2026-01-31-accounts - Optimi

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OPTIMI

Trustees Annual Report for the year ending 31 January 2026

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Name: OPTIMI

Charity Registration Number: 1184859

Registered Office: Oaklands Cardeston Ford Shrewsbury Shropshire SY5 9NN

Charity Trustees

Mr RE Major Chair Dr PB Butler Secretary/Treasurer Prof J Stallard Mrs CMN Ball

Management Accountant: Mr Chris Hoare

Our Objectives and Aims

The Objective of our charity is set out in our Constitution:

‘The relief of sickness and the promotion of health among those suffering with neuromotor and neuromuscular disorders.’

There are three strands by which this Objective is achieved:

a) advancing the education of professionals in specific areas of study, skills and expertise relating to the model of physiotherapy known as Targeted Training and the accompanying Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo).

b) nurturing the concerns of all those, worldwide, who have interest and/or involvement in the sequential and segmental approach to the development of human movement control.

c) the creation, monitoring and encouragement of maintenance of clinical standards of the model of physiotherapy known as Targeted Training.

The Aim of our charity is, in simple terms, to enable as many people as possible who have disabilities that might respond in some part to Targeted Training therapy, to have access to this physiotherapy approach. Our aim fully reflects our Objective.

Ensuring our work delivers our aims

We review our aims, objectives and activities each year. This report encompasses our achievements over our third year as a Registered Charity. We review the progress of each key activity and how this contributes to benefit those groups of people we are set up to help. We refer to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

The focus of our work

The strategies we have defined to meet our objective included:

Creation and delivery of distance learning educational programmes for professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and others such as paediatricians and bioengineers

Creation and delivery of face-to-face educational programmes for professionals, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists
Creation and delivery of a forum for those who have an interest in this area
Creation and establishment of clinical standards for delivery of Targeted Training therapy

How our activities deliver public benefit

All our charitable activities deliver public benefit by the broadening of information and knowledge about Targeted Training and the sequential and segmental approach to the development of human movement control. The benefit accrued by an individual as a result of Targeted Training has impact beyond the immediate gain by the individual: families also benefit as a result of greater independence of the individual and wider society can benefit from reduction in costs of equipment and medical care required. An increase in movement control and function can lead to greater access to employment, with consequent public benefit. The expertise held by Trustees, encompassing many aspects of the management of disability and particularly of individuals with Cerebral Palsy, provides a resource of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement for those engaging in research activities and Knowledge Exchange.

Achievements and Performance

i. A major issue for Optimi during this year was to ensure that the teaching material on the Optimi website was available to as many people as possible. Uptake has been reasonably consistent to date but Trustees felt that more could be done. To this end, after considering a number of options, an agreement was reached with Dr Mindy Silva, Paediatric Physiotherapist in New Zealand, who runs https://www.wiredondevelopment.com/. This website is aimed at bringing information to therapists worldwide about emerging and existing therapy strategies and related topics. The material on the existing Optimi website has been transferred over to the new website, with both websites viable at this time. In the stage of informing potential new users, Dr Silva sent information to over 13,000 therapists worldwide.

Optimi now forms a separate hub of the WiredOnDevelopment website with Free-to-View material available as previously and paid-for teaching courses. Uptake of both has been excellent. The teaching material runs as a cohort of therapists commencing simultaneously, with access to Mr Richard Major and Dr Penny Butler and live Q&A sessions. The Modules become available monthly and commenced in December 2025.

ii. A successful application was made by Mr Richard Major for the Roy Ellis Patient Benefit Award from the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. This award is of great assistance to Optimi in terms of publicity as well as the financial contribution to Optimi’s work.

