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2021-03-31-accounts

Annual report and financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Company number 06652046 Charity number 1129006

Page 1

Annual report and financial statements

FOR THE YEAR ENDED31 MARCH2021
Pages
Directors and advisers 3
Forward from our Chair of Trustees 4
Operational review 6 - 27
Directors’ report 28 - 33
Independent Auditors’ report 34 – 36
Statement of financial activities 37
Balance sheet 38
Statement of cashflows 39
Notes to the financial statements 40-48

Page 2

CONSTITUTION

The Mighty Creatives (“TMC”) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its memorandum and articles of association dated 21 July 2008. In the event of the organisation being wound up each trustee agrees to contribute £1 towards the costs of dissolution. The company is also registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wales. Charity number 1129006. Company number 06652046.

DIRECTORS

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law. The directors serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Ms F A Woolf (Chair) Mr V Malhotra (Vice-Chair) Mr E P Boott Mr A J Butler Mr H A Safdar Mr D Stewart Mr J White Ms V Kelly Ms C Claxton Ms M Maripise Mr E Robinson-Green appointed 29[th] April 2020 Mr L Wolmarans appointed 29[th] April 2020 Ms R Thomas-Smith appointed 29[th] April 2020 Ms J Hallas appointed 28[th] August 2020

PATRONS

MR M BATT MR M BAZ

SECRETARY

Dr R N Owen MBE

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM (Management positions rather than Directors in company law) Chief Executive Officer - Dr R N Owen MBE Deputy Chief Executive Officer - Ms E Bowman

REGISTERED OFFICE AND OPERATIONAL ADDRESS

LCB Depot 31 Rutland Street Leicester LE1 1RE

AUDITORS

Guest Wilson Chartered Accountants 8 Wolverton Road, Snitterfield Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 0HB

Page 3

Forward from our Chair of Trustees

Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic in 2020-21, The Mighty Creatives continued our work very successfully, fulfilling our Bridge contract with Arts Council England as a Sector Support Organisation to deliver Arts Award, Artsmark and our Arts Alliance programmes to children and young people in the region, working with teachers, schools and the cultural and wider education sector.

Following the publication of Arts Council England’s new ten-year strategy Let’s Create in autumn 2019, from March 2020 onward we were expecting to be planning our application for continued core funding. Instead, we were suddenly faced with the challenge of closing down our Leicester office, while at the same time continuing to deliver our mission and ensuring the long-term stability of the organisation. Arts Council England took the welcome decision to extend the current funding agreement by one year.

Under the energetic and creative leadership of our CEO and deputy CEO, our staff team responded magnificently to the challenge. We quickly realised that the education and cultural sectors were in dire need of support. We were able, with the support of Arts Council England, to repurpose our ring-fenced National Partnership Investment Fund to focus on specific areas of need and creative commissions. With our partners, we invested in

We also worked in partnership with Arts Council England and the other nine national Bridge Organisations through the national ‘Let’s Create Arts Drop’ programme, in which thousands of children received physical arts resources to help them express themselves creatively.

The flexible response from Arts Council England meant that we had no need to furlough staff or make redundancies and no need to eat into our hard-earned unrestricted reserves. Staff worked from home during the year, and the senior management team were instrumental in maintaining momentum and morale.

As a result of our initiative and rapid pace of adjustment and realignment, The Mighty Creatives is now truly fit to face what is likely to be a challenging future. Our unrestricted reserves are the highest they have ever been; our funders’ confidence in us is tangible and explicit; our vision burns as bright as ever. The Covid-19 Crisis has helped infuse our charity with an increased sense of clarity, purpose and identity.

I would like to thank TMC’s staff for their hard work during this unusual and challenging year. I would also like to thank the board of trustees for their contributions throughout the year, especially considering the extra demands put on them through our new Innovation Committee and our participation in the prestigious Pilotlight Programme for organisational development.

Page 4

Felicity Woolf Chair of Trustees Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Page 5

OPERATIONAL REVIEW

1. Introduction

Established in 2009, The Mighty Creatives is a charity which has transformed the lives of children and young people through arts, culture and creativity. Based at the heart of the cultural quarter in Leicester, our beneficiaries are children and young people from birth to 30 years old across the East Midlands.

2. Our Vision, Mission and Theory of Change

Our vision is a world where all children and young people will harness the power of arts, creativity and culture in order to transform themselves, their communities and their futures.

Listening and acting upon the creative voices of children and young people is at the heart of our mission, particularly those of the most excluded and disadvantaged. This is our unique selling point and is woven through our products and services to ensure that children and young people will:

We work strategically and collaboratively to achieve our objectives and are renowned for leading strategic partnerships, engaging stakeholders, designing and managing programmes of work, undertaking research and evaluation directly and as a commissioner. Our skilled and knowledgeable staff and trustees:

Page 6

3. Achievements

3.1. The Challenge of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The year began in dramatic style because of the lock down imposed by government in March 2020 to tackle the COVID 19 pandemic. As the year developed, the challenges faced by our beneficiaries and stakeholders and our ourselves were unprecedented and have been well documented.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, we had planned for our 2020 / 21 budget to include an ambitious income generation target of approx. £115, 000 for the year. In normal times, this would have constituted an achievable goal, but with the onset of the pandemic and the collapse of public, private and charitable investment, it rapidly became clear that this goal was unrealistic.

We consequently managed our financial risk by responding to the impact of the pandemic in eleven ways, the first three of which were supported by Arts Council England (ACE) and which meant we did not need to take advantage of other Government schemes and measures which have been introduced since the pandemic began. These were:

i) Repurposing our ring-fenced National Partnership Investment Fund to focus on specific areas of need and creative commissions. With our partners, we invested in:

ii) Offering our services on digital platforms and shifting towards a hybrid, blended learning approach across all our programmes due to direct engagement with young people and teachers in schools becoming increasingly fractured as the pandemic developed.

iii) Engaging more directly with young people through our Youth Cultural Life Fund, and by offering a programme of Sector Support funds to cultural organisations which assisted in enabling them to maintain their engagement with children and young people.

iv) Working in partnership with ACE and the other nine national Bridge Organisations through the national ‘Let’s Create Arts Drop’ programme, in which over 250,000 children nationally (and 28,845 across the East Midlands) received physical arts resources to help them express themselves creatively.

v) Restructuring our budget meant that we had no need to furlough any of the three staff who were eligible to be furloughed or make redundancies from the wider staff team and in doing so, deplete our unrestricted reserves.

Page 7

vi) Establishing an Innovation Subcommittee drawn from staff and trustee teams to identify solutions to the longer-term challenges of premises, stakeholder relationships and income generation within a pandemic context.

vii) Identifying 4 new sources of income which supported us through this difficult time

viii) Increasing our own individual and corporate donations campaigns (the 2.6 Campaign, the Be Mighty Be Creative Campaign, the Boss Bike Bikes Campaign) due to the funding market becoming even more competitive.

ix) Establishing our first official patrons who will advocate for us at national and international levels: renowned musician and composer, Mike Batt and Marcellus Baz, founder and CEO of Nottingham School of Boxing who was awarded the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards for his support of young people in Nottingham in 2016.

x) Cutting costs across all areas of the organisation which has contributed significant savings over the year.

xi) Deleting programme areas which were proving to be time consuming and offering a risk of low return in the short to medium term; and reprioritising our business plan with a ‘road map’ which states our priorities for the next 3 years.

