2023-08-31-accounts - Life And Soul Youth Work

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

SEPTEMBER 2022 – AUGUST 2023

Life and Soul Youthwork Registered Charity Number: 1153304 Company Number: 08574869

Life & Soul Centre Christ Church Tunbridge Wells TN1 1UT

www.lifeandsoul.org.uk

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Board of Trustees Nigel Daly (Chair appointed 4 Mar 2021) David Payne (appointed 23 Feb 2015) Felicity Roberts (appointed 4 Mar 2021) Andrew Collins (Company Secretary appointed 16 July 2013) Angela Nicholls (appointed 20 June 2023)

Company number 08574869 Charity number 1153304 Registered office Christ Church High Street Tunbridge Wells TN1 1UT

Chief Executive Officer Sarah Finch Independent examiner Nash Harvey Group LLP

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT GOVERNING DOCUMENT

The charity’s governing document is The Memorandum and Articles of Association. Life & Soul is a Registered Company with Charitable Status and was incorporated on 18th June 2013. This replaces charity number 1099511, registered 2003.

terms of three years following which no outgoing trustee shall be eligible for re-election for a period of 12 months following retirement, except in exceptional circumstances. All trustees give their time voluntarily.

The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law and under the Articles of Association are known as members. New trustees are recruited through an open recruitment process which includes application, interview and references. There is a formal procedure for the induction and training of members of the Board of Trustees. Trustees may serve no more than three consecutive

The Board of Trustees meets four times a year and have responsibility for the strategic oversight of the charity. The Board of Trustees delegate the day-to-day management of the charity to the Chief Executive Officer.

The legal name of the charity is Life and Soul Youthwork but the name Life & Soul has been adopted for ease of recognition and marketing.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The charity’s purpose as set out in the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association is ‘the advancement of the Christian faith worldwide.’ Specifically, we express this by providing services that encourage the recognition and celebration of

the uniqueness of every individual, created in the image of God. We work with children and young people of all faiths and none, and are not faith promoting.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Board of Trustees would like to thank all staff and volunteers for their hard work and dedication over the last year as well as all the charity’s supporters and funders.

The charity has continued its work of improving the social, health and educational outcomes of children and young people by nurturing and empowering them to accept and celebrate their own unique self, to find their voice and to be informed, confident and skilled to make wise life decisions.

The pandemic continues to have a significant impact on young people’s mental health. The long-term impact of having limited social interaction at a time when it is crucial for healthy brain development is now being seen across primary and secondary age groups. Many teachers are reporting that significant numbers of children and young people are two years behind in their social and emotional development, yet they are still having to cope with the same pressures and academic expectations as previously. This, along with the impact of the pandemic on families and wider society, is taking its toll on the mental health of young people.

A recent report, Mental Health of Children and Young People 2023, published by NHS England on the 21st November 2023 found that one in five children and young people aged eight to 25 had a probable mental health disorder in 2023.[1]

The Guardian reported, earlier this year, that the number of referrals to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) was three times higher than in the corresponding month in 2019 and nearly double that in 2022. The article goes on to say that the number of young people waiting to start treatment also reached new records.[2]

We are working to meet this increased demand with our early intervention services by:

Continuing to work with a local fundraising consultant to ensure financial security for the charity. We are very grateful to all the Trusts and Foundations who have helped to fund our work this year. We are also grateful to all the regular, individual donors who provide around a third of our annual income.
We have increased our recruitment of volunteer mentors so that we can see more young people each week.

The trustees continue to provide strong accountability and leadership for the charity and work closely with the CEO to support the work of the charity and set the strategic direction.

1 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/ statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-inengland/2023-wave-4-follow-up
2 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/15/numberchildren-mental-health-crisis-record-high-england

CONNECT MENTORING CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY

CONNECT MENTORING

Connect Mentoring continues to support young people and shows a significant impact on improving the mental well-being of those who are struggling and at risk of poor social, health and educational outcomes. Each young person receives a series of at least six one to one sessions with one of our mentors within school.

