## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 31[st] August 2022 Period start date To 31[st] August 2023 Period end date**
## **Charity name: Up on Downs (Hertfordshire)**
## **Charity registration number: 1126111**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|Support for people with Down's Syndrome
and their families, helpers and carers within
Hertfordshire. To create and develop the
conditions which will enable people with
Down’s syndrome to attain their full potential
and to undertake any other charitable
activities in connection with Down’s
syndrome in the Hertfordshire area|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|•
**Support and networking**
**meetings**
These are a major source of support and
wellbeing for families, providing friendships
with peers, entertainment for children with
DS and their siblings and exchange of
information. They also provide opportunities
for volunteering and for practitioners to learn
more about how to support families. We
delivered 11 monthly meetings through the
year.
**Training events and talks**
These are an effective way for family
members, teachers and practitioners to
learn how to support children at school and
in the community.
•
**Individual advice and signposting**
This is how we support individuals with
specific complex situations that may be
blocking their ability to access education
and services. Resolving individual issues
enables us to promote family wellbeing and
inclusion. We also promote awareness of
issues families are likely to encounter and
how to navigate them. This also includes
visiting new families and offering them our
parent welcome packs with gifts and|
|||information.
•
**Small group speech therapy**Most
families are concerned about having very
limited access to ongoing speech therapy.
We employ a team of highly skilled|
|---|---|---|
|||therapy practitioners who aim to deliver 27
sessions throughout the year to each child
enrolled in the scheme. Parents pay a
contribution that approximates to roughly
half of the cost of their child’s place and the
charity funds the rest, occasionally making a
much larger contribution for families in
financial difficulty. Groups vary from 2-4
children although in some circumstances we
also offer 1:1. During the period we trained
a new speech therapy co-worker and
started her with a new cohort at a third site.
**Social communication group for**
**older young people**
This is an online facilitated group which
enables them to meet a defined friendship
group weekly to practice their skills and
develop confidence . We delivered weekly
sessions throughout term time for the year.
**Fitness club for older young**
**people**
This is an online club led by a fitness trainer
who has DS and is therefore an inspirational
role model giving young people an impetus
to exercise for health and wellbeing. We
delivered weekly sessions in term time
through the year.
•
**Newsletters and information**
**publishing**
We keep members up to date with a
monthly newsletter featuring upcoming
events and relevant information.
We maintain a website which was
developed throughout the year and we have
stepped up our presence on facebook and
Instagram with public pages and private
groups.
•
**Celebrations and awareness**
**events**
As our children are often excluded from
parties with typically developing peers we
hold inclusive seasonal parties for all the
family. These fulfil the same function as our
regular networking meetings but are more
focussed on entertainment improving
wellbeing and quality of life generally. Our
Christmas party is usually the largest event
of the year. We also hold Easter and
Halloween parties and whenever possible|
|||we organise a summer trip to an outdoor
animal park.
•
**Teenage Events**
The Teenage club enables us to offer a
friendship experience for older children who
might find our other parties too “babyish”.
We have found that meetings in a bowling
alley are most successful for this group and
they also enable parents to get together in a
separate area and go out in a large group
afterwards.
•
**Choices Youth Club**
The Friday night youth club runs weekly
and brings in a range of young people with
disabilities whose social life is otherwise
limited. The group ran sessions with sports,
cooking, art, sculpture, dance and gaming,
according to the interests of users.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|All trustees receive a Trustee Handbook
with a copy of the charity’s constitution and
guidance from the Charity Commission is
referenced and circulated.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|The charity does not have a grants
programme and aims to provide most of its
services free of charge to members. Where
contributions from families are sought
towards a specific programme, eg. Speech
therapy, the trustees can decide by vote to
assist a family in difficulty by reducing or
waiving these.|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|Many members and their close relatives
and friends contribute to the charity by
undertaking fundraising activities and
assisting with the organisation and running
of specific events. Occasionally we are also
able to involve community volunteers such
as students working towards the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award or local business
organisations who would like to focus on a
particular cause for a limited time. Where
volunteers are likely to be regular and are
not members themselves, DBS checks are
carried out.|
Other
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a whole.|Para 1.20|In the f/y year 22/23 the charity:
:
We held regular monthly family
meetings, welcome mornings and
activities for parents to network
online.
We continued a weekly programme of
online activities for young people
including Social Communication on
Thursdays and Fitness club on
Tuesdays.
We maintained a weekly youth club
for teenagers with special needs to
give them enrichment activities and
regular contact with a friendship
group. Numbers gradually increased
and feedback has been consistently
excellent from young people and
carers attending.
We extended our specialist speech
development groups from two sites to
three and brought our newly Symbol-
trained co-worker up to full capacity to
include new families in activities to
promote better communication skills.
