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2021-07-31-accounts

Trustees Annual Report 2020 / 2021

Charity Number 1186349

Company Number 12089377

Website

wearezooco.co.uk

About Zoo Co

Established in 2013, Zoo Co is a multi-award winning theatre charity based in Croydon.

We believe theatre is better when everybody is invited. We do not believe access is a destination. Our ongoing purpose is to ask who we are not currently warmly welcoming - in our rehearsal rooms, our office, our audiences, our workshops & do the necessary work to address this with integrity, authenticity & creativity.

'It is rare to find such a generous ensemble as Zoo Co'

The List

The Stage 'Zoo Co challenges the lip-service paid to accessibility'

Charitable Aims

Our Charitable Aims are to advance public education and appreciation of the arts, in particular but not exclusively:

The Trustees are satisfied that Zoo Co continues to serve these goals to achieve public benefit during this period, in line with guidance from the Charity Commission.

Our Mission

2) ACCESS CHAMPIONS: To champion access across all our activities, celebrating its immense creative and social impact and sharing our creative access methodology with the wider industry

3) SERVING CROYDON: To empower children, young people and adults in Croydon to be creative, using co-creation and community consultation to build programmes that are impactful and informed/ led by our diverse doorstep community.

Our Model

This report details Zoo Co’s second year working with charitable status.

To achieve our mission, we have designed and delivered a work with our 4 stage model, showing how our work starts through development and engagement with our doorstep communities in Croydon, and grows to have national and international impact from there.

Our model:

ROOTING: We continuously root more deeply into our diverse doorstep communities through conversation, events & training. We really get to know our community whilst providing opportunities for locals to design & participate in creativity at every stage of their lives. We ask lots of questions, and we listen to the answers.

Our Model

AMPLIFYING: From our rooting, we create ambitious, high quality shows, amplifying stories relevant to our community with full creative power. We use community consultation, cocreation & research to inform creation. Work premieres in Croydon, connecting communities with ambitious culture where they live that authentically reflects their experiences & brings locals together.

BRANCHING: We strategically tour productions & engagement nationally, sharing these socially impactful stories beyond their roots, reaching & developing national deaf + disabled communities. We loudly celebrate the artistic quality of creatively accessible art nationally, with strong partnership working to maximise impact. CHANGE-MAKING: We use our profile as creators of worldclass, accessible productions to affect sector development and social change, contributing to a more inclusive cultural landscape where everyone is invited.

Inclusivity & Community

Since 2013, Zoo Co has created high quality, innovative & inclusive live productions & community engagement work.

As we approach our 10th year, we achieve excellence through access, which is embedded at the heart of all of our work. All performances have been Relaxed As Standard since 2016 and have integrated BSL since 2018.

Inclusivity & Community

In recent years, the company has rapidly grown in order to develop Zoo Co’s reach and delivering capabilities whilst remaining committed to our core belief that theatre is better when everyone is invited. Exciting new hires and structural shifts showcase our drive towards becoming a leading example for creative access in the arts, warmly welcoming our targeted communities. We are committed to excellence through access.

Over the past nine years, Zoo Co has toured across the UK and abroad to Indonesia, created digital work and programs within a global pandemic, funded and supported deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse-led work, and established a clear artistic identity for offering high quality devised, visual, and playful theatre.

Inclusivity & Community

We strive to serve our local community in Croydon. Our partnership with Stanley Arts in South Norwood enables us to deliver excellent art in Croydon by facilitating outreach, space, and guidance. Our status as trusted members of the Croydon arts community is evidenced through our multi-year commissions from Croydon Music & Art.

Throughout July 2020- July 2021 we still faced challenges brought about by the pandemic, but consistently found ways to respond efficiently, creatively and safely. We responded to perceived needs, as seen by our rapid response creative community projects; Self Care Club and Ladies in the Van.

We hope this document gives a clear picture of what we have achieved, what we learnt and how the charity continues to develop its partnerships, work and creativity.

Letter from Founder & Artistic Director, Flo O'Mahony

I think it would be fair to say that this year in Zoo Co’s journey was one of the most challenging and transformative periods to date. With the pandemic’s true impact unfolding before us at the start of summer 2020, it was soon apparent that in order to continue delivering our mission, we would need to invent new ways of working so that we could still show up to our communities at a time where we felt that creativity and connection were sorely needed.

I am proud to say that as a direct result of our team bravely stepping up to face these challenges, what could have been a year of very little activity, turned out to be one of our most exciting, innovative and ambitious years yet.

From the conversion of our old VW tour van into a shadow puppet theatre that performed in the car parks of care homes in the midst of the grimmest winter lockdown, to creating an entirely digital Self-Care Club creative program for young people in Croydon lockdowns to help them with feelings of isolation and anxiety, to finally pulling off the R+D for Night Shift, a show based on the experiences of local nightworkers, this year speaks to the grit, determination, courage and kindness that this incredible team brings.

The outcomes I am most proud to see reflected in this report, are the these our continued ways projects upheld commitment to championing our artists and our Croydon community. We worked with more deaf, disabled and neurodiverse artists than ever in this period, championing the exciting work that can be created when disabled artists are empowered to lead. We showed up again and again to our local community, online and in person, rooting deeply in Croydon and moving into our new home at Stanley Arts in South Norwood.

