REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1185092 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 PAARCH 2024 FOR RRST STEPS ED JOhnSc￿ TKlsaU Limrted Chartered Accountanls & Stalulory Auditc 81 Burton Road Derbyshire DE1 1TJ FIRST STEPS to understanding eating disorders For children and their families, young people, and adults affected by eating difficulties and disorders Our founding principles a￿ based on the experiences of individuals who have had. are slill living with, and have recovered from eatirvJ disorders and general mental healih conditions. FIRST STEPS ED CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Chalrf$ R•port Chl•f Executlve offi￿ Roptyl Report of lh• Tnffjtws 3 to 8 R•port ol the Inthpendent Authtor• 9 to 11 Siat•m•nt of Fln•n¢lal Actlvltl¢s 12 Balanc• Sheet 13 Cash Flow StatWT*nt 14 Notss to the Cash Flv* Staterrwit 15 Not•8 to th• Flnancial Statemenls 16 to 26 D¢tsll•d Statement of Flnan¢l¥l Acllvltl 27 to 28 FIRST STEPS ED CHAIR'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 It has been 8rKSth¢r yeaf ol growth and d8¥eWmert for our seTrryce teams and wjlunleers as a board of twstees we are delighted that we ccffltmue to Sill¥MIrt chldr¢n. y(w pec* aThJ adults as weu as parents and carws from more areas across Engl8nd. As you wil s8e frt)m the report 7*•E m SUPPOrfiNJ Fwbe a￿1 *fv"Ist lJ¥s is evii*rKe of our success it does stretch our 88NrRs ar￿ we conlnue to k*)k * wttwalive *ays to and indNXl￿ reach to u The board are vèry pmd ol the ￿lativeS arhj partnorthp that lake5 p*e WC&8S our charfty a$ we to Increase ouroffer ond support to al. On behalf of the crf trustees I WCKAd Ike to thank evuyLw Invo￿led in supportirty so many thrO￿h their eat¥ disorder recovery jOLFmay. Our tha￿5 also gD to c(*nmitted fiwKlws, ts)mmisgws, * p*tws ts th￿r ory(MThJ gJpp(Mt in th8s8 chal8nging times enabling Firnt Steps ED to te there you ys. Kar•n Loulse Jacknon, Chair Page 1 FIRST STEPS ED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Our staff, workers, vcAunteern and b8nèfficiaries C￿tinUe to d￿e ow appfoa¢h to developing new services whth d¢Jring this anrhual ￿port period has seen the thwity fvrther expaTh1 its i)divMlual aThJ grc4Jp therapy pathways for Avoidant Reslrictive F￿d Intak8 Disorders IARFIDI wlith ￿ ore NTrIS In￿rated Carè System IICSI ￿nts for over a third of s8Nu users SUFWrte(J. Last yea¢s research and innt)vative séThKe develop￿1 on devek)txwvJ a tor thklren and young people wth disordered eatsng and h*Jh bc¥Jy weoht v4WI effects 1 li 4 fving *ilh obesty has opened a new integrated pathway wothng Fe(lialri(ians ￿ aoAe •)J servtts Ihè NHS Compllcations for Excess Weight Cllnles ICEWI. We have continued to invest and expand our thgital seryw ro811 map. vrilh the ffirst eatlng dlsofder app commissionèd by the NHS lo support ea￿ intervenbLV) and prevenlion kn rnaffinalised inthvhluals and comnNJnities which dèmonstrated its utility effectiv￿$$ and lrNe51n￿ fft our staff arn Th)w ccthmissicffled to Fffovide Enhanced Ccwitwe Beha¥K)rab Thernpy. In the summer we new C￿￿agueS lo the Fi￿1 steps ED fan*ty Completi￿ th8 n*rger and acqui&iKJn of Talk EO which engb19d us to expand our ￿Arit￿n ryxmsel1l￿ seNices vA)th arè now inlegrated into our è8tlng disorder pathways. We also m)FIe￿nted a new organiz8tbtinal