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2020-12-31-accounts

Arise Counselling Service, Training and Related Services Charity No: 1183335

Trustees’ Report

End of Year Financial Statement Year Ending 31 December 2020

CHARITY INFORMATION

The following were trustees of an unregistered organisation from November 2018, which became a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation on the 9[th] May 2019 and covered the financial year December 2019 – December 2020:

Kate Bryant Carol Evans (Current Chair) Alison Morphew Rachel Willis (Chair during 2020) John Blechynden (appointed 20th April 2021)

Registered Address

Arise Counselling Service Jubilee Community Centre, Charlwoods Road, East Grinstead, RH19 2HL www.arisecounsellingservice.com

Charity Number:

1183335

Bank:

Lloyds Bank 1/3 London Road, East Grinstead RH19 1AH

Independent Examiner

David Robert Ralph FCIE 50 Southwood Road Rusthall Tunbridge Wells Kent TN4 8SP

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

For the year ended 31st December 2020

Structure, governance and management

Arise Counselling Service (ACS) gained charity status on 9th May 2019 as a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The trustees are appointed by the board of trustees.

ACS is an Affiliate of the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC) and provides support on any ethical issue that may arise in client work or governance of the counselling service.

Thirtyone:eight is our Safeguarding umbrella organisation and provides training for trustees in their overall role concerning safeguarding, as well as a similar supportive role as ACC in advising on specific safeguarding issues that might arise. Each freelance counsellor also has resource to an independent qualified supervisor and their chosen national counselling governing organisation to consult on any safeguarding issue that may arise in the course of their work.

The Charity is managed on a day-to-day basis by a Counselling Manager, which at present is a self-employed role within the organisation. The Manager meets regularly with the counselling team to provide support and help with any issues arising. The Manager attends Trustee Meetings by invitation of the trustees, to update and advise on current and future matters.

ACS networks with counselling managers within the Restore Network, representatives within Sussex Pathfinders and local churches.

The Charity is insured by Howden; counselling sessions, ancillary activities and trustees are all covered.

Objectives and activities

The objective of the charity is to provide affordable counselling for the public benefit to those living in East Grinstead and the surrounding area. ACS does this by offering counselling to adolescents, adults and couples according to the qualifications of the counselling team. ACS works with qualified freelance counsellors with a Christian faith and has a future objective to work with trainee counsellors with a Christian faith as a placement organisation. ACS respects each client’s right to make their own decisions in all aspects of life, including faith, and the service is offered to all irrespective of religious background or commitment. It is not the ethos of Arise Counselling Service to teach or advance the Christian faith.

The Trustees are aware of the Charity Commission guidance on Public Benefit and see that the services provided fully meet the requirements of the advancement of health or the saving of lives.

ACS accepts referrals from three main strands:

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Counselling sessions are charged at a sliding scale between £15-£50 depending on each person’s household income and so the sessions are affordable on a weekly basis. For those on a minimal income, particularly when this is verified through a third-party referral, the cost is reduced to an amount that is affordable for that person. All qualified counsellors are paid £15£16 / session including for DNAs and late cancellations.

Achievements and Performance

Between January 2020 and December 2020, the counselling team grew from 11 to 15, including two counselling students in September. We continued to provide counselling for all target groups: adolescents, adults and couples.

During this time, 119 people contacted ACS for counselling, and we were able to place 82 of those with a counsellor. The months between March and June saw a reduction in the number of people seeking counselling and wishing to start. During this time many people wished to pause their sessions so they could continue in person or wait to start sessions so they could be in person. It was not until well into the summer months when most people had become more accustomed to working online that referrals and people being placed began to rise again. The main reasons for not pursuing counselling after initial referral included:

Referrals continued to come from each of the main three anticipated avenues stated above: church referrals rose from 16% (in 2019) to 26% in 2020. Referrals from Time to Talk, GPs and Mental Teams rose to 25%, while other third party organisations dropped to 5%, perhaps both attributable to the impact of the pandemic. We also saw 10% of new referrals coming through recommendations from current clients and another 10% coming through counsellors in private practice.

2020 saw a small increase in men seeking counselling (31% up from 29% in 2019). Women dropped from 68% in 2019 to 59% in 2020 and the number of couples rose from 6% in 2019 to 10% in 2020.

Age wise, there was a drop in adolescent referrals 11% (2019) to 3% (2020) but an increase in referrals from those aged 20-29 to 20% (up from 16% in 2019). Those aged 30-49 are our largest recipients rising to 49% in 2020 (up from 43% in 2019). 29% were aged 50-69, again a rise of 4%. Only 1% were aged over 70, a decrease from 6% the previous year.

Location wise, 35% live in East Grinstead (down from 43%) with a further 30% living within a 10 miles radius and 35% living within 10-20miles.

Reasons for initiating counselling varied with the most common causes or combination of causes stated as:

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During 2020 ACS updated its client evaluation form and created online access as well as a printed option. Clients are encouraged to complete an evaluation of their counselling experience following their final session and ACS has continued to receive encouraging feedback. All the forms returned provided positive feedback, with 86% of those that responded saying they would access counselling again if needed and 100% said that they would recommend ACS to a friend or colleague if they needed counselling.

Some of the comments are below:

“My counsellor was a very patient, attentive and insightful counsellor who had a lot of information to absorb and make sense of - and did it with grace, understanding and insight.”

