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2023-03-31-accounts

The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk

Contents

Welcome from Chris Shrubb, Chair 3
Welcome from Jay Hare, CEO 3
Objectives and Activities 4
Key Achievements and project highlights 5
Fundraising 11
Financial review 11
Structure, governance and management 13
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees 15
Financial statements 16

The trustees are pleased to present their annual trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the period 1/4/22 – 31/3/23.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 October 2019).

2 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

Welcome from Chris Shrubb, Chair

Theatre Group. We also continue to have weekly Performing Arts Academies resulting in live performances in Morpeth and the Theatre Royal. We are delighted that we have been able to relaunch FRESH club night at World Headquarters following the Covid break. We have also worked with young people to explore Hate Crime, the heritage of Sunderland, and transitions.

This year has been another busy year for the Twisting Ducks as we have been building back from Covid and continuing our work to use the arts to tackle inequalities and improve wellbeing by increasing opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autistic people to have their voices heard and to contribute to their communities.

We are delighted that we have recruited two of our core artists who have lived experience of learning disability and autism to join our board. This means that now 50% of our trustees are representative of the communities we serve. We have adapted our approach to make Board meetings more accessible and in order to facilitate this we have recruited a worker to support our new trustees to prepare for Board meetings and to provide ongoing training and support to enable them to carry out their roles and responsibilities.

This is just a few of our achievements this year, none of which would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the group members, staff and volunteers - and the Trustees are very grateful to them. This also could not have been achieved without the support from our donors and funders including Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, and Greggs Foundation, or without the continued support in kind from Newcastle City Learning (N’cle Council) and Northern Stage.

We are very proud of our achievements which include outreach and performance work which supports people to speak up about issues that are important to them, and delivery of creative writing workshops by our Spectrum

Chris Shrubb, Chair

Welcome from Jay Hare, CEO

This year we were proud to celebrate The Twisting Ducks 15-year anniversary at a members and supporters event in December. This afforded us the opportunity to showcase new work and to reflect on how much we have achieved. From starting very small (our 8 founding members meeting only once per week) we have grown larger and stronger, with a 6-day per week programme of activity across Newcastle, Northumberland and Sunderland, along with outreach workshops and events in these communities, benefitting over 500 people this year.

As it becomes increasingly important for charities like ours to build financial resilience, we are very pleased to have generated just under half of our income this year through

sales and commissions. Much of our commissioned work is produced in partnership with health and social care to tackle health inequalities; and we were proud this year to develop a series of films to support the STOMP campaign (Stop over medicating people) and LEDR initiative (stopping people with learning disabilities dying from preventable causes). We will continue to engage, challenge and raise awareness in creative ways like this, to help drive forward change.

Jay Hare, CEO

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Objectives and Activities

The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO aims to tackle inequalities and improve wellbeing by increasing opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autistic people to have their voices heard and to contribute to their community through participation in the creative arts.

We achieve our aims by creating accessible opportunities for people to come together and create, to develop their artistic skills and talent, and to collaborate with communities and cultural partners. We support beneficiaries to share their work on a public platform, ensuring the uniqueness and relevance of their art reaches more people. We use issue–based art forms to educate and inform, to help people speak up about social issues, and to raise awareness. We create opportunities for people to lead as artists and practitioners, and to work and volunteer with us.

This year, we have delivered against our objectives by providing a 6-day programme of participatory arts sessions across Newcastle, Northumberland and Sunderland, resulting in 4 original live theatre productions. Funding from the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund at Community Foundation has enabled us to deliver outreach drama and creative writing workshops and to hold spoken word performances in the local community. Our partnership working with health and social care has led to paid work for our actors and film-makers who are autistic and have learning disabilities; and has resulted in the production of creative awareness raising resources that tackle the health inequalities that our community of intertest face. We have delivered projects in Sunderland in partnership with local specialist education providers to help children and young people explore issues that are important to them through drama, and to produce their own original work.

