## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period**
Period start date Period end date **From** 1 3 2023 **To** 28 2 2024
## Section A Reference and administration details
**Charity name** Shoreham Opportunities For Learning Differences
**Other names charity is known by**
SOLD
**Registered charity number (if any)** 1155796 **Charity's principal address** 62 high street Shoreham by Sea West Sussex **Postcode BN43 5DB** ~~——~~ **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Dates acted if not for Name of person (or body) entitled Trustee name Office (if any) whole year to appoint trustee (if any)** treasurer 1[James Lowe] chair 2[Liz English] 3[Deride Soloman]
## **Registered charity number (if any)** 1155796
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
4[Emma Criddle]
5
6
7
8 9 10 11 12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 20
**Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)**
**Name Dates acted if not for whole year** ~~————~~
March **2012**
**TAR**
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**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address**
## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Section B Structure, governance and management**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
> Type of governing document[CIO - Foundation ]
(eg. trust deed, constitution) (eg. trust, association, company)How the charity is constituted[CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION ] Trustee selection methods[Appointed by other trustees ]
- (eg. appointed by, elected by)
## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about:
- policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
- the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
- relationship with any related parties;
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
## **Section C Objectives and activities**
The primary aim of SOLD - is to provide meaningful and quality work
**Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document**
experience for adults with learning differences in a busy High Street shop. The charity supports the special needs of the trainees whilst teaching a range of new valuable skills that could potentially be transferred and built upon in further work placements and ultimately help them gain paid employment.
March **2012**
**TAR**
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**Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)**
In terms of the service we provide, we continue to offer all the intense & purposeful training in the shop base as outlined in previous years, but as we have been established for ten years now this has enabled us to create even more community links, important local prescence & increase our positive profile. Also our links with other relevant organisations have developed, matured and we can reap the benefits of these as they progress effectively. We closely follow generic workplace rules with appropriate and relevant skills taught and learnt. Our trainees are encouraged to develop a recognisable work ethic that can then be transferred to other work placements. Such skills can be added to their CVs, and in turn assist them when applying for jobs. They may decide after a placement with us that they do not want to pursue a career in retail but they will leave equipped with other skills e.g. time-keeping, problem solving, team-playing, self-reliance, confidence - all of which can be transferred to any work environment. As well as offering it’s own retail work experience programme, SOLD remains partnered with several other organisations and/or charities and is the host for theirs. We continue to take referrals from WORKAID as we always have - but their work programme has developed over the years to ensure that we are only referred clients whose clear aim is to secure, where possible despite inevitable challenges - some sort of paid employment in the longterm. We are now newly partnered with Brighton Forward - a further education college based in Shoreham-by-Sea. This means we are developing the skills of some slightly younger people who are venturing into quite often their first experience of being in a workplace. Our remit includes individuals on the autistic spectrum, Asperger’s syndrome & ADHD and not necessarily coupled with a learning disability. We have adapted our work experience programme accordingly to allow such individuals to work at SOLD in a slightly different capacity and quite often play to their strengths enabling them to support the trainees with learning disabilities themselves. The trainees who have been with us since our inception show marked improvement in a range of shop skills but also enjoy increased levels of self-esteem, confidence, independence, selfreliance and responsibility whilst enhancing communication and practising problem solving, numeracy, literacy and money recognition. The majority of our trainees start at the shop with no experience of any type of regulated work or familiarity with workplace ethics whatsoever. They all leave furnished with a range of new and significant skills that varies according to the nature of their learning difference.
**Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)**
March **2012**
**TAR**
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You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about:
- policy on grantmaking;
- policy programme related investment;
- contribution made by volunteers.
Section D Achievements and performance
March **2012**
**TAR**
4
## Section D Achievements and performance
**Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year**
The shop continues to be a very vibrant and dynamic place for individuals with learning differences to gain relevant & worthwhile work experience. Supported by experienced staff who recognise their individual special needs whilst being sensitively encouraged to engage in ever more challenging tasks to broaden their skills base & widen their horizons. Every individual who starts a placement at SOLD is closely supported by a member of the staff team and this is thoughtfully and carefully withdrawn where appropriate, as the individual becomes more proficient, self reliant and confident. Some individuals however, need more intensive support throughout their placement & our staff are becoming more & more experienced in being able to offer that. We are proud to offer a very high staff - trainee ratio. As this is most often one to one it makes the service we offer quite unique.
