2023-06-30-accounts

The Craniosacral Therapy Association UK

Registered Charity Number 1156168

Annual Report for the Financial Year 1[st] July 2022 TO 30[TH] June 2023

Table of Contents

Reference and Administration........................................................................2 CSTA Trustees Report.....................................................................................3 Trustees during the year................................................................................3 Executive Summary .......................................................................................3 Charitable Aims and Objectives......................................................................4 Organisational Structure.................................................................................5 Key Non-Trustee Officers include:...................................................................6 Main Committees, Sub-Committees and Tasks...............................................7 Objectives and Activities.................................................................................8 Activities and Public Benefit...........................................................................8 Reports of the Sub-Committees......................................................................9 Membership services....................................................................................11 Future Plans..................................................................................................12 Financial statement......................................................................................14 Trustees’ Consideration and Management of Major Risks............................15 Statement of Trustees' responsibilities………………………………………………………18 Appendices...................................................................................................19 Constitution ............................................................................................19 Members Liability ...................................................................................19 Payment ...................................................................................................19 Trustee Selection method … …………………………………………………………… 19…… Policies and Procedures for Induction and Training ........................20

The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

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Reference and Administration

Charity name : The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Other names the charity is known by: CSTA

Registered charity number : 1156168

Charity ’ s principal address: Monomark House 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3AX Telephone: [phone] Website: http://www.craniosacral.co.uk

Independent Examiner :

DJH Mitten Clarke Accountants Limited Festival Way Festival Park SOT Staffs ST1 5SQ

Solicitors: Capsticks 1 St George’s Road London SW19 4DR

Bank: Triodos plc. Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

CSTA Trustees Report

The Trustees present their Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023. The report and financial statements have been prepared in accordance with all relevant Charity Commission guidance, and they comply with the CIO’s Constitution and the Charities Act 2011. Some items have been put in Appendices for overall clarity of the report.

Trustees during the year

Jan Moore (Left January 2023) Giulia Vaccari ( on leave of absence) Raj Lehl (left 5.6.2023) Susanne Zahn-Willsdon (left 24.3.2024) Anniemieke Romeijn Andrew Koval-Radley (on Sabbatical until summer 2024) Luita Lin (Left 7.11.2022) Dawn Goodes ( ratified 24.3.2024)

Executive Summary

Exceptional Considerations and Activities

Following the difficulties and challenges of the pandemic, the CSTA is gradually recovering from the effects and this year has been very much a “holding” year, whilst things settle, and balance sustained.

Subsequently, as a result of both CSTA’s reduced income and the pandemic restrictions in place for a long period of time, many of the objectives from our strategy plans that we set out to achieve have had to remain on hold. However, with the streamlined strategy plan in place, created over the pandemic situation, the CSTA has continued to function and support members with the least disruption, although loss of revenue was unavoidable due to movement in membership numbers and the 25% discount which was applied for a time.

Unfortunately, we are down in numbers for Trustees, however, even with such a small number, the CSTA has managed to cover all the workload. We have lost the Coordinator as at 31.3.2023 and this post is vacant, however, we now have a Secretary who joined us on 14.11.2022.

The Officers’ team now consists of Admin/Registrar, Secretary and Finance Manager/HR Officer/Minutes Officer and the Coordinator workload is covered by the team. Key Achievements

• Reviewing and updating the Accreditation process is underway as well as reviewing the method by which site visits are undertaken. Exploration of potential for accreditation of CST trainings outside of the UK has commenced.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

• At the 2022 AGM, as result of a motion brought by two members to remove the mandatory continual renewal of First Aid as a requirement for CSTA practitioner registration, a working group of micro volunteers was set up to look into the issues and considerations around the topic of First Aid. The results were that the members need a First Aid renewal every three years.

• Following the special General Meeting on February 26th, 2022, about the subject of remote work, a special working group of micro volunteers was formed in June 2022. Its aim is to research the subject of distant/online/ remote work and to present their findings to the Trustees and membership. Regular meetings since June 2022 have been held by the special working group. One of the Trustees holds this group, and they have regular meetings. There will be a paper for presentation at the AGM of 2024 and members can vote on this topic.