Public Benefit Statement

In deciding our annual objectives and planning our activities, the Trustees have duly considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on Public Benefit. This report describes the main activities undertaken by our charity to carry out its charitable purposes for the benefit of people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

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Key Achievements and project highlights

Outreach and performance work supported by the Newcastle Culture Investment fund

A third consecutive multi-year Newcastle Culture Investment Fund grant through Community Foundation has enabled our 21 core artists with learning disabilities and autistic artists to remove barriers to creative participation by leading on a programme of accessible drama and creative writing outreach workshops, with 156 people taking part.

Members of The Twisting Ducks worked with Skills For People at their Newcastle Learning Disability Partnership event at the Civic Centre on 31 October to facilitate creative workshops for 102 people with learning disabilities and their families/carers. The workshops supported people to speak up about issues that were important to them. The themes that emerged will inform a plan for the city, to make it the best place to live for people with a learning disability.

Autistic artists from our Spectrum Theatre group delivered a series of creative writing workshops to Newcastle groups including Arcadea and Ouseburn Farm. Spectrum were then supported to create their own pieces of poetry, prose and story-telling themed around their relationship to the environment around them, titled ‘the ‘Effects of change’. The group performed this work at The Twisting Ducks 15 year anniversary celebration event in December at the Cluny 2, and at the Magic Hat in March.

“I wouldn't have had the confidence to write or perform my own material before joining the group”.

“I enjoyed running the workshops. I took charge, and I had never done that. It was a different experience. It made me think wow! Because I was supporting people, and helping people, and I love supporting people”

Spectrum have continued their strong partnership with Northern Stage who generously host the group each week, and are looking forward to showcasing their work here next year.

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Original Theatre through our Performing Arts Academies

Members of our Performing Arts Academies met weekly to devise and rehearse their own original theatre pieces and to develop their performance skills.

Our Morpeth group produced and showcased their first live performance ‘Welcome to Sweetpea’ at the Methodist Church, Morpeth in August – 38 audience members came to hear the story of the fictional town and its interesting characters.

“I was nervous because there was so many people, but it felt amazing that we all worked as a team and did it together”

The Saturday Academy performed their drama ‘When We Were Together’ at Theatre Royal Stage 2 in January to an audience of 82 people. The play was inspired by people’s experience of lockdown and the importance of social connections.

“We worked as a team; we could rely on each other. I loved the adrenaline and the feeling afterwards of having done it, and the audience really enjoyed it”

Members of the Wednesday Performing Arts Academy performed Twisted Tales of Tyneside at Theatre Royal’s stage 2 space in March to an audience of 80 people.

----- Start of picture text -----
"I was nervous
because there was so
many people, but it
felt amazing"
----- End of picture text -----

FRESH club night relaunch Total participant numbers: 200

Funding from the Social Enterprise Support Fund helped us to relaunch FRESH, following a series of online events during and post-lockdown. Our DJs with learning disabilities and our regular clubbers were very excited to return to World Headquarters, Newcastle, to run their inclusive monthly club night.

After the long period of social isolation that lockdown brought, it’s been fantastic to see our community returning to enjoy music together, to socialize, and to stay up late.

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Bede College Heritage arts project

When Bede College received funding from The Churches Conservation Trust, they asked us to work with their learners with learning disabilities and their autistic students to explore the heritage of Sunderland in a fun and creative way. Over 3 months, 16 young people participated in drama workshops to create their own

interpretation of a local folk song. The group devised, starred in, and produced a film that brought the song to life, with one scene including flying black puddings! The final work was showcased at Bede College to over 100 students.

“The students have done something that they would never have had the opportunity to do. I saw how the learners grew in confidence, and how this flowed to other aspects of their development socially”

Sunderland Platform Theatre project

8 members of our Sunderland drama group delivered a series of workshops on the theme of transitions to 58 young people at Sunderland College and Bede College. The workshops used character development and role play to support participants to express their hopes and anxieties about life after college.

Contributions made by the young people in the workshops, combined with the personal experiences of our group members, informed the production of a feature length performance called Hopes, Hoedowns and Horizons.

“I liked Coming up with ideas for the characters and making decisions for them.”

“This has been so incredibly helpful. It’s

brought it to life. That’s why some of the learners are getting emotional, because we’ve done so much work on all this, but this has made it real.”

