2021-04-02-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 03/04/20 (Period start date) To 02/04/21 (Period end date)

Charity name: ACTS FAST

Charity registration number: 1157675

Objectives and Activities

	SORP (Statement Of Recommended Practice) reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	Our aim is to ensure that other parent/carers are freed of the guilt, shame and isolation experienced when their child discloses sexual abuse and to reduce the impact of the trauma. Acts Fast also support partners and family members affected when someone they know has downloaded indecent child images online.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	• Acts Fast aims to relieve the distress of the non-abusive families, parents, carers and children who have been affected by sexual abuse. •Acts Fast aims to shorten the road to recovery by preventing long-term damage to the holistic well-being of the individuals themselves and collectively within their family unit. •Acts Fast aims to help and empower parents, carers and families within Dorset whose child has been sexually abused. This takes the form of both face to face and remote support in daytime and some evenings due to growing demand. We run face to face emotional and practical support sessions in both group and individual settings. These last roughly one hour and protective parents and families can come alone or together, as frequently or infrequently as they need to. The attendance of these sessions do not have a time limit and families are welcomed to attend for as long as they need to. The sessions consist of: Encouraging open and supportive exploration of feelings regarding

		the disclosure, which is often very complex. Helping on a practical level regarding the disintegration of the family unit. Providing understanding support is a key benefit of our approach because of the unique set of circumstances. Providing Psycho-education trauma informed sessions on how trauma has affected the whole family and provide practical coping strategies. To help build resilience around the trauma the whole family is facing. Our emotional and practical support is bespoke to each parent, partner or family member, ensuring their voice, need of support is always at the forefront of how we develop our services. Starting to use social media platforms to promote best practice, supportive techniques and similar cross-organisation partnerships. We run a counselling service which starts by offering 24 sessions as a minimum, to be extended if necessary. As we support families from all over the UK, (due to only 2 other charities in the county supporting parents) we can also condense these emotional and practical support sessions into phone, text and email support. This may expand into social media and other methods in the future.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.	Para 1.18	The trustees are fully committed to supporting the charitable benefit of the organisation to the community it serves.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	We have a policy on grant making within our policies and procedures, which sets out our aims and rationale around grant making and how funds should be used within the CIO. We continue to seek charitable funds from donors in order to fulfil the objectives of the charity. We continue to support our volunteers with regular clinical supervision, informal support and social activities (such as occasional social events). Building a

		friendly and supportive environment is an important part of our organisation.
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	ACTS FAST continues to be a “force for good” in the local and specific community of families who have been affected by CSA. The charity continues to carefully steward it’s resources in such a way to maintain maximum benefit for those it serves. There is a transparent culture of integrity and there is a high degree of focusing resources on front line client support.
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	We value our wonderful volunteers; they are an invaluable and integral part of the running of the charity. We rely heavily upon them to assist in running our important services, such as our counselling service and supporting our face to face emotional and practical support sessions, along with helping is to promote the charity. They play a key role in helping ensure we safely and appropriately support both clients and the collective team.
Other

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	2020 to 2021 has been a very difficult year for the charity, more so than ever because of the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. It has been a very challenging for the entire staff and volunteer team because of the significant emotional and physical challenges that the pandemic has brought. The charity has continually operated throughout this time, supporting a growing number of families who have tragically been left with the consequences of loved ones experiencing CSA or being arrested as a result of viewing indecent images. Client numbers have been steadily increasing over this period and the charity needed to adapt to this change. Client referrals from professionals reduce over this period due to many public services sadly ceasing their operations during the pandemic. We however saw a growth in self and private referrals as many more families were struggling. To the later part of

the year, we we’re supporting in the region of over 140 families at any one time. This includes clients the charity support on 3 and 6 monthly intervals with phone/email/text support. The challenge of the pandemic saw the majority of our volunteers cease their activities for a 6-10 month period because of personal reasons, however the CEO continued to remotely support clients throughout this time. Feedback has been excellent with anonymised feedback comments such as… “I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you”. “Thank you ACTS FAST for helping us through this time, your friendship and support has been incredible”. We are very thankful to the CEO for her determination and support of these families whilst many others were not able to provide the same support. The new office space has been used much less than anticipated through this time due to work from home legislation, but the new space has been useful to have a “base” for administration. Plans for the future: To obtain further funding for the new financial year as a priority, alongside developing the charities evolving support. To continue to develop the new team by providing relevant training and support. Continue investing in building relationships and partnerships with other organisations with mutual goals and purposes. This requires a significant amount of time investment, but it is important for partnership working. Expanding the team when possible with more operations staff to support the CEO’s role and administration. Building new relationships with supporters such as local Rotary clubs, Dorset High Sheriff and Police and Crime Commissioner and their respective candidates.

