I
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From Period start date:** 05/04/2024 **To Period end date:** 04/04/2025
**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 weekly**Saturday**
**sessions from 10:15 to 1:30pm**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 a **special activity** , either an outing, workshop or entertainer such as bubble entertainer, children’s yoga, trip to London Zoo and trips to farms, theatre and museums. We employ trained, experienced staff to meet the children’s needs and manage challenging situations. The **workshops** we organise are 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. 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 95 beneficiaries, who were taking part in the sessions at different rates of attendance and degree of continuity. As well as an additional 25 adults via our group chat.
|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, healthy eating,
sensory processing, communication, behaviour
management, demand avoidance and meltdowns.
As well as a general overview of What is Autism for
the beneficiaries, extended family, their friends and
the wider public. 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|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.
On occasion we are lucky enough to have volunteers that
are not trustees offering their time and experience to
support the charity either during Saturday sessions /
through online fundraising / with technical support.|
## **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 designed to develop
children's skills, enabling them to fully participate in
society. These activities include sensory activities
which help improve social skills, particularly
communication. They also enhance coordination
and fine and gross motor skills. The calming effect
they provide helps children when they feel agitated
(self-regulate). These activities enhance the learning
process by engaging multiple senses—touch, smell,
taste, sight, hearing, balance (vestibular) and body
awareness (proprioception).
•
Families have been able to keep in contact with
other families through the WhatsApp chat / weekly in
person Saturday sessions.
•
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
objectives set|Para 1.41|Our achievements include:
We managed to support a greater number of families that
had been on our waiting list for a long time. We split the
beneficiaries into two groups: Under 5s and Over 5s. We
alternated their attendance to continue to allow a sense of
routine, allow flexibility to those that couldn’t commit to
attending every single week and provide a safe
environment while supporting the additional families.
95 people directly benefited from our organisation’s work -
39 adults, 56 children (of which 50 children have ASC
diagnosis, ADHD, Down Syndrome or are on the Social
Communication Team waiting list). An additional 25 carers
that no longer attend in person and their children were
supported on our WhatsApp group chat.
We provided weekly support, craft and sensory activities
for the children which helped develop their skills
We provided weekly group lunch which increased the
variety of food in the children’s diet
We provided continuous support to parents during
sessions and on a daily basis through 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 provided home visits to families in most need from an
Occupational Therapist to tackle issues such as sensory
needs, self-care needs, behavioural issues etc.
We hosted a number of educational workshops for
families, staff and volunteers. As well as staff training on
Autism, Safeguarding, First Aid and Food Hygiene.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of
fundraising activities
against objectives set|Para 1.41|We brought forward £7,186.94 from the previous financial
year which were unspent. We raised an additional
£14,151.62.|
|Investment
performance against
objectives|Para 1.41|Not applicable|
## **Financial Review**
|**Financial Review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the
end of the period|Para 1.21|We brought forward £7,186.94 from the previous financial
year which were unspent. We raised an additional
£14,151.62, we spent £15,065.64 and at the end of the
financial year we had a surplus of £6,272.92.|
|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|The charity’s principal source of funding was provided by
Islington Council’s Community Chest (Cripplegate
Foundation), Islington Giving (Cripplegate Foundation),
The Yapp Charitable Trust, Islington Parent Carer Forum,
online fundraising, Bric-a-brac sales throughout the year
organised by the trustees, match funding 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 needs of the children in the community outweigh the
service we are currently able to provide and it is difficult to
source suitable venues to accommodate the specific
requirements of the children with special needs.
Finding volunteers that have the experience and
knowledge to help manage the day to day running of the
charity and raise sufficient funding.|
|---|---|---|
|**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 who provide free
access to their stay & play venue and inform the families
of local services. We continued to collaborate with the
British Library providing families with free tickets to
events. As well as with Orit Roditti from PlayWay who
provides the charity with Occupational Therapy services.