• Since May 2022 the (non-member) Administrator has also taken on the post of Registrar, thus successfully combining experience and skills from both areas of member interface into a more cohesive role. This continues to be working very well. The Secretary and Finance Manager have taken on aspects of the Coordinator duties, since this role became vacant, and the whole team of Officers work well together, meeting regularly online to ensure a smooth flow of administration work, communication and connection.

Charitable Aims and Objectives

The CSTA exists to promote health through excellence in the field of Craniosacral therapy (CST). It achieves this by upholding, reviewing and where necessary strengthening standards of training, professional practice and ethics for registered practitioners, as well as overseeing robust complaints procedures, to the benefit of the general public.

The CSTA provides guidance and practical support to its members, aiming to enable them to uphold high professional standards. By doing this, the organisation aims to enable the benefits of CST to be accurately defined and disseminated, to the benefit of both the general public and practitioner members.

The aims and objectives of the CSTA as stated in the Constitution are:

• To contribute to the advancement of health through the study and practice of Craniosacral Therapy and through the provision of an organisation for persons engaged in the study and practice of Craniosacral Therapy.

• To ensure the advancement of health by prescribing the standards of competence and suitability for the election of applicants to membership, and by regulating training organisations accredited by the CSTA, in order to maintain standards of training and supervision and to establish and uphold a code of ethics for entry into the profession.

• To promote the education of the public in the philosophy and practice of Craniosacral Therapy and to act as a stimulus for persons undertaking

The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

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research concerning Craniosacral Therapy.

Organisational Structure

The Trustees oversee the CIO and meet approximately once a month online for three-four hours. If there is a need for additional meetings, these are arranged accordingly. One in-person full day meeting is scheduled annually. This meeting format commenced in April 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic with consequent restrictions and regulations and has remained in place due to ease of enabling trustees and officers to meet regularly and also to reduce financial costs to the CIO. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we are aiming to hold more in-person Trustee meetings.

The Constitution requires a minimum of seven Trustees. We have been informed by the Charity Commission that a permanent chair of the organisation is not a legal requirement, whereas it is necessary for there to be a chair at each meeting. This arrangement seems to be working well for now whilst there are ongoing discussions about how the role of chair may evolve. Usually, each year a full day facilitated ‘Visioning Day’ is held to enable Trustees to take stock of direction and strategy. A Visioning Half Day meeting was held in October 2021 with Trustees and Officers present, where it remained clear that the ongoing lack of capacity alongside the CSTA’s ambitious charitable objectives and also general needs, meant an important priority would be to find ways to ‘get our house in order’ alongside being inspired by developing our strategy objectives and priorities.

The Trustees are accountable to the CSTA’s members at Annual General Meetings, and members are permitted at any time to visit a Trustee meeting to raise issues for consideration or to question decisions. Minutes of Trustee meetings are posted on the website for members to access.

There are three umbrella Committees: Regulatory, Communications and Research. The various Sub-Committees within these umbrellas are responsible for the implementation of the organisation’s strategy in their specialist area such as research or accreditation (see below).

All Sub-Committees are fully answerable to the Trustees, and each Committee aims to have at least one Trustee, to enable communication and oversight.

Chairs of Sub-Committees receive a small honorarium and meet between 3 and 6 times per year. In order to maintain a healthy organisation, specialisation is always balanced with the legal requirement for overseeing by the Trustees. The Coordinator also acts as a bridge between Trustees and Sub-Committees.

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The Sub-Committees in existence are largely composed of volunteer practitioner members who are considered specialists in their area. During this period, some Sub-Committees, notably, CPD, Associate Assessment and AGM, did not have any volunteer members and relied on CSTA Officers including the Registrar, Coordinator, Secretary, Sub-Committee Chairs and Trustees.

The following extract from the previous years’ report still stands in regard to the organisation of the CSTA. A review of the strategy plan is due in 2024.

“Throughout the latter part of 2021 and early months of 2022, members of the Supervision Sub-Committee, including the Supervision Chair stepped down from their roles due to personal reasons and also coming to the end of their tenure. Similarly, the PR Chair and sub-committee members also stepped down.

On 11th March 2022 the Officers held a meeting to look at creating a Strategy and Recruitment plan to present to the Trustees in order to take into account these changes within the organisation.

Because of the reduction in membership and income generally, it was decided to keep both these sub-committees and Research disbanded for now and to merge any duties which needed attending to within Officer roles and adjust role descriptions accordingly”.