Keep developing connections with Universities for the purpose of advancing research in line with the charities objectives. This could include research on children’s experiences (“voice of the child”) and other experiences families have in relation to CSA. Joining business networking and partnership groups to potentially raise awareness of the charity as well as gain support for fundraising. Develop our IT services and the technology we use so that as we grow, systems could be developed for sustainable remote working. This could include how we use laptops, where data is securely stored, updating content on the website etc. To develop our training offering so that we have more training materials for professionals. This may develop into

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	The CEO during this period successfully continued most support operations in addition to having more time to submit funding applications during the pandemic. This was under the pressure of having reduce team members. This was due to the pandemic pausing the majority of client facing operations for a period of a couple of months during “lockdowns”. There were a number of successful grants (see financial sections below).
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	Fundraising has been exceptionally challenging during this period as the pandemic meant that most fundraising activities had to pause to some extent (at various times), and the focus was on delivering client support when possible. Thankfully we did receive some donations and grants which helped us stay solvent, particularly Covid support funding.
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41	No financial investments are in trust or were made during this financial period of operations.
Other		Staffing and team levels have continued to be an increasing pressure on the charity in light of increasing service demand. The

pandemic has been a double edge sword in that respect because we have had less people resources, a growing demand on services and evolving mental health challenges.

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	The charity was able to raise sufficient funds to remain solvent and operate in its usual manner supporting families. Although £94,388 was raised by the charity predominantly from donations, the year ended with a closing balance of £14,263 due to higher staffing costs (maternity pay for example) and investment in phone’s and computer equipment. Of note, there were four larger donations from Dorset Police (£16,485), CAF (£6,708), Talbot Village Trust (£10,000) and The National Lottery (£45,420) that helped sustain operations during this period and support work in response to the global pandemic. This funding has been spent in accordance with the restricted/unrestricted stipulations, with the purpose of advancing the aims of the charity to support families in need of therapeutic and emotional support. As previously mentioned, the fundraising climate has been particularly harsh in this operating year, with immense challenges of raising funds from organisations which had ceased giving financial support (for a variety of Covid related reasons). As a charity we found this very challenging but are pleased that we have managed to stay solvent and finish the year with a small positive bank balance. Our income and expenditure summary account can be seen below.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Reserves in this period are minimal, with a closing balance of £14,263. It was the CEO’s intention during this time to operate with a 6 month reserve in place, however this hasn’t been possible in light of increased staff costs and reduced fundraising income.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£14,263 for general operating
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	Limited ability and availability to raise funds from external sources due to the Covid pandemic.
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the	Para 1.23	There is a small amount of operating reserve, and the charities aim will be to

charity continuing as a going concern

raise funds as quickly as possible in the new financial year. It is concerning that incoming funds remain low, but it is hoped that with some focus it will be possible to replenish reserves.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47		Date Received 23/02/2020 09/04/2020 17/04/2020 27/05/2020 29/05/2020 05/06/2020 01/09/2020 various dates	INCOME CARRY OVER FROM FY2020 DCF Neighbourhood Fund MaternityLeave Provision Unrestricted Donations Superior Seals Donation Total Carry Over FY2020 GRANTS Co-op DCF Corona Fund Talbot Village Trust	2,500.00 £ 6,095.95 £ 2,183.55 £ 1,361.08 £ 12,140.58 £ 1,587.84 £ 2,000.00 £ 10,000.00 £ 6,708.00 £ 45,420.00 £ 16,485.00 £ 82,200.84 £
				CAF
				National Lottery OPCC Total Grants DONATIONS Unrestricted Donations Total Donations TOTAL INCOME
					427.50 £ 427.50 £
					94,768.92 £
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	All investments made by the charity in terms of financial resources or assets of a physical or digital nature should be in line with the overall aims and objectives of the charity. Investments should be made based on an evaluation of their merits and be openly discussed with those involved in decision making, such as trustees or members of the management team. There is a policy that any one-off spends over £500 should be discussed with the trustees beforehand. There should be a generous investment in partnership or partnering relationships with other organisations for the benefit of the clients and community the charity serves. This may involve commitments in time and other resources (e.g. financial) as and when deemed appropriate for advancing the objectives of the charity. The charity’s investments must always be made in good faith for the aim of supporting families affected by CSA or the non-offending families of those who have downloaded/viewed indecent images of children. This investment policy acknowledges that it may not always be possible to measure the tangible returns from social or financial investments due to their nature, but reasonable accounts should be given with an explanation of the aims or purposes of said investments.

