2023-12-31-accounts

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The Horsforth Shed Trustees’ Annual Report 2023

Registered Charity 1184672

See also our website at www.horsforthshed.co.uk

Objectives 2

Our History 2

Our Staffing Model 2

Achievements 2

Health & Safety, Safeguarding, and Risk Management 3

Health and Safety 4

Safeguarding 4

Risk Management 4

Looking Forward 4

Finances 5

Charity and Trustee Details 6

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Horsforth Shed – “It's the thing that I really look forward to all week” Joe, struggling with depression

Objectives

The intention of the Horsforth Shed is to help build supportive relationships through the medium of woodwork and other craft activities. More broadly, the charitable aim of the Shed is to promote social inclusion in Horsforth and the surrounding area by assisting individuals to integrate into society. This means learning together in a workshop environment and creating an atmosphere of mutual support. The services of the Shed are directed towards helping any individual who is, or is at risk of becoming, socially excluded.

Our History

The Horsforth Shed began in 2019 with the refurbishment and equipping of an old Scout Hut owned by St James’ Parish Church which lay unused and had fallen into disrepair. The renovation work took place through the coronavirus pandemic and over £64,000 was raised to cover the cost of renovation and equipment. The majority of this renovation work was undertaken by volunteers, whose donated time amounted to approximately £60,000 worth of labour. The Shed began became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in October 2019 and began delivering services to the local community in November 2021. Since then it has steadily increased its levels of engagement year by year.

Our Staffing Model

The key to our effective operation is our hybrid model of delivery involving both paid staff and volunteers. A part-time Shed Manager appointed in November 2021 is now employed for two and a half days per week managing the delivery of services to the local community. In addition, those wishing to volunteer to deliver services are given certified training to enable them to become Session Supervisors. In 2023 our volunteer a team of eight Session Supervisors offered over 650 hours of support.

Achievements

The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Therefore the aspirations agreed by the trustees for 2023 were to:

diversify the range of activities available as part of Shed sessions.
increase the number of sessions running on a weekly basis.
devise a strategy for fundraising to ensure the financial viability of increased utilisation of the Shed.

It is pleasing to report that all of these have been progressed.

We diversified the range of activities available to groups and individuals ranging from vulnerable young people to adults struggling with addiction and mental health issues. Groups of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder from two different service providers attended. A staff member described their experience as "a fantastic, productive, skilled and fun-packed term - we've had the best time, learned so

much and produced some fabulous products." Other groups include Scouts and Cubs, art classes and young people in the care system.

In 2023, we increased our opening times from 2 days per week to three and a half days per week. The Shed has offered over 240 sessions including a second regular drop in session. This has enabled more individuals to come directly to the Shed. In addition to self-referrals, social workers and social prescribers in the area have been referring individuals to the drop-in sessions, indicating awareness of the Shed by local services. Sessions vary in length from one to three hours, and in total more than 650 hours of sessions were delivered in 2023, engaging with around 120 school students and 70 adult individuals.

Our fund raising strategy involved producing a ‘Making Ends Meet’ flyer to raise awareness of our running costs. In addition those attending were invited to make donations either by cash, by card via a newly purchased ‘Sum-up’ machine or by regular donations by direct debit. This has successfully increased our revenue stream.

In each session, participants use the equipment and resources provided by the Shed to make a variety of outcomes. For young people not in mainstream education a structured programme is in place to develop some of the skills outlined in the Design and Technology Programme of Study for Key Stage 3. This involves a variety of guided tasks involving various projects. For the drop in sessions open to the public, whilst a range of projects are offered, the majority of tasks undertaken are by individuals choice. All sessions are led by suitably qualified Staff or Shed Supervisors. Participants thereby learn new skills and complete projects whilst engaging with others—one drop-in session participant described the Shed as a ‘calm and friendly environment’ where they ‘feel less isolated and more productive while learning valuable skills.’ The Shed has a dedicated social space and kitchen, allowing for quality social engagement alongside the main workshop activities. The group from Lighthouse West Yorkshire, for example, a charity that supports vulnerable adults, has lunch in the Shed as part of their regular sessions.

The positive impact of the Horsforth Shed on users has been evident in the feedback received. Although users praise the quality of the facilities and the opportunity to learn new skills, the mental health and social benefits of using the Shed are what shine through in testimonials. One drop-in session participant described how the Shed offers ‘not only a chance to learn new skills but also make new friends’. Another simply said ‘it’s great coming here”.

Furthermore, the facilities of the Shed have been used in service of community activities. We continue to support the Horsforth Walk of Art and make dozens of plywood building shapes for decoration by local schools and other groups. In turn, the Shed has established strong relationships with the Town and City Councils and several businesses in the area, including one construction company which provided an artist to run a six-week evening art workshop in the Shed. In addition, a local woodyard offers a discount on supplies.

We continue to improve the resources available at the Shed. In addition to reorganising consumables to make them more readily accessible the Shed achieved a grant for a specific piece of new equipment. We also raised a grant for a bike rack to give more secure provision for those attending by bicycle.

Health & Safety, Safeguarding, and Risk Management

A part-time Shed Manager is responsible for overseeing the management and operation of the community workshop. Experienced volunteer Session Supervisors oversee all workshop activities and ensure safe

working practice, and two Supervisors (paid staff or volunteers) are usually present for each session. There are a number of policies and procedures in place designed to mitigate risk.

Health and Safety

Overseeing Health and Safety remains the responsibility of the Project Leader. Our Health and Safety Policy details the management and control of risks to prevent accidents and ill health resulting from activity in the Shed. All new attendees at the Shed complete a short induction process when attending the workshop for the first time.

