2024-03-31-accounts - Spread A Smile

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SPREAD 4 SMILE Annual Report 2023- 2024

Spread a Smile ww

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Annual Report 2023/24
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Trustees

Paul Godfrey, Chairman

Andrew Bloom Paul Crocker

Vanessa Crocker MBE

Elizabeth Gould

Fiona Hikmet

Louise Jacobs

Josephine Segal MBE

Richard Segal

Independent Auditors

Knox Cropper, 153-155 London Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9SQ

Registered Office

153-155 London Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9SQ

Principal Office

Uncommon, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL

Bankers

NatWest, Waterside Court, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent ME4 4RT HSBC, 12 Hampstead High Street, London NW3 1PY

Registered Company Number 08443236

Registered Charity Number 1152205

Annual Report 2023/24

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to our 2023-24 Welcome Annual Report

We were incredibly proud to celebrate our 10th anniversary in April 2023. This was a huge milestone for us and we would like to take this opportunity to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has been on the journey with us. To our team in the office, our trustees, entertainers, volunteers and supporters, some of whom have been there from day one: we couldn’t have spread all those smiles without you.

We would also like to say an enormous congratulations to our co-founders, Josephine Segal MBE and Vanessa Crocker MBE, who were awarded MBEs in the King’s 2024 New Year Honours. Since the charity started ten years ago, they have helped thousands of children and families, making an unimaginably difficult time that bit better and giving so many families an opportunity to find some happiness during their darkest times. Their selflessness, kindness and

compassion know no bounds. They founded an organisation of which both of us feel privileged and proud to be a part.

During the year, we saw a significant uplift in the number of smiles we were able to spread, delivering a 35% increase in both our in-person visits and numbers attending our family events. All of this was made possible by a 79% increase in funds raised, compared to the prior year (£2,079,053 in 23/24 / £1,160,334 in 22/23).

We will continue to work towards our goal of supporting more seriously ill babies, children and young people across the country but this will not be at the expense of what we’ve achieved so far. We will continue to provide a \, Ca high-quality personalised service to all our existing NHS partners, whilst moving towards more evidence-based practice to demonstrate the impact of our work. We recognise the importance of our ! 7 ' - strong organisational culture, which enables us to provide truly personalised support to all our families and (we hope you would agree) excellent stewardship to all our donors. Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive

Thank you to everyone who has supported our work in the past year. We remain indebted to you.

With our warmest regards,

Lucy Jackson, Chief Executive

Paul Godfrey, Chairman

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10
Years
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Celebrating our ten year anniversary in April 2023 was incredibly special for us as co-founders. The charity has changed considerably since 2013, but what has not changed is the support we are able to offer to seriously ill children and their families.

When we are at a hospital bedside and we see a child respond to our entertainers with unadulterated smiles and laughter, that’s what it’s all about. Parents often tell us that the Spread a Smile visit is the only time they see their child happy in hospital and the only time they see them as a child again. Their illness takes so much away from them and we believe their childhood shouldn’t be one of those things.

That’s not possible now but we are so proud to have the most wonderful team join us on the visits, who are so dedicated and committed to our mission to bring joy and laughter to seriously ill children and their families.

Siblings can be profoundly affected by a serious illness in the family; over the years, we’ve seen this so many times. This is why siblings are included in everything we do, and this will remain so in the future.

We are so proud of our achievements this year, especially when we think back to April 2013, when we had one hospital partner, compared to the 36 we had at the end of March 2024. Back then, we went on all the hospitals visits.

We feel incredibly humbled to have

received MBEs in the King’s New Year Honours, especially during our 10th anniversary year. We’d like to dedicate this award to all the brave and

Josephine Segal MBE Co-Founder and Trustee

inspirational families we’ve met over the years and to our team in the office, our entertainers and our trustees.

We are very excited about what the future holds for Spread a Smile and ensuring we can bring our unique support to more seriously ill children. But, despite our growth, our commitment is to continue to see every single child as an individual and know that every single family is unique . We will continue to offer a truly personalised service, doing everything with the love and care we instilled from day one.

Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us over the last ten years. We are so incredibly grateful to you all and can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring.

With love,

Josephine Segal MBE Co-Founder and Trustee

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Vanessa Crocker MBE Co-Founder and Trustee

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Annual Report 2023/24

—_ Spread a Smile brings joy and laughter to seriously ill babies, children and young people in NHS hospital and across hospices the country.

We offer a host of activities and entertainment to support seriously ill babies, children and young people, their siblings and family while a child is in hospital or at home. Through inperson and virtual visits and events, our entertainers, including magicians, musicians, artists, fairies and therapy dogs, enhance

wellbeing and help young patients and their families cope with the pain and anxiety of serious illness and hospitalisation.

Since our founding in 2013, we have built a reputation for developing bespoke relationships with each family and each health setting so that we can offer the most impactful support.

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increase 35% on 22/23

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11,539 in-person bedside visits patients joined 1,729 virtual visits 3,277 Delivered 570 virtual art visits 1,728 and workshops to children joined our children at home or in-person events in hospital Created Hand-painted Delivered 129 205 artworks masks for 1,450 festive hampers to for hospital children patients and their walls and undergoing windows radiotherapy siblings treatment

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45,098 Connections with patients, siblings, family members, hospital staff through all our services Hospital and hospice partners 36 7,123 17,997 Hours of contact Family members engaged time with patients and involved

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REACH
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2,363 7,278 Hospital staff engaged Smile TV and involved views

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Timeline

Delivered 3,500 chocolate Easter eggs to 27 hospitals and hospices and held an Easter Tea Party at Riding House Café. Welcomed families to Spread a Smile HQ for a LEGO[®] build and celebrated our 10th birthday

with a party at Great Ormond Street Hospital. 380 guests joined us for a spectacular 10th anniversary gala dinner at the Nobu Hotel. We launched our Young Committee who hosted their first event.

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JUNE
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We welcomed over 400 children and young people and their families plus NHS colleagues to our annual Summer Party at Coram’s Fields. Thank you to the Children’s Welfare and Research Foundation for their generous support of this event and to our volunteers from BlackRock, Hasbro, Convex Insurance, Corinthia London, Derwent, Downing, Enra Specialist Finance, Hain Celestial UK, ICAP, the LEGO[®] Group, McVitie’s, Opticore IT, Pan-n-Ice, Spring Finance and Uncommon.

Alesha Dixon launched a new partnership with Crayola at St Mary’s Hospital and we started visits at Croydon University Hospital. We hosted families on a Horrible Histories Terrible Thames boat trip, launched our new Spread a Smile Activity Book, joined the Canary Wharf Contractors annual golf day and hosted a day of volunteering with Clarksons.

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MAY
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3,500

Easter eggs delivered to 27 hospitals and hospices

Families joined us for theatre trips to The Play That Goes Wrong, Wicked and Frozen the Musical and afternoon tea on a Brigit’s Bakery Paddington-themed London bus. We delivered our first in-person visit to Bristol Children’s Hospital and were the grateful beneficiaries of the LMAC football tournament. Fourteen brave people joined us on our first international trek to Mount Toubkal in Morocco and we launched our partnership with Downing.