22 Mentors each week, working in five local secondary schools.

115 young people have benefitted from Connect Mentoring this year. 95% of those who completed the course recorded an improvement in their well-being. Well-being, in terms of the student’s goals from mentoring, is measured by them each week on a scale of one to ten. This is part of the standard Solution Focused technique and provides clear evidence of improvement where a student moves up on the scale over the course of mentoring. At the end of the course students are asked to complete a feedback form in which they rate how helpful mentoring has been and are then asked to write about how life is better. Included here are a small selection of the feedback comments from this year.

As the pandemic has progressed and health and social services have become increasingly overwhelmed, the work of the Connect Team has become even more important. Volunteer mentors are reporting seeing young people with more serious mental health issues as it becomes harder to access other support.

In October we had our annual mentor refresher training day. It is always good to get everyone together. As well as increasing mentors knowledge of using Solution Focused techniques, we also did safeguarding refresher training and had a session looking at how to adapt mentoring for young people on the autistic spectrum. We have successfully trained six new mentors this year and they are now regularly working in schools. Each mentor generally sees between 2 and 3 students a week. Throughout the year we have averaged

All mentors receive support and supervision. There are Peer Groups, these are led by an experienced mentor and meet three times a year. We also have meetings for all mentors three times a year that incorporate training and are a chance for us to say thank you with homemade cake and refreshments. Mentors are always able to contact staff for advice.

“I have just finished with a student who was bullied at Primary School and struggled to make friends in Year 7. Now in Year 8, he has recently been diagnosed with autism. When we started meeting, he felt excluded and unhappy at school and, having felt betrayed by friends in the past, told me ‘my brain tells me Don’t make friends!’ Now at the end of the course, he has made two new friends at school, feels happier there, joins in more and feels included. His family and form teacher have noticed the difference in him”.

Connect Mentor

CASE STUDY

“I had a year 7 boy who was struggling to cope with homework and organising himself. He was getting into lots of trouble and as a result his self-esteem was very low. He said things like - I am really letting myself down / I want my Dad to be proud of me / I know I’m not meeting my potential (although I’m not sure that came from him!) “ “After just 3 sessions we had identified a few things that he was already managing and talked through the miracle day of being on top of things and he was much brighter as he arrived to our next sessions. His score went form a 3 to an 8 in the 6 sessions and he was out of trouble and receiving praise and housepoints, that made him really happy. He had even asked to be moved in a lesson so he was away from his friend who distracted him. Basically, we built on what he was already doing - like writing things in his planner / rewarding himself with time on games on his x-box once he had done some work etc.” Connect Mentor

RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX EDUCATION (RSE)

The RSE team have delivered lessons to 360 young people over the year covering topics such as Media Messages and Me, Emotional Well-Being, Health Relationships, Sex and Consent and Pornography and Sexting. The lessons were well received.

across the whole school curriculum rather than just as standalone lessons. Hence, we have seen a significant reduction in demand for these lessons and will be stopping this project in the next academic year. This will enable us to use our resources to better effect in the projects where demand is growing.

With the introduction of the new statutory Relationships and Sex Education curriculum for primary and secondary schools, there is now training for teachers and resources available to support the delivery of this important content in primary and secondary schools. The curriculum also encourages the inclusion of the content

We have trained school staff in how to deliver RSE lessons and have provided relevant resources so that they can continue to deliver high quality education.

UNLIMITED

Image, Worries & Fears and Handling Emotions in a fun, creative and interactive way.

