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2023-08-31-accounts

Charity number: 1147172

DANIEL'S DEN

Charitable Incorporated Organisation no. 1147172

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

NfP Accountants Ltd

DANIEL’S DEN

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

CONTENTS

Reference and administrative information 1
Trustees' annual report 2
Independent auditor's report 20
Statement of financial activities 22
Balance sheet 23
Notes to the financial statements 24

DANIEL’S DEN

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Trustees Keith Brown Caroline Winterburn Ketan Sheth Judith Abbott Yvonne Smith Trevor Goddard

Charity reg. no. 1147172

Registered office 38 Berkhamsted Avenue Wembley Middlesex HA9 6DT

Independent examiner Charles Ssempijja, FCA NFP Accountants Ltd 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street London EC2A 4NE

Bankers HSBC Plc 16 King Street Covent Garden London, WC2E 8JF

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REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023. The Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the charity's governing document, and the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (SORP FRS 102) (edition October 2019, effective January 2019), and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Income and expenditure have been analysed on a 'natural basis, taking advantage of sections 4.6 and 4.22-4.26 of this SORP.

Structure, Governance and Management

Structure and governing document

Daniel's Den is a registered Charity number 114172 and was converted, on 28 March 2022, to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation when a new constitution was adopted.

Organisational structure and decision making

The governance of the Charity is the responsibility of the Trustees. Day to day management is by the Chief Executive Officer, who draws on the support and expertise of the highly experienced Board of Trustees as needed.

Appointment of Trustees

Trustees are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association and the Charity’s own procedures. Regular reviews are held to identify any expertise gaps within the Board of Trustees and appointments are made where required to strengthen the Board of Trustees, subject to all trustees’ approval.

When it is necessary to appoint new trustees, due to either a trustee stepping down or a gap of expertise in the board is identified, recruitment will initially begin through the networks of the board and management team. Applicants will be reviewed by trustees and the successful applicant will be invited to attend a trustee meeting. Following this, on the provision that the board are satisfied and the applicant still wishes to join the trustee board, they will be appointed.

No other person or external body is entitled to appoint any trustees of the Charity. The Trustees who served during the period and after the year end are shown on page 1.

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Trustee induction and training

The Charity provides new trustees with an induction pack and mentoring from the Chair. The Charity has limited resources for formal training of the trustee body. However, on-going training opportunities are announced to trustees when these become available pro bono.

Related party relationships

The Charity has considered the disclosure requirements of the SORP for related party relationships. The Charity has no related party connections with other organisations. The trustees consider that the members of the board, and their close connections, to be the only related parties of the Charity. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the Charity.

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Chair of Trustees and to withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

Pay policy for senior staff

The pay of the Charity’s Chief Executive Officer is reviewed annually. The trustees draw on their knowledge of the sector and common practice in other charities of similar size to ensure that the remuneration set is fair and not out of line with that generally paid for similar roles.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees fully accepts its responsibilities for ensuring that the major risks to which the Charity is exposed are identified, and that there are systems and procedures in place to mitigate those risks. The Charity has a Finance and Risk Sub Committee (FRSC) which monitors the risks and reports to the Board. The Charity maintains a risk register.

Objectives and activities Purposes and principal activities

To enhance the development and education of children up to and including eleven years of age, but primarily those under statutory school age, by encouraging parents and carers to understand and provide for the needs of their children through community groups and by:

These objects shall be undertaken in accordance with Christian principles whilst recognising the diversity of a multi-faith society.

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Beneficiaries of our services

Principal activities

To have family life valued in all levels of society both locally and nationally.

Public benefit

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The Board of Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

Achievements and performance

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the Charity each year. This report looks at what the Charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the Charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the trustees ensure the Charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

In this report, we reflect on our five objectives (these form the basis of our principal activities) and demonstrate the outputs and impact of our work. We are proud of the impact we’ve made and are keen to see a toddler group within walking distance of every family. We feel this level of support can make a world of difference to our children, their families and local communities.

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Objective one: Establishing and running parent and toddler groups, recognised as first rate by users.

