2022-03-31-accounts

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

APRIL 2021 - MARCH 2022

Registered Company Number: 7289310 (England & Wales)

Registered Charity Number: 1156526

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CONTENTS
	Page
Charity Information	3
Report to the Trustees	4
Independent Examiner's Report	12
Statement of Financial Activities	14
Balance Sheet	15
Notes to the Financial Statements	16

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CHARITY INFORMATION

Company Registration Number 7289310 Charity Registration Number 1156526

Management Committee Trustees

Nitasha Kapoor Chair Omarie Mears Treasurer Ariane Hanman Secretary Ewen MacNeil Trustee Chiara Farina Trustee

REGISTERED OFFICE c/o 69 Shakespeare Walk Stoke Newington, London N16 8TB ACCOUNTANTS Spartan Accounting Group ltd 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden WC2H 9JQ

Natwest Bank

20 Amhurst Rd, London E8 1JW

Staff:

We were able to provide a consistent service to our community, with Gemma Reid leading the team as Senior Playworker, supported by Sarah Wilson, Jake Milne, Kaysha Omole, Tilly Hawthorne, Joel Lewis, Ebony-Marie Douglin and George Van de Byl.

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

CHAIR REPORT

“Free sessions at SWAPA keeps us off the bread line” - Grateful parent of 10 yo child

“Sarah, I want to break something” - Child, 11 yo, to our Senior Playworker, who then diverted her energy by giving her a hammer to break up breeze-blocks, and launched our own ‘Break stuff Club’

SWAPA’s community is uniquely diverse, bringing together children situated at the intersection between one of the most deprived areas of Hackney and one of its wealthiest. Where social services often struggle to reach certain groups of children, SWAPA continues to be a magnet for all children, because we provide the best play experiences, and once kids find us, they don’t ever want to leave.

This past year has seen life return to a new kind of normal - while Covid continues to persist, vaccinations have enabled most of the population, including children aged 5+, to experience reduced symptoms, and lockdown restrictions have by and large been lifted.

That said, the after-effects of this virus continue to haunt daily life, with economic hardship exacerbated by increases in fuel prices that have left many households struggling to heat their homes and buy food for their families, often having to choose between the two.

We strive to help our community members in any way we can. Our after school and Saturday play sessions continue to be free and drop off, providing an invaluable childcare solution. Between April 2021- end March 2022, SWAPA catered for 765 individual young people (YP) with a total of over 5000 visits averaging 6.5 repeat visits each. There was a core group of 60 YP who attended 20 sessions or more. One YP attended 113 sessions!

We receive funding from Young Hackney to provide hot meals in school holidays to support children in need and we match this funding to offer the same service to all of SWAPA’s young people, resulting in an impressive 1200 hot meals served over the year. We also run inclusive no cost day trips for all, including theatre, climbing and canoeing, often helping the most vulnerable families without the stigma that can come alongside social services intervention.

Across the industry we have seen a shocking lack of funding for Adventure Playgrounds (AP) in many parts of the country, with 21 APs having to close their doors since 2017. We thank Young Hackney for its part-funding of activities at SWAPA, particularly Stephen White and Hayley Birch, and Kay O’Brien at Hackney Play Association for their ongoing support.

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We have worked hard to secure additional funding that not only benefits our community, but provides the revenue needed to repair and maintain the site and structures:

• We hired out the playground to community groups such as The Garden School (a local SEN School), Beaver Scout Group and a Migrant Support Group as well as re-establishing private birthday parties on Sundays

• We have been testing a Play Kit pilot project since Sept 2021 with St. Matthias Primary School where our Playworkers go into school to enrich and improve the lunch time play offer including training sessions with lunchtime supervisors. Feedback from the headteacher, class teachers and support staff reports “it has made a massive contribution to school life” including improved behaviour at playtime and in the classroom, engaging children who might otherwise find playtime challenging, increased confidence and resilience, and reduced bullying behaviour. We hope to roll out this program to more schools in the coming year

• Corporate team building sessions, facilitated through the East London Business Association (Elba) have started again on site, bringing in revenue but also teams of people to paint, tidy, repair and build structures on site

We continue to receive individual donations, made easy through kofi.com/swapa - many thanks to everyone who has given what they can.