3.2 The cultural significance of our work and how we contribute to providing cultural opportunity in England

Many children, young people and families face a poverty of access to, and progression through, opportunities to arts and culture. Our role is to provide and champion opportunities particularly to those who are the most disadvantaged and excluded. In the East Midlands, we place particular focus on those communities with the highest levels of deprivation, including Leicester East, Leicester South, Nottingham East, Derby South, Leicester West, Nottingham South, Nottingham North, Boston and Skegness, Ashfield, Bolsover, Louth and Horncastle and Mansfield.

Our mission is driven by six strategic objectives:

Page 8

 sustaining the charity’s organisational resilience to meet our vision.

In order to achieve these objectives, we deliver the following programmes:

i) Our Cultural Education programme receives significant investment from ACE who fund us as one of their ten Bridge Organisations for the East Midlands. This funding affords us the unique role of connecting cultural provision to children and young people in schools across the region.

ii) Our Creative Communities programme works with children, young people and key community partners in order to generate creative social action projects, interventions and productions at the heart of communities. We are focussing on one project, Splash! to extend this work to reach more children with learning disabilities nationally in partnership with Diverse City and Cirque Bijou through the development of an online digital programme and national tour of SEND schools and venues in 2023.

iii) Our Creative Mentoring programme was pioneered by Derbyshire Virtual School and provides a model and approach to working with young people in need who struggle to engage in education – or who are at risk of exclusion or disaffection. Creative mentors are commissioned to work with young people and are briefed jointly by social care professionals and schools. This work is supported with funding from the Children in Need, What Works for Children’s Social Care (WWCSC) and additional investment from Western Power Distribution.

iv) Our Creative Futures programme stems from our long-standing commitment to providing creative enterprise and employment opportunities for young people across the region. Young people aged 16–30, are helped to kick-start their creative careers with the support required to lead creative enterprises and more broadly enter the jobs market. We are prioritising investment to the most vulnerable groups by working as a Gateway Organisation with the Government’s Kickstart programme in order to generate jobs for unemployed young people between 16 and 24 who are on Universal Credit.

3.3. Cultural Education: Arts Council England Bridge Programme

Our cultural education programmes centre on a collaborative approach to supporting access to arts and culture for children and young people. Working with other cultural organisations, education settings and young people, we help to build the gateways that lead children and young people to inspiring experiences.

We have continued to see a significant rise in engagement with non NPO cultural organisations and schools, particularly considering the context we have been working in throughout the year.

Page 9

We have seen new engagement with a further 302 new cultural partners and 174 new schools over the year.

The image to the right outlines the level of engagement since the start of the Bridge contract in April 2018. We have now reached 921 schools across the region and 582 cultural partners who are not National Portfolio Organisations.

We have continued to increase our engagement with partners across the cultural and education sectors throughout the year. We increased our overall engagement with schools and cultural partners by 24% on last year and 71% on 2018-19.

Our focus in 2021 / 2022 will be on schools’ engagement and how we reach the ‘cold’ schools who are not currently engaged with us. There are currently 1074 schools who have not had any form of engagement with TMC since 2018.

Page 10

By analysing this data, we have been able to identify a target list of 243 cold schools who we will focus on over the coming year. The data has been drawn from our analysis of nonengaged schools and selected because they either have a high % of free school meals, are in deciles 1-3 on the IMD or both. This will ensure we reach our region’s most disadvantaged children and young people.

Page 11

3.4. Well-Be Project: supporting students emotional health, well-being and resilience in times of global crisis (Erasmus+)

The Well-Be project, which runs from 2020 to 2022 combines the efforts of 4 partners from UK, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy reflecting current challenges in the field of school education arising as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

The project mission is to support secondary education students in building resilience skills and overcoming the negative effects of social exclusion after the end of the epidemic.

This goal will be achieved by analysing the psychological (psycho-social) effects of social exclusion in students and, on this basis, updating educational priorities and focusing pedagogical measures on the needs of students in the post-epidemic situation.

The project will result in two main intellectual outputs: a Survey Research Handbook and Teacher's Guide for working with secondary school students who have experienced the COVID-19 crisis.

3.5. Creative Communities: Splash!

The third phases of SPLASH! (legacy development) was started this year, despite the many restrictions that the pandemic placed on it.

We appointed Nikki Charlesworth as Project Manager who developed new network hubs based in Loughborough (Peter Le Marchant Trust), Derby (St. James Centre) Ilkeston (Erewash Museum), Gainsborough (Mayflower Academy) and Nottingham (Beeston Canalside and Heritage Centre and the Nottingham Narrowboat Project) for CYP with learning disabilities and their families to develop their understanding of the region’s rich water heritage.

Page 12

She developed a programme of 4 online videos, all telling stories of Canalside creatures with integrated captions and Makaton. There are versions of these videos for children aged 5-11 and for young people aged 12+. Funded by Awards for All, the videos were published online in September 2020 and can be viewed here:

3.6 Creative Mentoring

Our Creative Mentoring service works across the year to deliver an employment transition programme for young people in and leaving care. One to one mentoring, provided by our team of specialist Creative Mentors, supports:

The tried and tested Creative Mentoring model (pioneered by Derbyshire Virtual School and The Amber Factory) has been adapted as a creative enterprise framework for young people who are at greatest risk of not being in education, employment or training.

Case Study

H is 14 years old. When H was referred to join the Creative Mentoring programme back in November, they were going through a period of significant challenge at home, in education and within their social group. H lives in an area that is significantly disadvantaged economically and in turn, they face several barriers when it comes to accessing support and opportunities. H had experienced severely traumatic events in their life that has directly impacted H, their behaviours and attitudes. This has presented itself in destructive behaviours that have resulted in disengagement, violence, police intervention, exclusion and severe mental health needs. H is constantly surrounded by bad influences, including drugs, crime and alcohol.

The professionals around H had noticed an increased disinterest in education and were aware H could “de-rail at any point”. A Creative Mentor (CM) was commissioned to work with H to encourage them to positively re-engage in education and to develop trust in adults around them.

At the point of baseline, H self-assessed their skills (Participation & Engagement, Relationship Building, Confidence, Communication, Motivation, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Self-belief and Ideas Generation) on the lowest two points of the scale, with 1/3 scoring a 1 out of 5 and 2/3s scoring a 2 out of 5. H scored their Problem Solving, Teamwork and Ideas Generation the lowest. The focus was to help the development of these skills to enable a successful and positive return to school.

Page 13

Their weekly 1 and a half hour sessions initially focused on understanding H and how their trauma has impacted their life. They have been exploring these traumatic events at a creative distance through poetry and visual arts. The CM has been focusing on the positive relationships H has in their life, working towards exploring what this means in their activities. Sessions have been product-based, as an outcome encourages motivation and drive for H. After time, H had self-identified that creating something for their Mum may be able to improve their relationship. This has enabled the CM to draw upon signs of positive relationship building, to help H better understand who to trust and to encourage their selfesteem and confidence to be their own person.

An outstanding moment was when H was partaking in a painting session where through the reflective and adaptive approach of their CM, H did not let their mistakes obstruct their progress.

Through working with their CM, despite having experienced loss within the family and significant relationship challenges over Christmas in 2020, H has since returned to school and is regularly engaging, with extended hours. H has also shared with their CM that they understand staff are working collaboratively towards their best interests now and in the future. This is a huge signifier of understanding relationships for H, with specific focus on noticing care, kindness and concern from others. H has also shared with a member of staff that they are enjoying their sessions with their CM, which has contributed to their return to school and improvement in attendance.