A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	The charity remains exposed to the risks of financial liquidity as the years closing balance is quite small. Financial pressures remain a significant risk and should be regularly evaluated where possible. The global pandemic has put exceptional pressure on the team of staff and volunteers because of reduced team resources combined with a growth in evolving service demand. The charity will need to continue to adapt it’s support model and evolve in line with the currently rapidly changing situation. Recruiting and embedding volunteers remains a challenge as the Covid pandemic has made it very hard to recruit new volunteers as the main focus in society is dealing with the impact of Covid.
Other

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WAIE5 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Foi Ihe peiiod fioi To 31J03I2021 Section A Recei ts and ents Ui)iestiicteil Resti icteil Total fiiiids Laslyeat totheneate¥t totheneareyt tolheneaieyt t tolheneaieyt £ to then&¥ert£ A1 Recei 25 Sublqt4Lfjw I￿On)e lo AR 25, 61905 943 32,59 A2 Assel ai)d ii)veslment sales, Sub tot Total rece¥> 94319 A3P 8kalariEsÉffid NÈlona kn&Ur￿ce Tr￿4 eq)￿se8 Telgjhone etote m14nl￿￿ce D8S Ch￿kS Liakih. PrintiThJ.pos* End station Publiuty Premises cost Traning Office ￿u1pm￿t Sup8Nisi Ev￿ts Sunthi 72 InS￿￿￿¢e Sub tot A4 Assel ai)d ii)veslmenl piii- chases. Isee lablel Sub tot Totalpayme 124 Net of re¢eipts,(payments A5 TiaiisfeiE I)etwe￿i fiiiids A6 Casli fiiiids last YO1¥ è1111 Cash funds this year e 12

Sects'on B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds to n•w•llte Restricted tunds Endowtnent funds to r￿￿•11 1_ 4lY'J,-,rJes_ Bl Cash hjnds 142 70131 eash ftrRds 14263 Unrestricted funds Restricted funds EndoMffj)ent funds to n•wttt£ Cod ¢utr•ntYJ• ¢urr•nt B4 Assets retairEd lor the charity's OV￿ use AIK*tht B5 Liabilities Signaiure Prirt Narne Date of 3pprov Y6ftdb

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examlner's report on the accounts Seclion A Indèpondent Examiner's R•port R•port to th• tru&t••Jl £ts Fast On •¢¢ourts for ¢h• y•ar •ndod 37 Marth 2021 Charity no I￿any) 115767S S•t out on p•w 1 I rep¢)rt to the trustees on my exambnalK)n ol the 8rthunts of the above charity 1.the TnMfi lor tho ￿ar gnd¢if 31 March 2021. R•spon8lbllhlo8 and As th& ¢harily injslees of the Trust. you are responsible for IIN8 weparAlion ba¥ls ol r•port of the •(%￿nts In acoxdance with Ihe r8quir•menls ol ihè Charilies Act 2011 lllh• Ael"l_ l ￿pOrt in r88ped of my exarrlnalN)n ol Trust's accounts Carri￿1 fmjt uTrJer section 145 of the 2011 Aci And in rArrying out rny examinatic￿, I have follow¢d the aw1¢8b￿ ThrectwJns givan by the Charily Crynrnl￿￿n under s8ctl¢M 14515Xbl of the Ad. I ha¥e CWkled my ex8minabon. I cc￿rn that no material matters have come lo my attent￿n In ojnrffjCti￿ wrth the oxaminab.on whi¢h gi¥e6 me ¢8US8 lo believe that in, any malérAI rtrsped.. accounting r8cordJ wore not kept In aceiJrtarTrcewrth s8cl￿ 130 of thg Act or the accounts ¢$) x¢tyd with Ihe accounb.ng I￿OrdS Independent •XAmln•rfs 8t•t•nxnl I have no con￿M$ and have com• a¢ros5 no other matters in connoction with Iha èxaminairfyn 10 whth attention shwrd t48 drawn in Order lo enal￿e a proper understanding ol the accounts to bg r¢ach&J. Slgn•d: co As4L£Y N•m: ox Rd•vint prof•aa14xal qU￿rtic•119nl•I or body IW8nyl.' ICAÉUJ A(Idr•8s: PotsLE, eAIi7 961 IER Othb•r2018

