Action for Asperger's Annual report 2020-2021 WWW.ACTIONFORASPERCERS.ORG Charity Registration 1148790 T: 01536 266681 E: Info@attlonforasper8ers.org
Action for Asperger's E8t. 2008 Counselling lives that have become athersely affectsd by the experience of autism and Asperger syndrome Autlsm- Spedallst Counselling Centre 9 Darwin House. Corbygats Buslness Park Prfors Haw Road, Corby. Northamptonshlre NN17 5JG Report of the Trustees fw the Period ended 30 Septsmber 2021
Index Page Subject IntroductSw Board of Tnjstees: Patrons: Indeperthnt Examh)ers: Bankn. G(wernlng D0mrt Oryanlsauonal strUre. The Racrultment and appolntment of tsvst•or. and Tralnlng of trustees Rlsk Management Objactives and actiMUes Obiectsves and. activiUe5 contlnuetr. Strategles and corrthlty Genernl Dats Protsctlon Regulatkm {GDPR): SafegUalIn Fundralslng: Financial: The Effert of the Pandernk on ts Charlty The affact of the Pandemlc on the Charlty Contlnued: Flgurns forth• reptyur perfod 0110912020 . 31108ll021 Where do our dlents corne from7 10 11 Whwe do our dents com6frorn7 Continued Letter from Elalne Nlthol8on, MBE CEO Flnandal Revlw. Prfral fundlng SOU Investsn klLY and objecuves: Tnwtee¢ ReSPs{bIlItieS nandal Re. Prlndpal fundlng SO Investsn•rt poky and objectlvas: Trustees, ReSPS1b11lt1Q$. cixrtlnued dwthnt EyAmlns Report ts the Trus*. Reycuve resp(Thlbllltles of trustees and examlner. Basls of Indedert 12 14 15 16 Indedent examIn$ slatsrnent 17 Acllon forAgpergers Statemant of Flnandal Actlvlues year ended 30 Septber 2021 Actlon for Asperyers Balance Sxetas at 30 Septnber 2021 Adon forAspergers Notss to the accounts for the year ended 30 Septsmber 2021
Introduction The Trustses wesrt thelr anNal report and unaudlted flnand81 Statne for the perlod ended 30 Septanber 2021. and confimi thw (xxnply wlth The Ch•rilies Act 1993. amended ty Tha Charhles Act 2Crf16, the TNst Deed and the Charftles SORP Prlndpal Offi Auusm-spedallst Co(msellirva Centre. 9 Darwln Houw Cortygate Pa Prfors Haw Road. Corty. Northamptonshlr4 NN17 5JG Dr LOwensn- Chalr Anthory Mathieson- Vke Chalr Son1• Owen Jane L Rahcel Dulfy Dame Vmenno We3twood Dr. Barbara J•¢obs Mrs. Donna Taggart Mr. ScottJame9 Mr. Gary Numan Dr. Luke Beardon Independent Examiners Bulley Accountan16 North Stree( Oun(K Petsrt)orough. PE8 4AL Bankers
Governing Document The consutukn was adoptsd on 01 October 2008. amerKled on 31 August 2012, and Aubsequenty amended on 22 September 2017. Organigatlonal Struc Actlon for Asperys (Afw Is govamod by a board of tsvslW& The charty tnISt are respMslble for the general control and management of the tharlty. The tNgtees glve thelr tirm freely and receive no remunwation or other flnanclal benefft The trustees meet as a boty quartth and are respNwible for al dedslons In r•latlon to runthg AfA arKI the actltIeS pred by the charlty. The tnteu have encouraged tho reuulknent of lurrteQrs for AfA slnce charfty registratlon was awardad on 31 August 201Z The voluntaers have been deployed for purposes of ndrdlslng. counselllng, and asslstlng tha founder. Eknine Nkholson, wlth varlous office admlnistratlon and secretsrlal task& The dAV.tdaY managwnthrt of AfA and Its Var10 wojects Is thè reswlblllty of Balne Nlcholson. founder. coun%llor. and chlel exovjth offlcw of AfA Tho thalr ofthe Dr Max Lowentsn, The Vlc*thalrrrnts Is Anthony Mathleson. Mr. Mathle8on Is also responslble for al thlrvjs that are dassed as malntenancthpairfservi¢e In the maln offlce bulklln Sonla 0. trusts4 is re6ponsl)le for akllng Elaine Nkholson wlth managwlal matt•r Jane Letts, trusts Is responslble for legal matter& Anthory Hall. truste& Is responslble for thtegk 9darKe Rachd Duffy. trustee. Is rasponslble for cornrnunltyfun(tralslng. Frances Mackenzl& trust# Is responslble for human re%Jurces and leamlng dMlopm•
