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2022-03-31-accounts

Sparkles: Supporting Children with Down’s Syndrome: Annual Report 2022

Charity number: 1168036

30[th] January 2023

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the period ending March 2022.

Chair’s Report

This year Sparkles has supported over 50 children with Down’s syndrome in and around

Buckinghamshire . 19 children are accessing weekly specialist speech and language therapy, 13 are accessing termly physiotherapy and 11 are accessing termly occupational therapy.

Sparkles is still feeling the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as whilst speech therapy sessions were able to restart, first online in September 2020, and later face to face in High Wycombe and Aylesbury, and OT and physiotherapy sessions were also able to restart in Autumn 2020, it has become clear that there may be a “missing cohort” of potential Sparklers who did not get to learn about us during lockdown, or through health visitors, who have traditionally done a lot of signposting for us to new starters.

Financial Year 2021-22 has therefore been our first full post-pandemic year, when face to face sessions have been able to be held for all our therapies, some of our newer families have been able to meet each other (and the therapists) in person for the first time, and we were able to hold our major fundraising events, the Big Step Forward and the Christmas FUNdraiser and party again. We have been delighted to be able to return to more normality!

Big Step Forward

In July 2021 we were excited to hold our annual mile long sponsored walk, the Big Step Forward, which took place at Rickmansworth Aerodrome and was followed by a picnic. It was a lovely sunny day, everyone threw themselves into this first face to face fundraising event since 2019, and it was able to raise nearly £3,500 ! A big thank you to the committee and volunteers who helped make it such a success, as well as the Sparkles families who really threw themselves into getting lots of sponsorship!

Christmas FUNdraiser and party

As in late 2021 the situation with Covid 19 still felt uncertain, our Christmas event was lower key than our evening fundraisers in previous years, and we concentrated on combining a raffle with a Christmas Party for our Sparklers and their siblings. Due to illness, including Covid, there was a

smaller turn out than we would have hoped for, but despite this, those who were able to come had a fabulous time, enjoying crafts, soft play, and a magical story-telling session from, Sian, one of our wonderful speech therapists, who also works with Story Box. The raffle raised £1,242 . Thank you to all our generous donors for giving us such lovely prizes, and to friends and families for purchasing tickets.

World Down’s Syndrome Day auction

In March 2022 Sparkles held its first ever online auction, with prizes including an overnight stay at Foxes Hotel in Minehead, personal training sessions, a range of vouchers, including £100 for The Entertainer toy shop, and various local businesses and attractions including Bekonscot Model Village and St Tiggywinkles. Altogether the auction raised £1,300 .

Other notable donations:

Other large donations included £2,000 from the Mildred Duveen Charitable Trust , and £1,000 from the Amersham and District Mencap branch . We are all very grateful for your generosity and support.

WhatsApp groups

During and following the Covid 19 pandemic it also has become clear to us how valuable to Sparkles Parents WhatsApp has been to all our members, old and new alike. The group currently has 59 members and has been a hugely useful resource for all to connect with each other, share parenting experiences, worries, concerns, questions around therapies, health, the DLA and EHCP process, as well as “proud parent moments”. There is also a ‘spin off’ WhatsApp group for Sparklers at School.

The Sparkles Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) package of support

Aims of the programme

to ensure it is specific and legally binding, once the EHCP has reached Final stage, if the initial draft is deemed inadequate.

Outcomes

As a result of EHCP support input, five Sparkles families who requested the support were able to obtain much better EHCPs for their children:

The final plans adopted after parents receiving help through Sparkles EHCP support had important additional clarity, including, for example, that therapists are required to feed back to parents after each session; the level of training staff required to have; trained in specific techniques for children with Down’s syndrome; the provision of specialist seating at home and school; OT trained in sensory integration. Please see the table below for details of the outcomes achieved for the EHCPs as a result of the Sparkles support package:

Table 1: EHCP Support Outcomes 2021-2022

Provision Child 1 Initial EHCP Final EHCP
1:1 Adult Support None specified Full time 1:1, allocated and trained LSA 32.5
hours per week.
SALT 12.5 hours per year – inc.
7.5 direct, 5 indirect, 3
admin
Private SLT – 31 hours per year, specialist DS
SLT inc 18 direct, 13 for training and
programme writing, review and annual
review
OT None Private OT – 39 hours per year, inc training
for staff
Physio None Private Physio – 27 hours per year
HI/VI None identified Visual assessment – behavioural optometrist
DS STS None 18 hours per year
Other N/A Personal budget secured for therapy
provision delivery
Provision Child
2
Initial EHCP Final EHCP
1:1 Adult Support None specified Full time 1:1 allocated and trained LSA
SALT None – “awaiting
assessment”
20 hours specialist SLT per year
Training to staff
OT 6 hours per year 6 hours per year and training for staff
Physio None 8 hours per year inc training for staff and
programmes
HI/VI None Visual adaptions specified – Referral to VI
Specialist Teachers
DS STS None Termly visits for review and advice
Other Specialist seating and tables, classroom and
environment audit
Provision Child 3 Initial EHCP Final EHCP
1:1 Adult Support Not specified At all times allocated, named and trained
1:1 support
SALT 26 hours – with assistant,
not specified direct therapy
27.5 hours – 19.5 hours direct hours with
specialist and Alternative Augmentic
Communication specialist support
OT 12 hours – with assistant,
not quantified or specific,
no direct work specified
20 hours with a Occupational Therapist
Physio 12 hours – with assistant,
not quantified or specific –
no direct specified
14 hours direct with Specialist
Physiotherapist
Other Other ICT equipment, specialist resources, training
for staff
DS STS N/A N/A
Other No placement named Parents chosen special school agreed with
transport budget
Provision Child
4
Initial EHCP Final EHCP
1:1 Adult Support None – supervision only Full time 1:1, allocated and trained LSA. Plus
additional 2 hours per week to prepare
resources
SALT 6 training sessions per term
for staff, no direct therapy
34 hours per year DS specialist SLT
Fortnightly direct
OT None 24 hours per year, specialist OT
Physio None 6 hours per year specialist Physio
HI/VI None Hearing impairment specialist teacher
assessment ordered by Judge
DS STS None 12 hours DS Specialist teacher per year
Provision Child
5
Initial EHCP Final EHCP
1:1 Adult Support None quantified, some adult
support for interventions
Full time 1:1, allocated and trained HLTA
SALT 20 hours per year, non
specified and with assistant.
Total communication environment,
Makaton training for all staff, daily SLt
sessions with trained HLTA, 29 hours per
year specialist DS Speech Therapist
Dysphagia support
OT 3.5 hours – assistant delivery 22 hours per year specialist OT and training
for staff
Physio None 4 hours per year specialist Physio
HI/VI None 4 hours per year from hearing impairment
specialist, staff training and classroom audit
DS STS None specified or quantified,
tiered support
36 hours per year DS Specialist Teaching, inc
training for staff
Other Adapted seating and table
Health careplan for diabetes

In closing, I would like to thank our team of therapists at Little Talkers, Wesley Court Childrens Physiotherapy and PACE for their continued hard work and support, our generous donors, the trustees and committee members, and last but not least, all our families and our amazing children, who are at the heart of what we do.

Meryn Brown, Chair of Trustees, 30 January 2023

To find out more about Sparkles please visit our website: www.sparkles.org.uk or email us:

info@sparkles.org.uk

Objectives and Activities

The purposes of the charity are:

Sparkles is a small, parent-led charity that funds the provision of speech and language, physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions to pre-school children with Down’s syndrome living in and around Buckinghamshire. We also organise appropriate leisure and recreational activities for our members and their children, which provides a valuable support network to parents and siblings.

Today, the therapeutic support that we offer through Sparkles is a valuable addition to NHS services, which are not compromised by joining.

Our vision is that all children with Down syndrome in Buckinghamshire; from birth to infant school age; have the opportunity to reach their full potential through early speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Activities:

Shaping our activities is our mission to provide children with Down syndrome with responsive, high quality therapeutic support that enriches their lives and supports their families. This is delivered in four main areas: Speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and support for families.

Speech and Language Therapy

Sparkles speech and language therapy sessions take place at Children's Centres in High Wycombe and Aylesbury. Each session is 45 minutes long, weekly (term time only) and held in groups of no more than 3 children and their parent / carer.