The project was funded by the National Lottery Awards for All and D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust. The group performed Hopes, Hoedowns and Horizons at the Fire Station Sunderland in November to an audience of 80 people.

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Film Festival screenings

In competition with hundreds of applications, our music video ‘Standing Out From the Crowd’ was selected for the Oska Bright National film festival. The film was screened at cinemas across the UK, including Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema. The music video showcases an original song produced by our Band Academy, that celebrates the diverse identities of people with learning disabilities.

From September to October, four of our films were showcased across 4 locations as part of the Whitely Bay film festival, reaching an audience of 510 viewers.

Grace House Hate Crime project

We worked with 16 children and young people aged 10 – 25 at Grace House, Sunderland to deliver a programme of drama workshops exploring hate crime. Over 12 months, the group produced their own film about this issue, developing their skills, confidence and team work through the process. The group were proud to see their achievements on the big screen at a public screening of the film at the Grand Hotel, Sunderland.

“I think it’s had a profound impact on our young people. One of the group was very quiet, didn’t make eye contact and struggled talking in a group. By the end of the project, he had taken on the lead role in our project, contributed so much to ideas and had developed so much confidence” (Grace House worker)

“I never want the drama to end, I’ve enjoyed it so much” (project participant)

“I’ve seen a massive boost in my son’s confidence and he’s so much more comfortable being himself, couldn’t be prouder. Thanks for everything you’ve done for him” (carer)

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Accessible Health Resources

We produced 4 films commissioned by Positive Behavioural Support, North East & North Cumbria ICB, and NHS Health Education England. The films support the STOMP (Stop over-medicating people) campaign - raising awareness nationally amongst the health and social care workforce about stopping the over-Medication of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. As well as speaking to families, carers and health professionals, we traveled across the North East and Cumbria to film people’s lived experience of alternative approaches to medication, and included examples of choice and control over treatment leading to better outcomes for these people.

People with learning disabilities face gross health inequalities and die, on average, 24 years earlier than the rest of the population. North East and Cumbria Learning Disability Network and NHS North East and North Cumbria commissioned us to produce a film that raises awareness about this. ’24- Years Worth Living’ uses a music video format to highlight the dreams, opportunities and achievements of one woman with a learning disability over the space of 24 years. The film

was showcased at North East and Cumbria Learning Disability Network, the LEDR conference in Durham, in November, regional North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board event in Sunderland. 190 Health professionals attended, including lead commissioners.

“The Twisting Ducks embody coproduction into all they do and produce innovative, impactful and outstanding work”. (Emma Cheetham, Network Project Manager North East and Cumbria Learning Disability Network)

Employability

We supported 13 of our group members to take on paid acting roles in a learning disability awareness film produced by Open Futures Learning. The film will be used nationally and internationally as a workforce training resource. For many people, this was their first experience of paid acting work.

We worked with our partners Project Choice to support 2 young people with learning disabilities on 12-week work placements

“I feel that I can tell Thomas stuff and he really understands because he is autistic like me. I know he will just get it"

When Thomas joined us, he was keen to help and support his peers but lacked confidence doing this in larger group. During his placement, Thomas developed his skills as a group support worker, his confidence grew, and our members really valued having Thomas there to help them.

Whilst Thomas was on his placement, we supported him to take up a paid acting opportunity on a film shoot. This has boosted his self-belief and raised his aspirations.

“The twisting ducks is just the best place I have ever been to. I learned things to become an actor and get my confidence and understand how to support people.

"It felt good being a professional actor. It was my first paid work and it was a professional actor job too. It's been exciting working with the groups at Theatre royal and Northern stage. Now I volunteer at Spectrum and it feels like one big community that I belong to”

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Service Engagement project

We worked in partnership with STAND to deliver an engagement project to find out people’s views on a Regional service and to feed findings back to the local authority. The Twisting Ducks facilitated a series of creative workshops with 7 people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, many of whom do not use words to communicate. We used audio-visual stimulus (e.g., sound buttons to create sound-scapes, green screen filming) to help people engage and make choices.