The Recruitment and appointment of trustees The trustees are respIble for the re(xultment of new trugtees. but In dolng so the tnstees seek the vlwts •nd recommendatlons of volurrtews and regpxtad profes$Ial9 presenty worklng kn the outlsm communlty. The trusteas belkn that thls approath I1[ ensure that ary new trustaes have a good knowledge of autlsm per se- based on personal. wofesslonal. and expwknllal bathlrn of the rhrtivs alms and obJ•th an4.lf all awwj. thry VAII then ba proposed as new tnMta•g at the nwrt 1rustserf meetlnN The process wlll allow for du• af the per¥.$ ellgibHIty. Prn11 axnP•c4 lpedallrt knowkndge and sklll& Induetk>n and Tralnlng of trustees Followlng appolrrtft141rt of • new truste•. suth pwsons vdll b• Introduced to thelr new role arKI leS of govemlng document and a guld• to the polld•s and procedureg adoptpd by AfA Som• publlcatlon$ from the ChartUe8 Comfi10n ar• allo prIded. Indudlng thg guldanco on chrftlos and publlc benefft and on th• •dvancwnwrt of auusm awarem knowledga for the publlc beneft Thls shId ffisure that Mw tn should bo aware of the scope of thdr rnsponslbllltles under the Chprttles ACL Inltlally. new tNsieeB wlll work and be gulded . exn9 trustees. and wlll. [n th months be gIn th• tsAk of h•adlrva a project or acbmty. rvportlng pD)greos rt a tru¥o0s m•etlng that follows wlthln • tlme fvme of 6 Risk Management The tNths rW¢ rngularty durtrN tholr quart*ty m•ethgsApwoprlat• Dlsdosure and Bantr Sthgugrdlng IDBS) ched(s that are pffjhancad ffomerly CRB) are made for all th08• who have a connectlon ts AfA whatwor th•lr capaclty. Chlld Safqguardlng and Vuln•rabl• Adult safeguardlng tralnlrvJ c4)urses are made avallable to th¢)se vtho work wlth suth grou Objeckn and actlvltles Th• obJ•cts of AfA are sot In tha ch•rfty mn8tlttth docum•it and arn 9umrn•rfxd •s • To offer • bespoke counselllng ser• for Ilvtt ov•r th• age of three years whlch have bacome thrsdy affeclad by the experfence of Aspergerfs symdrome {autlsm spectrum dlsordert. This applles to those vkno have auUTh and those have a ck>se relatlonshlp wllh someone who has aUUsL • To Pro advo¢ary for Its dlents Wh and as raqulred.
Our dual alms serve to enable the furtherance of autlsuc mentsl heolth awarenegs In the local and wider community. AAldiiI(Th. AfA caTh also provlde training1 durfry thi5 yar wd hm been eniryyirvJ doing a 'swop" tralnlThJ wlth othw (Kganlsakn we teach them •bout and they tmth AfA 4b¢xrt thdr speclallty. Thls 'swop' tralnlng h09 proved rnost loyab Strategies and community activlties AfA's seNlce Is a 2417 asslstance fadllty for those who no•d K vla dectronk communlcalons andl or fIfIce communlcakn akrti mvrf contsct us at any tlme vla emdl. hence the "241r: tNs Is allowable due to the comptex processlng that goes wlth an auStiC neuroloal profile and gives the clients a tharKe to ask questlons andlor Share thelr conc•rM outslde of the counselung session& The tharity offers low.cost counselling therapy. we rnquert frnm dlents a donakn tr thelr counsdlSng sesslon {currenty £40465 per hour- tr hlgher Incom - the dlent de(ides wherE they •re on that wklng scaw. If • 1$ unable to pay. we ofv t¢lephrrn •ndlor emjll suppwt grth. AfA al80 offers stsxlent cwwelllng at £20 ph wth counsallors who are In thelr la•t