Key Non-Trustee Officers include:

The Secretary, whose collaborative role is to oversee document management to ensure that documents and practices are kept up to date (including Charity Commission guidance etc.); to be part of the core visioning team; and to respond to queries about CST from the public, such as enquiries concerning GDPR. The secretary assists in compiling the Agenda, and collating documents required for each meeting. As a result of the Strategy and Recruitment plan meeting on the 11th March 2022, this role has been expanded to offer relevant administrative support when needed and work in the communications committee area of the CSTA. On 11th November 2022 the new secretarial role was filled.

The (non-member) Administrator assists in delivering the aims and objectives of the organisation through efficient day-to-day office administration. Since 11th March 2022 the Administrator has also taken on any needed administration pertaining to Supervision.

The Coordinator has a wide-ranging, responsive and active role, facilitating communication and activities between all parts of the organisation. The Coordinator is the main point of contact for all those with responsibility within the organisation whereby they can always bring forward questions, concerns and ideas for discussion. The Coordinator acts like a chief executive for the Chair and Trustees, taking on a lot of the implementation of decisions by Trustees.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

As from 31.3.2022 this role is vacant.

The Registrar supports members particularly through the membership registration and renewal process and also with general enquiries. This role also advises Trustees and collaborates with the Coordinator and other subcommittees as necessary. Since May 2022 the (non -member) Administrator has also taken on the role of Registrar.

The (non-member) Finance Manager fulfils the day-to-day processing of finances, such as payment of expenses and preparing the budget for the Trustees.

Since July 2020, the Finance Manager has also operated as HR contact when needed for the organisation, providing due process for HR related needs. Also, since late 2021 the Finance Manager/HR contact has taken on the role of Minute Taker for meetings. Since the role of Coordinator became vacant, duties from that role are included within the Finance Manager role.

All holders of these roles are answerable to the Trustees and attend Trustee meetings as needed.

The aim of the Officers’ team is to support the Trustees with the administration work as much as possible, working on their own initiative, whilst knowing there is advice and guidance if needed from the Trustees.

Main Committees, Sub-Committees and Tasks

Regulatory Committee

Accreditation Body: regulates the established Colleges of CST, advises new training initiatives and ensures the standards that the Association demands.

Standards and Ethics: oversees the complaints process from start to finish, arranges mediation where appropriate and hearings of Disciplinary Committees. It liaises with lawyers when necessary and ensures that all documents are fit for purpose and legally correct.

Supervision: regulates supervision and supervisors of new practitioner members. It arranges interviews for and appoints new supervisors and recommends the level of training that supervisors must have, as well as the appropriate levels of supervision for members.

Note: Supervision sub-committee was disbanded in March 2022.

Continuing Professional Development: determines what is appropriate as CPD, to fulfil the CSTA’s CPD requirement for on-going practitioner registration.

Associate Assessment: assesses the level of training and skills of associate members from non-accredited trainings, in order to allow them to proceed to full membership.

Communications Committee

The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

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PR & Social Media: responsible for how Craniosacral Therapy is presented to the general public on the website, social media, leaflets and other promotional materials.

Note: PR sub-committee was disbanded in March 2022.

Website Editorial: oversees the website editing and database.

Editorial: creates the membership journal – The Fulcrum.

AGM - sets topics and speakers for the day that are of interest and professional benefit to members.

Research Committee

Research Steering: supports research into the effectiveness of Craniosacral therapy and the collection of data, forms a strategy for future research direction and suggests projects and initiatives in line with this strategy.

Note: We have no sub-committee in place for Research, although some work is being done in this area.

Research, PR and Supervision committees are currently on hold.

Objectives and Activities

The CSTA exists to ensure that registered practitioners work to appropriately high standards, thereby supporting the safety, health and well-being of the public. It also disseminates accurate information about Craniosacral therapy to educate the public, including research. Our over-arching strategy theme for the next 3 – 5 years is ‘Good and Safe Practice’.

Strategic Aims and Objectives

• To encourage and support practitioners to aspire to the highest levels of work with personal and professional development

• To provide balanced and just regulation of registered Craniosacral therapists

• To develop and promote appropriate research into the benefits of Craniosacral therapy.

• To promote Craniosacral therapy and its benefits to the public

• To develop a strong Craniosacral Therapy community with a clear identity and common purpose

• To communicate and collaborate with other relevant professional organisation.