“The support from The Twisting Ducks was invaluable to us. The expert guidance and advice from the whole team ensured that people and families had a voice and were able to fully express their thoughts and feelings. It was a real pleasure working alongside them to deliver this project” (Caroline Latta, Director of STAND)

Impact

This year, we co-designed an accessible self-evaluation form with our core group members, called ‘What are you getting out of your group?” to measure the difference taking part in our activity makes

Through taking part in our activities:

100% 92% 92% 524 1,152 reported increased said they have have built number of people audience numbers for wellbeing developed their skills stronger social who participated in our live performances and/or confidence connections our activities this year and film screenings

Brooke’s story

Brooke is 22, has a learning disability, and lives with her Mum. When Brooke first joined the group, she was very shy and nervous, and would not communicate verbally. For the first 3 sessions, she did not join in with group activities, and her Mum would sit in the room with her. After the first 3 sessions, her Mum started to leave Brooke for the morning, and returned at lunch time.

Over the next few months, we observed Brooke gradually growing in confidence and developing her communication skills. She started to show things on her mobile phone as a way of communicating, and then began talking quietly in one-to-one conversations. With encouragement and support from staff and peers, Brooke began to sit as part of the whole group, join in with drama games, and then, eventually, lead on her own warm up activity, which she continued to do each week.

Initially Brooke said that she would not be able to perform in front of an audience of strangers, as she would feel too scared. We continued to practice and rehearse, asking Brooke each week how she felt about performing live. 3 weeks before the final performance, Brooke decided that she felt ‘brave’ enough to give it a go.

“Being in the show was scary and nerve wrecking because there was so many people watching me. But when I got on the stage, with all the lights, it felt brilliant. Afterwards I felt 100% proud of myself for doing it. When I first

came here I was shaking, but now I don’t. I would like to be on the stage again with an audience. I would like to do more acting. I feel like I have really got my confidence back” (Brooke)

“The show was absolutely brilliant. I’m still emotional thinking of her getting up and doing her dance with everyone watching her - it was just amazing. And hearing her little voice at the beginning crushed my heart; she hardly ever speaks. Thank you so much, she needed that first show to get her confidence up, she was so proud of herself” (Brooke’s Mum)

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Fundraising

We raised £1,505 in donations through our community fundraising challenge ’15 k Your Way’, in celebration of our 15 year anniversary.

Donation received from charity Making Space in lieu of work done by Steve Shrubb £1,000.

Other donations £381.

Investments

We have £20k in a 35 day notice account with Redwood bank.

£1,505 in donations

Financial review

Review of the year

The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.

During the year the Charity had income of £286,137 (2022: £205,514) of which £135,326 was restricted (2022: £104,397) and expenditure of £245,240 (2022: £184,385) of which £120,032 was restricted (2022: £97,237). There was an operating surplus of £40,897 (2022: £21,129) of which £12,577 was restricted (2022: £7,159).

At 31st March 2023 the Charity had net assets of £119,764 (2022: £78,867) of which £36,442 was restricted (2022: £23,865).

Reserves policy

Risk Management

The key controls used by the charity to mitigate risks include:

The Trustees regularly review levels of reserves and have agreed that reserves equivalent to between three and six months running costs are appropriate for the organisation.

Three months running costs equate to around £60,000 and six months £120,000, based on the accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 2023. The reserves should not fall below this level in order to support good governance of the organisation. As at 31 March 2023 the unrestricted reserves were £83,322.

Trustees are satisfied that the major risks identified have been adequately mitigated.

The Trustees plan to grow unrestricted reserves over the next 2 years to further strengthen the Charity.

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Plans for future Periods

We have identified the following Key priorities to help us achieve against our vision and strategic objectives going forward:

Widening participation.

We piloted a participatory drama programme at Customs House, South Shields during the summer and will be launching a Performing Arts Academy here in September, providing an opportunity for local people with learning disabilities currently not engaged in the arts to take part and develop their skills, confidence and wellbeing.

We want to create new opportunities for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities to take part in our work. Alongside training for our Arts workers to enable them to develop their skills in this area, we will work with local providers to deliver outreach workshops, and to build a longer-term offer for participants.