3.7 Creative Futures: The Mighty Employers (Kickstart, DWP)

We became a Kickstart Gateway organisation for the DWP in September 2020 and by 31 March 2021, 145 employers had been recruited onto the scheme, offering 501 jobs between them.

The following tables and infographic shows the regions in which the employers are based.

----- Start of picture text -----
Employers Jobs
East Midlands 54 166
London 32 150
West Midlands 15 50
North East 6 44
South East 17 31
East 11 30
North West 1 10
South West 1 8
----- End of picture text -----

Page 14

Yorkshire 6 7
South 2 5
145 501

The following table shows the sectors in which the employers are working:

----- Start of picture text -----
Sector Employers Jobs
Culture 28 101
Creative & Digital 27 96
Film & Media 18 69
Education 17 67
Printing & Marketing 23 67
Leisure & Sport 6 22
Leisure & Tourism 2 16
Finance 1 15
Charity 3 13
Design 6 8
Hospitality 3 8
Retail 2 7
Health & Well Being 4 5
Events 2 4
Travel & Transport 2 2
Life Sciences 1 1
145 501
----- End of picture text -----

The following infographic shows the types of jobs which employers are offering:

Page 15

Organisational progress towards KPIs

----- Start of picture text -----
KPI No Organisational KPIs Target Total to date % delivered % remaining
1 Engage 50% of the region’s schools (2220 in total) 1110 921 83% 17%
2 Meaningful engagement with 30% of cultural organisations in the region 735 682 93% 7%
3 support 10 partnership that support Cultural Education 10 8 80% 20%
4 Oversee 25,000 creative qualifications awarded through the Arts Award programme 25000 20453 82% 18%
5 Support the development and delivery of 200 creative projects (the projects that can be counted 200 38 19% 81%
must have produced a creative output)
6 Support 50 emerging artists 50 30 60% 40%
7 Develop 50 creative enterprises 50 86 172% -72%
8 Create 100 new jobs 100 48 48% 52%
with 50% of participants moving from NEET to EET – Target in review 50 0 0% 100%
9 Deliver 26,000 hours of mentoring and coaching for children and young people 26000 1521 6% 94%
10 Support 2 creative apprenticeships 2 2 100% 0%
11 Develop and deliver 300 training, events, workshops and networking opportunities 300 561 187% -87%
12 Provide support for 20 networks, focusing on early years, SEND, creative schools and children 20 18 90% 10%
looked after
13 Deliver 6 conferences 6 4 67% 33%
14 Invest £1.2m from the Cultural Life Fund £1,200,000 £642,750 54% 46%
15 Issue 200 bursaries and 150 project grants 350 289 83% 17%
16 Achieve 80% match for Cultural Life Fund investments £1,200,000 £1,310,147 109% -9%
17 Develop 10 resources which offer access to a directory of assets, advice and support 10 7 70% 30%
18 NEW: Engage 2000 CYP through direct delivery 2000 1104 55% 45%
19 NEW: Reach 10,000 attendees through our largescale events and conferences 10,000 6933 69% 31%
----- End of picture text -----

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4. PLANS FOR 2021 / 2022

The Board and staff of The Mighty Creatives are wholeheartedly committed to supporting Arts Council England’s ‘Let’s Create’ 10-year strategy and fully endorse the principles and values within it. The Board have committed to adopting the Investment Principles of the strategy and will work to integrate these into our work. This will include ensuring they are discussed regularly at Board meetings.

We will continue to improve access to our services by improving the diversity of our beneficiaries, workforce and governance as follows:

i) The Splash! programme is specifically designed to improve the diversity of our audiences, visitors and participants, particularly children and young people with learning disabilities. The continuing involvement with our partners of Diverse City, Extraordinary Bodies and Cirque Bijou will ensure that the programme will reach a wider, national audience of children with learning disabilities in SEND schools and their families. The programme will include a CPD programme of live and virtual content for teachers to ensure the programme continues to assist the ongoing learning of its prime audience.

ii) We are a committed partner of the Leicester NPO collective who have produced the Black Lives Matter Framework for Change in 2020. This framework has 6 areas of development: Network for our workforce, Data sharing and assessment points, Recruitment, Training and Development, Progression and Leadership and Decolonising the Curriculum. Our board of trustees have signed up to the framework and it is being actioned through our Diversity Working Group which involves staff and trustees working together.

iii) Our board of trustees has become significantly more diverse over the last 18 months. However, we continue to seek people with wider lived experiences than our current membership has and operate a rolling recruitment programme to ensure this ambition can be realised.

Programme Plans for 2021 / 2022

4.1. Revised delivery plan of the Bridge Programme in line with ACE Bridge Framework

This will be delivered over the next 2 years and monitored quarterly to ensure we are reaching targets. The delivery plan will be revised to ensure we are aligned with ACE’s latest priorities and will shape our programme offer ready for the NPO round in 2023.

Page 18

Objective 1: Creative People

----- Start of picture text -----
Deliverable Detail Expected outcomes TMC KPIs TMC Delivery Activities
Stand
ACE Framework ACE Framework ACE Framework TMC Response TMC Response TMC Response
----- End of picture text -----

Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Stand
Activities
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
TMC Response
TMC Response
TMC Response
Support Artsmark
delivery in area		 -
Encourage school
registration and sustained
engagement by delivering
briefing sessions, surgeries,
1:1 support, peer learning,
and Development Days
-
Support schools to develop
and submit a Statement of
Commitment
-
Connect schools to cultural
organisations which can
offer support
-
Support cultural
organisations to understand
and engage, and to develop
a clearly articulated offer for
schools
-
Support and celebrate the
Artsmark community with
celebration events,
communications support,
and by recognising
achievement and
leadership within schools		 -
The local offer is
consistent,
responsive, and
place-based
-
Overall rates of
engagement with
Artsmark are
increased
-
Schools commit
to the journey,
progressing from
registration
through to
submission of a
Statement of
Commitment
-
Improvements
are seen in the
least engaged
areas and
amongst the least
engaged groups
-
More arts and
cultural
organisations
understand and		 Engage 50% of
the region’s
schools (2220 in
total)
Develop and
deliver 300
training, events,
workshops and
networking
opportunities
Develop 10
resources which
offer access to a
directory of
assets, advice
and support		 Cultural
Education		 -
Information/resources
(online, Mighty
Connections, Learning
Platform, Website)
-
TMC e-news
-
Online briefings
-
Creative School Network
-
Funding support
Programme
-
Consultant support
sessions (1:1s)
-
Statement of Impact
workshops
-
Development Days
-
Artsmark Partner briefings
-
Support workshops
(Statement of
Commitment, Evidencing
Impact, Statement of
Impact)
-
Peer network events
(SEND)
-
Celebration
event/programme
-
Podcasts