d￿elopm￿nt aThJ IrKsnth￿ training Pr￿￿Th￿ne to pskill our staff. Voluntee￿ and truslees wrth an emphaNs on I￿alth inequah.ties aThJ cthsity and (liabete5 both o¢¢urriwJ risks with dig)r(ler8d è8llrKJ and thsorde ThroLoh our stroro stskehddgr w￿￿ent vthh NHS RegTh* 8atll)g rfisord8r dinical netrhjrks, and directly wlh NHS specialisi CAIIHS 8nd ￿￿1t eatwvJ disofdw seThices. W•t eA)ntinuÈ to irthasè our commissoned and funded seryKes workin9 as an integrdled pathway p*th8r de1pm1￿ res[￿￿ sh8rpd 12ro and step. w aid stepdo¥br services a¢ross the Midlands, and Home Coimties. We were privileged lo lake over the Chair Clni¢al Lèad rd8s for Iha VCSE Nabonal Provider Collabor3ti¥8 the Regional Eating Disorder Charity AfaancelNeMrJrk IREE)CANI to our joint objectbves of bringing expgrt.byexperience ¢h8rity ealThJ thsorders care Serv￿ cli)ser to home across ErolaThJ, Scouand, Wa￿3 and Northem Ireland and k)ok fi)NArd to h￿￿J17g this over k) Eatry t￿$t￿sS East {EDNEI in ts autumn of 2024. Above am. I want to exlend my pralse to w staff. ba￿ staff. ￿￿￿nteerS aThJ placement St￿lents v+ho betsyeen them gnstjre tt)at p￿pIe ayoss our exterKled %wMkfgr¢e provi(fing and group th8rdPy and support SeNi￿S avery day to over 2.OCII beneficiaries in tIMs past year F4us d￿ectty supporbThJ over 100 parantslcare with thè ￿￿tion and support lo enable ¢ont¥iiMty of sellacare lo hapFen in our beneficiaries homEs a¢ws$ Ihe country. Kovln Parklns(*n. Chief EXec￿tive OffK P¥2 FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The First Steps ED IFSEDI board of trustees lake in FwnlrKJ their annual ￿port and the audited financial accounts of Iho Charilabl8 Inccwporaled t￿r￿SaI1￿ {CIOI 1185092 for the year ended 31 March 2024. The prin￿￿ object of tt* ¢harity Is to prov*Je 5pea8lisl for pa0￿? *hith ea1ing (fisrjrdgrs. This includes indNidual and group therapy chlhj￿n and your¥J Pec*15 10 17 y¢a￿l ¢ounsellin9 and psychotherapy for ad￿ts(l6 years +1 and wèakty support groups and psychoeducalm al ages, gen(th. and baCk￿Ounds, inchJdir¥J parentfJe2rÈrs. alongsKlè acc￿lted wofeSsic￿al t￿¥ry. OBJECThES AND ACTivmES Objectives #nd actlvltl•s First St8p$ ED has be8n. aThJ conlwyjes lo be. de* by people have Ihed experience of eating disorders and Co-occurring mènt81 héalth dtsLYdets. either personally or through wing for someone close to them. We provide eaty intervention and preVenth.￿ services that comF*ments tt* NHS P￿tA￿ Hèallh in th• commurity I￿rking closely in the health and edu¢alion en¥Sronments. First Steps ED has b88n at th& forefront of *npTcY*w¥J Ihe of of 011 w inwcted by Th￿tal health and eatK disorders and since 2(X)4 has buitt a ￿5Xrtat￿Jn as Ihe Midl*Kls Eat1￿ Disorder Chaity, wc¥kiThJ fijrther afield across ihe UK through our do(li¢ated team of slaff m￿Y haviThJ a I￿*d experi￿Ce who ale focused on bringiTrJ pe. opp(wiuiMtses, and Ch￿CeS that recovery is 8 re* kW)ssNty a￿ no lorrfJer defined by ihew ilkness. A3 8 r8gst8r8d c￿ty(11850921, ha￿ Ch￿itable oiyecW. wlith aro:. 