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← Home-Start Ceredigion

2025-03-31-accounts

Adroddiad CCB – 2024 - 2025 AGM Report – 2024 – 2025 Dydd Mercher 3 Medi 2025 Wednesday 3 September 2025

Llawr Cyntaf /1[st] Floor 37 Stryd Fawr /High Street Llanbedr Pont Steffan/Lampeter – SA48 7AW Tel/Ffôn: (01570) 218546 Email/Ebost:homestartaberaeron@gmail.com

Thank you to all the families, volunteers, staff, trustees, and external partners who have contributed to this report

Contents

1. Introduction 1
2. Some headline figures from the project 2
3. Some quotes from families… 3
4. Progress towards project outcomes 4
5. Referrals 7
6. Service provision 8
7. The co-production model 16
8. Volunteer recruitment, training and support 21
9. Support for staff 23
10. Working with other agencies and raising 24
awareness of the project
11. Financial Report 26

1. Introduction

This report reviews the third year of Home-Start Ceredigion’s 5-year Families Building a Brighter Future Together project (from April 2024 to March 2025). The project has been funded primarily by the Big Lottery People and Places programme, with elements of matched funding provided by the Welsh Government’s Families First initiative, the Henry Smith Charity, Lloyds Bank Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Community Foundation, National Grid Foundation, Moondance Foundation and Home-Start UK. The report covers the following aspects of the project:

Over Year 3 of the project, the staff team has continued to provide opportunities for families to contribute feedback on Home-Start Ceredigion’s services, including carrying out online surveys and consultation sessions at family groups. In addition to this input from families, information for this report has been drawn from discussions with staff, and questionnaires completed by staff, trustees, volunteers, and workers from external agencies. 2 key learning points from Year 3 of the project have been identified and 3 recommendations have been made for the development of the project as it moves forward into Year 4.

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2. Some headline figures from the project to date

713 families have been supported

2,470 individuals have been supported, comprised of…

1,217 children and 1,214 parents/carers

368 additional families have attended 1-day events & play days

23,647 hours of support provided by the project, of which…

5,363 hours have been provided by volunteers

17 locations have provided group support

518 families have attended group support sessions

205 families have received home-visiting support

78 families have received School Ready support

87 families have received Fast Response support

39 volunteers have provided support to families

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3. Some quotes from families…

“Fantastic and huge support given to families; great for the children and adults also.”

“The group I have been attending has been crucial for my mental wellbeing. As well as supporting myself and my son’s social development, it has given us both confidence.”

“Home-Start has been a vital support system for my family.”

“We've only been to the baby groups but they're really good! Thank you 😊.”

“My child benefited greatly from the school ready program. Thank you.”

“Lovely staff, lovely group.”

“My group leader Avril is amazing. Always provides a safe environment to talk. She also provides some fantastic activities for everyone to get involved in.”

“I cannot thank Home-Start enough, for all their help and all that they did for me and my family.”

“I love this group, and the friendships formed from attending.”

“Home-Start have helped me through a period of time where I had no one or nothing… they can make isolation from people and your old home feel better and have helped me on my low days and good. This team of people go above and beyond for the community and newcomers and make it feel safe and welcoming.”

“I think it’s a brilliant relaxed and social environment for not only the parents but the children as well. Never any pressure.”

“This is a great group. They are very patient with all the kids and it’s a great chance to practice Welsh.”

“Home-Start… has been a huge help and support through some of the darkest times in my life. Avril is an absolute angel, and I don’t know what I’d do without her or Home-Start.”

“Elen is fantastic. I moved here in April 2024, and she was so welcoming when I arrived a little anxious at the group in Penrhyn-coch. She made me and my two little ones feel right at home, introduced us and helped break us in to the group. A warm cuppa and a smile is so lovely.”

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4. Progress towards project outcomes

The Families Building a Brighter Future Together project has four project outcomes, one of which relates to families’ general wellbeing, two to the benefits to families of attending group support, and one to the benefits to children of School Ready support. The four outcomes, and current project performance against their indicators, are summarised in table 1 below.

Table 1. Summary of progress towards project outcomes.

Outcome 1 Outcome 1 Outcome 1 Outcome 1
850 families report a measurable improvement in identified areas of need
and overall family well-being.
Indicator End of Year 3
target
(no. families)		 End of Year 3
achievement
(no. families)		 % of target
met
Families demonstrate a measurable
improvement in at least 50% of their
identified areas of need.		 510 489 96%
Outcome 2
510 families report reduced feelings of isolation, along with increased social
confidence and wider social engagement, as a result of attending groups.
Indicator End of Year 3
target
(no. families)		 End of Year 3
achievement
(no. families)		 % of target
met
Group-attending families demonstrate
an improvement in at least one of the
following identified areas of need:
‘coping with isolation’, ‘improving
confidence in social situations’ and
‘increasing access to / use of services
and amenities’.		 306 395 129%
Outcome 3 Outcome 3 Outcome 3 Outcome 3
300 parents contribute to the well-being of their communities by providing
peer support for other families through creation of / participation in
independent supportgroups.
Indicator End of Year 3
target
(no.parents)		 End of Year 3
achievement
(no.parents)		 % of target
met
Parents participate in independent
peer support groups (i.e., groups that
have reached stage 3 as outlined in
the project plan).		 120 59 49%

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Outcome 4 Outcome 4 Outcome 4 Outcome 4
100 pre-school children demonstrate enhanced school readiness in the form
of improved basic numerical, linguistic, hygiene skills and/or social skills.
Indicator End of Year 3
target
(no. children)		 End of Year 3
achievement
(no. children)		 % of target
met
Pre-school children demonstrate an
improvement in at least one of the
following identified areas of need:
‘improved numeracy skills’, ‘improved
linguistic skills’ ‘improved hygiene
skills’ and ‘improved social skills’.		 60 68 113%

Outcome 1: Achievement against the end of Year 3 target of 510 families for the indicator “families demonstrate a measurable improvement in at least 50% of their identified areas of need” stands at 96%, with 489 families showing this level of improvement. Whilst this represents a drop from the 115% achievement of the Year 2 target, it does represent an additional 97 families reaching this level of improvement over the past year, and the scheme remains on course to achieve a strong performance against this outcome by the end of the project.

Outcome 2: The end of Year 3 target of 306 families for the indicator “groupattending families demonstrate an improvement in at least one of the following identified areas of need: ‘coping with isolation’, ‘improving confidence in social situations’ and ‘increasing access to / use of services and amenities’” has been exceeded, with 395 families showing this level of improvement (129% of target). Given the popularity of group support with families, and the large amount of positive feedback in terms of reduced feelings of isolation and increased confidence (both in families’ review assessments and in their evaluation feedback), it seems highly likely that this outcome will be met in full by the end of the project.