Page 19

----- Start of picture text -----
engage with
Artsmark
Support schools, - Highlight advice, - Increased Meaningful Cultural - Artsmark Ambassadors
----- End of picture text -----

engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark		 engage with
Artsmark
Support schools, -
Highlight advice,		 -
Increased		 Meaningful Cultural -
Artsmark Ambassadors
cultural
organisations, and
individual
artists/practitioners
to access
information, advice,
learning, tools,
approaches, and
activity, enabling
equitable
opportunity for all
children and young
people		 information, and
opportunities to all schools
and relevant cultural
organisations and individual
artists/practitioners
-
Target schools in particular
places, supporting their
connections and
engagement with cultural
organisations, opportunities
(including Artsmark), and
networks/partnerships
(including but not exclusive
to LCEPs)
-
Support artistic leadership
in schools and beyond
through networks, peer-
learning, and information
sharing
-
Support targeted
interventions for particular
groups of CYP based on
context, data, and
understanding of need. For
example, looked after
children, refugees, CYP
experiencing disadvantage
etc
-
Target specific gaps in
provision or opportunity. For
example, early years,
careers pathways etc		 numbers of young
people -
especially those
from diverse
backgrounds -
are engaging with
a high-quality
offer, in and out
of school.
-
Every young
person has the
opportunity to
access high-
quality arts and
cultural provision,
and the gap in
engagement
levels by CYP
who face
particular barriers
has narrowed.
-
More schools
embed planning
for the arts in
school
improvement
plans, employing
a range of tools
and approaches
to support
learning
outcomes		 engagement with
30% of cultural
organisations in
the region
Oversee 20,000
creative
qualifications
awarded through
the Arts Award
programme
Create 100 new
jobs
with 50% of
participants
moving from
NEET to EET
Deliver 26,000
hours of
mentoring and
coaching for
children and
young people
(720 contribution
from Bridge)		 Education
Creative
Mentoring
Creative
Futures
Creative
Communities		 -
Arts Award Supporters
-
SEND Network
-
Artsmark Ambassador
Action Research
-
Group School Offer,
Networks & Creative
Schools Network
-
Data analysis
-
Arts Award
-
AA: SUP, B2S, targeted
discretionary fund, DDGs
-
Creative Mentoring
-
Creative Futures –
Careers and pathways
-
Work experience &
placements
-
Youth Board
-
Networks
-
Schools leadership
programme
-
CPD & wider support
exploring mental health
and resilience of CYP
-
LCEPs
-
Power of Partnerships x 2
-
Equality & Equity action
plan – BLM framework

Page 20

----- Start of picture text -----
- Advocate and share - There are
information about a range increased Provide support
of approaches, resources for for 20 networks,
qualifications, and tools (in cultural activity focusing on early
particular Arts Award) which from a diverse years, SEND,
will support school range of partners creative schools
development and learning and artists and children
outcomes for children and - Practical looked after
young people consideration of
diversity and
inclusion is Issue 200
integral to the bursaries and 150
offer project grants
----- End of picture text -----

Objective 2: Cultural Communities

----- Start of picture text -----
Deliverable Detail Expected outcomes TMC KPIs TMC Delivery Activities
strand
ACE Framework ACE Framework ACE Framework TMC Response TMC Response TMC Response
----- End of picture text -----

Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
strand
Activities
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
TMC Response
TMC Response
TMC Response
Support the
ongoing
development of a
vibrant, cohesive,
and responsive
cultural education
infrastructure in
order to support
equitable
opportunities for
children and young
people		 -
Develop and maintain a
picture of the local cultural
offer which is informed by
data from a variety of
sources (including ACE) and
by other evidence
-
Galvanise partnerships and
relationships which represent
a full range of cross-sectoral
stakeholders e.g., early years
organisations, cultural
organisations, MEHs,
schools, youth and
community organisations, FE		 -
The consistency,
quality, reach, and
quantity of arts
and cultural
provision for
children and
young people has
measurably
improved
-
Increased
numbers of young
people -
especially those
from diverse		 Support 10
partnerships to
deliver high-
quality cultural
education for
vulnerable
CYP.
Support the
development
and delivery of
200 creative
projects (the
projects that		 Creative
Communities
Creative
Futures		 -
Data analysis
-
Networks
-
Cultural Life Fund (SSC)
-
Youth Cultural Life Fund
-
Support grants from Arts
Award (as outlined above)
-
Targeted CPD and support
sessions for LCEPs
specifically on fundraising
and sustainability,
diversity/inclusion, youth
voice and digital
development

Page 21

----- Start of picture text -----
and HE, local government backgrounds - are can be counted - Youth Voice Research /
and services, libraries, Local engaging with a must have Cultural Toolkit
Enterprise Partnerships, high-quality offer, produced a Education - National Youth Voice
social enterprises, private in and out of creative output) platform delivered
companies and individual school. - Information/resources
artists or practitioners - Every young (online, Mighty
- Provide developmental and person has the Connections – to include
strategic support to LCEPs, opportunity to Mighty Hub, Learning
relevant to their stage of access high- Deliver 6 Platform, Website)
development and need, and quality arts and conferences - Blogs, resources and
in response to a place-based cultural provision, toolkits
strategy. This may include and the gap in - Arts Award Digital and
helping them to evidence engagement Digital Development
effective delivery; quality levels by CYP Invest £1.2m Grants
assurance; supporting the who face from the - Let’s Create Campaign
development and momentum particular barriers Cultural Life - Joint marketing with wider
of the partnership; has narrowed. Fund partners
considering sustainability and - There are - Alumni e-news
legacy; and/or support to increased - Alumni Network and CPD
embed Quality Principles, resources for Achieve 80% offer
Artsmark, and tools and cultural activity match for - Arts Award training &
qualifications which support from a diverse Cultural Life support
structured learning outcomes range of partners Fund - Delivery action plan
(in particular Arts Award) - Children and investments against Quality &
- Identify and engage with young people’s Investment Principles &
other/existing partnerships, voices are more Support sessions for
offering time-limited support evident in schools Engage 2000 sector
around specific tasks and and cultural CYP through - Facilitation of briefings for
activity where appropriate to providers’ arts direct delivery ACE funding
place-based delivery planning and - Artsmark Partners and
provision wider programme
- Practical - Arts Award partnership
consideration of development (Supporter
diversity and development, Grant
inclusion is
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Page 22

----- Start of picture text -----
integral to the recipients, MEH
offer partnerships)
- Youth Voice Symposium
led by a group of young
Changemakers
----- End of picture text -----

Objective 3: Cultural and Creative Country

----- Start of picture text -----
Deliverable Detail Expected outcomes TMC KPIs TMC Delivery Activities
Strand
ACE Framework ACE Framework ACE Framework TMC Response TMC Response TMC Response
----- End of picture text -----

Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities		 Deliverable
Detail
Expected outcomes
TMC KPIs
TMC Delivery
Strand
Activities
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
ACE Framework
TMC Response
TMC Response
TMC Response
Build on
organisational
strengths to offer
practical support,
insight and
leadership at a
national level
where appropriate		 -
Using experience,
evidence, and learning to
contribute to national
conversations about
cultural learning
-
Offer support or direct
delivery of activity/services
to the wider Bridge cohort,
to the sector or to schools
nationally, on areas of
particular expertise or focus
e.g., early years, youth
sector, careers, deaf and
disabled CYP, digital
innovation, youth voice,
environmental sustainability
etc
-
Opportunities to research
and test innovative
approaches across a wider
cohort and as part of an
expanding range of tools.		 -
Bridges are able
to play a national
and co-ordinated
role in shaping
the debate or
improving the
quality of the
offer for children
and young
people across
England in a
specific area of
expertise
-
Good practice
and learning are
shared across
the network of
Bridge
organisations,
and the specific
areas of
expertise
developed by		 Develop 10
resources
which offer
access to a
directory of
assets, advice
and support		 Cultural
Education
Creative
Communities
Creative
Futures
Creative
Mentoring		 -
Survey – taking the
temperature
-
Quarterly Data analysis
-
Monthly National Bridge
Meetings
-
Bi-Monthly National
Bridge meetings on
Early Years, Children
Looked After, Careers
and Employability,
Libraries, LCEPs,
Artsmark, Arts Award,
Nationals
-
Delivery of National
Youth Voice Series
-
Attendance at relevant
national meetings, RSA,
CLA, Early Years
Network
-
Midlands VS Network –
Cultural Entitlement
Framework

