REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1121089
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2022 FOR SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2022
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 3 to 10 |
| Report of the Independent Examiner | 11 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 12 |
| Balance Sheet | 13 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 14 to 15 |
SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2022
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st October 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in March 2015.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Charity Name Sam’s Place NW Ltd
Registered Charity number 1121089
Registered office
Aiming Higher 231-233 Church Street Blackpool Lancashire FY1 3PB
Trustees
M Smith – chair (appointed 03.04.23) S Lancaster (appointed 13.06.22) N Oldham (appointed 03.04.23) M Riches (appointed 03.04.23) G Whiteley (appointed 24.05.22) S Hudson (appointed 24.05.22) J Martin – secretary (appointed 24.05.22) D Henderson (appointed 24.05.22) V Machen (resigned 24.05.22) J Thwaites (resigned 07.04.22) I Wigglesworth (resigned 24.05.22) K Berry (appointed 24.05.22, resigned 10.12.22)
Independent Examiner
Louise Owen AAT 3 Ryldon Place Blackpool Lancashire FY4 4JD
Bank
The Co-operative Bank 147 Church Street Blackpool Lancashire PR1 3UD
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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The Charitable Company (hereafter referred to as “the Charity”) is controlled by its governing document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
As set out in the Articles of Association, the board of trustees comprises not less than three trustees but not more than 12 trustees.
The Board is responsible for the recruitment and appointment of new Trustees. Each year a skills audit is undertaken and if gaps are identified, a recruitment process takes place. The recruitment process has been developed in order to attract a diverse group of trustees with appropriate skills, knowledge and experience.
Occasionally potential trustees register an interest in the organisation. Following this, a meeting is arranged with the Chair and and the potential trustee is held on a waiting list until an appropriate vacancy arises.
Organisational structure
The activities of the organisation are governed by the board of trustees, all of whom are directors.
Board meetings are held once per quarter and a board assurance framework is being established in order to guide the board.
The Treasurer provides assurance to the board around organisational finance.
The board of trustees appoints the Directors who report to the Board on the operational running of the organisation.
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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
Sam’s Place supports children and young adults who have physical, sensory or learning disabilities, life-reducing conditions or complex needs. The charity provides opportunities for enterprise/learning to encourage employability skills; recreational and social facilities, and activities, to promote inclusion, peer networks and reduce isolation; information, advice, and guidance for the whole family.
Public Benefit
Our purpose is to give young people with disabilities in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre the same opportunities as everyone else and to improve the quality of their lives.
Sam’s Place is a safe place to socialise and develop life skills. At Sam’s Place we look forward to regular social events with our friends. We come together to have fun through a range of adapted activities. Through Sam’s Place we increase our confidence and independence. Sam’s Place is member-led.
Sam's Place could not continue with the Work Experience project as employers were hesitant to have students in their workplaces due to the continued risk of Covid-19. However, we looked at other ways we could help the students obtain work experience and decided to write a Work Skills Course and this was commissioned by one of our local SEN schools to run from October through to December. This was very well received by both the students and the teaching staff who came along. The areas we covered included: jobs and roles, skills and qualities, body language, guest volunteer and employer, job search and applications, preparation for an interview and mock interviews.
During the Autumn term we were lucky enough to have a visit from our local MP, Paul Maynard who came to see what our group did and speak to the members. Mr Maynard continues to support Sam’s Place and has since agreed to be an Ambassador to raise the profile of the charity.
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Public Benefit – continued
Sam’s Place is very thankful to be able to continue working with The Plant Place and holds regular pop up shops which the members get so much work experience and confidence from being in the wider community, and they also now have returning customers to buy their products.
Following a wonderful Christmas party, the sessions started back in January and the members asked to do more life skills. Staff came up with a rota so that each person got a chance to cook, set the table, make drinks and wash up. This fitted in well with a healthy eating programme staff had spoken about to the members as it had been noted that through lockdown the young people had got into the habit of making unhealthy food choices.
We were lucky enough to receive a grant from Blackpool Council to run a course aimed at reducing isolation in the most vulnerable groups within Blackpool. We ran a 6 week course 10-3pm and called it ‘Safe Space’. The course content included; Coping with change/Resilience, Managing stress, Working in teams to improve social interactions and skills, Enterprise, Life skills, Healthy eating and physical activity, how to set achievable personal goals, Money management, internet safety and safeguarding, relaxation techniques, confidence and self-esteem activities. Meeting new people in a controlled environment, Community pop-up shop - selling quality products made within the Enterprise sessions.