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Activities and Public Benefit

The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefits.

In promoting excellence for the profession, the CSTA works for public benefit by upholding and strengthening professional standards including in practitioner training courses, requirements for Continuing Professional Development and Supervision, as well as by demanding adherence to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

The CSTA aims to support appropriate research to facilitate the assessment and demonstration of the benefits of Craniosacral therapy including clinical outcomes, safety and cost-effectiveness, providing a register of practitioners who adhere to our high standards of professional practice and overseeing a clear complaints procedure, protects the public in a field that is subject to voluntary not statutory regulation.

Reports of the Sub-Committees

PR, Supervision and Research sub-committees are on hold for the present time; this being due chiefly to limited resources. Any current supervision administrative work is being undertaken by our Administrator. Our new Secretary who started in post 14th November 2022 is helping with relevant administrative work as well as looking after social media posts, working on more regular themes for these and liaising closely with both the Website Editor and the Fulcrum Editor in terms of ensuring more coherence is happening across these communication platforms.

The Accreditation Body, Standards and Ethics and Editorial remain as subcommittees.

Accreditation Body

Despite the ongoing impact of the Pandemic being felt, with courses having to be postponed and/or seminars cancelled, the list of CST accredited colleges

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has grown to five since September 2022, including the first college created and run by women.

Arranging site visits has proven to be somewhat problematic for both personal reasons for members of the Accreditation Body and recent transport issues including cancellations and delays due to strike action.

Two of the Accreditation Body members have reached the limit of their tenure: we have been unsuccessful in attracting new members. Recruitment remains a focus.

A review of processes during the year has been underway with exploration of ways certain parts of the annual review processes may be systemised. This was further discussed at several Trustee meetings. The conclusion reached is that the accreditation process is one facilitated by relationships and so we recognise the need to retain a person to person dialogue in the monitoring and assessment of college trainings and practices. Other subjects discussed were the review and update of the accreditation process which is ongoing, and the potential for accreditation of CST trainings outside of the UK.

Standards & Ethics

Their work continues to be involved in monitoring and reviewing ethical and professional standards as well as their role for handling complaints. The CSTA receives very few complaints or expressions of concern. Maintaining public confidence in CST is a major priority of the CSTA as well as protecting the good name of the profession.

The Standards and Ethics Committee has not had to investigate any formal complaints this year. There have been a number of enquiries about disciplinary matters which have been resolved through dialogue and mediation.

Being heard and managing realistic outcomes is an important factor in the success of this approach. However, if there is no satisfactory resolution through dialogue and or mediation, a full investigation of the complaint is always available to the complainant and would be followed as per our guidelines.

The Standards and Ethics Committee Chair has supported the Trustees in their work offering his perspective on ethics and good standards of practice when necessary.

Editorial

The significant events of the editorial year included the GM Report: Can Distant Work Become an Accepted Branch of CST? Published in May 2021. It reflected the many different voices that had contributed to a debate that had brought some polarity to the CST community throughout COVID. This topic is still ongoing throughout this year.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

The other major event was the Reader Survey. Shared as an online questionnaire, with an option to fill in a form at the back of Issue 86, it sought responses to and opinions on a range of issues. A good number of members engaged with it and a comprehensive analysis of the survey was published in September 2022. The appeal for contributing authors was a great success, along with the number of suggested topics. Also, the thoughts and views presented in the survey will inform and direct content as we move forward.

Website

The website administrator consistently evaluates the website’s content and performance, ensuring it is kept up-to-date and implementing improvements to its layout; as well as suggesting recommendation and improvements to Trustees. Updates undertaken included refreshing the research section, starting work on revising the used in the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice documents from the perspective of ensuring it used inclusive language and terms of reference. Relevant articles from the Fulcrum were added to the public facing website. Links to accredited colleges were refreshed.

AGM

Trustees and Officers took part in various discussions and planning and preparations for the AGM in March 2023. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the decision was taken to hold it again online via Zoom. An eminent elder from the CST community gave a presentation. Many full members participated, with various feedback including thanks expressed for the work done by the organisation, support for members and gratitude for being able to gather together as community during the pandemic.