Throughout the year we have run 393 weekly sessions with a total of 12779 attendances As of the end of August 2023, we had 1475 registered adult members on our database, this includes Parents, Carers and Volunteers. Out of those who declared their gender on registering 79% were female, and 21% were male. There were 674 registered children under the age of 5, 51% female, 49% male.

Our structure for each of our sessions is simple and laid out on a timetable poster. This is both helpful to the team running the session and to the families attending. Whilst some attendees would like to spend more time singing, free play or eating, we believe our structure works well. This year we developed a simple ‘exemplar group assessment form’ and hope to use this for self-assessment as a way of ensuring our groups are the best they can be and in line with our overall structure.

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Venues

Throughout the year we met in the following venues, and we are so glad this affords us the opportunity to offer a toddler group within walking distance for families in those areas.

Our relationship with each venue is different and we are keen to build community in whatever ways we can, working with the venue hosts and other local community groups.

Other sessions we run include:

Looking at the stark facts about provision for 0-5 in Brent through parent and toddler groups, we realise what a vital role we play in the borough (we currently provide over 50% of the current 17 toddler groups). We are a lifeline for many.

Potential new venues for 2023-2024 include:

Staff and Volunteer Team

We would not be able to do what we do without our staff and volunteer team.

We now have 2 full time and 3 part time members of staff plus paid session leaders. We said goodbye to Annette who had been with us for 7 years as our first paid member of staff and hello to Georgina who came on board as our new Database and Volunteer Coordinator. It was good to be able to create

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a new role to help with our growth – Service Delivery Coordinator and Sustainability Lead and this was taken on by Linda.

We have over 50 volunteers and were delighted that students from the College of Northwest London were able to join us in the summer term.

We had a wonderful celebration evening for all our volunteers and Jackie Oliver was presented with the Emma Hay Sunshine Memorial award.

Staff and Volunteers engaged in various training opportunities including:

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These are some of our outputs but what about the outcomes?

a. Users – children and parents/carers

‘Over 50% of those registered at Daniels’ Den have attended more than twice. 44% of those registered have never attended or have attended using a different name. ONLY 6% of registered members have only attended once’ – this report extracted from our database is encouraging and demonstrates that people like what they experience and return!

Georgina (our new Volunteer and Database Coordinator) in her first week commented ‘The DD team’s good nature is reflected in their practice and by joining the sessions this week it is evident that one of the main reasons Daniel’s Den is thriving is because of the compassionate attitude that is shown towards each and every family.’

Here are some of the comments we’ve received this year:

‘Going to miss our Daniel's Den sessions! Our kids absolutely loved Daniel's Den; they especially loved the weekly crafts. Such great people and full of so much support x’ (Marisa – parent emigrating to NZ)

‘Daniel’s Den is such an amazing platform for first time mums, mums in the local community especially great for after Covid when the world changed our maternity leave. I felt Daniel’s Den gave me back a time I longed for when on maternity leave, meeting other mums and having my daughter play in the community’. (Dee)

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‘Daniel's Den has always been my little corner of peace during everyday life with little ones, as everybody is welcome despite their religious beliefs, education, nationality, social background and so on. We enjoyed every little bit of it and Joanna Gordon, together with her team, do an exceptional work for the community. There are no words to describe the love everybody put into this amazing reality’. (Ombretta)

‘I am absolutely grateful for all your hard work. Being alone in this country without my family Daniel's Den really helped me to get through difficulties, it’s such a great community to be part of and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity ❤️’ (a mum)

Friendships - watching people exchange telephone numbers in a session and hear of them meeting up outside of the sessions is one of the ways in which we recognise we are impacting parents. In our annual Feedback Fortnight over 60% said they’d made a new friend at Daniel’s Den.

A picture speaks a thousand words, and these pictures show what people have experienced.

Video

We filmed and produced a video showing what Daniel’s Den does – check it out. Two parents shared their thoughts in this – Qasim and Saba.

‘The film is beautiful – love it!’ Sarah McMullen, Royal Foundation

b. Events, crafts and sensory play

Nativity Week

One of our lovely 85-year-old volunteers was delighted that she finally got to be Mary in the nativity play!

