Battle Scars
Charity number 1177020
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 March 2021
Battle Scars
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 March 2021
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 7 |
| Receipts and payments account | 8 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 9 |
| Notes to the accounts | 10 to 12 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 March 2021
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Jean Birch Chair Debbie Riley Vice-Chair Glenn Groves Treasurer Karen Sternbach Secretary Sarah Batten Laura Cox Co-opted July 2020
Charity number
The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1177020, on 6 February 2018.
Principal address Bankers 18 Alder Hill Avenue NatWest Bank plc Leeds 8 Park Row LS6 4JQ Leeds LS1 5HD
Accountants
West Yorkshire Community Accounting Service
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 6 February 2018 and governed by a constitution as amended on 27 October 2020.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members at the AGM.
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
To relieve the needs of persons affected by self-harm in particular but not exclusively by: Holding survivor led support groups for persons affected by self-harm and anybody interested in understanding self-harm;
Advance the education of the general public in all areas relating to self-harm; Provide training and practical advice to:
Professionals, staff and volunteers of other organisations (public, voluntary and private sector) who deal with persons who self-harm;
Parents of school age children, young people and adults who self-harm; Anyone wishing to attend the training or trying to understand self-harm; and
In any such ways as the trustees see fit in furtherance of said objects.
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2021
Objectives and activities continued
The charity's main activities
Adult peer support groups at various locations and times to increase self-awareness and a sense of belonging and decrease isolation. A system of no referral or booking is in operation so that anybody over 18 can attend whenever they’re able to. We do not have gender-specific services, they are all inclusive. We provide a safe environment to allow everybody present to be themselves, to work towards understanding and managing their behaviour and to help them re-adjust to living in a mixed society. In this way we also make our services available to those not fitting in gender stereotypes.
On-line peer support for people 13 or over for quick access to support encouraging people to develop strategies and learn to manage their self-harming behaviour.
Training for professionals from a survivor’s perspective providing them with hard to get insights so they can support others more effectively.
Workshops for under 18’s to educate, provide them with better self-awareness and providing them with options to better manage life.
Discussion groups for carers/ friends to increase understanding and acceptance and decrease guilt.
On-line resources and printed materials to make disclosing self-harm easier, tools to understand the behaviour and information to break down the stigma.
Volunteer development programme to increase the volunteers’ self-worth and confidence, to teach them skills and provide them with different experiences.
Running stalls/information sessions to increase awareness about self-harm and our services.
We encourage our volunteers and service users to actively take part in steering the direction the organisation is taking by expressing their ideas and needs, by suggesting improvements, designing printed material and requesting the sort of resources and information they’d like to see available to them, to their families/friends and to professionals. Feeling involved and listened to makes a big difference to them. We value their input and take all their suggestions into consideration. Some we reject if they are either incompatible with our objectives or unattainable (due to funding or structure) and provide explanations for this, some are acted upon quickly while others are included in future plans. The volunteers are making running our services possible and receive compulsory as well as additional optional training, regular supervision and expenses.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular the relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage, the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development.
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2021
Achievements and performance
Adult services
From running 6 drop-in, no-booking-required, face-to-face peer support groups every 4 weeks in the Leeds and Wakefield areas we closed this financial year with 6 fortnightly UK virtual groups which are shorter in length to avoid Zoom-fatigue but offer more choice to our service users.
We gingerly started in May by offering a virtual group to existing service users, then opened them up to anybody based in Leeds and Wakefield. One “standard” group soon became 3: one on Tuesday morning, one on Friday afternoon and one on Monday evening.
In order to control attendance and manage the different challenges virtual groups offered, a new online booking system was set up. Volunteers on hold willing to give virtual groups a go were trained and existing face-to-face facilitators were re-trained, to create more virtual group facilitator teams of two. All virtual group facilitators attended the virtual version of our safeguarding awareness workshop specifically designed to address safeguarding in a virtual environment.
We started advertising the groups through our usual social media channels, our website and in our Facebook peer support group and started getting a lot of enquiries whether the groups were open to people outside Leeds and Wakefield. It soon became evident that there was a lot of demand so we made the groups available to any adult in the UK.
