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← Little Discoverers, West Norfolk School For Parents

2024-03-31-accounts

‘LITTLE DISCOVERERS’

WEST NORFOLK SCHOOL FOR PARENTS (WNSfP)

Charity Registration Number: 1125400

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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CONTENTS

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS ......................................................................... 4 WEST NORFOLK SCHOOL FOR PARENTS (WNSfP) ................................. 5 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT ................................. 10 SAFEGUARDING ......................................................................................... 11 CHAIRMAN’s REPORT TO THE AGM ........................................................ 12 OUR TEAM LEADER’s ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS .......................................... 15 MONITORING OUTCOMES ........................................................................ 21 OUR LOCATION .......................................................................................... 25 HOW WE COMMUNICATE .......................................................................... 26 FINANCIAL REVIEW ................................................................................... 27 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’s REPORT AND EXAMINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ............................................................................................. 29 APPENDIX 1 –CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION ................................................ 37 APPENDIX 2 – PARENT AND PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS ........... 38 APPENDIX 3 – ENLARGED VERSIONS OF THE PARENT AND PROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK CHARTS ..................................................... 40

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ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Registration Number: 1125400

The following were Trustees of Little Discoverers West Norfolk School for Parents (WNSfP) during the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024:

Contact details for WNSfP:

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WEST NORFOLK SCHOOL FOR PARENTS (WNSfP)

Background

Following a survey by Scope in 2002, work started to set up a School for Parents in West Norfolk, and since 2005 we have been running a successful West Norfolk School for Parents for children and families in this region, eliminating the need for a long round trip to the closest other School for Parents in Norwich. In 2008 we registered as a charity independent of Scope, but operating as part of Scope’s School for Parents network.

We follow national School for Parents guidelines and have our own set of policies that are regularly reviewed and updated.

As a result of a suggestion made by the[1] parents, West Norfolk School for Parents is known as Little Discoverers West Norfolk School for Parents (WNSfP).

By the end of the year under review Little Discoverers had been operational for 19 years.

We are a well-known local charity successfully running Conductive Education sessions for children with complex motor problems and their families in West Norfolk and surrounding areas that is renowned amongst local health professionals and the community.

Little Discoverers WNSfP

Our purpose is to actively promote and encourage vulnerable children with complex needs aged 0-5 years and their families, to learn skills that help the child to maximise their potential. We focus on three areas of development; physical, social and emotional and communication so that the child, supported by their family, may have better life opportunities.

We achieve our purpose by running 3 free group sessions a week, for 36 weeks a year. We support up to 24 families at any one time, in 3 separate two-hour sessions, in King’s Lynn.

We use a unique, holistic, and multi-sensory form of early education, inspired by methods used at the Peto Institute of Conductive Education (CE) in Hungary (see Appendix 1) and the Early Foundation Stage Curriculum. We are the only people in the West Norfolk area working in this way, with children of this age in a group setting.

Nothing the parents have learnt in their previous life has given them any indication of the complex challenges they will meet and how to overcome them and parents/carers benefit hugely from the group sessions by meeting other families who may be going through similar circumstances, reducing feelings of isolation common in a rural county, building a support network of understanding friends and developing a positive bond between the child and parent.

We put parents at the forefront of their child's learning and development and acknowledge that parents know their child best.

Including the whole family in a child’s development is important to Little Discoverers, so we hold sibling events in the school holidays so families can meet, have fun and learn together.

1 ‘ Parent’ refers to any adult with a parenting role

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These events mean that siblings can meet other young carers too and develop their own networks of support.

Who can benefit from Little Discoverers ( WNSfP )

We work from a venue which is based in one of the 10% most deprived areas in England. Due to a lack of resources in West Norfolk there is an inability to provide sufficient support for these vulnerable families.

We provide a free, weekly service for 36 weeks of the year, which removes financial barriers for all families. We may also offer financial transport support if needed. We are positioned within walking distance from many residential areas, a bus route and the King’s Lynn town centre. We also have free onsite parking.

Norfolk is a large rural area and that can increase feelings of isolation. The NHS is often stretched and therefore children may only access support from professionals monthly or less and many feel they cannot access ‘typical’ group sessions due to feelings of marginalisation and social stigma, which impacts the child's social development.

Little Discoverers (WNSfP) provides early therapy/education for children aged 0-5 who have movement difficulties and delayed development. E.g., Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, genetic conditions and more. The children may suffer from physical problems, motor learning problems, delayed development and demonstrate a wide range of abilities. They may have learning difficulties, visual, hearing and communication problems. Children may have physical problems such as being unable to hold up their heads, focus their eyes, roll, sit, stand, or walk. Children may be unable to open or close their hands, use them for play or self-help activities. Some children have sensory problems, not wanting to touch different textures or being upset by noises.

Some children are deaf or have partial hearing. Many children are unable to communicate; unable to point with their eyes or hands; unable to make noises, sounds/words; unable to use sign language. Many children find it difficult to interact, smile or laugh, be sociable or have fun. They may not be able to make their needs known.

Some of our children do not yet have a formal diagnosis and therefore their families may struggle to access the necessary support to help the child thrive.

We have also supported children who do not have a diagnosis but may have been in hospital for a large proportion of their lives and may not be meeting their milestones because of this e.g. as a result of heart conditions, prematurity, etc.

Many of our children do not yet access ‘typical’ group settings due to their disability, and this can impact the child’s and their family’s mental wellbeing.

We have a simple referral process for both professionals and the parents. A child can be referred to Little Discoverers in a variety of ways, for example by a Health Visitor, Therapists, GP or by parents themselves. After first contact, the parent and child will be[2] visited at home and invited to visit the group. Parents are then given time to consider whether this is the right service for their child. If a Conductive Education approach is not the most appropriate for the

2 If our ability to hold face-to-face visits and meetings is impacted by external events then we use other methods of communication to ensure all enquiries and referrals are responded to.

