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2022-03-31-accounts

FIRST DAYS CHILDREN’S CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

CONTENTS

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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INTRODUCTION FROM CEO

I have been in post as CEO of First Days now since January 2020; which is something that people are often confused about as I also founded the charity. Whilst the charity was growing, and I was working hard as a trustee to establish the foundations of the organisation in our community, I went to be employed by other organisations to learn how to lead a small charity and to grow my skills and experience in fundraising and charity governance.

My plans, which I had been dreaming up for years, were ready to go in January 2020: I was going to take the charity to the next level, not only providing essentials to families who needed them, but going further and using the distribution of essential items as a vehicle to get to know families, walk alongside them and help them find solutions to their problems. Additionally, I was ready to use our voice on a local and national scale to influence policy, so work like ours is not needed in the future.

This year, 2021-22 gave us the opportunity to begin to rebuild in a world where covid took less of a lead role. What we weren’t expecting was for the Cost of Living Crisis to enter stage right and steal the show.

Our work is more vital now than ever before, which is something that does not sit well with us. Our steadfast desire remains: to close our doors for good, because we are not needed.

Our model restores power, dignity and choice to families, when financial hardship has taken it away. We believe that the only way to end poverty in the UK is to provide services and do work which alleviates hardship, treats the problems that have arisen in people’s lives as a result of hardship and prevent hardship from ever occurring. Our work does all of these things.

Emma Cantrell

FIRST DAYS CEO

In January 2020 I had no idea - like the rest of the world - that all plans would be put on hold for a long time due to the covid-19 pandemic. 2020-21 saw us working closely with our community to deliver over 7,000 food parcels, whilst still supporting thousands of children through essential items.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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WHY WE ARE NEEDED

At First Days, our in house research (2018) showed that families we support in Wokingham find themselves in poverty or facing hardship due to:

High cost of living

High levels of debt; no access to more credit; no savings and no assets

Low wages

Unaffordable childcare

Unaffordable housing

Relationship breakdown and domestic abuse

No recourse to public funds

Access to welfare: delays, sanctions and over/under payments of benefits

www.firstdays.net | ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 | Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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“

The staff at the uniform shop made it easy for us to access the items we needed. Very helpful and supportive when the children needed to try the clothes on.

Thank you!

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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WHO IS AT RISK OF POVERTY?

Families with children face higher risks of poverty, due to the additional cost to household budgets and the impact that children have on the number of hours that adults can work.

Nearly 1 in 5 children in households where all adults are working are now in poverty, three quarters of children in poverty are in households where one adult is working. 55% of the families we support at First Days have at least one adult in employment.

Lone parent families have the highest risk of poverty (47%), however, most children in poverty live in households with two parents because this type of family is much more common. 9 in 10 lone parent households are led by women.

Pensioner poverty (at 16%) has fallen as a result of increases in benefits to pensioners, the growth of private pension incomes and rising pensioner employment. Targeting government policies significantly reduced poverty in this group in the early 2000’s, showing that the risk of poverty is not inevitable and policy can have a huge impact.

Women are marginally more likely to live in a low income household than men. There is no data to show the distribution of income within households with one male and one female adult, however, this is likely to be hiding some poverty given the tendency for women to often bear the

responsibility of managing limited income and to bear the cost of this.

Households with a disabled member are more likely to experience poverty than those in which no one is disabled. 26% of households where someone is disabled have a low income, compared to 20% of households without a member with a disability.

The proportion of people living in poverty varies significantly by ethnic group. 37% of the families we support at First Days are black or from a minority group in terms of ethnicity. Nationally, BAME people are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to white people.

People whose household presents an intersection of the above risk factors, for example a BAME woman is more likely than a white man to experience poverty.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY ON FAMILIES?

When a person is experiencing poverty they often experience a loss of autonomy.