We established an Ambassador
programme to involve some of our
teenagers in a more formal
representative role.
We arranged family days out at
Thomley SEN Activity Centre and
Standalone farm to enable the
community to get together over the
long school holidays. We also
organised a day at the De Havilland
Aircraft Museum to celebrate World
Down’s Syndrome Day.
We held a 3 day residential at
Magdalen Farm Environmental
Education Centre in Somerset giving
families extended time to connect and
experience a holiday where all the
young people’s needs and interests
were fully catered to.
We held our annual Christmas party
with gifts for all the children.
We improved our new parent
welcome packs with new books and
toys.
We continued to provideindividual|
advice on school-based education and to meet with colleagues to discuss local SEND. We continued to produce our regular newsletters and stepped up our social media presence throughout the period to keep our community in touch and aware of the offer.
## **pe**
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|The charity achieved and exceeded the
objectives set out in it’s forward plan due
to its seizing new funding opportunities for
it’s teenage work in particular.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|•
The charity brought in near
enough to cover the year’s
activities with 2K taken out of
reserves to cover the excess. The
reserve remained well above the
minimum level set by trustees.|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|**NA**|
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Accounts submitted separately to the charity
commission, available online.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy
for
holding
reserves stating why they
are held|Para 1.22|The organisation aims to build up and
maintain a balance of around £20K to
enable it to plan beyond the next school
term and anticipate cash flow variations
between the beginnings and ends of terms.
This equates to around 2/3 of the annual
spending and gives security that we
wouldn’t have to wind up without providing a
full term’s activities with staffing costs.
Trustees have agreed levels triggering an
EGM and further actions if reserves fall.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The reserve is not separated within the
current balance.|
Reasons for holding zero Para 1.22 reserves Details of fund materially in Para 1.24 deficit Explanation of any Para 1.23 uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|The charity has no regular funder and
raises its annual income through
community fundraisers, grants from
companies, charities and foundations and
member contributions for specific services.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|**NA**|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46||
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document|Para 1.25|Constitution, amended 2007|
|How is the charity
constituted?|Para 1.25|Charitable unincorporated association|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Trustees are elected at the AGM by
members and trustees.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|Para 1.51|A trustee handbook is provided for new
trustees.|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|The charity is affiliated with the Down’s
Syndrome Association which provides it’s
insurance policies and is a member
organisation of North Herts Council for
Voluntary Services which provides some
HR and payroll services.|
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Up on Downs (Hertfordshire)|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|Up on Downs|
|Registered charity number|1126111|
|Charity’s principal address|20A Upper Culver Road
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 4EE|
|||
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Lauren Hartley|Chair|Whole year|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
|John Clark|Treasurer|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
||Secretary (vacant)
Duties undertaken by
Chair|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
|Arron Hopcroft|Trustee|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
|Sarah Stockley|Trustee|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
|Dilu Chowdhury|Trustee|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
|---|---|---|---|
|Frances Woton|Trustee|“|Board and membership of Up
on Downs.|
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Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and**|**addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of**
**adviser**|**Name**
**Address**||
|**General**
**and**
**Personnel**|Julie Evens||
||||
||||
|**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**|||
|Alisande Nuttall|||
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signature(s) Full name(s)** John Clark Arron Hopcroft **Position (eg** Treasurer Trustee **Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date** April 18[th] 2024
## **Up on Downs accounts 2022/23**
|**Up on Downs accounts**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2022/23**|**Bal b/f**|**Income**|**Costs**|**Bal c/f**|
|Speech development|-|4,983.50|-7,284.88|-2,301.38|
|Grants, Donations & Other|||||
|Expenditure|26,821.85|28,307.90|-28,216.45|26,913.30|
|**Total as at 31st August 2023**|**26,821.85**|**33,291.40**|**-35,501.33**|**24,611.92**|
|**Up on Downs accounts**|||||
|**2021/22**|**Bal b/f**|**Income**|**Costs**|**Bal c/f**|
|Speech Therapy|-|4,037.00|-7,400.08|-3,363.08|
|Grants, Donations & Other|||||
|Expenditure|39,659.85|14,467.23|-23,942.15|30,184.93|
|**Total as at 31st August 2022**|**39,659.85**|**18,504.23**|**-31,342.23**|**26,821.85**|
|**Up on Downs accounts**|||||
|**2020/21**|**Bal b/f**|**Income**|**Costs**|**Bal c/f**|
|Speech Therapy|-|5,063.00|-7,953.38|-2,890.38|
|Grants, Donations & Other|||||
|Expenditure|39,447.00|29,068.08|-25,964.85|42,550.23|
|**Total as at 31st August 2021**|**39,447.00**|**34,131.08**|**-33,918.23**|**39,659.85**|
|**Up on Downs accounts**|||||
|**2019/20**|**Bal b/f**|**Income**|**Costs**|**Bal c/f**|
|Speech Therapy|-|2,824.00|-4,517.80|-1,693.80|
|Grants, Donations & Other|||||
|Expenditure|39,450.72|20,428.83|-18,738.75|41,140.80|
|**Total as at 31st August 2020**|**39,450.72**|**23,252.83**|**-23,256.55**|**39,447.00**|
|**Up on Downs accounts**|||||
|**2018/19**|**Bal b/f**|**Income**|**Costs**|**Bal c/f**|
|Speech Therapy|-|6,027.00|-6,590.20|-563.20|
|Grants, Donations & Other|||||
|Expenditure|27,391.58|26,494.17|-13,871.83|40,013.92|
|**Total as at 31st August 2019**|**27,391.58 **|**32,521.17**|**-20,462.03**|**39,450.72**|
Balance carried forward is steady, having dropped by £2,209.93 (around 9%) to £24,611.92.