Outcome 3: The 49% achievement of the Year 3 target for the indicator “parents participate in independent peer support groups (i.e., groups that have reached stage 3 as outlined in the project plan)” represents a slight improvement on the 45% achievement of the end of Year 2 target, but this remains a challenging outcome to achieve. As discussed in previous evaluation reports, performance against this outcome has to be considered in the context

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of the co-production model being a largely new way of working for the scheme and of targets being set from a position of relative inexperience with regard to the timescales involved in fulfilling the journey from newly established HomeStart-supported group to fully independent peer support group. Year 3 has continued to highlight some of the challenges and barriers that groups face in completing this journey, and these are discussed in Sections 6.1 and 7 below. Also discussed in Section 7 are the results of a survey of families that have moved on from group support, looking at continuing friendships and levels of contact with their former group members. Experience is showing that this more informal type of longer-term peer support might be a more realistic and achievable outcome from the project.

Outcome 4: As has been the case in previous years, the indicator target for this outcome has been exceeded, with 113% of the end of Year 3 target being achieved. As with Outcome 2, current levels of performance suggest that this outcome will be met in full by the end of the project.

Pictures from Penrhyncoch Park summer play day 01/08/2024

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5. Referrals

Over the first three years of the project, Home-Start Ceredigion has received 704 new referrals, out of which, 674 referred families have been supported (96%), Whilst referrals are received from Health Visitors, Mental Health Team, Social Workers, Midwives, and other local family support agencies, the vast majority (73%) of referrals have been self-referrals. This has been a growing trend since the start of the project and the rise to prominence of group support, the self-referral figure being composed primarily of families who become aware of Home-Start Ceredigion’s group support service by word-of-mouth and/or social media and then approach Home-Start directly to obtain a place.

During Year 1 of the project, there were issues around the initial assessment forms used by Home-Start, with their complexity creating a barrier to some families accepting support. After consultation with families, the forms were streamlined and made more user-friendly, and the staff team now feel that the initial assessments and referral system in general are working very well, with families much happier with the revised forms and none of the issues from Year 1 having been repeated. Staff continue to gather feedback from families about the user-friendliness of the initial assessment forms but, as yet, there has been no need for further modification.

Referring agencies were also positive about the referral process. When asked which aspects of the referral process had worked well, responses from referring agencies were as follows: initial communication (100%); speed of initial response (83%); speed of support provision (83%); follow-up communication (100%); family satisfaction with the process (83%). None of the respondents from external agencies were able to suggest any ways in which the referral process could be improved.

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6. Service provision

Home-Start Ceredigion continues to provide a suite of support services to families with young children in Ceredigion, as follows:

With the start of the Families Building a Brighter Future Together project,

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provision of group support became the primary means by which Home-Start Ceredigion supports families. This was partly in response to feedback from families and partly a strategic response to the post-pandemic difficulties in recruiting volunteers that continue to be experienced by voluntary organisations, with group support allowing a larger number of families to be supported with fewer volunteers. However, the other services remain vital components of Home-Start Ceredigion’s work, providing a broad range of support types that enable the scheme to react to the broad and diverse range of challenges faced by families and to meet each family’s individual needs.

Response to the family satisfaction survey carried out at the end of Year 3:

To what extent do you feel that your support from Home-Start Ceredigion has improved your family's well-being?

----- Start of picture text -----
100.00%
88.60%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
11.40%
10.00%
0.00%
0.00%
A lot A little Not at all
----- End of picture text -----

6.1 Group support

“It’s where I believe I’ve met friends for life now.”

Group support has been provided at 17 locations across Ceredigion during the first three years of the project, supporting a total of 518 families and involving delivery of 9,976 support hours. During Year 3 of the project, groups have been running in 12 of these locations, with a new Parent Support Group adding to 11 groups that were already running at the start of Year 3. Previously, one group had closed in May 2023 and three in November 2023 due to insufficient attendance numbers, and one group had moved on to become independent of Home-Start. During Year 3, the group at Llanarth has also closed as children reached school age and parents returned to work.

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Results of Year 3 online questionnaire to assess families’ views on the impact of group support:

----- Start of picture text -----
To what extent do you feel that attendance at group
has increased your family's confidence in social
situations?
90.00% 85.50%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00% 14.50%
10.00%
0.00%
0.00%
A lot A little Not at all
To what extent do you feel that attendance at group
has reduced your family's feelings of isolation?
90.00% 83.90%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00% 16.10%
10.00%
0.00%
0.00%
A lot A little Not at all
Have you developed a wider support network as a
result of your Home-Start group support?
90.00%
83.30%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.60%
10.00% 6.10%
0.00%
Yes No Not sure
----- End of picture text -----

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Groups continue to be very well attended, and families continue to show growing confidence in socialising and in developing their own parenting skills. In some groups, families have grown sufficiently confident to become involved in deciding which activities their group should run, and even, on occasion, running activities themselves, although in other groups this has proved more challenging (discussed further in Section 7). One issue that had arisen in Year 1 of the project was the formation of cliques within groups, making some families feel excluded and deterring them from attending. Various measures, largely focused on the layout of the room and layout of activities, were successfully introduced in Year 2 to address this problem. These measures continue to be effective, although one parent remarked that her family no longer attends a group because other families there had made her feel uncomfortable. This, however, appears to have been an isolated incident, rather than being symptomatic of any wider issue.

“We love the Talybont “I look forward to going “I have been happy group so much!!!” to the group every week coming to the group and it has helped me a lot.” meeting new people.” “We love our weekly lunch club group. Two of “We have been shown so my children have benefited immensely from much kindness at our group, going, they absolutely love the leader, the and it has helped prepare activities and the food!” them for preschool as there “We have reallyare no cylch or other nurseries “The leaders are enjoyed our timeaccessible to us in our area.” with Home Start's brilliant and really make group. I hope you feel at home.” “I enjoy going to the group and other families will meeting new people.” get to join as and “We love “Lovely group, have made genuine friends and when they are attending both my girls are always excited to attend.” ready to do so.” group.”

Examples of comments from group-supported families.

Family feedback is overwhelmingly positive in terms of the impact of group support (see comments above). Suggested improvements are largely focussed on provision of more sessions and more groups, both of which are, of course, resource dependent, in respect to staff and volunteer availability and staff costs, and also in respect to longer-term sustainability. Other suggested

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improvements were a wider range of toys being made available, particularly for babies and younger children, larger venues, and a venue without stairs in Lampeter (some parents felt that this was a deterrent to other families attending). There was, however, a recognition from families that finding suitable alternative venues is not a straightforward matter.

