PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
REGISTERED CHARITY 1117115
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT AND STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
JOHNSON, MURKETT AND HURST CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
Rawdon House Rawdon Terrace Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire LE65 2GN
and
38 Millstone Lane Leicester LE1 5JN
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
The Trustees are pleased to present their report and the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Legal and Administrative
Phoenix Children's Foundation is a registered charity, number 1117115, that was established by Trust Deed dated 26th August 2006.
The objective of the Charity is to provide disabled and severely ill children throughout the UK with vital equipment and/or therapeutic activities. The aim is to help these special needs children with their physical and mental development in order to enhance the quality of their lives.
The trustees review the charity's aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at what has been achieved during the year, ensuring that the aims, objectives and activities remain focused on the charity's principal purpose. In carrying out these reviews and in all their duties, the trustees have paid full regard to the public benefit guidance issued by the Charity Commission.
The charity trustees during the year were:
Mr Douglas Wrenn Mr Mark Curry Mr Daniel Smith
Trustees are appointed by members of the charity in executive committee.
Activities and Achievements
From April 2023, we saw our core group of volunteers grow as people found their work patterns changed at the end of COVID. The year started on a very positive note with the appointment of a new full time member of staff leading our SEND young people provision. Our Adult Mental Health group continued to grow and our relationship with several primary schools expanded, making the appointment of this new member of staff necessary.
Continued support came in the form of grants from Delamere, Tesco, Amazon, Maud Elkington, Douglas Arter, Neighbourly, Stagecoach and Cadent enhancing our forest school area and our special needs enrichment resources. Some of these organisations also offered support in the form of Day to Make a Difference volunteering days and their practical help has made a massive difference to enabling us to undertake heavy, physical work, such as tree planting, bark spreading, bulb planting and generally maintaining the forest school area.
We upgraded our CCTV and computers to ensure the office could run more efficiently and the CCTV provides an extra level of security for our young people and beneficiaries. We also purchased a new cabin/classroom which has enhanced our ability to host our own AIM Awards, as we have been supporting the ASDAN qualification for our young people attending from schools it was a natural progression to set up our own qualification offering and we chose to go with the AIM Award as it was very diverse and enables all levels of ability to undertake and achieve a qualification successfully. We also use this space to host our Music Therapy Sessions undertaken by an external and highly qualified/experienced Music Therapist.
We invested in the CPOMS platform which is a safeguarding tool to bolster our confidence in handling and coping with the very difficult level of risks our young people and staff face. We continued with our Team Teach training as some of our young people are extremely unpredictable and this has helped boost staff confidence immensely.
Nita finalised her Forest School Level 3 training successfully and has also since taken part in a qualification to become an Outdoor Mental Health Practitioner. Other staff have taken part in training in Safeguarding, SEND, First Aid, Fire, Medication, CPR, etc.
Chester successfully registered as a Therapy Dog and our Lambs, Ponies and Alpaca visits continue to be in demand and continue to be their usual success. In December we had an absolute disaster. George, our premium Reindeer, died. We put this down to his age and whilst we were extremely upset as he was 13 years old, we put it down to natural causes. In the following week, we lost three more Reindeer. This was absolutely devastating, not only did we have a calendar full of bookings, we also had
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
continued
Activities and Achievements continued
no idea as to what had caused this and the emotional distress this causes was beyond comprehension, but our loyal band of supports rallied and all of our visits except one were undertaken with the Miniature Donkeys, which obviously, income wise, was a disaster but it meant everybody had their Christmas visit they had booked and our clients, whilst being very sad about our reindeer, were all so happy that we had managed to do something to make Christmas for them. We had postmortems done on the last three reindeers which all came back with gastrointestinal symptoms but no clear, confirmed cause until three to four months later when a link was found by the vet with their food. The mill concerned had been found to have contaminated batches of food and listeria was present. We still are not sure what to do with this information as there are other reindeer owners that were affected by this, and we await further instruction from our vet and reindeer group.