Children with Down's syndrome will usually experience challenges with communication to varying degrees, including receptive (understanding) language and expressive (speaking and composing sentences) language skills.

Carried out by specialist speech and language therapists, the sessions are based on Makaton: a system designed to support spoken language where signs and symbols are used alongside speech, in spoken word order.

Our speech and language therapy focuses on helping our children to talk, but also covers the essential skills needed to communicate effectively. The sessions are designed to engage our

members from a young age and include:

The sessions are provided at no cost to the families. Parent’s report that there is either a lack of speech and language therapy available on the NHS or an inconsistent level of provision and that Sparkles is a lifeline, easing frustration by enabling communication and helping parents to feel supported.

Physiotherapy

At Sparkles, we offer 3 to 6 physiotherapy sessions each year with a specialist practitioner, depending on the age and need of the child. The sessions are 45 minutes long, one-to-one with the child and parent/carer, and based in a children's physiotherapy clinic in High Wycombe. Children with Down’s syndrome can have low muscle tone and hyper-flexibility, which can make mastering gross motor skills harder. Delays in physical development are not uncommon. Targeted physiotherapy helps our children achieve major milestones such as sitting, crawling and walking. The sessions are individually tailored, fun and child-centred enabling children to reach their full potential and grow with confidence. Parents are provided with a programme of exercises and activities to follow at home to support their child.

The sessions are provided at no cost to the families, except where late cancellation fees may apply.

Occupational Therapy

At Sparkles, we offer 3 to 6 occupational therapy sessions each year, depending on the age and need of the child. The sessions are 45 minutes long, one-to-one with the child and parent/carer, and based in a highly equipped clinic in Aylesbury.

We are working with a team of experienced occupational therapists who are highly skilled in the assessment and treatment of children with learning, behavioural and developmental difficulties. Some children with Down’s syndrome may experience sensitivity to certain food textures, sounds, bright lights and unfamiliar situations, resulting in distress and behavioural issues.

Sparkles occupational therapy focuses on these and other sensory processing issues, based on a theory known as Sensory Integration: how our brain receives and processes sensory information so that we can do the things we need to do in our everyday life. This therapy is currently not offered by the NHS.

The sessions give parents a greater understanding of sensory processing issues experienced by their child and strategies to limit their impact on their development and day-to-day life.

The sessions are provided at no cost to the families, except where late cancellation fees may apply.

Public Benefit

In planning our activities for the year and our objectives for the future, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance on public benefit and fee charging. Sparkles relies on fundraising by its members, grants and donations in order to cover the cost of the therapies provided. In accordance with the purposes of the charity, all therapies are provided at no cost to the families attending. This is due to consideration of accessibility for those on low incomes.

Objectives

1 To identify the number of families of children with Down’s syndrome, in our target area, not currently receiving our services and make them aware of Sparkles by working closely with other organisations and professionals.

  1. To evaluate our therapeutic services to ensure we are providing appropriate, high quality services, that make the best use of our resources.

  2. To establish external funding streams to create a financially sustainable service with funding from external sources composing 50% of our income by the end of 2020.

  3. To improve internal communications with parents and families to engage more parents to be more actively involved in Sparkles and enable annual succession planning as children leave Sparkles.

  4. To improve our marketing and communication to support our objectives, with a new website, and new marketing materials targeted at parents and at professionals.

Achievements and Performance

This year’s achievements include:

Financial Review: Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period

Cash reserves are needed to bridge the gap between the spending and receiving of resources and to ensure continuity of the provision of core therapies. The trustees consider that the ideal level of reserves as at 31st March 2022 would be at least £40,000 to cover the provision of one year’s speech and language therapy to all current members, based on £50 per session per child and c36 sessions per annum.

The actual level of cash reserves held at 31 March 2022 were £91,150, lower than our position on 31 March 2021 of £115,285.

An increase in speech and language therapy provision, physiotherapy and occupational therapy has resulted in a net cash outflow of £24,135. We have also increased EHCP support for a set number of parents who would otherwise be unable to fund this themselves, and plan to focus fundraising to continue this worthwhile effort. We are hopeful the lottery will continue to grow in numbers and have plans in place to establish more external sources of income.