Thanks to input from our Facebook group members, it became apparent that a lot of people need support even when they manage their urges quite successfully and often wish to have that support already in place in case it’s required. In order to support those whose urges are more under control or are too worried the standard groups might be triggering, in October we set up the Inbetweeners group offering support with a lighter touch. The option to join both the standard and the Inbetweeners group is available to all and it’s up to them to gauge which group would suit them most at that specific time. We also wanted to ensure that there was always a smooth and easy transition between the standard and Inbetweeners group so needs could always be met without embarrassment.
By December the standard groups were filling up within an hour of opening bookings. One group was fully booked within 21 minutes. The decision to increase the number of groups was taken a few minutes later! 2 existing and 4 new volunteers came forward to help out, went through the revised and expanded group facilitator training as well as the new virtual safeguarding workshop especially designed to address safeguarding in a virtual environment.
Two more daytime groups were launched in February with firm plans to add an extra evening group. More groups will be set up depending on volunteer availability and demand with the aim of having groups running on even more days (including weekends) and at a variety of times. Also our facilitators decided to run the groups even if they drop on holidays to avoid gaps in support.
Young people and families
Unfortunately we had to suspend all services working directly with young people in schools and colleges. Even though some school staff attended our virtual training for professionals all other contact with schools ceased but we have maintained contact with other organisations supporting young people both in Leeds and nationally with the help of the Young Lives Leeds project amongst other networking initiatives.
Once again, the virtual world allowed us to create a service we had been wanting to set up for quite some time: a regular parents/family support group, a group that is open to any adult family members of someone who selfharms. The person who self-harms can be under or over 18. This is the most demanding of all our groups as we’re dealing with family members who are desperate for peer support, guidance, advice and understanding, who are feeling extremely isolated and unable to broach this subject with their friends and families due to the stigma surrounding self-harm. Numbers for this group are usually low which works quite well as it allows us to give each member the time and support they need. We have a growing number of regulars who are now able to extend their support to newer members.
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2021
Achievements and performance continued
Some numbers about our virtual groups:
During the period 12/05/20-31/03/21 (launch of virtual groups until end of financial year, approximately 10.5 months) we ran a total of 103 virtual groups which were attended 985 times by 121 individuals.
Approximately 47% of attendees were from Leeds postcodes with an overall 61% of attendance from Yorkshire. The Do Something Different group (see Work With Partners) was only available to Leeds residents.
Private Facebook group
This group is a vital service providing around the clock support to 3,102 members which represents a nearly 40% increase from last year. The best thing about the group is the ethos of acceptance and compassion along with the obvious desire by members to offer help.
The admin/moderator team are always vigilant but also always compassionate and try to deal with any rule breaking with the upmost sensitivity.
Training for professionals
Like most organisations we decided to turn our training virtual. We tested the Q&A sessions on self-harm and eating disorders first and then, due to demand, we turned our full 1-day workshop on self-harm into a virtual session too.
There were a multitude of tech issues we all had to deal with but with some flexibility and ingenuity, the sessions were delivered successfully.
Over the past year we trained 180 professionals, about half the number we normally train in a year, but as our reputation grows and information about us is reaching organisations out of the Yorkshire area, we are getting more interest from much further afield. This year we had the pleasure of training a number of staff and volunteers for Forward Leeds, Leeds Children’s Services (residential care), Leeds Recovery College and DPJ Foundation (Wales).
Website and social media
As always, we keep our website updated and relevant. It is our “one-stop-shop” when it comes to information about Battle Scars and our services. Last year we had over 10,000 unique visitors.
An amazing team of volunteers is managing our social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn spreading the word.
Other projects/activities
After longer than a year in the making and the involvement of over 50 Battle Scars service users and volunteers, the 12-step Self-harm Addiction Programme workbook became available in December. Thanks to the Tudor Trust, the workbook is free to order but there is a small admin charge of £1 as well as postage when requesting the hard copy.
Many of our service users’ families do not know that they self-harm, something we take into consideration when posting the workbook making sure there is no indication it’s coming from a self-harm support organisation.