“The boys had such a fabulous time today and enjoyed themselves very much. Our younger son said to his Mum whilst waiting in one of the queues, ‘Look Mum, they are spreading smiles on everyone’s faces - everyone is so happy!’”

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Hosted families at Disney’s Newsies and started visits at William Harvey Hospital in Kent and a monthly Saturday visit at GOSH. 11 teams joined us for our annual football tournament and BlackRock hosted a Spread a Smile Padel Tournament.

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Hosted our second residential at Flynne’s Barn in the Lake District. Started visits at Helen and Douglas House Hospice in Oxfordshire and new monthly sensory play sessions for toddlers at GOSH, with Little Learners UK. Delivered treat boxes to our NHS partners packed

“The way you make them laugh is like no other, thank you so so so so much. Another ‘best day’ ever.”

Lindsay, Emmie’s mum

full of rewards for patients to enjoy post-treatment, as well as sensory boxes to Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU), thanks to funding from The Toy Trust. Pan-n-Ice launched the Spread a Smile icecream rolls and Downing sponsored our first family day at ZSL London Zoo.

Received the Martin Chapender Award from The Magic Circle,

in recognition of services to the

community using magic. Received a donation from CJC IT of 10 iPads for use by our NHS partners so children and young people can participate in virtual visits. Held our annual Golf Days at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, the Hibberd family held their annual Golf Day in memory of

Louie and we were the grateful beneficiaries of the LMAC Golf Day. Compass Carter Osborne supported us through their annual 100 Cycle Challenge. We were the chosen charity at the annual B&C Awards and joined the BGC Charity Day with amazing supporter Jenna Coleman and we hosted families at Disney’s The Lion King in the West End. Launched our Real Estate Committee and our partnership with BN Happy Face biscuits with an onpack promotion.

Celebrated ‘Play in Hospital Week’ with a record 19 visits to 17 hospitals. Following visits to Nottingham Children’s Hospital and Leicester Children’s Hospital, families saw Peter Pan

Goes Wrong in Nottingham, making it our first family event outside of London. Families joined us at Disney’s The Lion King in the West End with a VIP lunch

Announced partnerships with Whipps Cross Hospital in East London, Epsom Hospital in Surrey and Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton and delivered our first parent pamper day at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Entertained 100 children and their families at a spectacular Christmas party at the Corinthia London Hotel. Over 540 volunteers visited our office to pack 1,450 Smile Hampers for seriously ill children, to be delivered by our friends at DPD.

and party before the show and at two Harry Potterthemed LEGO[®] workshops. We started visits to Kingston Hospital.

67 runners joined us for the Royal Parks Half Marathon with runners

Exceeding last year’s record-breaking Christmas, we reached over 6,000 children . 290 children, patients and their siblings visited our virtual Santa’s Grotto; 1,450 received personalised hampers and 3,000 gifts were delivered. Our thanks go to all our corporate partners who volunteered their time. A special thanks goes to Spring Finance, Flat Iron Fund, Downing, Hilco Capital

from the Corinthia London Hotel, Mishcon de Reya, Hamilton Court Foreign Exchange, Downing, BlackRock and Convex Insurance.

and Think Jam for their support at Christmas. One of the UK’s finest magical talents, Magic Singh, joined us on a hospital visit to St Mary’s and we started visiting the Alexander Devine Hospice in Maidenhead. Our Ambassador, Suzi Ruffell, hosted another sold-out comedy night at London’s Comedy Store sponsored by Canary Wharf Contractors.

Annual Report 2023/24

320 children and their

and to our friends from BlackRock, Bregal Milestone, Brigit’s Bakery, Hasbro, the LEGO Group, LMAC Group, Lola’s Cupcakes, Opticore IT, Stanmore Rotary Club, Sidekick Management and McVitie’s for volunteering. Also in January, we announced a two-year partnership with SCOR Insurance.

families joined our Winter Party at St Mary’s Marylebone in London, the first one held since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. Thank you to Children with Cancer UK and the Children’s Welfare and Research Foundation for making this event possible

“The Spread a Smile Winter Party was awesome. So many great activities for the kids to do and everyone volunteering was so kind. Hugo loved the PlayDoh table and spent ages on the gingerbread house table too. Thank you so much for a fantastic day of treats and such a magical day. Hugo will be talking about this day for a long, long time.”

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Morgan, Hugo’s Mum
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Our Co-Founders, Josephine Segal and Vanessa Crocker, were awarded MBEs in the King’s New Year Honours for services to seriously ill children and their families. Josephine and Vanessa said: “We dedicate this to all the brave children and their families we have met over the years . It is always an honour and privilege to be a small part of their journey.”

yd 350 children and their families joined our Winter Party

West Middlesex Hospital was added as a new partner, and we started entertaining children in person at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. Delivered Valentine’s balloons to St Mary’s

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Hospital and Valentine’sthemed biscuit decorating kits to King’s College Hospital. Hosted an event for teenagers at The Underground Cookery School in partnership with Teens Unite Fighting Cancer.

“We dedicate our MBEs to all the brave children and their families we have met over the years. It is always an honour and privilege to be a small part of their journey.”

Josephine Segal MBE and Vanessa Crocker MBE

Families joined us at Clarksons head office for our first memorial event, for children we have supported who have sadly passed away. Launched our PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) visits trial at St Mary’s, The Royal London and The Evelina.

Families joined us at the Everyman Cinema for a special screening of Trolls Band Together, a team of intrepid explorers returned from an incredible five-day trek across the Sahara Desert and nine amazing runners took part in the London Marathon.

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Our NHS Hospital Partners and Hospices

By the end of the year, we were supporting patients and their families in 32 NHS hospitals and 4 hospices…

Barnet Hospital

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Croydon University Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)*

Epsom Hospital*

The Evelina London Children’s Hospital King’s College Hospital

Kingston Hospital Newham Hospital

North Middlesex University Hospital Northwick Park Hospital Princess Alexandra Hospital*

= new partners this year * = we visit in person

Watford General Hospital West Middlesex University Hospital Whipps Cross Hospital***

The Whittington Hospital Southampton Children’s Hospital

William Harvey Hospital*

Leicester Children’s Hospital Nottingham Children’s Hospital Bristol Royal Hospital for Children Addenbrooke’s Hospital*

Christie Hospital

Wrexham Maelor Hospital

Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children*

The Royal Brompton Hospital The Royal London Hospital The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital St George’s Hospital St Mary’s Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital University College Hospital (UCLH)*

Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice

Demelza Hospice Care for Children

Helen & Douglas House

Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice

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“To Spread a Smile - the best charity ever. Thanks for always helping me in hospital. You always make me feel very happy and smiley and you cheer me up when I’m in hospital and you also cheer everyone up. Love Talulah.”

| th. é ,ee ad Talulah’s Story

Talulah has a rare genetic disorder called Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome (WSS), which affects physical, intellectual and emotional development.