To also add to our suffering we have had the wettest Winter on record, and we have suffered on numerous occasions, with absolutely dreadful flooding. We had to rescue the Alpacas from waist deep water and the ground has been horrendous - cutting off our access to the forest school area. The floods also made the access road impassable in places and therefore forcing some of our children to be unable to attend our provision. We have worked closely with the Rivers Trust, Severn Trent and the Environment Agency to try and resolve some of these issues and hope that this Winter, following on from the measures we have undertaken, will able us to continue uninterrupted by extremes of weather.
We have come through the most difficult Christmas period in the history of the Charity but due to the enormous amount of support that we have received from friends, service users and the local community we came out, whilst very sad, very proud of what we had managed to achieve.
We look forward to the next year, building on our progress, both with our academic provision, our forest school provision and with our growing SEND provision. We would like to make this more widely available to young people and particularly expand this to young people that are not funded and are in an emergency situation with their families absolutely at their wits end whilst waiting for support. We feel we have the confidence to offer this to some of our most needy families and whilst it is a slight repurposing of our initial aims, we feel this is desperately needed with so many children suffering from being out of education during COVID and the after affects it had, are now becoming more apparent and devastating to families. We have the facility, we have the provision, we have the staff and from the calls we are receiving this is becoming a crisis situation for young people who are not in education, and we can meet this need.
Grant Making Policy
The Charity makes grants to individuals and organisations that promote healthy recreation to special needs and terminally ill children. Donations will also be made to purchase essential equipment and therapy-based activities required by children up to the age of eighteen years.
We also continue to support visits to The Stables to make best use of the facilities.
continued
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
Reserves Policy
The reserve account remains at a stable and healthy amount, and we have also increased this by £5,000.
It remains an objective to accumulate reserves to provide a minimum of 12 months running costs.
Risks Policy
The trustees have assessed the major risks that could affect the Charity and are satisfied that procedures are in place to identify such risks at the earliest opportunity and to address them.
Trustees
As ever, our search for trustees continues and we are looking to appoint another two trustees.
Approved by the Trustees
Mr D Wrenn
Mr M Curry
Mr D Smith
Date
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Phoenix Children's Foundation
I report to the Charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the Charity's Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the Charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mr P J Nash FCA Independent Examiner Johnson, Murkett & Hurst Chartered Accountants Rawdon House Rawdon Terrace Ashby de la Zouch Leicestershire LE65 2GN
Date:
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
Receipts and Payments Account: Year to 31 March 2024
| INCOME GENERAL FUND Income receipts: Income, donations and collections etc. Charities Aid and sundry donations Bank Interest Received Miscellaneous Livestock Sales RESTRICTED FUNDS Toilet Replacement Grants/Donations Forest Enrichment Area Grants/Donations Disabled and Special Needs Holiday Scheme Grants/Donations Alternative Education Program Grants/Donations Yurt Roof Replacement Grants/Donations Sensory Room Grants/Donations Flourish Project Grant from the National Lottery Donation to Flourish with Phoenix CIC Total Incoming Resources |
123,165 790 400 |
2024 £ 124,355 - - - - 2,125 1,500 - 127,980 |
112,355 209 - |
2023 £ 112,564 9,890 9,799 - 1,400 2,400 500 - 136,553 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
Receipts and Payments Account: Year to 31 March 2024
continued