Families continue to be consulted on the development of groups on a regular basis (see Section 7). As part of an extensive consultation in Year 2, families suggested a range of activities they would like to see in group sessions, with several of these having been introduced in Year 3. These include the rollout of activities such as messy play and cooking sessions to a wider range of groups, increased resources in terms of toys and books, sensory play days, “Count on Us” project budgeting sessions, energy advice sessions, and interactive days with visitors from Citizens Advice Bureau and Women’s Aid. A member of staff trained in checking benefits offers a 1:1 service with any parent whose situation has changed and also offers sessions at our group on Turn2us. Staff and volunteers continue to listen to and talk to families to improve existing activities and develop new ideas.

School Ready support

“Lena was brilliant with my son - her visits became a muchanticipated part of his week, and his improvement was measurable on a weekly basis - the activities were different each time and full of fun - we still play some of the same games now because of his enjoyment of them.”

----- Start of picture text -----
\
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----- End of picture text -----

Children participating in the School Ready programme.

The School Ready programme aims to prepare pre-school children for attending school by working on their development in four key areas – numeracy skills, linguistic skills, hygiene skills and social skills. Families are supported through regular weekly sessions (delivered by the School Ready Worker, supported by volunteers) and the provision of resources, with materials being tailored to meet the needs of each individual child. Whilst some children receive support at home, the majority of School Ready sessions now take place in a group environment. Over the first three years of the project, 79 children have taken part in the programme, receiving a total of 778 hours of support, with the results of the programme to date being summarised in Table 2 below.

Table 2. Summary of results of School Ready programme to end of Year 3.

Identfed need No. children
identfying need		 % children recording
improvement
(end ofyear 3)		 % children recording
improvement
(end of year 2)
Numeracy skills 75 67% 62%
Linguistc skills 74 68% 67%
Hygiene skills 74 49% 47%
Social skills 76 84% 80%

68 of the 79 participants in the programme have demonstrated an improvement in at least one of their identified areas of need, and as can be seen from the table above, for each of the four areas of need, the percentage of children recording an improvement has increased slightly from the position at the end of Year 2. Feedback from parents whose children have taken part in the School Ready programme has been very positive, emphasising not only how much the programme has helped to develop children’s skills and improve their confidence, but also how much their children have enjoyed taking part in the sessions.

6.2 Home-visiting

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“I would have never coped without my volunteer, she has been a massive help, thank you for the kindness you showed my family, I will never forget it.”

Home-visiting remains an essential component of Home-Start Ceredigion’s suite of support services, enabling provision of dedicated, long-term support to families who do not feel sufficiently confident to attend groups, are too rurally isolated to regularly attend a group, or who simply feel that group support is not appropriate for their situation. Feedback from families continues to highlight their appreciation of the work of their volunteers, both in terms of the emotional support provided and the more practical aspects of support, such as helping with completing forms and budgeting, playing with the children and taking them out to activities.

In their feedback, volunteers have emphasised the benefit of Home-Start’s approach of allowing the volunteer of having sufficient time to develop a connection and to build trust with a family, allowing. This longer timeframe of support allows volunteers to help the family gradually build their self-esteem and confidence, often leading to the family feeling sufficiently confident to start attending group support. This is a crucial step for many families who have been experiencing feelings of isolation and have had limited opportunity for their children to interact with their peers. Conversely, some families that initially accessed Home-Start through self-referral to groups have subsequently accepted additional home-visiting support. During Year 3 of the project, volunteer home-visiting was provided to 61 new families, bringing the total number of home-visited families over the course of the project to 205, involving provision of 2,412 hours of support.

6.3 Fast Response service

“Absolutely amazing and caring people. Are always very supportive and there to give you advice and help however they can. Would highly recommend.”

Fast Response is a staff-led service that provides immediate support to families with urgent needs. Without the Fast Response option, many families would face a prolonged wait for a suitable home-visiting volunteer to become

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available, during which time their problems could intensify. Support generally starts within a week of referral and lasts for up to 12 weeks (sometimes less if the family feels that their needs have been met), with the family then usually moving on to other forms of support such as groups or home-visiting.

Over the first three years of the project, Home-Start Ceredigion has supported 87 families through the Fast Response service, providing a total of 1,987 hours of support. Having completed their Fast Response support, 85 families have gone on to receive support from a home-visiting volunteer, with 18 additionally attending groups and 1 family additionally receiving both group and School Ready support.

6.4 Other scheme services

In addition to its core activities, Home-Start Ceredigion continues to provide a range of additional services to families, including telephone and online support, provision of online activities and videos, closed Facebook groups to enable families to provide each other with peer support, and deliveries of food, hygiene products, clothes, craft materials and toys, etc. to families in need, and ran a First Aid course attended by 30 families. The scheme has also hosted a series of public summer play days throughout the county during the 2024 summer holidays, attended by 121 families (133 adults and 237 children), and took part in the RAY Ceredigion Play Day, attended by c.150 families. These public events, as well as providing summer activities for children in their local

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7. The co-production model

As defined by Home-Start UK – “Co-production is an asset-based approach that enables people providing and receiving services to share power and responsibility, and work together in equal, reciprocal and caring relationships. It creates opportunities for people to access support when they need it, and to contribute to social change.” Co-production takes the concept of engagement and consultation to the point of directly involving families in the co-design and co-production of services in an equal and reciprocal relationship with staff and volunteers, so that staff and volunteers are making decisions and designing/ providing services with, rather than for, families.

Home-Start Ceredigion has always strived to maximise family involvement in decision-making with regard to the support that they receive, from the type of support (groups, home-visiting, School Ready, Fast Response or online support), through to the detail of how that support is structured. Of the scheme’s range of services, it is group support that has the greatest potential to put the co-production model into practice, with families able to work alongside Home-Start staff and volunteers to develop group activities. From the start of a group, families are encouraged to be involved in deciding on activity content, and as the group progresses, to take on greater involvement in designing, planning and delivering activities. It was originally conceived that each family support group would progress through four stages towards becoming a peer support group that could operate independently from Home-Start::

  1. Groups initially organised, supported and mentored by Home-Start Ceredigion staff and volunteers.

  2. As the confidence of participants grows, groups move to a more independent status where families have greater involvement in organisation and delivery.

  3. Groups become independently run by participants, with Home-Start available to offer advice/support as needed, and group members provide mentoring for newly forming groups (and establish mutually supportive links between groups).

  4. Groups become fully independent of Home-Start.

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In addition to ongoing feedback, families are provided with regular opportunities to influence the content and direction of their groups. Examples of this include:

One group, based at Rhydlewis, became fully independent from Home-Start during Year 2 of the project. In contrast to most of the other groups, the Rhydlewis group was composed primarily of families of social grade C and above, with comparatively high levels of self-confidence, organisational ability and financial stability. For other groups, many of which are comprised of families experiencing complex needs and ongoing financial insecurity, progress towards independence is patchier. The family groups at Felinfach and Lampeter, and the Parent Support Group at Aberystwyth have all reached a stage where families decide on the activities of the group, help with the planning and delivery of the sessions, and also play an active role in recruiting new members when families leave the group. Home-Start staff and volunteers are still present at the group sessions to offer support and advice, and costs such as venue hire, refreshments and activity materials are still covered by Home-Start. A new family group has formed in Lampeter, meeting at a room at the Home-Start Ceredigion offices. Staff are present to offer advice and support when needed, and provide a free venue, materials and refreshments, but the parents work independently in organising session content and activities and are also now meeting up outside of the group.