After discovering that Talulah had hip dysplasia in both hips, she underwent five operations and it was during this time that the family was introduced to Spread a Smile.

with no access to playrooms and not able to see the rest of the family. This is when we started having virtual sessions with one of the Spread a Smile fairies and they completely changed the surgery experience for Talulah, bringing so much excitement and happiness. We would count down the hours until each session and it was always a light at the end of a horrible day.

Mum Rebecca said, “Talulah spent a lot of time in hospital, in pain, recovering from her operations, using a wheelchair and learning to walk again. It was during the pandemic and so we found ourselves stuck in hospital,

Another symptom associated with WSS is increased hair growth, with Talulah’s hair growing at a considerable rate. “We’d spent a lot of time on the wards at GOSH meeting other children, some with cancer, who had lost their hair during treatment, and we decided we wanted to do what we could to help other children going through such awful things. As Talulah’s hair grows so long so quickly, we started to cut it every year and donate it to be made into wigs for children who had lost their hair to cancer.”

In 2023 and 2024, by cutting her hair, Talulah and her family raised nearly £12,000 to support Spread a Smile and the Little Princess Trust.

“We are so grateful for everything Spread a Smile has done for us. It’s been so wonderful to meet all the amazing Spread a Smile entertainers who have not only helped and entertained Talulah but her siblings as well. We have built wonderful relationships with them all which has helped with Talulah’s anxiety . Spread a Smile provided us with a joyous, happy and a safe place . They have helped to bring our family together for some very special moments and hearing my three kids giggle together has been one of the best things.”

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

and This year, we delivered ~ y A Ga» - ~~ 11,539 in-person bedside visits 669 visits to enabling us to visit the bedsides spending an average ~~» 3,277 patients joined 1,729 virtual visits. With a wonderful team of professional entertainers, including magicians, musicians, fairies and artists, we take pride in being able to respond to each child’s individual needs.

Achievements and we Performance

Visits to children in hospitals and hospices are at the core of our offering: whether in-person or virtual, our professional entertainers, supported by Visit Managers, provide much-needed moments of laughter and distraction at the hospital bedside. A personalised visit, whether from an entertainer or a calm, gentle therapy dog, can make all the difference to that child’s day and their response to treatment.

Our entertainers made 669 visits to hospitals enabling us to visit the bedsides of 11,539 children, spending an average of 10-15 minutes at each bedside. Our entertainment includes magic, storytelling, singing, spontaneous poetry and fairy magic.

Play is essential for helping children cope effectively with hospital admissions and traumatic treatments and procedures but play services around the country are overstretched and under-resourced, which is why our work is so incredibly important. Our support makes a big difference to a child’s acceptance of treatment, pain management and recovery.

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Of our 36 hospital and hospice partners, we visit 25 of them in-person . Of those, 11 provide specialist services and include 15 Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Units (POSCU sites) where children who have cancer may receive treatment or shared care with a specialist hospital. During the year, we worked hard to extend our support in POSCU sites.

We have been delivering dedicated Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) visits at GOSH since 2020 with our singers, who provide soothing songs, which are suitable for such a sensitive environment. Patients in PICU can be highly complex, often ventilated and unable to communicate, and require high levels of care and intervention. Being able to provide music and singing is important for their stimulation. Staff often comment that a patient’s heart rate has decreased in a distressed or unsettled patient after our singers have visited. We aim to implement these PICU visits as a permanent offering next year.

visited. We aim to implement these PICU Of our visits as a permanent offering next year. 36 and hospital hospice partners, we visit25 in-person

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Our with Partnership Northwick Park Hospital

Spread a Smile started to visit and entertain children at Northwick Park Hospital, a POSCU site and District General Hospital, in September 2023, attending during their busiest, monthly oncology clinic.

Entertainers support anxious patients coming to clinic, end of treatment celebrations and bell rings (where patients ring a bell on the ward at the end of their cancer treatment). Members of our team are also regularly booked for bespoke visits for palliative and end-of-life patients. We support parents too with aromatherapy and massage. We painted all the windows on the children’s ward (Jack’s Place) and on the oncology clinic windows. Oncology patients regularly attend our family events.

r =- o> 2) ~

Miriam Sager and Tenneh Koroma are Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialists at Northwick Park Hospital.

“The impact of Spread a Smile during their visits to the hospital is hugely positive and uplifting. Whether Spread a Smile has attended and supported in clinic, initiated play on the ward or delivered virtual visits to families at home, the parents have been extremely grateful and re-energised from seeing the happiness and laughter in their children’s faces.

“We don’t have dedicated play specialists most of the time, so Spread a Smile helps fill the gap for us and allows treatments such as chemo, infusions and transfusions to be given in a fun, joyous environment, full of silliness, happiness and giggles.

“Initially, Spread a Smile were there to help support us and enhance the celebrations when children finish treatment. The first child was a four-year-old girl who was very shy and never spoke to us during treatment. On this special day, we had Ellie come as a fairy singing songs from Frozen and

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the clinic; pure happiness was shared all around.”

Mr Magic with his wonderful magic tricks and balloons, and suddenly this shy little girl came to life and engaged with everyone, ringing the bell so loudly and proudly. There wasn’t a dry eye in the clinic; pure happiness was shared all around.

“Another little boy, who was often very unwell after his chemo, spent long periods of time in the hospital. His dad received a call from Spread a Smile to invite the whole family to go and see Frozen in the West End. On their return, his face and recollection of his outing was truly heart-warming.

“A beautiful 12-year-old young lady was nearing the end of her life and had spent a lot of time in hospital. Her mobility and eyesight had deteriorated. Two Spread a Smile entertainers gently massaged her arms and sang Disney songs to her, creating a special video memory that her parents will treasure forever.

“When hearing these children laugh alongside the Spread a Smile entertainers, knowing that for a brief period they can just be children, this brings a smile to our faces, and it makes the tough times that bit easier.”

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Bespoke Visits

Bespoke visits are for patients who have been in hospital for a long time, for those having a particularly challenging time, or nearing the end of their life.

These visits create special and positive memories. We also get requests, particularly from oncology teams, to support ‘end of treatment’ celebrations.

We received a request to see a child at Noah’s Ark Hospice who was nearing the end of his life and he wanted to celebrate his birthday with his family. The child was bedbound and immobile. He and his sister both loved dogs, so the children were able to spend time stroking our therapy dog who lay on the bed, providing soothing reassurance and comfort.

We also received a request to visit a three-year-old girl who had been in hospital for over a year, with a very complex heart condition and who was celebrating her birthday in hospital. She loved Frozen and all things Disney, so we sent two of our beautiful fairies who sang all her favourite songs and provide some magic for her and her family in the hospital playroom. The play team closed the playroom as she was unable to socialise with other patients due to her condition.

“I just want to say a big thank you for D’s party, she loved it and loved the fairies, it was so special letting her be three again and creating such special memories for her and her family.”