Decisions that they would have previously had the power to make - over where they live, what they eat, how much they pay for utilities or where they go to school - are taken out of their control. This loss of autonomy brings with it a lack of dignity, which in turn can cause individuals to lose hope that their situation can change. This powerless state leaves people unwilling to engage with support on offer, or fearful that engaging with support services will make their situation worse. They are likely to know the possible solutions to their problems but not have the resources to deliver that solution.

The Child Poverty Action Group (3)’s research shows that:

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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A 2001 DWP report (8) stressed and confirmed that ‘material hardship can compromise learning in a myriad of ways, including mental health problems, unsatisfactory housing and poor diet’.

Analysis of this report shows that cold or damp housing, or housing with no outside space to dry washing has a detrimental effect on the household: increasing the energy cost to the resident, causing a slower recovery from seasonal ailments and reducing the quality of sleep for residents, which is particularly detrimental to children whose brain development and concentration at school rely on good quality sleep.

Mandy, a First Days service user in Wokingham, whose children are 7, 4 and 8 months knows this too well. Her youngest daughter was admitted to hospital twice as a young baby due to the damp conditions in her council home causing severe respiratory difficulties. Her older children are both asthmatic. At First Days we have replaced mattresses and soft furnishings in the home that have been damaged by damp and contain potentially dangerous spores in order to reduce the risk of further health problems for the family. The council efforts to remove damp from the home has meant that dehumidifiers have been placed in the home, however, due to the increased cost of fuel as a result of the use of these machines, Mandy has struggled to pay her fuel bills. The local Foodbank has provided funds to pay these bills, however, this is not a long term solution to the problem. Housing stock needs to be of safe and habitable condition and quality for all tenants under all different types of Landlord.

Inequality is a significant issue for families in Berkshire. Due to the high quality of our schools and high levels of wealth it is very likely that a child from a deprived background will be surrounded by children who have significant wealth above national averages. Evidence of this inequality is shown in the school results data above. Tess Ridge’s work shows that the dismay expressed by children arriving at school from families living in poverty arose more from their perceived inequality than from the direct effects of poverty upon them. Not merely were they living in poverty, which was uncomfortable enough in itself, they saw that other children were not poor, and, painfully, it showed (9).

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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“

You have made me feel like this world is not such a bad place. Every week I volunteer with First Days and feel less alone.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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OUR APPROACH

Our work centres around supporting families.

WE DISTRIBUTE ESSENTIAL ITEMS WE CONNECT FAMILIES WITH SPECIALIST SUPPORT WE OFFER PEER SUPPORT WE PROVIDE ONE TO ONE COACHING

WE WORK WITH THE FAMILIES WE SUPPORT TO SHAPE AND DELIVER THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED

WE SPEAK EVIDENCE BASED TRUTH TO PEOPLE IN POWER: INFLUENCING AND CHANGING POLICY

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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OUR PROJECTS

Safe at Home & Out and About

We have found that when we are asked for beds and other household items, there is always a lot more that is needed. This is especially true for families who have been rehoused by local authorities and housing associations, often from temporary or emergency accommodation, into properties that are nothing more than a roof over heads.

Our long term project, ‘Safe at Home’, focuses on all the items that leave families with the potential to be unsafe in their homes and out and about.

Last year across Berkshire this included:

We believe that the provision of these items is vital to ensuring that children are kept safe in their homes and whilst out and about. Having a space place to sleep, being able to get out of the house and have the facilities to cook and eat are vital to the development of children in their early years and as they grow into adults. We help facilitate this.

A WBC Social Worker said: “Thank you so much, wonderful team. We really appreciate how you help our families in need, it’s great to know we can call upon this wonderful resource. There is no doubt that many children would be at risk of accidents at home without your support”

On receiving a high-chair a Wokingham Mum said:

“Oh my goodness. This is amazing. I really don’t know what to say. Thank you so, so much!! She’s so happy in her chair! It’s brilliant and something I could never afford”

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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• • In the Community By the Community For the Community

School Uniform Mobile Hubs

When children have everything they need at school they feel more confident, can focus on their school work and make the most of their education.