Based on the existing reserves and cash resources, together with fundraising plans for the future, we are confident that Sparkles remains a going concern and can satisfy its liabilities as they fall due.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

Sparkles governing document is an association model constitution and the charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with voting members other than its charity trustees. Appointment of charity trustees

(1) At every annual general meeting of the members of the CIO, 1/3rd of the charity trustees shall retire from office. If the number of charity trustees is not 3 or a multiple of 3, then the number nearest to 1/3rd shall retire from office, but if there is only 1 charity trustee, he or she shall retire; (2) The charity trustees to retire by rotation shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. If any trustees were last appointed or reappointed on the same day those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree among themselves) be determined by lot;

(3) The vacancies so arising may be filled by the decision of the members at the annual general meeting; any vacancies not filled at the annual general meeting may be filled as provided in sub clause (5) of this clause;

(4) The members or the charity trustees may at any time decide to appoint a new charity trustee, whether in place of a charity trustee who has retired or been removed in accordance with clause [15] (Retirement and removal of charity trustees), or as an additional charity trustee, provided that the limit specified in clause [12(3)] on the number of charity trustees would not as a result be exceeded;

(5) A person so appointed by the members of the CIO shall retire in accordance with the provisions of sub-clauses (2) and (3) of this clause. A person so appointed by the charity trustees shall retire at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting after the date of his or her appointment, and shall not be counted for the purpose of determining which of the charity trustees is to retire by rotation at that meeting.

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity name : Sparkles: Supporting Children with Down’s syndrome

Registered Charity number: 1168036

Charity’s principal address: 8 Frances Street, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 3EQ

Trustees:

K Pearce (Appointed January 2022)

G. Smith

11

Charity Name

SPARKLES- Supporting Children with Down's Syndrome

Receipts and payments acco

Period start date

For the period from

To

04/01/2019

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

to the nearest £

to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

----- Start of picture text -----
Donations 45,797 - -
Fund Raising- The Ball - - -
Fund raising- Lottery 3,660 - -
Fund raising- GYBO 7,917 - -
Fund raising- Other - - -
Interest 307 - -
- - -
- - -
57,681 - -
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - -
- - -
Sub total [ - ] - -
Total receipts 57,681 - -
A3 Payments
Speech & Language Therapy 36,800 - -
Physiotherapy 13,960 - -
Leap OT 5,313 - -
Expenses- The Ball 2,465 - -
Expenses- Lottery Prizes 1,850 - -
Expenses- Other 4,599 - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Sub total 64,985 - -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - -
- - -
Sub total - - -
Total payments 64,985 - -
Net of receipts/(payments) - 7,304 - -
A5 Transfers between funds - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 118,592 - -
Cash funds this year end 111,289 - -
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of

Unrestricted
Categories Details funds
B1 Cash funds Total cash funds to nearest £
80,022
30,954
313
111,289
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
OK
Unrestricted
funds
B2 Other monetary assets Details to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
B3 Investment assets Details asset belongs
Fund to which
B4 Assets retained for the Details asset belongs
charity’s own use Fund to which
B5 Liabilities Details liability relates

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print N

168036

ounts

CC16a

Period end date 03/31/2020

Total funds

Last year

to the nearest £

to the nearest £

----- Start of picture text -----
45,797 61,416
- 3,755
3,660 3,705
7,917 8,176
- -
307 122
- -
- -
57,681 77,174
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
- -
- -
57,681 77,174
36,800 32,670
13,960 10,360
5,313 3,675
2,465 1,815
1,850 1,653
4,599 1,716
- -
- -
- -
64,985 51,889
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
- -
64,985 51,889
- 7,304 25,285
- -
118,592 93,308
111,289 118,593
----- End of picture text -----

the period

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
OK OK
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Amount due When due
(optional) (optional)
-
-
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
-
Date of
Name
approval
----- End of picture text -----

