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2021-05-01-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 1[st] May 2020 to 30[th] April 2021

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Name: Takiwatanga Support Services

Charity registration number: 1184723

Registered Office: 57a Highcliffe Road, Wickford, Essex SS11 8JP

Trustees (during the above period):-

Paula Farrow - Chair Nicola Sheldon - Secretary (appointed August 2020) Maria Denton – Treasurer (appointed June 2020) Karen Cogger Marie Findlay Jenne Seibolt Daniel Ireland (appointed July 2020) Samantha Read – (resigned August 2020)

Objectives

Our charity’s aims, as set out in our governing document (constitution), are to relieve the needs of children affected by autism or social anxiety and their families within Essex by:

1) providing information, signposting to relevant professional agencies and running emotional support groups to enable parents to help their children achieve their academic potential and minimise their child's social anxiety;

2) providing social activities and opportunities for autistic children, tailored to their particular needs, to boost their self-esteem and improve their social skills, whilst enabling them to mix socially with neurotypical peers and siblings;

3) providing educational activities, in small groups, for children who are home-schooled and/or school refusers, as a result of their autism and/or social anxiety issues;

4) providing training to education and health professionals, parents and the wider public regarding the autistic spectrum, the benefits, the challenges and the best methods to support and communicate with autistic children;

5) raising public awareness of autism.

Ensuring our work delivers our aims

We review our aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at what we achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous 12 months. The review looks at the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought to those groups of people we are set up to help. The review also helps us ensure our aim, objectives and activities remained focused on our stated purposes. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aim and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

The focus of our work

Our main objectives for the year continued to be supporting the mental health and wellbeing of autistic children and providing support for their parents, within the county of Essex. The pandemic meant that the strategies we had previously used to meet these objectives were now restricted, however we adapted to these restrictions to continue to provide support by :

Providing a range of outdoor and on-line activities to promote social interaction, self-regulation and build confidence.

Organising support groups and informative talks for parents and other professionals

Focusing upon providing a calm environment, with small groups and promoting a positive view of autism and its many unique gifts, whilst providing a non-judgemental attitude towards the distressed behaviours that can be displayed when a child is overwhelmed.

Working in partnership with other agencies to secure the widest range of services is available that best matches the needs of autistic children and their families.

Activities

Woodland Warriors Activity Sessions

Woodland Warriors is an outdoor activity programme run by Tiffany Belford-Fry, or as we like to call her ‘Tiffers’. The outdoor setting helps to relax the body and mind, enhancing endorphins within the brain to relax and relieve anxiety and stress. This provides a foundation from which to learn and enhance life skills such as: mindfulness, self-confidence, appreciation for the natural world and making and maintaining friendships. We ran 68 sessions during the year, which were attended by 70 children.

Amazing feedback has been received from children and parents:-

I would like to share my son’s experiences of Woodland Warriors, I’ll give you a little bit of background information first. T experienced so many difficulties and issues at his previous school due to very little/poor support. This left his confidence and self-esteem in tatters and myself absolutely heartbroken seeing my son being treated in such a way. I pulled him out of school in October and started home-schooling until a change of placement could be secured. My son is a sociable little boy in his own unique way and I know that not having any social interactions for a period of time and then the 3[rd] lockdown seriously impacted him.

I discovered Woodland Warriors in February of this year and what can I say, Tiffers has been absolutely brilliant in welcoming T into the sessions and knows exactly how to treat each child as an individual. The past 2 months have been a lifeline to both T and myself, my son has really enjoyed the interaction with others and not being judged. All activities have an element of learning and are always fun, real thought and time has been invested in planning each

session. What’s more because it’s fun and interactive I have found that after each session my

son wants to know more! My son comes away from each session happy and full or questions, I have seen a real improvement in his confidence and self-esteem.

8yr old: I love the sensory swings and making and doing things like cooking on the fire. I get to see my friends and we can play. I don't feel like the only one that has autism anymore.

