2021-08-31-accounts - Soulscape

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Registered Charity Number 1169989

SOULSCAPE

Annual report and financial statements

For the year ended 31 August 2021

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Index	Pages
Reference and administrative details for Soulscape	3
Trustees report	4
Objectives and activities	4
Achievements and performance	6
Feedback from Staff and Students	9
Plans for the future	9
Public benefit	10
Financial Review	10
Remuneration policy for key management personnel	11
Investment policy	11
Fundraising policy	11
Reserves policy and going concern	11
Risk	12
Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities	12
Independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of Soulscape	14
Financial Statement	16
Use of our report	18

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Reference and administrative details for

Soulscape

Soulscape is a Charity registered in England and under number 1169989. It was originally a Charitable Trust known as Wokingham Area School’s Christian Workers Trust, which was registered on 10 January 1996; charity number 1051870. On 2 November 2016, Soulscape was registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and, following approval of the Charity Commission, the assets and liabilities of Wokingham Area School’s Christian Workers Trust were transferred to Soulscape. Wokingham Area School’s Christian Workers Trust has now ceased and been removed from the Charity Commission register. Soulscape is governed by its Constitution dated 24 October 2016.

Board of Trustees

Jonathan Newport (Chair of Trustees)

Geoffrey Hulme (Treasurer)

Sarah Burbedge (appointed September 2020)

Nick Hudson (appointed February 2021)

Railton Blyth (appointed February 2021)

James Harmer (resigned June 2021)

Executive team

Nick Barnett (CEO)

Michelle McLeish (Operations Manager)

Graham Preston (Finance & Resources Manager)

Vasileia Petraki (Community & Corporate Partnerships Manager, resigned September 2020)

Zoe Maynard (Fundraising Manager, resigned November 2020)

Charity address

Kings Place, 9 Station Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 2AD

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Bankers

CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ

Solicitors

Blandy & Blandy LLP, 1 Friar Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 1DA

Auditor

Ian Phillips, 47 Manor Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 4AR

Trustees report

The trustees submit the annual report and the audited financial statements of Soulscape for the year ended 31 August 2021. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity Constitution and 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) (effective 1 January 2015).

Objectives and activities

The objectives of the Charity are to advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Beliefs appearing in the Charity’s Constitution and advance education in accordance with Christian principles, particularly amongst children and young people in the schools and other educational establishments in Wokingham, Berkshire and the surrounding area and in such other parts of the United Kingdom or the world as the Trustees determine.

The Charity achieves these objectives by employing workers who possess the necessary skills and training to run activities within schools. The Charity currently has a pool of approximately 100 volunteers, drawn from many sources including churches across Wokingham, who support schools by delivering activities that help their students deal with the pressures they face from stress at school, bullying, sexual pressures and bleak employment prospects.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Purpose and aims

The charity works in partnership with schools to give young people the space they need to explore the issues that they have identified as affecting them.

The Pressure

Being a teenager has always been tough. But for today’s young people, peer pressure happens around the clock, bullying invades their own homes, and exam pressures at school have ratcheted up. With pressure to keep up appearances online, be available 24/7, perfect (and share) their bodies, get the best grades, think and say the ‘right’ thing, and support their families too, teenagers live with a huge amount of stress.

The Consequences

The Charity is seeing a mental health epidemic in our young people. The number of teenagers with mental health problems has doubled in the last 20 years. In 2018, more than a fifth of 14-year-old girls said they had self-harmed. And for those who do not become ill, there is little time and space at school or home to switch off, breathe, reflect, and form their own opinions and ideas – something that is a crucial part of adolescence.

Our aim is to create space

Young people don’t need yet another voice telling them what to think and do. Rather than pile more pressure onto them (“do these ten things to feel better”), the Charity believes in creating space away from it all. Space to reflect, to ask big questions, to explore what’s going on inside, and to creatively express their own ideas.

The Charity does this by:

Listening to young people’s ideas and requests about what they want to discuss, whether that be self-harm, pornography, or how to make good decisions.
Running workshops on these topics in their schools, where they can explore, debate, reflect and express themselves through the creative arts.
Helping schools in Berkshire to run an effective PSHE and RE curriculum.

Achievements and performance

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

The world has materially changed during the past two years due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. We have seen immense suffering but at the same time there has been immeasurable courage to continue despite adversity.

