I ## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From Period start date:** 05/04/2020 **To Period end date:** 04/04/2021 **Charity name:** SEN Family Saturdays **Charity registration number:** 1182095 ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP
reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the
purposes of the charity
as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|1- To advance in life and relieve the needs of children and
young people with special educational needs (SEN)
through:
(a) The provision of recreational and leisure time activities
provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to
improve their conditions of life;
(b) Providing support and activities which develop their
skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to
participate in society;
(c) The provision of support to parents of children with
SEN, by providing information, advice and guidance
throughout diagnosis.
2 - To advance the education of the general public in the
causes, treatment and care of those with SEN, by
providing the provision of educational workshops, events
and presentations.| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to
those purposes for the
public benefit, in
particular, the activities,
projects or services
identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17
and 1.19|**Service we provide:**
SEN Family Saturdays has run**sessions every Saturday**
**from 10.30 to 2pm** at Hornsey Road Children's Centre.
The place offers an accessible and inclusive environment.
Parents and children enjoy planned programme activities
with resources and facilities to aid creativity and sensory
needs of autistic children. Attending the group allows
children to socialise, explore and learn in a safe and| |||understanding environment.
The children are engaged in a**variety of different**
**activities**each week (photos of which can be seen on
our social media), followed by soft play and lunch
together. Once a month we have had a**special activity**,
either an outing, workshop or entertainer such as bubble
entertainer, children’s yoga, trip to London Zoo and trips
to theatre and museums. We employ trained, experienced
staff to meet the children’s needs and manage
challenging situations. The**workshops**we held were
delivered by a specialist Occupational Therapist on topics
such as toileting, sleep, communication and behaviour
management. As well as a general overview of What is
Autism for the public, including extended family and
friends.
While the sessional workers look after the children, every
week the parents are given the opportunity to join a
**support group**for 1 hour. Having a child with a disability
can have a huge impact on the stability of family life, as
well as the health, well-being and emotional state of all
family members.
Our work supports families who are facing complex needs
and helps them to overcome barriers of social inclusion.
We are supporting parents' knowledge and confidence to
use strategies, visuals and analysing a child's behaviour,
so they feel more able to cope in challenging situations.
Our parent led charity has developed a whole family
approach inclusive of older and younger siblings. SEN
Family Saturdays encourages positive child-parent
relationships and ultimately builds resilient families.
During this financial period SEN Family Saturdays worked
with 14 families, who were taking part in the sessions at
different rates of attendance and degree of continuity.| |---|---|---| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees
have had regard to the
guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on
public benefit|Para 1.18|**Yes - Workshops**that we organised have been delivered
by a specialist occupational therapist on topics such as
toileting, sleep, communication and behaviour
management. As well as a general overview of What is
Autism for the wider public as well as extended family and
friends. Flyers for the workshops were posted on our
social media platforms and given to SENCOs and
children's centres in the local area.| ## **Additional information (optional)** |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|All fundraising and grant applications undertaken on behalf of
SEN Family Saturdays will be done in the name of the
organisation and will generally be based on recovery of the full
cost of the proposed work.| |---|---|---| |Policy on social
investment including
program related
investment|Para 1.38|Not applicable| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|Items have on occasion been purchased and donated to
the charity by the trustees. All trustees dedicate a lot of
their time for free to support the group and keep the
charity running. We have also had two volunteers
contributing their time during Saturdays morning sessions
in this financial period.| ## **Achievements and Performance** |Summary of the main
achievements of the
charity, identifying the
difference the charity’s
work has made to the
circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any
wider benefits to
society as a whole.|Para 1.20|Our project brings people together and builds strong
relationships in and across the community. We did this
through:
•
Improving relationships thereby supporting parents
and children to spend time together, this
environment also enables people to make new
friends and establish networks between the
families;
•
Improving enjoyment of life for parents and
children through the provision of recreational
activities they could not normally access;
•
Making people better connected by supporting
parents to feel more confident and better able to
take advantage of local services and opportunities
by providing information, advice, guidance and
support
•
Helping parents be more resilient and feel better
able to cope with the challenges of being a parent
in difficult circumstances.