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Clare Perrett, Play Specialist at
Evelina London
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Mildred Creak Unit

“Having Spread a Smile come into MCU so consistently has been such a great thing for the young people. I’ve come to think of Spread a Smile as such a dependable, successful service, I don’t know what I would have done without you this summer!”

We run art sessions at Mildred Creak (MCU), an inpatient unit for mental health and eating disorders at GOSH. The patients greatly benefit from the sessions as they help normalise the environment, help them connect and socialise together, and boost their confidence.

Pamper Days

Tilly Woodhouse, Children and Young People’s Participation Officer at GOSH

We continue to provide in-hospital support for parents/carers and NHS staff. Over the year, we organised 26 parent and staff pamper days at UCLH, GOSH and the Evelina London with aromatherapy and massage, hairstyling and nails. It’s so important for us to look after the parents to help them better look after their children.

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Virtual Visits

We delivered 1,729 virtual visits to 3,277 children and continued to offer one-to-one and group virtual visits.

We see amazing bonds forming on these sessions between patients and siblings, which helps combat some of the loneliness and isolation they are facing.

We delivered 326 virtual music lessons. Our singing, piano and guitar lessons are excellent at building confidence in children and are particularly popular with children who have lost a sibling.

“We can’t thank you enough as we know you have had a hugeeeeee impact on E, the art, the inspiration and her love for creativeness.”

We ran 436 sessions, including our weekly art clubs, for children aged 4-10 years old and for those 11 plus.

Folakemi’s Story

When Folakemi (pictured top left with her sister Tempitope) was one year old she was diagnosed with a large hole in her heart (VSD) and a serious heart defect where the two main blood vessels leaving the heart are swapped. This resulted in irreversible damage to her lungs, causing difficulties with mobility and breathing and considerably reducing her life expectancy.

The family were told that Folakemi would receive palliative care, and she was also referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Although Folakemi’s heart could not be fully repaired, she underwent successful surgery to switch the arteries and is still monitored every three months at GOSH to check that she remains stable. It was during one of these appointments, when Folakemi was seven, that the family first met Spread a Smile.

Mum Anita said, “We were waiting for our appointment and some of the Spread a Smile entertainers came by doing magic tricks and other fun things. Folakemi absolutely loved it, and it really cheered us both up. So, when we left the hospital, I went online and got in touch with the charity to find out more.

“We signed up for all sorts of virtual online sessions, from magic to storytelling and art and the distraction was amazing. It was nice to see Folakemi do something just for herself, that was fun and not something medical. Because of Folakemi’s condition,

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“I love Spread a Smile, the people, the art and all the fun things. They make me happy.”

Folakemi

I was homeschooling her and we were able to sign up to an online tutor through Spread a Smile as well. They did some science sessions together which is one of her favourite subjects and it was so nice to have someone else help teach her for a bit.

“The online sessions give Folakemi something really happy to do. She does guitar lessons with Andy and Kiri every other Monday and she absolutely loves them. She also does a weekly art session together with her sister which is really lovely. Spread a Smile sends out the arts and crafts pack to us in advance and the children love getting stuck in. For me, it’s nice to see them doing something together and sometimes I even get a chance to just sit quietly and have a cup of tea. It means a lot to watch my daughters being happy, doing something they love and interacting with other people, just like other children. They are about her and no one can take them away from her. We come away feeling so great every time and Folakemi is proud of everything she achieves and creates with Spread a Smile.

“Spread a Smile shines a little light through all the worry and darkness, particularly at Christmas time. Folakemi and her sister Tempitope look forward to receiving their Smile Hampers. The excitement and joy are wonderful, and it brings a tear to my eye watching them laugh and unwrap their gifts. It means the world to all of us.”

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Family Support

Providing support to families lies at the heart of our offering. Whether it’s hosting a family event to help make happy memories during a family’s darkest of times, to offering something for parents/carers and siblings, to make sure they don’t feel overwhelmed and anxious, we’ll do it.

We endeavour to provide personalised support to each family we meet, recognising that no matter the illness, each family experiences their own set of challenges that can negatively impact on their quality of life. Whether it’s providing virtual art or music lessons to boost confidence and self-esteem, joining our virtual group sessions to encourage socialisation and connection, or attending a special event to have some much-needed family time, our team of Visit Managers regularly checks in with families to ensure our support is tailored appropriately to enhance wellbeing and quality of life in each individual child, sibling and family. Research[1] tells us that the needs of siblings are often overlooked when there’s a serious illness in the family and they reported particularly high anxiety, which is why everything we offer for children with illness, we also offer to their siblings. sl ey 30 1) Understanding the needs and wellbeing of children and young people with cancer and their families: Applying systems thinking for transformational change, June 2024

“I really love the sessions that I do with Spread a Smile. I like how they always include me. I also really enjoy the sessions that I join when I am on my own. My favourite is the Teen Art Club on a Thursday, and the makeup tutorials.

“The team are always so friendly, and I always enjoy joining knowing that they understand me and my sister Maisy. I also really like the family sessions, the magic shows, Judge the Poet and games sessions! They make my Mum laugh lots too!

“My absolute favourite are my one-toone sessions I have with Andy and Kiri for piano. I have learnt lots, and they are always so much fun. Thank you, Spread a Smile, for always being there for us.”

Poppy, sister of Maisy

We also know when treatment is over, support decreases suddenly and significantly, and young people and families, often feel isolated especially if the outcome is not positive. We continue to be involved to help children, and their families adjust to life post-treatment.

31 1\~

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Family Events

Last year we hosted over 1,700 seriously ill children, their siblings, parents and other family members at almost 50 Spread a Smile events.

Bringing together children with their families provides some valuable normality and time together outside of a hospital environment and offers a distraction from intense and serious treatment schedules.

Our Summer and Winter parties are our two annual flagship family events. Our Summer Party, held at Coram’s Fields in London, attracted over 400 guests and over 320 people came to our Winter Party at St Mary’s Church in Marylebone.

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“This event was the
first time I’ve been
able to think about
a positive memory of
my daughter since
she passed away.”
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Our Summer Party attracted over 400 _ guests

We organised 20 theatre trips including to Disney’s The Lion King and The Play That Goes Wrong. 52 people joined us for our first event at the F1 Arcade in St Paul’s. Our friends at Riding House Café organised a fabulous Easter-themed party (pictured on page 33) and Mildreds hosted 7 family tea parties. Forty people joined us for a spectacular LEGO[®] build session and we hosted 73 people at ZSL London Zoo, sponsored by Downing.

In March, 13 families joined us for our first memorial event for families where a child has passed away. It was a chance for families to remember their loved ones, share and talk openly with others. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Clarksons for hosting this event.

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Art

During the year we expanded our art programme, producing 205 beautiful artworks and murals for hospital wards, rooms and communal spaces in collaboration with eight hospital and hospice partners, transforming spaces that can often be frightening and anxiety-inducing for children.