Unlimited is our resilience workshop aimed at pupils in Year 5 and 6 who need a boost before going on to secondary school. Until this year we have had a team of two people working just two afternoons a week. However, as demand has risen we have increased

126 children completed the Unlimited course this year. 97% reported improved well-being and self-

esteem by the end of the course. As with Connect, the children use a ‘Hopscotch Scale’ to measure their own sense of well-being each week. At the end of the course they give feedback about how Unlimited has helped them. Enjoy some of the comments from feedback forms over the year.

the team by one more member of staff and have started training volunteers to deliver the course with a member of staff. The team work with a small group of pupils in each school and tailor the content of the sessions to the needs of the children, covering topics such as Our Uniqueness, Body

----- Start of picture text -----
“Everyone is unique
and amazing and
how you are on the
inside is better
than how you look
on the outside”.
Student
----- End of picture text -----

Play Therapy Play therapy is a gentle play-based form of counselling that is effective for children who are struggling to deal with difficult situations and can’t always articulate what is causing their distress. Children can use a variety of mediums in the room including clay, art, sand and role play to process what is happening in their lives and any issues they may be facing or have experienced in the past.

Our specialist play therapist worked in one local school which has high levels of pupil premium

children. Many of the children she worked with come from very challenging home situations. This year she has worked with 10 children and their families. Our aim is to work with the parents to ensure that the therapeutic process is holistic and stimulates changes in well-being and behaviour at home as well as school.

Before sessions begin with the child. Individual parent/carer meetings are held to discuss the

home situation and hoped changes that will happen as a result of the play therapy. These are then re-visited at the end to review what progress has been made. Each child spends a minimum of 6 one to one sessions with our play therapist and is able to work through any issues in a safe, nurturing space. This continues for as long as the child needs and results in a significant improvement in the well-being of the child.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

We have worked to streamline and improve the admin processes for Connect and hope to have them operational early in the next academic year. These were developed when there was just one mentor

going into one school and seeing about 3 students a week. Now we have around 20 mentors going into 5 schools seeing approximately 50 students a week.

We have produced a new course which is aimed purely at Year 6 pupils and the transition to secondary school. We produced sessions on a

range of topics including Healthy Phone Use and Social Media. We piloted the course in one school in Term 6 of this year. The feedback was very positive so we plan to offer this to all schools next year.

With both Connect Mentoring and Unlimited we would like to begin to move out beyond Tunbridge Wells to reach young people who are further afield. Our new systems will enable us to see more young people in more schools.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The trustees report a positive outcome for the year with only a slight loss for the year of £700 (Gain of £3931 in 2022) over all funds. All the charity assets were employed in pursuing the charitable objects of the charity. More detailed information is set out on the following pages.

FINANCIAL RESERVES

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been included as fixed assets should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six months’ expenditure excluding depreciation. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. Three months’ general fund

expenditure based on the new financial year budget, amounted to approximately £17,000 and unrestricted reserves held as current assets at the end of the year were £32,000.

VOLUNTEERS

Life & Soul is blessed with many volunteers who give their time to support young people through the projects that we run. Were all the volunteer roles to be salaried at an average rate for the charity then the charity would need to have found approximately an additional £14,500 in the last year which is over 33% of the staffing budget as a whole. This is a significant saving and without all the wonderful and dedicated volunteers the impact of the work of Life & Soul would be significantly reduced.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Board of Trustees regularly review the major risks to which the charity is exposed.

One of the principal risks identified continues to be securing sufficient funding. Working with a local fundraising consultant with experience in applying for grants and promoting the charity, as last year, we have secured significant funding from grants of £20,443.

We continue to hold at least 3 months of reserves in the bank.

