the Board in accordance with its respective tenns of reference. Ri.sk MunugcmLnt The irusiees regularly review the major risks to which the chariiy is exposed, paying particular atteniion io financial matters, child and aduli saf¢&puardin&Tr issues, reputational risk, and personal safety. The trustees are satisfied that the policies in place to manage and mitibyate identified risks are appropriate. APPRECIATION We conclude our report by thanking> everyone involved in helping? Home-start East Sussex support those tamilies living in Easi Sussex and Brig?hton & Hove who, for various reasons, struggyle to cope with the challenges of everyday life. Th¢s¢ tamilies, al no cost to themselves, have benefitied gjreaily from, and valued, our support. A benefit made possible by the g?en¢rous 5UPPOrt, financial and in kind, received from the following donor groups. Our Peer Support facilitators who give freely of their time to facilitate domestic abuse recovery. follow-on gyroups. Our various tunders tor their financial support and confidence in our ability 10 deliver a valuable benetit to the community. All the individuals, local Iraders, other org?anisations and fundraisers for their donalions. Our partners from various agyencies for Iheir help with training and for sharing helpful information and advice on an on-g70inb basis. Our small team of paid staff, for their hard work, dedication and commitment in co-ordinating) and managyingy the efforts of all to ensure that our charity delivers quality. trauma informed support and that all funds received spent wisely. LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX RF.PORTOFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THF. YF.AR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 Registered Company Number 05368531 Registered Ch8rity Num ber 1108855 Registered office Newhaven Enterprise Centre Denton Island Newhaven Easl Sussex BN9 9BA Trustees Ms A Bacchoo Mr M A Brewer Mrs H Edward5 Ms G Gray Mrs M P Jackson Miss C E Moon Ms J M P Rice-oxley MsBLReid Ms C T Tilherly Resigned 23 January 2024 Appointed 23 January 2024 Resi&Fned 23 January 2024 Chair Appointed 23 January 2024 Independent examiner Philip Wood&yale. FCCA Woodgyale Accounting Services Lirnited Chartered Cenified Accountants Un it 43, Newhaven F.nierprise Centre Newhaven East Sussex BN9 9BA Chief Exeeutive Offieer Ms K Lawrence LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX RF.PORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES, RESPONSIBILITIES The trustees (who are also the directors of Lotus Families for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and th¢ financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Siandards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which giive a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incomingy resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these financial statement5, the trustees are required to select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP; make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; slate whether applicable UK Accounling Standards have been followed, subject 10 any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and prepare the financial slalements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The truslees are responsible for keeping adequal¢ accounting records thal disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable Ihem to ensure Ihat Ihe financial statements comply with the Companie5 Act 2006. They are also responsible for sategyuarding) the assets ot. the charity and hence for tsking r¢asonable sleps for the prevention and detection of traud and other irregyularities. Approved by order of the board of trustees on 24 July 2024 and signed on its behalf by: Jayne Rice-oxley Chair Trustees INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX ndependent examiner's report to the trustees of Lotus Families I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Lotus Families (the charity) for the year ended 3 1st March 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the Trustees of the chariry (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of Ihe Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act). Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited undLr Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are elig?ible for independent examination, I report in respect of Iny exam ination of the charity's fine for year 1.698 134 At 3 1st March 2024 1,832 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 st March 2024 400 At 31st March 2023 534 13. DEBTORS: AMOUIYTS FALLIIYC DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 Trade debtors Other debiors Prepaymenls and accrued income 2,057 2,057 28.890 30.947 ?.057 14. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2024 2023 Trade creditors Social security and other taxes Accruals and deferred income Accrued expenses Other creditors 4.276 283 91.257 3.532 823 685 5,150 1,260 2,057 100,171 9,152 LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR EIYDED 31ST MARCH 2024 15. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS Nel movemenl Transfers in funds between funds At 114123 Ai 3113124 Unrestricted funds Gelleral fund Designated fund - Contingency reserve 459 94,549 49,086 (2,538) 47.007 94,549 95.008 49,086 (2,538) 141.556 Re%tricted fund5 Lewes District Council National Lottery Awards For All National Lottery Community Fund N(ttionwide Community Fund Nat West Circle Fund Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (24) 1,640 24 1.640 3,458 (4.313) (1,659) 855 1,659 3.458 {4,356) 2,538 1,640 TOTAL FUNDS 98,466 44,730 143,196 Net movement in funds. included in the above are as follows: Incoming resources Resources expended Movement in funds Unrestrieted funds General fund Designated fund - Contingency reserve 115.288 (66,202) 49,086 115,?88 66,202 49.086 Restricted funds Lewes Dislrict Council National Lottery Awards For All National Lottery Coinmunity Fund Nationwide Community Fund Nat W¢sl Circle Fund Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner 8.228 9.843 47,601 7,449 (8.252) (8.203) (47.601) (7,449}} (4.313) 139,1.f6 214,974 {24} 1.640 (4,313) 137,497 210,618 Total funds 325,906 281.176 44,730 Contingenl liability for c105ure- an amount of £94.549 (2023.. £94,549) has been carried forward to be designated for the purpose of covering all statutory and legal obligations should the charity have ceased operations. LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME START EAST SUSSEX NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 15. MOVEMEIYT IN FUNDS- continued Comparatives for movement in funds Net movement Transfers in funds between funds At 114122 At 3113123 Unrestricled funds General fuiid Desigynated fund - Continbiency reserve 11,314 71.000 21,200 (32.055) 23.549 459 94,549 82.314 21.200 (8,506) 95.008 Restricted funds DCMSIPears Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Foundation Lewes District Counci I National Lollery Community Fund Nationwide Community Fund Ndi Wesl Circle Fund Sussex Lommunily Foundation Sussex Police and Crime Comim issioner (1,363) (4,007) 87 1,363 4,007 {87) (114) 1,142 (1,142) 3,458 (713) (1,482) 713 1.482 (5.048) 8,506 3.458 TOTAL FUNDS 82.314 16.152 98,466 Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoinin& resources Resources expended Movement in funds Unrestricted funds General fund Designated fund - Contingency reserve 104,240 (83.040) 21.200 Restricted funds DCMSIP¢ars Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Foundation Lewes Districl Council National Lottery Community Fund Nationwide Community Fund Nal Wesi Circle Fund Sussex Community Foundation Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner 5,000 5,000 8,228 35,000 25.000 5.000 15,000 89,573 {6.363) (9,007) (1.363) (4,007) 87 114 (1,142) 3.458 (713) (1,482) (34.886) {26.142) (1,542) (15,713) (91,055) 187,801 (192.849) (5,048) TOTAL FUNDS 292,041 275,889) 16.152 LOTUS FAMILIES FORMERLY HOME-START EAST SUSSEX NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2024 16. PENSION COMMITMENTS The charitable company contributes to employees, defined contribution pension Schemes. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the company to the schemes and amounted to £10.822 (2023 £11.900). 17. OTHER FINANCIAL COMMITMF.NTS Should the charitv have ceased operations as at 31 March ?024, the trustees estimate that expenditure tolalling £94,549 (2023 £94.549) would have lo be made out of funds existing? al Ihat date lo ensure that all sialutory and legial obligFations relating to staff and property under the charity'5 control are satisfied in full. 18. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES During¥ the year, donations were received from trusiees amounting to £5 (2023 £145). Truslees, expenses are deiailed in note 9. Remuneration paid to key manag7emeni personnel durin&T the year (including national insurance and pension costs) amounted to £49,264 (2023 - £44,843). 19. MEMBERS LIABILITY The charity is a private company lim ited by g7uarantee and consequently do¢s not have share capiial. Each of the members is liable lo contribute an amount not exceedin&Tr £ I towards Ihe assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.