On Eagle Ward, the renal ward at Great Ormond Street Hospital, we painted all 26 windows with characters from A-Z. The most loved was Hulk having haemodialysis. We then went on to replicate this at three other wards at GOSH.

We also paint immobilisation masks for children undergoing radiotherapy treatment for head, brain or neck cancers. We know that wearing a mask can be extremely frightening for children, and they can find it difficult to cope with the process. Painting the masks helps to make the experience more child friendly and less scary, gives children a bit of control back, and also enables connections between patients and staff, as the mask is a real talking point that helps to normalise a difficult experience. Each child is able to choose what they would like painted on their mask, and our Head of Art, Marina, brings their vision to life. At UCLH this past year, some of the mask designs were characters such as Bluey, Princess Elsa, Marvel, Coco Melon and scenes of nature, such as sunsets, rainbows and flowers.

“I decided on the design for the ‘welcome to theatre’ mural when I walked into the theatre corridor and saw the wall. It was facing the reception and was a blank white wall which desperately needed colour. All of the children waiting here for surgery were coming from a specific ward so it was my idea to incorporate as many wards as I could in the painting. It distracted them because they would try and find the ward they were going back to, and it brightened up the area for the surgeons and their staff too.”

Marina Constantinou, Head of Art

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Delivered @@ Hosted Hosted
®9
@@
s 146 L
424 19
Virtual Art Visits ® Art Workshops i) Art Smile Parties
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Hand-painted Held After School Art Club 77 sessions e ee @2e ¢ 868 129 Created immobilisation masks window for children undergoing and wall radiotherapy treatment 205 artworks

Annual Report 2023/24

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Freddie’s Story When Freddie was 8 years old, he became very unwell with tonsillitis. His symptoms got progressively worse, and his family noticed that the palate inside his mouth was extremely enlarged.

A trip to A&E led to Freddie being referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) where he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma nasopharyngeal, an aggressive soft tissue cancer. Surgeons removed most of the tumour, starting with chemotherapy two days later.

Freddie’s Mum, Charmaine, said, “Freddie went through 9 rounds of chemotherapy and 7 weeks of daily intensive radiotherapy at GOSH and UCLH due to the aggressive nature of the tumour. It was during this time that we met the Spread a Smile team. Freddie met therapy dogs, singers and artists and he particularly loved Abi, the graffiti artist. She would write his name, and he would colour it in and she showed him how to do spray art and use acrylic art. He absolutely loved it and it helped to distract him from his treatment so much. He carried on with one-to-one sessions with Abi online to learn even more. Art is his therapy, and he loves doing an art club with Spread a Smile along with his siblings every week.

“On the first day we went to UCLH for proton beam therapy (PBT) we met Marina, one

of the Spread a Smile artists. Freddie had to wear a mask during his treatment, and it was an incredibly scary thing for him. Marina told us that she could paint his mask, and Freddie created an A3 sketch of what he wanted on it. He drew so many things and Marina literally put everything on the mask for him. It was amazing.

“It took a huge amount for Freddie to put the mask on. The whole process of PBT and fitting the mask is really scary. But for Freddie, being able to design something for the mask and have his say in what it looked like changed that for him. It became more fun and less scary. When Freddie was given his mask, he was mesmerised by it. It helped change how he saw the mask and helped him to accept it.

“He didn’t mind wearing his mask once it was painted and enjoyed talking with other children about what they had on their masks. We now have it home and it is a prized possession on his desk which he proudly shows to everyone who comes in.”

“Spread a Smile has been there for the whole family and it’s wonderful. It was such a hard time for Freddie’s siblings as it’s easy to feel on the outside of everything he is going through. Spread a Smile helped to bring us all together through their family events, giving us such happy, amazing times together. They brought a smile to Freddie’s face - to all of our faces. We really can’t thank them enough.”

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Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

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In 2024/25 we will: Looking Forward

Reach 45 hospitals across and hospices England and Wales, including more paediatric intensive care units (PICU) and POSCU (paediatric oncology shared cared units) sites and DGHs (district general hospitals)

Move towards more evidencebased practice by establishing a research think tank

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Expand our fundraising team to ensure we are meeting growing income targets and demand for our services

Start to deliver regular in-person visits in the Northwest of England, initially at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, Manchester Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool

Develop our quality-of-life criteria to ensure our services are reaching those most in need and continue to support children and their families post-treatment

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Deliver
30 Family Events,
plus Summer and
Winter Parties and
1,750 Festive Festive
Hampers
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30 Family Events,
plus Summer and
Winter Parties and
1,750 Festive Festive
Hampers
Deliver
2,600
virtual
visits
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Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

Fundraising

As an organisation that does not receive any statutory funding, we are wholly reliant on the generosity of our supporters to fund our work. This year, we raised a total of £2,079,053 (2022-23 £1,160,334), making it our biggest year ever. This income was derived from:

Fundraising highlights

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6% 8%
4%
Challenge events
7%
Community
Corporates
22%
Individuals
Events
25%
Trusts and Foundations
Gifts in kind
Gift Aid and
17%
miscellaneous
11%
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Our warm thanks go to the participants, guests, and sponsors of Spread a Smile’s fundraising events:

golfers joined us for our sixth annual Golf Days in September, sponsored by Canary Wharf Contractors.

We welcomed sixth annual Golf Days in September, sponsored by 117 380 people to our 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner in April at £22,000 The Nobu Hotel was raised at our third comedy night at London Portman The Comedy Store, hosted by our amazing Square. Ambassador Suzi Ruffell and sponsored

was raised at our third comedy night at The Comedy Store, hosted by our amazing Ambassador Suzi Ruffell and sponsored by Canary Wharf Contractors.

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“We wanted to give something back and really make a difference to children in hospital, hopefully helping to make other families’ lives a bit more manageable”

Stuart Hibberd, Louie’s Dad

We are very grateful to everyone who hosts their own events and chooses to donate to Spread a Smile.

For the last few years, the Hibberd family has generously supported Spread a Smile by organising a Golf Day in memory of their son Louie, who sadly lost his life to a brain tumour three years ago.

to give something back and really make a difference to children in hospital, hopefully helping to make other families’ lives a bit more manageable during some of the most difficult times.”

This year’s Golf Day was an incredible event, bringing together 100 keen golfers for a fun and relaxed day of golf. One of Spread a Smile’s magicians was on hand on the course to spread some smiles and bring a little bit of extra fun to proceedings.

Spread a Smile supported Louie and his family whilst he was receiving treatment and it was the family’s aim to create a day that would act as a lasting tribute to Louie, bringing together family and friends and helping to keep Louie’s memory alive.

An amazing £11,408 was raised for Spread a Smile’s work bringing joy to seriously ill children in hospital, with additional donations going to the Paul Linger Foundation and the Golf Club’s charity.

Stuart Hibberd, Louie’s Dad said, “We wanted to support Spread a Smile as it’s not a huge charity and yet it does such important work. We wanted

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This year, we had more challenge event participants and community fundraisers than ever before. We are so grateful to all those who took part in a challenge.