84 copies have so far been ordered by people as far as the USA, Canada and Australia.
Before long it became apparent that professionals wanted to check this workbook out or needed a copy themselves in order to work with the people they were supporting. By January we had made a special PDF version available to them and 10 copies have been ordered by various mental health professionals, professionals working in charities as well as primary care.
Early feedback has been very positive with people recognising but overcoming the challenges and making good, steady progress. A system is being set up to obtain feedback from everybody who has got a copy at the 6 and 12-month points to see how they are progressing and what improvements will need to be made when we carry out a full review of the workbook at the end of 2022.
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2021
Achievements and performance continued
We also turned our 2-hour self-harm workshop virtual for delivery via the Leeds and Wakefield Recover Colleges. We managed to keep it fully interactive and engaging.
Work with partners
Following the Crisis Summit in January 2020, the Mental Health Collaborative project ground to a halt. Towards spring this year, it started picking up momentum again. We have been working closely with Leeds Involving People to present case studies which will become the basis for the work the Collaborative will focus on during the next few months as we’re trying to develop robust, compassionate support throughout someone’s crisis journey (not just focusing on the crisis point).
The researchers for the project FReSHSTART run by the University of Leeds set up a more regular Covid-19 support group for the organisations involved in the project. It has been an incredibly useful initiative that has helped us forge links with other self-harm organisations in the country such as Self Injury Support UK and Harmless as well as other mental health organisations supporting adults, young people or people from ethnic minority communities.
We linked up with Mentally Healthy Leeds, a Touchstone project, to run the Do Something Different virtual group every 4 weeks. This is an activity and discussion mix group where we’ve done craft, magic tricks, music that has significant meaning for us, massage and even a “don’t-show-and-tell” session linking up to what we find grounding, using “masking” to avoid showing how we’re feeling, items that give us comfort etc. Considering this group was meant for face-to-face delivery, we’ve had to be very imaginative but it has been quite successful.
As always, we work closely with our service users and volunteers to develop and improve services and we are now more confident to partner with other organisations with funding bids.
Plans for the future 2021-22
Funding has already been secured to employ a virtual groups coordinator as well as an administrator, to look more closely into developing services for young people, to set up a face-to-face group for 16-25 year-olds and to set up a phone follow up service (Leeds only) for people who required emergency treatment for self-harm injuries at A&E.
Face-to-face services, such as adult groups, services in schools and training for professionals, in Leeds and Wakefield will re-start when it’s safe and practical to do so (i.e. when we have access to the venues we were using and following thorough risk assessments) while all virtual services will remain operational. We’re hoping to expand on both face-to-face and virtual services over the next year both locally and nationally.
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Battle Scars
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2021
Financial review
The net payments for the year were £13,797, including net receipts of £2,582 on unrestricted funds and net payments of £16,379 on restricted funds.
Reserves policy
Charity reserves are maintained for the following purposes:
For an unforeseen emergency or other unexpected events or opportunities. This will involve thinking of events that may occur and how likely they will happen.
To cover unforeseen operational or core costs.
To cover gaps in income if a grant is not renewed or is unexpectedly taken away.
To cover short-term deficits in our cash flow before a grant is received.
The trustees have determined that reserves of approximately £10,000 should be maintained for the purposes set out above.
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end were £10,260.
Covid-19 and going concern
Whilst the activities of the charity have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the trustees have considered the forecast income and expenditure and are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties so significant as to cast doubt of the ability to continue as a going concern.
