I


## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** 

**From Period start date:** 05/04/2022 **To Period  end date:** 04/04/2023 

**Charity name:** SEN Family Saturdays 

**Charity registration number:** 1182095 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the<br>purposes of the charity<br>as set out in its<br>governing document|Para 1.17|1- To advance in life and relieve the needs of<br>children and young people with special educational<br>needs (SEN) through:<br>(a) The provision of recreational and leisure time<br>activities provided in the interest of social welfare,<br>designed to improve their conditions of life;<br>(b) Providing support and activities which develop<br>their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable<br>them to participate in society;<br>(c) The provision of support to parents of children<br>with SEN, by providing information, advice and<br>guidance throughout diagnosis.<br>2 - To advance the education of the general public in<br>the causes, treatment and care of those with SEN,<br>by providing the provision of educational workshops,<br>events and presentations.|
|Summary of the main<br>activities in relation to<br>those purposes for the<br>public benefit, in<br>particular, the activities,<br>projects or services<br>identified in the<br>accounts.|Para 1.17 and<br>1.19|**Service we provide:**<br>SEN Family Saturdays has run weekly**Saturday**<br>**sessions from 10.30 to 2pm**at Hornsey Road<br>Children's Centre. The place offers an accessible<br>and inclusive environment. Parents and children<br>enjoy planned programme activities with resources<br>and facilities to aid creativity and sensory needs of<br>autistic children. Attending the group allows children<br>to socialise, explore and learn in a safe and<br>understandingenvironment.|





|||The children are engaged in a**variety of different**<br>**activities**each week (photos of which can be seen<br>on our social media), followed by soft play and lunch<br>together. Once a month we have had a**special**<br>**activity**, either an outing, workshop or entertainer<br>such as bubble entertainer, children’s yoga, trip to<br>London Zoo and trips to theatre and museums. We<br>employ trained, experienced staff to meet the<br>children’s needs and manage challenging situations.<br>The**workshops**we held were delivered by a<br>specialist Occupational Therapist on topics such as<br>toileting, sleep, communication and behaviour<br>management. As well as a general overview of What<br>is Autism for the public, including extended family<br>and friends.<br>Having a child with a disability can have a huge<br>impact on the stability of family life, as well as the<br>health, well-being and emotional state of all family<br>members.<br>Our work supports families who are facing complex<br>needs and helps them to overcome barriers of social<br>inclusion.  We are supporting parents' knowledge<br>and confidence to use strategies, visuals and<br>analysing a child's behaviour, so they feel more able<br>to cope in challenging situations.<br>Our parent led charity has developed a whole family<br>approach inclusive of older and younger siblings.<br>SEN Family Saturdays encourages positive<br>child-parent relationships and ultimately builds<br>resilient families.<br>During this financial period SEN Family Saturdays<br>worked with 98 beneficiaries, who were taking part<br>in the sessions at different rates of attendance and<br>degree of continuity.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming<br>whether the trustees<br>have had regard to the<br>guidance issued by the<br>Charity Commission on<br>public benefit|Para 1.18|**Yes - Workshops**that we organised have been<br>delivered by a specialist occupational therapist on<br>topics such as toileting, sleep, sensory processing,<br>healthy eating, communication and behaviour<br>management. As well as a general overview of What<br>is Autism for the wider public as well as extended<br>family and friends. Flyers for the workshops were<br>posted on our social media platforms and given to<br>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<br>behalf of SEN Family Saturdays will be done in the name<br>of the organisation and will generally be based on<br>recoveryof the full cost of theproposed work.|
|---|---|---|
|Policy on social<br>investment including<br>program related<br>investment|Para 1.38|Not applicable|
|Contribution made by<br>volunteers|Para 1.38|The management and admin of the charity is done<br>entirely by the trustees. All trustees dedicate a lot of their<br>time for free to support and manage the group on<br>saturdays. Trustees also manage an online 24/7 parent<br>support group (in the form of WhatsApp) for families that<br>both currently attend at the centre on Saturdays and<br>parents that no longer attend in person but still require<br>support for strategies and signposting to services in the<br>local area. The trustees are covering the costs of running<br>admin duties from home as well as donating their time to<br>the accountancy and fundraising for the charity.<br>Items on occasion are purchased and donated to the<br>charity by the trustees.|



## **Achievements and Performance** 

|Summary of the main<br>achievements of the<br>charity, identifying the<br>difference the charity’s<br>work has made to the<br>circumstances of its<br>beneficiaries and any<br>wider benefits to<br>society as a whole.|Para 1.20|Our project brings people together and builds strong<br>relationships in and across the community. We did this<br>through:<br>•<br>Improving relationships thereby supporting parents<br>and children to spend time together, this<br>environment also enables people to make new<br>friends and establish networks between the<br>families;<br>•<br>Improving enjoyment of life for parents and<br>children through the provision of recreational<br>activities they could not normally access;<br>•<br>Making people better connected by supporting<br> 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. 

