# Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 2022-2023 ## Contents ||Page Number| |---|---| |**Foreword**|3| |**Legal and Administrative Information**|4| |**About Us & Mission**|5| |**Aims & Objectives**|6-7| |**Core Values**|8| |**Diversity & Inclusion**|9-10| |**Play Sessions**|11-12| |**Toy Loaning**|13| |**Sensory Room**|14| |**Parenting Support**|15| |**Projects and Partnership Work**|16| |**Community Hub & Events**|17-19| |**Volunteering**|20| |**Independent Examiners Report**|21| |**Financial Statement and Activities**|22-31| ## Foreword It’s been a busy year for the Toy Library team, both the Walthamstow and Leytonstone sites have scaled up activities and increased traded income in all areas, particularly toy loaning, venue hire and community events. Congratulations to our CEO, Helen Crockford for completing the prestigious School for Social Entrepreneurs Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Scale Up Programme. The year long training and subsequent match funding has certainly been reflected in our work this year. This year we have been involved in several exciting and innovative projects. Highlights include the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration, running family cooking sessions with support from the borough’s Health Inequalities Fund and getting involved in the We Play project. Helen and I were also selected to take part in the Cognizant Community Business Forum Volunteering Event, where we met a skilled team of Cognizant employees who worked with us for the day on challenges our charity faces. It was very insightful, particularly around staffing structures. With funding, this is an area that we would like to explore. At the end of 2021/22 we committed to creating a Sensory Play Room for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We are delighted to report that this has been achieved and has been well received by our beneficiaries. With the Hurst Road lease expiring in September 2023, much of our efforts have been focused on finding a permanent venue in Walthamstow. We are delighted that Barnardo’s who own the William Morris Hall on Somers Road have agreed to give us a 10 year lease. In the new financial year we will be concentrating efforts on raising funds to renovate and refurbish the new venue. It has been empty for over two years and is in need of much work. Noella Gooden, Chair of Trustees **Trustees:** Noella Gooden (Chair) Read Baurtally (Treasurer) Natalie Sleigh (Secretary) Kate Boyle Louise Cherrington **Company Address:** Hurst Road Health Centre Legal and 36a Hurst Road Administrative Walthamstow Information E17 3BL **Registered Charity Number:** 1178098 **Company Number:** CEO13905 **Accounts prepared by:** chromatic books ## About Us & Mission The aims of Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre as set out in our constitution are to enhance the development and education of children primarily under statutory school age by encouraging parents to understand and provide for the needs of their child through community groups and by: - Offering appropriate play, education and care facilities, family learning and extended hours’ groups, together with the right of parents to take responsibility for and to become involved in the activities of such groups, ensuring that such groups offer opportunities for all children whatever their race, culture, religion, means or ability. - Encouraging the study of the needs of such children and their families and promoting public interest in recognition of such needs in the local area. **Our mission is to provide safe, creative spaces for young children and their parents and carers to play, learn and interact.** ## Aims & Objectives Seven aims underpin our mission: - Support children under 5 to learn and develop and to prepare for nursery education Support - Promote bonding and attachment between children and their adults Promote - Reduce isolation and help parents to develop supportive social networks Reduce - Encourage good health and wellbeing of children and families Encourage - Enable access to our services from all sections of the community particularly those on a low income Enable - Provide volunteering opportunities to local students and residents Provide - Represent the aims and interests of our members Represent ## To meet the aims our work is based around the following objectives: 1. Provide a friendly, welcoming and safe environment; 2. Run high-quality, structured play sessions led by experienced play workers, based around the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum; 3. Make available a diverse range of toys for play and learning, providing play ideas for families to use at home; 4. Support, promote and deliver health and well-being initiatives; 5. Maximise access to our services, especially among those on a low income; 6. Work with schools, colleges, Waltham Forest Business Education Partnership to