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← Footsteps Children's Services Ltd

2024-08-31-accounts

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd

Charity No. 1146996

Company No. 06866200

Trustees' Report and Unaudited Accounts

31 August 2024

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Contents

Pages
Trustees' Annual Report 2
Independent Examiner's Report 16
Statement of Financial Activities 17
Summary Income and Expenditure Account 18
Balance Sheet 19
Statement of Cash flows 20
Notes to the Accounts 21 to 29
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 30 to 32

Page 1

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Trustees Annual Report

The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Company No. 06866200

Charity No. 1146996

Registered Office

Suite 14 John Buddle Work Village Buddle Road Newcastle NE4 8AW

Directors and Trustees

The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law. The following Directors and Trustees served during the year:

L. Brady C.L. Heslop A.J. Johnson P. Lofthouse E. Lowther

Accountants

Accounting for Good CIC 2 Geordie Ridley Place Upper Precinct Wesley Court Blaydon on Tyne Tyne and Wear NE21 5BT

Page 2

Trustees Report 2023-2024

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual Trustees report together with financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024 that are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice 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).

Objectives and activities

The Charity is established to act as a resource for children up to the age of 12 years living in North East of England (area of benefit) by providing advice and assistance, organising physical, social and learning activities to enable them to participate in society as independent. Mature and responsible individuals through:

The Charity does this by providing:

The purpose of the Charity is also to further benefit the residents of Newcastle and the neighbourhood without distinction of sex, sexual orientation, race or of political, religious or other options by associating together the said residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for residents.

Page 3

Achievements and performance

This year has seen us celebrate 20 years of Footsteps, it has been a time of reflection on all we have achieved and a time to consider what the future holds.

Over the past year we continue to see the rising number of children attending our setting presenting with SEND, this is often undiagnosed as we may be the first professionals to be working with a family on a daily basis. Our role making swift observations and referrals to relevant professionals allows for children to get the best possible support they can at the start of their learning journey.

Our tried and tested model of 1-1, focused development sessions and the ongoing training of our team has proven effectiveness in the brilliant outcomes we have seen with children making excellent progress from their starting points. Our Send Support Plans are part of a transition process in to school that makes the move in to primary education supportive and helpful.

Our targeted work in supporting families living in areas of deprivation through our happy to help scheme continues to support families through food bank, and food vouchers, clothes bank and emergency care packages. We have completed a third year of collaboration with Action for Children offering “family club” at Footsteps Dolphin Street a weekly group where families can meet together after the nursery day to receive a meal, and support for the whole family. The whole family attends including any older or younger children in the immediate family even if they don’t attend nursery.

Our CEO remains active at a local level, representing Early Years and voluntary sector on the following boards and panels:

Schools Forum Newcastle City Council

“The Newcastle Schools Forum advises the council on matters affecting school funding. It must be consulted on any changes to the formula used to fund schools and the financial effects of any proposed changes.

The forum is also consulted annually on financial issues relating to:

Forum meetings are held at least four times per year and are open to the public”

Source – https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/schools-learning-and-childcare/educationplans-strategies-and-funding/schools-forum

Page 4

Send Executive Board Newcastle City Council

“Our ambition for all children and young people with SEND is that they get the right support at the right time so that they go on to live rich and fulfilling lives. When we get this right our children and young people will tell us that they feel:

The remit of the Board has been extended to include inclusion this means the Board will have oversight of all children and young people that are permanently excluded, suspended or at risk of permanent exclusion.

Our priorities are to:

This means strong partnership working where families are placed at the heart of

everything we do and together we develop high quality, inclusive and accessible services.

The Board will:

The Board brings together senior decision makers from across the local area and with the seniority that enables them to speak with authority and commit ‘in principle’ on matters of commissioning, policy and practice. Formal decisions are subject to agreement by the Newcastle Local Area SEND and Inclusion Executive Board, and each organisation’s normal governance processes.” Source – Terms of Reference SEND Executive Board Workstream Nov 24

Page 5

There are multiple work streams that flow from these panels and boards that the CEO contributes to, this allows us to both represent the Early Years and/or Voluntary Sector as a whole as well as strengthening our working relationships with partner agencies.

Access Fund Panel

The Access Fund is a grant to help disabled children and young people to participate in activities in their local community. This can be any daytime, evening or weekend activity that the child or young person enjoys whilst their parent/carer has a break from caring. The Access Fund seeks to support children and young people to take part in inclusive activities alongside their non- disabled peers.

As a panel member the CEO receives and approves or declines funding applications based upon how they meet with the criteria of the fund. The CEO also contributes to the monitoring of the activity of this fund, and as part of the panel reviews criteria, application processes and external information regarding this fund on an annual basis.