Birthday Week and Disco

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This annual event is a firm favourite and one family invited other extended family to come and share in the fun ‘we wanted them to see what a special place Daniel’s Den is – thank you for letting us bring them along’.

Top Ten Books

We launched an appeal before Christmas for people to donate books to our groups – using an Amazon wish list. This has been incredibly effective and had a positive response.

A childminder asked Nat to film a little boy listening to the Brown Bear book being expertly shared by Hermina – he was so engaged. The next week Nat asked about the parent’s reaction to the film and the CM said she was thrilled and had gone out and bought the book for the child!

Birthday card

This year we produced our own Birthday card and the children have so enjoyed receiving it.

Sports Week

The children and parents are engaged in running, balancing, jumping, throwing and so much more during this week and the joy of seeing children and their parents/carer’s taking part is so rewarding. Every child receives a certificate for taking part and here were a couple of responses to this:

Sowing Seeds

Families have had the opportunity to experience digging, planting and playing in our allotment space.

‘‘So glad I was invited to @DanielsDenUK event at Chalkhill allotment this lunchtime. Mud kitchen, planting, water play, Bear Hunt and a picnic. Laughter, splashing, adult play as well as children's play and so much spontaneous learning going on. That's what EYFS should be like.” (Martin, retired head teacher).

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Every child had the opportunity to plant and grow cress seeds for Mother’s Day in the sessions and the children proudly shared pictures of these as they grew! Even the parents were full of awe that they had been able to grow some seeds!

‘Ours are still alive 3 weeks later – what do we do with them?’ (a dad at Dad’s Zone).

Singalong Week

This took place in March, and we raised approximately £250 for one of our partner charities - Kids Club in Uganda – the money will be used to buy basic learning materials for the children. We have decided this is a great week for an open week and for people to dress up as a song.

Great Get Together Picnic

A wonderful gathering for toddler groups across Wembley in King Edwards Park.

c. TEAMWORK – our volunteers and staff

Patricia and Pablo – a case study

Patricia writes - ‘I had already seen the Daniel’s Den website in Quintain App and volunteering opportunities, but until then I had other commitments and I put it aside. And that's when a friend (who volunteered at Daniel’s Den) invited me to meet her on a Friday. And I automatically started to go every Friday, then some Wednesday and Saturday events.'

Having a place to invite people to come along and join in whether as a parent or child or as a volunteer is such a central feature of what we do. ‘In each participation I feel that I am filled with energy, even on the bad days, seeing those children happy and playing makes the outside world stop’.

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Building community is so important and ‘knowing and being known’ is one of our vision statements. ‘I see that many mothers participate more than once a week, so it means that we are doing "a good job". The cool thing about "Yellow" is that many parents live in the area, and I end up meeting them on the street on any given day, in the supermarket, in the condominium, in the park, and they recognise and start to talk. Daniel’s Den also helped me to have some kids to look after part time – and these even live in the same block as me’.

Developing relationships is key to building community and sometimes language can be a barrier. Patricia speaks both Portuguese and Spanish and once she heard about our project called The Net, a monthly ‘Pop Up’ session for asylum seekers in a local hotel, she willingly volunteered.

‘I really like participating in the day that we are going to "play" with the refugee’s kids, this is. The day that I feel that I help the most (inside of me), because they don't have many options. For their status in the country, and I am very happy to be able to participate in this project and bring some joy to those mothers and children.’

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People volunteer for all sorts of reasons – to develop confidence, learn new skills, be part of a team, give something back into society. Patricia and Pablo share quite openly about one of the main reasons they are volunteering.

‘I realised that participating in the DD would help me in the process of adopting a child, because experience with children is one of the mandatory points. After a few months participating, I managed to take my husband to participate in Father's Day, it's only once a month, and I see that he returns home happy.’

And here is what Pablo had to say …

"My wife was already a volunteer in DD, and one day she mentioned that there was a 'Dads only' activity and they were looking for volunteers. Since I was also looking to have some more experience with kids, this felt like tailored opportunity for me. I've been going for a couple months now and it is truly a rewarding experience. The little ones are not as scary as I originally thought, and they seem to have a good time playing and singing along. It's a win for everyone involved."