| EXPENDITURE RESTRICTED FUNDS Forest School Expenditure Toilet Replacement (Miscellaneous costs) Replace Yurt Roof Alternative Education Program GENERAL FUND Payments Charitable activity direct expenditure: Donations to Flourish With Phoenix CIC Donations Provision of Therapeutic Activities Fund Raising costs Livestock Expenses Enrichment Expenses Governance and administration costs: Wages Light & Heat Repairs & Renewals Insurance Subscriptions Postage, printing & stationery Telephone/Fax Accountancy Bookkeeping Costs Sundry Loss on Disposal of Polaris Ranger Loss on Deceased Reindeer Total payments Net Receipts/(Payments) for the year GENERAL FUND RESTRICTED FUNDS |
2024 £ 4,356 - 1,389 870 - - 49,937 5,290 12,662 7,551 32,616 825 8,275 277 70 309 822 - 1,875 2,387 650 8,500 138,661 (10,681) (7,691) (2,990) (10,681) |
2023 £ 7,736 2,544 530 6,700 1,000 28,526 4,626 10,728 1,481 11,021 873 2,226 1,227 133 610 673 1,800 1,549 1,844 - 85,827 50,726 37,547 13,179 50,726 |
|---|---|---|
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 March 2024
| Note Fixed Assets 3 Monetary Assets Bank Current Account - HSBC Bank Reserve Account - HSBC - HSBC Phoenix Sponsor A Pony - HSBC Solar Panels - HSBC Savings Loan - Flourish With Phoenix CIC General Fund Balance at 1 April 2023 Fund transfer Net Receipts/(Payments) for the year Restricted Fund 4 Balance at 1 April 2023 Fund Transfer Net Receipts/(Payments) for the year Balance at 31 March 2023 |
2024 2023 £ £ 173,552 165,400 11,135 9,995 1,904 9,325 4,728 4,080 . 15,015 45,485 45,160 63,252 83,575 (240) (1,730) 236,564 247,245 200,816 162,144 - 1,125 (7,691) 37,547 193,125 200,816 46,429 34,375 - 1,125 ) ( 2,990 ) ( 13,179 43,439 46,429 236,564 247,245 |
|---|---|
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION Notes to the Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
1. Accounting Policies
The following accounting policies have been used consistently in the preparation of these accounts.
a) Basis of Accounting
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
2. Taxation
Phoenix Children's Foundation has charitable status and is not liable to taxation.
3. Fixed Assets
Governance and Administration
| Computer Equipment Office Furniture and Equipment Stable (50%) Office Building Log Store Charitable Activities Stable (50%) Classroom Toilet Block Sensory Garden Solar Panels Sheds & Cabin Biological Assets: Reindeer Donkeys Goats Polaris Ranger Total 4. Restricted Fund Balances Facilities at Stable Yard Forest Enrichment Area Toilet Replacement Advanced Education Program Yurt Roof Replacement Sensory Room Flourish Project |
Brought forward 01 Apr 23 £ 8,363 7,137 1,225 8,227 318 25,270 Brought forward 01 Apr 23 £ 1,224 28,642 34,478 14,113 31,730 12,892 6,200 4,000 - 6,850 140,129 165,400 |
Additions £ - 5,615 - - - 5,615 Additions £ - 8,637 - - - - 6,000 3,000 250 - 17,887 23,502 |
Disposals £ - - - - - - Disposals £ - - - - - - (8,500) - - (6,850) 15,350 - (15,350) 2024 £ 29,563 1,394 7,346 - 3,136 2,000 - 43,439 |
Carried forward 31 Mar 24 £ 8,363 12,752 1,225 8,227 318 30,885 Carried forward 31 Mar 24 £ 1,224 37,279 34,478 14,113 31,730 12,892 3,700 7,000 250 - 142,666 173,552 2023 £ 29,563 5,750 7,346 870 2,400 500 - 46,429 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION Notes to the Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
(continued)
5. Sponsor A Pony
A small group of miniature ponies, donkeys, alpacas and reindeer is kept by the Charity. These are taken to venues, such as hospitals, schools, care homes and hospices. They are part of the fundraising operation in that they generate support from the public. They are also used at the Charity premises in provision of therapeutic activities, thus fulfilling the charitable objective.
The Trustees are aware of the importance of these animals in both roles, but are also conscious of the costs involved. Consequently, a Sponsor a Pony Scheme was started with the ultimate intention of this scheme fully funding their upkeep, as it continues to achieve.
Other income includes donations to the above scheme, these funds being utilised for the upkeep and welfare of the animals. Costs are allocated between Fund Raising Costs and Provision of Therapeutic Activities.
6. Flourish with Phoenix Community Interest Company
On 18 February 2019, Flourish with Phoenix Community Interest Company was incorporated with the intention of addressing the issues that young people have in improving their life chances and quality of life. It enables services to be provided on a fee basis with any excess income being paid to Phoenix Children's Foundation. During the year under review, the company has made significant donations to the charity.