The remaining groups tend to fluctuate between stages 1 and 2, still requiring

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high levels of input and support from Home-Start staff and volunteers. The groups at Aberystwyth Hub, Aberystwyth Library and Newcastle Emlyn are more consistently at stage 2, with families having increased involvement in the organisation and delivery of activities. Some of the challenges of progressing from stage 1 to stage 2 are neatly summarised by Family Support Worker, Lena Brown: “I feel that the groups have progressed between stages 1 & 2. Stage 1 has worked well as we have set up groups that the families have the confidence to attend. We then must gain the families trust for them to continue to attend and encourage them to engage with other families. This takes longer with some families than others. This has mostly worked well but we do sometimes see that not all families are as open as others. (To reach) stage 2… we encourage families to deliver craft sessions, but it often never materialises as they lose confidence or fear they will do something wrong. Some have delivered a craft session but aren’t happy to do so on a regular basis. We then go back to stage 1, mentoring the families and encouraging them to regain their confidence.”

The difficulties of establishing groups at stage 2 and facilitating their progression beyond that are further exacerbated by the fact that many families have a limited timespan for attending groups, with many parents returning to work once their children reach school age. It is often, therefore, the more established (and thereby usually more confident) members that leave the group, negatively impacting the capability of the group overall to take on the responsibilities of running independently.

Despite these difficulties, there has been definite progress in building the confidence of families and in involving them (and in many cases enabling them to take the lead) in decision-making, if not always in the case of entire groups, then certainly in the case of many individual families. Over the three years of the project, staff have developed and enhanced their experience of running groups and of successfully managing any problematic issues that arise. Although the scheme has been unable to access dedicated facilitator training over the last year, staff have held brainstorming sessions together on how they could better facilitate peer support between families, enabling them to share experiences and develop ideas to take back to the groups. Staff report that they have found these sessions useful.

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There remain, however, significant (and in some cases probably insurmountable) obstacles to groups becoming fully independent of HomeStart. Many of these were raised by families in the extensive consultation carried out in Year 2, and most remain pertinent and have again been raised in Year 3 consultations. The key barriers as identified by families (and also recognised by staff and volunteers) can be summarised as:

Whilst staff continue to support families in building towards the levels of confidence and skills needed to run an independent group, there is a realisation that, given the low starting confidence of many families and the complexity of their needs, fully independent groups are unlikely to be a common outcome. Probably more realistic is a large proportion of groups attaining the status that a number are already reaching, of being largely independent in terms of decision making, but with the ‘back-up’ presence of Home-Start staff and volunteers to help families manage the issues listed above. One successful model for extending family involvement in groups beyond the ‘natural end point’ of their children starting school is the Aberystwyth-based Parent Support Group. This parents-only group enables the parents to remain in contact, meet up, and provide mutual support, and thereby helps to maintain the original network of families supporting each other.

Whilst long-term independent group-based peer support networks, as envisaged in the original project design, may be difficult to achieve, that does not mean that important informal support networks for families are not arising out of the project. During Year 3, Home-Start Ceredigion surveyed eight

19

families that had left group support at least six months previously, with results as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
How many families that you met through your group
are you still in contact with?
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3+
No. families still in contact with
How often are you in contact with them?
4
3
2
1
0
No contact Daily Weekly Monthly
Frequency of contact
----- End of picture text -----

Although this initial sample size is small, the results do give hopeful indications that lasting friendships, and thereby expanded informal support networks for families, are arising out of the group support provided by the project.

----- Start of picture text -----
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8. Volunteer recruitment, training and support

“I really enjoy helping in the group, it has really helped with my confidence and improved my own mental health.”

A Home-Start Ceredigion volunteer.

Supported families remain highly appreciative of the work of Home-Start Ceredigion’s team of volunteers. As in previous years, their feedback emphasises the kindness and friendliness of the volunteers, and the nonjudgemental nature of their support. Over the first three years of the project, 39 volunteers have delivered support to families. Of these, 23 were already volunteering for Home-Start Ceredigion at the start of the project, with four being recruited in Year 1 and ten in Year 2. Only two new volunteers have been recuited in Year 3 of the project but, crucially, Home-Start Ceredigion has a very good record of retaining its volunteers and only three have left over the same period. This brings the total number of volunteers to have left during the project to 17, meaning that the scheme has been able to retain relatively consistent numbers of around 20-25 active volunteers throughout the project to date.

Recruitment numbers have fallen quite steeply from Year 2, but anecdotal evidence suggests that this is a wider societal issue across the charitable sector, rather than the result of any particular failing in Home-Start Ceredigion’s volunteer recruitment strategy. Recruitment and retention of volunteers remains a key priority for the scheme and the Volunteer Officer continues to explore new and innovate ways to attract volunteers, liaising with other Home-Start schemes to share ideas. The scheme currently advertises its need for volunteers through recruitment drop-in sessions, leaflets, posters, social media, notifications via CAVO (Ceredigion Association of Voluntary Organisations), and presentations at local universities and further education colleges. A former volunteer, based at Aberystwyth University, has produced a video to encourage students to volunteer for Home-Start Ceredigion, and the Volunteer Officer is also looking into a virtual volunteer fair with CAVO. In Year 2, staff raised the point that a Home-Start UK-led national volunteer recruitment drive could be of great help in increasing volunteer numbers, and this remains pertinent. Whilst

21

volunteer recruitment difficulties have a limited effect on the ability of the scheme to run group support sessions, they do have a major impact in limiting the number of families that can be supported through home-visiting.

New volunteers were positive about the recruitment process in general, and about the content and delivery of their preparatory training, which they felt prepared them very well for their family support role. They had no suggestions for how the recruitment process could be improved. The Volunteer Officer commented that she had added a PowerPoint on Personal Safety for Volunteers to the preparatory training and updated the Safeguarding element of the training in line with Ceredigion County Council safeguarding policies. Several volunteers had attended First Aid training, which was well received. Time availability was a barrier to some volunteers accessing training opportunities, but the only comment regarding possible improvements in training provision was a request for some training opportunities in Aberystwyth.

Volunteers have supervision meetings every 3 to 4 months, but can contact staff at any time if there are issues that they need to discuss. Staff also arrange training sessions and coffee mornings (usually every 6 to 8 weeks) to provide volunteers with opportunities for peer support and developmental training. Volunteers are very appreciative of the support they receive from the staff team (see below).