Inner West Partnership

The CEO is an active member of the Inner West Partnership, this group is made up of multi agencies serving families in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne. The partnership meets monthly with recurring subject matters a focus for each meeting, for example meetings include, holiday activities and funding, employment, the CEO assists The Chair in setting the agenda for the SEND focus meeting.

Other CEO Activity

Outside of the day to day leadership of the organisation, some key points for the CEO this year has been:

Training

Secondary Trauma and Resilience training has been completed, this was a very helpful course to look at the impact of secondary trauma in the workplace, this has provided insight and tools and techniques that help when supervising staff with challenging caseloads.

Safeguarding Lead and Train the Trainer has been achieved this is a 12 hour course to look in depth at Safeguarding Children and also allows for the CEO to achieve the required training to be able to deliver this training to the organisation as a whole. Safeguarding Training was delivered in Sept 2023 and will be delivered face to face every two years, with online training being provided between face to face training.

Speaking Events

The CEO was approached by Newcastle City Council to speak at the careers event “My future, My Choice” the purpose of this was to share about embarking on an Early Years career, to provide both motivation and information to those in attendance.

Page 6

The CEO was also invited to speak at the BIPC International Women’s Day Event in Newcastle to share their journey as a charity leader and a woman in business, with others that were either setting up or have established businesses.

Networks and Partnerships

Footsteps has strong partnerships with many agencies, and this year has established some new working relationships. A connection was made with Newcastle University Business Clinic through attending a Social Enterprise Event that resulted in Students in their final year of a Marketing and Business Degrees working with Footsteps for their end project. This resulted in them devising a Marketing Strategy for Footsteps to be used as part of our marketing plan going forwards.

Events

We had a very successful quiz night in April 2024, it was very well attended lots of fun was had and we raised £1000.

In July 2024 we celebrated 20 years of Footsteps Children’s Services, we held parties for the families that use our services and a celebration event for our team, partners and suppliers. Our team celebration event was bring and share and our team provided some delicious delicacies from their home nations, some team members shared highlights of their time at Footsteps, as a children’s charity we had to throw in some children’s party games and the CEO’s husband volunteered his time to deliver a magic show, and a friend volunteered time as a vocalist and entertained us all with their beautiful covers of some classics, a brilliant time was had by all.

Future Developments

LGA Foundation has generously offered to fund an expansion to our services, we are currently working with Newcastle City Council planning department to build a new site adjacent to the Nursery on Dolphin Street. Due diligence has been shown in the appointment of reputable contractors to aid the planning process. There will be further updates when planning has been approved.

Service Delivery

Footsteps Nunsmoor continues to deliver playgroup services, children access playgroup either through morning or afternoon sessions.

We have continued to deliver 1-1 support and focused development sessions to children who require extra support to access their Early Years Entitlement, Inclusion funding from Newcastle City Council and grant funding from St James Place Foundation has enabled this 1-1 work, and has been used to purchase resources to support children’s learning and play experiences. Funding from Prudhoe Street Mission Foundation has helped towards food costs and children’s resources.

Page 7

Footsteps Dolphin Street continues to see an increase in children attending with SEND, our team are highly skilled and experienced Early Years Educators who are committed to providing a fully inclusive early years experience for all children and families. Our Ofsted inspection (2019) graded our work outstanding stating that we provide a welcoming, nonjudgemental and special atmosphere.

Funding from the LGA Foundation has allowed us to provide intensive interactions and extensive 1-1 work with children needing extra support.

All of our settings continue to provide support to children with complex needs. These range from children who are looked after, children subject to child protection plans or Early Help Plans, children with disabilities and children with complex health needs. All of these children received appropriate support with some families successfully coming off plan and children with SEND making significant progress.

Early Years Pupil Premium has been used to purchase resources that support children’s learning based upon their interests and areas of development. We have brought in specialist in music and movement, and the children absolutely love the session delivered by Rhythm Time.

Funding from Prudhoe Street Mission Foundation has helped towards food costs and children’s resources.

Footsteps Mobile Crèche

We currently provide crèche facilities at George Street Road to Recovery trust. The crèche delivered twice per week allows service users at Road to Recovery to attend support sessions, build friendships and offer support to others in their addiction recovery journey.

Parents are confident that their children are well cared for and fun activities offered during their sessions and can therefore concentrate their efforts on their own recovery and supporting others.

Footsteps Westgate

This service provides crèche to children whose parents are accessing adult learning opportunities at Westgate Community College.

A large proportion of parents are attending English-speaking classes and therefore most of the children have English as an additional language. In offering this service at Westgate it allows parents to access education and in turn may provide more job opportunities in the future. This can have long lasting and wide impact on the family unit as a whole, and can act as a motivator for future generations. So whilst it can be viewed that we offer a childcare service, we feel without the childcare element parents simply would not be able to progress their education, employment and some degree their lives in the same way if we did not provide the childcare. We are very proud of all that has been achieved at Westgate.

