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2023-03-31-accounts

Bromley Parent Voice Annual Report

&

Statement of Financial Accounts

1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 Charity Commission Number: 1172718

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Contents

Team Introduction

Trustees Report Summary

Funding

Membership

Outcomes & Outreach of BPV’s Work

Future BPV Strategy

Financial Summary

Receipts and Payments Accounts

Notes to the Accounts

Report Approval

Independent Examiner

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BPV TEAM INTRODUCTION

Trustees: Helen Buckley

Tanya Smith

Inge Lake (Treasurer)

Steering

Committee: Kayla Dodd

Jo Seymour Cherry Masterson Kerry Demello

Volunteers: Atikah Chowdhury

Inge Lake

Gwilym Dodd

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Trustees Report

Last year we started out on our new journey, independent from our previous funders, able to be autonomous in how we offer services and the direction we travel in as an organisation. This was a big step for Bromley Parent Voice; but our members, Steering Group and Trustees embraced it and made it another successful year.

We managed to secure funding to provide IPSEA courses to local parents and these have been well received - the need for them is evident from the feedback we received. At a time when underfunding puts increased pressure on systems of support, few organisations are able to provide such assistance and our new independence enables us to fill this void without fear of any conflict of interests. We plan to provide more of these opportunities to assist parents and carers of local SEND children in understanding their rights and how to navigate a complicated set of systems to get their children the help that are entitled to. We have been able to continue our popular coffee mornings where parent carers are able to find peer support and have worked with other local organisations to help offer assistance and training to 'hard to reach' groups. We have also been able to increase our presence and influence on social media platforms. Being able to diversify has been a great help in finding new parent carers who benefit from our events and services.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, there is likely to be increased pressure on traditional resources for families with SEND children and elections, both local and national will bring additional uncertainty. We shall continue to provide our much-needed services in the local area and will look at opportunities for co-production where this will benefit our members.

None of this would be possible without our dedicated volunteers, most of whom are parent carers themselves. We are extremely grateful for all they do, and I'd like to officially thank every one of you for your contribution.

With best wishes from

Tanya Smith

On behalf of Bromley Parent Voice Trustee Board

29 January 2024

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Summary

This is the annual report & financial accounts of Bromley Parent Voice between the reporting period of 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023. The report gives an overview of the work of the charity and will outline our plans beyond April 2023.

Bromley Parent Voice is an independent charity which welcomes all parents or carers of a child or young person up to the age of 25 with a disability or additional need that live in the London Borough of Bromley. BPV started life many years ago as the recognised Contact/DfE parent carer forum working with the local authority to represent local families which later became independent in 2022.

Objectives and Activities:

Bromley Parent Voice is a small charity supporting local families and carers of children and young people with SEND overseen by a board of trustees. The trustees manage the governance & strategic direction of Bromley Parent Voice to ensure it fulfils its vision and objectives. Now that we are fully independent, we can be more responsive to the needs of those we serve and pursue alternative avenues of funding and partnerships than before. Our Trustee Board capacity to support our Steering Group and seek additional funding will increase now that the demands on our time from elsewhere have reduced. We can enhance our social media offer and forge closer links with organisations that would be beneficial to our members. We will be able to better utilise help from skilled members of our community who may not be parent carers themselves but still share our values and want to help us in supporting you.

The objectives of the charity are:

The steering group of parent/carer representatives set the strategic direction and vision as well as managing the charity’s daily activities. The steering group carries out the community outreach work in the borough for Bromley parent Voice. The steering group and trustees are all local parents & carers of children with SEND who are passionate about supporting fellow SEND carers. The BPV team is also supported by an administration volunteer.

The steering group is responsible for collecting and representing the views of a wider group of parents/carers of children/young people with SEND & they meet monthly to discuss the

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charity’s activities. By focusing on these activities, we aim to inform and empower parents & carers of disabled and SEN children & young people and to improve services and outcomes for them.

Funding

In previous years, Bromley Parent Voice successfully applied for an annual £15,000 participation grant from the Department for Education. However, this grant has now come to an end as BPV officially parted company with the DfE, LBB & Contact by becoming an independent charity in 2022.