yaar of thelr tralnlng. AfA also wdeS eATrOonal support for £15 ph: emotlonal support 1$ w0ded by workers though not counselllryj trnlned, have a strong wrfentlal backgrOw of autlsm. Emotlonal &ppcrt Workers also partake In AfA trainlng and aUll4Pea1lst SUPWVislon, provided by Elaine Nlcholson and Chrissy Nickel. Activities Customer Relations Management {CRM) System For th• second year. our dlert notss and rec¥xds manogement rema1 wlth th• tsHor•d CRM stem helped and man&g•d by Mr. Davld Malllnder of Gwblnl Blu& Th• CRM systwn Is somethlr¥J whlch funcllonal and effecuvg though not qulte Ylttlng. ¢)ur requlramon the trustees, Da Mallinder. S•SM Nlcholson arKI Sonia (kn trNestlgatlons continue as w• pursue gettlng • CRM sygtern that beffts our neeAl& Thls Is • most difflcult task, for we do not have the revenue to purchase exath what we need, so our CRM syStn Investsatlons contlnue slowly, but suretr. It is hoped th•t the thartty wlll be in a posidon to PrIde prEdse statlstlcal eMdenc• by the Ilme of the thartty year 202¥2024. Human Resources As we adapt to poSt-ndernk1If the dwnand for (jngeIl¥ contlnues to bo hlglL The charlty now has 20 counsellors 5 sttKlent counsellors and an Onal supwt worker and Is •lways looklng to rewlt new coun8ellors, as the mentsl health of our aullstlc pao*s continues to bo a WKJrfty as w• all ty and recover from the pandemk and the challenges ft brought with IL AfA contlnues to recrult new counsellor& we are fortunatr In that the m¥iority of our counsellor8 come ts us Iotyldng ts asslstthe AfA caux,
General Dats Protectlon Regulatlon (GDPR) Tho charfty has engaged the seNILW of Slmon HlnkB. Data ProtecWDPR spedallst In the offidal role of dats protecdon ¢)fficer (DPO). Safeguarding AfA Is honoured to have Paul James 8$ our safeguardlrw Consultant Paul has had career of over 35 years In school leadershlp and childr'S servlce& He Is gulding Ilght In thlg respect and we conslder ourselves most fonats to have him on board_ Fundraislng How do we ralse funds7 Our thernp15ts are prlced out at half of what they woukl eam prlvately. AfA "creams" off from thelr hou rrt and though thls Isn much, we ha sustalned ourselves slnce 200& Elalne NIC11$On contlnues to worf¢ freely for AfA donatlng approxlmatsly £20k pa. The charfty hos engaged a port-tlme fundralslng consultant to help wlth bld wrftlng durfng thls year. Thls has been rnlatrely 8uccssful gs fina111 reconls show an Incraas• In Income forthls perlod. We hope to contlnuo thls upwards ts4lectory. We would Ilke to be able to Pro frw In-pergon counselllw to those who do not have the fvnds to pwy for thelr counsellin& Our fundralslng congult*tt Is worklng on th15 Irsary-type fvndlng. hoplng that fundlng can be acquired for thi& Currenty the NHS sUppt Iprovth fundlng for) Only two dlents out of over 7k dlent& Flnandal AfA remalns a donatloTrled Se although It Is hoped that fundlng from sources such as grants wlll folow as the tharlty contlnues to deploy expert fvndralslng consultanLy. The m4lorlty of Inrne b from donakn for counselllng seNlces as mentioned above. The Effxt of the Pandemlc on the Charlty AfA contlnued to work tlrelessly post-pandemlo As a ploneer of e0 counselllng - havlng consldered It a vltal resource to the counselllng of auusdc Indlvlduals - when the pandemk the tharfty adapted by dolng all counselllng consultatlons vla vlde& Thls mode of counselllng therefore dld not Impact the counsellors gr•for they were usad to thls way of worklng: what has ImpKted, has been the demand for counselllng.