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child, staff will suggest other support. We aim to reply to any referrals within 5 working days and we have been achieving this.

Since April 2023, we have visited 14 children at home and allocated them places within the group. We also had referrals from 5 additional families who were either signposted to other support groups or who chose an alternative placement for their child. These have come from a variety of sources, including self-referrals, NHS and private health professionals and others. We have seen a decrease in referrals this year from last year’s unusual influx of 28 families.

Since April 2023 until April 2024, we have supported 38 vulnerable families in the West Norfolk area and beyond. We have supported 14 females and 24 males, and our youngest new starter of the year was 5 months old.

We are inclusive of all nationalities and ethnicities and have families who use English as an additional language.

Two of our attending children graduated from Little Discoverers in September and started school. We have had the pleasure of seeing both families at our sibling events since then and they are doing really well.

Just three of our current attenders will be leaving to attend school in September 2024.

Our annual parent and professional feedback forms show how much the families and local professionals greatly appreciate the support and learning we provide and, as the charity has now entered its 20[th] year in 2024, we have had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the effects that early intervention and Conductive Education can have on a child’s life, as the first cohort of attendees are now adults.

How we support the children and their parents

We are committed to delivering a service that strives for positive outcomes in the areas of physical, social, communication and emotional development. These areas are vital for children to thrive and become integrated individuals that can contribute to society.

The early years have been shown to be vital in stimulating the brain to enable the child to maximise their potential. Parents of children with complex health needs and impairments can feel physically and socially isolated leading to increasing emotional difficulties for the parent and the child. Attending a Little Discoverers group gives children therapy for 36 weeks a year in all aspects of their development, regular input that is vital for stimulating the development of new pathways in the brain.

At Little Discoverers’ sessions parents and children learn the skills needed to provide motivation and enjoyment of early learning through play. They are supported to break through the isolation barriers of disability and learn to communicate their emotional journey through contact with supportive professionals and other families on a weekly basis.

Children can start with us from birth and many children come to Little Discoverers under the age of twelve months and stay with us until school age. The average time that children stay with us is about 3 years.

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Our approach is based on a unique form of early education focussing on all aspects of child development inspired by methods developed at the Peto Institute of Conductive Education in Hungary (see Appendix 1). This is a multi-sensory approach, stimulating the child’s senses and encouraging self-learning through activities and experiences that are fun for both children and their parents.

Progress is measured in small changes, for instance making eye contact, moving heads towards toys, progressing onto clapping and smiling.

A slow, structured session gives children time to try and practise new skills, challenging themselves and maximising their potential. Parents feedback that large groups of active children can be intimidating, being fast moving and noisy, so our small groups make it easier for the children.

Each of our sessions is planned to involve the children in programmes that look at all aspects of their development - physical, social, communication and emotional. Themes are chosen to make these sessions fun. Development is encouraged through play, songs, art and craft. There is continuity in the staff members, encouraging attachment and the ability of the staff to understand what the child's needs are and the child learning what is required of them.

Children develop socially and emotionally whilst attending our group sessions. Children work well in groups as it relieves the pressures of ‘performing’ on demand with a 1:1 therapist and enables them to learn through observation. They can also learn vital social skills to prepare them for school.

Although Conductive Education is typically adult led, we aim to allow the child to achieve their targets whilst being led by their own personality, likes and interests, e.g. we have worked with a child who struggles to join in with activities, therefore we have supported the child by providing pictures of Paw Patrol to maintain their focus. The child looks through the pictures whilst taking part in the therapy exercises.

We also allow the child to be independent whenever possible and give them frequent choices so that they may feel in control of their own learning. For example, a child is given a choice between two different rods, bells, and plates. The children then use hand/eye gesture and/or speech to communicate their preferences.

Observations of older children include listening skills, playing alongside other children, sharing / turn taking, cooperative play and their response to the team. At the end of each session, we list the achievements of each child and applaud these.

The families learn the skills necessary to transfer the learning taking place in the session into the home and into the wider community of everyday activities, including

making the transition and integration into nursery. They receive information in many different formats - through physical activity, through illustrated information sheets and through exchanging knowledge with other parents about their child's impairment and how to empower their child in many every day and formal learning areas.

The parents support each other, and the children make friends in an environment where they are having fun while they learn new skills. The staff work with referring professionals and

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monitor the outcomes of the children on a daily basis and twice a year create updated Individual Education Plans for each child.

Some of our children attend nursery school when they get a little older and still continue to come to Little Discoverers for a session each week.

As a result of generous donations, we have been able to purchase specialist sensory and other equipment. This equipment is invaluable and continues to make a big impact on the way we can deliver our sessions.

As well as the regular sessions, we run several sessions to provide family and sibling support when the wider family is invited. These days help our groups of families keep in touch and help provide wider support to the children and their siblings. By putting on six family and sibling sessions a year, we hope to include the entire family in learning and involve the siblings in all aspects of their brother’s or sister’s development. It also gives the sibling a chance to be involved and feel important. The inclusion of the whole family is fundamental to the core values of the Little Discoverers approach. The family and sibling sessions are held during school holidays.

We always encourage professional and parental feedback, and we operate an annual formal feedback process and analyse professional and parental feedback forms to help us identify areas for improvement – this feedback continues to be highly positive. (see Monitoring Outcomes).

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Trustee and Management Group are all volunteers and receive no payments.

Our main costs are associated with employing and maintaining the skill levels (training) of the 4 part-time members of the Team, the costs of room hire where the Council provides direct support by charging us reduced room hire costs, and the running costs of the sessions including purchase of resources and equipment.