Page 8

Footsteps Ponteland

Our after school club at Ponteland continues to go from strength to strength, we have seen increased occupancy with the service being used every day by families requiring after school acre to support their work commitments.

We have experienced some difficulties in recruitment at Ponteland due to the reduced working hours and location, but our existing team have come together to cover gaps and ensure service delivery can continue.

Funding Received – The CEO planned to raise £30k in funding in 23/24, we have achieved £27k through grant funding and local fundraising

St James Place

We received £7500 from St James Place in July 2024. This funding allows us to deliver 1-1 work and focused development sessions for children who have SEND. We have seen great progress achieved at our Nunsmoor site through this funding.

LGA Foundation

We received £10,000 from LGA foundation in March 2024, this support allows us to deliver intensive 1-1 work with children with SEND at our Dolphin Street site, this funding is so very important to our work. It allows us to operate at a higher staff ratio to ensure children with significant and complex SEND can receive the targeted and specialist support they need from our dedicated staff team, making outstanding progress in their learning and physical development.

LGA Foundation have also provided a £2000 grant in October 2023 to alleviate hardship, with this grant we have been able to offer not only food and clothes to families in need, but have been able to offer blankets, bedding, warm socks, hats and gloves to support our families during the Winter months where they simply have not been in a financial position to heat their homes to keep warm. The hardship fund also allowed us to extend the nursery day one day per week to targeted children, this meant they could stay at nursery until 4pm and then attend a family club warm zone between four and six pm, where they would receive a hot meal and activities for the whole family.

Prudhoe Street Mission

Awarded £5000 in funding to Footsteps in September 2023, of which £2500 was designated towards food costs and £2500 was for children’s resources. This has allowed to provide healthy snacks to children at all of our sites and purchase toys and equipment to support learning

Asda Foundation Grant

An Asda Grant of £1000 was provided towards our happy to help scheme and to help with local fundraising, this grant allowed us to run fundraising events and activities at no cost to our organisation ensuring that all funds raised went directly to service delivery. This fund has also supported families as part of our happy to help scheme, helping us to top up food bank and toiletry supplies.

Page 9

Training and Development

There has been significant changes within the DfE regarding qualification criteria. We have spent a proportion of this year resolving this issue and sourcing relevant training for those that have been affected. This has had a considerable effect on the organisation as a whole, as a huge amount of time has been spent resolving this issue, and providing cover to sessions were qualifications are no longer valid. We have had to restructure some staff teams and move team members around to ensure that there is the required qualified staff ratio.

We have renewed First Aid Training, Safeguarding Training and Food Safety where required. The team have completed various health and safety online modules, as well as in person training delivered both by ourselves and outside agencies.

Team members have completed SENCO Level 3 qualification with Newcastle City Council. We have had two team members that have also completed the government funded Early Years Professional Development Programme.

The CEO has provided mentoring and support to all managers to develop their leadership skills, and continues to offer training around performance management and leadership.

Future training plans include SEND training, and the CEO is writing a Leadership Training Programme.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's objectives and planning its future activities. This annual report will aim to demonstrate the link between our charitable activity and how this benefits our service users.

Financial review

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd is funded by grant income from Newcastle City Council, parent fees, agency nursery fees and crèche fees. The total income for the period was £425,367 This income is allocated across respective funds on the Statement of Financial Activities in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice.

The Statement of Financial Activities for the period shows a surplus across all funds of £15,239 this exceeded our plan of returning to break even within two years from the £30,637 deficit in financial year 22/23

The Balance Sheet at 31 August 2024 shows total funds carried forward of £95,178 of which there are £21,654 restricted funds.

We claimed a Business Interruption Loan during the Covid Pandemic (Bounce Back Loan) of £30,000, £5,500 was made in payments in 23/24 the balance at 31[st] August 2024 is £11,500

Page 10

Reserves policy

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd has maintained a small level of free reserves over the years currently £73,816 to meet the working capital requirements of the charity in the event of a significant drop in funding. It has established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds held by the charity should be between 3 and 6 months of annual expenditure. At 31 August 2024 free reserves represent 3 months of running costs which the trustees believe to be prudent in light of challenges faced in securing funding.

Designated Funds

The Designated funds for Cyber Security and IT Upgrades have been allocated but due to operational matters this work will commence over the summer holidays and been invoiced in 24/25

Governance

We have a committed Board of Trustees with a variety of skills that bring a wealth of knowledge to the Organisation. All trustees go through a recruitment process that involves relevant back ground checks, DBS Checks and references being sought from two non-family members.