Kimisha – a case study

The Kickstart Scheme -Hiring Kimisha Johnson for 6 months as Marketing and Fundraising Coordinator via the government Kickstart Scheme.

Background - After hearing about the scheme from different connections we decided as a management team to try and hire someone from the Kickstart Scheme. We did not know what to expect as we did not have previous experience managing someone in this role and approached this as a learning experience for Daniel's Den too. The recruiter managing our grant told us to have 'low expectations' from the candidates as they will not have much experience, thus being part of the scheme. On meeting Kim, we were presented with a very sweet but very shy young lady. Though her lack of experience showed we were drawn to her warmth and potential and hired her for the role.

Soon enough we were confirmed of our choice and Kim soon became a much loved and valued team member. She would support the Session Leaders in the groups, carry our surveys and other data collection and help with research and marketing.

Outcome - at the end of her time at Daniel's Den Kim helped support our sessions and activities and received rave reviews from the families she interacted with, volunteers and staff members. Her confidence grew and her administrational skills too. Kim designed the Fundraising Month of June branding which we will be using for years to come.

In Kim’s Words - "My time working with Daniel’s Den has been one of the best experiences ever. The staff and the volunteers at Daniel’s Den are amazing individuals. I’ve learnt so much in a short space of time, being behind the scenes and seeing how hard the team works to make sure parents and toddlers are supported by us and the community makes me feel so happy.

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I have gained so much confidence with interacting with people through Daniel’s Den which was one of the things I used to struggle with. Daniels Den made me realise that I have a voice and I will be forever grateful. Daniels Den is very welcoming and every time you walk into the venues you feel at ease."

Objective two: Offering parenting support.

The need to support parents is paramount and we do this implicitly and explicitly.

We offer implicit parenting support through the way we run our sessions, modelling positive behaviours and experiences. Creating the opportunity for safe play, shared singing, playdough and being able to have a cup of tea made by someone else whilst your child plays with someone else is often the lifeline parents need. With the pandemic, parents had missed lots of this peer-to-peer support and it was great to see new friendships formed ‘I never like to think of a parent feeling alone’. Lots of our volunteers are parents and their lived experiences give them a real sense of empathy with attendees, and they are attuned to recognising the anxieties of parents. Our explicit parenting support comes in different ways:

Welcome packs.

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We gave out welcome packs to our newly registered parents and this included a welcome letter with guidelines for expected behaviours, songbook and our 12 parenting postcards in a hessian branded bag. These cards offer bite sized advice on topics such as sleep, manners, eating, boundaries etc. Hotspots

We run monthly Hot Spots – an online discussion group streamed on our Facebook page. Guests this year have included:

We also covered various topics e.g., sleep, the impact of a new-born baby, sowing seeds etc. We are reviewing this provision and hoping to develop it into podcasts - making this all about parent support – future speakers include Catherine Allard Head Teacher at John Keble School re school readiness and the impact of screen time on children.

Visits

We welcomed visitors from Children and Family Information Service, Homestart, Brent Health Matters who listened and gave information to the parents and carers.

‘Just to say thanks so much for all your support of Healthwatch – visiting Daniel’s Den groups has given us the chance to speak to people from a different demographic to our ‘typical’ respondents and I think

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this is really important for building up an accurate picture of services in Brent!’ (Cleo Chalk – Healthwatch Brent)

We also had visits from a researcher from Oxford University who listened to our parents and their hopes and fears about vaccinations.

‘Thanks so much for hosting me. I know as the mother of a lockdown baby and toddler (now aged 2 and 5!), I can really relate to how keenly I felt the loss of playgroups and community interactions in our area. It sounds like we all needed some Daniel's Den in our lives!’ (Kate Joynes-Burgess DPhil Candidate, Oxford University)

Practical help

We were able to donate clothes, books and food to asylum seekers and also help people donate clothes and baby equipment items to Little Village, a local baby bank. People are so glad they can declutter their stuff from their homes and know they are going to be re-purposed and not be put in land fill.