- Families have been able to keep in contact with other families through the WhatsApp chat. 

- They have been provided with home visits from an Occupational Therapist for advice and strategies. 

- • The sensory needs of children are always a struggle to manage which is why we provided families with sensory equipment/fidgets to each family. 

## **Additional information (optional)** 

|Achievements against<br>objectives set|Para 1.41|Our achievements include:<br>98 people directly benefited from our organisation’s work -<br>38 adults, 60 children (of which 53 children have ASC<br>diagnosis, ADHD, Down Syndrome or are on the Social<br>Communication Team waiting list).<br>Providing weekly support, craft and sensory activities for<br>the children which helped developed their skills<br>Provided weekly group lunch which increased the variety<br>of food in the children’s diet<br>Provided continuous support to parents during sessions<br>and on a daily basis though our group chat. We were able<br>to offer strategies based on our experience and sign post<br>them on to further help<br>Provided home visits from an Occupation Therapist to<br>tackle sensory needs, self-care needs, behavioural issues<br>etc.<br>Provided continuous support to parents on a daily basis<br>though our group chat managed by the trustees. We were<br>able to offer strategies based on our experience and<br>sign-post to local services for further help.|
|---|---|---|





|||We hosted a number of educational workshops for<br>families.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of<br>fundraising activities<br>against objectives set|Para 1.41|We brought forward £6,774.92 from the previous financial<br>year which were unspent. We raised an additional<br>£20,091.86.|
|Investment<br>performance against<br>objectives|Para 1.41|Not applicable|



## **Financial Review** 

|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s<br>financial position at the<br>end of the period|Para 1.21|We brought forward £6,774.92 from the previous financial<br>year which were unspent. We raised an additional<br>£20,091.86, we spent £18,729.96 and at the end of the<br>financial year we had a surplus of £8,642.45.|
|Statement explaining<br>the policy for holding<br>reserves stating why<br>they are held|Para 1.22|The trustees will consider the level of reserves that is<br>prudent for SEN Family Saturdays to have when agreeing<br>the annual budget. Consideration will be given to future<br>strategy, potential redundancy liabilities, and any other<br>significant factors that should be taken into account. The<br>specific reserves policy including any designation of<br>reserves for specific purposes will be agreed by trustees<br>on an annual basis.|
|Amount of reserves<br>held|Para 1.22|None|
|Reasons for holding<br>zero reserves|Para 1.22|The trustees will endeavour not to set aside funds<br>unnecessarily. When the need arrives the trustees will<br>consider the level of reserves they wish to retain,<br>appropriate to the charity's needs, based on the charity's<br>size and the level of financial commitments held.|
|Details of fund<br>materially in deficit|Para 1.24|None|
|<br>Explanation of any<br>uncertainties about the<br>charity continuing as a<br>going concern|Para 1.23|None|



## **Additional information (optional)** 

|The charity’s principal<br>sources of funds<br>(including any<br>fundraising)|Para 1.47|Islington Giving main grant and Islington Council’s<br>Community Chest and funding brought forward from the<br>previous financial year.|
|---|---|---|





|Investment policy and<br>objectives including<br>any social investment<br>policy adopted|Para 1.46|Not applicable|
|---|---|---|
|A description of the<br>principal risks facing<br>the charity|Para 1.46|The needs of the children in the community outway the<br>service we are currently able to provide and it is difficult to<br>source suitable venues to accommodate the specific<br>requirements of the children with special needs.<br>Finding volunteers that have the experience and<br>knowledge to help manage the day to day running of the<br>charity and raise sufficient funding.|
|**Structure, Governance and Management**|||
|Description of charity’s<br>trusts:|||
|Type of governing<br>document|Para 1.25|The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation<br>registered with the Charity Commission of England and<br>Wales. The charity was established by Its constitution<br>dated 10th December 2018.|
|How is the charity<br>constituted?|Para 1.25|Charitable Incorporated Organisation|
|Trustee selection<br>methods including<br>details of any<br>constitutional<br>provisions|Para 1.25|The CIO may, if the charity trustees so decide, allow the<br>members to vote by post or electronic mail (“email”) to<br>elect charity trustees or to make a decision on any matter<br>that is being decided at a general meeting of the<br>members.|