We were delighted to partner with Camp Beaumont for a third consecutive summer at their London-based summer camps. They raised more than £8,000 by throwing parties at several of their school sites.

67 runners took part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October, raising £30,000. This was our largest team to date with runners supporting us from Corinthia London, Mishcon de Reya, Hamilton Court Foreign Exchange, Downing, BlackRock and Convex Insurance.

“I loved every second of running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in aid of Spread a Smile. It was an endurance test which I would 100% do all over again. The route throughout central London and Hyde Park was absolutely beautiful. The team cheered me on along the way which made a huge difference, and I am really proud of taking part and raising vital funds for seriously ill children and their families.” Megan Capstick, Corinthia London.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part.

21 brave Spread a Smile supporters abseiled down the ArcelorMittal Orbit at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, raising £9,600.

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14 people joined us for a spectacular climb of Mount Toubkal in Morocco, raising over £30,000. This tough but incredibly rewarding challenge pushed the team mentally and physically, taking in peaks dotted with Berber villages before tackling northern Africa’s tallest peak – Jebel Toubkal, standing at a whopping 4,167m.

“You have a picture in your mind of how the trek is going to go and then as you start to climb higher and higher, that picture fades away and reality kicks in. It was so much harder than we thought it would be. However you have two choices; to stop, turn around and return to something comfortable or to push yourself past what you thought was your limit and reach that summit stronger than you ever believed you could be.

A HUGE Spread a Smile thank you and shout out to Aron, Danielle, Ernest, Janet, Joanna, Lisa, Liz, Lucy, Matthew, Natalie, Nicole, Rachel, Richard and Sammy. Also, to our trek partners Charity Challenge.

At all times in the back of our minds are the families and children in hospital. Thinking about them spurred us on. Every step we took, we took for them. As a group we could not have done this without each other. The support and camaraderie were amazing. It was an experience never to be forgotten, making us stronger as individuals and hopefully spreading more smiles to the wonderful children who deserve only happiness in their lives.”

In March 2024, 10 intrepid explorers embarked on a 5-day trek across the Sahara Desert, covering a remarkable 100km and raising £25,000.

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“I love the desert – it’s so vast and open and it’s a wonderful place to go and be at one with yourself. Living in London with all the noise and craziness, it’s good to find a place and time to think and reflect. I saw the trek mentioned on Instagram and I knew I wanted to do it. Life and work are always so busy and full, and I instantly felt like it was what I needed to do – to support this wonderful charity and find space for myself. It felt like such an exciting adventure, and it reminded me of all the stuff I loved doing when I was a boy – hiking, caving, being outdoors all the time – I felt a pull to get out there in the wild again. Being able to support an amazing charity like Spread a Smile at the same time makes the experience complete.”

Simon Webb

Natalie Gubbay-Jackson

Spread a Smile

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Partnerships

We simply couldn’t do what we do without the incredible support of so many companies and trusts and foundations.

Our partners get involved and support our work in a huge variety of ways and we always ensure that we work hard to tailor each partnership to keep them personal and original.

We are hugely grateful to our friends at Riding House Cafés for their continued support and for raising an incredible £26,632.99 this year by adding 25p to the bill of every diner.

Together, we also host regular tea parties at their restaurants for the families we support, helping to provide respite and moments of relaxation and enjoyment in amongst the pressures of hospitals and treatment for serious illness.

We know that volunteering is hugely important for our partners, and we are so proud to have been able to welcome 800 volunteers over the past year. Volunteers packed festive Smile Hampers and goodie bags and helped out at family events.

“We are so proud to support Spread a Smile and it’s wonderful to know that we can make a difference to seriously ill children and young people. We’re looking forward to doing even more together in the coming years.”

Jane Moore, Riding House Café

Annual Report 2023/24

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We are incredibly grateful to all the trusts and foundations who have believed in and supported our work.

We are very proud to be supported by a wide range of companies, a growing number of which are choosing to show huge generosity through in-kind donations. These are integral to our work and enable us to give tens of thousands of gifts to children in hospital every year. This year we are embarking on our fifth year of partnership with Hasbro – a company without whom we would never have been able to meet the ever-growing demand for our festive Smile Hampers.

“I deeply admire the incredible work that Spread a Smile does. Their unwavering dedication to bringing joy, hope, and much-needed relief to seriously ill children and their families in hospitals is truly remarkable. Through shared initiatives like Christmas hampers,

We are proud to have partnered with several charities and would like to say a particular thank you to Children with Cancer UK. By supporting a programme of in-person and virtual visits and events, their support has enabled us to make a meaningful and positive difference to thousands of children with cancer and their families over the past year.

seasonal parties, and bereavement events, we have witnessed firsthand the profound impact they have on families facing unimaginably difficult times. The inspiration they provide is immeasurable, and together, we are strengthening our shared mission to bring comfort and care to those who need it most. We are proud to collaborate with Spread a Smile on this journey, as it perfectly aligns with our own commitment to supporting children and young people throughout their cancer journeys.”

Amar Naher, CEO, Children with Cancer

We’d like to express our thanks to the Spread a Smile Business Group, Communications Committee, Real Estate Committee and Young Patrons Committee, whose members continue to introduce us to their networks, support our events and help us to build strong partnerships.

Our Real Estate Committee

Our Business Committee

Rob Threadgold, Colin Becker, Richard Behan, Lee McDowell, Neil Taylor, Charlotte Weatherall, Mark London, Nick Stewart

Shaun Simons, Chris Davies, Richard Fine, Daniel Uzan, James Lass, Michael Mirelman, Nicky Barker and Lee Jackson

Our Medical Committee

Our Young Committee

Sanjiv Patel, Dr Ray Ackwerh, Eleanor Tyrrell, Yen-Ching Chang, Irene O’Donnell, Fiona Hikmet, Miriam Sager, Dr Jane Elfer

James Segal, Nicole Segal, Benji Gubbay, Ella Lewis, Ellie Rinsler, Harriet Pinder, Jodie Dacosta, Leanne Cohen, Sophie Bergman and Tom Goldstein

Our Communications Committee

Phil Caplin, Laura Fox, Zoe Sobol

Annual Report 2023/24

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Values Our values remain at the heart of at Spread a Smile, everything we do and we are very proud to share them.

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Bring a We are positive energy adaptable

We start interactions with enthusiasm, expecting a positive outcome
We are openminded to change
We don’t let politics or ego get in the way of doing what’s right for Spread a Smile
We are quick to celebrate individual and collective successes
We get stuck in and do whatever needs to be done
We build on each other’s strengths and identify our weaknesses to help us grow

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above We go and beyond

We behave professionally

We listen first and seek to understand what’s needed
We pay attention to the details so we can be consistent in everything we do
We see every situation as an opportunity to exceed expectations
We do what we say we would do
We stay calm and considered, even in the most difficult and testing situations
We approach life with generosity of spirit, empathy and a personal touch
We always come prepared

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We show ambition

We are always looking for ways to improve ourselves and the charity
We nurture each other and collaborate selflessly
We have courageous and honest conversations
We aren’t afraid to ask for help – we know it isn’t a sign of weakness

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

Report of the Trustees

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

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

The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 2019).