Our School Uniform Project started as a pilot in 2017, gratefully funded by Wokingham United Charities for three years until September 2020. In that time we supported hundreds of children, with over 15,000 items of school uniform. The project was focused on support in Wokingham, however, the effect of the popularity of the project meant that

across Berkshire we supported many more children.

This year we decided to change our delivery model and focus on ‘hubs’ in the community, with our first opening in Woodley and the second being our brilliant mobile hub, a bespoke kitted out van, which travels around from community to community. Meaning that children can come to one of our hubs, which is on their doorstep, and they can choose their own uniform. They can be sure it fits them and be confident that they will be starting school with everything they need. Our uniform hubs are run by people who live in the community that they are placed in, meaning that we build friendships and create an authentic, dignifying and meaningful way for one family to help another.

We learned so much from this project, crucially, the most important thing is that when it comes to school uniform we need to be in the community, where the children and young people are.

For more information on our school uniform hubs, or how you can support this project visit our website.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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Digital Inclusion

Home schooling during the pandemic highlighted a huge problem with access to computer equipment. Many families we work with only had one computer in the house, and this was often being used by a parent to work from home. We raised money via an online campaign to buy brand new laptops for children in Berkshire who would otherwise miss out on their education whilst schools were teaching remotely.

We have continued this project, with funding from CAE, to provide laptops and computer equipment to children across Berkshire. The support from CAE has provided over 50 children with laptops for continued use for learning and education.

We also partnered with Wokingham Borough Council to provide refurbished laptops, donated by the public, to families in Wokingham. Whilst this project was running we gave out over 100 laptops across Berkshire.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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Christmas

This year we worked with Wokingham Foodbank and SHARE Wokingham to provide a Christmas experience for families where parents were able to choose the gifts they wanted for their children and collect a Christmas themed food hamper from the Foodbank. We supported over 700 children through this project and welcomed hundreds of families through our doors at the weekends in the run up to Christmas for crafts, mulled wine and family fun.

Thank you so much to all the charities we worked in partnership with to deliver this brilliant community project.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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IN NUMBERS 2021-22

4 134 705 ,

670

children supported

69,000+

families helped to access support from other organisations

children supported with School Uniform 8 000+ ,

Number of items distributed to families in need

School Uniform items given out

33%

of families we support have one adult in work

44%

of the families we support are from diverse backgrounds

59%

of the children we support are from a lone parent family

Christmas 2021 £100 000+ , worth of toys donated Parents of over 700

came to choose gifts for their children 6,000+ gifts given out

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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THE ELEVATE CENTRE

At the end of 2021-22 we took possession of the building that used to house the Police Station in Wokingham Town Centre. Sometimes local authorities offer buildings up to the community when they have no long term plans for them - this scheme offers the dual benefit of saving the authority money, as they don’t have to pay business rates on a building which is occupied by a charity, and gives them the chance to see a building used for good in the community.

So, a long term vision of our CEO and her colleagues leading other local charities, has been born in The Elevate Centre.

The vision for the Elevate Centre is simple: a community space where charities and organisations can work together for the good of the community.

The Elevate Centre is a space for people to take a breath, find support, strength and understanding. It is a place full of enthusiasm and hope that, whatever the situation, everyone can have choices, dignity and power in their own lives.

At the Elevate Centre we know that, because life can often be expensive and can sometimes be difficult, everyone needs a helping hand from time to time, whatever that looks like.

During 2022 we will be opening our first ever school uniform shop to the public, for families who cannot afford uniform to have a proper shopping experience for school uniform, shoes and equipment.

The ground floor of the building will house a community kitchen, food support for residents, a Warm Space for the winter and a new Toy Library.

Please visit our website for up to date information about The Elevate Centre and the important and exciting work that is happening there.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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THE HARDSHIP ALLIANCE

We have been invited to represent Children and Families on Wokingham Borough Council’s Hardship Alliance, which, alongside our representation on the Tenant and Landlord Improvement Panel and the Residents Equality Forum means we can work in partnership with the local authority and other key local charities to make a real difference in the lives of residents in Wokingham.