We also had the chance to overhaul and develop our organisation, training and upskilling our team so that we are more able to continue delivering our mission with more and more ambition as we move forwards.

Now looking back at this report, and all the activity and development it speaks to, it is clear to me that a year which by all means could have finished us off completely, in reality, presented us with the perfect opportunity for embedding our practice, championing disabled artists, rooting in our community in Croydon, and growing our reach.

Zoo Co would be nothing without its people, and this year saw many changes to our core team.

Firstly, I would like to thank our outgoing Executive Director, Rosalind Hoy, for her unimaginable contribution to Zoo Co’s body of work. Since co-founding the company with me in 2013, Rosalind has led Zoo Co through its extraordinary development with fierce tenacity, drive, creativity and love. Of this I am certain: Without her, there would be no Zoo Co. Her legacy lives in everything we do, and I am grateful for the great privilege I have had in working with her as my collaborator for the best part of a decade. Thank you.

New co-producers Olivia Munk and Jessica Bickel-Barlow stepped into their role in the midst of this ambitious program of work, expertly leading the company with the exact combination of creativity, kindness, innovation and diligence we needed to realise these responsive and ambitious projects.

We appointed Laura Thomson into a new role as Head of Children’s Work, and under her brilliant creative leadership, we now have a thriving and growing children’s department delivering digitally, locally and nationally.

At the end of this year, we invited Sarah Jordan Verghese to join us as Assistant Producer, after she made herself invaluable to our team during her placement with us as an MA Creative Producing student.

We are also thrilled to have appointed new trustee Nadeem Islaam, a leading deaf actor, presenter and activist who brings championship of deaf led art and disability justice right to the heart of our organisation. His leadership is instrumental to helping us continue to develop theatre where everybody is invited. We are so lucky to have him.

2020-2021 was a year of growth, discovery and resilience for Zoo Co. It is a pleasure to reflect on the successes of our organisation and its people, and we are thrilled to embark on our third year as a charity.

Flo O'Mahony, Founder and Artistic Director of Zoo Co Creative LTD, May 2022

Grants Awarded

£58,628

Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund (Round 2) £12,300

Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund (Round 1) £32,025

British Council Indonesia Connections Through Culture

Arnold Clark Community Fund £1,000 £2,171 Croydon Music and Arts C3 Delivery Donations & Sales

£1,000

Croydon Music and Arts C3 Delivery

Supporters Scheme, Individual Giving & Gift Aid £3,565 Access Consultancy

£26,458

'Messy' Performance Fees (Live & Digital) £1,345

New Children's Department

Photo by Alex Brenner

In Spring 2021, we started to have discussions about the development of our children's work. With our first children's show Messy touring over 2018-2020, R&D for a second children's show underway, plus recurring project Delight in the Woods and further funding bids in the pipeline, our children's, young people and family offers were expanding.

It seemed the right time to create a department which oversaw our children's work and help develop it further so in June 2021, a position of producing the children's work was created (Head of Children's Work) and undertaken by Laura Thomson.

'Messy' & R&D of 'Bossy'

In September 2020, following months of the pandemic, we were finally able to put on some live theatre at our home at Stanley Arts, South Norwood. We decided to restage our children’s show Messy which had previously been on UK tours in 2018 and 2019.

As we got back into the flow of rehearsing the show, discussions began about exploring the idea of a sequel or ‘sister’ show. After performing Messy to sell out audiences in the outdoor space of Stanley Arts, we decided to get back into the rehearsal room for a few days of Research and Development to explore some ideas for this new show.

'Messy' & R&D of 'Bossy'

2 days of creative R&D thinking about what this show should look like concluded in us all realising we wanted to explore Beth’s story. In Messy, Beth is Daisy’s best friend, she’s confident, smart and always a supportive friend. She is also deaf and we all felt we wanted to further explore her connection with deaf culture, her family and as she is always played by a BAGM actress, her connection with black culture too. The working title of ‘Bossy’ was coined with the show centering around young female leadership with Beth as the title character.

We started putting together a large-scale funding application in the Summer of 2021 which we were lucky to be successful with in early 2022. Bossy will be R&D-d with a large collection of deaf and hearing creatives and artists in September 2022.

'Messy' & R&D of 'Bossy'

We originally had another tour of Messy booked for 2020 which had to be rescheduled for early 2021. Due to the continuation of the pandemic, this sadly also couldn’t go ahead. But we decided to alter our response and rather than postpone our offering entirely, we got the cast and creative team of Messy to get the show professionally filmed in February 2021.

Over the course of 3 days, and with lots of Covid protocol in place, we created a full length multi-angled filmed version of the show. With all the audience interaction reimagined for an online audience, the show went out digitally to our partners The Curve theatre in Slough and Pound Arts in Corsham who presented it as part of their online theatre programme.

'Messy' & R&D of 'Bossy'

As more in person activity was able to start up again, we applied to host a workshop as part of Croydon Event: Bandstand Live! We were successful in our application and in July 2021, we led our Marvellous Mess workshop in the middle of the Whitgift centre in Croydon to a large group of children aged between 6-9 years old, free for all to attend.