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees on 15/8/2021
Sarah Batten (Trustee)
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Battle Scars
Receipts and payments account for the year ended 31 March 2021
| Notes 2021 Unrestricted funds £ Receipts Grants and donations (2) 1,442 Fees and charges 2,593 Memberships 170 Other income 325 Total receipts 4,530 Payments Salaries NICs and pensions (3) - Payroll charges 6 Travel and subsistence 35 Food and refreshments - Training and Information 263 Membership costs - Crisis cards - Leaflets - Website and email 206 Consumables 490 Equipment 103 Insurance 14 Advertising 106 Phone - Printing and postage 234 Venue hire - Other payments 40 Consultancy - Accountancy and Independent examination 260 Addiction Programme 191 Total payments 1,948 2,582 Fund balances brought forward 7,678 Fund balances carried forward (4) 10,260 Net receipts / (payments) |
2021 Restricted funds £ 19,250 - - - 19,250 29,839 162 - - 108 - 420 - 536 - 2,527 309 146 63 1,519 - - - - - 35,629 (16,379) 35,599 19,220 |
2021 Total funds £ 20,692 2,593 170 325 23,780 29,839 168 35 - 371 - 420 - 742 490 2,630 323 252 63 1,753 - 40 - 260 191 37,577 (13,797) 43,277 29,480 |
2020 Total funds £ 69,363 6,307 58 - 75,728 28,853 168 2,611 404 1,295 20 171 368 283 153 965 309 205 62 153 445 83 3,500 240 - 40,288 35,440 7,837 43,277 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Battle Scars
Statement of assets and liabilities
| as at 31 March 2021 2021 Unrestricted £ Cash funds Cash at bank 10,201 Cash in hand 59 Total cash funds 10,260 Other monetary assets Debtors Prepaid insurance Assets retained for the charity's own use Laptop computer Liabilities Accountancy |
2021 Restricted £ 19,220 - 19,220 |
2021 Total £ 29,421 59 29,480 £ 174 51 225 £ 650 650 £ 240 240 |
2020 Total £ 43,218 59 43,277 |
|---|---|---|---|
Approval of the accounts
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 15/8/2021
Sarah Batten (Trustee)
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Battle Scars
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2021
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Battle Scars
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 March 2021
| 2 Grants and donations Awards For All The Brelms Trust The Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust The Tudor Trust Trelix Charitable Trust The Wharfedale Foundation General donations 3 Staff costs and numbers Gross salaries Pensions |
2021 Unrestricted funds £ - - - - - - 1,442 1,442 |
2021 Restricted funds £ 10,000 3,250 2,500 3,500 - - - 19,250 |
2021 Total funds £ 10,000 3,250 2,500 3,500 - - 1,442 20,692 2021 £ 28,970 869 29,839 |
2020 Total funds £ - 2,940 - 63,500 1,000 500 1,423 69,363 2020 £ 28,013 840 28,853 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The average number employees during the year was 1, being an average of 1 full time equivalent (2020: 1, 1 FTE).
| Defined contribution pension scheme Costs of the scheme to the charity for the year 4 Restricted funds Balance b/f £ National Lottery 108 Tudor Trust Salaries 32,499 Brelms Trust 2,492 Wharfedale Foundation 500 Tudor Trust Covid - Tudor Wellbeing - Awards For All - Sykes Trust - 35,599 |
Incoming £ - - 3,250 - 1,500 2,000 10,000 2,500 19,250 |
Outgoing £ 108 30,001 3,170 500 1,500 - 350 - 35,629 |
2021 £ 869 Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - |
2020 £ 840 Balance c/f £ - 2,498 2,572 - - 2,000 9,650 2,500 19,220 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund name
Purpose of restriction
National Lottery Tudor Trust Salaries Brelms Trust Wharfedale Foundation Tudor Trust Covid Tudor Wellbeing Awards For All Sykes Trust
Towards the volunteer development programme. Towards the CEO's salary cost. Towards the charity's core costs. Towards the crisis cards project costs. Towards the cost of salaries. Towards the cost of wellbeing.
Towards the cost of Virtual Groups Coordinator & Administrator salary. Towards the cost of the Young People's Services Developer salary.
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Battle Scars
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 March 2021
5 Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee remuneration and benefits
| Name of trustee Legal authority Debbie Riley Governing document Provision of training Description of transaction |
2021 £ 40 40 |
2020 £ 455 455 |
|---|---|---|
No trustee received any other remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
Other related party transactions
| Other transactions with trustees or related parties Jenny Groves Wife of Trustee Salary as CEO of the charity Name of trustee or related party Relationship to charity Description of transaction |
2021 £ 29,839 29,839 |
2020 £ 28,853 28,853 |
|---|---|---|
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