1. Th? relisf of indivlduals of ai ages {and ther tsnMl*s) 7AtKJS8 ar8 affected by undiagnosed eating dilficullie8 and di8orders other mental healh is￿8 by yovK*"ry In1￿m0￿. the. aThJ supp)rt. 2. Thè pr8S8JVation and protection of Ihe phY9C￿ rr*ntal heahh of and carnrs of thoBe wfterir¥J from ealir di8orijgws and other ffl￿tal heamh is5￿ ty prOvidN￿ inft)m)akn and sup 3. To a￿va￿e edLtcation for Ihe P￿lIC benefft by wovidiry trairing f￿ carers. professionals, aThJ the publc, of F*ople Su￿rIng from eatiThJ disorder5. and other rrental heailh issues. Publlc b•n•fft In planniThJ our activthe5 for the year, kepl Mi mirKI fv Chaiity CcffimisSc￿ on benefft at our trus189 meetlThJs. First Steps ED is open to all indryhyuals irrespe¢tNe of ￿. lx other [￿r￿al circumst￿ces. and we strive to make adwslmenls lo supp)rt p￿pIt whèrè this is in (Njr contsd. Gov•rnanc• and m￿•￿ment The management ol the ch￿ty 1$ Ihe resp(msknillty ￿ Ihe Trustees wh) are apFrfMnted Ihrough a tranwaront national r¢¢ryitm￿t prO￿S under the tem)$ olth8 Charitablè Iiwcwated l>ganrsalion {CIOI constitut￿ Foun(Jation Model. FKst Steps ED has a boartl of up lo 13 Trustees.. The 8oard Tegul#Fty r& r8sponslble for th8 strate￿¢ direction, policy setting and appointriwt of hs Chief EX￿tive oifKer. Trustw arè m(wir8d to swJn a coda of coTrJuct Ond dedwe any conflKts of interest. The ap￿1)b￿lI 01Tr￿teeS as Chair is few8v￿j evwy 3 ygars. The skills represented by our •xistwwJ Board of Trustees I￿￿￿.. cuThenl NHS Senw lethrs and managers.. Professor Health Humanrfies re8(Jer in male eating discKthrs'. aThJ a nuTthr of Senior Mana98ts fvom the privale and socsal Trustees re¢cgnise it is Ihat Ihe BO3￿ its Committees are tems of b￿kgrOurtd. (fverslty. skjlls, aThJ experiertes to ￿Main truty rgpresenlative. P¥3 FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORhW4CE AIDout Us Firsl Steps ED IFSED} has t*en at ihe of inwrNrvJ lives of ai ages, geThYers and b*kgrounds Impacted by è8tirrfJ disordets and high siKe 2(MM aThl has tsjlt a repulalion as the MKIlar￿$ evIde￿tsased eab.ng disorder charity vtho's Thp3¢1 1$ far *idèr. We are experts by exp￿18nCO. a peT8cffj4￿. w￿lty-o$S￿J. research4￿￿ organi%8lion lèading ligm vmrkiThJ as an intègrdt8d partner in the he&lih and ￿lUcat￿ en¥ironn*nts fctLtsed on patienl-leam parlnership. for populalKJn management, continuty of cwe. and prompt ac￿ to car8. comprehensiveness and care rA>ordinalion at our heart to enwre that the people arpro*th us for hèlp. ￿1ve the care and 5UPPOrt. and the real possibility that recovery is adN8V8ble and we no krfwdefr￿l by illrws. As an organisaknon wg have a ¢￿tinuoUS seNce iwvement culiur• aThd fbjor to t*)ard values team of autorK)mous staff. vcAuntsef5 ar￿ pla¢ement students curair¥J sorwA us8r coprcoJuctw)n in eating disorders arnl o￿ty soM¢es. Our buil(Ing blc*ks havè tr￿•r ryged be*rslw. dat&driven In[￿ve￿￿nI. empanelmenl. w(1 leamthsed cwe, with our wvice users underFrfrniThJ cwr eAAtum and bahavKsuts wilh rn￿Y becomirvJ bpfrienders, vohjnteern. ar￿ fvlurp employees. Our Core Values- 5 P'i PASSION PROFESSIONA PEOPLE IJAPTNERSHIP POTENTIAL H•r•'s what we did In 1023124 Directly supported 2.160 indivkjuals acce88ed our VKknlual •wJ gr(w therapy ser¥ic*s of whi¢h 35VD id8ntified were dbagnoséd neumdiv8rse and were boys w [T￿. S￿ported 1.203 children and yourKJ peoWe ￿ed 5 to 17 yw8wlh inftxm8d CognitNe Behav*)ral Therapy Ten ICBT-TI funded by Children in NÈÉd and NHS Commissicf¢eTr in t*rby*Mre. Le*￿IelSh¥0, Coventry and Warwi¢kthir8. Bkniingham and So11h￿l. Hertfortlth"re aThJ Wltshire. Supportsd 148 Leicester, Leicestèrshirg and Ruknd ILLR) chldM