I love Tiffers she makes me laugh and knows lots of stuff, she's fun!

They don't think I'm weird if I tic, move around (stim), or get upset or anxious. I learn stuff that's fun and get badges.

Both my children look forward to Woodland Warriors weekly, they enjoy the venue, the environment that is set up and the activities, resources and crafts Tiffers provides are well thought out and executed.

They love Tiffers and talk of her fondly at home and often want to take something they've made to show or share something they've learnt. They often carry on a topic they've learnt at Woodland Warriors at home (Victorians, Vikings) and tell friends what they've done. They've been able to develop their social skills, speak in front of the group, develop friendships, learn and share new skills, develop greater awareness of nature, history, science, health and safety, craft skills and laugh and have fun!!!

Woodland Warriors On-Line

During lockdown periods we decided to run some on-line activities for our regular Woodland Warrior attendees. A private Facebook group was set up and Tiffers (the WW leader) regularly posted videos and activities for the children to participate in and share their own photos. One activity was building a snow igloo lantern. It was a great way to keep the children entertained and allow them and their parents to stay in touch with the other families from the group.

Stay Connected Activity Packs

We applied for a grant from the National Lottery Covid fund to help with people feeling isolated during the pandemic. We used the funds to run the on-line Woodland Warrior group and to provide 100 activity packs for autistic children. Our volunteers ordered the materials, put together the packs and delivered them all over Essex. The packs included a list of activities and things to make, to help them stay connected with friends, relatives and their communities.

Thank you!! The boxes are amazing, the contents were put together with such care and attention to detail, the print outs are so lovely. The girls love them and were so excited to show daddy.

Thank you for our boxes. My two absolutely loved them! Such brilliant ideas inside.

Huge thank you for making J's day (his words not mine). He is made up with his gifts.

Parent Support Group

Our Parent Support Groups were held every month. The number of parents attending each session varied from 4 to 15. Throughout the year the group was held via Zoom, due to the Covid19 crisis and we secured emergency funding to enable us to continue offering support via Zoom. We also promoted our Facebook Support Group and membership of that group increased by over 185 parents/carers.

Parent Feedback:-

“It was lovely meeting some you on the zoom call last night and share our experiences, both good and bad. Was nice knowing that I'm not as alone in this as I thought I was and there are some truly wonderful people here willing to offer support and a friendly ear so thank you“

“Takiwatanga is a fantastic service that offers meaningful help, advice and support within our community. I received very well-informed advice from them whilst trying to secure the right school placement for my son. They made me feel confident about what I was doing and they gave me the energy to keep fighting for my son. They make such difference in our community by making parents like myself feel like we are not alone. That is so important when you are struggling with the impact of additional needs on your family. They share valuable resources and advice on their social media that is very useful and has often helped me. Karen is lovely and really made me feel supported. Thank you so much Takiwatanga! We love knowing that you guys are just a message or call away"

On-line Parent Support

We responded to over 500 emails, social media messages, texts and phone calls from parents answering their queries.

Facebook Parent Support Group has grown from 378 to 565 members (April 2021)

1:1 Support for Parents

Our volunteers met privately with parents to discuss their concerns. Topics ranged from seeking diagnosis, advice after getting diagnosis, help with EHCP process and securing more support from schools. 42 parents were given in depth help via face to face meetings, telephone, email or messenger services.

Volunteers

Special thanks must be given to our amazing volunteers, employees and trustees, all of whom worked tremendously hard during an incredibly challenging year.