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of Life and Soul Youth Work

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 August 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

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

Independent examiner’s report

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

(1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
(2) the accounts do not accord with those accounting records; or
(3) the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
(4) the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Name:

Lisa Pattenden FCA

Address:

Nash Harvey Group LLP, Hermitage Court, Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, Kent ME16 9NT 30[th] January 2024

Date:

2023

Raising funds calculations

Income Raising funds Grant Other - fundraising Donations - monthly Donations - one off Gift Aid Other income (Misc) Charitable Activities School income	Connect 3,933 0	Other 16,510 2,810 20,317 9,602 3,861	Total 20,443 2,810 20,317 9,602 3,861
	3,933	53,100	57,033

	0	141	141

	7,954	4,060	12,014

TOTAL			69,188
Expenditure Raising funds (Fundraisingand events) Everything else to charitable activities Depreciation & Insurance Wages Uniform Support costs SUB TOTAL	379 0 13,671 0 2,119 16,169	10,615 1,377 593 29,475 0 11,666 43,111	10,615 1,756 593 43,146 0 13,785 59,280


TOTAL	16,169	53,726	69,895

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 August 2023

Notes Income from: Raising funds 2a Charitable activities 2b Other income 2c Investments Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 3a Charitable activities 3b Total expenditure Net (deficit)/income for the year Transfer between funds Final net (deficit)/income Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted Restricted Total funds funds funds 2023 2023 2023 £ £ £ 53,100 3,933 57,033 4,060 7,954 12,014 141 0 141 0 - 0 57,301 11,887 69,188 10,615 - 10,615 43,111 16,169 59,280 53,726 16,169 69,895 3,575 (4,282) (707) 0 -	Total funds 2022 £ 60,446 9,847 167 0
		70,460
		6,418 60,111
		66,529
		3,931 -
	3,575 (4,282) (707) 28,499 4,282 32,781	3,931 28,850
	32,074 0 32,074	32,781

Balance sheet as at 31 August 2023

Balance sheet as at 31 August 2023
Notes Fixed assets Tangible fixed assets 7 Total fixed assets Current assets Debtors 8 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 9 Net current assets Total net assets Funds 10 Restricted Unrestricted Total funds	£ 3,038 30,613 33,651 (1,578)	-	2023 £ 32,074 32,074 32,074 32,074	2022 £
		-		1,598 31,383
				32,981 (200)
				32,781
				32,871
		-		4,282 28,499
				32,781

The company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

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

Approved by the trustees

1. Accoun)ng policies

The principle accoun.ng policies are summarised below. The accoun.ng policies have been applied consistently throughout the year and in the preceding year.

(a) Basis of accoun)ng

Statement of Recommended Prac.ce applicable to chari.es preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Repor.ng Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effec.ve 1 January 2015) - (Chari.es SORP (FRS102)), the Financial Repor.ng Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

(b) Fund accoun)ng

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discre.on of the trustees in furtherance of the general objec.ves of the charity.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for a par.cular purpose.
Restricted funds are subjected to restric.ons on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.

(c) Income

certain to receive, the income and the amount can be quan.fied with reasonable accuracy. The following policies are applied to par.cular categories of income:

Income received by way of grants, dona.ons and giVs is included in full in the Statement of Financial
Ac.vi.es when receivable. Grants, where en.tlement is not condi.onal on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes uncondi.onally en.tled to the grant. Income from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to considera.on by its performance.
value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these accounts.
Income from charitable ac.vi.es is accounted for when earned.
Investment income is included when receivable.

(d) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes VAT and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates:

Costs of raising funds comprise the costs associated with aZrac.ng voluntary income and the costs of trading for fundraising purposes.
Expenditure on charitable ac.vi.es comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its ac.vi.es and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such ac.vi.es and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
use of the resource.

(e) Fixed assets

Fixed assets (excluding investments) are stated at cost less accumulated deprecia.on. The costs of minor addi.ons or those cos.ng below £400 are not capitalised. Deprecia.on is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of the asset over its expected useful life, which in all cases is es.mated at 4 years. Impairment reviews are carried out as and when evidence comes to light that the recoverable amount of a func.onal fixed asset is below its net book value due to damage, obsolescence or other relevant factors.

(f) Company Status

----- Start of picture text -----
Chairman:
Date : 13th December 2023
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The charity is a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity.