•
Providing support and activities which develop the
children's skills to enable them to participate in
society.| |---|---|---| Over the course of the year during the Covid-19 pandemic families have been able to keep in contact with other families through the WhatsApp chat and online workshops. They have been provided with home visits from an Occupational Therapist for advice and strategies and we have provided them with care packages full of essential items as well as crafts packs and resources for their children. This has allowed families to feel a little less isolated in what has been a very challenging time in everyone's lives. Children have struggled in many ways due to setting and parks being closed, restrictions on contact with relatives and the total disruption to any sense of routine or normality. The sensory needs of children increased as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions which is why we provided families with the OT home visits when it became safe to do so as well as purchasing and distributing sensory equipment to each family. ## **Additional information (optional)** |Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|Our achievements include:
54 people directly benefited from our organisation’s work -
20 adults, 34 children (of which 24 children have ASC
diagnosis, Down Syndrome or are on the SCT waiting
list).
Provided weekly craft activities for the children in the form
of care packages which helped developed their skills.
Provided care packages when families struggled to get
access to essentials.
Provided home visits from an Occupation Therapist to
tackle sensory needs, self-care needs, behavioural issues
etc.
Provided sensory equipment to each family when
services in the community were restricted.
Provided continuous support to parents on a daily basis
though our group chat. We were able to offer strategies
based on our experience and sign post to further help.
We hosted a number of educational online workshops for
families.| |---|---|---| |Performance of
fundraising activities
against objectives set|Para 1.41|We raised £10,046.51 and brought forward £19,100.95 from
the previous financial year which gave us a total higher than
we had budgeted for.| |---|---|---| |Investment
performance against
objectives|Para 1.41|Not applicable| |**Financial Review**||| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the
end of the period|Para 1.21|We raised £10,046.51 and brought forward £19,100.95 from
the previous financial year which gave us a total slightly higher
than budgeted for. With the physical restrictions due to
Covid-19 pandemic we were unable to spend what we
intended this year on venue hire, trips, food, staff ect. We had
to adjust the way we could support our benefactors and
provide our service in a more restricted manner. We will have
to carry forward £21,672.05 to the next financial year as a
result.| |Statement explaining
the policy for holding
reserves stating why
they are held|Para 1.22|The trustees will consider the level of reserves that is
prudent for SEN Family Saturdays to have when agreeing
the annual budget. Consideration will be given to future
strategy, potential redundancy liabilities, and any other
significant factors that should be taken into account. The
specific reserves policy including any designation of
reserves for specific purposes will be agreed by trustees
on an annual basis.| |Amount of reserves
held|Para 1.22|None| |Reasons for holding
zero reserves|Para 1.22|Our cash flow at the end of the year has been high than
anticipated and it doesn’t seem appropriate at this
moment to have a reserve. However the trustees aim to
ensure the charity will be able to continue to fulfil it’s
charitable objectives. The trustees will endeavour not to
set aside funds unnecessarily. When the need arrives the
trustees will consider the level of reserves they wish to
retain, appropriate to the charity's needs, based on the
charity's size and the level of financial commitments held.| |Details of fund
materially in deficit|Para 1.24|None| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a
going concern|Para 1.23|None| ## **Additional information (optional)** |The charity’s principal
sources of funds
(including any
fundraising)|Para 1.47|Islington Giving and funding brought forward from the
previous financial year.| |---|---|---| |Investment policy and
objectives including
any social investment
policy adopted|Para 1.46|Not applicable| |A description of the
principal risks facing
the charity|Para 1.46|The need outways the service we are currently able to
provide and it is difficult to source suitable venues to
accommodate the needs of the ASC children.| |**Structure, Governance and Management**||| |Description of charity’s
trusts:||| |Type of governing
document|Para 1.25|The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
registered with the Charity Commission of England and
Wales. The charity was established by Its constitution
dated 10th December 2018.| |How is the charity
constituted?|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated Organisation| |Trustee selection
methods including
details of any
constitutional
provisions|Para 1.25|The CIO may, if the charity trustees so decide, allow the
members to vote by post or electronic mail (“email”) to
