OFFICIAL ## **Stretford Children’s Theatre** **REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 1175334** ## **2020 / 2021 Annual Report** **Financial Year End 31.8.21** **(Period covered 01.09.20-31.08.21)** **Stretford Children’s Theatre** **Stretford Public Hall** ## **Chester Road** ## **Stretford** **Manchester** **M32 0LG** **Email: stretfordchildrenstheatre@gmail.com** **Twitter: @SCT_Stretford** **Website: www.stretfordchildrenstheatre.org.uk** **Instagram: stretfordchildrenstheatre** OFFICIAL ## _**Mission Statement:**_ To inspire, educate and enrich our community by providing high quality accessible performing arts sessions and through public productions. ## _**Our Vision:**_ To build a valued community organisation that is well-known for its high quality, inclusive, participant-led performing arts offer; an environment where everyone feels valued and supported to unlock talent and reach their potential. ## _**Our Values:**_ _Our_ **values** _, below, inform our work and guide our_ **attitudes** _and_ **behaviours** _:_ Values Behaviours and attitudes Creativity Personal Responsibility Diversity Listening Equality Achievement Inclusivity Confidence Respect Inspiring Honesty Nurturing Aspiration Friendship Ambition Support Collaboration Positivity Fun ## _**Our Aims:**_ - To provide fun, creative opportunities - To be participant led - To increase confidence, resilience and independence for participants - To develop social and emotional skills to support mental health and well-being - To develop confidence and leadership skills in order to enhance employability - To develop skills, knowledge and appreciation of the arts - To promote an understanding of the significance of the arts in our shared cultural heritage - To encourage participants’ connection to their community: a sense of belonging - To provide a safe and healthy environment for all - To work together with residents, community users, local authorities, voluntary and other organisations to be a positive part of the community - To be a robust and sustainable organisation 2 OFFICIAL Stretford Children’s Theatre was originally founded in 1945 by Bertram H. Holland and was embedded in the community for more than 35 years. It ceased to exist in the early 1980’s but was re-formed in 2015 by a small group of local people, and takes place at one of its original venues, Stretford Public Hall. We are a small registered charity, with a volunteer Board, and our drama sessions are delivered by professional theatre practitioners, specialists at working with our different age groups. Stretford Children’s Theatre, is committed to providing affordable quality drama experiences for local children and young people, aged 4 upwards. We think we meet our aims at every session we deliver and hope that everyone feels the same. If you feel differently please speak to the any member of the Board and highlight any concerns, you may have. Our sections have done some great things this year which means everyone is working towards fulfilling the aim of making a positive contribution to society to the public benefit of all. As a foundation CIO, we are governed by our Constitution. If you wish for a copy of the Constitution which details more information about our group’s governance and rules, please ask any of the Board Members who can give you a copy, or it can be found on our website. Our registered address is: Stretford Public Hall, Chester Road, Stretford, M32 0LG Our Bank details are: CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME194JQ CAFCASH Account: Account Number: 00031787 Sort Code: 405240 Also, Natwest, Trafford Park, Third Avenue, Trafford Park, Manchester, M17 1NW - General Account Name: Stretford Children’s Theatre - General Account Number: 56057687 Sort Code: 010881 - Savings Account Name: Stretford Children’s Theatre - Savings Account Number: 56057695 Savings Sort Code: 010881 3 OFFICIAL We have had no serious/reportable accidents or incidents this year. Our public liability insurance is held with Markel Insurance. All our drama practitioners are DBS checked and follow our child protection policy and procedures. All our policies can be found on our website. We conduct risk assessments for each group, and each place we visit to ensure everybody’s safety. **If you are able to support us any further, through donations, volunteering your time or offering specific skills that might be useful, please do get in touch via email at stretfordchildrenstheatre@gmail.com or get in touch through our Facebook page (Stretford Children’s Theatre), or speak to any of the Board Members, volunteers, or leaders.