The Marvellous Mess workshop is led by the performers of Messy and engages young audiences through interactive storytelling led by them and followed by the one and only Mr Twiggy the school hamster. We provide all materials and offer families the chance to use their creativity and imaginations to create their own worlds for Mr Twiggy to travel through. Very covid safe, it offers an opportunity for families to work together or let their children lead it themselves and they all get personal interaction with our actors .

Self Care Club

Self-Care Club was a free digital programme and creative care package for 15 - 18-year-olds living or studying in Croydon, from 25th January to 5th March 2021.

We successfully engaged 65 young people, 16 to 19 years olds in and around Croydon. The project entailed two half an hour creative sessions per day - morning and afternoon, Monday to Friday, aiming to help young people to start and end their homeschool days with a focus on Self-Care and creative expression.

There were 60 sessions in total with an average of 8.4 young people at each session (some with far greater attendance). We were clear from the offset that participants could engage digitally with the sessions and/or complete tasks included in the Care Package ‘offline’ so we can assume all participants have engaged in some way with this programme, either within or outside of scheduled sessions.

Self Care Club

Highest number of participants in a week

144

503

Total number of attendances across all sessions

Some participants joined every, or nearly every session, every day for 6 weeks, morning and afternoon. These young people reflect those who had the most contact time, and really reported great benefits of participating consistently in the project. They reflected:

“I think its been really relaxing and everyone has been really friendly which has made me smile :)”

“It would be nice if the sessions are a bit longer, but other than that, all of the mentors are very supportive and friendly. I am so grateful to be part of this project. Thank you so much to everyone who put it together. You are all truly amazing!”

“Everything's wonderful and I'm really enjoying it”

Other participants, who joined fewer sessions were asked their reasons/ experiences of the project, participants reflected that they were attending fewer sessions because they refined which ones they wanted to attend after having tried them out in the first week rather than a lack of enjoyment. Some participants found they had limited availability and said the following:

Self Care Club

“I just couldn't force myself to get out of bed after the first few weeks!”

“Idk I had lots of school work so it’s not you guys that’s the reason I didn’t do much”

The highest attendance was for the afternoon Yoga and HIIT sessions at 18 participants each.

80%

Number of participants who reported that Self Care Club was extremely helpful in improving their mental health

As the main aim of this project was to use creative expression and facilitation to support young people’s wellbeing, this reflects a hugely positive outcome for the project.

When asked whether these sessions helped the participants focus during online learning for school, 60% of them said it was helpful while 30% said it did not make a noticeable difference.

This is another excellent outcome of the project, at a time where distance learning is having serious repercussions on the academic development of teens, we are thrilled that the arts could EITHER positively impact, or neutrally impact young people’s focus during school sessions. We hope this shows the benefit of arts activities on academic outcomes for young people. Teachers from Coulsdon College also informally reported the benefits to the well-being of some of their students participating in the programme.

Self Care Club

The sessions included No Bullsh*t Bullet Journal, Life’s Hard, Write Now! (Creative writing), Doodle and Draw, Intro to British Sign Language, Yoga and a HIIT workout every week. Alongside this there were ‘Live Chat with..’ sessions, these included West End and TV actors, writers, singers and the Zoo Co team. The sessions were successful in broadening potential careers for young people and making them aware of various routes within the arts outside of acting. Moreover, we encouraged the facilitators to share their experiences around caring for their mental health while working remotely.

The majority of the participants reflected that the Self Care Club somewhat helped them make connections with other young people. We were adamant about safeguarding the participants, especially in an online setting such as Zoom, hence we requested that they remove last names and did not include general chit-chat time before or after the session. This stringent safeguarding possibly restricted cross-participant comms beyond connections which had already been made. However, communication using the chat function showed great peer support, especially at the end of the programme, where young people who didn’t know each other would offer warm, generous and kind feedback to one another using the chat function during sessions.

Offering participants a final ‘farewell’ session, attended by the full Zoo Co team, allowed participants to reflect and chat about the project, and hear about other offers we have for young people in Croydon going forwards. This session prompted participants to take us up on offers of audition monologue preparation sessions, and further engagement in our young company programmes.

Self Care Club

A possible action we could take to increase participant feeling of connection would be to have hosted a social session each week, for participants to chat and feed into the development of the project and future YP programmes.

Through this project, we did err on the side of caution but have gained confidence in the safeguarding Zoom provides. Moving forward, when working with young people on digital platforms we will be able to better facilitate interpersonal connections within the group.

The majority of our participants reflected that they signed up for the Self-Care Club because they were struggling with lockdown and online learning or wanted to learn new skills.

Our main aim was to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing while they were homeschooling. The following are responses to whether the Creative Care Package that they were delivered supported their mental health:

“Yes, it made me feel wanted, that you’d take the time to give me something even though you don’t know me.”

“Yes it has provided things to use when I felt stressed or bored to jot things down or draw in.”

“It did help! It made me feel significant (because someone has put it together for me).”

“I liked using the yoga mat a bit, the pens brightened up my classwork notes, I did some more drawings in the notebook and the hot chocolate topped it all off!”