Raising our profile

With support from the Cranfield Trust, we are working with a specialist consultant to help us produce a

Marketing and Communications plan. Implementing this plan will enable us to reach more people who can benefit from our work, to grow our audience, build our supporters and attract investment.

Building creative solutions to tackle inequalities

We will be launching a new Accessible Health Resource service that will support our health and social care partners to engage with the learning disability community in more creative and accessible ways. As well as reducing health inequalities that our beneficiaries face, this will also enable us to achieve our target of increasing employment opportunities (e.g., voiceover work, acting, film-work) for our members who are aspiring to gain paid work in the creative industries and who face barriers to employment.

Registered charity name
The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO
Charity number
1170354
Registered ofce
Twisting Ducks Studio
Heaton Centre
Trewhitt Road
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE6 5DY
Trustees during 2022/2023
Christine Shrubb (Chair)
Miles Henderson (Treasurer)
Una McNichol
Veronica Dougherty
Newly appointed Trustees
Victoria Smith, appointed 13/06/22
Lisa Kelly, appointed 13/06/22
Chief Executive and Senior staf members
Jay Hare, CEO
Elena Miller, Project Manager & Lead Drama Facilitator
Christine Jewers, Finance Ofcer
Alex Tate, Business Development Ofcer
Independent Examiner
Doug Maltman FMAAT
Connected Voice Business Services Ltd
One Strawberry Lane
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4BX
Main Bankers
Unity Trust Bank
PO Box 7193
Planetary Road
Willenhall
WV1 9DG
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors

12 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

Structure, governance and management

Governing Document

The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO Constitution. CIO - FOUNDATION Registered 24 Nov 2016

Recruitment and Appointment of the Board

In April, we held an accessible recruitment event to recruit 2 new Trustees with lived experience to our Board. We wanted to improve the inclusivity of our Board and ensure it is representative of the people we support, by increasing the number of trustees who are ‘experts by experience’ - people with lived experience of learning disabilities and/or autism. The selection process involved an interactive workshop facilitated by staff and Board members, providing an opportunity for people to demonstrate their skills and values, and scoring their performance against key criteria.

Meet our new Trustees

Lisa has been a core group member of The Twisting Ducks for 7 years and was keen to join the Board to share her expertise as a long-serving Trustee and former Co-Chair of another charity, and to take a more active role in networking for our organisation.

Victoria is one of our Spectrum Theatre group artists, and a member of our Morpeth Performing Arts Academy. Victoria brings a wealth of experience and connections through her active Learning Disability Voice and interview panel roles for Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

Board Induction and Training

New Board Members are introduced to the work of the organisation and informed of their legal roles and responsibilities at an induction meeting. The induction and training programme for new Board Members includes:

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Related parties

A trustee was a Board member of another charitable organisation during this period. We have transactions with this organisation to the value of £100 for our contributions to their autism research project.

Statement of Trustee Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity SORP requires 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 incoming resources and application of resources, including the receipts and payments of the charity for that year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity. 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.

Approved by the Trustees on: 26.10.2023

and signed on their behalf by:

Chair:

Chris Shrubb

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TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES

For the year ended 31 March 2023

I report on the financial statements of Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO for the year ended 31 March 2023.

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.

The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a Fellow of the Association of Accountancy Technicians.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

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. It 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 those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Doug Maltman FMAAT Connected Voice Charity Business Services One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4BX Date: 01.11.2023

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TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31 March 2023

5
6
Other trading activities
7
8
Expenditure on:
9
Operation of the charity
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement of funds
Charitable activities
Total income
Donations and legacies
Income from:
Investments
Charitable activities
Grants and contracts
Notes
Total funds carried forward
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
2,886
5,000
142,664
261
150,811
125,208
125,208
25,603
2,717
28,320
55,002
83,322		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
135,191
135
-
135,326
120,032
120,032
15,294
( 2,717 )
12,577
23,865
36,442		 Total
2023
£
2,886
140,191
142,799
261
286,137
245,240
245,240
40,897
-
40,897
78,867
119,764		 Total
2022
£
6,798
108,950
89,766
-
205,514
184,385
184,385
21,129
-
21,129
57,738
78,867