We worked closely with our colleagues from WBC, Citizens Adivce, Wokingham United Charities and AGE UK Berkshire to create the Borough’s first ‘Tackling Poverty’ Strategy.

We ensured that the strategy included support for Children and Families in the Borough and worked hard to ensure we represented their needs. We are now working with the Alliance to ensure that all of the actions are delivered and real change and support is seen in the lives of children and families in the area.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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OUR VOLUNTEERS

We simply couldn’t do anything we do without the support of our amazing volunteers.

Our team of volunteers provide over £200,000 of work for us each year, giving their time to support every part . of the organisation

Many of our volunteers are from the community we support and are passionate about helping others, whether that is supporting families in the community, sorting donations in our warehouse or fundraising at events.

We could not be more grateful for all the wonderful people who give their time to support local families.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS

Finally, after a couple of years of things being very quiet on the events front, we began to tentatively take part in events together again this year.

The annual Barnes Fitness Santa Dash raised thousands of pounds for First Days through ticket sales and donations. Our London Marathon Runners raised over £6000 between them and our Reading Half Marathon team raised over £5000, too!

Corporate Support

Huge thanks go to the many businesses who support us, we offer both volunteering and fundraising opportunities to teams from businesses. Special thanks to long term supporters 10 Degrees, Worldwide Education and Care and REGEXBIO Ltd for their generous donations this year. A team from Microsoft went the extra (100) mile (s) this year, trekking the Thames Path and raising over £12k for us!

A special thank you goes to the team at MCS Rental Software and the Van Der Knapp family who donated incredibly generously to support our work, and welcome Emma into their offices to share about our work with their team. We couldn’t have helped as many children as we have without their support.

Regular Giving and Donations

There a hundreds of unsung heroes amongst us! We are so grateful for the money that comes in every month from those people who choose to support us regularly, whether via direct debit or their payroll. This sort of support is often not mentioned, but it never goes unnoticed. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

If you have supported First Days personally, we cannot thank you enough. The team sees every single donation that is given and your generosity makes us happy and glad every single time.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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Grants and Trusts

Community Partners

We are so grateful to the grant giving bodies and trusts who have supported us this year, special thanks to:

We work closely with many organisations in our community, our special thanks go to:

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC REPORT

Governing Document

The charity was incorporated on 15th July 2014; It is controlled by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Recruitment, Appointment and Induction of New Trustees

Details of the trustees are disclosed on page 37. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.

The charity’s Articles of Association provide for a quorum of three members. Where there is a requirement for new trustees, these would be recruited and appointed by the Chairman and existing trustees. The Chairman and Chief Executive are responsible for the induction of any new trustees.

Governance

The trustees delegate the day-to-day running of the charity to the Chief Executive and she, in turn, works with senior managers across the organisation. The trustees’ main contribution is at a strategic level and they retain overall responsibility for the charity’s governing document. They also retain responsibility for the budgets and reserve policy.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

The board of Trustees reviews and agrees the annual remuneration of the CEO which is benchmarked against similar organisations.

Related Parties

There are no related parties and no related party transactions.

Mission and Goals

First Days aims to restore the dignity, choices and power that is often taken from people whose life experience is negatively affected by low-income. We do this by equipping families with the essential items they need for their children in the early years and at school, providing peer support and guidance and specialist coaching.

Public Benefit

First Days has helped over 4,134 children this year by providing them with essential items; saving each household, on average £242 in their budget to help with other essential costs.

Fundraising

In 2021/22 our total fundraising income was £158,000 (2020/21: £218,000).

With a continued increase in demand for our services, we are seeking to develop and grow a diversified income portfolio and utilise our resources more effectively.

Policies

The safety and well-being of all the adults, children and young people we work with is at the heart of everything we do. We have a comprehensive Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, and an Adult Safeguarding Policy specific to First Days and our practises.

As a result of the legislative changes (GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), we have ensured that our policies, procedures, and training are updated, implemented and absorbed into ‘business as usual.’ We monitor and ensure that the highest levels of compliance are maintained when managing our data; as per ICO guidelines paying particular diligence and care to the processing of children’s special category data.