“I find the Creative Care Package very motivating and exciting, it helps me to keep going.”

Self Care Club

These responses suggest that the Creative Care Packages did support young people’s mental health and made them feel connected to a local arts organisation, and their local community, and feel ‘seen’, at a time when isolation and loneliness were a real issues for young people.

This is a word cloud, made up of our ‘one word check out’ at the end of some sessions. Bigger words show where a word has come up more often for the young people. We are pleased that young people said they felt seen, happy and relaxed after attending our creative sessions.

The following responses were from the ‘any other comments’ section in the feedback form.

“It has been really enjoyable and helpful for me personally so far.”

“You did great. Thank you for understanding us!!”

Self Care Club

“Thank you all so much, I’ve loved every moment and it’s really helped with my mental health. I'll miss this club very much. Thank you again!”

“Thank you so much, honestly this was such a good programme!”

These comments infer that our participants have benefited from the Self-Care Club sessions and the Creative Care Packages.

Legacy

Wellbeing Legacy

Young people received Creative Care Packages with tools to do activities that would better their mental health. As young people return to in-person learning, there will be stress on them to catch up on entire years worth of learning which would usually be in-person. Skills such as creative writing, drawing, bullet journaling, yoga and HIIT workouts which they have developed during Self Care Club sessions will allow them an avenue to manage future challenges and stress. The facilitators led their workshops with young people’s well-being in mind so they have learned to use these skills in that capacity.

Company Legacy

Self Care Club has allowed Zoo Co to foster working relationships with 65 young people in our local area, Croydon. This will hopefully lend itself to an increase of participants and audience members from the local community, as well as greater understanding for Zoo Co in terms of what these young people want and need from us as an organisation.

Self Care Club Legacy

This project has improved our digital safeguarding process as we were able to communicate the parameters around a digital space to a young person and asked them to support their own safeguarding. We learnt that while engaging digitally, it was beneficial to have a designated safeguarding lead as well as a facilitator.

The value of a flexible offer was very much appreciated by our participants and reflected different preferences in engagement styles. The focus on creativity as a tool for wellbeing, and the delivery of diverse workshop forms, we believe led directly to a higher uptake from young people who may not consider themselves theatre specific creatives, but who do see themselves as being ‘creative’ in a broader light. Hopefully, this open-access approach can then lead to engaging these young people in our more theatre specific programmes as they now feel familiar with our work.

Although we had various forms of engaging with Self Care Club, we realised that the offline activities needed to be further developed and implemented so that the participants felt their contributions were being appreciated.

The recruitment of young people and the initial delivery of the Creative Care Packages was time and cost-efficient, if quite topheavy in terms of administration.

Self Care Club Legacy

Digital Legacy

We are in the process of creating a ‘Self Care Club Hub’ on the Zoo Co website which will house a few videos from the sessions, the offline challenges young people have completed, a Spotify playlist created by the participants and an auditioning guide.

Local Legacy

During the six weeks of Self Care Club we shared relevant opportunities or workshops for young people around Croydon. The young people who regularly attended our sessions are aware of the Zoo Co Young Company coming up in June and the 1-2-1 mentoring sessions we offered. They are a group of young people who are now aware of the work that Zoo Co does and how they can benefit from us. This working relationship we have built with them will enable us to create projects that are directly relevant to the local community.

Night Shift

Night Shift is a new show about Croydon’s night shift workers developed by Zoo Co and written by Paula B Stanic (Previous credits at Soho Theatre, The National; 2021 finalist for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting). Night Shift is performed by an ensemble of 6-8 actors who multi–role to portray the vibrant community of Croydon. The cast is 50/50 deaf and hearing, are all competent BSL signers, and have a variety of special skills that allow them to tell a story that speaks to many audiences, using BSL, spoken English, Creative Captioning, Visual Vernacular, music, movement, and dance.

2020/2021 represented a key year in the show’s development: after the creative team conducted interviews with staff of local businesses operating at night and researched night work conditions, they conducted three R+D periods, navigating postponements and adaptations required by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Night Shift

Night Shift Young Company R&D

Delivered as planned in February 2020 at Fairfield Halls, the R+D engaged 8 local young people with mixed abilities and access needs, led by Deaf and hearing practitioners, over 5 days, to understand young people’s experience of Croydon at Night.

Night Shift Digital R&D

During the first UK lockdown, Zoo Co decided to develop ‘Night Shift’ digitally. Five core team members each headed up a team of 3 professional artists. These teams were made up of artists from all disciplines: actors, choreographers, writers and dancers. Each team had the freedom to explore their own Night Shift themes over zoom. They then had 1 week to create a final filmed piece lasting a few minutes. The digital reflections on the show’s themes helped to solidify thinking about the piece and to establish the multiplicity of forms that became so important to Night Shift’s storytelling.

Night Shift

Night Shift In-Person R&D

Having been postponed 4 times due to ongoing lockdowns, we were at last able to deliver the in-person R+D for Night Shift in May 2021, thanks to extensive Covid testing. The R+D brought together an incredible team of deaf and hearing artists, informing Paula B Stanic’s first draft.