“Knowing I have full support “Consistent, regular support – and advice whenever needed.” telephone, text and regular face to face and training sessions – opportunities to “Getting check“Always someone on meet other volunteers.” the end of the ups from staff.” “Positive support through phone if I have any supervision, text, phone “Supervision issues or questions.” and meetings.” meetings.” “Avril and the team “There has always been “That if I have any are consistently immense support for the issues I can talk at anysupportive, and willing volunteer. Any query or point to the to help with any problem is efficiently and organisers.” issues.” empathetically solved and “Knowing Lena is always in the group to there is at all times a friendly help and support me, and Avril is at the voice at the end of the phone.” end of the phone for advice.”

Some volunteer responses to “What has worked well with the support given to volunteers?”

22

9. Support for staff

Both the Scheme Manager and the trustees feel that their communication systems work well and that the trustees are kept up to date with the project’s progress, both in terms of financial accountability and progress towards the project’s targets. This is achieved through provision of progress reports by the Scheme Manager and financial reports by the Treasurer at the scheme’s regular committee meetings. Monthly accounting meetings are also held between the Treasurer and the Scheme Manager, who is also in regular email and/or telephone contact with the Chair and Safeguarding Officer, and with the other trustees when issues arise that need to be considered or discussed. Neither the Scheme Manager nor the trustees could suggest any improvements to how the reporting system currently works.

As has been the case throughout the project, staff reported high levels of satisfaction with how they are supported in their work. The primary methods of support are regular supervision meetings every three months and weekly team meetings, with the Scheme Manager also operating an open-door policy for any staff concerns. There was a general feeling amongst staff that there was always somebody available to talk to if they had any concerns, and that they work very well as a mutually supportive team. Monday team meetings were recognised as being particularly important for sharing advice, providing mutual support, and discussing issues and concerns that arise with supported families. Staff also felt that these meetings kept them apprised of the project’s progress and provided clarity on the targets within their own areas of work in terms of meeting the project’s outcomes. There were no suggestions for how support for staff could be improved.

Over the third year of the project, staff have been provided with a range of training opportunities to develop their skill set and to enable them to keep abreast of developments in their particular fields. Training courses completed were as follows (number of staff attending in brackets): Safeguarding (2); Domestic Abuse Through the Eyes of a Child (2); Working with Adults with Unresolved Childhood Trauma (2); Media, Children and Young People (1); Introduction to Benefits (1); Housing Costs and Universal Credit (1);

23

Introduction to Volunteer Management (1); Bowel & Bladder Training (1); First Aid (1); Food Hygiene (1).

10. Working with other agencies and raising public awareness of the project

“I feel that Home-Start is an invaluable service... I think further development and joint working for groups and continued close working relationships on individual cases is key. Thank you to Home-Start for being so fabulous.”

Jane Whalley, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service Manager.

Throughout the third year of the project, Home-Start Ceredigion has continued to work successfully with a range of other organisations, including referring agencies and other family and child support providers within the county. HomeStart Ceredigion staff participate in multi-agency forums such as Lead Professional meetings with Team Around the Family, and regularly liaise with other providers to ensure that the scheme’s support provision is complementary to other services, and to allow appropriate referrals of families between the county’s support-providing agencies. The Scheme Manager pointed out that these multi-agency meetings play a vital role in helping to identify any gaps in service provision. Staff also meet on an informal basis with other family support professionals when attending events and training sessions.

Organisations including Citizens Advice Bureau, St. John’s Ambulance and Hywel Dda University Health Board have provided workshops and talks for families, and Flying Start have been jointly running a family group with HomeStart Ceredigion in Aberporth. Home-Start’s work appears to be well known and very well respected and highly valued by other agencies (see, for example, the quote above). In an improvement from last year, all but one respondent (who did not answer the question) to the external agency evaluation questionnaire felt that they had been kept up-to-date with developments in Home-Start Ceredigion’s services over the past year.

In terms of the project’s contribution to other agencies, of the six external professionals who participated in the project evaluation, all six felt that it had enhanced their own organisation’s services, four that the project had helped

24

them to meet their own family and child support targets, and two that it had informed/contributed to the development of their own organisation’s services.

The majority of families that attend groups or receive School Ready support are self-referrals, having heard about the groups and the School Ready service either through word-of-mouth or via the scheme’s expanded social media presence. However, the scheme also advertises its services through other means, including poster drops in the villages and towns where groups are being held, sending referrers updated posters on group locations in their areas, flyer drops, and sending emails to local schools to share information on their parent networks. Staff and volunteers have also run a range of activities and open play days to engage with the public and advertise the scheme’s services (see Section 6.5 above). The high number of self-referrals being recieved by the scheme suggests that these methods are proving successful in promoting public awareness of Home-Start Ceredigion’s services.

Pictures from RAY Ceredigion Play Day 2024

25

11. Financial Report HOm￿Start Ceredigion Detsiled Statement ofFinaneial Activities for the YeaT Ended 31 March 2025 Total 2025 Tothl 2024 tk)naiion5 and leg￿leS tirdDLS, includins 8fdnts Managerncnt fees 2,353 216,224 10.220 220.300 228.360 228.797 JRveslmenl Intcrcst ¢ash dewsits 971 440 971 ChurilÈTOl¢ I￿V￿leS Wages Rcnl Trnvel expenses Insurance Voluntrer and sChc￿e cxrtnsts (inc trdvcl) TTaining & LOL Support sroups F.amily hysicne & food povtty Oftice expense$ Tig Fee Consullavcy 1143,9051 112,811) {4,()01) {2.4431 (1.9441 (J,772} {7.930) {fb.n12) (11,¥321 (4,1261 (3,2501 200,Q261 {164,3181 112,8101 (9.459} {1.061} (1,3521 1927) (8.0941 113.824) (IU.258} 12,5nOI (2.2501 1226.8531 AccounTawy #nd Icgaj fc<s Bank kh1￿¢5 11,8001 Iifvii 11,800) {1.964} 11,9931 This docs not forni part of th¢ 5￿tr￿￿ry finoncial 5tstrm¢nts. Page 22 26

Income 2022-2023 2023-2024 2024-2025
lottery £100,000.00 £100,000.00 £100,000.00
Families First £45,000.00 £45,000.00 £45,000.00
Lloyds TSB £25,000.00
HenrySmith £35,500.00 £36,050.00 £53,800.00
Home-Start Uk £6,000.00 £5,000.00 £5,000.00
PovertyGrants £1,070.00 £41,123.00 £2,787.97
com foundation £5,000.00 £5,000.00
othergrants £2,557.05
moondance £8,000.00
mumsgroup £2,500.00
cavo £10,000.00
cavopoverty £1,500.00
Pears
donation
£217,570.00 £234,673.00 £228,645.02

Company registration number: 05441452 Charity registratlon number: 1110771 Home-start Ceredigion (A ¢ompany Itmited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 LHP Accountants Ltd l North Road Aberaeron Ceredigion SA46 OJD