The voluntary Trustee and Management Group is responsible for the quality of our service provision, fundraising and approving all expenditure. All our Policies are reviewed annually on a rolling basis by the Trustee and Management Group to ensure we continue to reflect and demonstrate best practice.

Our staff are subject to annual appraisals the outcomes of which contribute to decisions on any pay increases that we decide we can afford to pay. Team Member annual appraisals are undertaken by the Team Leader and the Team Leader’s annual appraisal is carried out by a Trustee. All staff appraisals are reviewed by the Trustee group.

Our sessions with the children are planned and run by our Team Leader and the two Team Members who each take it in turn to plan and run sessions on a three-week rota. These are all part time roles aligned to the timings of the individual sessions with the children. In addition, the Charity employs a part time Admin Supervisor, who provides support in office based tasks and supports the sessions when required.

Trustees attend 6-weekly staff meetings and Trustees and members of the Management Group also observe some sessions and provide feedback.

The Trustees and members of the Management Group monitor feedback from families and professionals and from nurseries and schools when children transfer to them. All the feedback continues to be positive and constructive.

There are monthly Trustee / Management Group meetings that the Team Leader also attends. The focus of these meetings continues to be on maintaining standards and establishing stable funding to ensure our long-term ongoing viability and as part of this, raising our visibility in the Region as an independent charity.

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SAFEGUARDING

Any concerns for a child’s safety or welfare (child protection issues) will be reported without delay, recorded in writing, dated, signed and given to the Safeguarding Designated Person (SDP) who will process the concern and inform those who need to know.

Parents/carers will be informed of safeguarding issues and referrals as long as there is not a concern that doing so may make the child vulnerable to significant harm or it is a concern of sexual abuse.

Little Discoverers has a responsibility to pass on concerns in relation to the safety of the child to the local appropriate Children’s Service. If the situation is judged to be an emergency, then the police will be called first.

There were no safeguarding issues to report during the year.

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CHAIRMAN’s REPORT TO THE AGM

This has been another excellent year for Little Discoverers, with several exciting developments. In a few months’ time, January 2025, we will be celebrating 20 Years of running our outstanding free sessions. These continue to give much needed support and learning opportunities to families with a child aged 0-5yrs with complex developmental needs and over the course of 20 years, we have supported over 300 people.

This support has only been possible due to the dedication and hard work of the staff and the voluntary Trustees and Management Committee. Many of the latter have done a considerable number of years’ service and we are very grateful for their continued support and expertise. This is particularly true when at the present time many charities are having to close down due to a lack of volunteers. Working as a volunteer can bring a great sense of satisfaction, keeps you mentally stimulated and brings you new friends.

I am standing down as Chair at the end of this year to enable me to concentrate on supporting the development of the Adapted Sports Hub, of which I am a Foundation Trustee. This hub, which we hope will be built at Lynnsport, will provide Little Discoverers and others with a permanent base, from where we can run our sessions and provide an environment that will enable us to signpost our children and others into activities that will keep them fit, active and feeling good about themselves for years to come.

We are looking to find a new Chair and to make this role and those of the committee in general less demanding, we have been working hard to reduce the administrative workload by hiring a 4th member of staff.

We have enjoyed working from South Lynn Community Centre for just over a year now and the staff and families have really appreciated the new environment. We have also enjoyed working alongside the Charity Headway.

The Staff Team

We have a wonderful staff team who are providing an excellent service to our families, producing sessions with a range of exciting activities to keep the children and parents learning physical, social/emotional and communication skills, to keep them interested and having fun. We are now, while finances allow, providing free sessions for siblings to enable all families to attend and just asking for donations if they can.

Kat Hunter has continued to do a great job in leading the team with excellent support from Pauline and Lauren (Team Members) and our new staff administrative support, Mandy Mann. Mandy attended Little Discoverers with her child so straight away had a comprehensive understanding of what we are doing and hope to achieve. She had also in the past run two nurseries, where she achieved outstanding Ofsted reports. Mandy has now passed her 6- month probation and we are delighted to have her working with us.

The quality of the sessions is very impressive with a lot of work going into each child’s learning program, increased use of Makaton signing, a large range of sensory experiences and new ideas being incorporated regularly.

All the staff had excellent appraisals and in recognition of this and the current rise in cost of living, all were given a pay rise. Our staff are our greatest asset and it is wonderful that so far, we have been able to reward them with annual increases.

The staff have also found ways of helping a range of children who may not have such complex physical needs but show more emotional and communication needs, by offering them, if

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space in the sessions allow, some short term (eg 6 weeks) attendance in the second part of the session. This is when there is particular emphasis on sensory motor learning. The sessions continue to be well attended and at present we only have 2 spare places and there are new children to assess, one of whom is of a Russian speaking family.

With the cost-of-living crisis affecting so many people, we have also been able to help two families who were struggling to attend, with help with their petrol costs. The Lions group in Hunstanton generously funded the money to do this.

The Management Committee

We continue to have a wonderful and dedicated Management Committee with members covering a wide range of skills. We would like to thank Sally Edwards for doing the minutes of the meetings for the last 18mths and we will miss her but are glad to hear that she enjoyed her time with us. We are now looking for another secretary and we may have a possible replacement, Jade, the daughter of our Treasurer. We are also advertising for a new Chair and we hope to find someone who will carry on running the Charity with the same kind of ethos.

Dave Carter(Design) has now stepped back from the committee but has kindly agreed to still organize thank you posters for us. He has done a wonderful job over the years in helping us design appealing, eye catching leaflets.