Mum’s Zone

This took place on March 10th, and we have agreed we will hold it annually in the week of International Women’s Day. It was hosted at St Cuthbert’s, and this is such a welcoming space that was appreciated by all attendees. Ladies from the church led painting workshops and displayed their work and another lady played piano recitals – so lovely to see people offering their help and skills – we also had hand massage, nails, crafts etc. 3 of our mums attended which was a disappointing number and feedback through our WhatsApp groups indicated that childcare was a major issue. Many said they didn’t feel confident to leave the children with their father and others also had to work on the day. This is an area for development!!

Dad’s Zone

This continues to meet monthly and is a great place for dads to connect.

The Net

This project continues to go well – it was featured in an online news article by the charity Care 4 Calais as someone kindly sponsored hand painted plates for each of the children.

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We were thrilled that 29 folks from The Net were able to join us on our trip to the farm – one of the mums said, ‘it was the best thing by far that they had done since being in the hotel’.

Objective three: Enabling people to recognise the value of parent and toddler groups.

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This year we produced a video highlighting what we do – this was filmed by one of our dads (thanks Chris) and edited by one of our volunteers (thanks Tim). It has been a great tool in enabling people to see what happens in a toddler group session.

Opportunities to be a voice for toddler groups regarding their value and the contribution they make were numerous throughout the year.

We ran events and contributed to the following publications, research papers, speaking engagements etc.:

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Social media

The reach of our social media increased

Twitter – up from 1203 followers to 1242 followers

Facebook – 1200 to 1300 followers

Instagram – 342 followers up to 532 followers

We use these channels to share news of what we do, and the comments and responses are great. LinkedIn and TikTok still to be used …

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Objective four: fostering mutual cooperation and support for toddler groups. Brent

Brent Parent and Toddler Network met every term – a time to hear joys and challenges and pray for one another’s groups. On Feb 22nd, 2023, we met with church leaders and toddler groups leaders to encourage churches across Brent to start/restart a group or work with others – such a desperate need.

We also met with church leaders in Kilburn to explore opportunities there … a work in progress.

London

The London Network for Parent and Toddler Groups is an official project of Daniel’s Den and has a small steering group that coordinate events and activities. We have termly Zoom meetings and an annual conference called Rhythms of Grace. This took place on Zoom in October 2022, owing to the train strike, and 40+ people attended. New postcards were printed for publicity, and it is encouraging that we have nearly 100 toddler groups on our interactive map on the London Network website

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www.londonparenttoddler.network. We are aiming to have key leaders for borough-based networks – we currently have 4.

UK

Jo Gordon (Daniel’s Den CEO) is now the official leader of the 1277 Movement and the focus is on signposting and connecting toddler group leaders. The vision is that there should be a toddler group within walking distance (or short car journey in rural situations) for every family in the nation. Support if offered primarily through the 1277 Facebook group.

We held a reception in the Houses of Parliament for the National Month of Prayer in June and had toddler groups from across the UK in attendance – from Penrith to Cornwall, Wales to Norfolk. An inspirational event and sparked an increase in participation. Lots of network gatherings took place in Stockport, Normanton, Birmingham and a new online network started in Cornwall – lots to build on. Good to see networks being formed geographically – either online or through face-to-face meetings and this is something we will encourage through the “Joining the Dots” programme.

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Objective five: supporting the choice of stay-at-home parents and raising awareness of the value they bring to society.

We continue to do this by affirming parents when they come to the sessions and also being a voice on social media/conferences etc. There is no one size fits all and every family is different in shape, size and makeup.

MONEY

Fundraising

We ran several fundraising events:

The news of our second Reaching Communities Award was so welcome and a testimony to the culmination of so much hard work by so many.

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Thanks go to our funders:

Reaching Communities (The National Lottery), Brent NCIL (Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy) and Together Toward Zero Fund, Quintain, Sisk, Robert Southall, Garfield Weston, Origin Housing regular givers & one-off donors.

Conclusion

Yet again, it’s been a truly amazing year when so many activities have taken place and family life enriched on many levels in our communities. Our capacity to face challenges with venues and make hard decisions, when necessary, e.g., leave, versatility to run pop up sessions in many venues including exhibition spaces and a pavement outside a shop and our contagious passion and enthusiasm are just some of our hallmarks as a charity. We know that when people think of Daniel’s Den, it makes them smile and this is something we want to continue to do.