We strongly believe that all Adventure Playgrounds could play a much larger role in effective community development and have adopted a model of community organising to revive this essential offer:

• We celebrated our 45th anniversary by throwing a bonfire party and welcomed 300+ members of our community to the playground. There were queues around the block!

• We had 55 children attend our Christmas party with all children well fed and given a present from Santa

• Our first Skate Jam to launch our mini-ramp lessons was attended by 80 people who had a go on roller skates, scooters and skateboards!

• In 2022 we will have 4 open days (one/season) to engage more regularly with the wider community.

We are pleased to have continued our development of the site facilities and activities this past year to further enhance the play opportunities for our children.

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Projects in progress and to be completed 2022/23 in order to support staff costs, crucial repairs to our beautiful wooden perimeter fence and traditional wooden AP structures.

Playground Jam - July 10th

Discover Young Hackney - August - Art, Music, Skateboarding, SEN provision

Autumn - raising funding for the fence

As always, our playground is only as strong as its staff and the work they do to create a nurturing environment for our young people. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Sarah Wilson who stepped into the role of Senior Playworker and brings her many years of experience and academic understanding of APs to lead the team. Thank you to SWAPA’s long-standing and beloved playworkers Jake, Kaysha, Tilly, Joel, George and Ebony-Marie for being the friendly faces year on year our kids have come to know and trust and for welcoming our new playworkers Mark, Darlene and Jessie to the team.

If you are keen to join the team as a playworker, please check swapa.org.uk/staff. We welcome local parents and community members to join our What’sApp channel (07988 571 232) to keep up with news and volunteer opportunities. If you would like to join as a trustee please email [e-mail] for more information.

Nitasha Kapoor Chairperson, SWAPA trustees Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

Legal Status

Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground moved to use our charitable company Limited by Guarantee status as from July 2014, Shakespeare Walk Adventure, Company number 07289310 and charity number 115626. We continue to use our alias SWAPA.

Charity:

Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground Association was established by a constitution on 2 December 1995 and is registered in England & Wales as a charity on 20 April 1976. Registered Charity number 1156526. Company Registered Number 02289310

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (CONTINUED)

Aims:

Our aim is to provide safe and stimulating open access play opportunities for young people, primarily through the Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground. Through our activities, we contribute to the development of individual young people’s social, emotional and physical development, and provide benefits to the local community, for example, increased community cohesion and reduced anti-social behavior. The Trustees have paid due regard to Charity Commission guidance on public benefits in deciding what activities SWAPA should undertake.

Objectives:

The objectives of the charity are to provide facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation for children resident in Stoke Newington, and to promote their physical, mental and spiritual well being to help improve their quality of life through play.

This is achieved through the day-to-day experience provided by SWAPA, and also through specific projects, such as trips to the seaside, bike repairs workshops etc

Hackney Play Association

This is an umbrella organisation for adventure playgrounds and play providers in Hackney. HPA also has a newsletter, which has information useful to our charity, such as fundraising ideas, training for our staff and the opportunity to advertise our open days and our AGM. We have also looked to recruit staff through HPA processes and have shared resources and asked for support for certain things, for instance negotiations with LB Hackney over the terms of the lease for the site.

How Our Activities deliver Public benefits

The key activity of the playground is to offer an accessible and safe space for children to play. The opening hours are 3.30pm – 6:30pm on Wednesday to Friday and 12pm – 5pm on Saturday. Holiday opening hours are 11am – 6pm weekdays, with a lunch club held in addition to existing play activities.

Main objectives for the year

Our strategies for achieving stated objectives, with details of significant activities that will contribute to this:

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (CONTINUED)

• We are aiming to build on the opportunities that a fully renovated building and redeveloped external play space will offer.