It is our long term aim to always maintain a minimum of five board members this allows for a quorate of 3 people to ensure that absence doesn’t impact decision making. We would be keen to recruit ethnically diverse Board Members that reflect the diversity of our local community.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees understands the importance of assessing major risks that the Charity could face. Appropriate systems, controls and procedures have been established to reduce our exposure, and manage, monitor and mitigate risk and uncertainty.

An annual review of the major risks faced by the Charity is undertaken and the Trustees are satisfied that our procedures are in line with our risk management process.

Risk management is considered at regular Trustee meetings and sub groups where any changes or new risks identified are considered and responded to.

Currently the greatest risk the charity faces continues to ongoing increases in minimum wage and NI Contributions whilst Early Years Funding has been increased it does not match the rate of minimum wage increases. There is simply not enough government funding attached to the Early Years Entitlement offered to parents to cover actual costs of care, this is a sector wide problem and not exclusive to our charity. There is also a current recruitment crisis within the sector, this is partly to do with very experienced workers and leaders within the sector simply feeling disillusioned by the governments approach to Early Years that they have simply walked away from the sector. It is also exceptionally difficult to recruit new workers to the sector as there is insufficient funding to offer them an appropriate wage for the level of responsibility they have in caring for children, they can get a far less responsible job for greater financial reward. This is sector wide and not specific to our charity, and until

Page 11

the government recognise that they are not investing enough money in to Early Years this will continue to be a problem.

The cost of living and energy crisis, poses some risk to our current expenditure, there are rising costs for food and energy. This is having a huge impact on our families, we are working in collaboration with other organisations to help meet the needs of our local communities but we do face the same challenges with regards to rent increase and energy and food costs. We have sufficient reserve to cover these costs but will also seek additional funding to support these costs. We will be exploring new options of income generation

Finance

Our current income streams are as follows:

Early Years Offer 2, 3 and 4-year-old offer Newcastle City Council This is our main source of income and in 23/24 accounted for % of our income, the funding is allocated per child and we only receive the funding if the child is in attendance. The funding is paid by an initial 75% payment at the start of each term followed by a balancing payment on submission of headcount data to the local authority. We receive a projected budget set by the local authority based upon the previous year’s payments, with amends being made on balancing payments to reflect actual numbers of children in attendance.

Inclusion Funding

As a high proportion of the children in our care present with SEND then we also receive inclusion funding from Newcastle City Council, this funding is for individual children and can only be used for their education and welfare. There has been a restructure in Early Years Inclusion funding, which is now in bands matched to the Descriptors of Need, some bands are lower than previous levels and some are higher so overall the funding balances out.

We work closely with the Local Authority and have built a strong reputation for our SEND work, the CEO worked with the local authority to consider the citywide criteria for inclusion funding. We will continue to strive to source additional funding through grants and trusts to support our service delivery.

Deprivation Funding

This funding is allocated to providers who work with families in high areas of deprivation, the purpose of this is in recognition that families living in high areas of disadvantage may require additional support to other families to help narrow the gap between the most disadvantaged and other members of the community. It is also recognised that Early Years Provision is required within high areas of deprivation but is not always financially viable due

Page 12

to the lack of fee paying parents. The deprivation can help towards core costs for service delivery.

This funding can also be used on enrichment activities for children, in the past it has been used to develop outdoor spaces as lots of children living in the inner city do not have safe outdoor play spaces. We have used funding to backfill staff to support families, and have bought in extra activities such as music and arts specialists.

Parents Fees

This is the income generated by parents paying for our services, as we mainly cater for families living in high areas of deprivation then this income is now mainly generated from our after school provision in Ponteland.

Contracts

Early Years

We currently hold contracts with Newcastle City Council for the delivery of Early Years Education 2, 3 and 4-year-old offer.

As the Early Years Sector has been underfunded for years, it is now on the political agenda to address this issue. The current suggestions being offered by the government are not a solution to this problem as they are suggesting an increase in funded places, but the actual rate of funding is not sufficient to deliver their proposal. However, it is not anticipated that there will be any reductions in funding for Early Years as affordable and accessible childcare is crucial in rebuilding the economy.

Westgate Crèche

We hold a contract with Newcastle City Council Children, Education and Skills Directorate for the delivery of Crèche Provision at Westgate College, this has a contract value of £40k per annum, however gets topped up by other funding and usually generates between £40£45k per annum.

This contract was renewed for financial year 22-23 and has been secured for 23-24.

Mobile Crèche

Our mobile service currently provides crèche to George St Road to Recovery Trust, enabling those in addiction recovery to attend support sessions and support others along their path

Page 13

to recovery. We deliver crèche twice per week with a current contract value of approximately £7500 per annum depending upon bookings.