Risk management

Risks are reviewed at quarterly Trustee meetings.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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organisational strategy and approach.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Performance

First Days’ total income including fundraising, grants and other non-fundraising income was £336,820 (2020: £443,930). We invested £60,581 in raising this income and spent £359,348 in support of our core objectives, leaving a planned deficit of £83,108.

Reserves Policy

The general reserves are required by the charity to meet its objectives of supporting families in need, to protect its current activities, and to allow the trustees to meet their responsibilities and ensure the charity continues on a going concern basis.

At the balance sheet date of 31 March 2022, the total unrestricted reserves were £71,482.

The Reserves Policy requires that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of 3 months cover of all of the following year’s expenditure.

Going Concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about First Days’ ability to continue as a going concern. The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the charity’s fundraising income although this is partially offset by emergency grants. There are no material uncertainties affecting the current year’s accounts. Key risks considered by the Trustees are discussed below.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

2021/22 and Beyond

This year we will open our Elevate Centre, in the middle of Wokingham. The centre will allow families to choose from a huge selection of school uniform and school supplies, offer a space for families to meet and provide the venue for our Christmas project, in collaboration with other local charities.

We continue to support families directly, we aim for 80% of the families we support to access our services directly by the end of 22/23.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are constantly learning and evolving to ensure that we are doing the best we can for Difficult to Hear communities across our area. Our CEO is Chair of the Wokingham Borough Equality Forum and is forging close relationships with representatives from diverse organisations in order to form future partnerships to further our aims.

We are recruiting volunteers from the communities we serve, and now have these volunteers in all of our teams across the organisation.

Principal Funding Sources

First Days has a broad funding base, attracting support from a wide range of sources, including: corporate supporters (large and small), individual donors (giving on either an ad hoc basis or in a more regular way), fundraising events, individual and group challenge activities and community fundraising groups.

The trustees recognise the importance of developing and maintaining a variety of revenue sources, thus providing continued stability of income in the future, and maintaining this breadth and variety of income source will remain a key component of our long term fundraising strategy. A Head of Fundraising was hired in the year and she has undertaken a full review of fundraising activities and investigation into potential new areas of activity. This work has culminated in a new Fundraising Strategy that underpins the

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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PRINCIPAL RISKS & UNCERTAINTIES

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. A risk register is regularly reviewed by the trustees and helps shape the ongoing development of our plans

Ability to meet demand for services – We

have undertaken a review of how families access our service and are limiting our service provision to those who are in most need by changing our referral criteria and working via a relational model with families, where we give parents the choice and empower them to make decisions about provisions for their own children.

The Trustees consider the key strategic risks to be in the areas of:

Risks are deemed to be of a strategic nature if their potential impact could have a material effect on our ability to meet our mission and goals. Their presence is therefore a reflection of the priority we attach to them as opposed to our confidence in our ability to mitigate them.

Whilst a specific risk has been identified in relation to business continuity across the period of Covid-19, the pandemic has implications across all of our strategic risks.

Sustainable income – Whilst the external

environment is challenging for fundraising, there are opportunities as well as risks associated with it. We are addressing these opportunities and risks through the acquisition of new skills through our newly appointed fundraising manager to support growth across fundraising and the development of new products. In addition, we will constantly review changes in the external environment and closely monitoring income performance so we can adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity law required the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and group enabling them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on 17 Jan, 2023.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

R Cant – Chair of Trustees

Date: 17th Jan, 2023

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

All transactions are derived from continuing activities.

All recognised gains and losses are included in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Except for gains/(losses) on investments, there is no difference from the results above and the historical cost position.