elect charity trustees or to make a decision on any matter
that is being decided at a general meeting of the
members.| ## **Additional information (optional)** |Policies and
procedures adopted for
the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51|No new trustees appointed| |---|---|---| |The charity’s
organisational structure
and any wider network
with which the charity
works|Para 1.51|The charity is working with Bright Start, Pauline Foster
(Lead Area Senco) and Orit Roditti (Occupational
Therapist)| |Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|Not applicable| ## **Reference and Administrative details** |Charity name|SEN Family Saturdays| |---|---| |Other name the charity uses|-| |Registered charitynumber|1182095| |Charity’s principal address|36 Berkeley Walk
Andover Estate
London
N7 7RS| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
2
3
4
5|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not**
**for whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee (if**
**any)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Margarita Georgieva|Chair||| ||Maria Paladini|Treasurer||| ||Helena Begum Majid|Secretary||| |||||| |||||| ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** |Description of the assets
held in this capacity|No assets held on behalf of others| |---|---| |Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects|Not applicable| |Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own assets|Not applicable| ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details Not Applicable **----- Start of picture text -----**
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Charity Name|No (if any)| |SEN Family Saturdays|1182095| |Receipts and payments accounts| |For the period|Period start date|To|Period end date| |CC16a|from|5/4/2020|4/4/2021| |Section A Receipts and payments| |Unrestricted|Restricted| |Total funds|Last year| |funds|funds| |to the nearest| |to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £| |£| |A1 Receipts| |Islington Giving|10,000|-|10,000|18,570| |Family Action|-|-|-|431| |Baily Thomas Charitable Fund|-|-|-|100| |Online fundraising (Amazon & Giveasyoulive)|47|-|47|-| |Other - refunds|470|-|470|-| |Sub total|(Gross income for|10,516|-|10,516|19,101| |AR)| |Total receipts|10,516|-|10,516|19,101| |A3 Payments| |Staff|3,451|-|3,451|-| |Premises Hire|-|-|-|100| |Lunch|127|-|127|-| |Other Lunch time supplies|4|-|4|-| |Craft activity supplies|350|-|350|-| |Sensory Equipment|92|-|92|-| |Cleaning supplies|-|-|-|-| |Management / Admin Supplies|302|-|302|-| |Training costs for volunteers & staff|-|-|-|-| |Audit|400|-|400|-| |Activity / workshop in the setting|-|-|-|-| |Workshop snacks|-|-|-|-| |Outings - entry|-|-|-|-| |Outings - travel|-|-|-|-| |Insurance|181|-|181|-| |COVID-19 Relief & sensory toys|2,939|-|2,939|-| |Sub total|7,845|-|7,845|100| |A4 Asset and investment| |purchases, (see table)| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |Sub total|-|-|-|-| **----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |-|-|-|-| |-|-|-|-| |Sub total|-|-|-|-| |Total payments|7,845|-|7,845|100| |Net of receipts/(payments)|2,671|-|2,671|19,001| |A5 Transfers between funds|-|-|-|-| |A6 Cash funds last year end|19,001|-|19,001|100| |Cash funds this year end|21,672|-|21,672|19,101| **----- End of picture text -----**
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** **----- Start of picture text -----**
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Unrestricted|Restricted| |Categories|Details|funds|funds| |to nearest £|to nearest £| |B1 Cash funds|21,672|-| |Total cash funds|21,672|-| |(agree balances with receipts and payments| |account(s))|OK|OK| |Fund to which|Amount due| |Details|liability relates|(optional)| |B5 Liabilities|Outings - travel (invoice not received yet)|450|-| |Signed by one or two trustees on|Date of| |behalf of all the trustees|Signature|Print Name|approval| |Mrs Maria Paladini|29/1/2022| **----- End of picture text -----**
## A brief origin story Family Action (FA) used to provide Saturday sessions for families on low income. This then was then aimed at families with children with Special Educational Needs ( SEN ). After five years management costs were too high and FA were unable to secure funding so the service stopped. The parents that were attending the session saw great benefits in keeping the service active and were motivated by Family Action to form their own charity. In October 2018 three parents set about establishing a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) called SEN Family Saturdays. Voluntary Action Islington (VAI) helped the trustees form a business plan, informed them of possible funders, supplied policy templates and helped register with the Charity commission. Cripplegate Foundation were able to help us secure the initial seed funding from Islington Giving which allowed us to start supporting families. We have now been running now for just over 1 year and have recently teamed up with Bright Start and Pauline Foster (Lead SENCO for Islington) to expand our reach. ## Our Progress Idea for the charity was born in October 2018 and by February 2019 we were a registered CIO with the Charity 01. Commission with all of our policies set up thanks to the support we received from VAI 02. In our first