The shop is consistently busy and all trainees are proactive, visible, front of house, customer-facing members of the team, learning transferable skills whilst gaining meaningful work experience. The shop continues to be a centre for inclusivity & a hub of the community in Shoreham, well-liked & well regarded. Our long term trainees in particular have become very familiar faces around town & are held in high esteem in the community. Our window displays continue to be a big focus of attention as they have become more & more dynamic and original year on year. The team has become increasingly creative with their installations using donated and up-cycled items in new & imaginative ways and the trainees have thrived on all the positive comments that the eye-catching displays have received. Current displays are commented on enthusiastically & new displays are awaited eagerly. We endeavour to be very topical and/or seasonal with our themes & often react to local and/or world events as they present themselves. Often a trainee suggests a theme which we will then develop according to its practicality and/or resources available. We are often inspired by a significant donation such as the huge collection of fossils given to us in the summer. This led us on a historical journey celebrating the life of Mary Anning - famous fossil collector. It was so dynamic that it was featured on a a local TV news channel with several of our trainees being interviewed as part of the piece. Naturally they all loved seeing themselves on TV!
Because of this way of operating, it has become clear that SOLD has become a vital part of the local community. The general public has been exposed to a very positive experience of learning difference that they perhaps had not had previously. Everyone who shops at SOLD is served or assisted by someone with a learning difference in virtually every instance. Our trainees engage with customers at every opportunity and vice versa. This has helped improve levels of socialisation in many of our trainees and enhanced integration into the community. We receive regular positive feedback both about the individuals we support & the general concept & ethics of SOLD. Often new customers are surprised at the setup at SOLD as it may well be a formula that they have not come across before, but quickly become favourably assimilated into the concept - they may arrive with one perception but hopefully leave with a different (more positive) one.
To further inclusivity, the SOLD team has historically endeavoured to take part in as many community/offsite events as possible and are consistently invited to take part in a whole range of activities. A major landmark event this year was celebrating our tenth birthday! We marked this with special offers, a evening party in the shop for all our friends, customers and supporters & a commemorative window celebrating notable events & achievements over the decade.
In the autumn we were invited by some regular customers who live in retirement supported living to talk at their home about SOLD. Nearly everyone on the team took part in this event which was something we had never had the opportunity to do before. It was such a lovely evening where many of our team stood up to talk to the residents &then socialised with them afterwards. We also had a pop up art stall which created a lot of interest.
As part of the local annual Christmas tree festival our entry was a tree entirely made from creatively stacking VHS tapes which our team assembled. Our design quite literally stood out from the rest & got SOLD’s principles fully noticed.
We created our fourth film “The Mask of Misery” written by one of our trainees with other trainees having much more challenging & significant speaking parts this time. It was filmed in our local pub “The Duke of Wellington” - the management of which gave us full & complete access in order to do this. The completed film will be entered as usual into the OSKA Bright film festival in March 2024.
March **2012**
**TAR**
5
Section D Achievements and performance
**Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year**
Art & creativity continues to be an increasingly important part of the opportunities we offer our trainees. We have now officially created the SOLD Studio with seven very different artists being part of this group. Their unique talents have been nurtured & they produce a range of products - cards, prints, mugs, cushions, tote bags & t-shirts. The art display in the shop has grown noticeably & now takes over the whole front part of the shop. All the artists receive 80% of the profits from the sales of their designs. This means we have in effect set up these talented individuals in business. So where they may have struggled to find paid work elsewhere they are now experiencing the pride & kudos of earning their own money. This has boosted each individuals confidence immeasurably. As a team, they take responsibility to keep the display stocked up, tidy & presentable. As individuals, they take turns being front of house & engaging with customers about the studio work & ethos plus. They also take responsibility for working at events outside of the shop. The Adur Art Trail is a highlight of the studio calendar where the shop window is taken over by the artists for 2 weeks & 3 weekends. This obviously increases its profile & sales! Our exhibition at Colonnade House in Worthing increased the studio’s profile & the artists got the opportunity to share their work with a wider audience. Similarly they exhibited at the house of our trustee Liz English, their mentor as part of the Worthing Open Houses art trail. We were also able to have a smaller pop-up studio event at the chocolate shop Terre de Sienne in Worthing & at the Southwick charity cricket match again. We are always on the lookout for other events/venues to showcase their work. It is clearly evident that as sales come in morale is boosted & acts as an incentive to become even more creative & encourage others to participate in the project. It’s very motivating experience for the individuals involved & boosts self confidence immeasurably, especially as they interact with customers specifically choosing/buying their designs & the genuine compliments that are paid by people enjoying & admiring their work . It gives them all such an enormous feeling of pride & accomplishment that they may not have experienced before. Hopefully the next year will lead us in even more new & exciting art directions with more artists joining the studio team.
