Trustees' Annual Report for the period
| Period start date | Period start date | Period end date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | 01 | Sept | 2021 | To | 31 Aug |
2022 |
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support Other names charity is known by SCBS Registered charity number (if any) 1166379 Charity's principal address 29 St Mary’s Park Windermere Cumbria Postcode LA23 1AZ
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Bruce | ||||
| Helen Carlson | ||||
| James Hamilton | Secretary | |||
| Joanne Haslett | Chair | Resigned October 2021 | ||
| Joanna Kapel | ||||
| JennyRobinson | Treasurer | |||
| Lucy Spain | Resigned November 2021 |
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser
Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Ann Bruce, Breastfeeding Counsellor and IBCLC James Hamilton, Secretary Jenny Robinson, Treasurer
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
- Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution)
Constitution
Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted
- (eg. trust, association, company)
Trustee selection methods[New trustees are appointed by existing trustees. The current trustees are ] all local parents who have volunteered to undertake this role.
(eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support has a written safeguarding policy to help breastfeeding supporters who are concerned about the welfare of a child or of a vulnerable adult.
South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support has a Code of Conduct by which all its representatives abide.
Trustees receive no remuneration or other benefits for their work as trustees. SCBS’s Breastfeeding Counsellor, who is also a Trustee, is paid for some of her professional work as a Breastfeeding Counsellor. This is in line with SCBS’s constitution and conflicts of interest procedures.
Section C Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
The object of South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support is the advancement of health, for the public benefit, through the provision of information, skilled help and support for mothers in and around South Cumbria who breastfeed or wish to breastfeed their babies, the families of those mothers and others who support them.
In planning our activities for the year, the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Online support SCBS In It Together (closed online forum) and videocall support. This is accessible by local families only (LA and CA postcodes). Breastfeeding drop-in groups Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we ran three breastfeeding groups each week, in Kendal, Windermere and Ulverston. Our groups are free, and mums do not need to book in Summary of the main advance. With the start of Covid-19-related restrictions in March activities undertaken for the 2020, our groups were suspended, and all our services moved public benefit in relation to online. During the 2020-2021 year, we started the process of rethese objects (include within opening in-person support. During 2021-2022 we continued this this section the statutory process of re-building in-person support at Kendal and Windermere declaration that trustees have groups. Ulverston group had not yet re-opened at this stage. had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Breast Friend Award Commission on public This is an annual award, launched by SCBS in 2016-17, that benefit) enables local mothers to nominate Health Professionals who have made a significant and positive difference to their breastfeeding journey. The Breast Friend awards aims to: ● highlight good practice in breastfeeding support by Health Professionals ● raise awareness amongst Health Professionals and parents of the importance of good support for breastfeeding. Any Health Professional working in South Cumbria, or who has worked with a mum who lives in this area could be nominated. This
could include, for example, Midwives, Maternity Assistants, Health Visitors, Obstetricians, GPs, Nurses, Paediatricians or Dieticians.
Liaison with local Health Professionals
We liaise with local Health Professionals, including midwives and health visitors, in order to advocate for best practice in breastfeeding support, and to ensure that our services are meeting local need. We attend meetings of Maternity Voices (formerly known as the Maternity Services Liaison Committee), Cumbria County Council’s Breastfeeding Strategy Group and the Infant Feeding Forum for the Local Maternity System, as well as linking up with individual practitioners in support of specific families.
Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:
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policy on grantmaking;
-
policy programme related investment;
-
contribution made by volunteers.
We value the contribution made by volunteers very highly. With the re-opening of our in-person groups, following Covid-19, we were able to welcome back some of our volunteers, and recruit some new ones.
We rely on volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the groups, and to make sure that all mums have a positive experience when they come to a group, no matter how busy the group is.
Section D Achievements and performance
Developing a Hybrid Approach (online and in person) Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year SCBS In It Together: private online forum During Covid-19, when our in-person groups were suspended, we created a closed online forum for local parents: SCBS In It Together. This virtual group allowed families to connect with us, and with each other, providing support and community-building seven days a week. By the end of August 2022, there were over 800 families in SCBS In It Together. Mums use this group to ask each other questions that they might not be able to ask elsewhere, seek informal support, and to share information: the kind of support that mums might once have been able to offer each other in a close-knit real-life community. Whilst this online group came into existence because of the crisis of Covid, it is now one of the central pillars of our support services and is highly valued by our community: ‘ ‘Without SCBS In It Together I couldn't have kept going this long.’ ‘I’ve never been to an in-person group, but your online support is a lifeline. Videocall support We have continued to offer families support from our IBCLC though 1:1 videocall sessions. Initially, we had offered this as a crisis
erformance p
measure during Covid. However it became clear how useful this service was for families, and in September 2021, the Trustees decided to adopt a ‘hybrid’ online and in-person approach for the foreseeable future. Mums who aren’t yet able to come to a group can receive support via videocall. Occasionally, mums need extra support in between sessions. During 2021-22 we offered support to families working their way through a variety of breastfeeding challenges, including painful feeds and slow weight gain, as well as the social and emotional aspects of breastfeeding and motherhood, such as social isolation, depression, anxiety, low self-confidence.