“I was naturally apprehensive and especially unsure doing my sessions over zoom. I was made to feel so valued, accepted and unjudged, which made it easier to open up without feeling ashamed. I have had previous counselling in the past, some went well, some didn't. But I have never had the opportunity to continue counselling until I am ready to end my sessions. I found it so beneficial having no limit on sessions. This enabled us to work through everything I needed to and learn coping strategies. I feel ready and able to cope with the struggles life may throw at me.”

“I am extremely grateful to my counsellor for her help over this year. I felt she genuinely took an interest in helping me and in particular had a way of being very concise about my experiences without being blunt, which I always found helpful when trying to understand myself. I felt able to trust her with things I haven't told anyone else but needed to discuss.”

Covid-19 obviously saw a huge shift in our way of working. The counselling team are to be commended for taking on extra training before and during the first lockdown and they were able to transition to see clients online and by telephone without interruption. In mid-March 2020, around 50% of our clients chose to pause the work until sessions in-person could restart. Online sessions were offered on a short-term basis to new clients to fill the spaces of those pausing and these were extended as the lockdown continued. In the end, all clients had access to longterm counselling if desired. In accordance with the changing government guidelines we took due measures to provide a Covid-secure space for clients to return to working in person in August 2020. By that time, many clients had become accustomed to working online and chose to stay with this medium, however, a small number of counsellors and clients appreciated being able to return to working in person.

Attendance data for the reporting period, January to December 2020, indicates that a total of 1468 counselling sessions were given, an average of 28 sessions per week. Due to the Covid19 restrictions the majority of these sessions (73%, n=1064) were given online or by phone and only 28% (n=404) were given face-to-face. As restrictions have lifted there has been a gradual return to face-to-face sessions but online / phone sessions continue to be offered to those

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counsellors and clients who prefer to continue in this way. It is our intention to continue this hybrid service of video, telephone and in-person sessions in the future.

The Trustees would like to thank the counselling team for their commitment to ACS, and the incredible way they have adapted to a new way of working during the pandemic. The continued expansion of the team and the number of sessions offered during this challenging period are a tribute to the vision and hard work of the Counselling Manager, Lizzie Venter.

Financial Review

The attached financial report shows ACS’s receipts and payments for the year ending 31 December 2020.

Owing to Covid we did not complete our 2019 aims to implement in-person fundraising ideas or workshops. However, the trustees are extremely grateful to Sussex Community Fund who granted us £4,500 in May 2020. This grant supplemented the cost of 674 counselling sessions between May 2020 - March 2021 and helped 41 individuals access counselling. This benefitted other organisations such as NHS Time to Talk, the East Grinstead and Burgess Hill Mental Health teams, local GP surgeries and NHS Veterans who collectively referred 20 individuals out of the above total. This grant also meant we were able to offer counselling to every person who was referred or self-referred for counselling no matter what they could afford to pay.

The Trustees do not receive payment for their role. Expenses for any training done in the service of their role is covered up to the amount of £100 per trustee per year. In 2020, Safeguarding Training was undertaken by three trustees, costing £39.99 each.

Our main costs are our counselling team, rent, Counselling Manager and administration expenses. Counsellors are paid on receipt of a freelance invoice. In 2020 two student counsellors joined the team as placement for their studies. They are offered up to £50 expenses per month. At present, the charity has no employees. In 2020, the average fee paid for our services was £21/session.

This report was approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Alison Morphew Trustee

Dated: 01/09/2021

Carol Evans

Dated:01/09/2021

Trustee

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Receipts and Payments Account - Arise Counselling Service, Training & Related Services 01 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020

Opening Balance
Receipts
Client Income
Grant
Fundraising
Training/Workshop Income
Voluntary Donations
Total receipts
Payments
Counsellor payments
Rent
Advertising & Website
Administrator Fees
Counselling Manager Fees
DBS Checks
Equipment
Insurance
Membership Fees
Postage
Printing and Stationery
Professional Fees
Telephone & Internet
Trustee Expenses
Supervision Costs
Sub-Total
Asset and investment purchases
Total
Net receipts/payments
Balance to carry forward to 2021		 Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total Funds
Prior Year
Funds
£
£
£
£
8591
0
8591
0
31456
0
31456
15249
462
0
462
10000
4500
0
4500
65
60
0
60
0
1469
0
1469
1918
37948
0
37948
27232
20,571
0
20,571
9808
3,718
0
3,718
2196
677
0
677
1782
630
0
630
3,495
0
3,495
1835
258
0
258
341
262
0
262
1607
247
0
247
381
175
0
175
323
-
0
-
2
182
0
182
191
117
0
117
191
145
0
145
115
40
0
40
0
-
0
-
60
30517
0
30517
18832
0
0
30517
0
30517
18832
7431
0
7431
8400
16022
0
16022
8400

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Statement of Assets & Liabilities - Arise Counselling Service, Training & Related Services Year Ending Dec 20120

£ Cash assets as at 31 Dec 2020 Current Bank Account 16022 Total cash assets 16022

This financial report was approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

ALISON MORPHEW Dated: Trustee 01/09/2021 CAROL EVANS Dated: Trustee 01/09/2021

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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Arise Counselling Service, Training & Related Services.

This report on the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31st December 2020 which are set out on pages 1 to 8, is in respect of an examination carried out under s145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

Respective responsibilities of trustees and independent examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act”) and that an independent examination is needed. Where the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners .

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and

  3. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act

  4. have not been met; or

  5. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

David R Ralph IEng JP FCIPD MIET FCIE

HMCE MLR No. 12338775 17[th] September 2021

50 Southwood Road

Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN4 8SP

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