• We aim to develop greater professionalism in terms of staffing structures and processes, on site accountability and support to staff.

• We aim to raise the general level of income to cover increasing costs and more on site staff input.

• We intend to serve more of the local community, by using the attractiveness of the new facilities to draw in parents and children who may not have had material contact with the playground before.

• We wish to engage more young people in the community by getting them involved in genuine and meaningful consultation, and through participation in decision-making.

• We have been developing enterprising ideas, one being hiring out our site (when not in use by the children) for home schooling and forest school hire. We also have hired it for children’s parties, and corporate teambuilding – both bringing in much needed revenue.

Statement for readers:

The extent of involvement from users from a variety of backgrounds has been encouraging. The participation of parents continues to be valuable and supportive to the play setting and activities. Community engagement has been successful, particularly in the links made through the street party initiative. SWAP has increased and developed its links with residents’ groups, the community police team and various other agencies and is well established as part of the neighbourhood network.

Policies:

Improved communication now exists between SWAPA’s employees and its management committee. In addition, there is ongoing feedback and consultation from users and the rest of the community, accompanied by a solid process of monitoring.

SWAPA welcomes the wider community at its Open Days, and it takes every possible opportunity to engage in networking with other stakeholders, including local residents associations, local youth clubs and the police.

SWAPA takes a hands-on approach to trainees and volunteers, by training them on site.

SWAPA prides itself in meeting deadlines, whatever the nature of the task or project.

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There has also been an expansion in the range of services offered to the community, for example the site has been made available out of working hours for external meetings, training, and social events

Principal funding sources

LB Hackney

LB Hackney is our main funder, awarding us £79,509 pa to cover staff salaries and the running costs of the organisation.

Users

The children and parents have participated in fundraising events.

Local Businesses

SWAPA have had a positive relationship with local businesses that have helped providing funds for events and support with raffle prizes.

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document:

Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground was established under a Memorandum of Association, incorporated on 18 June 2010 and registered as charity on 3 April 2014. The governing document which established the objects and power of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

Recruitment of Trustees:

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held every 12 to 18 months – it is just prior to this that we advertise for trustees. The invitation to become a trustee is included on our official notice of the AGM, which is sent as a public notice to newspapers in the area, displayed as a poster in shop windows, and handed out to users, parents and door to door.

Users themselves carry this out, as well as staff and the management committee. When talking ordinarily about the site to colleagues and friends, we often invite people to visit the site and encourage them to get more involved.

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Induction:

New members of the management committee are given an information pack to enable them to better understand how to contribute to the running of the playground.

We have a question and answer session and invite nominations for the roles of secretary and treasurer. Where possible HPA are there to assist this process, and we offer training via HPA and other recognised organisations/training providers to staff and new members.

Statement confirming major risks:

Risks include:

• Increases in core costs (staff sickness and supply cover, maternity leave)

• ● Staff management issues, with direct staff management residing with the Management Committee and not delegated to paid staff.

• Changes in Hackney Council’s funding policy; especially in the current financial climate.

• Legal action against SWAPA by a user, for example because of injuries sustained whilst using the site;

The management of these risks includes

• Working with a planned budget, with staff and a management committee that are acutely aware of the funding issues;

• The reinforcing and reviewing of policies and good practices with staff and users;

• The provision of training, which is made available for all participants in all areas

• Outsourcing specialist Human Resource and Health & Safety support and advice.

• Increasing our insurance to protect our users, staff and management committee.

Reserve Policy

The trustees review their reserve policy periodically and aim to retain an adequate sum to ensure the continuity of its activities. This is to ensure that in the event of a significant drop in funding, the charity will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised.

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Plans for the future of SWAPA

This includes:

• Access to All outdoor play, focusing on inclusion (access for all with mobility and visual impairments).

• Extending the use of the site to community groups and other groups with an interest in play.

• Extending the membership of the management committee to include more parents/community members and seek advice in specialist areas where necessary

• Continuing to acknowledge the importance of the “Every Child Matters” objectives, and encouraging healthy lifestyles through good diet and physical play.