In person groups
Windermere and Kendal groups re-opened in the summer of 2021. It was not possible to re-open Ulverston group immediately, because we did not have enough volunteers to run the group safely. However, planning for Ulverston group continued, including seeking funding to pay for room rent and our IBCLC. Kendal and Windermere groups continued to be valued by the local community. Recent feedback includes:
-
'SCBS is a big reason why I’m "still" breastfeeding. It normalises feeding in public and beyond infancy. So important!'
-
- 'I used SCBS with my first daughter and had amazing support through difficult feeding issues. I always recommend "boobgroup" to my pregnant friends. It's exceptional.
-
- ‘With other mums it's a safe space to ask questions and breastfeed without being judged or having to be "discreet".
-
The majority of attendees are from the immediate local area. However, the groups have a very good reputation, which leads to people seeking them out from further afield. In 2021-2022, mums attended Kendal and Windermere groups from a wide area, including Barrow, Cockermouth, Carlisle, Sedbergh, Whitehaven and Workington.
Attendances in the 2021-22 financial year have been as follows total attendances 437; new attendees 122. We are pleased with these numbers: public confidence in in-person groups was severely dented by Covid, and many breastfeeding groups around the country struggled to re-start. Against this challenging background, SCBS’s groups began to grow back strongly after Covid.
Alongside but different to the NHS
Our experience during the pandemic, and the charity’s fast and effective response to it, showed us clearly where our strengths lie, and also what is unique about us. Central to all our work is building a community. This has included building a vibrant and effective online community for local mums, which is pandemicproof, as well as the in-person communities provided by our drop-in groups. A strong, vibrant, local community is part of what makes breastfeeding possible: mums need to feel surrounded by people that they can trust and rely on, sharing the ups and downs of
Section D Achievements and erformance p motherhood, and encouraging each other along the way. We see that this is central to the unique role of South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support, and it is a role that we are proud to fulfil for our service users.
Section E Financial review
| Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves |
The trustees of South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support consider that reserves would be needed in the event of: a) unforeseen emergency or other unexpected need for funds b) unforeseen day-to-day operational costs, eg employing temporary staff to cover a long-term sick absence. c) A source of income, such as a grant, not being renewed. Funds might be needed to give the trustees time to take action if income falls below expectations. d) Planned commitments, or designations, that cannot be met by future income alone e) The need to fund short-term deficits in a cash budget SCBS aims to hold reserves equating to 6 months’ expenditure. This was agreed by trustees in November 2021. |
|---|---|
Further financial review details (Optional information)
| • | The majority of South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support’s income comes from grant-making trusts. During 2021-2022 we received funding from: Awards for All Orsted (Walney Extension Fund) Frieda Scott Trust Eric Wright Charitable Trust We are now receiving an increasing amount of financial support from our service users. For example, cash donations from mothers at our groups when these run in person, and larger donations through JustGiving. Some service users and supporters have birthday fundraisers for us too. We are enormously grateful to our services users for their support, especially since at the time that they access our services, most of our service users are on very restricted incomes. |
|---|---|
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signed on behalf of the | charity’s trustees | |
|---|---|---|
| Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
Ann Bruce | K Miller |
| Ann Bruce | Kate Miller | |
Trustee |
Trustee | |
| 28.6.23 | 27/06/2023 |
Charity Name South Cumbria Breastfeeding Support
No (if any) 1166379
Receipts and payments accounts
CC16a
Period start date Period end date For the period To from 01/09/2021 31/08/2022
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds to the nearest to the nearest £ to the nearest £ £
Total funds
Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
| - | - | 2,453 | 3,267 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | 8,000 | 5,300 | |||
| - | - | 10,000 | - | |||
| - | - | 44 | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | 20,497 | 8,567 |
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ |
|---|---|
| Generaldonations | 2,453 |
| Grants | 8,000 |
| Lottery Grant | 10,000 |
| Other | 44 |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 20,497 |
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
-
Sub total
Total receipts 20,497
| - | - | - | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | 20,497 | 8,567 |
A3 Payments
| A3 Payments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breastfeeding Counsellor Fees | 16,600 | - | - | 16,600 | 11,250 | ||||
| Equipment | 243 | - | - | 243 | |||||
| Refreshments | 50 | - | - | 50 | |||||
| Website | 109 | - | - | 109 | 30 | ||||
| Resources | 21 | - | - | 21 | - | ||||
| Room Hire | 1,000 | - | - | 1,000 | - | ||||
| Subscriptions | 229 | - | - | 229 | - | ||||
| Sundry Expenses | 26 | - | - | 26 | - | ||||
| Insurance | 177 | 177 | 177 | ||||||
| Accountancy | 210 | 210 | 540 | ||||||
| Fundraising costs | 162 | 162 | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total | 18,827 | - | - | 18,827 | 11,997 |
| A4 Asset and investment | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| purchases, (see table) | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 18,827 | - | - | 18,827 | 11,997 | |||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 1,670 | - | - | 1,670 | - | 3,430 | ||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | ||||||||||
| 11,223 | - | - | 11,223 | 14,653 | ||||||
| Cash funds this year end | 12,893 | - | - | 12,893 | 11,223 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets |
Details Barclays Bank Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 12,893 - - 12,893 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which **asset belongs ** |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - |
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
| Details Details Accruals - Room Hire |
Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Unrestricted |
Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Amount due (optional) 450 - - - - |
Current value (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Accruals - Room Hire | Unrestricted | 450 | |
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - |
Date of approval
Signature
Print Name
Ann Bruce