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities

16 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

Charity Number 1170354

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 March 2023

Current assets
Debtors
16
Cash at bank and in hand
17
Total current assets
Creditors:amounts falling due within
one year
18
Net current assets
Total net assets or liabilities
Funds of the charity
Unrestricted income funds
Restricted income funds
Total funds
Notes		 £
28,794
110,260
139,054
( 19,290 )		 Total
2023
£
119,764
119,764
83,322
36,442
119,764		 £
29,224
72,062
101,286
( 22,419 )		 Total
2022
£
78,867
78,867
55,002
23,865
78,867

These financial statements were approved by the Board on: 01.11.2023

and are signed on its behalf by:

M Henderson Treasurer

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TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

2 Basis of accounting

2.1 Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts 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) (effective October 2019) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

2.2 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The charity reported total unrestricted funds at the year end of £83,322 . The trustees are of the view that the immediate future of the charity is secure and that on this basis the charity is a going concern.

3 Income

3.1 Recognition of income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the resources, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is more likely than not that the resources will be received and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability

3.2 Offsetting

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses, unless required or permitted by FRS102 SORP or FRS102.

3.3 Grants and donations

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ 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

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria of income recognition are met.

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TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

3.4 Donated goods and services

Donated goods are measured at fair value (the amount for which the asset could be exchanged) unless impractical to do so.

Donated services and facilities are included in the SoFA when received at the value of the gift to the charity provided that the value of the gift can be measured reliably. Donated services and facilities that are consumed immediately are recognised as income with the equivalent amount recognised as an expense under the appropriate heading in the SoFA.

3.5 Volunteer help

The value of volunteer help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees' annual report.

3.6 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

3.7 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects

4 Expenditure and liabilities

4.1 Liability recognition

Liabilities are recognised when it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

4.2 Charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of work and other activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

4.3 Governance and support costs

Support costs have been allocated between governance cost and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

4.4 Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk | 19

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

4.5 Creditors

The charity has creditors which are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.

4.6 Provisions for liabilities

A liability is measured on recognition at its historical cost and then subsequently measured at the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the reporting date.

20 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Analysis of income
5
Donations and legacies
6
Charitable activities
Income from grants
Lottery
Access to Work
Connected Voice
7
Other trading activities
Ticket sales
Commissioned work
Services
Newcastle City Learning
Other Grant - HMRC
Postcode Neighbourhood Trust
Social Enterprise Support Fund, Big Issue
Invest.
Greggs Foundation
The Clothworkers Foundation
Donations and gifts
Other
Newcastle Culture Investment Fund at the
Community Foundation Tyne and Wear and
Northumberland
Arts Council
Foyle Foundation
D'oyly Carte Charitable Trust
Rothley Trust
Community Led Local Development
Health Education England
Victoria Wood Foundation
Academies fees
Recovery and Renewal Fund at the
Community Foundation Tyne and Wear and
Northumberland
Barbour Foundation
The Worshipful Company of Grocers
Joicey Trust
The Newcastle Fund
RW Mann Trust		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
2,886
-
2,886
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
68,625
877
73,053
109
142,664		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
20,000
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,381
16,611
-
-
-
19,839
19,610
4,000
20,000
5,000
350
5,000
1,300
9,100
135,191
-
135
-
-
135		 Total
2023
£
2,886
-
2,886
20,000
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,381
16,611
-
-
5,000
19,839
19,610
4,000
20,000
5,000
350
5,000
1,300
9,100
140,191
68,625
1,012
73,053
109
142,799		 Total
2022
£
5,750
1,048
6,798
35,000
837
15,000
5,000
9,961
5,898
1,500
800
10,418
3,168
10,815
1,000
5,000
4,553
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
108,950
59,153
-
30,613
-
89,766

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk | 21

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Bank interest Unrestricted
Funds
£
261
261		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-		 Total
Total
2023
2022
£
£
261
-
261
-

Income was £286,137 (2022: £205,514) of which £150,811 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £101,117) and £135,326 was restricted (2022: £104,397)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