provide volunteering opportunities; 7. Work in partnership with other organisations, both locally and nationally, to promote our aims; and 8. Involve our members in evaluating, improving and running our services. ## Core values The Toy Library adheres to its values by providing services that are: - Child-centred - Educational - Healthy - Sustainable - Fun - Community based ## Diversity and Inclusion Our borough is one of the most diverse areas in the country. An estimated 53% of residents are from a minority ethnic background and this is reflected in our membership. Excluding White British the top five nationalities are; Romanian, Polish, Black British, Black Caribbean and Pakistani. Waltham Forest is currently ranked 82nd most deprived borough nationally according to the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation (an improvement from 35th in 2015, and 15th in 2010). Waltham Forest now ranks 12[th] most deprived London borough - an improvement from 7[th] in 2015. Waltham Forest has a younger than average population with 24.5 per cent of residents being aged 0 to 19 compared to 23 per cent in London and 23 per cent nationally. The Toy Library continues to provide universal play sessions and toy loaning to families, not just from Waltham Forest, but further afield. We strive to assist families in financial need by providing free annual membership (usual cost is £12) and reduced play sessions fees at £1 for the first child and 50p for additional children (usual cost £5 for the first child and £2.50 for additional children). We don’t want finance to be a barrier to anyone and are happy to support families who have no recourse to public funds of who are struggling financially. We offer free membership and a block of six free play sessions. Once the six sessions have been attended, we review and offer more or ask them to pay what they can afford. At the end of 31[st] March 2023, 1887 families were registered with us across both sites. 20% of members received free membership and reduced session fees. Our 90 minute sessions cater for children aged 0-5 and are led by trained staff. Children benefit from interactions with a wider age range than they are often exposed to in other early years settings, such as nursery. It also means that parents can bring younger siblings and childminders the full range of children they care for. Sessions are based around different themes and stories each month. Staff have developed a successful structure which includes: - **FREE PLAY:** An initial hour of free play with our diverse range of toys and equipment. Specific activities and toys vary from session to session but include art and craft, messy play, physical play (indoor soft play and outdoor area), imaginative play, construction, puzzles and books. This first hour follows the ethos of _‘Learning through Play’_ , children can choose their preferred activity at their own pace both indoors and out. - **TIDY-UP TIME:** 5 minutes before snack time children and adults work together to clear toys and prepare the room for snack time and circle time. We believe this is extremely important to develop children’s co-operative skills and ownership and care of the play environment. • **HEALTHY SNACKS:** All sessions involve a snack time, where the children sit together and share a selection of healthy snacks. Compared to other toddler and playgroups in the area, the Toy Library is unusual in offering this as a structured activity. We believe this promotes positive attitudes to good nutrition, enables children who might not otherwise do so eat 2–3 portions of their 5- a-day, builds social skills, can educate parents and, in the long-term, help to reduce levels of childhood obesity. ## Play Sessions • - **CIRCLE TIME:** The final half hour of each session is devoted to circle time, which promotes social and emotional wellbeing as well as language development. The play worker encourages the children and their adults to participate in story time and singing favourite action songs and nursery rhymes. These sessions make use of story sacks and song bags, props and musical instruments to accompany the singing. Play sessions don’t just focus on the children, we also provide support to parents and carers. Everyone is greeted by a member of the team and offered a hot drink and listening ear if needed. We believe that investing in our staff team is important for their personal development and that of the organisation and the community we serve. This year, our Play Workers have received training in ‘Making Sense of Autism’ and ‘EYFS vs SEND’. Our admin team received ‘Customer Service’ training. At the Walthamstow Toy Library, we ran 354 play sessions, with a footfall of 7378 children. At the Leytonstone Toy Library, we ran 392 sessions, with a footfall of 3920 children. ## Toy Loaning We are the only toy library in Waltham Forest. At both sites we have a variety of toys and