Summary

At Footsteps we are committed to serving the families most at need and do not shy away from situations that are viewed as complex and require significant investment of time and care. We have a team of dedicated highly skilled professionals that provide an inclusive and welcoming service to our local community. We are committed to facing any challenges head on, and finding solutions or adapting services where needed.

As with all businesses and charities it is getting increasingly difficult to deliver services that are financially viable, we have managed to generate a profit in financial year 23/24 which puts us ahead of our views from end of year last year where we thought it might take up to two years to reach breakeven. Although we have generated a profit, we also anticipate that the increase this coming year not only to NMW but also NI contributions will be very challenging. We have reviewed salaries and planned for costs associated with that, but these additional costs will limit our ability to generate a profit in the coming year and we anticipate drawing from reserves.

Our organisational values remain the same to operate from a place of kindness, compassion and no judgement. All of the decision we make moving forwards will be based on this foundation. We will be investing time in our people, developing knowledge and skills of the workforce to ensure high quality service delivery, and a motivated and well cared for staff team.

We anticipate an Ofsted inspection in 24/25 and will continue to work in a way that prioritises the children that we care for and trust that the inspection process will value our work and priorities, and recognises the additional services that we deliver on top of the standard offer.

The CEO will be focusing their attention on the following areas:

Sustainability: The CEO currently acts as a PVI rep for the city on Schools Forum, a panel designed to allocate the education budget received in to the city. This ensures that the PVI sector views are heard by the city in terms of the allocation of funding.

The CEO will be aiming to generate £30,000 through grant funding and fundraising events in 24/25.

The CEO has been selected as a member of the SEND Executive Board for Newcastle City Council and will act as PVI representative, The Board is responsible for SEND 0-25 Services in Newcastle upon Tyne

Page 14

The CEO will continue to provide line management to the leadership team, and seeks to create and deliver a leadership programme for all current and aspiring leaders within the organisation.

The CEO remains committed to leading the organisation in meeting the needs of local children and families through delivering high quality services.

The CEO will be working on a strategic plan to review the following areas:

The CEO will be leading the direction of the building project at Dolphin Street, coordinating contractors and taking responsibility for the budget.

Organisational goals for the year ahead would be to see an increase in ethnically diverse active Board Members.

We will continue to work with Peninsula, our Human Resources and Health and Safety consultants to ensure we meet all of our legal and moral obligations for everyone we employ.

The plans we have for the future to secure, develop and review our services will be done to ensure sustainability of the organisation and we will share updates on the progress of these plans on a regular basis through existing staff meeting structures.

We seek to continue to meet our initial aims and objectives whilst being responsive to the need around us, and flexible in our approach to meet the needs of service users within our financial capacity.

Page 15

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Independent Examiners Report

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Footsteps Children's Services Ltd

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Footsteps Children's Services Ltd for the year ended 31 August 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act.

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's financial statements as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

As the charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of FFA FTA, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I can confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

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 financial statements to be reached.

Kay Wightman FFA FTA Accounting for Good CIC 2 Geordie Ridley Place Upper Precinct Wesley Court Blaydon on Tyne Tyne and Wear NE21 5BT 10 April 2025

Page 16

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 31 August 2024

Notes
Income and endowments
from:
Donations and legacies
4
Charitable activities
5
Investments
6
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
Charitable activities
8
Other
9
Total
Net gains on investments
Net income/(expenditure)
10
Transfers between funds
Net income/(expenditure)
before other gains/(losses)
Other gains and losses
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
6,297
389,863
1,030		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
-
28,177
-		 Total funds
2024
£
6,297
418,040
1,030		 Total funds
2023
£
814
356,646
271
397,190
143
247,760
145,182		 28,177
421
16,532
-		 425,367
564
264,292
145,182		 357,731
248
247,350
140,770
393,085
-		 16,953
-		 410,038
-		 388,368
-
4,105
-		 11,224
-		 15,329
-		 (30,637)
-
4,105 11,224 15,329 (30,637)
4,105
69,419		 11,224
10,430		 15,329
79,849		 (30,637)
110,486
73,524 21,654 95,178 79,849

Page 17

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Summary Income and Expenditure Account

for the year ended 31 August 2024

Income
Interest and investment income
Gross income for the year
Expenditure
Interest payable
Depreciation and charges for
impairment of fixed assets
Total expenditure for the year
Net income/(expenditure) before tax
for the year
Net income /(expenditure )for the year		 2024
£
424,337
1,030
425,367
408,982
369
687
410,038
15,329
15,329		 2023
£
357,460
271
357,731
386,643
519
1,206
388,368
(30,637)
(30,637)