year we aimed to have 10 families which we achieved. We raised sufficient funding and established ourselves across several social media platforms within a few months 03. Thanks to Bright Start we now have access to more space at our venue which means we can support more families. So now we aim to support 20 families for our second year 04. Our future aims are to set up a further group to cater for older children with ASD aged 7 – 14, organize more workshops, increase the number of trustees and staff ## Our Team SEN Family Saturdays is run voluntarily by three trustees. We are a parent led charity all with Autistic children of our own. It is this personal connection that allows us to commit so strongly to the cause of improving the lives of other families in difficult circumstances. We have all attended several workshops (What is Autism?, behaviour management, toileting, communication, Sensory Processing, Eating etc) and a 14 week Early Birds program organised by the NHS Social Communication Team (SCT) as well as attending Speech & Language therapy and Play and Learn program. Margarita Chair Bright Start Parent Champion Safeguarding Group 1 Early Years Education and Care (QCF) Level 2 Member of Islington SEND parent parliament **----- Start of picture text -----**
Maria
**----- End of picture text -----**
Treasurer Emergency First Aid at Work Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead Food Hygiene & Safety for catering Level 2 Understanding Play course Supporting children in Foundation Stage EYP Diploma Level 2 Making sense of autism Training ## Helena ## Secretary Bright Start Parent Champion Safeguarding Group 1 Food Hygiene & Safety for catering Level 2 SEND Awareness Training Supporting children in Foundation Stage ## Our Staff **----- Start of picture text -----**
Angie
Meheret
Abeer
Karthika Sabrie
Fatima Laila
**----- End of picture text -----**
We employ trained, experienced staff to meet the children’s needs and manage daily challenging situations. ## What we provide We run sessions every Saturday morning at Hornsey Road Children's Centre from 10:30 to 2pm, with resources and facilities to aid creativity and meet the sensory needs of autistic children allowing them the opportunity to socialise, explore and learn in a safe and understanding environment. The project is specifically for families with children aged 0-7 with Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD ) living in Islington . We aim to reduce isolation and increase the levels of support for them by signposting parents/carers to the relevant Islington services ## Our weekly services Children with SEN often miss out on social activities, events and play groups because of several difficulties including speech delay, behaviour challenges, reduced danger awareness, anxiety and lack of social skills. We provide them with assistance to access community activities as well as provide activities of our own to improve their social skills. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Craft &
Free Play
Soft play
Parent
Support
Group
Lunch
**----- End of picture text -----**
The children are engaged in a variety of different activities each week which help with several key skills: fine & gross motor, social, language, behaviour ect This is followed by soft play supervised by staff to aid gross motor development, hypermobility and manage proprioception needs While Children are in soft play parents are given the opportunity to share strategies, information, advice and guidance for practical and emotional support. Then the children wash their hands and have lunch together with parents, siblings and staff. Eating a variety of healthy food tends to be challenging due to sensory processing disorders ## Other Services we provide: Events Once a month we organise a special activity, either an outing, workshop or Event. Events in the setting vary for example tippy toe dancing, bubble show, story massage, cupcake decorating, children’s yoga, capoeira music etc. ## Other Services we provide: Workshops We try to have Workshops every other month, They are delivered by a specialist Occupational Therapist on topics such as toileting, sleep, communication, behaviour management ect. As well as a general overview of What is Autism? Which is open to the public, extended family and friends to increase understanding and better support ASD children in the area. ## Other Services we provide: Outings Taking ASD children on outing can be quite daunting for a parent as it is in an uncontrolled environment with too many unfamiliar faces and unexpected occurrences that is often too overwhelming for the ASD child and family. So to give families more confidence and children more exposure we organise an outing once a month with extra staff to support families (1:1 ratio) to places like the London Zoo (on SEND days), London Aquarium, small theatres, Interactive museums, parks, farms ect ## Testimonials ## Rabia “My daughter likes to play in soft play and I can talk to other parents and get ideas” ## Shah ## Adelina “I learnt many things and the parents are very kind. I enjoy the workshops. It’s my son’s Saturday routine. He sits so well at lunchtime that I am amazed!” “This is so helpful for me and my son, staff are so helpful and nice” ## Esperance “They help me with