equipment which can be borrowed for two weeks at a time at a low cost. Many items cost from £1 to borrow. This service is available to members, community groups and local businesses. In the reporting period, 190 families borrowed toys from Leytonstone Toy Library, a 16% increase on the previous year. At Walthamstow Toy Library 850 families borrowed toys, a 34% increase on the previous year. 30% of families borrowed 5 or more times and 81 families borrowed 10 or more times. In 2021/22 we generated £11,079 in toy loaning income. In 2022/23 we saw a 93% increase in income to £21,338. With a dedicated toy loaning room at the Walthamstow site it has made it easier for families to pop in throughout the week and browse what we have on offer. At both sites we have invested in large equipment and games, which can be loaned for reasonable fees for parties outside of the Toy Library. We also provided toys for several ‘warm hubs’ in the borough and have continued to run our mobile toy loaning service for large items and orders over £15. ## Sensory Room We opened the sensory room at the start of 2023. We have been working with the borough’s Early Years Inclusion Team, Speech and Communication Clinic and the Lloyd Park Children’s Charity ‘Somewhere 2 Belong’ session to provide a safe and engaging space for children with SEND. It’s also available to members for a small charge. ## Parenting Support The staff continue to provide support and advice to families on a variety of topics or make referrals to specialist organisations such as food banks and housing and debt advice surgeries. The borough’s Speech and Language Therapy team attended several sessions across both sites to answer parents’ concerns and give helpful tips on developing their children’s language and communication skills. At both sites we have a ‘Swap Shop’ where families can donate clothes and equipment that is no longer needed. These can be taken for free or swapped for something new. We encourage families to take books from our honesty library. These can be kept or returned. We piloted a project with the Freedom Law Clinic. The team support five women with legal advice. We hope to develop this work further. At our Leytonstone site we receive a weekly bread donation from Hovis. With the high cost of living, families are incredibly grateful for this. ## Projects and Partnership Work We partnered with specialist organisations to provide a variety of activities which supported educational and health and wellbeing outcomes. We also worked with construction company Wilmot Dixon Interiors to develop our Leytonstone site. ## **Wilmot Dixon Interiors Trainee Programme** Funded by the company, Trainees refurbished the kitchen - a large fridge freezer, chest freezer, cooker, microwave and kettle were donated. Created raised beds and cleaned the amphitheatre. ## **Tinies Tea Party** Funded by Arts Council England for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration, we partnered with Soundcastle, who worked with children with SEND to create 6 music tracks which were performed at our tea party. ## **We Play Project Bags** Funded by LBWF and working with the Early Years Inclusion team, 50 sensory play bags were created and distributed to children with SEND. ## **Health Inequalities Fund** Funded by LBWF we partnered with Kids Kitchen to run a six-week cooking course at each site, to support families with the cost of living crisis and eating healthily on a budget. ## Community Hub and Events These activities are vital, they help us to generate an income to meet and sustain our charitable aims and objectives. ## **Birthday parties** The Toy Library remains a popular venue for party hire. It can be hired on Saturdays and Sundays for birthday parties, christenings and naming ceremonies. The space is hired for 3 hours and a member of toy library staff is on site to open and close up and assist if needed. Families can hire additional toys or bring their own. In this financial year there were 193 parties compared to 107 in 2021/22: 137 in Walthamstow (78 in 2021/22) and 56 in Leytonstone (29 in 2021/22). ## **Venue Hire** We continue to make our space available to a number of providers and community groups whose ethos reflects our own and whose services will benefit our members and the wider community. We have a tiered pricing structure, so it is affordable (£15p/h) for community groups who are offering free, reduced fees or donation only classes. At our Leytonstone site, the Probation Service’s Community Payback Team, use the room for free on a weekly basis. In return they help maintain Langthorne Park. At our Walthamstow site the Health Visiting Team have been using the venue for baby weighing clinics and development reviews. This has been a great partnership, as new families are introduced to our services. ## **Events** With all events that we organise or partake in, there is a focus on bringing people