The Starting Blocks for Family Life Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 CHARITY NUMBER 1190047 ## Contents Charity Information page 3 Structure, governance and management page 3 Trustees’ Report page 5 Accounts page 12 Page 2 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 Charity Information, Structure, Governance & Management ## **Registered Office** West Hill House West Hill WRAXALL BS48 1PH **Email** info@beginwell.org.uk **Website** www.beginwell.org.uk ## **Trustees** Louise Hughes BSc(Hons) MBBS MRCOG Karen Egitto BSc (Hons) SCPHN MSc Elizabeth Thomas BA(Hons) PGCE ## **Volunteer Co-ordinator** Naomi Shaw (part time) ## **Charity Administrator** Cheryl Jenkinson (Jan 24 onwards,part time) ## **Volunteer Facilitators** Naomi Shaw & Erica King- Holy Trinity Church, Barnstaple Amy Davies - Belmont Chapel, Exeter Gwenllian Riall - St Michael’s and All Angels Church, Alphington Timy Booy - St Andrew’s Church, Backwell Karen Egitto - St Nicholas Church, Bristol Viki Fry - Pinhope Church, Exeter Debbie Martin - St Paul’s Church, Tiverton Claire & John Wadsworth - Plymstock Chapel, Plymstock Rachel Mills - Bay Church, Torbay Begin Well Annual Report Page 3 2023-24 ## Charity Structure Begin Well is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (registered number 1190047), which was founded in 2018 and registered with the Charity Commission in 2020, in order to provide local antenatal courses based on an NHS model. Begin Well works to help pregnant women and their partners build a happy family life rooted in local communities. The Objects of the charity are: - 1.To preserve and protect the mental and physical health of pregnant women in particular, but not exclusively, through the provision of education, information, physical, emotional and spiritual support during pregnancy; - 2.To preserve and protect the mental and physical health of parents in particular, but not exclusively, through the provision of education, information, physical, emotional and spiritual support during pregnancy. 3. The trustees meet at least four times a year to discuss relevant matters such as current operations, future courses, and funding. ## Risk Management The trustees have reviewed the major risks and have policies and procedures in place to mitigate these risks. Page 4 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 ## Trustees’ Report ## **Statement of Public Benefit** The trustees have complied with their legal duty under the Charities Act to have regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. ## **Fundraising & Communications** This year the charity’s fundraising has included donations from individual donors, income from church partnerships’ training fees, course handbooks and licensing agreements. This year the income raised from this has been £5957 (from 3.4.2023 - 2.4.2024). This year Begin Well has taken on a charity administrator. This has helped ensure the income from training and licensing was optimised. We are fortunate to have a few individuals who generously support the work. Fundraising was on an ad hoc basis, with social media giving links and giving links in newsletters. All individual donors are thanked personally, when possible, and also sent the regular newsletters and updates. ## **Financial Review (including Reserves Policy)** The total income of £5957 unrestricted funds has been received by the charity this year. Begin Well has no debts or other liabilities, and holds no reserves or investment assets. Begin Well aims to build sufficient reserves for between three and six months’ operating costs. Page 5 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 ## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities** The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charity and of application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and 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. Financial statements are published on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, which may vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the charity’s website is the responsibility of the trustees. The trustees’ responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the financial statements contained therein. 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This has been another exciting year at Begin Well. We have been able to consolidate and grow the work supporting parents-to-be, both in the running of antenatal courses and in seeking to have a voice in shaping the provision of antenatal education. We are very grateful for the continued generosity of our donors, for the hard work and commitment of our small staff team, and for the time and expertise of the volunteers in the church partnerships. Page 7 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 ## **Reflection on the last 12 months activity** In 2022-23 report we made plans for the following 12 months. - We planned to grow the number of partnerships. - There have been no new partnerships in 2023-2024. Instead we have focused on maintaining the relationships with the current facilitators and volunteers. The appointment of the volunteer coordinator has really helped with this. For those interested in partnerships we decided to wait until the new material would be ready and aim to train in Autumn 2024. - We planned to rewrite and update the course materials - A large amount of volunteer co-ordinator and trustee volunteer time was taken up with the rewrite. This involved review of the whole curriculum, updating in line with current national guidance and refreshing of video materials. The written and presentation materials were all re-developed with consistent branding and imagery. The facilitator guide was redesigned to make it more user-friendly as were all the powerpoint presentations. The aim is to train current and new volunteers to use the new materials from Autumn 2024. - We planned to develop the volunteer co-ordinator role - Naomi has continued to develop the role. There has been much work recruiting and supporting new church sites. She has been responsible for the curriculum re-write and update, and in developing the training programme for volunteers. She has provided new-start training for all the incoming teams and support during their courses. She has led on the safer recruitment of all the volunteers. - We planned to appoint a charity administrator - The administrator has significantly helped Begin Well to make the most of the opportunities afforded the charity: maximising and diversifying funding streams, raising the profile of the charity and keeping interested parties up to-date with the work, as well as in the management of the administrative load. The role started in February 2024. She has provided support across all areas of the administration of the charity including communication with volunteers, communication with participants, gaining post-course feedback from attendees to inform course development and