Social Media Presence

Facebook Page has grown from 369 to 610 followers with the biggest post reach being 2,501 people

Instagram following has increased from 103 to 224

Our Twitter account has 134 followers inc. Perry Norton (ECF), Essex is United, Citizens Advice Essex, Yenn Purkis, Jack Ferguson (Labour Cllr for Pitsea NW), Cllr Craig Rimmer, Cllr Jeff Henry (Laindon/Fryerns), Dean Beadle, Essex Family Forum, The Autistic Advocate, Essex YMCA, Louise McKinlay (Brentwood Council leader), Danny Lawrence (Dir. Gateway Radio)

Plans for the Future

The charity plans continuing the activities outlined above in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements. Plans are also being developed to provide the following additional services, subject to Covid-19 restrictions and available funding:-

Financial Review

Principal Funding Sources

The principal funding sources for the charity during this year were emergency Covid grants, from a variety of sources, including the National Lottery, Essex Community Foundation and the Tudwick Foundation. All fundraising events were cancelled and we had to think out of the box to come up with some virtual events to take their place, which included a virtual balloon race across the Sahara and on-line raffle. By September we were able to take part in The Fun Walk Trust’s sponsored walk and raised over £1,000.

Our total income in money terms was £25,892.94. However, although not included in our Receipts & Payments Accounts, we have calculated that the donations of services, equipment, office/storage space and volunteer time amounted to an additional £6,000.

Particular thanks should be given to:-

Mr M Jessup for his amazing donation of £800 towards the cost of the storage container.

Jane Jones who cycled 10K a day during the month of April - raising over £300 for Takiwatanga.

Wickford Town Football Club who very generously donated us the free use of the kitchen facilities and storage rooms at the club and allowed us to place our storage container on their land free of charge.

Investment Policy

Aside from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year most of the charity’s funds are to be spent in the short term so there are few funds for long term investment. A review of investment policies will be taken if our income stream significantly increases.

Reserves Policy

The Management Committee has examined the charity’s requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organisation. It has established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the charity should be between 3 and 6 months of the expenditure.

Budgeted expenditure for 2021/22 is £55,000 and therefore the target is £18,000 in general funds. The reserves are needed to meet the working capital requirements of the charity and the Management Committee are confident that at this level they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the event of a significant drop in funding. The present level of reserves available to the charity of £8,000 therefore falls significantly short of this target level. Although the strategy is to continue to build reserves through planned operating surpluses, the Management Committee is well aware that it is unlikely that the target range can be reached for at least five years. In the short term the Management Committee has also considered the extent to which existing activities and expenditure could be curtailed, should such circumstances arise.

Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document

The organisation is a foundation CIO and was set up in May 2019 and was formally registered as a charity in August 2019. The charity was established under a Constitution which established its objects and powers. In the event of the charity being wound up trustees are not required to financially contribute.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The trustees of the charity for the purposes of charity law and under the charity’s Constitution are known as members of the Management Committee. Under the requirements of the Constitution the members of the Management Committee are elected to serve for a period of three years, after which they must be reelected at the next Annual General Meeting. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity for work undertaken as trustees. Due to the nature of autism support much of the charity’s work inevitably focuses upon parents and children. The Management Committee seeks to ensure that the needs of this group are appropriately reflected through the diversity of the trustee body. The more traditional business, educational and medical skills are well represented on the Management Committee. In an effort to maintain this broad skill mix, members of the Management Committee are requested to provide a list of their skills (and update it each year) and in the event of particular skills being lost due to retirements, individuals are approached to offer themselves for election to the Management Committee.

Trustee Induction and Training

Most trustees are already familiar with the practical work of the charity having been encouraged to attend some of our activities. Additionally, new trustees are invited and encouraged to watch a series of short training videos to familiarise themselves with the charity, the context within which it operates and most importantly provide them with an overview of autism and its comorbid conditions. Trustees are also provided with the following documents:-

Takiwatanga’s governing document (Constitution), the latest published accounts, Future plans and objectives, Code of Conduct for Trustees/Volunteers/Staff and the Charity Commission’s guide “the Essential Trustee”. Trustees are also signposted to review all of the charity’s current policies, including GDPR, Health & Safety, Financial Management, etc.