Our hard working and much appreciated Trustees remain the same and all have agreed to stand again. Andrew McShane (Chairman of a company), Emma Fendley Treasurer (Accountant), Susan Williamson (Teacher), Penny Sheerin (Solicitor) and Katie Fisher (Physiotherapist and Chair). On our Management Committee are Thomas Graves (staff at Lynnsport, wheelchair user), Jean Hale (Grandmother of child who attended Little Discoverers), Kevin Parker (Businessman), Alex Hodson (Teacher), Hazel Coley (parent of child who attended LD and past Team Leader) and Nikki Collins (Physiotherapist). All these people bring a wonderfully diverse range of opinions in a good-natured way, with not a single unpleasant meeting in our nearly 20year history. A great credit to everyone.

Quality Control

The staff have continued to produce excellent anonymized case studies throughout the year and these are used for reflection and sending with grant applications, feedbacks and our Annual Report for the Charities Commission.

Quarterly Reports for NHS and Norfolk County Council, are produced by Kat, and these are very well received.

Annual feedback forms are filled in from parents and involved professionals, with excellent results.

Staff meetings are held every 6 weeks in term times by Sue Williamson and Katie Fisher. We read and update polices, look at the annual timetable, answer queries, audit data and data protection, check the children’s learning journals and discuss the running of the groups.

Annual manual handing and back care, fire safety, using a computer, facilitation training is done. The staff are to attend further Makaton Signing training (this was also made available to parents and another Charity) for which we have been given funding. The Team leader lists the other courses the staff have attended.

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The present and future

We have now been at South Lynn Community Centre for just over a year and it has been a very successful move. At South Lynn we share the Centre with the Charity Headway and this is working well. The South Lynn Centre is a much better home for Little Discoverers at present. The only major problem is that it does not foster inclusion in the local community or sports world. Being at Lynnsport would help to reduce barriers, tackle inequalities, provide a route for children to move seamlessly into adapted sports and generally look to provide support for the children’s lives after Little Discoverers.

The CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) the Adapted Sports Hub Trust was set up so that the Pelicans Hockey Club, Little Discoverers and the charity Little Miracles could work together to build this hub. This has been delayed while the Council looked to see if a revamp of the main Lynnsport could be achieved while still supporting the aims of the CIO. This has now been decided not to be possible, so planning has been submitted to the Council and we hope to have a firm decision by[3] May 31st.

Looking forward, on June 21st Kat with the help of 2 of the committee, has organized our first fundraising ball at the King’s Lynn Town Hall. It should be a wonderful evening.

In January (2025) we will be celebrating 20 years of providing Little Discoverers sessions and 22 years since I first set up Little Discoverers and it is at this point that I will retire from being Chair of the charity. I am sure Little Discoverers will continue to provide an excellent service for children with complex needs and their families, without my direct leadership and I look forward to seeing the charity continue its important work.

Katie Fisher BEM MCSP.

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OUR TEAM LEADER’s ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Introduction

Another wonderful year for Little Discoverers. As we inch ever closer to our 20-year milestone, we are so grateful for all the support we have received throughout the year.

Since April 2023, we have visited 14 children at home and allocated them places within the group. We also had referrals from 5 additional families who were either signposted to other support groups or who chose an alternative placement for their child. These have come from a variety of sources, including several self-referrals, NHS and private health professionals and more. We have seen a decrease in referrals this year from last year’s unusual influx of 28 families.

Since April 2023 until April 2024, we have supported 38 vulnerable families in the West Norfolk area and beyond.

We have supported 14 females and 24 males, and our youngest new starter of the year was 5 months old.

We are inclusive of all nationalities and ethnicities and have families who use English as an additional language.

Two of our attending children graduated from Little Discoverers in September and started school. We have had the pleasure of seeing both families at our sibling events since then and they are doing so well! Just three of our current attenders will be leaving to attend school in September 2024. We thank them all for the incredible fun, learning and friendship we have had since they started.

We have just so much positivity to reflect on this year! It only seemed right that I reported the year month by month…

April – August 2023

We begin with our very first sessions at the South Lynn Community Centre. We have been working in this fantastic space for over a year now and we are so grateful for all the hardworking staff and the friends we have made. The feedback from the parents has been so positive and our session attendance is better than ever.

This year we have seen our social media accounts be utilised for so much good. Past and present families have gifted all sorts of items to one another, with no funds exchanged, just the promise that the item be used to benefit a child in need. So often the equipment needed for a child to learn skills to be independent such as walkers, or bikes are hundreds to thousands of pounds. Far more money than any family with a typically developing child would have to pay for. Our families are constantly supporting and encouraging one another and sharing tips for the future. Bikes, trikes, formula, ladders, walkers, parallel bars, wheelchairs, and much more has been gifted through our social media accounts just this year alone! We are so grateful to witness such friendship and kindness at Little Discoverers.

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A passion of ours at Little Discoverers is not just helping young people, it’s bringing those from a similar circumstance together and helping them to build a network of support – and we have had so much fun doing this!

We visited Church Farm with record breaking / an | ay attendance and made music and fun during a Hartbeeps session. Whilst funds are available, iy AS | we have made the decision to offer our sibling events FREE of charge and accessible for all. This has been such a worthwhile decision, especially as many of our families face great expense accessing equipment, therapy, and appointments. We hope to continue to do this into the future; keeping the sessions themselves free of charge is our main priority.

September – December 2023

We had the absolute pleasure of knowing the wonderful Kyah, who sadly passed away on Monday 5[th] November 2023. We are beyond sad at this devastating news, and we send all our thoughts to Kyah and her family, Emily, and Tori. We will remember Kyah for the determined and inspirational little girl that she was - and so strong and sassy! Especially when she would slip her shoes off to get out of standing or rub her tummy when she was especially happy.

We were also very sad to hear of the passing of past attendee, Adele Carty. Her family very kindly nominated Little Discoverers to receive donations from her funeral. Adele was aged just 15 years old, and we will remember her determination and smile.