Over the past year, BPV has been using a combination of its reserves and National Lottery grant funds to continue its operations as well as conducting a cost cutting exercise. As part of its economising strategy, the charity is wholly run by volunteers as its only paid staff member left in December 2022 and volunteers are only paid expenses incurred on behalf of the charity.

BPV has acknowledged the need to diversify its income streams and is in the process of applying for additional grants and developing community fundraising activities and a donation link for its website and social media channels.

Bromley Parent Voice was successful in obtaining a £10,000 Awards For All Grant from the National Lottery in February 2023. The grant was used to provide a series of solicitor led training sessions on different aspects of SEND Law for parents & carers provided by IPSEA (Independent Providers of Special Education Advice).

BPV over the past few years has noticed that the queries parents & carers contacted them about required more specialist, legal expertise that they weren't able to provide. The local SENDIASS service were also overwhelmed with similar queries, particularly after COVID, hence the reason to apply for a grant from the National Lottery to provide parents with an alternative source of independent SEND legal advice.

Membership (Our Reach)

Bromley Parent Voice continues to be a voice for parent carers in Bromley working with external stakeholders, parents & carers, educational settings, and voluntary sector partners. However, our primary focus now as an independent charity is to represent the voices of our SEND parents & carers. BPV is open to all parents or carers of a child or young person with a disability or additional need who live in the London Borough of Bromley.

The current number of trustees that we have are three with an additional member joining us in the next quarter; however, we want to recruit another two trustees to strengthen our trustee board. BPV has six parent representatives who have attended meetings with external

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stakeholders during the past year and many parents have contributed their experiences of SEND services via social media, coffee mornings, surveys and consultations during 2022/23.

Since April 2022, BPV has successfully trained four new parent representatives who have risen to the challenge and got involved in supporting their fellow parents & carers and representing their voices when required. However, our capacity to reach a wider audience particularly within the disadvantaged areas of the borough is limited by our small team of volunteers. BPV acknowledges that the capacity of SEND parents to volunteer is limited due to their caring obligations although it is this group of parents & carers who are best placed to provide support to their fellow SEND carers. We are at a pivotal moment in our journey as an organisation because without additional funds, volunteers and employed staff, we will be unable to provide the independent support, information and listening ear that is so desperately needed in Bromley.

Platform Engagement Numbers
Twitter X 1218
BPV Membership (MailChimp database) 1139
Facebook 290

Our Events

Over the year BPV has carried out the following activities to reach more parents and to develop participation during April 2022 to March 23.

Event Numbers of attendees
BPV Coffee Mornings 200+
BPV Connects Schools Project 100+

The objectives of the above projects are to reach more families whose children attend mainstream schools and families whose voices are seldom heard particularly those from the minority ethnic, traveller community and low-income households. The BPV Schools Connect Project has enabled us to reach families of children in mainstream schools and to identify gaps in services and provision for this group of children and young people. The BPV Coffee Mornings were reintroduced after the Covid lockdown and have been very successful. In

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August 2021, BPV successfully applied for a small grant of £400 from the National Lottery Connections Fund to continue the coffee mornings in different locations across the borough.

Bromley has both affluent and disadvantaged areas like many London boroughs and the gaps between these different communities are becoming wider due to the cost-of-living crisis (Reference Trust for London.) SEND households are particularly more likely to experience financial hardship due to carers having to work minimum wage jobs, or limited hours or give up work completely due to their caring responsibilities. SEND carers are also more likely to experience social isolation and the aim of the informal coffee mornings is to provide a safe space where they can connect over a coffee with fellow carers and receive information and support.

Other Key Areas of work

April 2022 – Bromley Children & Family Forum Easter Egg Hunt – provided an information stall

X 2 BPV coffee mornings

LBB SEND Transition Event - provided an information stall

Children & Family Project Autism Support Coffee morning

Coffee morning with the KCUT Learning Disability Liaison Nurse

May 2022 - x 2 school visits - 19[th] & 25[th ] May

SEND Review Engagement sessions

X 2 BPV Coffee mornings

June 2022 - Joint BPV coffee morning with Bromley SEND Dept

July 2022 - Parents/Carers Coffee Morning x 2

London Borough of Bromley SEND Governance Board

London Borough of Bromley Autism Board

Marjorie McClure SEND Specialist School Information vent

Sept 2022 - BPV Carers Coffee Morning x 2

During the Autumn of 2022, BPV worked with Contact, LBB & the NNPCF on governance & strategy training.

