I ## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From Period start date:** 05/04/2021 **To Period end date:** 04/04/2022 **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
recoveryof 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|The management and admin of the charity is done
entirely by the trustees. All trustees dedicate a lot of their
time for free to support and manage the group on
saturdays. Trustees also manage an online 24/7 parent
support group (in the form of WhatsApp) for families that
both currently attend at the centre on Saturdays and
parents that no longer attend in person but still require
support for strategies and signposting to services in the
local area. The trustees are covering the costs of running
admin duties from home as well as donating their time to
the accountancy and fundraising for the charity.
Items on occasion are purchased and donated to the
charity by the trustees. We have also had two volunteers
contributing their time during Saturday 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:
78 people directly benefited from our organisation’s work -
28 adults, 50 children (of which 35 children have ASC
diagnosis, Down Syndrome or are on the SCT waiting
list).
Providing weekly support, craft and sensory activities for
the children which helped developed their skills
Provided weekly group lunch which increased the variety
of food in the children’s diet
Provided continuous support to parents during sessions
and on a daily basis though our group chat. We were able
to offer strategies based on our experience and sign post
them on to further help
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 managed by the trustees. We were
able to offer strategies based on our experience and
sign-post to local services for further help.
We hosted a number of educational online workshops for
families.| |---|---|---| |Performance of
fundraising activities
against objectives set|Para 1.41|We brought forward £21,672.05 from the previous
financial year which were unspent due to the restrictions
imposed by Covid-19. We raised an additional £5,018.67.| |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 brought forward £21,672.05 from the previous
financial year which were unspent due to the restrictions
imposed by Covid-19. We raised an additional £5,018.67.
With the physical restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic
we were unable to reopen at Hornsey Road Children’s
centre and had to source an alternative venue. We were| |---|---|---| |||unable to spend as much as intended this year on venue
hire, trips, food, staff ect. We had to adjust the way we
could support our benefactors initially until a new venue
was sourced and provide individually wrapped food items
to prevent contamination.| |---|---|---| |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|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). Towards the end of the financial year we
collaborated with Ruth Solomon from Hand and Sky
project to provide families with a block of well-being
sessions.| |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 charity number|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 |**CC16a**|**Charity Name**
**SEN Family Saturdays**|**Charity Name**
**SEN Family Saturdays**|**Charity Name**
**SEN Family Saturdays**|**Charity Name**
**SEN Family Saturdays**|**Charity Name**
**SEN Family Saturdays**|**No (if any)**
**1182095**|**No (if any)**
**1182095**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||||| ||**For the period**
**from**||Period start date
5/4/2021||**To**||Period end date
4/4/2022| ||||||||| |**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||| |**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Restricted funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |Islington Giving|**5,000**||**-**||**5,000**||**10,000**| |Family Action|**-**||**-**||**-**||| |Baily Thomas Charitable Fund|**-**||**-**||**-**||| |Online fundraising
(Amazon & Giveasyoulive)|**19**||**-**||**19**||**47**| |Other - refunds|**150**||**-**||**150**||**470**| |**A3 Payments**
**_Sub total_**
**_Total receipts_**
_(Gross income for AR)_|**5,169**||**-**||**5,169**||**10,517**| ||||||||| ||**5,169**||**-**||**5,169**||**10,517**| ||||||||| |Staff|**13,814**||**-**||**13,814**||**3,451**| |Premises Hire|**780**||**-**||**780**||**-**| |Lunch|**2,590**||**-**||**2,590**||**127**| |Other Lunch time supplies|**74**||**-**||**74**||**4**| |Craft activity supplies|**804**||**-**||**804**||**350**| |Sensory Equipment|**496**||**-**||**496**||**92**| |Cleaning supplies|**14**||**-**||**14**||**-**| |Management / Admin Supplies|**174**||**-**||**174**||**302**| |Training costs for volunteers & staff|**59**||**-**||**59**||**-**| |Audit|**-**||**-**||**-**||**400**| |Activity / workshop in the setting|**460**||**-**||**460**||**-**| |Workshop snacks|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |Outings - entry|**70**||**-**||**70**||**-**| |Outings - travel|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |Insurance|**312**||**-**||**312**||**181**| |Software lices and subscriptios|**213**||**-**||**213**||**-**| |COVID-19 Relief & sensory toys|**206**||**-**||**206**||**2,939**| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**_Sub total_**|**20,066**||**-**||**20,066**||**7,845**| ||||||||| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||| ||**20,066**||**-**||**20,066**||**7,845**| ||||||||| ||**-**
**14,897**||**-**||**-**
**14,897**||**2,672**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**21,672**||**-**||**21,672**||| ||**6,775**||**-**||**6,775**||**2,672**| ||||||||| |**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||||| |**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**6,775**||**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||||**6,775**||**-**| |Signed by one or two trustees on behalf
of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**|Outings - travel (invoice not received yet)
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
Signature||||**6,775**||**-**| ||||||||OK| ||||||Mrs Maria Paladini
**Fund to which liability**
**relates**
450
Print Name||**Amount due**
**(optional)**| ||||||||**-**| ||||||||Date of approval| ||||||Mrs Maria Paladini||26/2/2023| ||||||||| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**-**||**-**|||**-**||**-**| |||**-**||**-**|||**-**||**-**| |**_Sub total_**||**-**||**-**|||**-**||**-**| ||||||||||| |**_Total payments_**||**20,066**||**-**|||**20,066**||**7,845**| ||||||||||| |**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**|**-**|**14,897**||**-**||**-**|**14,897**||**2,672**| |**A5 Transfers between funds**||**-**||**-**|||**-**||**-**| |**A6 Cash funds last year end**||**21,672**||**-**|||**21,672**||| |**_Cash funds this year end_**||**6,775**||**-**|||**6,775**||**2,672**| ||||||||||| ## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** ||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted funds**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Categories**|**Details**||**funds**||| ||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**| |**B1 Cash funds**|||**6,775**||**-**| ||**_Total cash funds_**||**6,775**||**-**| ||(agree balances with receipts and payments||||| ||account(s))||OK||OK| ||||**Fund to which liability**||**Amount due**| ||**Details**||**relates**||**(optional)**| |**B5 Liabilities**|Outings - travel (invoice not received yet)||450||**-**| |Signed by one or two trustees on behalf
of all the trustees|Signature||Print Name||Date of approval| ||||Mrs Maria Paladini||26/2/2023| ||||||| ## 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. 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 Thanks to Bright Start we now have access to more 03. space at our venue which means we can support more families. So now we aim to support 20 families for our second year Our future aims are to set up a further group 04. 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 This year we ran our sessions every Saturday morning at Andover Estate Community Nursery 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. 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. Craft & Free Play Soft play Parent Support Group Lunch 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. 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” ## OT Home Visits & Sensory Equipment Covid-19 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 _._ ## 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** 26/02/2023