This pandemic has brought out the best in us, our ability to adapt and to tolerate. It has created a sense of unity, with neighbour supporting neighbour and charities stepping forward to fulfil many of the unmet needs in society. We should be proud as a nation of how far we have come, and we should hold on to this new expression of humanity.

This has never been more evident than in Soulscape. The speed and willingness at which the charity has responded to the ever changing environment is testimony to its passion for supporting young people’s mental wellbeing. We have successfully delivered face to face work in schools – approximately 75% of our entire year’s projects delivered in just the Summer term.

During the year the Charity managed to reach over 5,000 young people through delivered workshops, namely: REAL, Mind The Gap, REvive, Object and Care.

We also started three new projects: More Inside Out, The Lounge and Mentoring. To help us achieve delivery we have been supported by Eden Barnett, a volunteer who is project focused.

REAL stands for Relationships, Esteem, Aspirations, and Lifestyle. These workshops allow space for students to reflect and think through for themselves the areas of relationships, self-esteem, sex education to consider life choices. Through story discussion and reflection, they explore skills for building strong and positive relationships

MIND THE GAP (MTG) is a transition project helping year 6 to make a happy journey to secondary school. Teams go into Primary Schools and meet with Year 6 pupils. They talk about how to make friends, run team building activities and talk to the students about what to expect when starting Secondary School. Staff run parent's evenings as part of MTG with the aim of helping parents of Year 6 pupils appreciate the challenges and opportunities faced by starting Secondary School

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

REvive is a programme that supports the RE Curriculum, creating space for students to explore new ideas for themselves. Soulscape aims to challenge, surprise, inform & empower students to think independently, running drop down days, for whole year groups, where Christians share their stories and what motivates them, putting their faith into action, looking at the issues of poverty, prison ministry, persecution, Christian pilgrimage, evangelism, the world church, etc… Soulscape also organises walking tours, where young people can visit local churches to hear about their beliefs, history and community engagement.

Object explores the issues around pornography through theatre and peer led discussion. The thought-provoking theatre presentation tours secondary school to examine the issues raised by the increasing and instant availability of pornographic images on the internet and the damaging effects this may have in young people's lives and relationships.

CARE stands for Creation, Awareness, Recycling and Educating. It is a creative project addressing the anxiety and passion that young people have about climate change and the environment and putting them to good use. In collaboration with a local artist, the Charity uses creative art to help young people express their worries and passions and to make a difference by educating the people around them.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

More Inside Out was created to support young people, focusing on their wellbeing and enabling them to express themselves through art without necessarily having to find the words. Art is widely recognised as a therapeutic process across a range of mental health needs as well as a means of building a sense of community. The aim is to work with Year 6 students who will be transitioning to Secondary School and need a boost of selfconfidence, may struggle with anxieties, have a fear of failure and/or struggle to express themselves. Furthermore, by working with Soulscape, the young people will start building relationships, making the link with Mind the Gap for before and after the Summer.

The Lounge is a space within school to “come as you are” and step away from the pressure. The Lounge is run by our trained volunteers and Soulscape staff, who are on hand to chat with any student who wants to talk. It’s a space to share what’s on your mind, process what you’re feeling, or just to take some time out from the pressure and relax.

Soulscape’s volunteer mentors work with students in primary and secondary schools. It’s an opportunity for young people to be supported one-on-one, prioritise their mental wellbeing and personal development, and talk through whatever is on their mind before it becomes a bigger problem.

Soulscape continues to support the school staff in a practical way by serving coffee and cake, either weekly or fortnightly in four schools. The result of us investing time with the staff and serving them has been to build a stronger relationship of trust and create more opportunities within those schools. The cakes are baked by volunteers from the churches around Wokingham.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Communication is important for any Charity that relies on fund raising and publicising what we do and how we do it. Soulscape continues to benefit from the support of a specialist communications consultant who provides us with 8 hours of support each week and with FRESH01, a digital agency, who donate their time.

We have started recording and sending out twice termly vlogs to our supporting churches to maintain engagement, particularly at a time when we are not able to visit in person due to the restrictions imposed as a result of the Corona 19 Pandemic.

Feedback from Staff and Students

Feedback is received from students and staff to enable the trustees to shape the work of the Charity in accordance with its purposes and resources.

"What I like about Soulscape is that they are not teachers; their workshops are different to, and compliment, the work we do in the classroom." - Head of RE, St. Crispins.