Collaboration:

The CSTA endeavours to remain in touch with our European colleagues in equivalent organisations, with the aim of sharing information on standards of training, research strategy and direction, and the subject of online work . The organisation participated in global meetings hosted by the North American Association.

The Trustee overseeing Research and another Trustee shared the attendance of meetings of the IHC (Integrated Healthcare Collaborative) along with representatives from other complementary health organisations.

Other Public Beneft provided by Schools and Members:

A group of volunteers formed a working group looking at the First Aid training. This topic was voted on at the AGM in March 2023 and the result was that members needed to have first aid training every three years.

The CSTA always welcomes volunteers and also micro-volunteers role has been created so that people may volunteer just on one area or one specific

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

project when needed, so this does not become too much work for any one person.

Membership services

The CSTA is continually seeking new ways to support members in their practice and professionalism, to ensure recruitment and retention of members adhering to the clinical and ethical standards required for continuing registration, with the ultimate aim of offering high quality therapeutic work to the public.

The membership renewal system and website have been streamlined and are always under review so as to keep things as easy as possible for members to navigate.

Generally, the CSTA provides the following services to its practitioner members, all designed to support them to achieve excellence in their professional practice:

• A Practitioner Directory that lists and advertisers all registered practitioners so they can be found by members of the public.

• ‘The Fulcrum’ magazine: with relevant articles, research news and perspectives on the practice of CST

• Newsletters with information about the activities of the CSTA, or specific topical guidance for members: to foster awareness, community and shared vision and best practice.

• The AGM day is devised to include presentations of professional interest.

• Standards and Ethics including Code of Ethics and Conduct, Standards of Practice, and Safeguarding

• CPD advertised by training providers and members in The Fulcrum magazine

• Supervision: provision of accredited supervisors for those in mandatory supervision

• Membership renewal process including portfolio of continuing professional development to facilitate reflection on skills and experience.

• Support for queries relating to standards and ethics, complaints, and in case of disciplinary proceedings.

• Reduced fee block insurance scheme

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Additional work has taken place throughout the year to continue to implement the new GDPR guidelines throughout the organisation and provide advice and guidance to members. We have also continued to implement new document storage and online collaboration cloud-based system for the organisation. We have continued to create online resources for our members in the form of webinars and presentations.

Future Plans

As we become more settled following the pandemic, the areas for focus during the coming year and further into the future include the following:

General and Strategy:

To continue to develop strategy priorities for the next 3 – 5 years.

To continue to review the organisation’s structure, capacity, finances, policies, and procedures in line with our developing strategy work and available resources. The core officer roles of the new Secretarial role will be regularly reviewed alongside the new combined role of Administrator and Registrar role.

To continue in investing in increasing the resources available for all CSTA roles.

To continue to develop new working groups consisting of micro volunteers from the membership. Two were set ups to research online/distant work and first aid training. These micro-volunteer working groups will aid in implementing more effectively CSTA’S charitable aims. Alongside this are continued recruitment efforts for Trustees, core Officers, Accreditation Body Chair and Sub-Committee members.

Member services:

To continue the provision of advice, guidance, support for member practitioners.

To hold online CPD events for members as a way of bringing the community together and developing good and safe practice. To potentially make these CPD events available to non members as a means of income for the organisation.

To develop more online resources in the form of webinars with keynote teachers/leaders and to look into a members’ forum. Create training videos for members to access.

To develop more ways to encourage graduates of accredited colleges to join the CSTA.

To investigate whether the accreditation process could be extended to non-UK CST colleges.

Collaboration:

To continue collaboration with the IHC, CNHC, and other international CST

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organisations to promote CST, share and develop best practice and keep abreast of the wider context for CST and CSTA.

Communications:

Fulcrum - To explore the possibility of producing a public facing version of the Fulcrum.

To refer to the Reader Survey results to ensure the Fulcrum is delivering the right content mix for our growing community of practitioners.

To further create a more cohesive communications’ strategy, when relevant, across the social media platforms and The Fulcrum.

To formulate an EDI (Ethnicity, Diversity, Inclusion) policy for the organisation and to review all policies and processes accordingly.

To continue to review and update the website. To review and update the members’ side of the website.

Regulatory:

To continue to obtain legal advice where necessary, to support the promotion and upholding of good and safe practice in CST.