Jwng aged 11 to 25 years with our Collaboratfve Partner. Tellmi IhroW our eating thscffder foeAJs*I on providiThJ access for marginalised groups lor boys and men: LGBTQ+'. arKJ ethn￿ ffinoriks. P404 FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Continued lo eXp￿d our Eating Disordws in St￿19n¢ ServKes IEDISS} services thr(￿h our p•thèrshlp wrth Student Mind$ thè urtiv8Nty seclor charity as a coll*mb¥e pather *ith Student Sp** gjpwting undergraluats sludents acro85 50 universkn.es in Eryland a￿1 W*& Supported 107 in(Iwduals 14 Ye￿ rfei¥ir¥J awwd Befrie￿￿ d*)tal seryice over ￿1c& wgekly 8m8ib or wee￿Y vid80 clinic over 24 weeks which Lw ts exl¢Thled w) to 36 weeks. Delivered 20 sthool *rffkshops IKrfty inage and PWC8Fthn to over 435 pupls. support￿ 418 wents and carer5 tmlh ow 4 *Bek Pawt Support Programrre. New ma￿lS￿eY MethcKJ. D8llvÈr8d 232 supported meals ￿ patients homè oui in the c(¥nnvmity folowiTrJ their discharyg fwvm NHS speGiah"sl eating £thsMler semces prowdir¥J contyniity of￿. SLWPOrted a number of wivate practrx clients ow $ell-fundw￿ eat￿￿ di50r(*r psyc4KJlherdPy saNice dellv8ritYJ 933 th8r8py sessions. Ow trainers have dellvered 57 tra￿Ing events ov8r the last 12 nw)nths to 189 ieachw& th8r4¥5ts, UnNerwty students, carers, health professiona15 and otherB. across EryL4rKI. We expanded our seNces across 3 ne* l¢xaknons n EF¥Jland and partnered wilh the Midtands and East of England Eating Dlsordérs NHS Clinical i￿ud￿ commissioner5 and diniuans &ro&8 a rang8 of NHS Inteyr8tÈd C8r8 Systems. ARFID deveh)w￿nI p*waygrrMys. FINANCLAL REWEW stratèolc Plan First Slw ED is a national eating {￿S￿￿der Ch•ity s￿pcrt lo I￿NIdUal$ of all ws. ggndèrs and backgrounds including they fan¥lies, •KI trwning and lo p￿fesSIo￿8 and with our stskeholders advances the 18185t wdence-base serv￿8 dèv8kipm8nts tknugh wr ser￿ser led. ciTrprOd￿knOn aN)roach. pathways inc14th: o Child aThJ AdoleS￿nI Ealrw Ois(thrs Trèatsnent F¥￿JraMrn o Transits￿ Eatirpj DisorderTfeatm8nt Pn)gr*nmes to UnNersity st￿18￿5 o Adult Eat￿￿ Disordttts Tr•atm8nt Pyogran o Pafent and Carer Support Progr￿nrnQs o DlgitrA Eating DIf4)rde￿ Treatrngnl Progr o Guided and Sdl-guKled Psych08dueatkn TrawwThJ As a Charity we work lo ¢nhan¢s wality of lrfe aThJ m*e a FWAitNe diffÈrenc& to the lives ol our bene￿i￿e&. EatiThJ disorders are serious rnenlal and physKal hea*h condit•)ns a￿¢481•d ￿1th sw￿l￿ant disease burden. profound aconom￿ costs, premature mortalty. and severe qualty of life affo¢led ThlNwJuals th￿r care givers as parents, sitAings, and lifè pa￿￿rS aso b8neficiwies. Widety aCce￿t￿e treatrnents ￿ rfjqui￿ lo reduce these in Both pwherapks and Ph￿aCotheraples can 8ffecti¥ely Ireal e81iro disoyder synytoms indu(Ing marhy c￿¢￿￿￿nn9 C(￿di￿.0￿9. ￿lch includes anxiety aThl depresson. pe￿nalIty dLSO￿rs. n8urc*J1ve￿e w￿l¥LdualS. and pecW¢ wlh frequent cthessive Ihoughts and behaviours. How￿r. ih8rè are many barriers thal prevent peoplg treatment and suppwt. indudiThJ Ilmmed avalability oflrdin8d pr[rf8s￿onal$, hi9h cost of trealmenl as ￿1. SIV￿3 a&￿thd V￿1h helpseeking, aTrJ low health lileracy acrixss am faiths and cOM￿￿ties. Over recent years. the menlal health car8 available ealwy dr￿81$ has undergone a major technokgical revolution. Psych(Aogul intsThontions that We￿ orts deliVe￿d sclety Kwerson