" Our students were fully absorbed and engage during the Object presentation." - Head of RE, Forest School

"Pornography is having an increasing impact on the lives of young people. Not just young men but women as well" - Headteacher, The Holt School

"Being a Christian might make you think about decisions you make" - year 7 pupil.

"l liked the fact that Mind The Gap was there just for the children" - Parent.

“You know they will be kind to you" - year 8 pupil

"PAUSE came at just the right time after all the stress of exams" - year 9 teacher

"l was a child again with no worries" year 7 response to PAUSE.

" lt was a place to think about what's in your heart. You don't usually do that at school". - yr 9 pupil

Plans for the future

2021/22 see the Charity celebrating its 25 anniversary. This is a significant milestone, and we are planning a year of fundraising events to mark the occasion. We plan this year to actively grown our doner base and increase our income.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

We are also planning to reach out to the towns surrounding Wokingham (namely Reading and Bracknell) to explore delivery in a broader range of schools – Soulscape becoming a Berkshire rather than Wokingham charity.

Soulscape intends to continue to provide projects working in partnership with schools to ensure we deliver them in a way that supports the work of the school curriculum and adds value. These are likely to be REAL, Mind The Gap, Object, More Inside Out, Revive, The Lounge and Mentoring.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. The public benefit of the Charity’s activities is defined in our objectives (see above) and these are achieved principally by supporting local schools in helping students to deal with life pressures e.g. stress at school, bullying, sexual pressures and drugs. The Charity also supports the Religious Education curriculum in schools to both advance the Christian faith and education. All services are delivered (where appropriate) from a Christian moral and spiritual perspective.

The Charity receives feedback from students and staff of the schools it visits in the Wokingham area to enable it to create new activities and to update/tailor current workshops/clubs/activities to keep them relevant.

Financial Review

The Charity’s bank balance increased by £9.3k to end the year at £15.1k, this represents 2.8 months of costs and is above our target of holding at least two months of operating costs.

Net Income for the year shows a surplus of £7.3k. This compares to a £23.3k deficit of the previous year, and is a £30.6k positive movement. Expenditure reduced by £14.8k and Income went up by £15.8k compared to the previous year. The £14.8k reduction in expenditure was achieved by reducing the salaried operating staff from two to one, and by the CEO continuing his reduced fee. For the last four months of the year the charity benefitted from a new schools worker (Eden Barnett) who joined on an expenses only basis. A saving of £0.5k was found by changing our insurance agent. The £15.8k increase in Income was achieved through a new regular individual giving stream £12.5k, an increase of £3.7k in schools contributions, and total grants of £6.4k

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

(MoreArts , Faith in the Community, and Tesco) which offset the £5.6k loss of the HMRC Coronavirus Job Retention scheme which has now ended.

We are fortunate to have such a faithful and supportive local church community. Soulscape was founded by nine local churches in 1995, five of the current nine are original members. Church income this year stayed level at £22k and would have been higher but for one annual £2k donation delayed into next year. Overall the Charity is in a good and stable condition, both financially and operationally.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

The trustees have identified the charity’s CEO and Operations Manager as the key management personnel of the charity. Executive pay is determined by the Trustees, with decisions about executive pay being informed by comparison to salaries within the sector, and subject to a “value for money” test. Salaries are reviewed annually.

Investment policy

The Charity has power to do anything which is calculated to further its Objects or is conducive or incidental to doing so. In particular, the CIO has power to: deposit or invest funds, employ a professional fund-manager and arrange for the investments or other property of the CIO to be held in the name of a nominee, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000; and do anything else within the law which is incidental and conducive to the Objects.

Fundraising policy

The Charity does engage in public fundraising (through volunteers and commercial participators) but does not use professional fundraisers. We monitor the relevant fundraising regulations and codes to ensure compliance, if relevant. During the year there was no non-compliance of these regulations and codes and the Charity received no complaints relating to its fundraising practice.

Reserves policy and going concern

The Charity has agreed to maintain a liquid balance of income equal to at least two months of salary expenditure to meet its commitments and provide stability in the event of any deterioration in voluntary giving.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Risk

The major risks to which the Charity is exposed have been identified by the Trustees and procedures established to mitigate these risks are monitored and reviewed regularly and have been recorded in the risk register. We minimise finance risk by the preparation and monitoring of budgets; strategic risk by the maintenance of good practice in delivery of our services; and operational risk and regulation compliance risk through the regular review of activities and the use of professional advisers, where appropriate.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

Law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the period and of its financial position at the end of the period. In preparing financial statements giving a true and fair view, the Trustees should follow best practice and:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principals in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity 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 charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Independent Auditor

Ian Phillips was appointed as the charity’s auditor during the period and has expressed his willingness to act in that capacity.