There were a few social events throughout the year including our Christmas party which is always a fun & lively event to celebrate all our achievements. Plus the usual birthday celebrations. New trainees had the opportunity to explore experiences outside of their usual routine & perhaps their comfort zones with very positive outcomes. Wherever possible & where safe to do so our trainees are encouraged to travel independently to events to increase their confidence & self-reliance. We try to be mindful & thoughtful about world events encouraging our team to have empathy & a global outlook often starting the day with a chat about topical issues.
Social media is used to it’s full advantage to share photos of our activities and promote any special events and generally raise the shop’s profile. The team are encouraged to complete as many posts independently & we celebrate their uniques style in doing this. They are all certainly getting more proficient & confident in the different methods and techniques available to promote the shop & our activities. They are also encouraged to improve other communication skills by taking responsibility for contacting customers etc especially by the telephone as many of our individuals come to SOLD reliant on others to make phone calls & arrangements for them. A new member of staff created a website for us that we will now encourage others members of the team to be involved with and add to. We also sell items on Ebay & Facebook Marketplace & trainees are encouraged to take responsibility for the whole process.
March **2012**
**TAR**
6
## **Section E Financial review**
> **Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves** Next year the reserves left over from paying rent and wages will be used to match fund any grants we may receive to support new projects we would like to pursue with our trainees with learning disabilities. SOLD is not in financial debt to any person or organisation
## **Details of any funds materially in deficit**
## **Further financial review details (Optional information)**
- You **may choose** to include additional information, where We continue to look out for new and inventive ways to raise funds and apply for grants as we relevant about: • the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any become aware of them. fundraising);
- • how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
- investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
## **Section F Other optional information**
March **2012**
**TAR**
7
We actively and consistently run the SOLD project along very green and ethical lines. Everything we sell is pre-used and virtually everything we use in the general running of the shop is re-used e.g. second- hand carrier bags and old cereal boxes cut up for our labels. We do not ‘edit’ our donations as many other charity shops do - instead we put virtually everything given to us out for sale. We even constantly have a freebox where customers can help themselves to damaged goods or items that have proved unsellable - we have found that whatever it is - if it’s free it will always go! A lot of these items would otherwise have been heading for landfill. Unlike many other charity shops we throw away the absolute bare minimum. In addition, we re-direct some donations to other needy causes such as local homeless charities & our local scrap project. We also recycle some unsellable or unusable clothing items through a company that either re-purposes or re-distributes these to areas of need worldwide - the same is the case with books.
By keeping waste down to as close to zero as possible, we are not only doing our bit for the planet but we are also keeping our costs down so funds raised can be re-directed to more valuable concerns within the charity.