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Trustees meet as a full board four times a year and agree the broad strategy and areas of activity for the Charity.

All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Trustees are required to disclose all

relevant interests and register them with the Chief Executive and, in accordance with the Charity’s policy, withdraw from any decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

Day to day operations and management are delegated to the Chief Executive who provides regular reports to the trustees on performance and operations.

The charity benefits from committees which have been established to advise on areas of activity including: Fundraising, Communications and Medical.

Approach to Fundraising

The Charity is a member of the Fundraising Regulator, who holds the Code of Fundraising Practice for the UK.

Our approach is to ensure that we comply with the standards as set out in the Code across all our fundraising activity. We did not engage with any third-party fundraisers during the year. We comply with the key principles and behaviours of the Code to ensure that any vulnerable persons are treated fairly. All staff undergo training when they join the Charity. We received no complaints this year related to fundraising. There have been no breaches of the Code of Practice during the year.

Reserves policy

The charity maintained unrestricted funds of at least six months’ operational costs to ensure the long-term sustainability of our services for our beneficiaries. Our annual operational costs were £1,801,423. The level of total funds at 31 March 2024 was £1,102,105, consisting of restricted funds of £5,740 and unrestricted general reserves of £1,096,365.

Annual Report 2023/24

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of Spread a Smile for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and
the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Auditors

The auditors, Knox Cropper LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on 11th December 2024 and signed on the board’s behalf by:

Paul Godfrey

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of Spread A Smile

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Spread a Smile (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Annual Report 2023/24

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Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

The Charitable Company is required to comply with both company law and charity law and, based on our knowledge of its activities, we identified that the legal requirement to accurately account for restricted funds was of key significance.

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

• We gained an understanding of how the charitable company complied with its legal and regulatory framework, including the requirement to properly account for restricted funds, through discussions with management and a review of the documented policies, procedures and controls.

The audit team, which is experienced in the audit of charities, considered the charitable company’s susceptibility to material misstatement and how fraud may occur. Our considerations included the risk of management override.
Our approach was to check that all restricted income was properly identified and separately accounted for and to ensure that only valid and appropriate expenditure was charged to restricted funds. This included reviewing journal adjustments and unusual transactions.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Stephen Anderson

(Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Knox Cropper LLP Chartered Accountants and

Statutory Auditors 153 -155 London Road Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP3 9SQ

Date: 11th December 2024

i 59

Annual Report 2023/24

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Spread a Smile
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Statement of Financial Activities

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

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2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted
Total Total
Notes funds funds
funds funds
£ £
£ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
FROM
Donations and legacies 2 1,429,880 191,507 1,621,387 980,022
Other trading activities 3 423,082 - 423,082 173,970
Investment income 4 34,584 - 34,584 6,342
Total 1,887,546 191,507 2,079,053 1,160,334
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 5 495,753 6 495,759 307,288
Charitable activities
Expenditure on hospital visits, 6 1,022,984 282,680 1,305,664 1,000,492
events and art initiatives
Total 1,518,737 282,686 1,801,423 1,307,780
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 368,809 (91,179) 277,630 (147,446)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
727,556 96,919 824,475 971,921
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
1,096,365 5,740 1,102,105 824,475
FORWARD
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Balance Sheet

Company Registration number 08443236

31 March 2024

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2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted
Total Total
Notes funds funds
funds funds
£ £
£ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 12 4,182 - 4,182 1,005
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 13 76,550 - 76,550 188,806
Cash at bank 1,135,281 5,739 1,141,020 847,381
1,211,831 5,739 1,217,570 1,036,187
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one 14 (119,647) - (119,647) (212,717)
year
NET CURRENT ASSETS 1,092,184 5,739 1,097,923 823,470
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
1,096,366 5,739 1,102,105 824,475
LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS 1,096,366 5,739 1,102,105 824,475
FUNDS 15
Unrestricted funds 1,096,346 727,556
Restricted funds 5,739 96,919
TOTAL FUNDS 1,102,105 824,475
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The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 11th December 2024 and were signed on its behalf by: Paul Godfrey

The notes form part of these financial statements.

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

Cash Flow Statement

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

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2024 2023
Notes
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 1 263,421 (166,325)
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities 263,421 (166,325)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (4,366) (150)
Interest received 34,584 6,342
Net cash provided by investing activities 30,218 6,192
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting
293,639 (160,133)
period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
847,381 1,007,514
reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting
1,141,020 847,381
period
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1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 2024 2023
TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES £ £
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per
277,630 (147,446)
the Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 1,190 825
Interest received (34,584) (6,342)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 112,256 (133,649)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (93,071) 120,287
Net cash provided by/(used in) operations 263,421 (166,325)
At 1.4.23 Cash flow At 31.3.24
2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
£ £ £
Net cash
Cash at bank 847,381 293,639 1,141,020
TOTAL 847,381 293,639 1,141,020
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The notes form part of these financial statements.

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expendable during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘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 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold.

Donated facilities are included at the value to the company where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers. Donated services or facilities related to the provision of entertainment (including theatre tickets, toys, gifts and books etc.), are recognised when the company has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use of the

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

company of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the Trustees’ Report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the Company which is the amount it would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

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

Fixtures and fittings – 33% on cost Computer equipment –33% on cost

Taxation

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

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Hire purchase and leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

Pension costs and other postretirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Going concern

The Trustees consider that based on the circumstances existing at the date of signature, the charity has adequate resources to continue its operations for the next 12 months, and the accounts have therefore been prepared on a going concern basis.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

	2024 £	2023 £
Gifts Donations	93,628 1,061,461	56,902 674,337
Grants	466,298	248,783
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows: Grants	1,621,387 466,298	980,022 248,783
3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
	2024 £	2023 £
Fundraising events	423,082	170,972
Gifts and online sales	-	2,998
	423,082	173,970
4. INVESTMENT INCOME	2024 £	2023 £
Deposit account interest	34,584	6,342

3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

4. INVESTMENT INCOME

Annual Report 2023/24

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Spread a Smile
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5. RAISING FUNDS

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2024 2023
Raising donations and legacies
£ £
Staff costs 216,125 134,203
Fundraising expenses 251,665 138,169
Marketing and database costs 27,969 34,916
495,759 307,288
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6. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

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Support costs
Direct costs Totals
(see note 7)
£ £
£
Expenditure on hospital visits, events
1,110,585 195,079 1,305,664
and art initiatives
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8. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

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2024 2023
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging:
£ £
Auditors' remuneration 7,980 7,980
Depreciation - owned assets 1,189 825
Rent 61,882 61,822
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9. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.