2a. Income from raising funds

2a. Income from raising funds
Donations Fundraising Grants 2b. Income from charitable activities Connect Schools 2c. Other Income Misc income CJRS Claims 3a. Expenditure on raising funds Fundraising costs 3b. Expenditure on charitable activities	General £ 33,780 2,810 16,510	Restricted £ - 3,933	2023 Total £ 33,780 2,810 20,443 57,033 2023 Total £ 7,954 4,060 12,014 2023 Total £ 141	2022 Total £ 31,751 2,845 25,850
	53,100	3,933		60,446
	General £ - 4,060	Restricted £ 7,954 -		2022 Total £ 6192 3655
	4,060	7,954		9847
	General £ 141	Restricted £		2022 Total £ 167
	141	0	141	167
	General £ 10,615	Restricted £ -	2023 Total £ 10,615 10,615 2023 Total	2022 Total £ 6,418
	10,615	-		6,418
	General £	Restricted £		2022 Total

29,475 125 24,126	13,671 454 2,044	41,663 2,247 16,200
53,726	16,169	60,110
		2022 Total £ 106
		106
		2022 Total £ 39,519 - 2,144
		41,663

Included within the above figures, emoluments for key management personnel amounted to £12911, (2022 - £11551)

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 in the year (2021: £nil).

The amount of liabilities arising from employee benefits in the year amounted to £nil (2021: £nil).

The average number of employees during the year, calculated on the basis of full time equivalents, were as follows:

The average number of employees during the year, calculated on the basis of full time equivalents, were as follows:
	2023	2022
	Total	Total
Employees	Number 2	Number 2
	2	2

Trustee Remuneration and Related Party Transactions
During the year, no trustee received any remuneration nor any reimbursement of expenses (2022: £nil)

No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity during the year.

Donations made by trustees during the year amounted to £360 by A Collins (2022 £360 A Collins).

6. Taxation

As a charity, Life and Soul is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or s256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the Charity.

7. Tangible Fixed Assets Cost At 1 September 2022 Additions At 31 August 2023 Accumulated Depreciation At 1 September 2022 Charge for the year At 31 August 2023 Net book value At 1 September 2022 At 31 August 2023 8. Debtors Other debtors and prepayments Total 9. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due within One Year Taxation and Social Security	2023 Total £ 3,038 3,038 2023 Total £ 80	2023 Office Equipment £ 4,189 -
		4,189
		4,189 -
		4,189
		-
		-
		2022 Total £ 1,598
		1,598
		2022 Total £ -

Other creditors and accruals Total 10. Analysis of Net Assets Between Funds Tangible fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities Net assets 11. Movements in Funds At 1 Sep 2022 £ Restricted funds: 4,282 4,282 Unrestricted funds: General funds 28,499 28,499 Total funds 32,781	General Funds £ - 33651 (1,578)	Restricted Funds £ - 0	1,498 1,578 2023 Total Funds £ - 33,651 (1,578) 32,073 Transfer bewteen funds	200
				200
				2022 Total Funds £ - 32,981 (200)
	32073	0		32,781
	Incoming Resources £ 11,887	Outgoing Resources £ (16,169)		At 31 Aug 2023 £ -
4,282	11,887	(16,169)		-
28,499	57,301	(53,726)		32,074
28,499	57,301	(53,726)		32,074

32,781	69,188	(69,895)	-	32,074

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT

TThe trustees (who are also directors of Life and Soul Youthwork for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report 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. Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP;
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and 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.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small company’s exemption.

This report was approved by the Trustees, on 13th December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Nigel Daly

Chair of the Board of Trustees Date: 13th December 2023

References

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2020wave-1-follow-up
www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/more-than-half-fear-lockdown-ending-as-pandemics-impact-on-mental-health-laid-bare/
www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n614

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Life and Soul Youthwork Registered Charity Number: 1153304 Company Number: 08574869

Life & Soul Centre Christ Church Tunbridge Wells TN1 1UT