Page 23

----- Start of picture text -----
individual - Sharing of Creative
Bridges can be Mentoring Model and
utilised and Youth Voice with Bridge
celebrated at a partners
national level - Strategic business
Development
----- End of picture text -----

individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development		 individual
Bridges can be
utilised and
celebrated at a
national level
-
Sharing of Creative
Mentoring Model and
Youth Voice with Bridge
partners
-
Strategic business
Development
Work with other
Bridge
organisations to
share knowledge
and ensure a
cohesive offer for
all young people
across the country		 -
Share data, evidence,
learning, and effective
practice with the Bridge
network (including around
Artsmark provision) in order
to inform/shape shared
sector delivery
-
Collaborate with other
Bridge organisations to
deliver sector development
activity including events,
training, and support.		 -
There is
consistent
delivery across
the Bridge
network,
ensuring equity
for all Artsmark
schools across
England
-
There are
increased
opportunities for
local
programmes to
be celebrated
and profiled at a
national level
-
There are
increased
opportunities for
young people to
access national
opportunities
-
There is
understanding
across the Bridge
network of
shared
challenges,		 Reach 10,000
attendees
through our
largescale
events and
conferences
Provide
support for 20
networks,
focusing on
early years,
SEND, creative
schools and
children looked
after		 Cultural
Education
Creative
Communities
Creative
Futures
Creative
Mentoring		 -
Quarterly Data analysis
-
Monthly National Bridge
Meetings
-
Bi-Monthly National
Bridge meetings –
Artsmark, Arts Award
-
Case studies
-
Resources
-
Celebration events
-
National campaigns
-
Youth Voice Summit
-
Joint LCEP event POP3

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-
Quarterly Data analysis
-
Monthly National Bridge
Meetings
-
Bi-monthly ACE/Bridge
meetings
-
Quarterly Midlands area
meetings
-
Review, analyse, plan &
respond
-
Market research
-
Briefings for
stakeholders on ACE
Strategy & Investment
Principles
-
Strategic business
management,
development and
income generation
opportunities,
and priorities
Keep informed on
emerging trends
and priorities in
national policy,
including latest
ACE thinking		 -
Work closely with ACE
areas to understand and
agree shared priorities, to
understand emerging
thinking, and to share
intelligence
-
Understand and respond to
Let’s Create and relevant
investment principles
-
Keep abreast of the latest
evidence and research
relevant to Bridge
functions, to feed into
future planning and delivery
of current activity		 -
Bridges are able
to adapt
programming to
respond to the
latest
information,
evidence, and
thinking		 Develop and
deliver 300
training,
events,
workshops and
networking
opportunities		 Cultural
Education
Creative
Communities
Creative
Futures
Creative
Mentoring		 -
Quarterly Data analysis
-
Monthly National Bridge
Meetings
-
Bi-monthly ACE/Bridge
meetings
-
Quarterly Midlands area
meetings
-
Review, analyse, plan &
respond
-
Market research
-
Briefings for
stakeholders on ACE
Strategy & Investment
Principles
-
Strategic business
management,
development and
income generation

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4.2. Well-Be Project: supporting students emotional health, well-being and resilience in times of global crisis (Erasmus+)

In 2021 / 22 we will focus on delivering the two main outputs of the project:

Following the success of our recent Erasmus+ bid, our Bulgarian partners have invited us to join another consortium to make another application to Erasmus+ in October 2021.

The DiARC project combines the efforts of 4 partners and an extended network of 8 associate partners, representing two main regions of Europe – Western (UK, Belgium), and South Eastern (Bulgaria and Slovenia).

The purpose of our collaboration is to support young people to become more resilient in addressing the negative impact of COVID-19 and similar future crises. This will be achieved by supporting professional artists, who are negatively impacted on by the pandemic, to improve their entrepreneurial competencies and prospects of alternative employment as online trainers of young people.

With this project we aim i) to integrate our know-how in providing training for young people in the fields of creativity, entrepreneurship, coaching and ‘soft skills’ into a comprehensive online training course (IO1) for nurturing resilience and ii) to encourage them to develop their artistic skills and competencies in combination with their entrepreneurial skills, in order to better serve themselves and their communities.

We will also train professional artists (IO2) to become online trainers in this course. We will enrich the online training process through a set of digital creativity cards (IO3).

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Conclusion

This report shows the detail of our programmes and projects during 2020-21. Many are ongoing and will continue in the next financial year, when we hope to be able to share and celebrate further successes.

Finally, I’d like to thank our funders, partners and sponsors who generously supported us this year. I would particularly like to thank Arts Council England, Children in Need, What Works for Children ’s Social Care (WWCSC), The Swire Foundation, The Charities Aid Foundation Resilience Fund, The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Kickstart programme and Erasmus+ from the European Union (EU) for their support, flexibility and faith in us.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees on 27[th] October 2021.

Felicity Woolf Chair of the Board of Trustees

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DIRECTORS’ REPORT

The directors, who are also the trustees, present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021.

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

TMC is a company limited by guarantee, without share capital and incorporated on 21st July 2008. We were also granted charitable status on 3rd April 2009 as an educational charity registered in England and Wales. Our governing documents are included within our Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The company is led by a strong group of Trustees who have extensive experience and expertise in the cultural, education and commercial sectors and together bring a wide range of governance skills to bear: leadership, fundraising and financial control, marketing, pedagogy and innovation. They also reflect the geographical diversity of the region which the company aims to serve. The Trustees are led by the Chair, Felicity Woolf and Vice Chair and Chair of Operations & Finance, Vivek Malhotra.

We are grateful to all the Trustees, listed on page 3, who held office during the year.

Our Trustees meet quarterly to agree strategic direction, receive reports from staff, approve budgets and finance reports and endorse and review policies.

The Operations and Finance Committee, a sub-committee of the Board, meets at least four times a year. Its function is to scrutinise budgets and finance reports in detail to safeguard the finances of the organisation, manage and review risks. The Committee also deals with issues such as pay levels and child protection. The Committee reports to, and makes recommendations to, the Board of Trustees.

At the end of March 2021, there were 14 serving Trustees on the Board. Under the terms of the Articles of Association, one third of Trustees will retire at the Annual General Meeting. Trustees who retire are eligible for re-appointment.

Trustees regularly address skills and knowledge gaps with appointments open to any suitably qualified member of the public. Trustees are appointed through Board recommendation or a formal recruitment process comprising advertising and awareness through social media, similar to that used for the recruitment of staff. All newly appointed Trustees receive instruction on the activities of the charity and their responsibilities as a Trustee. They also have opportunities to see work in the field and we have proactively built this into the meetings structure.

All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses are disclosed in note 8 of the annual accounts. Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Company Secretary and, in accordance with our policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

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STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT

Our Trustees and senior staff are responsible for making sure everything we do is focused on achieving lasting public benefit, as defined by the Charity Commission. Our governing documents define our core objectives as

To promote such charitable objects and purposes for the public benefit as the Trustees think fit, in particular and without limitation, to the generality of the forgoing words to advance the education of children and young people and those who work with them through creative and cultural activities.

We review our public benefit and charitable purpose on an annual basis.