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Oct 2022 - School Visit: Stuart Flemming

London Borough of Bromley SEND Governance Board

BPV becomes an official Children in Need Essential Grant Referrer

Nov 2022 - London Borough of Bromley Autism Board

BPV SEND Carers Coffee Morning x 2

Bromley Voluntary Sector Meeting

Dec 2022 - SEND Diversity Project Launch

BPV SEND Carers Coffee Morning x 2

London Borough of Bromley Innovation Project Launch

LBB Integration Therapy Project Collaboration

Jan 2023 – x 2 SEND Carers Coffee Mornings

February 2023 – x 2 BPV SEND Carers Coffee Mornings

BPV becomes fully independent

BPV receives the Awards for All Grant from the National Lottery

March 2023 - x 2 SEND Carers Coffee Mornings

Throughout 2022 & 2023 BPV was involved in a working group organised by Oakonsult developing Project Me, a disability outreach initiative targeting the minority ethnic communities in Bromley.

Health Engagement

In previous years, BPP regularly met with the Children’s Commissioner for Health from the Clinical Commissioning Group. There was past involvement with parents to help review the Health Local Offer and we also attended regular Children & /young People work stream meetings. During and after the pandemic, there were renewed efforts from the CCG, LBB and BPV to inform parents on the latest COVID related health news and COVID vaccine roll out to vulnerable children and young people in the borough. BPV regularly met with the local authority & external partners during this time and was instrumental in cascading this information to our members via newsletters, online coffee mornings and social media.

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During 22/23, BPV organised a coffee morning with the Bromley GP Alliance to inform parents about the post 14 health checks that are available via local GP practices. Throughout the year, BPV has hosted several coffee mornings involving the Learning Disability Liaison Nurse from Kings College NHS Trust, the Bromley SEND Nurse and the Adult Carers Support Coordinator from Bromley Well.

Informal coffee mornings involving various health partners & external stakeholders gave parents the opportunity to provide professionals, insights into issues affecting CYP with SEND. The informative conversations focused on initiatives various organisations were involved in (such as neurodiversity support, post 14+ health checks & Asthma pathways etc) in Bromley.

Outcomes and Impact of BPV work

After our workshop on ‘Masterclass in Obtaining an EHCP’

Following the workshop on ‘Masterclass for those with existing EHCP’s’

Parental comments:

“Thank you for all your time and efforts”

“Thank you so much…a wealth of extremely useful information. Much appreciated!”

“Very useful. Everyone should know all of this!!”

“it was really invaluable!”

“I can’t say how much I appreciate the support”

“IPSEA courses are amazing! Best thing I have done on my SEN journey. Would highly recommend. Thanks, BPV for funding these and empowering our community”

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The Future BPV Strategy

We aim to continue to inform and empower parents and carers of children & young people with SEND and to improve services for them and ultimately their quality of life. BPV intends to deliver more independent SEND information sessions (subject to funding) to ensure increased knowledge of SEND issues & parent carer engagement.

Partnership working with other third sector organisations e.g. Dyslexia Association, CASPA, Bromley Mencap and similar voluntary sector groups can only enhance & strengthen the service that we provide to our members. Diversification of our income streams is a necessary task this year and one that the organisation is working on; lessons have been learnt from the COVID period. Bromley Parent Voice needs to prioritise its financial stability and develop sustainable pathways to ensure its survival in the future by applying for a combination of grants and considering sponsorships from local businesses.

BPV aims to raise £30,000 in the next few years to continue to provide the current level of service as well as reappointing a part time administrator. The recruitment of paid staff will help the charity to strengthen its governance structures, expand more quickly and allow the volunteers and trustees to focus on their strategic priorities.

BPV has recognised that it can benefit from the skill set of the local community who may not be direct carers of children with SEND but have a SEND child in their wider social circle or who just want to help raise awareness of SEND issues. We have made progress in developing relationships with external organisations and individuals who want to be allies in our quest to obtain better services for our members.