Unrestricted
funds
(£)		 Restricted
income funds
(£)		 Total
funds
(£)		 Prior year
funds
(£)

Incoming resources

Income and endowments from:

----- Start of picture text -----
Donations and legacies 153,136 153,136 217,531
Charitable activities 172,841 172,841 218,380
Fundraising Events 6,178 6,178 8,020
Gift Aid 4,665 4,665
Total 163,979 172,841 336,820 443,930
----- End of picture text -----

Resources expended

Expenditure on:

Resources expended
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 60,581 60,581 11,752
Charitable activities 186,507 172,841 359,348 353,915
Total 247,088 172,841 419,928 365,667
Net income/(expenditure) before investment
gains/(losses)		 -83,108 -83,108 78,263
Net income/(expenditure)
Net movements in funds -83,108 -83,108 78,263

Reconciliation of funds:

Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward 154,590 154,590 76,327
Total funds carried forward 71,482 71,482 154,590

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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BALANCE SHEET

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Prior year
funds income funds funds funds
(£) (£) (£) (£)
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13,830 13,830 3,765
Total fixed assets 13,830 13,830
Current assets
Debtors 31,873 31,873 25,058
Cash at bank and in hand 52,625 52,625 162,624
Total current assets 84,498 84,498 187,682
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 26,846 26,846 19,712
Net current assets/(liabilities) 57,652 57,652 167,970
Total assets less current liabilities 71,482 71,482 171,735
Total net assets or liabilities 71,482 71,482 154,590
----- End of picture text -----

Funds of the Charity Funds of the Charity Funds of the Charity Funds of the Charity Funds of the Charity
Restricted income funds 33,435
Unrestricted funds 71,482 71,482 121,155
Total funds 71,482 71,482 154,590

The net movement in funds for the year relating to the parent charity alone amounted to £78,263 (2019: £58,392). The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of the Trustees on 3rd December 2021 and were signed below on its behalf by:

____ ______ Trustee – R Cant Trustee – K Skilton

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

1 Accounting policies

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) – (Charities SORP 2015 (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to income, it is probable that income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Income from grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Expenditure

First Days Children’s Charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Judgements and estimates

The Trustees have made no key judgements which have a significant effect on the accounts.

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category.

Irrecoverable Value Added Tax (VAT)

Expenditure on which there is irrecoverable VAT is shown within each relevant cost category gross of VAT.

Raising Funds

The Trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

Trustees have reviewed forecast income, expenditure and cash flows in the planning process and consider that the charity will have adequate resources to continue for the foreseeable future, despite what they anticipate to be a prolonged period of ongoing economic challenge and uncertainty due to the Covid pandemic. There are no material uncertainties faced by the charity. It is therefore appropriate to continue to prepare the accounts is on a going concern basis.

These costs are incurred in relation to the fundraising events. As well as the direct costs associated with each event, costs are included in relation to staff members who are engaged directly in fundraising events, publicity campaigns to generate income and an appropriate proportion of their use of shared facilities and central services.

Charitable Activities

Liabilities for expenses are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a specific commitment creating an obligation and an expectation that a wish will be fulfilled. The liabilities at the balance sheet date are included both as creditors due within one year and creditors due after more than one year.

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Gifts in Kind

The charity receives the benefit of work carried out by volunteers, the value of which is not included in these accounts.

Donated goods

The charity receives donations from the public of second-hand items for babies and children which are passed on to families in need, free of charge. The value of these goods are not included in these accounts.

Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join the NEST pension scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions enclosed. Pension costs are allocated in line with associated costs of the relevant employee.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cost of Administration

These costs are allocated to the cost of raising funds and charitable activities on the basis of an appropriate apportionment of resources and activities. Staff costs of £160,335 were incured in 2021/22.

Leases

Payments under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the life of the lease.

Tangible Fixed Assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life. Fixtures, Fittings & Equipment 20% on cost Motor Vehicles 20% on cost

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

2. Legal status of the charity

The charity is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England and Wales with the Charity Commission and has no share capital. The registered office Unit 9, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham RG41 2QZ.

Fund Accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. The designated funds represents funds earmarked for specific reasons as decided by the trustees.