In ternu of numtHS: Accordlng to tho tharws 1nttlal EwArlq¢ mallboK In the perlod from 0110¥2020 Iroughly when Covld was stfrvJ to tslked ab(Art and the pandank was Just be&4nnhw to h1¢ to the 31103r2022 (when thls report was belng complled). have sean appn>xlmately 3588 n•w •nqulry •m•lk This equatss to 75 new enquiries per week At its peak durfng the p8ndeml& AfA recelved 8 new enqulrles per hwr. cornpwe th•t to prtr pandemk when AfA rttelv•d aPMItelY 8 new enquiiies per week Acc¢Kdlng to Ad•Jn far Aspwyrfs CRM systn. tha dMNJe kn dlwrt numb3 acro$8 the pandemlc has be a8 follows: •As of the 0110¥202Q Just as the pandemk WAS begknnliw, the nnber of dI}ts on ow •As of the 31103r2022. whkh Is whern thlngs arn at as th18 rewt Is bolng wrltkn th• Therefor4 8lnce the pandemk bega &Y•nt Ilst axpdIv. Flgures forthe reportlng perfod: 0110912020 - 3Y08r2021 •As of the OIIOW2020. whlch was the start of our flnandal and thus the slart of tho 12-m¢)nth p•rfod for r•portlng. the numbar of dlents on tho ch•rWs CRM systsm waa •As of the 31108fa02L whlth was the end of our financial year and thus the end of the 12.morrth wlod for reportlry, the number of dlerts on charivs CRM systsm wasA£ Ba8ed on the above Ilqurej. durfng th19 12-month prnl the tharws diatt Ilst grew by over 1,500 dlents. In t•rn of the qmall enqulrks the tharfty dealt wlth In thls same perfod. there
Where do our dlents com• from7 • North Wd•• P4otLK The 40% 'Not DIsclos, Indkatss thrt vla dlent personal praferm. they those not to dlv thelr geographkal whereabout The 2186 'Rest of UIC 1$ detsHed Irrt $0. for the followlng go¢>waphknl areas hawB a number of Mld-walos. South Walos. Scotland. Northqm lrnland and the follovlng Engllsh countles: Bedfordthlr% Be$hI Brfstol: Buddngharnthl CtKshlry Comwaltr Cumlxla; Dthshlr Devon: Dorsrt l)utham; EsseK GlOucestershlr Greater Manthester. Hampshi Herel0nlshlr Hertfordshlrv. Islo of Wlght Krt L•nCaShi MThy5i Northumbwland; Nottinghamsh1 Oxfordshi Rutland.. ShropshI Somers¢ SlaffordshIr Suffokt Surrny. Su. Tyne and wr, Warwkkshtrq wlltsh1. Worcestsrshlre
3% Iqtsal 'NoTrUIC l• d•t•l•d Ilk• . Australl4 Bahraln; Belglum: Canada: Chlna: Cub•; Cyprus Cz8th Repu* Demotte Republk rf Conw Hnland: FranA Germany, Greece: Guemsey. HONJ Kong: Hungary. Indla: Israel: ttaly. japa Kenya: Netherfands Nèw Ze•land: NwaY. PalUu Panama: P•ru: Phllppliw; Poland: PwtwJaL Republlc of Ireland; Rvranda; Samoa; Saudl Arabla: sIngap Spaln; Sweth: Swltsland: Thallan(t Trlnldad arKI Tobago: Unlted Arab USA" Vletnam
Letter from Elalne Nlcholson, MBE, CEO Thank you for your care and support durkv theso most dlflhwlt t11r You aro l d)arn wlth you that It has be4n a dmIlt year. one of the most (lfflcult In our hist(xy 8lnce ow IrKeptlon In 2(X)& thls year. l attnpted to trAnd overthe rqlns of mfirAgt of AfA but regrettably thls dkl not wwk for AfA Managlng a counsellhw charfty raqulres more than manawnent knDWkdg It requlres an rstandlrvJ of couns•lllng alN and • empathk apwo•th thrt must bo Inh•r•rlt In the Indmdual Nthom shall manage - we hm learned that It cannot ¢%IUvated - and go our posltlonallty Is that wlll walt pavently for the someone to Cne along at some polnt In the fithre to tske over my role of steerlnfsmanaglng th• tharity, although please16t me reassurn followers I wlll 'hellcoptsr over AfA unlll my last brgath. H¢)wever. that sald. despite a dIfft year. magenllY speaking. all staff. cCtOrS and espedally Jo Pw50n In Ferrnro), Lynn Lew14 arKI Sonla approath Thelr efforts have been both £PendouS and awe-lmplrfw as I have watthed them IlId a MetsPhCal wotath fence around Af A¥ we MIM Into 2021 our most Important and presslng plan18 to contlnue to serve •ll n•w dlents who come kn(Kklng at our dgor and ts do so wlthout th* havlng to suffff a long waltlng IISL Recrulthxnt of new counsellors is a pmrity and so an a(fvalslng campaiw ha$ begun and shall continue without abating. Another prfwlty Is to {a) add to the trustee board and Ilrt of patrons aNI (b) Increase funds through fundralslng. We are confldent all akns can be achleved. Lm and htt0 all. SIrdy. Elalne
