Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From Period start date 01/04/23 To Period end date 31/03/24
Charity name: Small Steps Foundation
Charity registration number: 1138643
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | The relief of young children aged 3-5 years in the village of Buwenda, Uganda and its environs and the provision of support to their families and carers in particular by: - providing a safe and stimulating environment for children with learning disability and developmental delay - promoting the independence and rights of these children - to provide respite care to enable families or carers to pursue training, employment or other worthwhile activities - to educate families and the wider community about the needs of children with disabilities. |
| 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 |
The year’s activities have focused on providing a safe, secure and inclusive environment for young children with learning disability in Buwenda, Uganda. We have worked closely with Buwenda Women in Action to achieve the following: SEN Class: We continue to provide a special educational needs class with a high staff ratio (minimum 1:3), regular and thorough staff training, adapted curriculum, access to specialist resources and individual learning plans/targets for each child. Inclusive Program: Children with special needs are supported in various way to access classes in the mainstream nursery. This can be with 1:1 support, additional classes, individual behaviour plans etc. Therapy: Children with physical disability are supported to attend regular external physio sessions. Social Work: Regular home visits and phone contact is provided to all families with children with special needs and anyfamilies from the main stream nurserywho are |
| in crisis. Social worker provides counselling, practical advice on how to adapt the home setting to be disability friendly and referrals to services which may benefit the children. A small grants program for income generating projects has been implemented for some families. After School Lessons: Provided for children from local primary schools who are performing poorly on their reports to try and boost their success in mainstream schooling. Lunch is provided. Graduates: Children with SEN are referred to other educational institutions with specific considerations of their individual needs. Some children are financially supported/subsidized by SSF. Social Work support is still afforded to the child and family. Some graduates have now entered the workforce, or have been supported with animal rearing projects. |
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|---|---|---|
| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
Para 1.18 | The trustees confirm that, in the administration and management of the charity, they have had due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales regarding public benefit. This includes ensuring that the charity’s activities align with the principles of providing public benefit, specifically in supporting children with disabilities. The trustees have actively considered how the charity’s objectives, services, and resources benefit the intended beneficiaries, and have sought to ensure that these benefits are accessible and meaningful. In doing so, they have ensured that the charity’s work is directed towards the advancement of the well-being and inclusion of children with disabilities, in line with the legal requirements outlined in the public benefit guidance. The trustees remain committed to ensuring that the charity operates in a way that is transparent, inclusive, and focused on maximizing the positive impact on the children and families that it supports. |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38
| Policy on social investment including program related investment |
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|---|---|---|
| Contribution made by volunteers |
Para 1.38 | All trustees continue to be volunteers. In addition, Cat Dunlop, also works voluntarily in Uganda as the program manager. She oversees all projects, manages the finances and social media. |
| 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 | School year 2023: 190 children between the ages of 3 and 8 years attended Glory Be Nursery and SEN class. Nursery was open 5 days a week between 7am and 12 noon for three, three month terms. The SEN class catered for 9 children with learning disability and developmental delay. A further 3 children with learning difficulties were integrated into the nursery’s mainstream classes. 4 children with SEN who have graduated from our program were supported to continue their education. 8 in special needs school and 1 in a mainstream primary school with a learning assistant funded by SSF. School Year 2024: 200 children between the ages of 3 and 8 years attended Glory Be Nursery and SEN class. Nursery was open 5 days a week between 7am and 12 noon for three, three month terms. The SEN class catered for 6 children with learning disability and developmental delay. 2 children were integrated into the mainstream classes. 4 children with SEN who have graduated from our program were supported to continue their education. 7 in special needs school and 1 in a mainstream primary school with a learning assistant funded by SSF. Training: The special needs team attended a series of seminars with Special Children’s Trust in Kampala |
including recaps on disability, diet and nutrition and communication and behaviour management. After School Lessons: After school Lessons have been provided for 3 children attending mainstream nursery classes and a further 10 children from local primary schools with SEN or who struggle to attain in mainstream education. Teaching is provided in small groups by the nursery teachers, supervised by the head teacher. The success of the programme has been evaluated anecdotally by teachers and parent. The program has shrunk in recent years due to schools implementing their own coaching programs. Children are also given lunch. Social Work: Along side the psycho-social support provided by the social worker, over the past year income generation projects have been implemented with three families. SSF invested in three already existing parent-run businesses with small grants of between £50-£100. All three of the businesses have reported increased profits which have had a positive impact on their ability to provide for their families and even save up for further business expansion. Graduates: 4 students were supported to attend educational opportunities (full or partial fees and/or transport). A goat rearing project has been implemented with 3 initial graduates being gifted a pair of goats. The first born goat of each pair has been passed to another graduate or family.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Achievements against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | |
| Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | An goal of achieving at least one small grant to supplement donor income for their financial year was set. This was exceeded as two small grants were achieved. |
| Investment performance against objectives |
Para 1.41 | |
Other
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | The closing balance of the bank account on 31/03/24 was £4296. Since we aim to hold minimum of 3 months running costs in reserve at all times this is a little less than would be comfortable. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | SSF aim to hold in the bank a minimum of 3 months running costs (approximately £6000) and an additional 3 months salary for all SSF and Glory staff members(approximately£4500) |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | £4296 |
| 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 | The charity continues to face some uncertainty since the revenue streams have not increased with inflation in Uganda. The charity reserves were used up during covid. Small grant funding has assisted in keepingfinances level this financialyear. |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
Para 1.47 | - Individual donors (UK and abroad) - Small grant awards - Fundraising by individuals (personal fundraising) - One-off gifts from businesses - Sale of crafts |
|---|---|---|
| Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted |
Para 1.46 | |
| A description of the principal risks facing the charity |
Para 1.46 | - Insufficient funding/instability of donor base - Instability of funding of service delivery partner in Uganda |
| 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 | Unincorporated |
| 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 | All trustees are founding members except for 1 (Lydia Nyika). Lydia was onboarded to the board of trustees in 2021 in an attempt to make the board more representative of the population we serve. She applied for the position after seeing an advert circulated on social media and was voted unanimously into the role. |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | |
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | SSF are also registered in Uganda as an International NGO with the same board of Trustees. SSF works in partnership with Buwenda Women in Action, a Ugandan CBO to provide educational services to children with disability at their school Glory Be Nursery. |
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | As above. There is a Memorandum of Understanding between SSF and BWA on service delivery. |
| Other |
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Small Steps Foundation |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | Small Steps Nursery |
| Registered charitynumber | 1138643 |
| Charity’s principal address | Flat 8, The Woodlands Woodland Road Stockport SK4 3BN |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine Dunlop | ||||
| Patricia Dunlop | Treasurer | |||
| Elizabeth Lunn | ||||
| Francesca Baseby | ||||
| Lydia Nyika | ||||
– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
Additional information (optional)
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
| Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of adviser Name Address |
||
| Financial | Aneesh Thakkar | 42 Kings Mount, Leeds, LS17 5NS |
| Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information) | ||
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
Other optional information
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signature(s) | Signature(s) HF )/ |
4 |
|---|---|---|
| J, | / | |
| Full name(s) | Full name(s)Catherine Dunlop | |
| Position (eg Secretary, | Trustee | |
| Chair, etc) | ||
| Date24/01/25 | 24/01/25 | 24/01/25 |
| Charity Name | No (if any) | No (if any) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Steps Foundation | |||||||||||
| Receipts and payments accounts Period start date Period end date To For the period from 01/04/2023 31/03/2024 ~~ee~~ ~~ee ee~~ ~~ee~~ |
CC16a | ||||||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | ||||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||||
| Donations | 24,057 | 764 | 764 | - | 24,821 | 21,722 | |||||
| Sale of crafts | 400 | - | - | - | 400 | 534 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
(Gross income for AR)24,457 |
764 | 764 | - | 25,221 | 22,256 | |||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 24,457 764 - 25,221 22,256 ~~—————~~ |
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| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
| Bank transfer to Uganda | 20,236 | 764 | 764 | - | 21,000 | 27,900 | |||||
| Bank charges | 358 | - | - | - | 358 | 269 | |||||
| purchase of crafts | - | - | - | - | - | 525 | |||||
| uk receipts | - | - | - | - | - | 77 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | 20,594 | 764 | 764 | - | 21,358 | 28,771 | |||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total payments 20,594 764 - 21,358 28,771 ~~——————~~ |
|||||||||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
3,863 - - 3,863 - 6,515 - - - - 433 - - 433 - 4,296 - - 4,296 - 6,515 ~~—_—==S=S=>~~ |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
28/01/2025
1
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Categories Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ 4,296 - - - - - - - 4,296 - - Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments UK bank balance B1 Cash funds ~~——~~ |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Categories Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ 4,296 - - - - - - - 4,296 - - Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments UK bank balance B1 Cash funds ~~——~~ |
|---|---|
| OK OK OK account(s)) |
|
| Unrestricted Restricted Endowment |
|
| funds funds funds |
|
| to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ Details |
|
| B2 Other monetary assets | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~~====~~ |
| B3 Investment assets | Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Details ~~===>~~ |
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Details ~~aan~~ |
| Fund to which Amount due When due |
|
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities CCXX R2 accounts (SS) |
liability relates (optional) (optional) - - - - - Date of approval 28/01/2025 Details Print Name Catherine Dunlop Signature 2 28/01/2025 ~~———s~~ |
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Small Steps Foundation
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Small Steps Foundation (the Trust) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in
accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the
2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Name: Aneesh Thakkar
Address: 42 Kings Mount, Leeds, LS17 5NS
Date: 27 January 2025