This report was approved by the Trustees on 29 June 2022 and signed by:

Jonathan Newport

Chair of Trustees

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Soulscape

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and

That an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Examine the accounts under section L44 of the Charities Act
to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. lt also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair' view and the report is limited to the matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section L30 of the Charities Act;

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Name: Ian Phillips ACA

Date: 29 June 2022

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body: ICAEW

Address: 47 Manor Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 4AR

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Financial Statement

	SOULSCAPE CIO	SOULSCAPE CIO	SOULSCAPE CIO	1169989	CC16a

	Receipts andpayments accounts
	For the period from	01/09/2020	To	30/08/2021


Section A Receipts and payments
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Last year
	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Total Sponsoring Churches	22,193	-	-	22,193	22,558
Regular Giving	11,953	4,500	-	16,453	6,807
Regular Giving-Gift aided	9,574	-	-	9,574	9,914
Donations from Organisations	320	-	-	320	1,050
Other Fund Raising	811	-	-	811	423
Grants	1,000	5,426	-	6,426	-
Schools	9,982	-	-	9,982	6,025
HMRC Coronavirus JRSgrant	1,331	-	-	1,331	4,315
Bank Interest	1	-	-	1	26
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	57,165	9,926	-	67,091	51,117

*Total receipts*	57,165	9,926	-	67,091	51,117

A3 Payments
Total Personnel Costs	37,001	16,776	-	53,777	71,363
Artists Costs	-	459	-	459	640
Trainingand Travel	-	-	-	-	303
Project Resources	381	770	-	1,151	195
Office and Telephones	672	-	-	672	935
Stationeryand office supplies	25	-	-	25	76
Insurance	490	-	-	490	1,032
Computer Equipment & Software	422	-	-	422	367
D & B Checks	179	-	-	179	468
Volunteer Appreciation/Expenses	-	-	-	-	20
Payroll AgencyCharges	359	-	-	359	364
Communication & Publicity	-	-	-	-	226
Miscellaneous	187	-	-	187	284
FundraisingExpenses	-	-	-	-	21
Bank Charges	84	-	-	84	60
**Sub total **	39,800	18,005	-	57,805	76,355

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-

*Total payments*	39,800	18,005	-	57,805	76,355

*Net of receipts/(payments)*	17,365	- 8,079	-	9,286	- 25,237
A5 Transfers between funds	- 8,079	8,079	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds lastyear end	5,859	-	-	5,859	31,096
*Cash funds thisyear end*	15,145	-	-	15,145	5,859

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories	Details	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
		to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B1 Cash funds	CAF Cash	1,473	-	-
	CAF Gold	13,522	-	-
	Petty Cash	150	-	-
	*Total cash funds*	15,145	-	-
	(agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s))	OK		OK
	Details	to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets		-	-	-
	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B3 Investment assets			-	-
	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use			-	-
			-	-

	Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
B5 Liabilities	Sundry Accruals (Mel)	Unrestricted	468
	Deferred Income	Unrestricted	-
	NEST Control	Unrestricted	197
	Pay as You Earn	Unrestricted	788
			-
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Signature	Print Name		Date of approval
		G J Hulme		28/06/2022
				28/06/2022

Notes:

1. BASIS OF ACCOUNTS

These accounts have been prepared on a “receipts and payments” basis as prescribed by the Charities Commissioners, and they meet the legal requirements.

2. SUPPORTING CHURCHES

The following church charities supported the Trust during the year

All Saints Church St Pauls Church Crowthorne Baptist Church Finchampstead Baptist Church Kings Church St Sebastians Church Wokingham Baptist Church Woosehill Community Church Wokingham Free Church Burial Ground

3. PERSONNEL COSTS

These payments are for one employee and three contractors working on a part-time basis

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21

CASH FLOAT

This represents advances to employees for expenses

OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

There are no other significant assets or liabilities

The accounts and statement of assets and liabilities relate to the year ended 31 August 2021 are as approved by the trustees.

Signed ……………………………………..………(Trustee) Date …………………………….. Geoff Hulme Soulscape Treasurer

Use of our report

Use of our report This report is made solely to the charity's trustees as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Soulscape Annual Report & Financial Statements 20/21