This course was very successful with one parent saying ‘my son has severe Asthma, he was told by his College during Covid that he had to isolate or he could die and this has prevented him from leaving the house ever since because he thinks he could still die.’ I cannot believe how comfortable he is now coming to the group’. He has worked happily in small groups within the group and has even ventured outside to a shop and served customers at the Pop up shop. This young man still attends one of our sessions per week.
Blackpool Council awarded us a second grant aimed at bringing communities together. This project we named BIG (Bridge the Intergenerational gap). As the summer daytime sessions were quieter (families were now taking advantage of finally being able to get away on holiday) we aimed to take the group to three different local organisations. We chose a Carers Centre, working alongside dementia carers, a Community centre in a deprivation area and a nursing home. The young people thoroughly enjoyed the different activities with each locality.
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Public Benefit – continued
They showed the community their favourite craft (decoupage), they also played bingo, sang, played their instruments and made friends with some of the community. Some of the members from these groups now come along to their pop-up shops when they are run and one now volunteers for the charity. They had a great time at the nursing home with lots of karaoke being sung and crafts done together. We plan to take a group to the Nursing home again during the college holidays.
During Summer one of our members confided that he was getting ridiculed because he didn't have the confidence to order his own food when they went out, so, we worked with all the young people to build their resilience and confidence by taking them out and allowing them to order a meal and pay for their own using their money and conversation skills. Thus helping them to gain independence.
In September we were awarded grants from DJS Glasdon and Asda Foundation which is for a new Healthy Cooking/Eating project starting in the new year.
September saw the launch of our daytime Enterprise group, funded by Awards For All Community Fund. The objectives for our members and the skills learned are detailed below.
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Public Benefit- continued
This project has also included 3 pop-up shops which has added to the below skills and given our members a real sense of being a valuable part of the community.
One parent made the following comments about this group, ‘G enjoys every aspect of Sam’s Place, especially doing crafts and selling the items they have all made. She gets great enjoyment in doing this and her confidence has soared when dealing with people.’
Sam’s Place has had yet another challenging year, however through the resilience of staff these challenges were met head on and we are approaching this next year with great positivity and determination to drive the charity to be bigger and better to benefit more amazing young people.
One parent who has been with the charity throughout the latest challenges states ‘K always enjoys going to Sam’s Place. It is a lovely group of young adults. K has made many friends and this has given her a lot more confidence with her communication. She especially likes it when they all go out for tea. This enables them to be part of the community and work on life skills, whilst having an enjoyable time’.
Another parent commented, ‘G thoroughly loves going to sessions she loves meeting with her friends and helping out. It is a wonderful place for young people to feel comfortable and safe in the environment.’
The trustees appreciate how hard the staff and volunteers have worked through this challenging environment and wish to record their gratitude.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial review and reserves
The results of the Charity are summarised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
The change in trustees and staff during this financial year resulted in fewer funding applications being submitted and a resulting deficit of £14,033. Strong reserves mean that we have been able to use these effectively and still deliver the activities offered to our young people.
The Charity’s reserves policy is to hold a level of 3-6 months free reserves equating to the unrestricted direct charitable costs for the year. In the year ended 31[st] October 2022 these costs amounted to 5 months reserves.
The Trustees will endeavour to retain this level in the future.
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GOING CONCERN
The accounts are prepared on a going concern basis, which the Trustees consider to be appropriate having considered the foreseeable future. The charitable company holds reserves that are sufficiently in line with its reserves policy.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
.
Changes in the board have resulted in some real optimism for the future. A new strategy is in development following a development day attended by trustees and staff. The charity is working towards sustainability and growth within a robust framework. Work has begun to involve our young people in the decision-making, planning and development of projects.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Sam’s Place was incorporated on 31st October 2006 and the Memorandum and Articles of Association were amended by special resolution on 14th September 2007 and amended on 27th January 2020.
Our governing document provides the framework by which we achieve our principal objectives. Our principal activities continue to relate to meeting these objectives. These are constantly reviewed to ensure they remain relevant to the young people and families that we support.