Looking to 2023-2024 we are thankful for the infrastructure we have in place, and we hope to build on this going forward. The big question is – what change do we want to see by August 31st, 2024? We want to be both realistic and ambitious. Always open to learn but similarly confident in what we offer, we hope to encourage and influence family life in Brent and beyond. We are committed to seeing our dream of having a toddler group within walking distance of every family become a reality.

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‘What an amazing way to spend a Friday morning, revisiting my nursery rhymes repertoire and losing myself in deep conversations with toddlers and their parents @DanielsDenUK. Great to hear of dedication and faith from volunteers deeply committed to create a space of belonging.’ (The Rt Revd Lusa Nsenga Ngoy, Bishop of Willesden)

Plans for future periods

During 2023/2024 the charity will continue to run its existing groups in the current venues and be open to areas where a new group is needed. Our aim is to open new groups so that the vision to have one within walking distance of families across the borough becomes a reality.

We will continue to develop the London Network of Parent and Toddler Groups and will be supporting groups in the borough of Brent in particular, as well as having borough coordinators in other areas.

We hope to develop our Hotspots into a Podcast as we have messages to share through this medium. We will develop our YouTube craft videos.

We intend to continue to consolidate the new finance and database systems to provide a firm foundation for the continued growth of the Charity.

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We will develop our fundraising strategy to ensure, if possible, a variety of funding streams including the corporate world as well as increasing regular giving.

Financial review

The charity achieved net income for the year of £12,778 (2022 - £12,778), details of which are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 31. This brings the charity’s total funds to £107,516 (2021 - £56,862). Of this, £48,394 was unrestricted funds (2022 - £10,512), which also constitute the free reserves of the charity.

Total income for the year increased to £182,122 (2022 - total income was £141,555). Total expenditure amounted to £131,468 (2022 - total expenditure was £128,777).

Reserves Policy

The charity's reserves policy is to hold reserves that are sufficient to cover 3 months of working capital in case fundraising efforts do not deliver in line with expectations. At the balance sheet date, the Trustees estimate this would require reserves of £25,000. The Charity’s reserves at the end of the reporting period were £48,394, which is above this level. The trustees are satisfied that this is prudent buffer in the current uncertain funding environment.

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

The Charity continues to work strategically with Sisk, CVS Brent (fundraising & reporting support) and our venue hosts of course. This financial and moral support provides a firm foundation for the Charity’s activities which are set to increase even further in the next financial year.

Approval

This report was approved by the Trustees on 17 April 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Keith Brown Trustee

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES

For the year ended 31 August 2023

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023 set out on pages 31 to 37.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and examiner

The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

/Continued…

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…/Continued

I understand that the financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair' view, and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, only to the extent required to provide a 'true and fair view'. This departure has involved following SORP FRS102 (effective January 2019), rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 (SORP 2005), which is referred to in the exitant regulations, but has since been withdrawn.

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.

Charles Ssempijja, FCA

NfP Accountants Ltd Chartered Accountants 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street London EC2A 4NE Date: …………………………. 23 April 2024