The Night Shift in-person R+D marked the first time Zoo Co implemented their devising process across two rehearsal rooms led by multiple creative leaders. Zoo Co’s AD Flo O’Mahony codirected the R+D with Brian Duffy, one of the UK’s leading Visual Vernacular artists. Part of stepping up the scale of our work included sharing leadership more effectively with highly skilled BSL-fluent artists such as Chris Fonseca and Sim Campbell who helped us use dance as a devising tool for the first time in Zoo Co’s process. This was a hugely successful exercise in sharing and diversifying leadership in the rehearsal process. Working with Paula B Stanic helped us to shape a clear and meaningful/ impactful narrative and characters, based on in depth research, driving creative quality.

Night Shift

Night Shift also represented one of the largest casts Zoo Co has worked with and expanded our skills as ensemble storytellers. The R+D was instrumental in expanding the network of highly skilled deaf professional artists interested in the project. New collaborators included Nadia Nadarajah (credits at The Globe, Bristol Old Vic) and movement director Chris Fonseca. Their work helped the writer to generate a full first draft of the script. Early sessions with video projection artist Rachel Sampley laid the foundation for sophisticated design work to match Night Shift’s ambition.

We left the R&D with a full draft of the script, concept images for the show’s video design, and a documentary of our process. The R&D prepared Zoo Co for a step-up to mid-scale work that can be programmed on main stages as a result of working with a high calibre of artist, a larger cast, and embedding sophisticated design ideas into the earliest part of the process.

Ladies in the Van

Ladies In The Van was created as a direct response to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown in the UK. During this period there was growing concern for the isolation and disconnect care homes were experiencing. The aim was to create an entertaining show that would momentarily ease these effects and subsequent feelings. It was therefore imperative that the show be able to reach these audiences whilst the lockdown was in force rather than waiting for it to end. As an answer to this, Ladies In The Van is a show that uses projection and shadow puppetry, along with captions and a sound system, to create a show that can be watched from within a building, through a window.

Ladies in the Van

The team were able to tour their local area in the van, staying in a safe ‘performance bubble’ without having any contact with the venues other than by phone/email. Once they arrived, they opened one side of the van to reveal the AV screen, and could begin the show. The care homes the show visited arranged seats for their residents at the windows, where they could choose to watch the show from. Windows in the care homes were opened to allow sound to pass through, but captions and a very visual show also meant that sound wasn’t relied on.

Ladies In The Van told the whimsical tales of an ‘Amazin’ delivery driver, who, arriving in her delivery van, told the story of curious theories she had about various parcels she had delivered. Were her customers spies? Or madly in love? The real joy for the team however came from the reaction of the care home residents, who waved enthusiastically through the windows and blew kisses as we left, and who we felt we successfully managed to connect with, even if momentarily, at a time of unusual distance.

Ladies in the Van

Ladies In The Van had a short 1 week creation and rehearsal period, which adhered to the government guidance at the time, and went on to tour to 5 care homes. This is a model that we hope to use again in future, and think would work well at festivals and other settings where there isn’t a formal stage and tech set up.

Care Crisis

In May 2021 we were fortunate to embark on international partnership whilst staying in our home at Stanley Arts. Funded by British Council Indonesia’s ‘Connections Through Culture’ programme, we underwent a 5-day digital residency with Sakatoya, a theatre collective in Jogjakarta, Indonesia that drives themes of sustainability in their design-led work. The project and our partnership with Sakatoya was extremely successful and represented a huge learning opportunity for Zoo.

Care Crisis

We achieved our aim of exploring new ways of working with an international company in a live-digital hybrid performance. Both organisations were able to feed off of each other and had equal learning opportunities during the process. This was created by the constant sharing and responding to each other’s digital work. Alongside the partnership with Sakatoya, we were able to work with a large number of deaf and hearing freelance artists who have a variety of experiences. The pandemic has been grueling for the theatre industry, especially self-employed artists, so we are grateful for the opportunity to provide paid work during this unprecedented time. It was a new experience for us to work across multiple disciplines with practitioners from such vastly different backgrounds, skill sets, countries and time zones.

Care Crisis

To tackle the logistical challenges of collaborating on a project with a company in another country, Zoo Co and Sakatoya settled on a mixed performance and video model. Each company came up with a story that reflected their culture and responded to the themes of our piece: an aging population and a warming planet. Both companies would create a film backdrop to be sent for the other company to perform live in front of. Sakatoya created a story about a woman in a care home creating a traditional dish with her nurse, and Zoo Co wrote a story about a woman who has collected every piece of trash she came upon in her lifetime, only to have to leave the litter to her niece upon her death.

Care Crisis

We were fortunate to have Laura Kressly, an embedded theatre critic, present for three days during our process. She observed and named the three working groups creating simultaneously in the room: 1) The production design team working on video projection, videography and sound design; 2) The ‘makers’ creating a short film to send to Sakatoya; and 3) The performers and British Sign Language interpreters responding to the content that Sakatoya had created. Working in this split-focus way was new for us, although very effective in producing quality work in a short period of time. In her published report about our process, Laura noted that these parallel groups dismantled hierarchy in the room and opened the opportunity for each artist to take on a leadership role at different stages.