have been traL8lated for delivery via bow-cosl and scalable di9it8l twls svhi¢h Ihe Chaiity has ernt￿￿ atsJ h&4 d￿814)ed as pa1thersh￿>S vthh a￿redIted Technology Enatleil Care Semce provIde￿. Today our Chaw surrfJoTrts Is benef￿18$ throwh in c(¥nmunrty based aNI digital individual and group therapeutic recovery $8fviG85. Support is pern)nalised lo meet OUT servi(* userfs l￿￿u6 mental health and Social need and is accessed on a Self-￿Ierra. parenvcwer. and professonal ba&s or Ilwcw 8Stabhshed inlegraled pathways with NHS specialist ea￿ng disorder. dSthtes. and obew servw. Once tenefjciaries (of thair alvocates) have c￿tacted the Charity. t*8ctstK)rnrs *hill lake Ihe time to understand their presentiryJ conditions and t*haviours aThJ expkne *ith Ihem Supp￿ and sc4Lrti)ns rnay be apprwiale to address iher needs. FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 FINANCIAL REWEW Charltable Alms, Publle BIA￿¢ Pro¥lslon of SeNiceg Mission Statsmenl "Support Ihe quahty of Il* INes of every￿￿ affthi ty feedty ¥*d éating disorders by delive1¥ évid8nce.based quality seMce5". W¢ t¢•lll do thls by: - Wottting in partnership V+Yth othws - Shaping Ihe Nabonal Agenda - Raising aTrMareness more wdety . influence and contribute to the r￿arCh evA18nce base - Developiw our learn and partnws - Use of safe technology - Sustainable Se￿iCe5 D¢ll¥•rlng seThflces wtt•r• Ilve AJI seNlces. traini￿ and rese¥th ￿1V￿$ a￿ organised ar￿ a definibM'. a Quality Mawment Syslems IQMSI Manual". ensuring the Charity pThK*s." . Support that is effeC￿Ve. evKlènce4Ased is safe a¥J ￿ as eXpe￿r￿¢ as possSt4e by being camg, respon￿ve and person*izè . Sermces are we14ed, su*8in8ble. and ¢witab￿. aTrJ Ihrw woikry togèthèr and in partnershp wth our bane￿arieS 8tatthry and n￿-Statut￿ stakehc Th• Evldence Base All eating disorder$ 8ffj sèvwè psythIati￿ char￿1￿1 by alered oatry behavk)w, that can lo severe weight toss and undelweighl, or lo weight gain and cte5ty {11. Thèy havè r8centy recLassfied as Yeeding eaisr4J disorders. in the DSM-5 and ICth11. These dassifKaiions we0mpa￿ ￿M￿xIa Neryosa (ANI, Buwmia NeNosa IBN). Binge Eating Disorder {BED}, Other Specified F¢èdiTh3 and Eating Oisorders IOSFEDI and Avoidani RethtNe Intake Disorder IARFIOI as the rnost common and studied ¢onditi"¢xts and more {ONI a fixalion healthy ea11￿ arKJ Di&)ulimi8 (TIDE) insulin reStr￿til￿. Recov￿ a• a proe•s• rath•r than an endpoint Living in recovgry fvom an eating thsorder can be a cLwr*x sxcws Ihat be navigated daity and ftjr many ow eating ¢thsordered Ihoughts ￿ p8rsi& requ¥wu ¥ &*8tsntial of lyn• aThJ mentsl en￿gY to manwJe our recovery joumey. Sotyetal attlbJdo$ towards fc*Jd and t￿Y irn￿ rwJalivety impact ujr daily INiro wilh many of us continwn9 to experiencg periods of stress, anxiety. or mrm￿l which can more ￿0d5 of ryBnwJirvJ ￿¢0¥ery aThJ increases Vulnerab￿lty to relapse12}. R•8•rv•s pollcy Th8 Trustee Board has res&44ed in its 2024r25 ReS￿S Pc*y to ￿ S months DBwgnated Re58rvg5 for up costs aNI redundanw ¢osts Sn Ihe event of 8ny requitsrr*rt to dos8 the operatKJns of the organisatic￿. This is a pragmalic x)Iw due lo the nature of ihe wNk carried oul as transfef of NHS commissicffled services may lake b8tw8en 3 and 9 m(N)ths to comFAete fr)r receivwu opJanwlw)n& STRUCTiIRE, GOVERNANCE AKI MANAGEMEKr Governing document