30

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended 31 August 2023

Unrestricted
Funds
Notes
£
INCOME FROM
Session donations
19,514
Regular donations
7,696
One off donations
8,873
Grants
21,889
HMRC Gift Aid
1,563
Events and trips
3,182
Fundraising
4,455
Other income (including bank interest)
480
TOTAL INCOME
67,652
EXPENDITURE ON
Salary costs
3
14,720
Other staff costs
4
1,433
Running costs & overheads
Crafts & Activities Supplies
2,340
Rent & Utilities
980
Events and trips
2,309
Host venue rent
970
Equipment and Furniture
29
Refreshments
46
Office supplies, printing & postage
90
Phone & Internet
721
Website
210
Travel and subsistence
192
Database Fees
659
Annual Subscriptions for IT Platforms
5
Memberships & subscriptions
10
Professional fees
2,060
DBS fees
438
Insurance
872
Marketing and publicity
399
Donations made
1,128
Other expenses
159
Independent examination fees
-
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
29,770
37,882
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
37,882
TOTAL FUNDS AT 01 SEPTEMBER
10,512
TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 AUGUST
48,394
Net income before transfers		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
114,470
-
-
-
-
114,470
84,677
6,674
2,932
700
2,170
2,395
179
4
74
3
8
55
648
222
77
880
-
-
-
-
-
-
101,698
12,772
12,772
46,350
59,122		 Total Funds
2023
£
19,514
7,696
8,873
136,359
1,563
3,182
4,455
480
182,122
99,397
8,107
5,272
1,680
4,479
3,365
208
50
164
724
218
247
1,307
227
87
2,940
438
872
399
1,128
159
-
131,468
50,654
50,654
56,862
107,516		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
10,062
5,553
10,263
3,840
2,021
788
4,150
1
36,678
31,154
1,634
2,009
-
1,171
-
120
100
80
306
366
92
-
148
107
2,155
-
-
-
650
180
744
41,016
(4,338)
(4,338)
14,850
10,512		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
104,877
-
-
-
-
104,877
60,904
3,974
4,555
1,680
141
-
1,052
5
297
1,210
145
4
4,750
37
27
6,870
542
945
443
30
-
150
87,761
17,116
17,116
29,234
46,350		 Total Funds
2022
£
10,062
5,553
10,263
108,717
2,021
788
4,150
1
141,555
92,058
5,608
6,564
1,680
1,312
-
1,172
105
377
1,516
511
96
4,750
185
134
9,025
542
945
443
680
180
894
128,777
12,778
12,778
44,084
56,862

All incoming resources and outgoing resources derive from continuing activities.

The annexed notes form part of these financial statements

31

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charitable incorporated organisation no. 1147172)

BALANCE SHEET As at 31 August 2023

Notes
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
CREDITORS: amounts falling
due within one year
2
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
Restricted funds
7
General fund (unrestricted)
7
TOTAL FUNDS		 2023
£
£
-
109,048
109,048
(1,532)
107,516
107,516
107,516
£
59,122
48,394
107,516
**£ **		 2023
£
£
-
109,048
109,048
(1,532)
107,516
107,516
107,516
£
59,122
48,394
107,516
**£ **		 £
-
58,875		 2022
£
56,862
58,875
(2,013)
107,516 56,862
107,516
**£ **		 56,862
_£ _
59,122
48,394		 46,350
10,512
107,516
**£ **		 56,862
_£ _

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) (Charities SORP FRS 102, edition October 2019, effective 01 January 2019), and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

They were approved, and authorised for issue, by the Trustees on 17 April 2024 and signed on their behalf by:-

Keith Brown Trustee

The annexed notes form part of these financial statements

32

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (SORP FRS 102) (edition October 2019, effective January 2019), and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Income and expenditure have been analysed on a 'natural basis, taking advantage of sections 4.6 and 4.22-4.26 of the SORP.

The effect of events relating to the year ended 31 August 2023 which occurred before the date of approval of the financial statements by the Trustees has been included in the financial statements to the extent required to show a true and fair view of the state of affairs at 31 August 2023 and the results for the year ended on that date.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair' view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a 'true and fair view'. This departure has involved following SORP 2015 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 (SORP 2005) which has since been withdrawn.

Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Key judgements that the charity has made which have a significant effect on the accounts include estimating income and expenditure for the next 12 months.

Statement of Cash Flows

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption conferred by Section 1 of FRS102 in relation to the Statement of Cash Flows.

Income

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Grants which have a restriction as to timing are recognised over the period for which they are given.

The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in the accounts.

33

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2023

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Statutory grants which are given as contributions towards the Charity's core services are treated as unrestricted.

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All the expenditure of the charity is in the furtherance of its charitable activities and includes the costs of delivering services undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

Irrecoverable VAT is included in expenditure as part of the gross cost of items. Where VAT is recoverable, expenditure is shown net of this VAT.

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 at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors and provisions

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.