Home-start Ceredigion Contents Reference and Administrative Details Trustees, Report 2to3 Independent Examinerfs Report Statement of Financial Activiti¢s 5t06 Balance Sheet Notes to the Financial Ststetnents 8t0 18

Home•Start Ceredigion Reference and Administrative Details Ch#firm8n Jane Thomas Secretary Sharon Morrss Charity Registration Numher 1110771 Company RegEstrallon Number 05441452 The charity is incorpordted in England and Wales. 1st Floor 37 High Street Lampeter Ceredigion SA48 7AW ReElstered Office Independent ExAminer LHP Accowitants Ltd l North Road Aberacron Ceredigion SA46 OJD Pag¢ I

Home-start Ceredigion Trustees, Report The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual rcport togcth¢r with the f￿anCIal statements and auditors, Itport of the charitable Company for the Ye￿ ended 31 March 2025. Objectives and activities Public benefit The trustees confinn that they have ¢omplAed with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities A¢t 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the CEwity Commi&8ion for England and Wales. Flnancil revlew Policy on reserv Based on a realistic ￿SeSsment of the resetves needed the trnstees consider that the appropriate level of free reserves is 200/0 of annual expenditure. This is based on the following coDsideratÈons :. a) the nccd lo provide for potential redundancy expenses in case of a disruption to funding b) to provide for any shortfajl in funds generated to cover the costs of nmning the scheme c) to protect against unforeseen events The Erust¢es consider that at PiEseTht a contingency reserve of £20,000 is required. Monies held in the unrestrict¢d account fund is constantly reviewed and used to support any Shortfall in essential staff costs. There is also a sum held for contingency costs. Trustees 2nd officers The trustees and officeis setving during the year and sine¢ the year end were as follows: Trustees.. Attnwen Bell (resigned l May 2024) Janet Young Mrs Mary Eileen Davics FeliGity Smart Miriam Menhennett Geoff Elms (appointed 3 April 2024) Chairmati: Jane Thomas Secretary: Sharon Morris Structllre governante gnd management ￿￿Ure ofgoverning documettt The charity is controllcd by its governing document, a deed of trusL and constitutes a limited company. limited by gU￿?nIe4 &8 defin¢d by the Companies Act 2006. Page 2

Home-start Ceredigion Trusteesl Report Statement of trustees, responsibillties The trustees (who are also the directors of Home-start Ceredigion 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 (Unitcd Kingdom Generally Acceptcd Accountirhg Praccicc), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.. Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial ststements for each financial year. Under company law the trnstees must not approve the financial statements unless they are sati5fi¢d that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of thc charitable company and of the incoming rcsourccs and application of resourccs, including its income and expenditvre, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: sel¢ct suitable accounting polici¢s and apply th¢m Consistently- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; make judgements and estlmates that are reasonable and prudent; state whethei. applicable accounting standards, cotnprising FRS 102 have been followed, subject to any material departures discloscd and explained in the financial statcments; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern b&8is unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The tmslees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statement5 comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company 8Ad h¢nc¢ for taking ftasonabl¢ Steps for the pr¢v¢ntion and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for Ihe mainienance and integrity of the corporate and financial inforn)ation included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation alld dissemination of financial sthtemenis may difter from legislation in other jurisdictions. SmY411 eompanles provision statement This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime TJnd¢r th¢ Companies Act 2006. The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on ..1210%1.1- . and signed on its behalf by". eTh Page 3

Home-St2rt Ceredigion Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Homtrstart Ceredigion ('the Company,) I report to the charity trustees on my ex3mination of the a￿ountS of the CoEfLpany for the year ended 31 March 2025. Respon5ibilitles alld basis of report As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of thc Companies Act 2006 ('"the 2006 Act,). Having satisfied myself that the a￿Ourtts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and arc ¢ligible for independent examinatiory I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accouLlts as carried out under section 145 ot thc Charities Act 2011 ('"th¢ 2011 Act.). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission UTEder section 145{5)(b) of the 2011 Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my exatninalion. I confimi that no matters have come to my attention in conn¢¢tion ivith the examination giving me cause to believe.. accounting rewrds were not kept in respect of Home-start Ceredigion as required by section 386 of the 2006 2. the ac¢ounts do not accord with those Tecords: or 3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a '"true and fair viewd ivhich is not a matter considered &s part of independent examination; or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recotnmended Practice for accounting Ènd reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing th¢ir ounts in accordance with the Financial Rcporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)]. I have no concerns and have come acmss no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drnivn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts ￿) be reached. Owain Rhys Jones ACCA l North Road Ab¢raeron Ceredigion SA46 OJD Page 4

Home-start Ceredigion Statemellt of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Uncluding Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses) UnTestricted fuDds R¢strlct¢d nds Total 2025 Note Income and Endowments from- Donations and legacies Investment incomc 8,060 971 220,300 228,360 971 Totsl Éncome 9,031 220 300 229,331 Expebditllre on: Charitable activities Other expenditure Total expenditure {1.233) (204,793) (1,964) (206,026) (1,964) (207,990) {1,2J3) 206,757) Net income Trdnsfers beLiveen ￿ndS 7,798 1,000 13,543 1.000) 21,341 Net movement in funds 8,798 12,543 21,341 Reconciliation of ￿lld$ Total fiJnds brouglLt forvvard Total funds carried forward 103,130 40.547 143,677 14 111,928 Unrestricted funds 53,090 165,018 Total 2024 Restricted fitnds Note Illcome and Endowments from: Donations and legacies Investment income 13,073 440 215,724 228,797 440 Total income 13,513 215.724 229,237 Expenditure on.. Charitable activities Other expenditure Totsl expenditure Nel Income/(￿pendIÈurc) Net movement in fimds (226,853) 1.993) (226,853) 1.993 (22S,846 228,846 13,513 13,122) 391 13,513 (13,122) 391 Reconciliatlon of fitnds Total thnds brought fornvard Total thnds carried foThvard 89,617 53,669 143.286 14 103.130 40.547 The notes on pages 8 to 18 forni an integral part of these financial statements. Page 5 143,677

Home2Start Ceredigion Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (Including Income 2nd Expenditure Aecount and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses) All of the charity's activities dertve from continuing operntiotts during the above two perftods. The funds breakdown for 2024 is shown in not¢ 14. The notes on pages 8 to 18 forn] an integral part of these financial statement& Page 6

Home-start Ceredigion (Registration llumber: 05441452) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025 2025 2024 Note Current assets Debtors C&qh at bank and in hand li 3,478 167,727 12 152,256 171.205 152,256 Creditors: Amounts fallillE due within one year Net assets 13 (6.187) 165,018 8,579 143,677 Funds of the chArity: Re5trKcted income fund5 Restricted funds 53,090 40,547 Unrtttrficted income ￿ndS Unrestricted fLmds 111,928 103,130 Total fun(L% 14 165,018 143,677 For the fu)oncial year ending 31 March 2025 the charity entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Compsnies Aci 2006 relating to small coEnpanies. DRrectot3' responsibilities.. The members have not requiiEd the charity to obtsin an audAt of its accounts for the year in question in accoi'dance with section 476. and The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complytng with the requirements of the Act wiib r¢spcct to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. The financia] statements on pages 5 to 18 were approved by the trustees. and authorised for issue on .L3J.¢>4115 and signed on their behalf by= ane homas an The notes on pages 8 to 18 fom an integral part of these fin8mctaI 8tafrments.