Other educational avenues

i. Poster presentation

Vila VG, Eiroa IG; Ruiz JL, Contell-Gonzalo E, Galisteo RR, Martínez MR, Butler PB, García VR. Validation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) Scale in the Spanish Population. XVII Xornadas Galegas de Fisioterapia INVESTI-GA, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Sept. 2025

ii. Oral presentation

Vila VG, Eiroa IG; Carrion RP, Butler PB, García VR. ‘Implementation of Baby-CIMT at Home, Including Postural Control Management and Parental Stress: A Case Study’. 2025 Annual Conference of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Physiotherapy, Madrid. November 2025. (Presentation in Spanish)

Communication between therapists and creation and establishment of clinical standards

The means of monitoring delivery of Targeted Training will be considered once the full teaching package is in place.

Future Plans

The charity plans to continue the activities outlined above.

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

OPTIMI is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) whose only voting members are its charity trustees: it was registered on 12 August 2019. The charity’s

Constitution states that, in the event of the charity being wound up, trustees have no financial or personal liability.

Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

Professor John Stallard retired this year and was reappointed. Trustees may be reelected for a maximum of three consecutive terms with an interval of one year before a fourth term commences. A term constitutes a three year period.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity.

The trustee body seeks to ensure that the needs of professionals and their client groups are met through the diversity of the trustee body alongside business and management skills. To help maintain this broad skill mix, Trustees provide a list of their skills (updated each year): if specific skills are required or lost due to retirement, individuals are approached to offer themselves for election.

Trustees have met eight times during the year, with all meetings taking place virtually.

Trustees have been mindful of the issues of succession planning and meetings have been held during the year to discuss this issue.

Trustee Induction and Training

New trustees are invited because of interest expressed in our work and/or specific skills that would be of value to the charity. Potential trustees are provided with

information about the charity’s objectives and activities and with information from the Charity Commission about the responsibilities of trustees, including the publication ‘The Essential Trustee’. New trustees are provided with the Constitution of the CIO along with the latest financial statements.

Risk Management

Trustees have carried out a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A risk register has been established and is updated annually. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions.

In this context, Trustees have reviewed the financial situation of Optimi and taken strategies to reduce outgoings by, first, engaging a Chartered Accountant to act on a voluntary basis and, second, by using a registered office address rather than that of the previous accountancy firm.

Policies

Trustees have reviewed, updated where needed and approved the Risk Register and Trustee Skill Mix. Policies on Public Benefit, Risk Management, Complaint Handling, Reimbursement of expenses, Volunteers, Safeguarding were also reviewed and updated as needed, together with the Statement for providers of Targeted Training.

All policies are reviewed at defined intervals and are available to view at https://optimi.org.uk/policies/

Responsibilities of trustees

The CIO is required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the CIO as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income

and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees follow best practice and:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is not appropriate to assume that the CIO will continue on that basis.

Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the CIO and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the CIO and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In accordance with the relevant legislation, as the trustees of the charity, we certify that:

so far as we are aware, there is no relevant financial information of which the CIO’s Independent Examiner is unaware; and
as the Trustees of the CIO we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant financial information and to establish that the CIO’s Independent Examiner is aware of that information.

OPTIMI DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 JANUARY 2026 2026 2025 Incoming Resources Donations 738 £ 1,137 £ 1,137 738 Sales within charitable activities 400 400 250 250 Total Incoming resource5 £ 1,138 £ 1,387 Resources Expended Charitable ex enditure Amortisation 931 Computer Expenses Paypal fees Insurance 873 838 12 20 345 156 AccountancylLegal 47 35 Total Expenditure £ 1.278 E 1,980 Net Income/-Loss 140 593

OPTIMI BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JANUARY 2026 2026 2025 Movement Fixed A55ets Intangible Assets Current Assets Prepayments Cash in bank and at hand 552 546 £ 3.176 £ 3,728 É 3.322 £ 3,868 146 Creilrtors Amount due wlthin 12 rnonths -É 3.26S -É 3.26S Net Currenl Asset51-Liabilities 463 603 TotalAssets less Uablutles 463 603 140 Incorne Funds uniesiried Funds 463 603 Total Funds 463 603 140