Restricted funds can be used only for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

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3. Analysis of Income

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Prior year
funds income funds funds funds
(£) (£) (£) (£)
Donations and gifts 111,942 111,942 139,933
Gift aid 8,514 8,514 9,335
Donations
and legacies: General grants provided by
37,500 37,500 68,263
government/other charities
Total 157,956 157,956 217,531
Grants - restricted funds 172,841 172,841 69,500
Charitable
Wokingham Food Hub 148,880
activities:
Total 172,841 172,841 218,380
Sale of Product income 40 40 3,289
Event income 5,142 5,142 1,885
Other
trading Sale of donated goods 215 215 790
activities:
Other 626 626 2,056
Total 6,023 6,023 8,020
Total income 163,979 172,841 336,820 443,931
----- End of picture text -----

All income in the prior year was unrestricted except for:

Within the income items above the following items are material:

Wokingham Food Hub - £148,880 (Covid-19 related) Wokingham United Charities grant - £17,000 CAF Resilient Fund (DCMS) - £27,300 (Covid-19 related) Serco Foundation salary support - £1,000 Groundworks Grant - school uniform - £3,500 Berkshire Community Foundation salary support - £5,000 Shanley Foundation salary support - £2,000 Wokingham Borough Council Covid Hub project - £5,250 Berkshire Community Foundation car seats - £1,300 Fence Club Trust - £2,500 Early Charity Covid Support - £1,000 Wokingham Council - covid support - £2,000 Wokingham Borough Council Household Support Fund - £70,000 Wokingham Borough Council Covid-19 food hub 2020 - £30,000 Bracknell Forest Covid-19 Recovery Fund - £20,000 Nationwide - £16,290 Pantheon CT grant - £12,500 VDK Family Charity grant - £10,000

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4. Analysis of receipt of government grants

– None in 2021/22

4. Analysis of receipt of government
– None in 2021/22		 grants
Description Last year
(£)
Government grant 1 CJRS grant 3,249
Government grant 2 CAF Resilience Fund (DCMS Community Match
Challenge)		 27,300
Government grant 3 DCMS/National Lottery Coronavirus Grant 53,751
Local Government grant 1 Wokingham Borough Council Covid Foodhub
Funding		 148,880
Total 233,180

5. Donated Goods, Facilities and Services

This year Last year
Please provide details of the accounting
policy for the recognition and valuation
of donated goods, facilities and
services.		 Donated goods are not recognised
at a value as there is no re-sale
value to the charity. Donated
goods are distributed without
charge as part of the core service
of the charity.		 Donated goods are not
recognised at a value as there
is no re-sale value to the charity.
Donated goods are distributed
without charge as part of the core
service of the charity.
Please give details of other forms of
other donated goods and services
not recognised in the accounts, eg
contribution of unpaid volunteers.		 Unpaid volunteers are a key
element of delivering the core
service of the charity.		 Unpaid volunteers are a key
element of delivering the core
service of the charity.

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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6. Analysis of Expenditure

6. Analysis of Expenditure
Analysis
Expenditure on raising funds:		 This year Last year
Unrestricted
funds
(£)		 Restricted
income funds
(£)		 Total
funds
(£)		 Unrestricted
funds
(£)		 Restricted
income funds
(£)		 Total
funds
(£)
Incurred seeking donations 2,067 2,067
Incurred seeking grants 35,075 35,075 8,976 8,976
Staging fundraising events 23,439 23,439 806 806
Costs incurred in generating new
source of future income		 1,970 1,970
Total expenditure on raising funds 60,581 60,581 11,752 11,752
Expenditure on charitable activities:
Staff costs 98,537 61,798 160,335 65,933 39,703 105,636
Building & Insurance 43,975 9,632 53,607 29,619 29,619
Operational Costs 36,932 9,308 46,240 39,984 39,984
Cost of goods for benefciaries 3,791 92,102 95,893 29,797 29,797
Depreciation of warehouse fxtures
& vehicle		 3,274 3,274
Wokingham Council Projects 148,880 148,880
Total expenditure on charitable
activities		 186,509 172,840 359,349 135,535 218,380 353,915
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 247,090 172,840 419,930 147,287 218,380 365,667

7. Paid Employees

. py This year (£) Last year (£)
Salaries and wages 202,188 110,576
Social security costs 10,007 2,724
Pension costs (defned contribution scheme) 1,973 422
Total staff costs 214,168 113,721

No employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) for the reporting period of more than £60,000.