Page 18

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Balance Sheet

at 31 August 2024

Company No.
06866200
Notes
2024
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
439
439
Current assets
Debtors
13
1,298
Cash at bank and in hand
160,370
161,668
Creditors:Amount falling due within one year
14
(61,429)
Net current assets
100,239
Total assets less current liabilities
100,678
Creditors:Amounts falling due after more than one year
16
(5,500)
Net assets excluding pension asset or liability
95,178
Total net assets
95,178
The funds of the charity
Restricted funds
17
Restricted income funds
21,654
21,654
Unrestricted funds
17
General funds
69,524
Designated funds
4,000
73,524
Reserves
17
Total funds
95,178		 2023
£
1,078
1,078
87
150,058
150,145
(59,874)
90,271
91,349
(11,500)
79,849
79,849
10,430
10,430
65,419
4,000
69,419
79,849

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

For the year ended 31 August 2024 the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

Approved by the board on 10 April 2025

And signed on its behalf by:

L. Brady

Trustee

10 April 2025

Page 19

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Statement of Cash flows for the year ended 31 August 2024

Cash flows from operating activities
Net income/(expenditure) per Statement of Financial Activities
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
(Increase)/Decrease in trade and other receivables
Increase in trade and other payables
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments for property, plant and equipment
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Net cash from/(used in) investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of borrowings
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Components of cash and cash equivalents
Cash and bank balances
Bank overdrafts		 2024
£
15,329
687
(1,030)
(1,211)
1,723
15,498
(48)
1,030
982
(6,000)
(6,000)
10,480
149,968
160,448
160,370
78
160,448		 2023
£
(30,637)
1,206
(271)
1,989
2,869
(24,844)
(582)
271
(311)
(6,000)
(6,000)
(31,155)
180,918
149,763
150,058
(90)
149,968

Page 20

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31 August 2024

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Change in basis of accounting or to previous accounts

There has been no change to the accounting policies (valuation rules and method of accounting) since last year and no changes have been made to accounts for previous years.

Fund accounting

Income

Volunteer help The value of any volunteer help received is not included in the accounts. Investment income This is included in the accounts when receivable. Gains/(losses) on This includes any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value revaluation of fixed at the end of the year. assets Gains/(losses) on This includes any gain or loss on the sale of investments. investment assets

Page 21

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

Expenditure

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:

useful life:
Computer Equipment 33% Straight Line
Leasehold Property
Improvements		 20% Straight Line

Freehold investment property

Investment properties are measured initially at cost and subsequently at fair value at each balance sheet date and are not depreciated. All gains or losses are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they arise.

Stocks

Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Donated items of stock are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.

Trade and other debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and on hand, demand deposits with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts. In the statement of financial position, bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings or current liabilities. In the Statement of Cash Flows, cash and cash equivalents are shown net of bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral part of the company's cash management.

Page 22

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

Trade and other creditors

Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price. Other creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Research and development

Expenditure on research and development is written off in the year in which it is incurred.

Foreign currencies

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the charity are translated at the rates of exchange prevailing at the end of the reporting period. Transactions in currencies other than the functional currency of the charity are recorded at the rate of exchange on the date that the transaction occurred.

All exchange differences are are taken into account in arriving at net income/expenditure.

Leased assets

Where the charity enters into a lease which entails taking substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of an asset, the lease is treated as a finance lease.

Leases which do not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to charity are classified as operating leases.

Assets held under finance leases are initially recognised as assets of the charity at their fair value at the inception of the lease or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments. The corresponding liability to the lessor is included in the balance sheet date as a finance lease obligation. Lease payments are apportioned between finance expenses and reduction of the lease obligation so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability. Finance expenses are recognised immediately, unless they are directly attributable to qualifying assets, in which case they are capitalised in accordance with the charity's policy on borrowing costs. Assets held under finance leases are depreciated in the same way as owned assets.

Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. In the event that lease incentives are received to enter into operating leases, such incentives are recognised as a liability. The aggregate benefit of incentives is recognised as a reduction of rental expense on a straight-line basis.

Pension costs

The charity operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the company has no further payments obligations. The contributions are recognised as expenses when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals in the balance sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the company in independently administered funds.

Receipt of donated goods, facilities and services

All donated goods, facilities and services received are recognised within incoming resources and expenditure at an estimate of the value to the charity.

Page 23

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

2 Company status

The company is a private company limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital.