As local people really want to support SOLD mainly due to the primary nature of the enterprise - which is to provide work experience opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, but also because of our policy of attempting to re-sell, re-use or recycle virtually all donations; we continue to be overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of donated goods. People generously give items confident in the knowledge that we will use them wisely, effectively, ethically and to their maximum potential. Profits from sales of such has resulted in our being almost totally self-funded. We keep all our expenses as low as possible on every count so all monies generated can be ploughed back into the charity and used to support future projects.
d
## **Section G Declaration**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date**
March **2012**
**TAR**
8
|**CC16a**
**1155796**
**Shoreham Opportunities For Learning Disabilities**
**Receipts andpayments accounts**
**01.03.23**
**28.02.24**
**To**
**For the period**
**from**
~~SB~~|**CC16a**
**1155796**
**Shoreham Opportunities For Learning Disabilities**
**Receipts andpayments accounts**
**01.03.23**
**28.02.24**
**To**
**For the period**
**from**
~~SB~~|
|---|---|
|**Section A Receipts and payments**||
|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment funds**
**Total funds**
**Last year**||
|**to the nearest**
**£**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**||
|**A1 Receipts**||
|Activities forgeneratingfunds(trading)
**87,579**
**-**
**-**
**87,579**
**84,841**
Bank Interest
**531**
**-**
**-**
**531**
**198**
Insurance Claim
**2,490**
**-**
**-**
**2,490**
**-**
Gift Aid Income
**189**
**-**
**-**
**189**
**72**
Grant Income
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- 10,231**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_
**90,789**
**-**
**-**
**90,789**
**95,342**
~~=a~~||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Total receipts_**
**90,789**
**-**
**-**
**90,789 95,342**
~~————~~||
|**A3 Payments**||
|Purchases
**8,139**
**-**
**-**
**8,139**
**5,935**
Wages / salaries and national insurance
**48,390**
**-**
**-**
**48,390**
**49,624**
Rent & Rates
**23,687**
**-**
**-**
**23,687**
**23,654**
Light & heat
**2,469**
**-**
**-**
**2,469**
**4,723**
Repairs and renewals
**3,557**
**-**
**-**
**3,557**
**3,451**
Motor expenses
**-**
**-**
**- 6**
Promotion and advertising
**-**
**-**
**- 700**
Hire of equipment
**1,424**
**-**
**-**
**1,424**
**962**
Insurance
**1,287**
**-**
**-**
**1,287**
**554**
Telephone,internet, postage,stationery
**1,439**
**-**
**-**
**1,439**
**690**
Bank interest and charges
**1,820**
**-**
**-**
**1,820**
**1,620**
Sundries
**2,133**
**-**
**-**
**2,133**
**3,047**
AccountancyFees
**1,188 -**
**-**
**1,188**
**900**
Legal Fees
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Training& Education
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Sub total_ 95,533**
**-**
**-**
**95,533**
**95,866**
~~maine~~||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**- -**
**_Total payments_**
**95,533**
**-**
**-**
**95,533 95,866**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**- 4,744**
**-**
**- - 4,744**
**- 524**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**_Cash funds this year end_**
**- 4,744**
**-**
**- - 4,744**
**- 524**
~~===5e~~|**- 524**
**-**
**-**
**- 524**|
|CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
18/12/2024||
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**|**Unrestricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Bank Current Account|**12,653**|**-**|**-**|
||Bank Deposit Account|**46,101**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**_Total cash funds_**|**58,754**
|**-**|**-**|
||(agree balances with receipts and
payments account(s))
**Details**||OK|OK|
|||**Unrestricted funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|||**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**|**Cost (optional)**|**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**|**Cost (optional)**|**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||-|**-**|
||||-|**-**|
||||-|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||**Details**|**Fund to which liability**
**relates**|**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**When due**
**(optional)**|
||PAYE / National Insurance due|286.00|**-**||
||Pension|125.00|**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||||
||Signature|Print Name||Date of
approval|
||||||
||||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
18/12/2024
2
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
**Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
**Report to the trustees/** Charity Name SHOREHAM OPPORTUNITIES LEARNING DISABILITIES **members of On accounts for the year** 28.02.24 **Charity no** 1155796 **ended (if any) Set out on pages** 1-2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 28/02/2020
- **Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
**Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
**Date:** 18.12.24 ~~|~~
**Signed: Name:** MARK TANSER ~~Cs~~ **Relevant professional** AFA MIPA **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** T2 ACCOUNTANCY ANGLO HOUSE, WORCESTER ROAD, STOURPORT ON SEVERN WORCESTRESHIRE DY13 9AW
**October 2018**
1
**IER**
**Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
**Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** .
**October 2018**
2
**IER**