The management of the charity is the responsibility of the trustees, who are appointed under the terms of the constitution. The board of trustees comprises a minimum of three and a maximum of twelve trustees. No member of the board benefits financially for their time or services.
During the year we have recruited new trustees as identified by a review of skills. We will continue with this work to ensure that the charity has the optimum mix of expertise required. Upon appointment, each trustee has an induction in order to understand how the charity operates and their role and responsibilities. Trustees are regularly updated on the charity’s activities through board meetings, via email and through informal conversations.
The board of trustees meet at least quarterly, and a new board annual plan is in development. During trustee meetings, discussions about key governance issues take place and decisions are made. The trustees also make time to consider questions about the charity’s future plans.
The trustees are fully aware of, and adhere to, the guidance issued by The Charity Commission on public benefits and their responsibilities as trustees.
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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES
The trustees (who are also the directors of Sam’s Place NW Ltd for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
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there is no relevant independent examination information of which the charitable company's examiners are unaware; and
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the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
The trustees wish to acknowledge the financial support of the following organisations:
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Asda
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Blackpool and Fylde Cerebral Palsy Society
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Blackpool Council
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Glasdon
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Paul Maynard MP
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The National Lottery Community Fund
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The Plant Place
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The Sea View Trust
We would also like to thank our staff, volunteers and the many people who have generously provided contributions of time and funds. It is thanks to their support that we can continue to deliver the service.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD :
M Smith - Chair
Date: 30[th] August 2023
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF
SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“Sam’s Place NW Ltd for the year ended 31[st ] October 2022.
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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
Louise Owen AAT 3 Ryldon Place Blackpool Lancashire FY4 4JD
Date: 30[th] August 2023
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SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2022 (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total funds | Total funds | |
| funds | fund | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | ||||
| Donations and legacies | 5,338 | - | 5,338 | 1,959 |
| Direct charitable activities | 1,819 | 24,112 | 25,931 | 50,092 |
| Total | 7,157 | 24,112 | 31,269 | 52,051 |
| EXPENDITURE ON | ||||
| Direct charitable activities | 21,190 | 24,112 | 45,302 | 50,634 |
| NET INCOME | (14,033) | - | (14,033) | 1,417 |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | ||||
| Total funds brought forward | 40,330 | - | 40,330 | 38,913 |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 26,297 | - | 26,297 | 40,330 |
The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year and therefore a statement of total recognised gains and losses has not been prepared.
All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.
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SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
BALANCE SHEETS AT 31ST AUGUST 2022
| Notes FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 3 CURRENT ASSETS Cash at bank and in hand Debtors 4 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 5 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITES TOTAL FUNDS |
2022 £ 1,316 34,675 - 34,675 9,694 24,981 26,297 26,297 |
2021 £ - 2,277 62,184 65 62,249 24,196 38,053 40,330 40,330 |
|---|---|---|
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008).
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 5[th] June 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:
M Smith - Chair
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2022
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with the exception of investments which are included at market value.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has legal entitlement to the funds, it is possible that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Key management
The key management personnel of the Charity are noted in the Trustees Report. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £0 (2022: £0).
No member of staff was paid more than £60,000 during the year (being the reportable limit specified by the Charity Commission).
2. COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE
Company is limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital.
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SAM’S PLACE NW LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST AUGUST 2022
3. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
| Cost At 1 November 2021 Additions Disposals Revaluations Transfers At 31 October 2022 Depreciation At 1 November 2021 Charge for the year On disposal At 31 October 2022 Net book values At 31 October 2022 At 31 October 2021 |
£ 6,121 - - - - 6,121 |
|---|---|
| 3,844 961 - |
|
| 4,805 | |
| 1,316 | |
| 2,277 |
4. DEBTORS
| Trade debtors Accrued income Prepayments |
2022 2021 £ £ - - - - - 65 |
|---|---|
| - 65 |
5. CREDITORS
| Trade creditors Accrued expenses |
2022 2021 £ £ - 62 9,694 24,134 |
|---|---|
| 9,694 24,196 |
6. EMPLOYEES
| 6. EMPLOYEES | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2022 | |
| Average number of employees during the period | 2 | 2 |
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