3 Statement of Financial Activities - prior year

3
Statement of Financial Activities - prior year
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Other
Total
Net income
Net income before other
gains/(losses)
Other gains and losses:
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
4
Income from donations and legacies
Fundraising
5
Income from charitable activities
Grants and Contracts		 Unrestricted
£
389,863
389,863		 Unrestricted
funds
2023
£
814
337,596
271
338,681
248
232,716
136,694
369,658
(30,977)
(30,977)
(30,977)
100,396
69,419
Unrestricted
£
6,297
6,297
Restricted
£
28,177
28,177		 Restricted
funds
2023
£
-
19,050
-
19,050
-
14,634
4,076
18,710
340
340
340
10,090
10,430
Total
2024
£
6,297
6,297
Total
2024
£
418,040
418,040		 Total funds
2023
£
814
356,646
271
357,731
248
247,350
140,770
388,368
(30,637)
(30,637)
(30,637)
110,486
79,849
Total
2023
£
814
814
Total
2023
£
356,646
356,646

Page 24

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

6 Income from investments

Bank interest
7
Expenditure on raising funds
Costs of generating voluntary
income
Fundraising
8
Expenditure on charitable activities
Expenditure on charitable
activities
Grants and Contracts
Children's Resources
Governance costs
9
Other expenditure
Other interest payable
Employee costs
Motor and travel costs
Premises costs
Amortisation, depreciation,
impairment, profit/loss on
disposal of fixed assets
General administrative costs
Legal and professional costs		 Unrestricted
£
143
143
Unrestricted
£
223,948
23,812
247,760		 Unrestricted
£
1,030
1,030
Restricted
£
421
421
Restricted
£
14,621
1,911
16,532
Unrestricted
£
369
84,555
1,691
29,235
687
18,187
10,458
145,182		 Total
2024
£
1,030
1,030
Total
2024
£
564
564
Total
2024
£
238,569
25,723
264,292
Total
2024
£
369
84,555
1,691
29,235
687
18,187
10,458
145,182		 Total
2023
£
271
271
Total
2023
£
248
248
Total
2023
£
223,626
23,724
247,350
Total
2023
£
519
81,503
2,248
25,296
1,206
19,787
10,211
140,770

Page 25

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

10 Net income/(expenditure) before transfers

This is stated after charging:
Depreciation of owned fixed assets
11 Staff costs
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2024
£
687
2024
64,150
14,873
3,455
82,478		 2023
£
1,206
2023
61,816
13,902
3,413
79,131

No employee received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

The average monthly number of full time equivalent employees during the year was as follows:

Charitable Activities 2024
Number
26
26		 2023
Number
22
22

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund

12 Tangible fixed assets

Cost or revaluation
At 1 September 2023
Additions
At 31 August 2024
Depreciation and
impairment
At 1 September 2023
Depreciation charge for the
year
At 31 August 2024
Net book values
At 31 August 2024
At 31 August 2023
13 Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 Computer
Equipment
£
3,940
48
3,988
2,862
687
3,549
439
1,078
2024
£
296
1,002
1,298		 Leasehold
Property
Improvemen
ts
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total
£
3,940
48
3,988
2,862
687
3,549
439
1,078
2023
£
-
87
87

Page 26

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

14 Creditors:

amounts falling due within one year

Creditors:
amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans and overdrafts
Trade creditors
Other taxes and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income		 2024
£
5,922
1,830
2,831
747
2,052
48,047
61,429		 2023
£
6,090
1,496
2,299
639
1,848
47,502
59,874

The business interruption loan commenced 23 July 2020, there were no repayments or interest for 12 months then six years to pay back with no early payment charge

15 Deferred Income

Movement of the deferred income shown in Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

At 1 September
Released in current year
Deferred in current year
At 31 August		 2024
£
47,502
(47,502)
48,047
48,047		 2023
£
47,630
(47,630)
47,502
47,502
Invoices paid in advance
Creditors:
amounts falling due after more than one year
Bank loans and overdrafts
Liabilities repayable in more than five years
after the balance sheet date
Amount repayable by instalments		 2024
£
5,500
5,500
-
-		 2023
£
11,500
11,500
11,500
11,500

16 Creditors:

The business interruption loan commenced 23 July 2020, there were no repayments or interest for 12 months then six years to pay back with no early payment charge

Page 27

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

17 Movement in funds

Restricted funds:
Restricted income funds:
Access Fund
LGA Foundation
St James's Place Charitable
Prudhoe Street Mission
Disability Access Fund
LGA Hardship Fund
Asda Community Fund
Total
Unrestricted funds:
General funds
Designated funds:
Cyber Security Certification
IT Software Updates
Total
Total funds		 At 1
September
2023
-
8,596
1,829
-
-
5
-
10,430
65,419
2,000
2,000
4,000
79,849		 Incoming
resources
(including
other
gains/losses
)
£
400
10,000
7,500
5,000
2,277
2,000
1,000
28,177
397,190
-
-
-
425,367		 Resources
expended
£
-
(9,204)
(1,701)
(2,514)
(1,322)
(1,504)
(708)
(16,953)
(393,085)
-
-
-
(410,038)		 At 31
August
2024
£
400
9,392
7,628
2,486
955
501
292
21,654
69,524
2,000
2,000
4,000
95,178