9 Charitable activities
Direct costs
Support costs
Governance costs
Hospitality and Volunteer expenses
Subscription
Promotion
Filming and Music costs
Office expenses
Equipment
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on
the accounts
Bank charges
Insurance
Fundraising costs
Professional fees
Wages
Transport
Room hire
National insurance
Sessional staff
Pension
Other staff costs
Training		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
68,096
11,075
1,854
13,715
633
3,612
9,978
1,495
931
1,269
2,487
1,680
3,870
251
37
324
104
2,633
1,164
125,208		 Restricted
Funds
£
102,369
-
-
1,938
-
229
1,168
99
-
57
-
399
9,209
-
800
-
2,813
951
-
120,032		 Total
2023
£
170,465
11,075
1,854
15,653
633
3,841
11,146
1,594
931
1,326
2,487
2,079
13,079
251
837
324
2,917
3,584
1,164
245,240		 Total
2022
£
128,662
9,057
2,254
19,582
-
1,163
6,868
1,122
1,111
480
2,815
5,115
4,376
392
-
-
-
-
1,388
184,385

Expenditure on charitable activities was £245,240 (2022: £184,384) of which £125,208 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £87,147) and £120,032 was restricted (2022: £97,237)

22 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

10 Fees for examination of the accounts

Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the accounts
There were no other fees paid to the examiner (2022: £nil)		 2023
2022
£
£
1,164
1,388
1,164
1,388

11 Analysis of staff costs and the

Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs (defined contribution pension plan)		 2023
2022
£
£
170,465
128,662
11,075
9,057
1,854
2,254
183,394
139,973

No employee received remuneration above £60,000 (2022: nil)

The key management personnel of the charity, comprise the trustees and the charity manager . The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £0.

12 Staff numbers

The average monthly head count was 13 staff (2022: 8 staff) and the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year were as follows:

Charitable activities
The parts of the charity in which the employee's work		 2023
2022
Number
Number
5.0
4.0
5.0
4.0

13 Transactions with trustees

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity.

Trustees' expenses

No trustee expenses have been incurred in the year.

Transaction(s) with related parties

The following detail the related party transactions in the reporting period.

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk | 23

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

14 Defined contribution pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The employer's pension costs represent contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amount to £1,854 (2022: £2,254). There was £845 outstanding as at 31 March 2023 (2022: £0)

15 Corporation Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objectives.

16 Debtors and prepayments (receivable within 1 year)

17 Cash at bank and in hand
Unrestricted Funds
Deposit account
Cash at bank
Other debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments		 2023
2022
£
£
28,649
28,366
145
18
-
840
28,794
29,224
2023
2022
£
£
20,000
20,000
90,260
52,062
110,260
72,062

18 Creditors and accruals (payable within 1 year)

Other creditors
Deferred income
Filming
Independent examination of accounts
Other accruals
NHS North East
Accruals		 2023
2022
£
£
1,164
1,388
336
4,531
-
16,500
5,500
-
12,290
-
19,290
22,419

24 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

19 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises of advance payments from grants that relate to future periods

Balance brought forward
Balance carried forward
Amount deferred in year
Amount released to income earned from
charitable activities		 2023
2022
£
£
16,500
24,000
( 16,500 )
( 24,000 )
5,500
16,500
5,500
16,500

20 Events after the end of the reporting period

No events (not requiring adjustment to the accounts) have occurred after the end of the reporting period but before the accounts are authorised which relate to conditions that arose after the end of the reporting period.

21 Analysis of charitable funds Unrestricted Funds

Analysis of movements in unresUnrestricted Funds As at 31 March 2023

Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
55,002
55,002		 Incoming
resources
£
150,811
150,811		 Resources
expended
£
( 125,208 )
(125,208)		 Fund
balances
carried
Transfers
forward
£
£
2,717
83,322
2,717
83,322

Analysis of movements in unresUnrestricted Funds as at 31 March 2022

Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
41,032
41,032		 Incoming
resources
£
101,117
101,117		 Resources
expended
£
( 87,147 )
(87,147)		 Fund
balances
carried
Transfers
forward
£
£
-
55,002
-
55,002