11

Charity Name SPARKLES- Supporting Children with Down's Syndrome

Receipts and payments acco

Period start date

For the period from

To

04/01/2020

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

to the nearest £

to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

----- Start of picture text -----
Donations 21,859 - -
Fund Raising- The Ball - -
Fund raising- Lottery 3,715 - -
Fund raising- GYBO - -
Fund raising- Other - -
Interest 197 - -
- - -
- - -
25,771 - -
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - -
- - -
Sub total [ - ] - -
Total receipts 25,771 - -
A3 Payments
Speech & Language Therapy 13,992 - -
Physiotherapy 3,970 - -
Leap OT - -
Expenses- The Ball - -
Expenses- Lottery Prizes 1,969 - -
Expenses- Emma Hopkins 1,334 - -
Expenses- Other 510 - -
- - -
- - -
Sub total 21,775 - -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - -
- - -
Sub total - - -
Total payments 21,775 - -
Net of receipts/(payments) 3,996 - -
A5 Transfers between funds - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 111,289 - -
Cash funds this year end 115,285 - -
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of

Unrestricted
Categories Details funds
B1 Cash funds Total cash funds to nearest £
84,114
31,151
20
115,285
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
OK
Unrestricted
funds
B2 Other monetary assets Details to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
B3 Investment assets Details asset belongs
Fund to which
B4 Assets retained for the Details asset belongs
charity’s own use Fund to which
B5 Liabilities Details liability relates

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print N

168036

ounts

CC16a

Period end date 03/31/2021

Total funds

Last year

to the nearest £

to the nearest £

----- Start of picture text -----
21,859 45,797
- -
3,715 3,660
- 7,917
- -
197 307
- -
- -
25,771 57,681
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
- -
- -
25,771 57,681
13,992 36,800
3,970 13,960
- 5,313
-
1,969 1,850
1,334 2,465
510 4,599
- -
- -
21,775 64,985
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
- -
21,775 64,985
3,996 - 7,304
- -
111,289 118,592
115,285 111,289
----- End of picture text -----

the period

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
OK OK
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Amount due When due
(optional) (optional)
-
-
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
-
Date of
Name
approval
----- End of picture text -----

Charity Name

11

SPARKLES- Supporting Children with Down's Syndrome

Receipts and payments acco

Period start date

For the period from

To

04/01/2021

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

to the nearest £

to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

----- Start of picture text -----
Donations 17,141 - -
Fund Raising- The Ball - -
Fund raising- Lottery - -
Fund raising- GYBO - -
Fund raising- Other - -
Interest 94 - -
- -
- -
17,234 - -
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - -
- - -
Sub total [ - ] - -
Total receipts 17,234 - -
A3 Payments
Speech & Language Therapy 15,182 - -
Physiotherapy 10,115 - -
Leap OT 1,180 - -
Expenses- The Ball - -
Expenses- Lottery Prizes 1,534 - -
Expenses- Emma Hopkins 12,485 - -
Expenses- Other 875 - -
- -
- -
Sub total 41,369 - -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - -
- - -
Sub total - - -
Total payments 41,369 - -
Net of receipts/(payments) - 24,135 - -
A5 Transfers between funds - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 115,285 - -
Cash funds this year end 91,150 - -
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of

Unrestricted
Categories Details funds
B1 Cash funds Total cash funds to nearest £
59,239
31,244
667
91,150
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
OK
Unrestricted
funds
B2 Other monetary assets Details to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
B3 Investment assets Details asset belongs
Fund to which
B4 Assets retained for the Details asset belongs
charity’s own use Fund to which
B5 Liabilities Details liability relates

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print N

168036

ounts

CC16a

Period end date 03/31/2022

Total funds

Last year

to the nearest £

to the nearest £

----- Start of picture text -----
17,141 21,859
- -
- 3,715
- -
- -
94 197
- -
- -
17,234 25,771
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
- -
- -
17,234 25,771
15,182 13,992
10,115 3,970
1,180 -
- -
1,534 1,969
12,485 1,334
875 510
- -
- -
41,369 21,775
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
- -
41,369 21,775
- 24,135 3,996
- -
115,285 111,289
91,150 115,285
----- End of picture text -----

the period

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
OK OK
Restricted Endowment
funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Current value
Cost (optional)
(optional)
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Amount due When due
(optional) (optional)
-
-
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
-
Date of
Name
approval
----- End of picture text -----