Some of the training courses attended by trustees and volunteers this year include:-

Helplines Partnership – Helpline Management IPSEA – Education and SEN Law Course Levels 1-3 Dean Beadle – Autism Positivity NSPCC – Child Protection and Safeguarding

Risk Management

The Management Committee has conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A risk register has been established and is updated at least annually. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. Significant external risks to funding have led to the development of a strategic plan which will allow for the diversification of funding and activities. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of volunteers and service users. The charity follows the Institute of Fundraising Practise guidelines. All procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the charity. We ensure that all trustees/volunteers have the relevant DBS checks and safe-guarding training.

Organisational Structure

Takiwatanga Support Services has a Management Committee of up to 12 members who meet quarterly and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. At present the Committee has six members from a variety of professional backgrounds, relevant to the work of the charity. A scheme of delegation is in place and day to day responsibility for the provision of the services rest with the Chair along with the rest of the committee. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services specified and that key performance indicators are met. The Secretary has responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the charity, individual supervision of the team and also ensuring that the team continue to develop their skills and working practices in line with good practice.

Related Parties

In so far as it is complimentary to the charity’s objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policy. Two of the current trustees are also Family Champions for Essex Family Forum. This is a multiagency group with Essex SEND as its focus. The representation of local organisations within this group has

proved invaluable to the charity in establishing improved links within the community and identifying relevant gaps in support, policy developments and prospective funding.

Our latest recruit to the trustee board is Danny Ireland who brings with him over 40 years of experience in Finance, Governance, Change management and Leadership. His last role was as Operations Director at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute so has business leading board experience in the ‘Not for Profit’ sector. Another of his volunteer roles is as a member of the Executive Committee at another local charity; Wickford Town FC where he is also their Football Development Officer. This has enabled Danny to help establish a mutually beneficial partnership between the football club and Takiwatanga.

He has developed three key pillars for this partnership:

This is achieved by the club allowing us to have access to their facilities along with a secure storage unit to hold fund raising activities such as ‘Clothes Collection’ and sponsored walks for a minimal donation; hence benefiting both charities

2) Developing an Inclusion Pathway for participating at the Football Club

Danny has shown through his personal experience and building a knowledge of the issues faced by children on the autistic spectrum that it is possible for children to successfully play football if there is an appropriate ‘safe Environment’ for them to express themselves. This opportunity to support inclusion will be formalised into a framework that will be piloted across the club. The approach has also been discussed with the County FA CEO who would be willing to support the further development of the framework as part of their drive for inclusion.

3) Delivery of the Takiwatanga Vision

Wickford Town FC are pursuing a development plan for the 38 acres of land held in trust for them. Through his position within the club Danny is influencing the design of the plans to include facilities that could be utilised by Takiwatanga to support delivery of the charity’s key objectives.

Dated this 10[th] day of December 2021

', CHARIIY COMIAISSION FOR ENfjLAND WAiE5 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a To Section A Receipts and payments UnTEStri¢tÈd RETi¢ted End0me￿I Lasi par A1 R•¢wis 2.615 7* Sl Alv (see iatslel. WA srs 74 3t7 Pn 14$ 3,753 CCXX Rl xxxJxgslSS}

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at ihe end ol the peTiod Endowlnènt lur*ls 81 Cash Iwls 117 DttBilS Oeti."Is DEt)i1s Del&iiS L•'PiVAi m4RIA D&JVTOAJ ,EL a￿-￿s 2512122

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/
members of
On accounts for the year
ended
Set out on pages
Responsibilities and
basis of report		 Charity Name
Takiwatanga Support Services		 Charity Name
Takiwatanga Support Services		 Charity Name
Takiwatanga Support Services
30 April 2021 Charity no
(if any)		 1184723
1-2
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended30/04/2021.
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 Trust’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.

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.

Signed:
Name:
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body):
Address:

 13/02/2022
Joanne Butcher
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
40 Arundell Road,
Weston-Super-Mare,
BS23 2QQ

1

Oct 2018

IER

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of N/A any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2

Oct 2018

IER