First Steps ED is a registe￿d ChaitaNe IncorFKYaW Organi8at#)n ICIOI. nLVrt)er 1185092 wistèrèd vAth th8 Charity Commls%on on 29 A￿Just 2019. tharW$ goverriry thx￿1 is a Fcu*YatK*n Modèl ConstitutM)n a(%)pt8d on 29 Séplambar 2020. The ¢harWs address is. Woiun Hcwe. Verr#)n G*. C)¥by. DE1 1UL crultm•nt. Inductlon and tralnlng of trusto0s Thè chArity undertakes, when the neeil arises. a skils audrt to delerrrnne the requirements of the Trustse Board. If a skll shortage is hjentified, approach8s arè madè to Spect￿ pec* identified as haw.rg these sklls, whwe an apw)Intment is sought a wofessional recruitment pArtner 1$ wjaged, for cwted apw'nlments rtrJion81 and national professional FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 STRUCTURE. GOVERNANCE AND IA4NAGEM Trustees are OBS eheck8d and have Ethanced c18cl￿re. ￿ Board evaluatss requirements annualty and Trn8t88s' hav8 access to the Chanty's eLeamNu Portal for stat￿(￿Y Ccffilnued ProfessM)nal Develownenl ICPDI trJir*rwJ Induding Health and Safety., GDPR. Cyber Securty. Salegwdr¥ Aduks and S8feguardirrfJ Childréns. rlus 28 other training ¢ours¢s avallatle to our staff aThJ Voluntee Ri•k Mana￿m•￿t The trustses gxamln• the nwr ris*s that the chwty ea(* frnKaal year wepamg and u(yJalw)9 th8 strategic plan. The ¢harity has develowj syslems lo and I￿1[01 risks to im￿1 that thèy may hav8 on the (*)arity in the fuiure. Durlro 20Y2 thè Board ofTnJstees agreed to update our Qualty M￿•Jement Systems ¥wJusive of our Govem8n¢e and Risk. auality and Custw. and Finarrial ManwJernenl syslerns 8rKI pr￿se8 arrtl asked wr staff tr) recommènd a new Quality Manag￿1 System wFMch was IS0￿01-2015 Whole i>ganth arKJ Brthsh Association for Counsdling and Psyetholher4)y IBACPI forow seNc*& - IS09001-2015 Start￿ janu￿ 2020 wilh ￿r￿￿lIa1￿ annu* li Jw - BACP Membershlp accreditat￿1 complete(1 in AwJust ￿22 REFERENCE Al*f* ADMIMSTRATIVE DETAILS R•gist•r•d Charlty numb•r 1185092 Prlnc+pal addr•ss Wobum Hous8 Vemon Gate OERBY OE1 11L Tru$t••s K L Ja¢kson- ChaIrp￿SOn C Gllby [reS￿ned 31hff20231 D Darf( Ireswjned 11412023) H Barde K Stev￿$ S Mccready N Clarke Ires•Jned 7111r20231 M Rayson J Ellls (resigned 28nr20231 P Cabot {resgned 2817ri023) A Lagou {resgned 2712rd0241 A Suiherfand lapFointed 118120231 D Magson lapw)inled 118120231 N Callow (appoint￿ 9111120231 Patrons C Cleary MBE IFounder} Chlef ExecutS¥• Offl¢•r K Parkinson Audltor8 Johnson Tidsall Limited Charte￿d A¢L￿ntants & statutory Auditor 81 Burton Road Derby Derbyshi DE1 1TJ Page 7 FIRST STEPS ED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 IJIARCH 2024 STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES. RESPONSIBILITIES The trustee5 are ￿5p0￿ble for preparing the A￿￿1 ReFQrt lh8 ffinwKi81 *•t8monts in a¢COrdan￿ Y￿th appli¢able law and United ￿ng(loM ACC￿n11r￿￿ Standards {Urrited Kwsxn Gen￿￿ty PKceFled Acc￿nting Practice). STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES. RESP¢)NSIBIUTIES- contIn￿d The law applicable lo charit*s in England and Wths. ihe Chanbes Aet 2011. Charity IAc£ounts and Rèports) Rewl8tion8 2008 and the provisi￿S of thè tntsl deed rewyes ￿ trustees to prepare financial statements fw financi81 year vA)teJ) glve a tru8 and fair vith¥ of the stste of affars of the charity aThJ of the incoming resources ar application d