These autumn and winter months also saw many positives. Such as the children at Little Discoverers, celebrating our support from Children in Need. We had two superb family and sibling events. In October we had a fantastic time meeting the guinea pigs at Cavies and Cake from Fakenham! In December we had our annual Christmas party at Little Sharks soft play centre! Both events were a huge success with brilliant attendance and lots and lots of smiles!

Christmas came with an abundance of gifts and good will, including presents for all our attending children from Radio West Norfolk.

The generosity of our families never fails to amaze us. Every year we advertise our Amazon Christmas wish list (a list of items we would love to have at Little Discoverers, ranging from £5 - £50) and each time we are blown away by the parcels we receive!

Of course, the best gift of all during this time was our newest staff member Mandy! Mandy joined us in September 2023 and has taken on 6 hours per week to support the Team Leader and Chair with admin-based tasks. Mandy has also covered sickness and absence for the staff and has been welcomed with open arms by our families and children.

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January – April

Time whizzes past in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, we are at the end of the current tax year and the excitement, fun, fundraising and learning just doesn’t stop!

Being involved with Little Discoverers allows us to see so many acts of kindness and charity. Not only do so many donate funds to our cause, but also time, skills, and even knitted hats! A huge thank you must be said to Emily Clayton who kindly made around 50 knitted hats and garments for the children of Little Discoverers. They loved choosing and trying on the items.

We must also thank the amazing Jon Lawrence, who time and time again has donated his sessions and skills free of charge! Jon, AKA The Music Man, delivered yet another first-class music event in February for our past and current attending families. The children had a % delightful time exploring instruments from around the world, singing along and dancing to Jon’s songs and guitar.

In March this year, we were lucky enough to be able to offer an online information evening about Educational Health Care Plans, schools, and the application processes. We then opened the conversation and allowed for our families to ask questions. We know this information evening was so valued and we are very grateful that Helen gave her time to provide this for our families.

Every year I thank them and every year it does not seem enough. The Little Discoverers Management Committee and Trustees give their time, knowledge, patience, and advice freely and voluntarily. Without this excellent band of people, the charity would simply cease to exist. They meet once a month to discuss the general running of the charity, to review policies, discuss any problems or improvements and most importantly to make a difference to the families supported by Little Discoverers. Every member brings a valued skill to the team and has a passion for providing early intervention to those in need. Thank you, thank you, thank you! To every one of you.

The Staff

The staff at Little Discoverers wear many hats, there are so many layers to providing a valuable service. Staff must plan, prepare, and present their group sessions. As well as setting weekly targets for each child, linking activities to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, and ensuring all equipment and working areas are clean and safe. Staff also take photos of every child during the sessions and write positive observations that link to their target. These are then placed into each child’s individual learning journal for the families to take with them when they leave.

Other tasks include organising and planning sibling and family events, writing press releases, keeping up to date with mandatory training, making and sharing videos and posters, responding to enquiries, attending home visits, completing permission paperwork with new starters and so much more! All of this is squeezed into 3 working days and a few admin hours from home.

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Mandy has been learning her new role as an admin-based Team Member. She has been working alongside Committee members to take over tasks. Mandy has a wonderful background in nursery management and these skills have been a huge asset to Little Discoverers already.

Lauren has worked exceptionally hard this year to boost our following and presence on Instagram. We have received more enquiries this year from families and volunteers through this platform than ever before. I also know that the families love sharing and commenting on the photos and videos and this is just another way that we boost self esteem and confidence at Little Discoverers.

Pauline has been exploring methods of Conductive Education and has taken time to learn new activities to benefit a child’s physical development during session time. We’ve seen real progress from our attendees because of this. Pauline provides opportunities for the children to interact and learn in such a fun way!

I (Kat) have been busy fundraising this year and we have been very successful. I have applied for almost £45,000 worth of funds through applications to grant holders and more than £20,000 was granted! That’s a 44% success rate! We were so successful in fact, that in September last year, I took a break from applications and turned my skills to event planning. On 21[st] June 2024 we are to host our first ever Little Discoverers Fundraising Ball.

The staff have taken on paediatric First Aid training this year with Norfolk County Council and have also learnt more about Epilepsy and the administration of Buccal Midazolam through the NHS.

Fundraising

Fundraising is a hugely important part of Little Discoverers. Not only does it provide funds for our good work to continue, but it also brings people together, raises awareness and allows many of our families to give back and say thank you.

Our supporters are forever inspiring us with their marvellous new ways of raising funds. During this time money has been raised through a community bingo, the Great East Anglian Run and a new one for Little Discoverers – a rave!

On the 25[th] July, The Cattle Yard along with Happy Valley in Grimston held a festival event with live music, sensory fun, food and market stalls, family yoga and yes – a kid’s rave party! This incredible event raised just under £350 for Little Discoverers.

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There is something truly special about children raising money to help other i ¢ Priory children. We are so proud of this year’s Priory Rotary Swimarathon Little ( Rotary Discoverers team! We had swimmers in both the Oasis and St. James ok Sad! Soy Swimming Pools and our incredible kids-only team swam a huge 93 lengths in 55 minutes! Noah Tuffs and a group of 5 others all range in age from 7 – > Niaca 5 4 13. They were nervous to start with but their hope to raise funds for the / \ children of Little Discoverers won them over and they performed brilliantly! The team raised over £1000 in sponsorship and Gift Aid, and we received £1500 from the Priory Rotary for their efforts. What inspirations they all are! In this marvellous world of technology that we live in, there are now more ways than ever to raise funds for Little Discoverers.

