2024-03-31-accounts - Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Registered Company Number: 07289310 (England & Wales) Registered Charity Number: 1156526

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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||| |---|---| |CONTENTS| |Page| |Charity Information|3| |Report of the Trustees|4| |Independent Examiner's Report|7| |Statement of Financial Activities|9| |Balance Sheet|10| |Notes to the Financial Statements|11-13|

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SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

CHARITY INFORMATION

Company Registration Number

Charity Registration Number

07289310

1156526

Management Committee Trustees

Nitasha Kapoor Chair Mara Bodis-Wollner Treasurer Ariane Hanman Secretary Chiara Farina Trustee Katherine Mengardon Trustee

Registered Office

Accountants

Service Address

[nd] Floor, Northumberland House 303-306 High Holborn London WC1V 7JZ

Gelfand Rennert and Feldman LLP[nd] Floor, Northumberland House 303-306 High Holborn London WC1V 7JZ

69 Shakespeare Walk London N16 8TB

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

CHAIR REPORT

“This place is incredible. There should be more. You have my backing.” - Judi Dench

Once again, I have the privilege of writing this report, a snapshot of our successes and challenges over the last year. We’ve seen our post-covid hard work start to pay off - we are more confident in our vision as an organisation and we won an Arts Council grant to help secure our future. And then we were voted Best Adventure Playground in London 2023! SWAPA continues to be a place of wonder, where beautiful things happen that wouldn’t happen anywhere else, and I’m honoured to be a part of the team.

With over 45 years of place making, having been embedded and beloved as a community resource across generations, we’re often on the receiving end of random acts of kindness and generosity. They’re impossible to predict but last year we had a string of encounters that left us all quite speechless…

For example, a parent whose daughters used to play at SWAPA got in touch to make a sizable donation towards our PlayFence. “We discussed which charities meant something to us and the girls immediately said SWAPA”.

The next month we learnt that a famous TV presenter used to play at SWAPA. He then visited to show his friend Dame Judi Dench around and film a TV programme about the importance of supporting these rare learning environments that support neurodiversity.

The next month we had a message from Super 8, the company that runs Michelin-starred BRAT, Mountain, Kiln and Smoking Goat in London. Tomos Parry, head chef at BRAT, had hosted a beautiful cooking lesson and lunch for SWAPA’s young people in 2022 and they were keen to do it again, nurturing their interest in cooking, and why don’t we build SWAPA a new outdoor kitchen too?! Yes please!

Our ability to “catch” these opportunities when they arise and manage them alongside our day to day provision helps SWAPA stay vibrant and relevant to our community. I’m pleased to report a greater capacity within the board of trustees to support in this way. Thank you to trustees Ariane Hanman, Katherine Mengardon, Mara Bodis-Wollner and Chiara Farina for their ongoing involvement.

We are committed to providing open-access, unstructured play provision, at a time when young people are facing increased pressures and rigidity in the school setting and many of their wraparound care centres, because we witness firsthand the transformative effect it has within a few hours of playing freely at SWAPA.

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

For example, Free Youth Orchestra have delivered monthly experimental sound explorations at SWAPA where musicians and artists set up a variety of weird and wonderful instruments and effects to let the kids play around, as they wish. The sessions are advertised as drop in and the musicians are there as needed, there’s no structured lesson. Over the months we have gathered a group of young people who would like to develop their skills and talents further…the first ever truly experimental youth orchestra is taking shape and expect a concert and album by the end of 2024

Our reach is growing - we had 427 young people visit over 2023/24, with 40 attending more than 20 sessions. We continued to deliver free hot lunches to all children over the school holidays - 50% of which were to young people on free school meals. We have a regular group of home-educated young people who use SWAPA as their base every Wednesday morning and we’re pleased to have developed stronger links with Stoke Newington Secondary School - their young people enjoyed visits to SWAPA during their Easter holiday camp, and now we have a group of year 7 and 8s who regularly attend after school sessions. We’re pleased to report we have extended our provision from four to five days/week - a milestone that we have been aiming for since 2019.

Saturdays are now family friendly from 12-5pm and our core group of young people help throw fantastic community events 4 times/year with roasted marshmallows, bbq and ice lollies depending on the season. It’s lovely to see the older kids getting more involved in helping run the playground, and help shape our community building.

The biggest challenge for the coming years is structural - our beautiful wooden perimeter fence is 45 years old and falling down and it is a major expense upwards of £300K to replace with like for like. Without a similar structure we risk changing what makes our play space so unique and attractive to young people, but who wants to fund a fence?

We started the year with a big win from the Arts Council - £30,000 towards co-designing a new playable structure with our young people that would double as our boundary fence, what we’re calling our PlayFence, and a way to turn an expensive problem into an opportunity to reinvigorate all of SWAPA. Adventure Playgrounds have historically struggled to receive funding from the Arts Council so we share this win with the whole industry.

In the Spring we ran the program - a 6 month consultation including child-led co-design workshops and live experiences with renowned artists and designers, including Morag Myerscough (visual artist and designer), Dinah Bornat (architect and child friendly cities advocate), Dan Snaith (musician Caribou/Daphni), Sam Shepherd (musician Floating Points), Parker Heyl (UCL, Bartlett School of Architecture), Lina Johansson (Mimbre Acrobatics) and Moulaye Diallo (Hackney Carnival Senegalese lion performer). Lizzy and Lleu from Made from Scratch turned these ideas into brilliant PlayFence concepts, including a 360 parkour, performance stage, outdoor workshop and modular self build space, graffiti paradise, sensory tunnels and other hidden treasures.

