## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
## **From 01/04/2020 Period start date to 31/03/2021 Period end date**
Charity name: The Laughter Specialists
## **Charity registration number: 1132987**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The objectives of the trust are:
To relieve sickness, preserve and protect health
by providing specially trained entertainers
known as Laughter Specialists for sick children
in hospitals, and those with special needs in
schools, residential homes and similar
institutions. Laughter Specialists also visit
adults with special needs.
To advance the education
of the public in the benefits of laughter as an
aid to good health.
To achieve these objectives the trust provides
specialist entertainers/performers to visit sick
children and those with special
needs bringing interactive play, laughter and
fun.|
|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|Activities of Laughter Specialists for the public
benefit:
The Trust funds professional
entertainers/performers to be Laughter
Specialists who use their skills to bring fun and
laughter to sick children in hospitals and to
children with special needs in schools and
other similar institutions.
During the pandemic we have adapted our
service to include the following:
**Outreach visits to:**
- sick home bound children (would have been
in hospital or hospice) and those rehabilitating
and their families.
- vulnerable children not receiving any other
support during the pandemic
**Production of themed short films**for
distribution to schools, hospitals, children and
families at home.|
The Laughter Specialists use magic, songs, music, puppets and improvisation bringing therapeutic interactive play, laughter and fun. Their aim is to improve the lives of the children in the hospitals & parents, carers, and siblings. TLS are adapting their skills to connect and reach these families with mental wellness at the forefront of the service, and use their therapeutic interactive teaching skills through play, laughter and fun, children with complex needs They usually visit Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge, Broomfield Hospital Chelmsford, Colchester Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow **Special Schools include** Columbus school & college Chelmsford Edith Borthwick School Essex, Granta school Linton Cambs, Grove Cottage Nursery Bishops Stortford, Grove House School Brentwood, Harlow Fields school Harlow, Meldreth Manor School Herts The TLS managed to still visit when possible and adapted their delivery to meet all Covid safety requirements, eg delivering in school gardens Evidence their work is needed: To ensure their work is needed and beneficial they seek and receive: 1) Ongoing feedback from relatives, staff and the children, through feedback forms, letters and consultation with Hospital staff. Especially over the last 4 years at Broomfield Hospital as regular visitors and other hospitals where we have made initial visits. 2) General Research into Humour in hospital and connected topics carried out by journalists and researchers. 3) Gathering more feedback and impact measurement from our visits to Special Schools and listening to what the schools want from us We are widening our network, looking at new & better ways of marketing our services. We are always analysing our revenue streams and looking at developing our funding further for example through broader corporate support. We have developed stronger links with other organisations and value the establishments working with us who recognise the impact we are having.
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|**The Trustees have had regard to the guidance**|
|---|---|---|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38||
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|One of the two founders Annie Aris who is
Chief Operating Officer effectively administers
the day to day running of the charity.
The trustees and additional
volunteers/supporters of the charity help with
setting up, promoting and running events.
The trustees are intrinsically involved in the
financial aspects of the charity both day to day
as well as strategically - through maintaining
charityaccounts and scrutiny.|
|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|Activities and achievements of The Laughter
Specialists Charitable Trust
for the year April 1st 2020 to March 31st 2021
This year the income from corporate
sponsorship, grants and donations has reduced
due to the Covid Pandemic.
The Laughter Specialists have had to
significantly change the way they delivered
their work due to the Covid Pandemic – as
follows:
1)The creation of funny informative and
educational short films covering many diverse
themes. These were then distributed to
hospitals, schools, families at home etc
2)Outreach visits to family’s homes with
delivery performed in a Covid safe way through
glass doors and windows and in gardens where
possible.
3)Interactive Zoom sessions called Giggle
Bursts for schools and individuals at home.
4)Recorded Zoom sessions
5)Visits resumed to some special schools when
it was allowed with very strict Covid safety
procedures.|
We visited where possible the following1) Edith Borthwick School, Bocking, Essex. Once a month during term time. 2) Grove Cottage (mencap), Bishops Stortford. 3) We visit Harlow Fields school Harlow every week through various sources of funding – this has been working extremely well, with our work being recognised for its additional educational benefits – this acts as a valuable model that can be rolled out to other Special schools 4) We now visit Columbus School & College Chelmsford through general funding. We’ve built up a great rapport and understanding of the children’s needs bringing them fun & laughter, helping them to interact with each other and express themselves. 5) Meldreth School The benefits of these visits have led to a reduction in stress and boredom for the children and their parents at these clinics. The Laughter Specialists have been able to continue their visits working with children of mixed abilities. At both Columbus school & College, The Laughter Specialists are working with children from the age of 5 -19 years with great success. Training programmes: Funding had been secured for developing trainee Laughter Specialists. A programme of training visits is continuing. Gathering and analysing the feedback for our visits to enable us to measure the impact more accurately of our work.
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Achievements against Para 1.41 objectives set Performance of fundraising Para 1.41 activities against objectives set Investment performance Para 1.41 against objectives Other
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of theperiod|Para 1.21|There is an Unrestricted funds balance of
**£27,269**and a restricted funds balance of
**£7,129**at the end of the financialyear.|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The trustees aim is to have funds in reserve
to cover six months indirect fixed costs.
These costs include administration fees,
fundraising fees, insurance, office supplies,
computer costs, accountancy costs etc
Direct funds for our charitable activities
(funding Laughter Specialist visits) are
mostly restricted funds for projects and
received in advance, though now some
restricted funds are paid partially up front
and then the remaining funds paid when
the project is complete.
At present the trustees don’t consider it
necessary to have a reserve fund to cover
these costs as the number of visits and
timing of the visits is very flexible, though
this may be reconsiders if our funding
becomes split between beginning and end
of project.
In terms of a reserve fund, it is more
important in the trustees opinion to have a
reserve fund to cover the other costs of
running the charity without which we
cannot support the Laughter Specialist
visits.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The trustees consider that the charity
should have sufficient reserves in
unrestricted funds to cover fundraising,
admin and other fixed support costs of
between £10,000 to £15,000 not exceeding
£15,000.|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24||
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23||
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal Para 1.47 sources of funds (including any fundraising)
Investment policy and Para 1.46 objectives including any social investment policy adopted A description of the principal Para 1.46 risks facing the charity Other
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|**Trust Deed**|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|**Trust**|
|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|**Appointed by existing trustees**|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: Policies and procedures Para 1.51 adopted for the induction and training of trustees The charity’s organisational Para 1.51 structure and any wider network with which the charity works Relationship with any related Para 1.51 parties Other
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|The Laughter Specialists Charitable Trust|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charity number|1132987|
|Charity’s principal address|17 Crawley Hobbs Close
Saffron Walden
Essex
CB11 4GD|
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||George Howard|Chairman|April 2020 – June 2020||
||Edward Rudd|Treasurer|||
||Clare Thompson||||
||Karen Sheairs|ActingChair Jun20 -|||
||Madeleine Gardner|Finance officer|||
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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)**
**Type of Name Address adviser**
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** Annie Aris (founder and Laughter Specialists acting as Chief Operational Officers),
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
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