RESERVES POLICY

Our Trustees review our reserves policy and levels on an annual basis, in the context of an ever-changing organisation and its working capital requirements. The policy states that a minimum of three month’s staffing and infrastructure costs should be held in reserve, with the sum being made up over a five-year period.

We have limited scope to put money to reserves, with most of our income coming from restricted funding. This year TMC surpassed its minimum reserves target and at 31 March 2021 holds £301,435 in unrestricted reserves (2020 - £238,000)

GRANT MAKING POLICY

TMC makes grants to schools and other organisations working in the field of culture, creativity and enterprise. The nature and size of the grant is solely dependent on the size and nature of the funding that TMC received from funding bodies to distribute.

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION

The daily responsibility for leadership of The Mighty Creatives rests with our Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive..

During 2020/21 the following senior leadership team was in place:

Key management personnel remuneration is determined with reference to the market place and what is recognised as acceptable practice by our core funder, Arts Council England. It is also determined by assessing the overall salary costs of the company and ensuring that salaries reflect the nature of the work, the company structure, and sectoral expectations. Remuneration is agreed at Board level.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Trustees have a risk register in place which addresses the major governance, operational, financial, reputational, legal and regulatory risks that might impact up the core purposes and key objectives. These risks are managed by a comprehensive set of policies (subject to review) and long standing practices, set out in our Employee Handbook.

Page 29

The most significant risks we faced in 2020/2021 were of a financial or operational nature. They are summarised, along with the relevant mitigation measures, below:

TYPE OF RISK NUMBER POTENTIAL RISK Consequence of risk INHERENT ASSESSMENT INHERENT ASSESSMENT OVERALL
**LEVEL OF RISK **		 How to mitigate the Risk
Pre-
Mitigation
impact		 Pre-
Mitigation
Probability		 Pre-mitigation
Operational 1.1. Lack of consideration
for staff health and
well being		 Poor staff retention rates 2 2 4 Performance management systems in
place which are reviewed annually.
Training and Development plan reviewed
annually
Operational 1.2. Lack of capacity Lack of inappropriate resources to deliver activities as
required. Inappropriate recruitment to roles		 2 3 5 Ensure projects are fully costed and
funded adequately and appropriate staff
are consulted. New jobs adhere to
recruitment and selection procedures and
EqualityPolicy
Operational 1.3. Poor working
environment		 Inappropriate office space; ICT equipment. 2 2 4 Replacement policy of ICT equipment is in
place; regular review of usage of office
space
Operational 1.4. Not delivering
contracts		 Loss of funding; reputational damage; long term sustainability
of the charity
3		 3 6 Regular monitoring of project performance
against contract KPIs and outputs; regular
reporting to funders on project
performance
Operational 1.5. Lack of diversity in
the workforce		 Unable to engage beneficiaries; unable to deliver charity's
mission		 3 2 5 Regular review of Equality Policy and
Action Plan. Diversity Working group in
place
Operational 1.6. Lack of Safeguarding
policy		 Unable to deliver charity's vision or meet legislation 3 3 6 Regular review of Safeguarding Policy and
Action Plan; regular staff training in
safeguarding provided; named
safeguarding officers on staff team and on
Board of Trustees
Financial 2.1. Lack of income
available to deliver
programmes		 Sustained lack of income from a range of sources 3 3 6 Implementation and monitoring of income
generation strategy
Financial 2.2. Lack of Financial
controls and systems		 Projects overspend; inappropriate reporting of expenditure
by budget holders; loss of contracts with funders; fraud
leading to legal investigations		 3 3 6 ~~Financial controls and procedures are~~
reviewed regularly with auditors; regular
project reports are produced for funders;
financial controls are a shared
responsibility for appropriate members of
staff
Governance 3.1. Insufficient skill base
of trustees		 Trustees unable to support vision; trustees become
unrepresentative of the sectors we work with; lack of income
generation and financial control capabilities; lack of cultural
diversity		 2 3 5 Regular audit of skills base against the
charity's needs; relevant recruitment
procedures as required
Governance 3.2. Poor or irregular
attendance at
Trustees meetings		 Poor decision making; low 'buy-in' to the charity's vision and
business plan		 2 2 4 Adhere to Memorandum and Articles of
Association; trustee induction process
established and reviewed; monitoring
attendance atmeetings
Governance 3.3. Inappropriate
governance structure		 Inability to generate income from a wider range of sources 3 3 6 Regular review of fitness for purpose of
the charity's legal structure
Governance 3.4. Lack of knowledge by
trustees of the
charitable sector		 Trustees make inappropriate decisions; are unable to inform
charity's vision or contribute to advocating for it		 2 3 5 Induction procedures for new trustees;
regular training and development plan for
alltrustees
Business
Continuity		 4.1. Major office disruption Lack of access to offices or equipment 2 2 4 All staff provided with laptops; emergency
comms strategy is in place; use of Cloud
based computing technologies
Business
Continuity		 4.2. Cyberattack IT systems are hacked into and fail 3 2 5 All systems are regularly back up by
external provider
Business 43 Unplanned key staff Lack of knowledge and skills for projects; funding bids not 3 3 6 Major project strategies are shared
amongst key staff; processes for
recruitment for new staff are in lace
Continuity .. absences being submitted on time p
A business continuity plan is in place to
cover these eventualities
Business
Continuity		 4.4 Reputational damage Adverse PR; loss of contracts and income; damaged
operations due to stakeholder withdrawal		 3 3 6 Implementation of crisis management
policy including comms strategies for both
staff, trustees and externalpartners
Strategic 5.1. Adverse political
climate for arts and
education		 Withdrawal of funding for the sector 3 3 6 Regular, targeted and strategic advocacy
and lobbying by key personnel and
trustees
Strategic 5.2. Brexit Lack of international engagement; lack of funding from EU
programmes; inability to deliver mission		 2 3 5 Establish links with a wider base of
international development agencies e.g.
British Council, Dept of International
Trade, EU and non EU partners
Strategic 5.3. non-prioritisation of
children and young
people in Arts Council
England's 10 Year
Plan		 Bridge contract stops in 2022 3 3 6 Advocate regularly for CYP at ACE and at
national levels' diversify skill base of
organisation & develop new contracts

Page 30

STRATEGIC REPORT

TMC receives income through grants and contracts for services which are based on funding agreements for variable lengths of time. Activities are planned over the life of the individual project which ensure that all anticipated income is spent, except for retaining a prudent amount in reserves if the grant permits this.

In order to preserve the liquidity of the organisation we do not currently invest income for more than one year. The strategy therefore is to retain funds as cash and place them in bonds or other bank deposits at the best rate obtainable.

Having been through an intensive period of organisational development over the last 12 months, the charity has determined that it is currently in a strong position to develop its income generation activities to direct the future growth and sustainability of work in the region.

The charities Income Generation Strategy is a fundamental component of The Mighty Creative’s ongoing strategic development. The key aims of the Income Generation Strategy are to diversify the charity’s income, in order to improve its financial sustainability; and to put procedures in place for effective long-term fundraising management.

Our largest source of income is Arts Council England (ACE), who fund us as the ACE Sector Support Organisation (£3.45m over 4 years) for the East Midlands.

In 2018/19 this funding accounted for 75% of our income and in 2019/20 we were successful in reducing this dependency to 63%.

Whilst our relationship with ACE is fundamental to delivering against our charitable aims; we continue to aim over the course of this business plan to reduce our dependency on a small number of funders to less than 50% of our turnover.

Since 2016 we have diversified our programme income to include Spirit of 2012, Lottery Fund and Children in Need. However, our core costs covered through our net income remain significantly dependent on ACE SSO funding.