resour¢8$. indudir¥J aThJ exFthJrtU￿, of the chanty for that period. In prepariNJ tIM)se financial sta*m8nts, thg trustses a￿ ￿qUired to select suitsblo 8¢¢(xJntWlg policies aThJ th8n apply consi8tenlty" obstrNe thè mathods atwj Fvinwles in the Charity SORP: make I￿198m￿nts al￿ ￿￿"MateS ihat are reasonabk aTrJ WLhJent.' slate whether applica1￿e aCC￿nting slaThJards have Akned. sutp¢l to maler*l departures thsd(wd and explair￿d in th¢ financial statem￿ts,. prepa￿ lh8 finan(ial st8t8m8nts on the gowvJ cown bays unless il is inwopriate to preswne that the ¢harity wll ntinue in busines$. The tnjstees are ros￿nSible fi)r keeping F￿Per accomtiTrJ Tecords %thL¢h dwlose with Trasonable aciwrdcy al any time the fina￿181 position of the charlty ond to enable them to ￿$￿re Ihal Ihe financial stalwnenls coryly with Ihe Charities A¢t 2011. thè Charlty {Accounis and Reports) RegulaiKns 2CKAq a￿1 ts provi51￿5 of the Injst deed. They ale a180 res￿￿￿1e for saf¢guafding the assets of Ihe charity a￿1 he￿ ky iakffj r&asMabla $18ps for thè prev8ntion detection of tra￿1 other Yregularfoes. Approvéd by onl8r of th8 tw)ard of tNstees C￿.. . m￿KL PwJe B REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE TRUSTEES OF FIRST STEPS ED Oplnlon We have 8uditod lh8 finan¢ial slatenwrts ol Fwst Slgps ED (the 'charity'l kn the ￿ eTrJed 31 Mwth 2024 whl¢h comprise the state￿nt of Finanoal P£tMti"es. Ihe Bala￿e Sheet. the Cash Flow Statement and notes to Ihe finandal slalements, ¥KkJdiwwJ a sumrnary of 9gnfftanl ￿)unIty ￿knes. The fin￿￿al reP)￿￿J framework that has been applied in their preparation is a￿l(*￿e l&v and Un*ed N£c(xmt*vJ s￿dards (United Kingdom G8neTalty Accepted A¢tountirtg Pr8clieAI. In our opinion the ￿nancIal slatemwts: give a true aTKI fair view of Ihe slate of t￿ tharitrfs affaws as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resourc8s aNI applic*ion of rè8ourcÈs. for thè year th*) 8Thled: hav8 béèn propèty pr8par8d in ￿cordan¢t with VrMW K￿)M Ge￿alY knepted Aoxjunting PractKe: aTrJ Basls for opinlon We ¢ondu¢tèd our 8udtt in 8ccord8￿& %••th Int•mational St￿a￿s on {UKI IISAS IUK}) aThJ apFdKable law. Our responsibilities under th¢)89 stsndards are lurih8r describgd in thg AUdIt￿S, respongb1li￿S for the auth"t of the financial statements sects'on ol report. We are independ￿*¢f the ¢harity in accordance V+ith ihe ethical requirements that are relevant to our audil of U)e financNal statemerts in Ihe UK. wxhjjlng Ihe FR￿S Elhical Standard, and we have fulfill￿1 our other 8lhK*l r8srX)nSi￿l￿"eS In 8co)rdance wih thes• fawTrments. We t*keve thal Ihe au¢tht evidence w8 have obtained is suffityènl and appmpwiaté to provide a ba*s lor cw opnicffl. Concluslons rdatlng to going ¢M¢•rn In auditing the finan(ial statements, we have ConC￿d￿j that lh8 In￿le8s. use of the goiTrJ (y)ncem bass of accounlng ' the prepar81ion oftt* finaNxal stat￿nentS Is apw￿. 8ased on Ihe work wg have perf0m￿. have rwjt K*nbfEd material wKertainl¢es relating to events or conthtions that. iwKlwidu*ty ￿ Colleclfvety, may cast slgnificant th)thl on Ihe chariws ablity to contwive as a goiThJ concem for a Feriod ol 81 leasttwth& nmmths fram ¥then the T*￿￿131 slatth)￿￿ ar• authorised forissue. Our responsily"liti"es resE￿￿til￿$ of Ihe Intstees wilh res￿ b) c￿￿effl are described in the relevant seGtion$ of this reF