Care Crisis

Immediately there was a culture of shared ownership through the week that influenced the entire process and final product. Laura praised Flo’s ability to enable every single person, irrespective of their gender, experience, age or background, to take agency over the work being created.

This project included workshops on using Visual Vernacular (VV), led by deaf actor and VV artist Brian Duffy. This was part of the skills exchange that both organisations had set out to achieve: Zoo Co sharing our work around accessibility and Sakatoya sharing their digital theatre and puppetry skills. The skills sharing aspect of this project was the highlight of the week-long rehearsal and development.

Care Crisis

Sakatoya also live-streamed this workshop, in a high-tech and creative form. They had workshop leader Duffy’s video on a colourful background with the Sakatoy performers beside him and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters next to them. The videos would change in size depending on who was in focus at different points while still keeping the interpreters visible for Duffy and any audience members who required BSL. Sakatoya were so enthusiastic about learning VV and very quick to pick up this visual language, that they creatively integrated VV into their final piece.

Over the course of the week we had Rupal Chandi, a qualified BSL tutor and consultant and Nadia Nadarajah, a leading deaf actor who translated a script written by Sakatoya into BSL, to perform within our sharing. Language was a huge part of this international partnership.

Care Crisis

Zoo Co utilised their previous knowledge and experience in nonverbal communication on and off stage. Sakatoya led a nonverbal puppetry workshop for the Zoo Co team which fed into the way we then played with language in our final piece. Working across languages in a rehearsal process was a welcome challenge which enriched our practice of working in non-verbal communication.

Our team learnt about Indonesia culture and language, including Ketupat making, traditional dishes and the country's rich history. Sakatoya were exposed to British deaf culture by working with BSL performers and facilitators in a digital context.

Zoo Co will continue to use our learning across digital theatre to inform our future work and include elements of hybridised theatre into our practice. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership with Sakatoya in the future, creating more work remotely and eventually in-person with this wonderful team. Ideally, this rehearsal and development will lead to the creation of a live-hybrid international collaboration exploring how the aging population is greatly affected by our climate crisis. We would be thrilled to visit Sakatoya in Indonesia or host them here in Croydon to create digital theatre that is accessible and inclusive which will be available in Britain and Southeast Asia.

Office and Mailing Address: Stanley Arts, 12 South Norwood Hill, SE25 6AB

Twitter / Facebook / Instagram:

@wearezooco

Artistic Director Flo O'Mahony:

flo@wearezooco.co.uk

Senior Producers Olivia Munk & Jessica Bickel-Barlow:

olivia@wearezooco.co.uk jessica@wearezooco.co.uk

Charity Registration No. 1186349

Company Registration No. 12089377 (England and Wales)

ZOO CO CREATIVE LTD

ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2021

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Ms A Arthur Mr D Morris Mr C Grady Ms E Claughton Mr C Ramsden Mr R Stephenson Charity number 1186349 Company number 12089377 Principal address 12 South Norwood Hill London SE25 6AB Registered office 12 South Norwood Hill London SE25 6AB Independent examiner Jon Harris, ACMA, CGMA 9 Roe Close Stotfold, Beds SG5 4HX Bankers Metro Bank 1 Southampton Row London WC1B 5HA

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1
Independent examiner's report 2
Statement of financial activities 5
Balance sheet 6
Notes to the financial statements 8

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING

DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2021.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".

Objectives and activities

The charity's objects are specifically restricted to the following:

To advance public education in and appreciation of the arts.

The Trustees note a further successful year in the furtherance of the Objectives and have made a full report to the Charity Commission.

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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

1

Structure, governance and management

Accounting is managed by the professional staff and all financial documents are produced in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

Financial review

a. Statement of Risk: The Trustees validate that all contracts, expenditures, financial plans, and business models used by the Charity are of sound financial sense and do not contravene any Health and Safety or vulnerable individuals’ statues or common practice. b. Reserves will be held at the conclusion of every project to cover production costs on the next project. Where there is a shortfall, overdraft, loans, etc will only be sought where the Trustees have guaranteed that the Business Model for the relevant year will cover any and all repayments.

2

Public benefit statement

During the year we fulfilled our objectives, to advance public education and appreciation of the arts, in particular but not exclusively:

  1. Through the presentation of performances and the development of new work

  2. By developing accessibility in the arts through innovative, tailored engagement programmes for marginalised groups or individuals, in particular:

  3. -Young people aged 7-21

  4. -Deaf and disabled audiences and participants

  5. Through the provision of theatre in theatre venues or other performance spaces The Trustees are satisfied that Zoo Co continues to serve these goals to achieve public benefit during this period, in line with guidance from the Charity Commission.

Objectives and Activities

The Trustees have made a full report to the Charity Commission about objectives and activities.

The Trustees have approved this report.

Mr D Morris Trustee 26 April 2022

3

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ZOO CO CREATIVE LTD

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Zoo Co Creative Ltd for the year ended 31 July 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of CIMA, which is one of the listed bodies.

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

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

  3. the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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 financial statements to be reached.

