Kennington Youth Club
Trustees Report for the Year Ending 1[st] April 2021 Registered Charity Number 1181731
Charity Details
Kennington Youth Club adopted a new constitution at our AGM on 18.07.18 becoming a CIO (charitable incorporated organisation). Kennington Youth Club (sometimes known financially as Kennington Venture Club) became a charity on 26[th] January 2019.
We are registered with charity number 1181731.
Our registered address is Kennington Youth Club, Kennington Road, Oxford, OX1 5PG
Charitable Purposes and Public Benefit
Our purpose as stated on the charity commission website is to help young people (aged 9 – 18) living in Kennington, Oxfordshire and the surrounding area, advance in life through: (a) the provision of a safe recreational space and (b) leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to offer support and advance their social skills and capacities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.
Review of Activities and Objectives during the Year including Achievements
Our usual provision of an open-access youth club was, as for so many others, disrupted by Covid. At all times we monitored and followed the advice given by the National Youth Agency. We used this, along with additional guidance from our parent organistion, Oxfordshire Youth, and our own tracking of the news, to determine what provisions we would offer and at what times.
During the period April 2020 to April 2021 we offered one or more of the following youth work provisions to our members, depending upon the regulations at the time:
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Online Virtual Youth Club via zoom
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Health Walks
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Detached youth work where we were at set advertised locations in the area and our members could come meet us
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Triaged 1:1 walks to assist members with their mental health
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In-building youth club for small bubbles with a targeted focused activity such as map reading or sewing
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Outdoor activities and games at a local park
We were mindful of the difficulties of coping with the pandemic and the lockdowns on the wider community, and so additionally offered the following activities to the wider community, not just our members:
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Mental health contact point with the offer to talk or email through any issues or concerns
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Free competitions
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Free book swap scheme
During this period we had minimal income as we were unable as per the government guidance to let out our premises during much of the period. Additionally most of the youth work we provided was offered for free as we wanted to make sure as many young people as possible could access our services and were aware of the financial difficulty the pandemic left many of our member’s families with. We were fortunate enough to receive large grants from both Oxfordshire County Council via the Covid hardship fund and Thames Valley Police which enables us to make up the short fall and offer more youth work than we would otherwise have been able to do from our reserves.
Two generous grants from Thames Valley Police, as well as assisting with our running costs, also enabled us to improve our building and what we could offer when we were able to return to in-building youth work. We created a new, fully-equipped sensory room within the building and a dedicated, well equipped music area, within the club. Whilst during the period this report covers, we were not able to reopen the club building for the young people to use these two new ‘spaces’, writing this report some months later, we can confirm how much we have seen the young people enjoy and be enriched by these two new areas, and as such are very grateful to Thames Valley Police for enabling the offering of these extra provisions. Please note due to the timing of these grants against the end of financial year, not all the money from the police grant had been spent at the end of the financial period April 2020 – April 2021, but was spent at the start of the following financial year.
We completed several Covid-safety audits of our building during this period and made appropriate alterations within the building as well as producing a dedicated covid-risk assessment and a covid-safety policy.
Financially our objective changed within this period quite quickly, into trying to provide as much appropriate youth work as we could, given the financial situation we were in at the time, although this fact was eased during the year by the previously mentioned grants. We listened to our members, their families and the wider community as to what provisions they wanted at different times.
We have ensured all regular volunteers have safe-guarding training and DBS checks.
Structure and How the Club is Managed
Operations were overseen by our three trustees who meet at least termly. Day-to-day management is delegated by the trustees to a standing committee on which all of our trustees sit. The standing committee comprises of a chair, secretary, treasurer, fundraising co-ordinator, representative from the Parish Council, plus other volunteers, who are either related to the members or are volunteers from the local community.
There is also a separate fundraising commitment with a coordinator and Helen Horseman as trustee, sitting on the committee. Safe-guarding was managed by a small group of trained safe-guarding officers including trustee Hannah Forder-Ball. Running of the individual youth club sessions is arranged by our remunerated youth leader.
The club had 3 trustees, as elected at our AGM in July 2018: Jennifer Forder (elected for a term of 4 years) Helen Horseman (elected for a term of 3 years) Hannah Forder-Ball (elected for a term of 2 years, renewed in 2020)
According to our constitution it is the responsibility of the existing trustees to recruit any new trustees. When the term of an existing trustee has been completed, we will then seek applications to replace that trustee or they may stand for immediate re-election if they so wish.
No funds held for the CIO by any of the trustees therefore there are no financial custodian trustees.
Financial Review
Income
| Grants & Donations | £24,752 |
|---|---|
| Fundraising | £2,409 |
| Lettings | £1,185 |
| Members Fees | £415 |
| Sundries | £400 |
| Cofee Bar | £130 |
| Total | £29,290 |
The donation/grant money was primarily for these 2 sources:
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Oxfordshire County Council as part of Covid resilience fund
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Thames Valley Police to assist with running costs and the creation of a new sensory room and music area within the club
During the period our fundraising team ran various events to assist with our finances including virtual quizzes, running our usual 50-50 draw and an online fete.
The sundries figures includes money taken for a trip which we had planned in April 2020, but were not able to take during this financial year due to the pandemic (but was finally taken in November 2021).
Expenditure
| Police Grant Equipment | £5,65 |
|---|---|
| Expenditure | 1 |
| Leaders Fees, Consumables & | £2,88 |
| Expenses | 5 |
| £2,02 | |
| Electricity & Water | 0 |
| £1,31 | |
| Insurance (Building & Club) | 4 |
| Misc Costs inc Stationary & | £1,16 |
| Cleaning | 5 |
| Building Maintenance & | |
| Improvements | £960 |
| Programme Expenses inc | |
| equipment | £829 |
| Cost of 50-50 Draw (Prizes and | |
| Licence) | £530 |
| Ground Rent | £225 |
| £15,5 | |
| Total | 78 |
Please note at the end of the financial year there was £3209 of unpresented cheques.
Additionally, £450 had been banked to pay the 50-50 draw prizes during the coming year.
We maintain enough money to cover our running expense for six months in the event that the club has to close.
The accounts have been reviewed by our independent examiner, a copy of whose report to the Trustees is in the Treasurer’s file available for inspection.
Trustee Thanks & Acknowledgements
The trustees would like to thank our youth leader, Roy Peach, for his tireless efforts in both designing an interesting and varied youth programme, his work on improvements to our paperwork process and in coming up with innovative ideas for the future.
We would like to thank the members of the standing committee for their work both on the committee and in their other volunteering roles. It would not be possible to run the youth club.
We would like to thank our volunteers without whom it would not be possible to open at all and who bring such enrichment to the lives of our members.
We would like to thank the local community for their encouragement, financial support and feedback.
Finally, we’d like to thank the young people who attend the club for their participation and enthusiasm, and who make club nights such fun.
This report was written by:
Jennifer Forder (current trustee and chair) and Helen Horseman (who was a trustee during the period this report covers and is now secretary of the club).
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