** 4 OFFICIAL ## **Group Structure 2020/2021** ## **Our Board Members are:** Shelly Quinton-Hulme - Chairperson until 21/07/2021 Michelle Calame-Bell - Chairperson from 21/07/2021 Kirsty Thomas - Treasurer Kathleen Repper-Day - Secretary Ali Dunican - Trustee until 11/11/2020 Janice Rendel - Trustee Annika Edge - Trustee Keith Broom - Trustee Jessica Loveday - Trustee Emma Towler - Trustee Andrew Appleby - Trustee Alison Rocca - Trustee No changes to the Board are known about at this time but strengthening our capabilities is on the agenda and this may mean increasing the number of Trustees to the Board. If you need to contact any of the Board Members please email: stretfordchildrenstheatre@gmail.com stating who you would like the email to go to. CAF Online Signatories are: Kirsty Thomas; Shelly Quinton-Hulme; Janice Rendel Natwest Cheque Signatories are: Kirsty Thomas; Shelly Quinton-Hulme; Janice Rendel 5 OFFICIAL ## **Chairperson’s Annual Report 2020 – 2021** This has been a challenging year for our group as we continued the struggles with Covid-19. We returned to face-to face meetings but with measures to keep the children covid secure [as much as possible] – we had the children sit in hoops [their adventure bubble] and filed them out on a knotted rope to help them judge their distance. After a few weeks the children had completely adapted to this way of class delivery and it was great to not have to continue on zoom all the time. Thank you from us all for helping to make Stretford Children’s Theatre work. 6 OFFICIAL SI'(2LI I"I;L) sT￿ETFor1D CHILD￿EN.5 THEAT￿E sT[IETFO￿D CHILD￿EN.5 THEATRE 2020 12021 202012021 OilICHILDREII ANDYQiIMG PEOPLE CHILt*EN AND YOIING PEOPLE EMGAGED 140 53 140 53 Member$ ofwhich New Member% Members ofwhich New t SEssiof15 CHILDAEM PER AGE Gftt 272 88 42 44 22 Se8$ions dellvered Volunteer houri oiMtPRODUCTIONS ENDER 30 67/ 33% Performances Audience embers P•m41• M• tyJR STAFF ErmNIC￿ff 12 74% 110/ White Mixed ¢ETnNG S(thL 8/ 7/ 166 326 136 Oiher ethic Blatk Twiitsi Facebook Instagram follower5 followeT• followers DISA81 FIIANCES 5% £25,200 Members identify as disabled Total income 48°A 52/ From granti £aTned Inco OFFICIAL SI'(2LI I"I;L) Stretford C hildren s Theatre We ofkedourwrticiwiits andiheir lyiits/¢y￿￿ hoii. Ilia'.feli alx)iil 2020121 Annual Siiyrfc )Id child￿nS 7liedlre- Ihisis ii*ai ilio. said Survey 98 % would recommend Why did you join SCTg Improve social skills •fter ltykdow Makc new friends tiiin confiden¢e Improve drima skilli Espr¢Js myself Sirei(ord Children Tb¢*irt lo oth¢r Describe SCT in 3 words Fun Benefils - SCT fri¢ndly diiftreni ehipyible *re hitrted to . 95% F¢¢1 s•f¢ & JM)siiiv¢ 91% > In¢Te#sed eothfiden¢e & ill skillj - 73% F¢¢1 ¢ollnKi¢d wilh )wns p¢opl¢ in I￿41 mmuniiy - 68% Jori4ble ¢r¢4tiYe 91 % vAlue SirLiford L'hiklrin Th¢atT¢ Ind wani lo 5¢¢ it ¢ontinu¢ New skills > Soc Ml skits.. leam worki18. k8icnin8. colhboraiK)n >Sofi skil&'. in¢r¢as¢d cOnf￿enCe & concentraiK)n > Performance skills.. improvi5alion. rememberin8 lin¢s. scripi writing. voice proje¢iion. a¢¢¢nts. dance. mime 96 % parents/ carers agree that SCT > is good value for money > is w¢ll Organ￿ed >communKate5 effeciivety 14Kal wekoming C￿$1¥¢ - fr*Ddly What makes SCT different ommyniiy- focused morc frccdom mix of I￿rnin￿ OFFICIAL ## **Treasurers Report and Annual Accounts - 2020/21** This year saw continued uncertainty around Covid restrictions which impacted the financial section of the group. Despite this we were able to continue to provide the sessions both online and within the hall for the entire year. This year has passed in a complete whirl and whilst the were some downs the overriding story of it has been overwhelmingly positive, the funding received in 2020/21 has provided us with peace of mind and allowed us to look further than the finances. ## **Financial challenges 21/22** - As we adjust to a post Covid society we look to ensure our ability to continue as a group. We will start the year in great financial shape having met our reserves for the first time ever since opening. The uncertainty around anything Covid related we hope to keep our doors open. - Cash flow will always remain a challenge for us but if we remain financially vigilant we will not only maintain the groups but will have the potential for growth. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Opening Balance £ 12,296
Total Income
Memberships £ 11,032
Grants £ 15,893
Donations £ 318
Gift Aid
2019-20 £ 1,976
2020-21 £ 2,187
Total Income £ 31,405
**----- End of picture text -----**
## _**Total Costs**_ |Hall Hire|1,090
£| |---|---| |Session Leaders and Manager|18,860
£| |GroupExpenditure|7,101
£| ||| |**_Total Cost_**|**27,051**