Jon Harris, ACMA, CGMA, MA (Cantab.), FRSA

9 Roe Close Stotfold, Beds. SG5 4HX

Dated: 26 April 2022

4

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2021

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 **Total ** Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Total
2021 2021 2021 2020 2020 2020
Notes £ £ £
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies 26,458 0 26,458 31,713 0 31,713
Charitable activities 96,886 28,185 125,071 53,135 50,296 103,431
Other trading activities 0 0 0 0 0 0
Investments 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other income 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total income 123,344 28,185 151,529 84,848 50,296 135,144
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 3 106,085 32,164 138,249 73,999 18,500 92,499
Net income/(expenditure)
for the year/
Net movement in funds 17,259 -3,979 13,280 10,849 31,796 42,645
Fund balances at
31 July 2020 (2019) 10,849 31,796 42,645 - - -
Fund balances at
31 July 2021 28,108 27,817 55,925 10,849 31,796 42,645

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

5

BALANCE SHEET as at 31 July 2021

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
Current assets
Debtors
6
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
7
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after
more than one year
Net assets/(liabilities)
Income funds
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds		 2021
2020
£
£
£
£
0
0
4,260
0
53,117
44,963
57,377
44,963
-1,452
-2,318
55,925
42,645
55,925
42,645
0
0
55,925
42,645
28,108
10,849
27,817
31,796
55,925
42,645		 2021
2020
£
£
£
£
0
0
4,260
0
53,117
44,963
57,377
44,963
-1,452
-2,318
55,925
42,645
55,925
42,645
0
0
55,925
42,645
28,108
10,849
27,817
31,796
55,925
42,645
42,645
0
42,645
10,849
31,796
42,645

6

BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED) AS AT 31 July 2021

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 July 2021.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 26 April 2022.

.............................. Mr D Morris Trustee

7

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Zoo Co Creative Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is at 12, South Norwood Hill, London SE25 6AB.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling , which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

1.3 Incoming resources

Donations, legacies, grants etc. are accounted for when due to the charity, where applicable, with their associated tax recoverable element.

Production income is credited to the statement of financial activities for the period in which the related production takes place. Fees received in advance of future produtions are deferred. All other income is recognised when it is receivable.

No income is recorded net of expenses except where these are beyond the control or knowledge of the trustees.

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.

8

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 JULY 2021

(Continued)

1 Accounting policies

1.4 Resources expended

Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred except that production expenses are recognised in the period in which the production takes place.

Governance costs are those necessary for the charity to meet constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity's activities.

1.5 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Furniture and office equipment 20% reducing balance Motor vehicles 20% reducing balance

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

1.6 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.7 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

9

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3 Charitable activities

3 Charitable activities
2021 2020
£ £
Activity costs 128,783 87,401
128,783 87,401
Share of support costs (see note 4) 8,747 4,379
Share of governance costs (see note 4) 719 719
9,466 5,098
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds 106,085 73,999
Restricted funds 32,164 18,500
138,249 92,499
4 Support costs
Support Governance 2021 **2020 ** Basis of
costs costs allocation
£ £ £
Sundry costs, travel, bank 8,747 8,747 2,099
Accountancy 0 0 2,280
Independent examination 719 719 719 Governance
Analysed between
Charitable activities 8,747 719 9,466 5,098

Governance costs include payments to the Independent Examiner of £719 including irrecoverable VAT

10

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

5 Trustees

Trustees remuneration for the year was 0. (2020: 0 )

Trustees remuneration may comprise fees paid to Trustees, where they provide professional services to the Charity. No Trustee was paid to act as a Trustee.

6 Debtors
Trade debtors
7 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Notes
Trade creditors and accruals		 2021
2020
£
£
4,260
0
4,260
0
2021
2020
£
£
1,452
2,318
1,452
2,318

8 Employees

The average monthly number of employees was 1 (2020:0).

9 Limited by guarantee

The charitable company is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of winding up the liability of the guarantors is limited to £1 each.

11

Charity Registration No. 1186349

Company Registration No. 12089377 (England and Wales)

ZOO CO CREATIVE LTD

ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2021

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Ms A Arthur Mr D Morris Mr C Grady Ms E Claughton Mr C Ramsden Mr R Stephenson Charity number 1186349 Company number 12089377 Principal address 12 South Norwood Hill London SE25 6AB Registered office 12 South Norwood Hill London SE25 6AB Independent examiner Jon Harris, ACMA, CGMA 9 Roe Close Stotfold, Beds SG5 4HX Bankers Metro Bank 1 Southampton Row London WC1B 5HA

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1
Independent examiner's report 2
Statement of financial activities 5
Balance sheet 6
Notes to the financial statements 8

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING

DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2021.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".

Objectives and activities

The charity's objects are specifically restricted to the following:

To advance public education in and appreciation of the arts.

The Trustees note a further successful year in the furtherance of the Objectives and have made a full report to the Charity Commission.

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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

1

Structure, governance and management

Accounting is managed by the professional staff and all financial documents are produced in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

Financial review

a. Statement of Risk: The Trustees validate that all contracts, expenditures, financial plans, and business models used by the Charity are of sound financial sense and do not contravene any Health and Safety or vulnerable individuals’ statues or common practice. b. Reserves will be held at the conclusion of every project to cover production costs on the next project. Where there is a shortfall, overdraft, loans, etc will only be sought where the Trustees have guaranteed that the Business Model for the relevant year will cover any and all repayments.