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 I Charity status The charity is limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales, and consequenily does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable lo Contribute an amount not exceeding £1 ts>wards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation. The address of its registered office is: ISÉ Floor 37 High Street Lampeter Ceredigion SA48 7A W 2 Aeeounting policies Summary of slgDifi¢ant geeountlng policles and key accounting esttmates The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been con51Stently applied to all the years presenteQ unless otherwise stateiL Statement of eomplianee The financial statcments have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Stalement of Recommended Practice (applicable to charitics preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in th¢ UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland {FRS 102) and th¢ Companies Act 2006. Basis of preparatlon Horne￿start Ceredigion meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially rc¢ognised at historical cost or ti7nsaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes. Golng concern The trustees consid¢r that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to coniinue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity. Exemption from preparing a ¢o$h flow statemettt The charity opted to early adopt Bulletin I published on 2 February 2016 and have therefore not included a cash flow statement in these fmancial statements. IncoJ)e Yand endoivmtnts All income is recognised once the charity h&s entitlement to the incom4 it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the incotlle r¢ceivable can be mcasured r¢liably. Page 8

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Yegdr Ended 31 Mareh 2025 DoAailons andlegacles Donations are rccognised whcn the charity has been notified in writing of both the synount K￿d settt¢ment date. I the evcnt that a donation is subjecc to conditions that require a level of performance by the charity before the Charity is ¢ntitled to the fi￿ds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions arc fully met, or thc Ifilmenl of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that th¢se conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period. Grants receivable Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where perfomance eonditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be M￿ the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferr¢d income to be released. Expendlture All expenditure is recogni5ed once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditLwe. it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured rcliably. All costs aye allocated to thc applicable expenditure heading that aggi'egate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attrÉbut¢d to particular heading5 they have been Allocated on a basis conststent with the use of rcsources. Cliaritllble actlvili Charitable expenditure comprises those costs in¢urred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It in¢ludes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. Support costs Suppor¢ costs include central functions and have becn allocated to activity cost categories on a basts consistent with the use of ￿soUrCes. Governsnce costs These include the costs attributable to thc tharity's compliatice with constiÉutional and statutory requirements. Taxation The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph I Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the defu]ition of a charitable company for UK Corporation tax purposes. Accordingly. the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of incomc or capital gains received withtn categories covered by Chapter 3 Part l i of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the cxtent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable puiposcs. Depreclation and amortisation Depreciation is provided at the folloHryng annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated usefijl life. Asset cla35 Fixtures and fittings CotLputer equipment Depreclation method and rate 330/0 on cost 33Yo on cost Page 9

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Trade debtors Traar dcbiorb arr atnounL¥ duc from cusiomers tor merchandise sold or services perfonned in the ord&nary course of business. Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured al amortised cost using the effective interest method, less pmvision for impairnient. A pi'ovision for thc impairment of trade debtorn is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect a][ amounts due according to the original rernis of the receivables. Cash and cash equfival¢nts Cash and cash equivalents comprise c&sh on hand and call deposits, and other short-t¢rni highly liquid invcstments that are readily convertible to a known amoutjt of cash and arc subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. Fund structure Unrestricted income tunds are general fimds that are available for use at the trustees discretion in tiirtherance of the objectives of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted income ￿ndS are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes. the use of which is restrtcted to that area or purpose. Fillanolal instruments Classlfication Financial assets and financial liabilitics are rccogniscd when the charity becomes a paty to the contra¢tual provisions of thc instrLuncnL. Financi￿ liabililies and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangemcnts entered into. An equitv instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the charity after deducting all of its liabilities. Page 10

Homtrstart Ceredigion Notes to the Finallcial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Recognltloft measurement All financial assets and liabilities are initially measured at transaction pric¢ (including transaction costs). exctp¢ for those financial assets elassified as at fair value through profit or 105s, which aff initially measured at fair value (whith is nornially thc transaction price excluding transaction costs), unless the arrangement constitutes a fmancing transaction. If an arrangement constitutes a financtng transaction, the financial asset or financial liability is measured at the PTesent value of the futsjre payments discountcd at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument Financial assets and liabilities are only offset in the statement of financial posttion Whe￿ and only when there exists a legally enforceable right to set off the recognlsed amounts and th¢ tharity intends eith¢r to 5ettl¢ on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultancously. Financial ￿Sets are derecognised when and only when a) the contractual rights to the cash flows from the financial asset expire or are settled, b) the chmrity transfcrs to a¥Jother paty substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asseL or c) the charity. despite having retained some. but not all, significant risks and reward5 of ownership. has transferred control of the asset lo another party. Financial liabilities are derecognised only when the obligation specifIed in the contract Is discharged, cancelled or expires. Pagell

llome-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 3 Income from donations #nd legacies Unrestrleted Dds Gener41 Restrieted funds Total 2025 Donations and legacies. Donations Grants, including capital grants: Grants Managcment fces 2,060 2,060 220,300 220,300 6,000 8,060 220,300 228,360 Unrestricted nds General Restrfirted funds Total 2024 Donations and legacies" Donations Grants, including ¢apital grants" Grants Management fees 2,353 2.353 500 10.220 215,724 216,224 10.220 215.724 228,797 4 Investment Income Unr¢strlcted nds General Total funds Intrest receivable and similar income. Interest receivable on bank deposits Totsl for 2025 971 971 971 971 Total for 2024 440 440 Page l?