## **Additional information (optional)** 

|Policies and<br>procedures adopted for<br>the induction and<br>training of trustees|Para 1.51|Laetitia Khenchelaoui was appointed on the 07/01/2023<br>and she was given an induction to the charity and venue<br>for the saturday sessions. She had some training but also<br>carried out additional training such as Designated<br>SafeguardingLead training.|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s<br>organisational structure<br>and any wider network<br>with which the charity<br>works|Para 1.51|The charity is working with Bright Start, Pauline Foster<br>(Lead Area Senco) and Orit Roditti (Occupational<br>Therapist). We continued to collaborate with Ruth<br>Solomon from Hand and Sky project to provide families<br>with a block of well-being sessions. The charity also<br>collaborated with the British Library inviting families to<br>events with free tickets.|
|Relationship with any<br>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<br>Andover Estate<br>London<br>N7 7RS|



## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|1<br>2<br>3<br>4<br>5|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not**<br>**for whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**<br>**entitled to appoint trustee (if**<br>**any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Margarita Georgieva|Chair|||
||Maria Paladini|Treasurer|||
||Helena Begum Majid|Secretary|||
||Laetitia Khenchelaoui|Trustee|Appointed on<br>07/01/2023||
||||||



## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** 

|Description of the assets<br>held in this capacity|No assets held on behalf of others|
|---|---|
|Name and objects of the<br>charity on whose behalf the<br>assets are held and how this<br>falls within the custodian<br>charity’s objects|Not applicable|
|Details of arrangements for<br>safe custody and<br>segregation of such assets<br>from the charity’s own assets|Not applicable|



## **Exemptions from disclosure** 

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details 

Not Applicable 



|**CC16a**|**Charity Name**<br> <br>**SEN Family Saturdays**<br>|**Charity Name**<br> <br>**SEN Family Saturdays**<br>|**Charity Name**<br> <br>**SEN Family Saturdays**<br>|**Charity Name**<br> <br>**SEN Family Saturdays**<br>|**No (if any)**<br>**1182095**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Receipts and payments accounts**|||||
||**For the period**<br>**from**||Period start date<br>5/4/2022|**To**|Period end date<br>4/4/2023|
|||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**to the nearest      £**||**Restricted funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Last year**<br>**to the nearest £**|
|Islington Giving|**19,900**||**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**|**19,900**|**5,000**|
|Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)|**170**|||**170**|**-**|
||**-**|||**-**|**-**|
|Online fundraising<br>(Amazon & Giveasyoulive)|**22**|||**22**|**19**|
|Other - refunds|**506**|||**506**|**150**|
|**A3 Payments**<br>**_Sub total_**<br>**_Total receipts_**<br>_(Gross income for AR)_|**20,597**||**-**|**20,597**|**5,169**|
|||||||
||**20,597**||**-**|**20,597**|**5,169**|
|||||||
|Staff|**12,389**||**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**|**12,389**|**13,814**|
|Premises Hire|**350**|||**350**|**780**|
|Lunch|**2,216**|||**2,216**|**2,590**|
|Other Lunch time supplies|**146**|||**146**|**74**|
|Craft activity supplies|**332**|||**332**|**804**|
|Sensory Equipment|**465**|||**465**|**496**|
|Cleaning supplies|**33**|||**33**|**14**|
|Management / Admin Supplies|**719**|||**719**|**174**|
|Training costs for volunteers & staff|**190**|||**190**|**59**|
|Audit|**-**|||**-**|**-**|
|Activity / workshop in the setting|**890**|||**890**|**460**|
|Workshop snacks|**-**|||**-**|**-**|
|Outings - entry|**370**|||**370**|**70**|
|Outings - travel|**-**|||**-**|**-**|
|Insurance|**181**|||**181**|**312**|
|Software lices and subscriptios|**450**|||**450**|**213**|
|COVID-19 Relief & sensory toys|**-**|||**-**|**206**|
|**A4 Asset and investment**<br>**purchases, (see table)**<br>**_Sub total_**|**18,730**||**-**|**18,730**|**20,066**|
|||||||
||**-**||**-**<br>**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**-**|||**-**|**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**A6 Cash funds last year end**<br>**A5 Transfers between funds**<br>**_Total payments_**<br>**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**<br>**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||
||**18,730**||**-**|**18,730**|**20,066**|
|||||||
||**1,868**||**-**|**1,868**|**-**<br>**14,897**|
||**-**||**-**<br>**-**<br>**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**6,775**|||**8,642**<br>**6,775**|**21,672**|
||**8,642**||||**6,775**|
|||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**||||||
|**Categories**<br>**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**|||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**<br>**to nearest £**|
|||||**8,642**|**-**|
|Signed by one or two trustees on behalf<br>of all the trustees<br>**B5 Liabilities**|Outings - travel (invoice not received yet)<br>**_Total cash funds_**<br>(agree balances with receipts and payments<br>account(s))<br>**Details**<br>Signature|||**8,642**|**-**|
|||||OK|OK|
|||||**Fund to which liability**<br>**relates**|**Amount due**<br>**(optional)**|
|||||450|**-**|
|||||Print Name|Date of approval|
|||||Mrs Maria Paladini|14/12/2024|