To review and update the Accreditation Guidelines in line with the organisation’s on-going review of policies and procedures. To review the core processes of the Accreditation Body and recruit members for its work accordingly

To start a review of the Code of Ethics, including setting up a small working group with member involvement.

To continue work reviewing and updating the Associate membership route, as necessary.

To initiate the introduction of mandatory supervision to membership requirements.

To review the constitution if needed.

Research:

To continue the discussions with Nicola Brough around members’ potential usage of the WHHQ . These discussions have subsequently resumed after the pause during Covid.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

Financial statement

A full summary of the year’s results can be found in the separately filed Accounts.

Funding and Expenditure

Just on straightforward income and expenditure there was a loss of £3737. The total funds in the reserves as at 30[th] June 2023 was £66,333 and within this amount was ringfenced monies for any potential legal costs and contingency monies.

The organisation expected a loss due to still recovering from the pandemic and its ongoing difficulties and challenges. However, due to constant reviews of expenses and income the organisation continued to keep finances stable whilst maintaining an ongoing service to members.

Membership figures

Memberships remain the main income stream along with college fees.

Expenditure includes room hire, subsistence, travel, however these costs have been reduced due to meetings being held online, this is considered cost efficient. It is hoped that in future years we can resume meeting in person from time to time. Other costs include administration expenses, general expenses (including Officer payments, insurances, postage, web hosting, stipend payments and all running costs for the organisation including any legal fees, and sub-committee expenses, any other project work.

Reserves monies are not used for general running costs, this is not best practice, we have some monies ring fenced for any legal fees which may occur and for any contingencies should they be needed. The organisation follows the advice of the accountant in these matters.

Whilst there is are considerable monies, in the reserve account, after deduction of ring fenced monies, the organisation still bears on the side of

The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

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caution as times remain uncertain for now.

Ethical Policy

The CSTA invests ethically as far as possible, using Triodos bank for savings, and by making increasing use of our new current account with Triodos. The Trustees consider it is an important consideration as a body that the CSTA is promoting health and well- being and that our money should not be invested in a way that directly or indirectly contributes to war, poverty or environmental destruction.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have taken advice from their accountant and have designated funds of £21,000 which is a minimum reserve fund to be held to safeguard the future of the charity held in reserves to cover running costs in the event of emergencies. As at the end of June 2023 there was £66,333 unrestricted funds, therefore leaving £45,333 as undesignated unrestricted funds. The Trustees are of the opinion that this provides sufficient flexibility to cover the main risks to capital, which would be temporary shortfalls in incoming resources due to fluctuating membership numbers or legal costs for a complex or serious disciplinary case. The Trustees consider this level of reserves to provide adequate working capital to cover core costs and enable the development of CSTA's activities. There are no funds materially in deficit.

Trustees’ Consideration and Management of Major Risks

The Trustees have a responsibility to identify, assess and manage risks to the charity, including financial and other areas. The CSTA’s process for identifying risk continues to be through on-going review; assessing risks for every new major decision; on-going active reflection, and by responding to minor issues that are identified.

There are specific organisational functions set up to deal with risks such as the Code of Ethics and disciplinary procedures for practitioners; as well as a general management of risk through the requirement for all significant decisions and communications to be shared and not delegated to one person. Terms of reference are provided for all roles and committees and are subject to review and modification including with regard to risk.

There is ongoing interest by some members in working in an online (i.e. not in person) capacity, which although the number of members practicing in this manner seems to have reduced in quantity since last year, may be considered a risk to the CIO. This type of work has not been researched, studied or assessed, and is not considered by the international CST community as within the accepted definition of CST, which is currently defined as a hands-on or touch-based therapy. It is not currently considered within the Standards of Practice and Ethical Guidelines to which our members must adhere. In order to

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

uphold professional standards and the safety of the public, the CSTA has made clear statements that online work cannot be considered CST and is not recognised as such. This is to preserve the safety of the public as well as protect practitioners from potential complaints and safeguard the reputation of CST.

It is noted here that following a general meeting in February 2022, a working group was created to further research the subject of online/distant work and have been having regular meetings. Before the 2024 AGM they plan to present their findings to the trustees with a view to member input at the AGM.

Financial

General financial operations are low risk – transactions above day-to-day level are required to be counter-signed.