2

Public benefit statement

During the year we fulfilled our objectives, to advance public education and appreciation of the arts, in particular but not exclusively:

  1. Through the presentation of performances and the development of new work

  2. By developing accessibility in the arts through innovative, tailored engagement programmes for marginalised groups or individuals, in particular:

  3. -Young people aged 7-21

  4. -Deaf and disabled audiences and participants

  5. Through the provision of theatre in theatre venues or other performance spaces The Trustees are satisfied that Zoo Co continues to serve these goals to achieve public benefit during this period, in line with guidance from the Charity Commission.

Objectives and Activities

The Trustees have made a full report to the Charity Commission about objectives and activities.

The Trustees have approved this report.

Mr D Morris Trustee 26 April 2022

3

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ZOO CO CREATIVE LTD

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Zoo Co Creative Ltd for the year ended 31 July 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of CIMA, which is one of the listed bodies.

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

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

  3. the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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 financial statements to be reached.

Jon Harris, ACMA, CGMA, MA (Cantab.), FRSA

9 Roe Close Stotfold, Beds. SG5 4HX

Dated: 26 April 2022

4

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2021

Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 **Total ** Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Total
2021 2021 2021 2020 2020 2020
Notes £ £ £
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies 26,458 0 26,458 31,713 0 31,713
Charitable activities 96,886 28,185 125,071 53,135 50,296 103,431
Other trading activities 0 0 0 0 0 0
Investments 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other income 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total income 123,344 28,185 151,529 84,848 50,296 135,144
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 3 106,085 32,164 138,249 73,999 18,500 92,499
Net income/(expenditure)
for the year/
Net movement in funds 17,259 -3,979 13,280 10,849 31,796 42,645
Fund balances at
31 July 2020 (2019) 10,849 31,796 42,645 - - -
Fund balances at
31 July 2021 28,108 27,817 55,925 10,849 31,796 42,645

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

5

BALANCE SHEET as at 31 July 2021

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
Current assets
Debtors
6
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
7
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after
more than one year
Net assets/(liabilities)
Income funds
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds		 2021
2020
£
£
£
£
0
0
4,260
0
53,117
44,963
57,377
44,963
-1,452
-2,318
55,925
42,645
55,925
42,645
0
0
55,925
42,645
28,108
10,849
27,817
31,796
55,925
42,645		 2021
2020
£
£
£
£
0
0
4,260
0
53,117
44,963
57,377
44,963
-1,452
-2,318
55,925
42,645
55,925
42,645
0
0
55,925
42,645
28,108
10,849
27,817
31,796
55,925
42,645
42,645
0
42,645
10,849
31,796
42,645

6

BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED) AS AT 31 July 2021

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 July 2021.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 26 April 2022.

.............................. Mr D Morris Trustee

7

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Zoo Co Creative Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is at 12, South Norwood Hill, London SE25 6AB.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling , which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

1.3 Incoming resources

Donations, legacies, grants etc. are accounted for when due to the charity, where applicable, with their associated tax recoverable element.

Production income is credited to the statement of financial activities for the period in which the related production takes place. Fees received in advance of future produtions are deferred. All other income is recognised when it is receivable.

No income is recorded net of expenses except where these are beyond the control or knowledge of the trustees.

Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.

8

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 JULY 2021

(Continued)

1 Accounting policies

1.4 Resources expended

Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred except that production expenses are recognised in the period in which the production takes place.

Governance costs are those necessary for the charity to meet constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity's activities.

1.5 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Furniture and office equipment 20% reducing balance Motor vehicles 20% reducing balance

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

1.6 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.7 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

9

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3 Charitable activities

3 Charitable activities
2021 2020
£ £
Activity costs 128,783 87,401
128,783 87,401
Share of support costs (see note 4) 8,747 4,379
Share of governance costs (see note 4) 719 719
9,466 5,098
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds 106,085 73,999
Restricted funds 32,164 18,500
138,249 92,499
4 Support costs
Support Governance 2021 **2020 ** Basis of
costs costs allocation
£ £ £
Sundry costs, travel, bank 8,747 8,747 2,099
Accountancy 0 0 2,280
Independent examination 719 719 719 Governance
Analysed between
Charitable activities 8,747 719 9,466 5,098

Governance costs include payments to the Independent Examiner of £719 including irrecoverable VAT

10

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 July 2021

5 Trustees

Trustees remuneration for the year was 0. (2020: 0 )

Trustees remuneration may comprise fees paid to Trustees, where they provide professional services to the Charity. No Trustee was paid to act as a Trustee.

6 Debtors
Trade debtors
7 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Notes
Trade creditors and accruals		 2021
2020
£
£
4,260
0
4,260
0
2021
2020
£
£
1,452
2,318
1,452
2,318

8 Employees

The average monthly number of employees was 1 (2020:0).

9 Limited by guarantee

The charitable company is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of winding up the liability of the guarantors is limited to £1 each.

11