The workshop space is well lit and uncluttered, with a new more powerful dust extraction unit directly fitted to equipment, and a wall mounted fine particle extraction unit. We also reduce the risk of fine dust by minimising the use of sanding equipment. All tools and equipment are regularly maintained, and electrical appliances are PAT tested as appropriate. The use of tools and machinery is strictly controlled. Any equipment that could cause significant injury is clearly identified as ‘restricted use’ and may only be used after specific training has been delivered. Workshop sessions are overseen by experienced Supervisors who promote the use of the Personal Protective Equipment that is provided. We encourage all participants to recognise that health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. Concerns may be raised in person or using feedback cards.

Activities are risk assessed to minimise possible incidents that could result in injury or harm. We record all accidents and ‘near-misses’ and review them. We then respond as appropriate to mitigate future risks. We comply with regulations concerning the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) by providing secure storage in a lockable metal store cupboard.

Safeguarding

As the Board of Trustees we recognise the need to provide a safe and caring environment for children, young people and adults. The Board of Trustees therefore adopted a Safeguarding Policy in accordance with statutory guidance. We are committed to build constructive links with statutory and voluntary agencies involved in safeguarding. The policy is based on the ten Safe and Secure safeguarding standards published by Thirtyone:eight agency. It is they who provide professional support and undertake Disclosure and Barring Service checks for our staff and volunteer supervisors.

Risk Management

We have completed a Risk Register that identifies the principal threats to the operation of the Shed. The potential threats are mitigated by the measures that are set out in a Risk Register, which is reviewed annually by the trustees.

Looking Forward

Building on the successful operation of the Shed in 2023, our aspirations for the coming year are to:

diversify the range of activities available as part of Shed sessions. One particular focus is to support the goal of Horsforth Town Council as it seeks to become a Town of Sanctuary. We wish to explore what support the Shed may be able to make in welcoming asylum seekers in this area.
increase the number of sessions running on a weekly basis. At present some sessions are entirely volunteer led and the intention is to increase the number of sessions by appointing a paid employee for a further day per week.
devise a strategy for fundraising to ensure the financial viability of increased utilisation of the Shed.

Finances

We are fortunate to have a trustee who is a professionally qualified accountant as our treasurer. We have no funds materially in deficit and the trustees are satisfied that the charity is a going concern. We operate our finances within a Financial Controls Policy overseen by the treasurer and reviewed annually and we have no Related Party Transactions to disclose. To ensure that the charity continues to be financially sustainable we have a reserves policy of nine months’ operating costs. These are currently estimated at £14,700 with a minimum reserve threshold of £6,000. We never undertake any purchases or commission any work unless funding is already in place. Horsforth Shed is not a grant making charity nor does it have any investments. To strengthen our financial position the trustees are considering creating a part time role for a fundraiser.

During 2023 the following funding was received

Restricted funds:
Horsforth Town Council	£500
Leeds City Council	£491
Total Restricted Grants and Donations	£991
Unrestricted funds:
Receipts from Services Supplied	£31,282
Donations	£3,424
Room Hire	£360
Sales of works	£300
Total Unrestricted Donations	£35,366
Total Income	£36,356
Total Expenditure	£30,148
Monies carried forward from 2022 was £19,442.
Monies remaining at the end of 2023 was £25,650.

Charity and Trustee Details

Name: HORSFORTH SHED Charity number: 1184672 Date Registered: 30 July 2019.

Charity’s principal address: c/o St James Woodside, Low Lane, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 5QW

Horsforth Shed is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a Constitution as its governing document.

The management of the charity is by the board of trustees listed below

Jonathan Cain (Chair)

Graeme Collins

Peter Gillions (Project Leader)

Joe Minton

Chris Baker (Treasurer)

Tracey Greig

Trustees are appointed by agreement of trustees and a minimum of three trustees are needed to be quorate. As the property is owned by St James Woodside Parochial Church Council then the Vicar of St James Woodside is automatically an “ex-officio” trustee. If the post of Vicar is in vacancy then there must be at least one trustee who is a member of the Parochial Church Council. The charity trustees will meet at least quarterly and undertake to make available to each new charity trustee, on or before their first appointment, copies of or access to:

The current version of the constitution.

The CIO’s latest Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts.

The Charity Commission’s guidance on the role of the trustee.

The trustee declaration of being a ‘fit and proper’ person document.

The charity is aware of the guidance on diversity and inclusion and is actively seeking to expand the board of trustees.

Staff members:

Richard Hamlin (Shed Manager): employed two and a half days per week to oversee a volunteer team of ten Session Supervisors.

Peter Gillions (Project Leader): Volunteer with responsibility for the future development and maintenance of the premises.

Independent Examiner: L. Groenewald FCA, 24 Regent Terrace, Leeds, LS6 1NP

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above on the 01 October 2024 Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Peter Gillions Signatures Jonathan Cain Full names Jonathan Cain Peter Gillions Chair of Trustees Trustee and Project Leader

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Independent examiner's report
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Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees of Horsforth Shed
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I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charitable Responsibilities and basis incorporated organisation (“the charity”) for the period ended 31 December 2023. of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to examiner' my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in s any material respect:

statement

the accounting records in respect of the charity were not kept as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

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Lydia Groenewald D 30 October 2024
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Name: Lydia Groenewald (FCA ICAEW)

Address: All Hallows Vicarage, 24 Regent Terrace, Leeds, LS6 1NP

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Independent Examiner’s Report

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I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above Responsibilities and charitable incorporated organisation (“the charity”) for the period ended 31 basis of report December 2023.