Our financial ambition is built upon achieving the following goals:

In developing our Income Generation strategy, the charity’s current priorities have been considered, and three have been highlighted as being particularly relevant: developing the

Page 31

charity’s financial reserves, funding the development services (associated projects and programmes) outlined in the 2019 – 2024 Business Plan, and establishing income generation rules and procedures of best practice for delivery across the staff team and organisation as a whole.

Considering these factors, 5 core strands of income generation activity have been identified as the key areas to focus the Charity’s income generation efforts:

  1. Institutional, Trust and Foundation Grant Funding

  2. Individual Giving (Campaign and Major Donations)

  3. Corporate Partnerships

  4. Legacy Giving

  5. Traded Services (Sales)

In addition, the strategy will support the development of the charity’s infrastructure by targeting investment in developing our fundraising management and supporter data systems and processes.

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE ACCOUNTS

The Directors are required to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the surplus or deficit for that period. In preparing those accounts the Directors are required to:

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 and other applicable law and regulations. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Page 32

GOING CONCERN

After making enquiries, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in note 1 of the financial statements.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the company's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

Signed on behalf of the Directors on 27[th] October 2021.

Felicity Woolf Director

Page 33

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT to the members of The Mighty Creatives

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Mighty Creatives (the ‘company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cashflows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Page 34

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 25, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor ’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Neil Wilson (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and behalf of Guest Wilson Limited, Statutory Auditor 8 Wolverton Road, Snitterfield, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 0HB 27th October 2021

Page 36

Statement of financial activities

Including Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 March 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Notes funds £ funds £ 2021 £ 2020 £
INCOME
Income from charitable activities 3 500 1,356,272 1,356,772 1,338,971
Income from other trading activities
Consultancy & Fundraising 104,975 3,600 108,575 25,914
Investment income 424 - 424 1,274
Total income 105,899 1,359,872 1,465,771 1,366,159
EXPENDITURE 5
Charitable activities
Grants made & activities undertaken directly 60,405 992,179 1,052,584 1,165,470
Support costs (23,041) 107,344 84,303 95,502
Governance 5,100 - 5,100 4,917
Total expenditure 42,464 1,099,523 1,141,987 1,265,889
Net income 63,435 260,349 323,784 100,270
Net transfers between funds - - - -
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 63,435 260,349 323,784 100,270
Fund balances brought forward 14 238,000 221,889 459,889 359,619
FUND BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD 14 301,435 482,238 783,673 £459,889
----- End of picture text -----

Page 37

----- Start of picture text -----
BALANCE SHEET
as at 31 March 2021
Notes 2021 2020
£ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 9 12,174 23,525
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 10 16,061 61,864
Bank and cash balances 938,481 463,151
954,542 525,015
CREDITORS : amounts falling due within one year 11 (183,043) (88,651)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 771,499 436,364
Total assets less current liabilities 783,673 459,889
CREDITORS : amounts falling due after more than one year 12 - -
£783,673 £459,889
INCOME FUNDS
Unrestricted general funds 14 301,435 238,000
Restricted funds 14 482,238 221,889
£783,673 £459,889
----- End of picture text -----

The Directors have acknowledged their responsibilities for: selecting suitable accounting policies and then applying them consistently; observing the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; making judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; stating whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and preparing the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015)” applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), effective 1 January 2015 and the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements were approved by the Directors on 27th October 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Felicity Woolf Director 27th October 2021

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Statement of cashflows
for the year ended 31 March 2021
2021
£
2020
£
Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cashflow from operating activities
Net movement in funds
323,784
100,270
Depreciation
12,321
9,949
Profit on disposal of fixed assets
-
-
Interest received
(424)
(1,274)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
45,803
52,929
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
94,392
(82,822)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
475,876
79,052
Cashflows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(970)
(15,082)
Interest received
424
1,274
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities
(546)
(13,808)
Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year
475,330
65,244
Cash at the beginning of the year
463,151
397,907
Cash at the end of the year
938,481
463,151

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS at 31 March 2021

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Company and charitable status

The Mighty Creatives, a public benefit entity, is incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital. Each member has undertaken to contribute to the assets in the event of winding up a sum not exceeding £1. The company is a registered charity. The registered office is given on page 2.

Basis of preparation and assessment of going concern

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015)” applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), effective 1 January 2015 and the Companies Act 2006.

The Directors consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Free unrestricted reserves of TMC at the year-end amount to £301,435. After consideration of the current business plan and with a balanced budget planned for the next two financial years, the Trustees consider there is a reasonable expectation that TMC has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Trustees are also satisfied with the controls in place for monitoring and flexing the budget throughout the year. There are no material uncertainties that would impact on the charity’s ability to continue. Accordingly, we continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing this annual report and financial statements.

Funds

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Directors in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the Directors out of unrestricted general funds for specific future purposes or projects. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.

Incoming resources

Incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable and when the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Grants received for specific purposes are accounted for as restricted funds.

Resources expended

Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they are allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.

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Taxation

TMC is a registered charity and is not subject to taxation on its income so long as this is used for its charitable activities.

Fixed assets and depreciation

All fixed assets are initially recorded at cost. Depreciation is provided on all fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value based on prices prevailing at the date of acquisition, of each asset evenly over its expected useful life as follows:

Office equipment - 3 years straight line

2 CRITICAL ACCOUNTING JUDGEMENTS AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, which are described in note 1, the Directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The Directors do not consider there are any critical judgements or sources of estimation uncertainty requiring disclosure beyond the accounting policies listed above.

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3
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
General
Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
2021
£
2020
£
Grants received (see note 4)
500
1,356,272
1,356,772
1,328,773
Donations
-
-
-
5,316
Sponsorship
-
-
-
1,114
Fundraising
-
-
-
1,580
Other
-
-
-
2,188
500
1,356,272
1,356,772
1,338,971
4
GRANTS RECEIVED– ALL RESTRICTED
2021
£
2020
£
ACE Bridge Extension
53,359
53,359
ACE National Portfolio Funding
878,347
862,477
ACE Power of Partnership
-
5,000
ACE Splash!
-
211,776
ACE Splash! Match Funding
-
8,001
Children In Need – small grant
2,485
9,442
Children in Need – main grant
36,136
34,176
Children in Need – Match Funding
-
5400
Children in Need – Booster Grant
3,000
-
Artsmark Delivery & School Support
-
(858)
Awards for All
-
10,000
Swire Charitable Trust
-
20,000
Let’s Create Packs
30,283
-
Children in Need – Next Steps Covid-19 Grant
25,043
-
WWCSC
176,196
-
Erasmus Well-Be
104,690
-
CAF Resilience Fund
46,663
-
All Ways Making
70
-
1,356,272
1,328,773