Financial Review The polky of the trustees Is to hold erugh funds to meet four months opwatlng costs of AfA Operatlng costs per month are in the reglon cf £4.500 net on averag& It Is the CEO'S opknlon that a bank baknce of no less than £IO.OC•3 at any one tlme should slt In the charlty nk to act as a flnandal 'athlon' ShOd such a cushlon be neede Prfndpal fundlng sources The charftV$ maln source of I(X8 Is dl*rt donatlons for counselllng {weffarnl Invesknent policy and objectives AfA has no long.term 1rNeSt The Trustees cx>rwldor Interest rned by th• AfA bwk aCCoLt through the Co-watlve banklng systwn as a glft of. the banklng Trustses. Responsibilities The charfty Trustses are responslble for preparfng an •nnual report arKI flnandal Statements In accordance wlth applkable law and UK Accountlng Stsnd8rd& The law applicable to charlty In land and Wale5 requlrEs the Chartty Trustees to prepare flnan¢ial statemwrts for each yw that gr¥e a true and falr vlew of the econLvnic stats of affairs of the chwity and of the incoming resources and appllcatlon of resources of the tharfty for that p•rkxl. In weparfng the finandal Statsrn the Trust•es arn requlrttl . Selact sultsble accountlng polldes and apply them conAststh- and the m•thod$ arKI prfndplm In th• Charftles SORP. Make adjustments and e8Umatss that ore mgonable and prudent Statr whether appli(3ble aCC(ntIng standards have been followed, subject to 'any matsrlal dePare5 dlsdosed and explained In the flnandal statsments. Prepare the lknandal statemerts on the golng conc•m bag15 It Is approwlate to Fnsume thatthe charlty wlll contlnue In bu91nes&
reawnable accuracy at any tlme the Ilnanaal posltion of the charlty and to enable thwn to enswe that tho lknandal statOrn compty wlth the Charftles Act 1993, the Charfty (Affounts and regulatlons 2008 and the wovl8long of the Tnwt deod. Thw arn akn r•spondble for saf•guardlng the assets of the charfty and herKe tsldng reasonable stsp3 fDrthe orrfj detectlon of ftaud WKI other Irwilarftle& The Trustees for the purposes of Charfty law who semd durfng the perfod and up to the dats of thi5 W are sat out pago 4 oftsts rgporL oved by th• Tnmtees and slgned on thelr bthlf ty. Anthony Mathl880n Ivke Chlr) Datad: 08.05.2022
Independent examlnevs statement I vAh gfves me reasonable caus• to bdlqva that kn any materfal r•ycl th• tta8& h•v• not mat the raqulremts to ensure that FKOPW aCCth records are kept In accorda wlth sectlDn 130 of the Charfues A¢and . .acc4xints are prepared whlch agree wlth the accountlng rectyth and conwy wlth th• accountlng Y¢qulrwnwtts of the Chwlkn Ac¢ or 2 to whlth. In my oplnlon. att*ttion slK>uld h drawn kn order to enable a proper undetarKlIng of the accounts to be r•achad. Grahlm Darbrne FCA TC Group 6 North Street Oundl• PE8 4AL
Independent Examlnerfs Reportto the Trustees I rq>Nt on the accounts of Acllon for A8pwgerfs. tharlty number 1148790, forthe perfod ended 30.Septrmber202L Respectlve responsibilltles of trustees and examlner The tharwq trustaes ar• respon81ble for the PreParath of the account& The trustees consld•r that an audlt18. not rewlred for thls pwlod under 8eckn 144 of the CharftlesArt2011 the Charhles Acl arKI thatan lentex1nIkn Is neede(L It Is my responslbllltyto: • •xamlne the under gecdon 145 ofthe Charltles Act • 4Dllow the FKoceduru 14ld dtswn In the Genernl Dlreckns gkn ty the Charfty Commlsslon (under sectlon 145(5)(b) of th• Charltles Act): arKI 88sls of independent examinerfs statement My examlnatlon was ¢xnled out In acCdanC• wllh Genqrll Dlrecthns glven by the Charfty Commlsslon. An •xamlnathJn Indudes a revlew of the accountTng records kept by the charlty and a comparknn of the accounts presented wlth those record& ft also Includ conskleratlon of any unusual ltsms or dlsclosures In the accounty and geekl Gxplanations from you the trustO95 concemlng any suth mattws. The procedures undertaken do provldo all the evidwK• that would be requlred In an audll and consequently no oplnlon Is gIV as ts whethff the accounts presart a *rue and falrf 4 and the report Is Ilmlted to those matter5 Set out In the statement bdow.
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