It costs more than £50,000 every year for Little Discoverers to provide early intervention, therapy, and education to pre-school aged children with physical development delays and their families. With the rise in the cost of living it is more important now that we do not get complacent and that we continue to raise funds to ensure our future. A few easy ways that others can support us are:

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Some incredible achievements

“You’re never too little to discoverer big things…..” - this is a phrase that we have lived by this year at Little Discoverers! The children we support are constantly surprising us and achieving incredible, medical-defying skills. We couldn’t be prouder of all the children we support, but each year we like to reflect on a few journeys that help us to gauge the life changing effect that early intervention can have.

Annabelle was referred to Little Discoverers in September 2021 a ~~.~~ by her mother, after being recommended our group by the \ Community Nursing Team. Annabelle has a diagnosis of Spina 7 " = . Bifida, a birth disorder that involves the incomplete development io we of the spine. Annabelle also underwent an operation during utero ak. +. “lagen x) n 4 at 24 weeks gestation. This open foetal surgery involved making a small opening in the uterus (hysterotomy) in mid-pregnancy to r ie 8 access the foetus and close the spina bifida defect. Annabelle has Hydrocephalus (a build-up of fluid on the brain) and is expected to have a shunt fitted in the future.

Annabelle has astounded us all this year. In the space of just 6 months, she has learnt to bear weight, take steps using the parallel bars and just recently she has begun to push her walker and take steps independently. These skills are simply life changing and we feel so grateful that we got to witness her progress.

Charlie has been attending sessions with his Mum since May 2023. Charlie has epilepsy which has resulted in Cerebral Palsy. Charlie came to us with very tight limbs and torso and was unable to interact, sit, communicate, and showed little to no signs of understanding. He struggled to open his hands and got very frustrated and cried lots during sessions.

Charlie is now sitting independently, he is learning to hold a four point kneel position, (even if he does grumble!) he can stand at our sensory trays and use his hands to explore and he has even taken part in our rod song actions independently! It is brilliant to see Charlie benefitting from our repetitive routine and that he is showing signs of understanding and communication. Charlie is beginning to use eye contact to make choices and has the best giggle for his favourite songs!

Ryan joined our sessions in March 2024. Ryan has no : ~~P~~ diagnosis but is suspected to be on the Autistic Spectrum. “the ' = Ryan came to us at 2 and a half years old, he could walk iff o independently but was very clumsy and struggled with tasks such as climbing the stairs. Ryan was non-verbal and struggled with group settings and new people.

F.. x Ld After just four sessions, Ryan is climbing the stairs independently, exploring the climbing frame confidently and we are so proud to say that he has even said his first word! During our stool-based segment of the session Ryan can often be seen trying to escape by any means necessary and exploring the room. Ryan can now sit for greater lengths of time and has even proved he has been listening and watching all along by signing our Hello song at home! We can’t wait to see what you do next!

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MONITORING OUTCOMES

The majority of children leave Little Discoverers to attend mainstream nursery and mainstream schools and our feedback indicates that we are continuing to successfully deliver in the key ‘Outcome’ areas of:

Children attending Little Discoverers sessions have varying abilities due to the nature of their disability and age. Progress is very individual to each child, so each child has an individual programme and their achievements are celebrated at the end of each session and then recorded in each child’s individual learning journal.

In addition, we encourage informal feedback through comments in our Visitors Book and formal feedback through our questionnaires (now online) designed to capture Parents’ and Professionals’ views on the effectiveness of our approach to supporting each child’s development.

During the 2 COVID impacted years it was especially challenging for children, families and professionals involved with the charity and our inability to hold regular face-to-face sessions for most of this time challenged us to find ways to engage remotely with the children and their parents.

During 2022-23 we were able to resume normal face-to-face operations and to welcome the Professionals to once again join us to observe the progress of the children they were supporting, and this continued through 2023-24.

The results of this year’s parent and professional questionnaires feedback are shown below.

1. Parent Feedback

Responses to our questionnaire statements.

The parent feedback questionnaires were completed in paper form and parents were asked to complete the form at the end of the session whilst on the premises. This enabled us to gain feedback from all the families accessing our sessions.

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Comparison with previous years Parent feedback

The feedback is very positive and reflects the hard work and commitment of those involved in providing the sessions and of the families themselves. The 1% increase in Neither Agree Nor Disagree is due to the fact that families without siblings felt they were unable to comment on the impact of sibling/family events on the wider family. It has been decided to reword some of the statements for next year’s feedback forms to make them more appropriate to all session attendees and their families:

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2. Professional Feedback

Responses to our questionnaire statements.

In 2023-24 we added an additional response option to the Questionnaire, ‘Unable to Comment’ and asked Professionals to provide an explanation if they selected this response.

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Comparison with previous years Professional feedback

It is unclear why there has been a reduction in professionals selecting Strongly Agree and Agree. The introduction of the Unable to Comment option will have had an impact overall but there is also an increase in the Neither Agree Nor Disagree responses. Some initial conclusions are:

We continue to use the feedback to help us identify how best to maximise the benefits to the child from our activities and interactions with the professionals.

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OUR LOCATION

Little Discoverers spent 18 years based at the Dutton Pavilion at Lynnsport in King’s Lynn, and we are very grateful to Lynnsport and its staff for their support during this time.

However, faced with space constraints at the Dutton for running sessions and for the storage of our materials and equipment, at Easter 2022 we relocated to the South Lynn Community Centre. This was offered to us by the Council as they could see how we had outgrown the Dutton and the problems of working there.

From a practical point of view the South Lynn Centre is a much better home for Little Discoverers at present, but a major problem is that being remote from the Lynnsport site it does not foster inclusion in the local community or sports world.

Looking further to the future we have identified the possibility of moving into a purpose built ‘Hub’ that would meet our and others’ needs in West Norfolk and surrounding areas. The vision is for a purpose-built Hub at Lynnsport which would be fully accessible, support inclusiveness, reduce barriers, tackle inequalities and provide a route for children to move seamlessly into activities which will assist them to keep active, fit and having fun. This will provide support for the children’s lives after Little Discoverers.

A CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), Charity Number 1200560, has been set up so that members and supporters of the Pelicans Hockey Club, Little Discoverers and the charity Little Miracles, and others can work together to raise the £3m+ funding needed to build the Hub.

If built, then Little Discoverers and others would rent space in it. In the meantime, the Council looked to see if a revamp of the main Lynnsport could be achieved that would support the aims of the CIO. This has now been decided to not be possible.

During this last year the proposed plans for the Adapted Sports Hub have been passed by the King’s Lynn Borough Council and work is proceeding to turn the vision into a reality. All support will be welcomed

----- Start of picture text -----
A fully inclusive Sports Hub for all in West Norfolk to enjoy
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HOW WE COMMUNICATE

OUR VIDEO

The College of West Anglia Film Department produced our current video to provide a good understanding of what we do in a session, so useful for potential families and people wishing to refer a family. We continue to receive positive feedback and are very pleased that the video has been so well received.

This video is on YouTube and currently has 758 views. It’s also on our website main page. We don’t really ‘continue to receive positive feedback’ but we do get lots of lovely comments about our social media channels in general.

The families taking part have all given their written permission for the video to be used on our website.

OUR WEBSITE

www.littlediscoverers.co.uk

The web site was designed and is maintained for us by Simon Adams, son of Linda Adams who was a Member of the Management Group.

Photos of children taking part in sessions are included on the web site where parents have given written permission for this purpose.

The website and video show clearly what takes place in a Little Discoverers’ session and how the children and carers benefit. The web site continues to be very helpful to potential families and funders.

OUR YOU TUBE CHANNEL

As an additional online resource, we have our very own Little Discoverers YouTube Channel, primarily to provide something that parents can access at home if they are unable to attend our sessions. It also enables parents to view wonderful memories, advice, tips, and a way of sharing the hard work they are doing in sessions with family, friends, and professionals.

We now have over 80 videos in total, including some that show the parents activities they can try at home such as speech skills, story massage, fine motor skills, Makaton signs and so much more. They are not only informative but continue to be a great success with the children.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We currently have 402 likes and 475 followers on our public Facebook page. On Instagram we have 278 followers and our most viewed video has around 2,000 views (as of December 2024).

We are also ‘friends’ with our current families and have a group for past attendees. Most of our families are choosing to use Facebook to communicate with us, using the Facebook messenger service as the primary source for contact. Several parents have shared events or donated equipment on both our current and past attenders’ pages, which are relevant to all families. It is lovely to see the support that our families give each other via the social media platform, and to see that it continues long after families have moved on from Little Discoverers.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Review 2023 - 2024

This financial year has seen a significant increase in our income which has resulted in a surplus of £25,602 (2022 – 2023 £1,789). We have worked well within our budget figures. Our total closing bank balances are £119,641 (2022 – 2023 £94,039) an increase of 27%.

Income

During this period income received totalled £84,881 (2022-2023 £49,740) an increase of 70% on last year.

----- Start of picture text -----
Income
Miscellaneous grants £16,935
Donations £16,847
Children in Need £15,000
NHS West Norfolk CCG £12,500
NCC Childrens Services £10,000
Receipts from fundraising activites £6,920
Fundraising ball £4,300
Investment income £2,379
£0 £2,000 £4,000 £6,000 £8,000 £10,000 £12,000 £14,000 £16,000 £18,000
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Our largest income for the year is from miscellaneous grants at £16,935 (2022 – 2023 £15,000). Kat has achieved her target for the year again and was also successful in receiving a grant from Children in Need (shown separately at £15,000 for 3 year. Kat secured a grant of £8,000 from The National Lottery and £5,000 from NHS Norfolk & Waveney – these being the larger grants. Once again, well done Kat, an excellent result.

Donations for the year are £16,847 (2022 – 2023 £14,220) an increase on last year of 18% and fundraising totalled £6,920 (2022 – 2023 £2,369). Well done to everyone who has organised an event on behalf of Little Discoverers or have kindly donated funds – we are very grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you.

Investment income is £2,379 (2022 – 2023 £651) a continued increase in the interest rates at the begin of the year.

We have received two grants for £10,000 each from Norfolk County Children’s Service (NCC) and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – these are the same as last year but at the end of last year we had only received £7,500 from the CCG – this was paid in this financial year hence the increased figure of £12,500 for NHS West Norfolk CCG.

We are holding a fundraising ball in June to raise funds and as at the end of the year we have received £4,300 from ticket sales. All tickets have now been sold – well done to everyone who has work hard on the ball, especially Kat, Jean and Andrew.

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Expenditure

Our total expenditure for the year is £59,279 (2022-2023 £47,885). Our largest expense is salaries at £37,988 (£28,502 2022-2023). In September we recruited a new member of staff to assist with administration which has increased salaries along with a pay rise to all our brilliant staff. Pension contributions have therefore increase also to £1,268 (2022-2023 £991).

Rent payable is £7,378 (2022-2023 £8,201) down on last year but March 2024 will be paid in April.

Training costs are £1,234 (2021 – 2023 £2,081) this includes Makaton training at £1,100 plus room hire for the training at £96. This was mainly paid from the Norfolk Community Foundation and Rebecca Hubbard who organised a bingo.

We have purchased some new assets (£3,720) this includes paediatric steps, slated stools, ladders and laptop/desk for the new staff member (items over £500 only).

Sundry costs are £3,240 (2021- 2023 £2,530) all individual expenditure is below £500 except the cost of a very well attended sibling session at Church Farm, Stow Bridge at £747, which was funded by individuals raising funds specifically for sibling sessions.

All other costs are within acceptable levels and as expected and budgeted.