We want to recruit additional trustees and volunteers from all sections of our community to help us to reach our strategic objectives more quickly. The demand for our service has increased considerably since lockdown and we aim to answer all queries and engagement opportunities where possible, however the capacity of our small team is extremely limited.

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Bromley Parent Voice Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2023

Fixed Asset
Tangible assets
Computer Costs
Fixtures and Fittings Cost
Total Tangible assets
Total Fixed Asset
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash on hand
Treasurers Account (4268)
Total Cash at bank and in hand
Net current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade Creditors
Creditors
Total Trade Creditors
Current Liabilities
Accruals
Other Payroll Deductions
Payroll Clearing
Payroll Liabilities
HMRC
Pension
Total Payroll Liabilities
Tax and National Insurance
Total Current Liabilities
Total Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets (liabilities)
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets (liabilities)
Charity funds
Retained Earnings
Surplus/(Deficit)
Total Charity funds		 Total
As of Mar
31, 2023
As of Mar
31, 2022
(PY)
1,270.08
1,258.08
1,004.00
1,004.00
£2,274.08
£2,262.08
£2,274.08
£2,262.08
65.69
65.69
17,417.98
17,228.74
£17,483.67
£17,294.43
£17,483.67
£17,294.43
0.00
0.00
£0.00
£0.00
500.00
0.00
0.00
-298.55
-47.70
286.19
99.60
105.56
134.96
£391.75
£234.56
0.00
0.00
£593.20
£186.86
£593.20
£186.86
£16,890.47
£17,107.57
£19,164.55
£19,369.65
£19,164.55
£19,369.65
19,369.65
13,489.65
-205.10
5,880.00
£19,164.55
£19,369.65

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Bromley Parent Voice Financial Activities

April 2022 - March 2023

Income
All Project Grant
DFE Grant
Discretionary Grant
Donations and legacies
Total Income
Total
Expenditures
Admin & governance
Accountancy
Computer repairs
Office/General Administrative Expenses
Telephone
Travel and Accommodation
Total Admin & governance
Events
Meetings
Rent
Zoom
Total Meetings
Miscellaneous
Refreshments
Total Miscellaneous
Payroll Expenses
Pension
Taxes
Wages
Total Payroll Expenses
Total Expenditures
Net Operating Income
Net Income/(Expenditure)		 Total
Apr 2022 -
Mar 2023
Apr 2021 -
Mar 2022
(PY)
10,000.00
3,043.83
20,134.98
400.00
5.00
210.78
£13,048.83
£20,745.76
£13,048.83
£20,745.76
500.00
500.00
857.98
827.98
1,161.36
408.00
187.51
174.89
14.39
£2,721.24
£1,910.87
289.03
100.00
1,270.00
1,190.00
158.29
172.68
£1,428.29
£1,362.68
33.00
£0.00
£33.00
113.40
151.20
241.97
28.01
8,460.00
11,280.00
£8,815.37
£11,459.21
£13,253.93
£14,865.76
-£205.10
£5,880.00
-£205.10
£5,880.00

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REPORT APPROVAL

This annual and financial statement report is an accurate reflection of the 2022/23 achievements and future aspirations of the charitable organisation, Bromley Parent Voice (BPV).

It is apt to take this opportunity to extend our thanks and sincere appreciation to all our members & wider team who have enabled BPV to inform and involve local families to influence positive change.

We continue to adhere to our financial procedures policy. Significant risks to the charity have been identified and strategies developed to counteract and prevent these risks. This policy is reviewed by the trustees in line with the planned schedule of policy and procedure review or as necessary.

This policy will also be reviewed by all existing and newly appointed trustees at the charity’s annual general meeting (AGM) and signed on their behalf by:

Tanya Smith

Member of Bromley Parent Voice Trustee Board

27 January 2024

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BPV

I report on the financial statements for the period ended 31[st] March 2023 set out on pages 10 & 11.

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 145 of the 2011 charities act,

Follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the charity commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 act, and state whether particular matter have come to my attention.

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 you as 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 next statement.

Independent examiner’s statement:

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

1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:

2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Joanna Josiah FCCA 21/01/2023

12 Mead Crescent, Dartford, Kent, DA1 2SH

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