together, combating isolation and building community. We ensure that our activities are fun, sustainable and promote family learning. We also use these events and activities to fundraise and promote our services to a wider audience. At both sites we ran events for Easter, Halloween, Christmas and International Women’s Day. At the Walthamstow Toy Library, it was wonderful to hold our May Fair again after a three-year break due to the Covid pandemic. ## Volunteering We continue to offer volunteering opportunities to the local community and students. This year we have worked 55 students through the Waltham Forest Business Education Partnership, Leyton Sixth Form College, Waltham Forest College and George Monoux. The institutions say; “you provide an invaluable introduction into the world of work”, “your staff are so supportive, our students gain a lot from attending”. We were also pleased to support two students from Frederick Bremer School complete the volunteering strand of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Special thanks go to our regular volunteers Lucy (for keeping the garden cheerful), Caroline and Susanne (for play session and toy loaning support), Steve (for fixing all the broken toys), John (for continued building maintenance), Anna (for admin support) and the Good Gym team (for turning up each month and completing whatever tasks we throw at them). Mlependen¢ rwt to thè Trnstees of W•lth•mstow Try Ubrnry•nd Pl*d I report to the trustees on my examlnatlon ol the accounts of Walthamstow Toy Llbr4ry Jnd Play Centre {"the Ch•¢itf) for the year ended 31" March 2023. R•s￿￿bIllI•S •nd b•515 of Teport As the tharity's tnjstees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts In cordance wlth the reqimrements of the Charitles Act 2011 ("the Acf). I report in feswrt of my examinatiw ol the Charws J￿nts caffled oul under s¢ct•on 145 of the 2011 Act and in rarryin8 Out my eMaminatioA. I have followed all the applicable Directions 8l¥en by the Chailty CommSssion under sectlon 14515llb) of the ACL I ha￿ (ompltted my examlnatlon. I confirm that no m•terial matters have come to mv attenilon In conntct&oft wlth the examlnailon whkh ￿¥t$ m• eaus• to that In, anv material res*rt: the •c£oufttiw recofds were not kept In aceord•nce T*lth sectlon 130 ofthe Ch•fllks the a￿Urts dbd not arcord wlth tlx ￿QuntIng rKord5' or the accourtts did not cofflply wlth the applicable requiremefits mncernSr* the form and contoftt ol accounts set out In tho CharitlÈs (Acwunts and RepDrts) Re8ulatlons 2CI)8 orher i￿n •ny requlrement th•1 ihe accounts ¢lve a 'true and fairf vlew whl¢h Is not • matter eonsldered ￿ part ol an Independent eyamlnatlon. I no concerns and have coft￿ across no oihef matte¢s In connectlon wlth the examlnatl¢)n to which attent•on sh￿Id be drawn In thls report in order to enable a Proper und¢fSt•ffldlni of the •￿￿ftts to Ix fo•ch•d. Name: Waqas Hussaln FCCA Address: 10 Kr)el)worth Avenue, Walth•mstQAt, London, E17 SAI Date., 1911212023 Statement of Financial Activity 7.7•6 177.rn5 197J30 1S5.591 a.157 115.84B 17&637 196 IIWJ 45￿￿ ?IL313 1>49 $371 >Jn A143 In.733 45.650 219.)83 378 IL496J I￿614 5393 rithi Marth2WJ Statement of Financial Position ).ii• 141.110 Iwyi ii%Jsi iju IY.JS41 5UIJ nj CLMI N4e l Accounting Policies Th• f••nci•l sw•ments b••n ornp¥•d In iccr*datK• vthh Accowttirnq •nd RIMI￿ ty¢ Chviiits: St4ierh¢ni ol R*¢r*mmtr•thd Pf•¢li¢¢ •pp&¢4bSe io ¢h•rlt*s prep•rif¥ imi 4¢¢ounts In •¢COrdar￿ with the F¥4nci•l Aopordfi8 s¢ar&rd appllcable ift Un¢tod KK*dom and Aepublic ol If•l•nd ICh•frtit5 SOAP FAS 1021 16 TrJby 2014, Awcial leportlnr andwd 4ppbc•ble in the UK4rrfl Aewblk ol Irqland IFRS 10214nd the Chantit5 Att 2011. T rinwK¥l 5t•temqnls been prepiied ihe h15tortr•l r05t Tl* fio•Thwl •re prèpared Ih sterlln& 1st￿ funak)fi•l ¢urrtntyol ttts* corr•fiy. Mthwary •IM*unts Inthese SiBfements•re rourmlod to rthWe￿ L Th* r*hvity h•$ i•kefi ol tt* lollo**n8 dkiZ3 5,324 12022 awqe forihe Al M•Yth 217ZJ 4,260 1623 IL 31 PA•r¢h 2Q23 AL 31 M4r£h 2022 3,116 L064 Note 7 Debtors and prepayments 20L7 1.612 L442 1.759 L652 Note 8 Creditors and deferred income Amounts falllrng due withln one year 2023 20ZZ Trade credltors 1,300 1,860 Accruals and deferred income 56,790 27,692 Taxatlon and soclal securlty 929 656 Total Note 9 Cash at the bank and in hand 2023 202Z Cash at bonk and on hand 170.969 138,056 Total 170 969 138 056 Note 10 Funds movement in current year Fund balances brought forward Income ExperKllture Transfers Fund balances carrled fon¥ard Unrestrlrted funds General Fund Designated Fund I(￿.613 185,591 1173.733) 168,354} 55,000 50,117 S5,￿0 Restricted Funds Restricted Fund Total Funds as per balance sheet 5,393 40,257 145,6501 13,354 13,354 118 471 Note 11 Related parties No related party transactions took place in the year to 31 March 2023. None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with the charity or a related entity