**£**| |**Closing Balance**|**16,650**
**£**| 9 OFFICIAL The closing balance as at 31[st] August is £16,650 of which £4,143 is protected funds. Protected funds are monies that have to be spent in accordance to the funding bid. We will make plans to utilise these funds as per the agreement in due course. The unprotected balance as at 31[st] August is £12,507 which is in line with the closing balance from 2019/20. ## **Gift Aid** In August 2020 we prepared the Gift Aid claim for the period September 2019 until August 2020. The funds were not received until October 2020 which falls into the financial year of 2020/21. As we complete our accounts in a receipts and payments format we have received two sets of Gift Aid claims this year (prior year and current year). Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. ## **Our funders – putting the FUN into FUNDING!** 2020/21 saw increased purchases of extraordinary items (IT hardware and software and Covid consumables) which required us to apply for external funding from various funders. This year we have received a total amount of £15,893 from; - Trafford Housing Trust £9,913. This was used for ordinary running costs in the year and is fully closed out. - Trafford Council Digital Grant £4,980. This was used for the extraordinary IT purchases required to help us to take our sessions online. This is now fully closed out. - John Thaw Grant £1,000. This hasn’t been used as the majority of our costs have been covered by funding for the current year so we’re able to take this funding into the new financial year. 10 OFFICIAL ## **Reserves** These are calculated as follows; Amounts of unprotected cash available divided by the sum of monthly running costs – which gives us the number of months we are able to operate should no further income be forthcoming. |**Expenditure**|**Projected costper annum**| |---|---| |Hall Hire|3,300
£| |Session Leaders|11,400
£| |Session Management|1,500
£| |Insurance|350
£| |Website Hosting|158
£| |Covid costs|170
£| |OSM/Go Cardless|360
£| |Bank charges|96
£| |Storage charges|600
£| |Subscriptions|60
£| ||| |Total|17,994
£| Based on the figures above (these are based on a ‘normal’ year) our monthly running costs are £1,499.50. Our reserves policy was agreed in 2019 and is located within the body of our financial handbook (available on our website). The policy states that we should hold 12 weeks (one academic full term) reserves in our Natwest account, this would require £4,498.50 and is something we worked towards during 2020/21. As at 31/08/2021 we had met and held these reserves in our Natwest account. ## **Ways to donate** ## _**Give as you earn/Donate as you earn**_ As an employee you can set up a direct payment from your gross pay to Stretford Children’s Theatre under a scheme called ‘Give as You Earn’ – ask your HR or Payroll Manager whether your company has signed up to CAF Give As You Earn and if so, how you can join the payroll giving scheme. ## _**Amazon Smile**_ https://smile.amazon.co.uk – SCT was set up with Amazon Smile where you buy from Amazon and they donate 0.5% of the net purchase price with every eligible purchase. 11 OFFICIAL **Annual Report accepted at the Annual General Meeting** **of Stretford Children’s Theatre on 22[nd] September 2021** ## **Signed:** 12 CHARITY COMMISSION , FOR ENGLANO ANO WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Seclioii A Iiidepeiideiit Exaiiiiiier s Rei)ort R•port to the trusta••l m•mbor• of On accounts for th• y•ar •nd•d Charlty no (If any) 1S23 S•t out on pag I r•port to the trustee8 ¢)n my examination of the accowrt8 of the above charity Trust? fortr* yw ended RMpon•lbllltl8• and ba•ls of r•port As the dwrity's trustees. yw are resporBt'ble for the preparatiM of the accounts in acccrfthnce with Ihe requirements of the Charities AGI 2011 I roport in resped of my examination of the Trusf8 accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed al the applicable DirectiiTh given by the Charity Commission under Secti￿ 145(5Xb) of ts Ai* Independent trhe chariws gross incorn exceeded £250.OW and l am qualffied to examln•rf8 8latgm•nt urKlertake the examination by being a qualified member of [insert name of aFvlicable listed body]l. Delete [ ] rfnot a￿kable. I have comp￿ted my eX￿rAtIon. I confimi that r￿ mateTial matter5 have come to my attention in ￿nnectI￿ with the examination {other than that disclosed beknw J wlmch glves me cause to believe that in, any rnaterial the accountirvJ records kerrt In accordance with 8ection 130 of the Charities Art; or the accourts did not accord tho accountiNJ records: or the accourts t*d not comply wilh the applicable requrements concemry the form and content of accounts set out in the Charitses (A¢counts and Rep￿ts) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and farf view which is not a matter cons1*￿ as of an iTrJeperthnt eX￿DInatiOn. I have arKI have cune a¢yoss no other matters in connection with tho examinatiw to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. . delete lh8 wymls in the braGkets rfthey do not apply. Nam•: Rolovant prof•s•lonal quaiificatlon(•) or body IER Oct 2018 (If any): Addr•M: Seclioii B Disclosiire Only complete rf the examiner naeds to highlight material matters of con(%m (see CC32. IndeperKlent examirAtion of charity accounts: directions and gutdance for examiners). Glv• harn brl•f detalh of any ttam8 that the axamlner wl•h•• to dlKIow. ') I c) IER Oct 2018