more information about how to deal with Autism crisis. We share experiences about our kids and how to manage with everything” Shkendije “Since we started coming my son has tried so many new food! He even makes sandwiches for himself” ## Changes to our services due to Covid-19: Essentials, Craft & rousource packages When the announcement of the first lockdown came out, we managed to prepare and send out a resource pack for each of the families in the charity. Our funders have been very flexible allowing us to achieve this and allowing us to continue to pay our staff while the center was closed. We provided craft materials for the children to use their imagination however they like. We also provided mother’s day card templates, easter themed activity booklets & an Easter basket activity, Gross motor activity cards, fine motor scissor cutting activities (to be monitored by parents for safety) and playdoh exercises (to strengthen muscles in the hand as many children with ASC also have hypermobility). We also sent a letter with the pack giving instructions on how to use the resources such as the mood monster fan and routine flashcards. (image below) As the lockdown continued and basic supplies in stores and online became scarce, we decided to order essentials through the charity InKind Direct. We created and distributed essential care packages to each of the families. For those with younger children this included nappies and toiletries. We also provided hand sanitizers. wipes, masks and antibacterial soap. In October we were busy preparing & delivering craft activity packs and Christmas presents for each of the families in our group (including smal Lego sets & sensory star projectors). This was to help the children have some sense of routine on the weekend while the center was closed. We used WhatsApp to try to keep families motivated and sharing photos of the children doing the craft activities every Saturday seeing as we are not able to meet up. (November & December craft pack below) We also prepared packs personalised to particular needs and interests of individual children in the charity to increase their engagement in areas such as communication and eating. These among others were areas that children were struggling with due to the lockdown and reduced isolation. As the restrictions started to be lifted the children’s center which is also a nursery could not allow the charity to return to the venue straight away because of the extensive cleaning if we used the site. We continued to produce craft packs for the children to have some sense of routine with a craft activity for each week and we used the WhatsApp chat group to continue to share advice and strategies. In the meantime we reached out to BrightStart and sourced a new venue which was a disused nursery in Andover. We were able to safely resume to face-to-face sessions in May 2021. ## Face-to-Face outing In summer when restrictions started to be lifted for a short period, we were able to organise an outdoor event and order essentials and entertainment. We made the outdoor picnic event animal themed as the yearly SEND London Zoo Event had been cancelled due to the pandemic. It was our first face to face session since the lockdown and the kids had lots of fun socialising, taking part in activities, having lunch together and playing in the sand pit. We reminded them to use sanitizer gel & wipes before taking part in the activities and to wash their hands before lunch. Staff and adults wore masks which we provided. ## OT Home Visits & Sensory Equipment Families were finding the isolation hard to deal with as they could not rely on the support normally available to the children in settings. Children were not able to use playground equipment to regulate their sensory needs. So we arranged for Orit (Occupational Therapist) to support the families with much needed home visits and providing suggestions and strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic. When playground areas became prohibited we ordered and distributed sensory equipment for the families to help the children with Autism manage their needs in the safety of their homes. We gave the families a choice of equipment as not all families had the space in their homes for large equipment. The OT also gave advice on suitable equipment and how to use the equipment safely. Above: Some of the sensory equipment sent to families homes during lockdown _._ ## On-Line Workshops During the lockdown we had several online workshops with the guest speaker Orit (Occupational Therapist) on topics such as sleep, sensory processing and using visuals. ## Website We upload photos each week to our website showing the different craft activity the children have been engaged in. We also have link to different resources available to families in the borough. ## Facebook We upload photos to our facebook and use the social platform to announce workshops and for fundraising. ## Instagram & Twitter Again we upload photos and announce workshops on Instagram. We also upload short videos from outings. We use twitter for mayor announcements. ## **Declarations** ## **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Signature(s) Full name(s)** Maria Dolores Paladini **Position (eg** Treasurer **Secretary, Chair, etc) Date** 29/01/2022