Section B Disc105UTe Only cgmplele rf the examiner needs to highlight ma118rs of concem Isee CC32, Ind8rAndenl examinakn ol ch8rity aC￿￿nts., (Ir•ct4tyts and guhlance for examinars}. GI￿ h•r• brl•f d•tall8 of Nothing to reF)rt ny bt•m• th•¢ th• •x8min•r wlshos t• dlgclo•e, IER October 2018

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	CIO document with governing document outlining purpose and structure.
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Three existing trustee members must agree regarding the appointment of a new trustee.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	Organisation of the board: The board of trustees meet every quarter in addition to the July AGM or sooner (if required). Trustee induction and training: Training opportunities are available to trustees if they wish to attend any training that Acts Fast provides for the staff and volunteers. Trustees are informed of any upcoming training via email. Additionally, we advise of any Online training specifically regarding their roles. Trustees have access to a "Trustees Information Pack" in addition to annual safeguarding training and access to CAN network trustee events and training. Partnership working: The Shores – Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) STARS Dorset – sexual recovery trauma service Bournemouth & Poole College – working with families to produce posters to highlight CSA. Family Counselling Trust – Providing counselling for families and children Dorset Mind Dorset Police POLIT (paedophile online investigation team) as part of Dorset police Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner Bournemouth University Keele University CIS’ters – Survivor led group for women, as female children/teens, were raped/SA Barnardo’s
	Para 1.51
	Para 1.51

		NSPCC with Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) – raising awareness of Child Sexual Abuse in Dorset ACTS FAST are part of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, child sexual abuse subgroup, contributing and working alongside other agencies to inform and gain more knowledge around how to best support children and families. Ensuring our pathways are stronger, ensuring quicker support to individuals affected by Sexual Abuse. TST (The Survivors Trust) who work with over 130 sexual violence agencies in the country. MOSAC - partnership to petition & take forwards "The voice of the child" concerns to the Ministry of Justice with Martyn Underhill (Dorset Police Crime Commissioner).
Other		N/A

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	ACTS FAST
Other name the charity uses	Acts Fast
Registered charity number	1157675
Charity’s principal address	ACTS FAST, Unit 5 Manor Farm Business Centre, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 5HT

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole **year **	Reference
	Dr Andrew Mayers	Chair		PhD, MBPsS, FRSA FRSA Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University (BU)
	Mr Noel Spreadbury	Treasurer		MBE, ACIB
	Simone Walls- MacDonald	Trustee		Co-founder
	Dr Terri Cole	Trustee		PhD, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychologyat BU
	Jonathan McKinney	Trustee		Child protection, safeguarding and criminal investigation trainer for Dorset Police & independent safeguarding trainer
	Dr Ching-Yu Huang	Trustee		Lecturer in Psychology Keele University
	Dr John McAlaney	Trustee		Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Scientist at BournemouthUniversity

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trust8• n8m• Datès aetèd If not for wholè aar

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity None

Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this N/A falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets N/A from the charity’s own assets

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of Name Address adviser

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Amanda Gulliver

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

N/A

Other optional information

Risk management:

Risk is managed in accordance with our charity governance code which underpins procedures put in place to mitigate any exposure to risk whether it may be relating to services provided by the charity or financial. The trustees are satisfied with these systems and review them on an ongoing basis.

RESPONSIBILTIES OF THE TRUSTEES

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year.

In preparing those financial statements:

• The Trustees are required to select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• Prepare the financial statements on the ongoing concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the Charity to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with applicable law and regulations. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity, hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date	Noel Spreadbury
	Mr Noel Spreadbury
	Treasurer/Trustee
	01/02/22
	01/02/22