Purposes and restrictions in relation to the funds:

Restricted funds: Access Fund Providing children's resources LGA Foundation Providing SEND support St James's Place Charitable Providing SEND support Prudhoe Street Mission Providing SEND support Disability Access Fund Providing SEND access LGA Hardship Fund For the relief of poverty Asda Community Fund Community support Designated funds: Cyber Security Certification IT Software Updates

Page 28

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Notes to the Accounts

18 Analysis of net assets between funds

Fixed assets
Net current assets
Creditors due in more than one year and
provisions
19 Reconciliation of net debt
Cash and cash equivalents
Bank loans
Net debt		 Unrestricted
funds
£
439
99,943
(5,500)
94,882
At 1
September
2023
£		 Restricted
funds
£
-
296
-
296
Cash flows
£		 Total
£
439
100,239
(5,500)
95,178
At 31
August
2024
£
150,058 10,312 160,370
150,058
(17,500)
(17,500)
132,558		 10,312
6,000
6,000
16,312		 160,370
(11,500)
(11,500)
148,870
20 Commitments
Operating lease commitments
Annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases
2024
Land and
buildings
£
Operating leases with expiry date:
Pension commitments
The pension cost charge to the company
amounted to:		 are as follows:
2024
Other
£
2024
£
3,455		 2023
Land and
buildings
£		 2023
Other
£
2023
£
3,413

21 Related party disclosures

Controlling party

The company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital; thus no single party controls the company.

Page 29

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Detailed Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 31 August 2024

Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Fundraising
Charitable activities
Grants and Contracts
Investments
Bank interest
Total income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Costs of generating donations and
legacies
Fundraising
Total of expenditure on raising
funds
Charitable activities
Grants and Contracts
Children's Resources
Total of expenditure on charitable
activities
Other expenditure
Other interest payable
Employee costs
Salaries/wages
Employer's NIC
Pension costs
Staff recruitment
Staff training
Staff welfare
Motor and travel costs
Travel and subsistence
Premises costs		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
6,297
6,297
389,863
389,863
1,030
1,030
397,190
143
143
143
223,948
23,812
247,760
247,760
369
369
64,150
14,873
3,455
-
1,726
351
84,555
1,691
1,691		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
-
-
28,177
28,177
-
-
28,177
421
421
421
14,621
1,911
16,532
16,532
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
2024
£
6,297
6,297
418,040
418,040
1,030
1,030
425,367
564
564
564
238,569
25,723
264,292
264,292
369
369
64,150
14,873
3,455
-
1,726
351
84,555
1,691
1,691		 Total funds
2023
£
814
814
356,646
356,646
271
271
357,731
248
248
248
223,626
23,724
247,350
247,350
519
519
61,816
13,902
3,413
6
2,129
237
81,503
2,248
2,248

Page 30

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Detailed Statement of Financial Activities

Rent
Rates
Light, heat and power
Premises cleaning
Premises repairs and
maintenance
General administrative costs,
including depreciation and
amortisation
Depreciation of Computer
Equipment
Depreciation of Leasehold
Property Improvements
Bad debts
Bank charges
Equipment expensed
General insurances
Software, IT support and related
costs
Stationery and printing
Sundry expenses
Telephone, fax and broadband
Legal and professional costs
Audit/Independent examination
fees
Accountancy and bookkeeping
Consultancy fees
Other legal and professional
costs
Total of expenditure of other costs
Total expenditure
Net gains on investments
Net income/(expenditure)
Net income/(expenditure) before
other gains/(losses)
Other Gains
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		 16,073
444
8,028
2,534
2,156
29,235
687
-
31
166
1,470
3,455
4,213
4,135
1,263
3,454
18,874
1,799
1,498
5,827
1,334
10,458
145,182
393,085
-
4,105
4,105
-
4,105
69,419		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,953
-
11,224
11,224
-
11,224
10,430		 16,073
444
8,028
2,534
2,156
29,235
687
-
31
166
1,470
3,455
4,213
4,135
1,263
3,454
18,874
1,799
1,498
5,827
1,334
10,458
145,182
410,038
-
15,329
15,329
-
15,329
79,849		 16,073
417
3,488
1,914
3,404
25,296
1,206
-
287
146
1,091
3,403
4,931
5,409
1,453
3,067
20,993
1,800
2,030
5,047
1,334
10,211
140,770
388,368
-
(30,637)
(30,637)
-
(30,637)
110,486

Page 31

Footsteps Children's Services Ltd Detailed Statement of Financial Activities

Total funds carried forward

73,524 21,654 95,178

79,849

Page 32