|**A4 Asset and investment**<br>**purchases, (see table)**||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**-**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**||
|||**-**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**||**-**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**||
|||||||||||||||
|**_Total payments_**||**18,730**|||**-**|||**18,730**||||**20,066**||
|||||||||||||||
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**||**1,868**|||**-**|||**1,868**|||**-**|**14,897**||
|**A5 Transfers between funds**||**-**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**||
|**A6 Cash funds last year end**||**6,775**|||**-**|||**6,775**||||**21,672**||
|**_Cash funds this year end_**||**8,642**|||**-**|||**8,642**||||**6,775**||
|||||||||||||||



## **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**||||**8,642**|||**-**||
||**_Total cash funds_**|||**8,642**|||**-**||
||(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<br>of all the trustees|Signature|||Print Name|||Date of approval||
|||||Mrs Maria Paladini|||14/12/2024||






## A brief origin story 

Family Action (FA) used to provide Saturday sessions for families on low income. This 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 services stopped. 

keeping the service active and were motivated by Family Action to form their own charity.  In September 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 us 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. 

## Our Progress 


Idea for the charity was born in September 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. families which we achieved. We raised sufficient funding and established ourselves across several social media platforms within a few months 

03. Thanks to Manor Gardens and Bright Start we had access to more space at our venue which meant we could support more families. 

Our future aims  include setting up a further 04. group to cater for older children with ASC aged 7 – 14, organize more workshops, increase the number of trustees and staff 




## Our Team 

SEN Family Saturdays is run voluntarily by four 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 collectively have a vast amount of personal experience on the subject and have all attended several workshops relating to Autism (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. 



Maria 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 

Margarita Chair Bright Start Parent Champion Safeguarding Group 1 Early Years Education and Care (QCF) Level 2 Member of Islington SEND parent parliament 



## Laetitia 

## Helena 

## Trustee 

Secretary Bright Start Parent Champion Designated Safeguarding Lead Food Hygiene & Safety for catering Level 2 SEND Awareness Training Supporting children in Foundation Stage 

Designated Safeguarding Lead Food Hygiene Level 2 Paediatric First Aid Understanding Autism Level 2 PGCE in Languages Qualified Teacher Status BA in Applied Languages Working with Children in Early Years Level 2 

## Our Staff 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Karthika<br>Meheret<br>Fatima I Fatima B<br>Revathi Asmahan<br>Laila<br>Sabrie<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


We employ trained, experienced staff to meet the children’s needs and manage daily challenging situations. 



## What we provide 

We run sessions on Saturday mornings 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. 

children aged 0-7 with Autism Spectrum Disorder/Condition ( ASD/C ) 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 & The children are engaged in a variety of Free Play 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 Soft play staff to aid gross motor development, hypermobility and manage proprioception needs Parent While Children are in soft play parents are Support given the opportunity to share strategies, Group information, advice and guidance for practical and emotional support. Then the children wash their hands and have Lunch 

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: OT Workshops & home visits 

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” 





## 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** 14/12/2024 