Purpose of unrestricted funds

General unrestricted fund

The 'free reserves' of the charity

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk | 25

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

21 Analysis of movement in restricted funds (continued) As at 31 March 2023

Restricted funds
Health Champions
Sunderland Platform Project
DWP
Victoria Wood Foundation
Foyle Foundation
Various funding grants
Newcastle Culture Investment
Fund at the Community
Foundation Tyne and Wear and
Northumberland
Recovery Fund
Social Enterprise
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
723
12,975
2,717
5,000
2,450
-
-
-
-
23,865		 Incoming
resources
£
-
19,840
25,992
-
-
44,750
20,135
5,000
19,610
135,327		 Resources
expended
£
( 723 )
( 14,035 )
( 25,992 )
-
-
( 37,207 )
( 20,135 )
( 5,000 )
( 16,941 )
(120,033)		 Fund
balances
carried
Transfers
forward
£
£
-
-
-
18,780
-
2,717
-
5,000
-
2,450
( 2,717 )
4,826
-
-
-
-
-
2,669
(2,717)
36,442

Analysis of movement in restricted funds As at 31 March 2022

Restricted funds
Health Champions
Sunderland Platform Project
DWP
Victoria Wood Foundation
Foyle Foundation
Various funding grants
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
-
14,058
769
-
-
1,879
16,706		 Incoming
resources
£
3,168
66,216
10,815
5,000
5,000
14,198
104,397		 Resources
expended
£
( 2,445 )
( 67,299 )
( 8,867 )
-
( 2,550 )
( 16,077 )
(97,238)		 Fund
balances
carried
Transfers
forward
£
£
-
723
-
12,975
-
2,717
-
5,000
-
2,450
-
-
-
23,865

Purpose of restricted funds

Restricted funds represent income resources used for a specific purpose within the charity as identified by the donor.

Health Champions

Sunderland Platform Project

DWP

Victoria Wood Foundation Foyle Foundation Various funding grants:

A grant from Community Health Fund Newcastle City Council to support our Learning Disability Health Champions awareness raising A drama project funded by Postcode Neighbourhood Trust and D’oyly Carte.

Access to work, employee support grants. A grant was received towards our core costs. A grant towards our core costs.

26 | THE TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT

TWISTING DUCKS THEATRE COMPANY CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

Purpose of restricted funds (continued)

Recovery Fund Recovery and Renewal fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland - Funding to support our organisation's recovery from Covid, including phased return to in-person activity. Social Enterprise Social Enterprise Support Fund, Big Issue Invest - grant to support our organisational development and Covid recovery.

Transfers between funds
As at 31 March 2023
Between unrestricted and
restricted funds
Reason for transfer
Various funding grants contribution to core funding.		 Amount
£
2,717

22 Capital commitments

As at 31 March 2023, the charity had no capital commitments (2022 -£nil)

23 Analysis of net assets between funds

Cash at bank and in hand
Other net current assets/(liabilities)		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
73,818
9,504
83,322		 Restricted
Funds
£
36,442
-
36,442		 Total
Total
2023
2022
£
£
110,260
72,062
9,504
6,805
119,764
78,867

Twisting Ducks Studio Heaton Centre Trewhitt Road Newcastle Upon Tyne NE6 5DY

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk

Registered charity name: The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO. Charity number 1170354.

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk | 27

Thank you to all our funders and partners who supported our work during 2022/2023

Community Foundation Tyne and Wear and Northumberland Connected Voice

D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation Greggs Foundation Health Education England Joicey Trust National Lottery Awards for All Newcastle City Council and City Learning Newcastle Community Health Fund

Newcastle Culture Investment Fund at Community Foundation Tyne and Wear Newcastle Fund NHS Health Education England North East and Cumbria Learning Disability Network Northern Stage Postcode Neighbourhood Trust R W Mann Trust

Social Enterprise Support Fund, Big Issue Invest The Clothworkers Foundation The Worshipful Company of Grocers Victoria Wood Foundation

Twisting Ducks Studio Heaton Centre Trewhitt Road Newcastle Upon Tyne NE6 5DY

www.thetwistingducks.co.uk

Registered charity name: The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company CIO. Charity number 1170354.