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----- Start of picture text -----
5 EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities Unrestricted Restricted
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £
£ £
Grants made & activities undertaken directly
(note relates expenditure to source of funds as shown below)
ACE National Portfolio funding - 361,184 361,184 308,157
ACE Splash! - - - 230,932
Bridge Extension - 28,550 28,550 30,141
Spirit of 2012 - Emerge - - - 63,499
Children in Need – small grant - 2,770 2,770 7,148
Children in Need – main grant - 13,312 13,312 22,669
ACE Artsmark Delivery & School Support - - - 2,794
Awards for All - 5,689 5,689 1,800
Children in Need – Booster Grant - 1,500 1,500 -
Children in Need – Next Steps Covid-19 Grant - 1,826 1,826 -
WWCSC - 820 820 -
Erasmus Well-Be - 69,743 69,743 -
CAF Resilience Fund - 22,235 22,235 -
Other programmes 63,896 - 63,896 7,508
63,896 507,629 571,525 676,648
Staff costs associated with above expenditure (3,491) 484,550 481,059 490,822
60,405 992,179 1,052,584 1,165,470
Support costs
Contributions to Support Costs (107,334) 107,334 - -
Training 2,864 - 2,864 7,454
Staff welfare 1,240 - 1,240 2,290
Recruitment 630 - 630 1,437
Travel (150) - (150) 1,251
Telephones & IT 20,720 - 20,720 19,423
Legal & professional 13 - 13 140
Bank charges 967 - 967 1,045
Depreciation 12,321 - 12,321 9,949
Income generation 7,469 - 7,469 7,804
Business Development 871 - 871 1,673
Rent 27,384 - 27,384 27,249
PR and communications 8,445 - 8,445 13,233
Local office administration 810 - 810 1,110
Insurance 719 - 719 1,444
(23,041) 107,344 84,303 95,502
Governance
Trustee travel costs - - - -
Trustee meeting costs 9 - 9 627
Trustee hospitality - - - -
Trustee Training 585 - 585 -
Trustee Insurance 606 - 606 -
Audit & accountancy 3,900 - 3,900 4,000
5,100 - 5,100 4,917
Total expenditure 42,464, 1.099,523 1,141,987 1,265,889
----- End of picture text -----

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6
STAFF COSTS		 2021 2020
£ £
Wages and salaries 437,349 439,688
Social security costs 25,576 36,666
Other pension costs 18,134 18,353
481,059 494,707

The average number of employees, including part-time, during the year was 17.8 (2020: 15.7).

No employee earned in excess of £60,000 (2020 - Nil).

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The charge for the period was £18,134 (2020 – £18,353). There were outstanding contributions of £Nil at the year end (2020 - £Nil).

7
NET INCOME FOR THE YEAR
2021 2020
This is stated after charging: £
Operating lease costs - property 26,621 25,248
Auditors’ remuneration
As auditors 3,900 4,000
Other services - 5,400
Depreciation 12,321 9,949

8 DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

No remuneration was paid to Directors for their services.

----- Start of picture text -----
9 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Office
equipment
£
Cost or valuation:
At 1 April 2020 65,771
Additions 970
-
Disposals
At 31 March 2021 66,741
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2020 42,246
Charge for the year 12,321
-
Eliminated on disposals
At 31 March 2021 54,567
Net book value
At 31 March 2021 12,174
At 1 April 2020 23,525
----- End of picture text -----

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----- Start of picture text -----
10 Debtors 2021 2020
£ £
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors 8,507 53,628
Prepayments and accrued income 6,069 6,752
Other debtors 1,485 1,484
16,061 61,864
11 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2021 2020
£ £
Trade creditors 85,560 26,231
Other taxes and social security 9,492 9,499
Other creditors - -
Deferred income (see also Note 12) - -
Accrued expenses 87,981 52,921
183,043 88,651
12 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR 2021 2020
£ £
Deferred income - -
DEFERRED INCOME £
At 1 April 2020 -
-
Income deferred in year – for release within one year
-
Income deferred in year – for release after more than one year
Amount released in year -
At 31 March 2021 -
13 FUNDS ANALYSIS General
Unrestricted
fund Restricted fund 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 12,174 - 12,174 23,525
Current assets 352,019 602,523 954,542 525,015
Liabilities (62,758) (120,285) (183,043) (88,651)
Net assets 301,435 482,238 783,673 459,889
----- End of picture text -----

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14
MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
At 1 April
2020
£
Incoming
resources
£
Outgoing
resources
£
Transfers
£
At 31
March 2021
£
Restricted funds
ACE National Portfolio Funding
185,087
878,347
(835,151)
30,283
258,566
ACE Bridge Extension
-
53,359
(52,859)
-
500
Spirit of 2012 – Emerge
488
-
-
-
488
RBS – Creative Enterprise
75
-
-
-
75
Children in Need – small grant
(744)
2,485
(3,680)
1,939
-
Children in Need – Match Funding
2,587
-
-
(1939)
648
Children in Need – main grant
6,996
36,136
(27,564)
-
15,568
Children in Need – Booster Grant
-
3,000
(3,000)
-
-
Children in Need – Next Steps Covid-19 Grant
-
25,043
(15,983)
9,060
Awards for All
7,400
-
(7,289)
-
111
Swire Charitable Trust
20,000
-
(20,000)
-
-
Fundraising – 2.6 Campaign
-
3,600
-
-
3,600
Let’s Create Packs
-
30,283
-
(30,283)
-
WWCSC
-
176,196
(15,676)
-
160,520
Erasmus Well-Be
-
104,690
(71,993)
-
32,697
CAF Resilience Fund
-
46,663
(46,328)
-
335
All Ways Making
-
70
-
-
70
221,889
1,359,872
(1,099,523)
-
482,238
Unrestricted funds
General
238,000
105,899
(42,464)
-
301,435
459,889
1,465,771
(1,141,987)
-
783,673

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15 DESCRIPTION OF FUNDS

ACE National Portfolio Funding : investment to promote and deliver a demand-led cultural offer for schools, children, and young people across the East Midlands. Focussed on the Cultural Education Challenge, strategic partnerships, new investment, and quality provision to engage every child and young person in arts and culture.

ACE Bridge Extension (DfE): investment to improve and increase cultural education through networked schools and a diverse cultural offer.

Children in Need – Small - Emerge Creative Leadership provides social action training and creative skills sessions for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people from communities in North Nottinghamshire. 24 participants annually develop creative skills alongside activity to plan, deliver and evaluate creative social action projects. Workshop sessions take place in two forms, once a week for 3 hours over an 18-week period and intensively for week-long residencies.

Children in Need – Main - Emerge Creative Skills delivers an employment transition programme for young care leavers across the region. 20 participants engage annually in an interactive programme which provides weekly one to one creative mentoring sessions and group workshop activity. With the aim to improve skills for work and life, participants explore enterprising activity and routes into employment, further education or training.

Awards for All - The Splash! Community Builders programme is a unique programme, based in outdoor locations close to the waterways of the East Midlands, which aims to help children and young people with learning disabilities and their families work together with cultural educators and historians to make sense of and communicate the unique landscape around them to their wider communities.

Swire Charitable Trust - supports The Mighty Creatives to deliver a transition support programme for young care leavers, offering personal and professional skills development through Creative Mentoring. The funding will assist the charity to ensure that 'all YP in and leaving care have access to a Creative Mentor' who need one.

Children in Need – Booster Grant – additional funding to support our Children in Need – Main – Emerge Creative Skills funding.

Children in Need – Next Steps Covid-19 Grant – funding to support us to deliver Creative Mentoring to children and young people (5 – 15) in care.

Let’s Create Packs – funding to support the development of resource craft and art packs for children and young people that are distributed via foodbanks in the East Midlands.

WWCSC – funding to deliver Creative Mentoring to children and young people, 15+ who are in leaving care, working with Virtual and Special Schools, Pupil Referral Units, Independent Schools and Primary and Secondary Schools.

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Erasmus Well-Be – funding to work with international partners to support students emotional health, well-being and resilience in times of global crisis.

CAF Resilience Fund – funding to support the delivery of our Mighty Employers (Kickstart) programme.

Page 48