The total amount paid to key management personnel (including trustees and senior management) for their services to the charity is £57,000.

The charity has 13 employees, the FTE for these employees is 6.4. Last year this was 9 employees, FTE 4.4.

The charity made £1,651 in redundancy payments in the financial year.

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8. Defined contribution pension scheme

This year (£) Last year (£)
Amount of contributions recognised in the
SOFA as an expense		 1,973 422

9. Tangible fixed assets

. g Plant, machinery and
motor vehicles		 Fixtures, fttings and
equipment (£)		 Total
(£)
At the beginning of the year 3,765 3,765
Additions 11,544 1,795 13,339
At the end of the year 11,544 5,560 17,104

9.1 Depreciations and impairments

----- Start of picture text -----
Basis SL SL SL
Rate 20% 20% / 33%
Depreciation 2,285 989 3,274
At the end of the year 2,285 989 3,274
----- End of picture text -----

Net book value

----- Start of picture text -----
Net book value at the beginning of
3,765 3,765
the year
Net book value at the end of the year 9,259 4,571 13,830
----- End of picture text -----

10. Debtors and Prepayments

10. Debtors and Prepayments
This year (£) Last year (£)
Prepayments and accrued income 11,690
Other debtors 20,183 25,058
Total 31,873 25,058
Analysis of debtors recoverable in more than 1year (included in debtors above)
Other debtors 20,183 20,183
Total 20,183 20,183

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11. Creditors and Accruals

11. Creditors and Accruals
Analysis of creditors Amounts falling due
within oneyear		 Amounts falling due after
more than oneyear
This year
(£)		 Last year
(£)		 This year
(£)		 Last year
(£)
Trade creditors 450 766
Accruals and deferred income 22,586 16,290 17,145
Taxation and social security 3,809 2,656
Total 26,845 19,712 17,145
Deferred income This year Last year
2nd year of Nationwide
Grant received for year
22/23 £17,145		 Grant received in year to
be used over the next 2
years.
Movement in deferred income account This year (£) Last year (£)
Balance at the start of the reporting period 33,435 15,000
Amounts added in current period 33,435
Amounts released to income from previous periods -16,290 -15,000
Balance at the end of the reporting period 17,145 33,435

12. Cash at Bank and in hand

12. Cash at Bank and in hand
This year (£) Last year (£)
Cash at bank and on hand 52,625 162,624
Total 52,625 162,624

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

www.firstdays.net • ANNUAL REPORT, year ended 31 march 2022 • Charity Registration Number (England and Wales): 1157855

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Address: 130 Antrim Road, Woodley, Reading, Betkshire. RG5 3NZ Section B Disclosure Only complete il the examiner needs lo highlight material mallers ol concern (see CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts.. direct10ns and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER 22018 Oct wbnNlirstdays n&t • ANNUAL REPORT. yéar end8d 31 rnarch 2022 • Charity Régistration Numb8rlEngland and Walosl.. 1157855 36

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Registered Charity Number

1157855 (England and Wales)

Registered Office and Operational Address

Unit 9, The Business Centre, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham, RG41 2QZ

Trustees

Rob Cant Chair Katie Skilton Treasurer Hayley Blakeman Louise Brown Emma Paterson (appointed May 2021) Emma Nolan (appointed May 2021) Sarah Chaytor (appointed May 2021)

Senior Management Team

Emma Cantrell Chief Executive Officer

Bank

Lloyds Bank Unit 3, Marketplace Wokingham RG40 1AP

Independent Examiner

Joanna Faint FCCA (Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) 130 Antrim Road, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, RG5 3NZ

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