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Thanks to fundraising Playground Jam parties held at the Baths in Hackney Wick, and donations from local residents, funding from the East London Business Alliance, with support from Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley and Lucy McMenemy at Hackney Culture, SWAPA has raised funds to build the first part of the fence. Our next goal is to raise £45k in the next six months to support building the next section and a crowdfunder is live:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/swapaplayfence

We continue to get stronger as a team and have restructured our senior management to better support each other. We were pleased to promote Tilly Hawthorne to Senior Playworker, and George van de Byl as Deputy Playworker, both having worked at SWAPA for over five years. Sarah Wilson has taken on the role of Office Manager and Jake Milne continues as Lead Builder and Site Manager. A huge thank you for their commitment, alongside our Playworkers Joel, Kirsty, Gemma, Ebony, Tom, Jess, Kayann, Fern, Mark, Darlene and Sebastian, who continue to be trusted and friendly faces for our young people.

SWAPA benefitted from the ongoing support of East London Business Alliance (ELBA) with regular corporate team days to provide much needed maintenance and structural work to the site. Thank you to London Play for their ongoing efforts and support to raise the profile of Adventure Playgrounds in London and nationally. Many thanks to Stephen White and Simeon Dixon for their ongoing support at Hackney Council/Young Hackney.

We welcome local parents and community members to join our mailing list (swapa.org.uk), What’sApp channel (07988 571 232), Instagram (swapa_n16) or Twitter (SwapaAdventure) to keep up with news and volunteer opportunities. If you would like to join as a trustee please email trustees@swapa.org.uk for more information.

Accountants

The Management Committee will not seek out other options for accountants at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by the trustees on

17/01/2025

…………………………………………….

And signed on its behalf by ………………………………………. CC haAE Nitasha Kapoor Chair

[aieheh ……………………………………….. ie— Mara Bodis-Wollner Treasurer

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 2024, which are set out on pages 9 to 13.

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:
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

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

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.

Gelfand Rennert and Feldman LLP 2[nd] Floor Northumberland House 303-306 High Holborn London, WC1V 7JZ

…………………………………….

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

17/01/2025

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND IW)tes to the f Inanclal statements for the Year ended 31 Ma rch 2024 l. Aco)untlng pollcles Basls of accountlng The financial statements have bttn preparog under the historical cost convention and in accordan with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statunent of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordan with the nanCIal Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102)(efftttive I January 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS102)) Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) and to the Companies Act 2006. Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground is an incorpK)rat&l tharity domiciled and registered in EThJland, which constitutes a public Ixn*it entity as defin6a by FRSIO2. Assets and liabilities are initially reassigned at cost or transaction value unless othervvise statsd in the relevant accounting policy notes. Reconellla tlon wlth Prevlous Genera Ily Aepted Accountlng Praetlce In preparing the accounts, the Trustees have considered whether in applying the accounting poIleS rUIred by FPS102 and the Charities SORP FRS102 the reinststement of comparative ite6 was required. At the date of transition the Trustees consider that no statement is required. Income All incoming rtsources are included in the Statement of nanCIal Activities (SOFA) when the tharity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantifieg with reasonable accuracy. Income is recognis&4 when it is due urKler terrrts of funding ag reements. Expenditure All exEnditUre is accounted for on an accruals Eosis as a liability is incurr&4. Expenditure includes any VAT that cannot be recovered and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates. ExndItUre is allocated Ixtsveen. Expenditure incurred directly in the fulfilment of the charity s objectives (charitable expenditure), Expenditure incurred directly in the effort to raise voluntary contributions (costs of fuThJraising) Taxatlon The tharity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. Fund Accountlng Unrstricted funds can be usea in accordan with the charitable Ob]tIveS at the discretion of the Trustees. Restric1 funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within t Ob]ts of the charity. Restrictions arise when spe£ified ty the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Cash-flow Statement The Trustees have tsken advantage of the exemption in FRS 102 from including a cash flow statement in the financial statements on the grounds that the tharity is small.

SHAKESPEARE WALK ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND Notes to the flnanclal statements for the Yearended 31 March 2024 2. Legal Status The conyany is limited by guarantee, not having a share capitsl, and is aLso a registered charty; it 15 not liable to corwration tsx. In the event of tIE charty wound up, the Ikilility in resped of guarantee is limited to £1 Fer memkr of the limited liability company. 3. Expenditure Charltsble activities Fund'lng Govnance activities costs Total 2024 Total 2023 Salaries l ENIC Other Stsffing Costs Pkiy Activitss l Matervals etc Premises Costs OkErational Costs Trustee ExFen*s Accountancy Fees HR Consultsky Other - Staff eXnSeS 91,201 2,738 11,098 18,096 5,704 91,201 2,738 11,098 18,096 5,704 86,047 2,424 19,460 12,356 1,313 1,313 1,230 121517 4. Trustees Other staff exrEeS include £9,100 Fkryid trj Katherine ngardon cfrustee) for project ffnagerrent services PvIded to the orga nisation, Aside fmm the payrr£nt mentioned akove no TNstee CeiVed Muneration in the year, directly or IndirecY, from the charity. No expenses were reimbursed tr) the Trusiees durirvJ the year. 5. Debb)rs 2024 2023 Trnde Delknrs PrepaYnts and accrued incorr 1,142 24,064 6. Credltors 2024 2023 Accruals Trnde Creditors Pension liabilrties 4,162 1,813 335 15,250 12