Continuing to seek to expand its variety of activities whilst remaining accountable, responsible and sustainable.

Balance sheet

Details of the major items on the balance sheet can be found in the notes to the accounts.

The fluctuations in debtors and creditors year on year are purely the results of timing of receipts and payment around the year end.

Accountants

The Management Committee will seek out other options for accountants at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by the trustees on

And signed on its behalf by

………………………………………. ……………………………………….. Nitasha Kapoor, Chair Omarie Mears, Treasurer

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground

I report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2022, which are set out on pages 14 to 18.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject the audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

• Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act

• To follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act

• To state whether particular matters have come to my attention

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not prove all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

• (1) Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

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• To keep accounting records in accordance with the section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 and

• To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities have not been met or

• (2) To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of accounts to be reached

• (3) After further examination, I concluded that the charity made the necessary steps to avoid significant changes in the funds and the services and managed the risk well despite the Covid-19 uncertainty.

David Zoboki BA (Hons) MICB Spartan Accounting Group Ltd 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9JQ

and signed on its behalf by

…………………………………….

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND sha(eSpea￿ Walk PAlventure Plwound Assoclatlon STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES forthe war ended 31 March 2022 Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds Tot 2022 T￿ 21r21 Notes INCOMING RESOURCES Charitable acti￿tieS LB Hackney Epecialisl grant EL8A Bockings- Garden SchLxJl Coop Skato Ramp Furlough 79.509 1.230 21.750 79,509 1,230 21,750 59,000 4,300 7.582 3.000 3,000 15,084 3.261 3,264 Volunte Jncome DonationsFundraising Ratas Refijnd Total incoming resources 14,M3 14,343 1,517 14,343 11x5,753 120,096 93,483 RESOURCES EXPENDED Charf(able actNfaes Fundrasing actwfaas Gcvernance costs Other ExrEnses - Staff expenses 112,102 87,816 2,841 2,841 2,832 1.532 2.832 Trtal resowces expeThJed 2,841 114,934 117,774 89,348 NET INCOMINGI{OUTGOING) RESOURCES 11.502 2.322 4.135 RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Tc*al funds brought fonvard 17.687 17,687 13,552 TOTPL FUNDS CPRRIED FORWPRD 11,602 8,6C6 20,009 17,687 l actwfa'es rdate to continuing Operatic￿$. The nctes cfi page 16 fDrm part of these financial statements 14

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

21/11/2022

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……………………………………….
Nitasha Kapoor, Chair
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Omarie Mears, Treasurer
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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground Notes to the 11n￿¢121 statenpnts for the y8ar 8nd8d 31 March 21122 1. kcounting policies Basis of acCo￿tIng The fIn￿CIal slatements have been prepared under the li'slorical cost convention and in accordance wtth AccountlrKJ and Reportlng by Charttles.. Statement cl Reccffi mended Pr￿lICe applicab￿ lo charlios pr8paring th￿r ￿countS in accordanco wilh tho Financial Roporting Standard akT)licable in the UK and RepublK of Irdand (FRS102)(effeclive 1 Jan￿ry 2015) (Charitie5 SORP (FRS102)) Financia Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and RepuNic of Ireland (FRS102) and lo the Com ￿nIeS Act 2006. Shakes￿are Walk Alfvenlure Playground Is an Incorporated charfty domlclled and reglslered In Engl￿d, whKh cor￿titL￿oS a wblic bonoft ontity as dofinod by FRS102. Ass81s and liabililios are initialty reassigmd a cost or Iransaclp)n value unless dhewise slated in the relevant accoLnling Jlicy ndes. Reconcliatsn ￿1th Previous GenerallyAccepted Accounting Practice In prePa￿ng the accounts. Trustees have consldered whether In 4)pIyng the accoLnllng poliC￿S rgqLired by FRS1 Lr2 Ihe Chwilies SORP FRS102 the re￿Statement of Comp￿al￿g items was requred. Al the date of IransilKJn the Trustee5 consider Ihat no slalem enl 15 required. AJ I￿omIng resources are Included In the Slatemerrt of Flnanclal Act1￿leS (SOFA) when the charty Is legalty entttled to the Income and Ihe amourt can be quantlfied wllh reascnaNe accuracy. Income is recoanised ￿en it is due undertorm s of fundinq aqreementS. Expendture AJ expernlilure is accoLmled for on an accruaL% basis as a liabilty is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT tha C￿nOt be recovered a￿1 Is reported as part of the expendrture lo which M relates. Expendtture Is alocaled bebmeen., ExpondilLr8 incurrod (Iroclly in tho fLifilm8nl of tho charty's obj8clBios (charlat48 expenditure), Expendilwe iicurred dreclly in the effort lo raise voluntary conlribLlions (costs of f￿draIS1nq) Taxatlon Tho charity is oxempl from corporation lax on ils charitatlo acliMtios. Fund N£¢O￿tIng ithreslricled funds can be used in aCcOrda￿e with the charitable objeclNes at the discretion of Il* Trustees. Reslrfcled fijnds only be used for partlcular reslrtcled purposes ￿h1n the objects rf the charty. Restrlclk)ns arfise when specmed by the thnc¥ or when ￿ndS are ralsed for pafocul r8slrKl8d purposes. Cash-flow Statenpnt The Trustees I￿ve taken advantage of the exemption in FRS 1 from including a cash flthv slalem ent in the financial slalem ents on fJounds that the charity is small. 16