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

34

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2023

2.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Corporation tax
Pensions payable
Accruals
Other creditors
Custodian funds held
3.
STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS
Unrestricted
Restricted
Funds
Funds
2023
2023
£
£
Gross pay
7,758
84,677
Employer NI
1,808
-
Employer pension
5,154
-
TOTAL STAFF COSTS
14,720
£
84,677
**£ **		 2023
£
(80)
611
780
176
45
1,532
£
Total
Funds
2023
£
92,435
1,808
5,154
99,397
**£ **		 2022
£
367
(64)
1,464
140
106
2,013
_£ _
Total
Funds
2022
£
86,951
1,606
3,501
92,058
_£ _

The average weekly number of staff in the year (headcount) was 7 (2022 - 8). Remuneration to key management personnel, including employer pensions, amounted to £29,700 (2022 - £25,920).

No employees received remuneration in excess of £60,000 (2022 - the same).

4. OTHER STAFF COSTS

Sessional worker payments
Volunteer expenses
Staff/volunteer training
Volunteer Training & Development
TOTAL OTHER STAFF COSTS		 Unrestricted
Funds
2023
£
856
230
160
187
1,433
**£ **		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
4,803
621
590
660
6,674
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2023
£
5,659
851
750
847
8,107
**£ **		 Total
Funds
2022
£
3,832
831
945
-
5,608
_£ _

35

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2023

5. TRUSTEES

No Trustees received remuneration in the year (2022 - the same). No Trustees were paid for reimbursed expenses (2022 - the same).

6. CORPORATION TAX

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

7. STATEMENT OF FUNDS

Adjusted
Brought
Forward
£
2023
Restricted funds:
KickStart - Impactful
Go
256
Brent - NCIL
5,950
NCIL - You Decide
-
Origin Housing Lim
-
National Park City
335
Wembley Central Big
Local
438
Reaching Communities
37,459
Thomas Welsh (Brent
zero)
-
Wembley Park
Community Fund
1,912
Total restricted funds
46,350
Unrestricted fund
10,512
-
Total funds
56,862
**£ **		 Incoming
Resources
£
1,044
-
13,484
1,996
-
-
94,508
3,438
-
114,470
67,652
-
182,122
**£ **		 Resources
Transfers &
Expended Gains / Losses
£
£
-
-
(5,253)
-
(8,534)
-
(1,290)
-
-
-
-
-
(85,342)
-
(1,279)
-
-
-
(101,698)
-
(29,770)
-
-
(131,468)
£
Nil
£		 Carried
Forward
£
1,300
697
4,950
706
335
438
46,625
2,159
1,912
59,122
48,394
107,516
**£ **

36

DANIEL'S DEN (Registered charity no. 1147172)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2023

Statement of funds: Continued - 2022
Restricted funds:
KickStart - Impactful
Go
-
Comic Relief
-
Brent - NCIL
-
National Park City
-
Wembley Central Big
Local
-
Reaching
Communities
24,718
Robert Southall
614
Wembley Park
Community Fund
3,902
Total restricted funds
29,234
Unrestricted fund
14,850
Total funds
44,084
_£ _		 6,342
392
9,997
700
726
86,720
-
-
104,877
36,678
141,555
_£ _		 (6,086)
(392)
(4,047)
(365)
(288)
(73,979)
(614)
(1,990)
(87,761)
(41,016)
(128,777)
£		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Nil
£		 256
-
5,950
335
438
37,459
-
1,912
46,350
10,512
56,862
_£ _

8. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

2023
Current assets
Creditors due within one year
2022
Current assets
Creditors due within one year		 General
Funds
2023
£
49,926
(1,532)
48,394
£
12,525
(2,013)
10,512
_£ _		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
59,122
-
59,122
£
46,350
-
46,350
_£ _		 Total
Funds
2023
£
109,048
(1,532)
107,516
£
58,875
(2,013)
56,862
_£ _		 Total
Funds
2022
£
58,875
(2,013)
56,862
_£ _

9. OTHER LEGAL INFORMATION

Daniel's Den is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England with registration number 1147172. Its registered office address is 38 Berkhamsted Avenue, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 6DT. The accounts are presented in GBP rounded to £1.

37