It can be seen that we have had a more successful year in terms of income generation, and increase of £13,840.67 on last year (excluding the speech programme) from grants and donations. However, this has been offset by an increase in expenditure, which reflects an increase in our activity and staff salaries. It should be noted that the increase in income has come almost exclusively form grants and personal donations as we have been unable to secure new corporate sponsorship income as desired.
The cost to the charity of providing the Speech Development Programme remains steady at £2,301.38.
The balance of our PayPal account is currently £858.41.
## **Grants, donations and funds raised totalled £33,291.40 including these significant revenues as follows:**
|National Lottery Community Grant|£5,720.00|
|---|---|
|HCC Building Life Chances Grant (phase 2)|£4,500.00|
|Donation from the estate of the late Anna Martinez-Lainez|£4,000.00|
|Rita Donagh donations|£2,004.20|
|Hitchin Youth Trust Grant|£1,750.00|
|Neil Challis Birthday fundraiser (inc matched funding from Softwire)|£1,083.94|
|St Albans Cathedral Congregational Giving Donation|£1,000.00|
|St Albans Half Marathon sponsorship/marshalling|£743.40|
|Salmon Swimming Club Swimathon|£725.00|
|Chloe James Lifestyle fundraiser|£470.00|
|Marriotts School fundraiser|£393.51|
|Stagecoach fundraiser (Mrs T Francis)|£289.20|
|Christmas card sales|£245.47|
|Income from Christmas party tombola and games|£222.75|
|Chloe James Lifestyle fundraiser
£470.00
Marriotts School fundraiser
£393.51
Stagecoach fundraiser (Mrs T Francis)
£289.20
Christmas card sales
£245.47
Income from Christmas party tombola and games
£222.75|Chloe James Lifestyle fundraiser
£470.00
Marriotts School fundraiser
£393.51
Stagecoach fundraiser (Mrs T Francis)
£289.20
Christmas card sales
£245.47
Income from Christmas party tombola and games
£222.75|
|---|---|
|**Outgoings totalled £31,342.23 including this list of the most significant costs to the**||
|**charity:**||
|Staff salaries|£16,848.32|
|Facilitator for teen zoom meetings (partially funded by BLC grant)|£2,445.00|
|Cost of providing the Speech Development Programme|£2,301.38|
|Magdalen Farm Residential trip (cost of trip less family contributions)|£1,674.00|
|Choices teen youth club (funded by BLC grant)|£1,501.56|
|Thomley play park and Standalone farm summer trips|£270.00|
|Christmas party 2022 (including presents)|£196.89|
|Zoom Annual Subscription|£143.88|
|Family meetings costs|£94.65|
Independent examinerfs report to the trurtees of Up on Downs {Hertfwthire)
I report to the trustees on my examinatlon of the accounts of Up on downs (Hertfordshire) for the
year ended 31 August 2023.
Responslbllltles and basls al report
As the charity trustees of Up on Downs (Hertfordshirel you are responsible for the preparation of
the accounts in accordance with the requirements of Charitie5 Act 20111'the ACYJ.
report re5pert of my examination of Up on Downs IHertfordshirel accounts carried out under
section 145 of the 2011 Art and in carrying out rny examination I have followed all the appllcable
Dirertions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{5llbl of the Act.
Independent examlne¢s statement
I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention in
connertion with the examination giving rne cause to believe that in any material respert,.
l. accounting records were not kept in $pert of the Trust as required by sertion 130 of the
Act; or
2. the cOunts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have corne across no other matters in tonnertion with the Èxamination to
which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the
accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Name:
FCCA:
Address-
Date:
Elaine Hoar
Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant
ILKI Church Street, Langford. Bedfordshire SG18 9NX
th
26 October 2023