7. SUPPORT COSTS

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Governance
Management Finance Totals
costs
£ £ £
£
Expenditure on hospital visits,
180,992 6,107 7,980 195,079
events and art initiatives
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Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

10. STAFF COSTS

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2024 2023
£ £
Wages and salaries 636,141 479,588
Social security costs 55,421 42,518
Other pension costs 13,879 10,218
705,441 532,324
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
2024 2023
£ £
Average number of employees 18 15
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The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

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2024 2023
£ £
-
£60,001 - £70,000 1
£80,001 - £90,000 1 1
2 1
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11. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

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Unrestricted Restricted
Total
funds funds
funds
£ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 731,739 248,283 980,022
-
Other trading activities 173,970 173,970
-
Investment income 6,342 6,342
Total 912,051 248,283 1,160,334
EXPENDITURE ON
-
Raising funds 307,288 307,288
Charitable activities
Expenditure on hospital visits, events
756,438 244,054 1,000,492
and art initiatives
Total 1,063,726 244,054 1,307,780
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) (151,675) 4,229 (147,446)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 879,231 92,690 971,921
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 727,556 96,919 824,475
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The aggregate remuneration of key management personnel, including Employer’s National Insurance and Pension contributions, was £186,229 (2023: £143,018).

Annual Report 2023/24

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Spread a Smile
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12. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

14. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

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Fixtures and Computer 2024 2023
fittings equipment Totals £ £ £
£ £
Trade creditors 45,641 43,424
COST
Social security and other taxes 17,238 10,410
At 1 April 2023 634 3,528 4,162
Additions - 4,366 4,366 Other creditors 3,416 3,703
At 31 March 2024 634 7,894 8,528 Accruals and deferred income 53,352 155,180
DEPRECIATION 119,647 212,717
At 1 April 2023 301 2,856 3,157
Charge for year 212 977 1,189
15. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
At 31 March 2024 513 3,833 4,346
NET BOOK VALUE
Net movement
At 1.4.23 At 31.3.24
in funds
At 31 March 2024 121 4,061 4,182 £ £
£
At 31 March 2023 333 672 1,005
Unrestricted funds
General fund 727,556 368,810 1,096,366
Restricted funds
13. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
iPads Fund 5,431 (5,431) -
Virtual visits 25,030 (25,030) -
2024 2023
£ £
-
Sensory provision 25,000 (25,000)
Trade debtors 31,968 103,108
In-person visits 41,458 (35,719) 5,739
Other debtors 10,296 10,296 96,919 (91,180) 5,739
Prepayments and accrued income 34,286 75,402 TOTAL FUNDS 824,475 277,630 1,102,105
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	2024 £	2023 £
Trade debtors 31,968 103,108 Other debtors 10,296 10,296 Prepayments and accrued income 34,286 75,402
76,550 188,806

Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

15. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

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Incoming Resources Movement in
resources expended funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 1,887,546 (1,518,736) 368,810
Restricted funds
Art Initiatives 12,500 (12,500) -
-
Christmas/Easter Fund 17,600 (17,600)
iPads Fund - (5,431) (5,431)
-
Family Events 55,453 (55,453)
Virtual visits 8,000 (33,030) (25,030)
-
Sensory provision (25,000) (25,000)
In-person visits 97,954 (133,673) (35,719)
191,507 (282,687) (91,180)
TOTAL FUNDS 2,079,053 (1,801,423) 277,630
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Net movement
At 1.4.22 At 31.3.23
Comparatives for movement in funds in funds
£ £
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund 879,231 (151,675) 727,556
Restricted funds
-
Digital Fund 9,026 (9,026)
-
Art Initiatives 19,560 (19,560)
-
iPads Fund 5,431 5,431
-
BBC Children In Need Fund 1,314 (1,314)
-
Entertainment Fund 45,290 (45,290)
-
Digital Manager 7,500 (7,500)
-
Digital Art 10,000 (10,000)
-
Virtual visits 25,030 25,030
-
Sensory provision 25,000 25,000
-
In-person visits 41,458 41,458
92,690 4,229 96,919
TOTAL FUNDS 971,921 (147,446) 824,475
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Spread a Smile

Annual Report 2023/24

15. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

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Incoming Resources Movement in
resources expended funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 912,051 (1,063,726) (151,675)
Restricted funds
-
Digital Fund (9,026) (9,026)
Art Initiatives 2,000 (21,560) (19,560)
iPads Fund 6,790 (1,359) 5,431
-
BBC Children In Need Fund (1,314) (1,314)
-
Entertainment Fund (45,290) (45,290)
-
Digital Manager (7,500) (7,500)
-
Digital Art (10,000) (10,000)
-
Family Events 2,000 (2,000)
Virtual visits 93,827 (68,797) 25,030
Sensory provision 50,000 (25,000) 25,000
In-person visits 60,400 (18,942) 41,458
-
Treat drops and festive celebrations 11,000 (11,000)
-
Virtual and in person visits 22,266 (22,266)
248,283 (244,054) 4,229
TOTAL FUNDS 1,160,334 (1,307,780) (147,446)
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Art initiatives: To fund wall and window murals in hospitals, personalisation of radiotherapy masks and delivery of art sessions at the hospital bedside

Virtual and in-person visits: To fund the delivery of virtual and in-person visits of entertainers for seriously children and young people

iPads Fund: To fund iPads for use in hospitals so children and young people can access virtual visits and Smile TV

Digital fund: To fund all of Spread a Smile’s online activity including virtual visits, online school holiday activity days, Facebook Live sessions and Smile TV content

Family Events: To fund events outside of hospital for seriously ill children, young people and their families

BBC Children in Need fund: Grant funding that covers the core costs of a Hospital Visit Manager, administration support and hospital visits

Virtual visits: To fund one to one and group virtual visits with entertainers for seriously ill children and young people receiving treatment in hospital or at home

Entertainment fund: Provision of

entertainment in hospital including visits from Spread a Smile entertainers, therapy dogs and the associated costs required to deliver this

Sensory provision: To fund specialist virtual and in-person visits and sensory toys and equipment for children with additional needs

Digital Manager: To fund a manager to oversee the delivery of all of Spread a Smile’s online activities

In-person visits: To fund scheduled and bespoke in-person visits of entertainers to NHS hospitals and hospices

Digital art: To fund the delivery of one to one and group online art sessions for seriously ill children in hospital and at home

16. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

During the year the charity received donations of £28,742 (2023: £17,614) from the trustees of the charity.

During the year, the charity received donations of £63,537 (2023: £49,850) from a company with a common director.

During the year, the charity received donations of £9,367 (2023: nil) from trustees’ family members.

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Spread a Smile, Uncommon, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL

020 7482 5191

info@spreadasmile.org

spreadasmile.org

GÖekÊ

SPREAD A SMILE[®] and are registered trade marks in the name of Spread a Smile, a company registered in England and Wales with the Company No: 08443236

Registered Office: 153-155 London Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9SQ

Registered as a Charity No: 1152205

Photo Credits Suzan Moore, James Mason Photography, Hettie Pearson Photography and Paul Meyler

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