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground Notes to the fIn￿CIal statenrts forthe ended 31 March 2022 Goiw Concem Tho Trusteos havo a roasonablg 9xp￿tatiOn that tho charity will continuo n opwationd oxtstonco ts tho foreseeable future and is well pkced to manage its business risks successfijlty desptie the current uncertan econcmic ￿￿lj0￿(. The charty has significant reserves and accordindy the Trustees ccntinue to adoF the going cc￿Cern basis. 2. Legal Status The ccrnpany is linted guarantee, not having a share caylal, and is dso a regslwed charty, il is nct lithe lo ¢￿PoratIon tax. h the event ofthe charty ￿Ing wound up, th& liabilty in raspect of guarantaa B limitad to £1 member olthe liniled lia￿'l1ty comFany. 3. Expenditure Charitabl Fund'lng &)v'an¢• costs Total Total Salaries l EN Othor &affinq Ccs Play AcliMb"es l Materials etc Premises Costs Opwational Costs Trustee E)penses Pcccuntancy Fogs HR Consutamcy Othar- Staff o)(penses 85,843 732 10,345 13,3[ 381 1,X11 85,843 64,345 732 1,014 10,345 9,4C 13,3C 12,850 381 1,501 913 1,9 2,832 913 1,928 2,832 1,132 5 673 117 773 89 348 4. Twstees No Trustee received rwnuneration in the year, dre¢t￿ or incIrect￿, from the charity. No e)4)enses were raimbursed to the Trusta&s dUr￿a tha Yaar. 5. Debtors 2022 2021 Trade Det￿S 3030 17

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022

6. Creditors

Creditors
2022 £ Accruals 450 Trade Creditors 0 PAYE 0 Deffered income (LBH) 0 450	2021 £ 0 0 0 1229
	1229

7. Restricted Funds

ELBA LB Hackney Coop Skate ramp	Balance at 01 April 2021 £ 0 0 802 0 802	Amoount received in year £ 1,230 79,509 0 0	Amount expended in year £ -1,230 -79,509 0 0	Transfers Balance at 31 March 2022 £ £ 0 0 0 0 0 802 0 0 0 802
		80,739	-80,739

8. Capital Commitments

The charity had £3000 capital commitments at 31 March 2022 (2021 - £2000).

9. Contingent Liabilities

In the opinion of the Trustees there were no contingent liabilities at 31 March 2022 (2021 - £nil).

10.Related Party Transactions

There were no related party transactions during the financial year.

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