Main risks to reserves include possible disciplinary cases requiring substantial legal fees, regarded as infrequent but possible; reliance on membership fees as main source of income; the need for extra paid roles within the organisation to enable smooth-running and requiring more income, the wider economic environment potentially affecting members’ income with a knockon effect on membership numbers; the costs of any potential future requirement for statutory or compulsory oversight by an external regulatory body, currently regarded as very unlikely.

Disciplinary: The current system has continued to be successful, and no improvements are needed from a financial risk perspective.

Membership numbers: As noted in previous years, due to the Coronavirus pandemic there was a significant reduction in membership fee income as members chose not to renew or to lapse their membership. Graduation dates from colleges also had to be postponed due to lockdown rules affecting in person teachings. This further affected the total number of full members’ and membership fee income. The CSTA is making progress in recovering memberships.

Need for paid roles: The time required of Trustees also increased significantly as from the latter end of 2021 a couple of the Trustees were unable to fulfil their full role requirements for personal reasons. It remains difficult to recruit for specialised roles as they are either voluntary or for nominal stipends, which means that some areas of the organisation remain largely inactive (e.g. Research). It has also been difficult to recruit Trustees who are voluntary. At the same time, we continue to be fortunate in the number of volunteers who help in all areas of the CSTA.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

Wider economic situation: as noted above this continues to have an effect on membership numbers.

Regulation: Craniosacral therapy as with many complementary therapies, is subject to voluntary rather than statutory regulation, and the CSTA is the leader in the UK Craniosacral community for robust regulation. The CSTA remains actively informed about potential regulation requirements or opportunities beyond the current system, and consequently have been and will continue to be in discussion together with the international CST community around the phenomenon of online work.

Operational

In general decision-making, there are no major risks as no one person has the authority to act unilaterally, except in low-risk day to day tasks. In addition, all active Sub-Committees involve at least one Trustee, to enable the Trustees to keep an overview of direction and actions.

Conflicts of interest or loyalty: this potential is recognised in the guidelines for meetings, and as a small community there is a strong likelihood of minor conflicts arising within both the Trustee body and the Sub-Committees. The current system of declaring and addressing any conflicts, including signed declarations for all involved with the CIO and clear procedures for management of conflicts that may arise, was found to be working well but this will be under continual review.

Governance and Structure: the capacity of the organisation is limited by the voluntary nature of Trustees and Sub-Committee members; and by the main roles of Coordinator, Registrar, Secretary and Sub-Committee Chairs being essentially voluntary but with a nominal stipends. Stipends also include Web hosting, Fulcrum Editor and Social Media.

Illness and absence: the Trustees are aware of the risk of individual specialised roles suffering in the event of illness or absence. There is an ongoing process of minimising this risk as far as possible by creating and maintaining detailed role descriptions as well as having more than one person trained to fulfil certain tasks. This will be continued in the future.

Skills in Trustee body and Sub-Committees: As a largely voluntary organisation, the CSTA is dependent on the engagement of its members to offer their services as Trustees or for specialist committees. The organisation has been somewhat constrained by a difficulty in recruiting Trustees and SubCommittee members with specialist skills. To mitigate this, there is always the option to temporarily buy-in expertise if considered necessary and in the best interests of the CIO. For example, the use of a charity consultant to work with Trustees on their strategy and

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

organisational review work.

Tenure: The constitutional limits on length of tenure for roles (nine years but with a preferred maximum of six) offer both risk and benefit. The risks are the need for active involvement by more members over time and the need for smooth handover to build on previous works, requiring sufficient forward planning. It also brings opportunity and the benefit of fresh energy and perspective, which should contribute to keeping the CIO vibrant. There is therefore an on-going challenge to recruit sufficient people for most roles, which aims to be addressed by clear role descriptions, reshaping of roles, and internal structure of organisation if needed to maintain overall integration and optimal resourced efficiency.

Data: The need was previously identified for a new method of organising and archiving documents and policies, to avert the risk of loss for example in computer failure or corruption – the likelihood of serious loss is low as documents are shared and backed up, but there is the possibility of an inconvenient level of loss. The cloud-based document storage system ‘BOX’ continues to be used to ensure secure and effective centralised storage, with further roll outs planned across the organisation.

Reputation

The main potential risks to the CSTA fall into two categories – public perception and reputation amongst members.