Budget analysis

2023-
2024
budget		 2023-
2024
actual		 2023-
2024
Variance		 2022 –
2023
budget		 2022-
2023
actual
Income £47,720 £80,581 £32,861 £50,092 £49,740
Expenditure £54,214 £58,780 (£4,615) £50,299 £47,885
Surplus/(Deficit) £ 6,494 £21,801 £28,246 (£ 207) £ 1,855

Please note these figures do not include the ball income (£4,300) and expenditure (£499).

Whilst expenditure is within acceptable levels against budget, income is significantly above budget, mainly due to the Children in Need grant, outstanding receipt from last year from the CCG, along with considerable donations and fund raising events, all well above target.

Summary

This has been a successful year again, with our income increasing from the previous year significantly and this again allows us to raise staff salaries. The successful application for Children in Need has secured £15,000 for this year and the next two years and the CCG funding has been approved for next year at £10,000, which is a good start for 2024-2025.

Our total funds available to spend are £114,051, without restrictions. We have £5,590 in restricted balances. During the year we issued a new Reserves Policy and have increased our contingency figure to £22,500 (2022-2023 £21,000) being the higher fund balance between the Dissolutions Fund and the Continuity fund.

The trustees, management team and our members of staff will continue to carefully and regularly review the financial position and will strive to find ways to continue the good work of the charity.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Stephenson Smart for their continued support. They have endorsed our financial management and accounting practices and are confident that they meet all the requirements as set out by the Charity Commission for England and Wales

Emma Fendley MAAT – Treasurer

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’s REPORT AND EXAMINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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APPENDIX 1 –CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION

Conductive Education (CE) is a holistic integrated therapy/education system which is primarily useful for children with physical disabilities that have impacted on a wide area of their development. Conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome and genetic conditions.

Andras Peto, the founder of CE, viewed children with neurological conditions as a whole, focussing not only on the body but also on the personality. He therefore chose methods of facilitation that not only made actions possible, but also developed the personality, the wish, desire and ability to be active and increased their confidence. CE perceives these children as facing a challenge of learning rather than needing treatment for a medical condition.

CE is based on the premise that despite damage to the nervous system, the brain has a degree of plasticity which gives it the capacity to form new neural connections which may take over from the damaged areas. However an active learning process stimulated by a multi-sensory approach, using Rhythmical Intention (the staff use a phrase such as “I put my feet flat” to trigger a number of cognitive processes) and working in groups, is needed for this to happen.

Children without disabilities often learn quickly how to make use of their environment, how to connect with it and use it as a tool in their development. They learn to adapt and respond to the environment and its demands; in addition they learn to influence it, thus having an active interaction with the environment.

This situation however is different for children with neurological conditions. Disturbed mobility is accompanied by a challenge in their ability to perceive and understand. The impeded movement can restrict or prevent interactions with people and objects which would normally assist their development. This can result in negative experiences and frustrations which in turn affect personality. The dysfunction of the personality in turn restricts physical development and so a circle begins. CE aims to break this circle using group working, multi sensory input, facilitation using aids and equipment and programmes specific to the needs of the individual children.

The learning environment is critical to the success of skill development. The programme/sessions are structured, supportive, designed to maintain interest, to motivate, to reinforce learning, to praise and to challenge. It is important to also focus on transferring what is learned to the home environment by giving the parents the necessary skills and confidence.

Conductive Education is fun for both child and parent/carer.

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APPENDIX 2 – PARENT AND PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS

1. Parent Observations

Selection of Parents’ Comments from the 2023-2024 Questionnaires

My little boy has learnt so much since being at Little Discoverers. Everyone has always been so welcoming, new skills are learnt so often and (the children are) learning to be independent. Socially it’s a lovely place to be meeting new people and interacting with others, where everyone is excited for each other’s child to meet milestones, they didn’t think they could meet. I highly recommend the group and greatly appreciate being welcomed in.

The staff at L.D are incredible, they take the time to know each and every child. They know each child’s communication style and understand what they are asking for. They deserve so much recognition, they are worth their weight in gold. The friendship they have with the mums, and support they offer us is so valuable.

Before joining E was a very quiet child and never interacted with people or played. But since starting he has improved in every aspect. He has made friends and is so confident with other people now. He has started to eat, and his development has dramatically improved.

2. Professional Observations

A Selection of Professionals’ Comments from the 2023-2024 Questionnaires

A fantastic visit today as 3 of the children who were here today are children we see regularly, so it was wonderful to see them interacting so beutifully with all the activitities today.

Little Discoverers offers a wonderful opprotunity to develop motor skills, strength, balance and function – so vital for all these children! Its also great to be able to work with Little Discoverers team to work on goals!

Physio from QEH. Kings Lynn.

Thank you for inviting me to visit. It is so great to see an inclusive provision and to see such happy children. It’s wonderful to see the interaction between staff, parents and children. Such great service that deserves to continue and flourish.

NCC Shortbreaks co-ordinator.

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Thank you very much for welcoming us to your session. I love how child centred your sessions are and how you support them and their families to reach their goals. Always a fun session. Thank you

Occupational Therapist.

A wonderful visit to see what you do in the sessions amd to talk to the parents about the importance of Makaton for effective communication. Lots of great signing seen. Wonderful to see the children using signs, thank you.

Norfolk Makaton Tuition.

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APPENDIX 3 – ENLARGED VERSIONS OF THE PARENT AND PROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK CHARTS

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1
98% of all Parent responses Strongly Agreed or Agreed with
ARENT FEEDBACK -
P the questionnaire statements and 2% of responses Neither Agreed Nor Disagreed
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----- Start of picture text -----
7% were Unable to Comment
– 82% of all Professional responses Strongly Agreed or Agreed
ROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK
P with the questionnaire statements, 11% Neither Agreed Nor Disagreed with the statements and
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