Hom&Start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 5 Expenditure eharEknble aethpities Unrestricted funds Designated Restricted nds Total nds Note Wages ReJ)t Travel expenses Insurance Volunteer and scheme expenses (inc travel) Training & courses Support groups Family hygtene & food poverty Office expenses Tig Fee Consultancy Total for 202S 143,905 12.811 4.001 2,443 1.944 539 143,905 12,811 4,001 2.443 1,944 1,772 7,930 0,012 11,832 4,126 1,233 7.930 6,012 11,832 4,126 3,250 1,233 198,793 200,026 Total for 2024 226,853 226,853 In addition to the expenditure at￿lysed aljove, there are also govemance costs of £1,800 (2024 - £1,800) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 6 for further details. Page 13

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financi21 Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 An21yqiq of governAnce 2nd SUDDOrt costs Restricted ds Total funds Governance costs A￿OUnta￿eY artd legal fees Bank Charges 1,800 1,800 164 Tota) for 2025 1.964 1.964 Totsl for 2024 1.993 1.993 7 Trustees rewuneration and expenses No t￿stee8, nor any persons connected with them. have received any remuneration from the Charity durlng the year. No trustees have r¢ceived any rcimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year. 8 Staff costs The monthly average number of persons {including senior managcment I leadership team) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows: 2025 2024 Family Support No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year. 9 Independent examiner's remuneratio 2025 2024 Other fees to exxTn5ners Examination-related assurance serviccs All other scrvices 840 960 840 960 1,800 1,800 Page 14

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 Marcb 2025 10 TAxAtioD The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from t&xatiOEL 11 Debtors 2025 Other debtors 3,478 12 Cash and eash equlvalents 2025 2024 C&8h at bank 167,727 152,256 13 Creditors: amounts fal]kng due within one year 2025 2024 Accruals 6,187 8,579 14 Funds Balance at I April 2024 Balance 8t 31 Mareh 2025 Incoming re50urees Resourees expended Transfers Unre$trÉcted funds General 103,130 9,031 (2i.000) 87,161 Contingency Fund 20,000 20,000 Training Fund (1,233) 6,000 4,767 Total unrestrlcted thnds 103,130 9,03 I 1,233) E,000 111,928 Page 15

Home-stsrt Ceredigion Notes to the Ftnaneial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 B21anee at i Aprll 2024 Ineomlng Ba12nee at 31 Mareb Z025 Resources ¢xpend¢d r¢sourccJ Transfers Restrlcted funds Big Lottery Fund Families First Home-start UK Henry Smith Charity CCC Food Poverty Moondance 430 loo,000 45,000 (100.430) (45,000) (9.li5) (31,463) (3,023) (7,686) (10,000) 9.155 17.734 5,542 7.686 53.800 1,500 (1.000) 39,071 4,019 CAVO Pears 10,000 i 0,000 10,000 RestrEcted funds 40,547 220,300 {206.757) 1,000 53.090 Totsl thnds 143,677 229.331 207,990) 165.018 Page 16

Homtrstart Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 BalaDee at I April 2023 Incoming resources Resovrees expended Balance gt 31 MAreh 2024 Unrestrieted funds General 89,617 13.513 E03.130 Restricted funds Big Lottery Fwid Lloyds TSB Familie5 First Home.Start UK Community Foundation Wales Henry Smith Charity J&H Rausing CCC Food Poverty Home-start Mums Group Moondance National CTrid 4,032 17,140 3,887 11,655 1,995 12.403 2,557 100,000 (103,602) (17.140) (48,887) (2,500) (6,995) (30,719) (2.557) (1.632) (2,500) (2.314) 10,000 430 45.000 9,155 5,000 36.050 17,734 7,174 2.500 10,000 10.000 5,542 7,686 Restricted ￿ndS 53,669 215,724 (228.846) 40.547 Total thhds 143 286 228,846) 143,677 IS Analysls of net assets between thnds Total knnds at 31 March 2025 Unrestricted funds General Desiguated Restrlcted funds CurreTrt &ssets Current liabilities 87.162 20.000 49.276 (6,188 156,438 (6,187) 150,251 Total net assets 87,163 20,000 43,088 Unrestrleted funds General Total funds at 31 Mgrcb 2024 Restrlcted funds Current assets Curreni liabilities 103,131 49,125 (8,579) 40,S46 152,256 (8,579) Total nel assets 102.13E 143,677 Pa£e 17

Home-start Ceredigion Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 16 Related party transactions There werc no related party transactions in the ycar. Pagc 18

Home-start Ceredxgion Statement of Financial Activities by fund for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Unrestrlcted Funds Total Tot21 Unrestrleted UJJrestrict¢d Funds Funds 2025 2024 Income a•d Endowments from: Donations and legaci¢s Investment income 8,060 971 13,073 440 Total income 9,031 13,513 Expcndlture on: Charitable activities (1,233) Total expenditure 1,233) Net income Transfers betweern fimds 7,798 1,000 13,513 Net movement in funds 8,798 13.513 Reconciliation of fund5 Total funds brought fornvard 103,130 89,617 Total funds carried fonvard 111,928 103,130 This page does not forni part of the statutory financial statements. Page 19

Home-start Ceredigion Statement of Financial Activities by fund for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Restricted Funds Total Restricted Funds 2025 Total Restricted Funds 2024 Infom¢ and Endowments from: Donations and legacies Tota] income 220,300 215,724 Expenditure on: Charitable activities Other expenditure Governancc ￿sts 220,300 215,724 (204,793) (164) (226,853) (193) (1,800) (228,846) Total expeThditure Net iticomel{expenditure) Transfers between funds {206.757} 13,543 (13,122) Net movement in fvnds Recon¢lllation of fi￿dS Total fi￿dS brought fonvard Total funds carried forward 12.543 (13,122) 40,547 53,669 53,090 40,547 Thffts page does not forni part of the statutory fmancial statements. Page 20

Home￿Start Ceredigion Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 Mareh 2025 Total 2025 Total 2024 Income and Endowments from: Donations and legacics (analysed below) Investment income (analysed below) Total income 228.360 971 228.797 440 229,331 229.237 Expendithre on: Charitable activities (analysed below) Other expenditure (analysed below) Total expenditsre (206,026) (1,964) (226,853) 1,993) (207,990) 228,846 Net income 21.341 391 Net movement in fvnd8 21,341 391 Reeonciliation of funds Total ￿ndS brOll￿t forlvard Total funds carried fonvard 143,677 143.286 165 018 143.677 This page does not fonn part of the Sla￿tory financial statements. Page 21

Home-start Ceredigion Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 Total 2025 Total 2024 Donailons andlegocies Donations and lega¢i¢5 Grdnts, including capitsl grants Management fees 2,060 220.300 6,000 2.353 216,224 10,220 228,J60 228,797 Inveslmeni Incon Intertgt on cash deposits 971 971 440 Cliurituble aclivlde& Wages Rent Travcl expenses Insurance Volunteer and scheme expenses (inc travel) Training & courses Support groups Family hygiene & food poverty ojrice expenses Tig Fee Consultancy (143,905) (12,811) (4.001) (2,443) (1,944) (1.772) (7,930) (6.012) (11.832) {4,126) 3.250) (200,026) (164.318) (12,810) (9.459) (1.061) (1.352) (927) (8,094) (13.824) (10.258) (2,500) (2,250) (226,853) Other wendithre Accountancy and legal fees Bank charges (1,800) (164) {1,800) 193) This page does not forni part of the statutory financial statements. Page 22