Public ’ s perception: This can be affected by the standard of treatment or interpersonal skills of practitioners; the professionalism of materials such as the CSTA website; and all contacts with the organisation such as enquiries about the therapy.

These risks are addressed first and foremost with the high standards of care and skills required of registered practitioners. The on-going accreditation of schools ensures standards of training are maintained, and the professional handling of any complaints should contribute to public confidence in the CSTA.

Continued updating of the website and development of promotional materials will continue to put across accessible descriptions of the therapy as well as the available research.

Any important, complex, or potentially serious communications received by the Secretary or Administrator from members of the public or organisations are required to be brought to the attention of the Trustees and addressed in collaboration.

The CSTA considers that members working in an online capacity, if calling this CST, may be a risk to the public’s perception of CST, as this form of work is currently unregulated and could lead to complaints.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

Membership ’ s perception: This can be affected by the services provided; the level and openness of communication from the Trustees; and the sense of receiving something tangible from membership on top of the recognition of being registered and the professional standards impliedby this. All of these areas continue to be addressed as described above, with the aim of providing increasing practical benefit to members.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that financial statements are prepared which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the CSTA including the incoming resources and expenditure, and which comply with the Charities’ Act 2011. In doing so the Trustees need to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently.

• Observe the methods and principles in the ‘SORP’ - Statement of Recommended Practice (Accounting and Reporting by Charities)

• Make reasonable and sound financial judgments and estimates.

• Keep adequate records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the CIO.

• Safeguard the assets of the CIO, including taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud or other irregularities.

• Prepare the statements on the on-going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume the CIO will continue.

Each of the Trustees confirms that:

• So far as the Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditor is unaware; and

• The Trustee has taken all the steps that he/she ought to have taken as a Trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company's auditor is aware of that information.

Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report above and the accompanying financial statement on 28 April 2023, with the AGM approving the accounts on 25[th] March 2023.

_____

Signed on behalf of the Trustees.

Appendices

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

Constitution

CSTA is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, incorporated on 13[th] March 2014 and functioning from 1[st] July 2014. It was established under a Constitution, which defines its charitable Aims and Objectives and powers. Day-to-day governance is managed under the Byelaws.

Memb ers Liability

In the event of the CIO being wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.

Payment

No fees were paid to any Trustees during the year. Expenses are paid on receipt of claim form and evidence of expense.

Trustee Selection Methods

It is a requirement of the Byelaws that most Trustees are also full practitioner members of the Association, with the possibility of one lay Trustee, who is also permitted to be the Treasurer. We were not able to fill this lay Trustee role during the year, but it remains in place for the future.

Trustees are elected by the membership – new Trustees may be co-opted during the year but must be formally elected at the next AGM. Trustees are elected to serve for a term of three years and retire by rotation. They may stand for re-election at the end of their term, up to a maximum of three terms.

Applications or nominations for trustees are invited before every AGM. In addition, any interim vacancies are advertised to the whole membership. Potential Trustees speak informally with the Chair and/or Coordinator, and in addition usually attend a meeting before a final decision.

Policies and Procedures for Induction and Training

As members of the organisation, all Trustees start with a working knowledge of the aims, objectives and activities of the CSTA. New Trustees speak with the Chair and/or Coordinator to bring them up to date with what is happening in the Association as well as future plans, and to talk through the Trustee’s needs or hopes for their time as a Trustee.

All new Trustees are given the following documents – Welcome Letter with extracts from relevant Charity Commission Guidance such as on decision making; Trustee role description; Policy on conflicts of interest and loyalty; CSTA Constitution, Byelaws and Foundations documents; Accounts and

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023

finance and trustees’ reports to the AGM and Charity Commission for the previous financial year; Trustee meetings procedures document; Charity Commission documents CC3 and CGC for Smaller charities; and are reminded how to access minutes from previous trustee meetings and AGMs (on the website). All members will already have had access to and will be aware of many of these documents.

Trustees sign a document confirming their eligibility for Trusteeship and are checked against lists for insolvency, disqualified directors and disqualified Trustees. It is the intention of the Charity that being a Trustee, should act as personal development, both as a reward for involvement and also since the Trustees consider that a capacity to reflect supports the smooth and efficient functioning of the organisation.

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The Craniosacral Therapy Association of the United Kingdom Trustees’ Annual Report for the Financial year 1[st] July 2022 to 30[th] June 2023