The charity also collaborated with Montem Primary
School who provided access to their vast playground. We
teamed up with Parkrun UK to encourage families to be
more active. We also collaborated with Islington Parent
Carer Forum (IPCF) and organised a lunch to reach
families from BAME backgrounds to offer services and
support for parent carers and their children. We continued
to work with VAI to improve services for children, families
andyoungpeople in the borough.|
Relationship with any Para 1.51 Not applicable related parties
## **Fence 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)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Laetitia Khenchelaoui|Chair|||
||Maria Paladini|Treasurer|||
||Helena Begum Majid|Secretary|||
||Maria Carolina
Oliva-Tristan Rodriguez|Trustee|||
||||||
||||||
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
|Description of the assets|No assets held on behalf of others|
|---|---|
|held in this capacity||
|Name and objects of the|Not applicable|
|charity on whose behalf the||
|assets are held and how this||
|falls within the custodian||
|charity’s objects||
|Details of arrangements for|Not applicable|
|safe custody and||
|segregation of such assets||
|from the charity’s own assets||
## **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**
|**No (if any)**
**1182095**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||
||**For the period**
**from**|Period start date
5/4/2024|**To**|Period end date
4/4/2025|
||||||
|**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**
**-**
**-**
**3,000**
**500**
**209**
**420**
**23**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,000**|**5,000**|
|ICCC|||**5,000**|**-**|
|BBC Children in need|||**-**|**10,000**|
|The True Colours Trust|||**-**|**2,500**|
|The Yapp Charitable Trust|||**3,000**|**-**|
|Islington Parent Carer Forum|||**500**|**-**|
|Online fundraising
(Amazon, Giveasyoulive & Paypal)|||**209**|**18**|
|Donations from Bric-a-brac sales|||**420**|**-**|
|Other - refunds|||**23**|**23**|
|**A3 Payments**
**_Sub total_**
**_Total receipts_**
_(Gross income for AR)_|**14,152**|**-**|**14,152**|**17,541**|
||||||
||**14,152**|**-**|**14,152**|**17,541**|
||||||
|Staff|**11,300**
**-**
**1,401**
**79**
**76**
**227**
**2**
**94**
**288**
**-**
**900**
**-**
**223**
**-**
**56**
**421**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**11,300**|**13,677**|
|Premises Hire|||**-**|**350**|
|Lunch|||**1,401**|**2,532**|
|Other Lunch time supplies|||**79**|**93**|
|Craft activity supplies|||**76**|**180**|
|Sensory Equipment|||**227**|**184**|
|Cleaning supplies|||**2**|**-**|
|Management / Admin Supplies|||**94**|**160**|
|Training costs for volunteers & staff|||**288**|**18**|
|Audit|||**-**|**-**|
|Activity / workshop in the setting|||**900**|**875**|
|Workshop snacks|||**-**|**10**|
|Outings - entry|||**223**|**401**|
|Outings - travel|||**-**|**-**|
|Insurance|||**56**|**96**|
|Software lices and subscriptios|||**421**|**420**|
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**_Sub total_**|**15,066**|**-**|**15,066**|**18,996**|
||||||
||**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||
||**15,066**|**-**|**15,066**|**18,996**|
||||||
||**-**
**914**|**-**|**-**
**914**|**-**
**1,456**|
||**-**
**7,187**
**6,273**|**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**|
||||**7,187**|**6,775**|
||||**6,273**|**5,319**|
||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**6,273**|**-**|
|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||**6,273**|**-**|
||||OK|OK|
||||**Fund to which liability**
**relates**|**Amount due**
**(optional)**|
||||450|**-**|
||||Print Name|Date of approval|
||||Mrs Maria Paladini|24/01/2025|
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|||**-**||||**-**|||||**-**||
||||**-**|||**-**||||**-**|||||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**|||||**-**||
||||||||||||||||||
|**_Total payments_**|||**15,066**|||**-**||||**15,066**|||||**18,996**||
||||||||||||||||||
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**||**-**|**914**|||**-**|||**-**|**914**||||**-**|**1,456**||
|**A5 Transfers between funds**|||**-**|||**-**||||**-**|||||**-**||
|**A6 Cash funds last year end**|||**7,187**|||**-**||||**7,187**|||||**6,775**||
|**_Cash funds this year end_**|||**6,273**|||**-**||||**6,273**|||||**5,319**||
||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||
## **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**||||**6,273**|||**-**||
||**_Total cash funds_**|||**6,273**|||**-**||
||(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|||24/01/2025||
## 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.
Laetitia Chair Bright Futures Parent Champion 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
## Helena
## Secretary
Bright Start Parent Champion Designated Safeguarding Lead Food Hygiene & Safety for catering Level 2 SEND Awareness Training Supporting children in Foundation Stage
## 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
## Carolina
## Trustee
Bright Start Parent Champion (under 5 yrs old) Bright Futures Parent Champion (5 - 19 yrs and up to 25 yrs with SEN) Safeguarding Group 1 Food Hygiene Level 2 Paediatric First Aid Understanding Autism Level 2
## Our Staff
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Karthika
Meheret
Fatima I Fatima B
Revathi Asmahan
Laila
Sabrie
**----- 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 on Saturday mornings at Hornsey Road Children's Centre from 10:15 to 1:30pm, 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 0-11 with complex special needs such as 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 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** 24/01/2025