fundraising efforts, social media and safer recruitment of volunteers. Begin Well Annual Report Page 8 2023-24 ## **Review of this year’s work** The charity has increased the number of churches delivering the courses. This year we have provided antenatal education courses to 546 number of parents to be. Courses occur during the evening but there have been weekend courses to meet the needs of the local populations. In future Begin Well will develop further course materials to address specific needs of groups of parents-to-be eg: teenagers, asylum seekers etc. Many of our volunteer teams have remained the same but there have been some changes and additions of new volunteers to existing teams. All new volunteers undergo safer recruitment and training. Begin Well is so grateful for all the time and energy which volunteers give so generously to the charity and the parents they serve. In January 2024 Begin Well held a Volunteer Update day for all volunteers. It had a special mental health focus with input from Nicky Wallace from Talk Works regarding Perinatal Mental health. The Diocese of Exeter very kindly hosted the event for Begin Well, providing lunch and the excellent venue. It was an opportunity to thank the volunteers in person and for networking and sharing ideas. Begin Well is developing links with local organisations and charities working with the same space. This includes: Devon Maternity Voices, Plymouth Octopus, LMNS (Local Maternity Neonatal System)-Antenatal Education Task and Finish group as part of Devon NHS. ## **Highlights** “We cannot thank you all enough for helping us prepare for the arrival of our little one and we hope to stay part of the community” “I felt this course was so informative and I have come away feeling far more positive and confident in my ability as a new parent and it has bought myself and husband closer together as we both shared this experience” “It has reduced my anxiety and given me self confidence. I feel supported even with the course being over” “I feel a lot less anxious about the whole experience and know where to seek out company and groups if I’m feeling lonely. It has given my husband a really good introduction to how he can best support both me and baby, and given him insight without being too daunting! I feel I know how I can better prepare myself for what’s to come” Page 9 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 ## **Plans for the next 12 months 2024-2025** Update of Training Materials - In 2024-2025 Begin Well plans to finalise the re-write and update of course materials. We aim to go live with the materials in Autumn 24, following printing and filming of the materials. - Training of existing teams on New Materials - All existing teams will be trained to use the new materials. This will involve training 42 number of volunteers. We plan to do this over 3 training days - Onboarding and training of new teams - As Begin Well grows we aim to start running courses in more church sites. We aim to start courses in 5 number of churches. This will involve safer recruitment of all volunteers from those church sites and training of every team. - Update Day - In January 25 there will be an update day for all new and existing church sites. The aim is to invite Restore Charity (who work with domestic violence survivors) to speak. It is known that women in pregnancy and post-partum are at high risk of domestic violence, so this session will aim to equip volunteers around this area. Diversify and secure further funding streams - Begin Well is now at a size which we need to diversify our income and funding streams. - Each church site operates under a two-year licence from Begin Well to run courses from their church. The trustees will review the amount churches pay for the licence fee to ensure that the amount is appropriate and reflects the support and quality of the training materials and time. With increased administrative support we will seek to ensure that all licensing fees are kept up to date. - Begin Well charges for each individual volunteer to be trained and for their DBS check. The trustees will review this charge to ensure that it reflects the quality of the training and cost of the DBS check. - Individual donations continue to be part of our income stream, and we will continue to thank individuals for their generous support. - Begin Well will explore grant making organisations as a potential area for funding. Begin Well trustees will build on the work of previous fundraising research and aim to apply for some grants this year. Begin Well provides all courses for no cost to the individual. However some attendees wish to donate money in appreciation. Begin Well will look to provide QR codes and other methods of receiving donations from course attendees. We seek to be financially robust and to limit cash handling by individual course facilitators. Page 10 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 ## **Plans for the next 12 months 2024-2025 continued** Build financial reserves - Begin Well aims to build financial reserves for 3-6 months of operating costs - Development of the administrator role - The administrator role has significantly improved the day-to-day administrative burden of the trustees. Over the next year the aim will be to further develop the role of the administrator to include bookkeeping to help with the smooth running of the charity finances. - Training and development of the trustee board - The trustees are aware that as Begin Well grows that the board would benefit from mentoring, coaching and training. One of the options is the Cinnamon Incubator programme which would benefit the charity with coaching and training. The application will be due in May 24. - Recruitment of trustees - The trustee board is limited to three trustees at present. To ensure the ongoing governance, capability and succession planning the trustees seek to recruit new trustees within this financial year. Page 11 Begin Well Annual Report 2023-24 In Well No lil CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGIAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period from To Section A Receipts and payments Uniesiricted funds to th• new•¥t Restricted funds to th¢ nfrwfr$i £ Endowmeni funds to th¢ near•Ji £ Total lunds Lasi year fo th• rMJw•8f C to the nw•81 £ Al R•¢•l CouTse Iiandbooks Chuich Iicence agreements Chuich gwing Corw1a￿ gwino Donaiions Iiom Indi￿ual$ DBS tel￿ndS Chuich Iraining 1,050 LOS0 516 695 350 16 210 25 3,157 210 25 3.167 2,634 Sub total(Gross Income for AR) 5.957 5,957 4210 A2 Asset and Investment $al•s s•• i•bl• , Sub total rotal re¢elpts A2 Asset and investment sales see table . Sub total Total receipts A3Pa ments Blue Moon Desiqns Hwndtyy)ks Couise & Trwning Cos publ￿ Iiatslrfy Insurance sub5ciiplion5 aDd mèmber$hip$ D8S Checkiiig setvice siaiionery. P&P Olfice la•op sialhng eos 816 816 765 410 171 275 175 13 174 175 13 174 371 3,117 3,329 Sub total A4 Asset and investment urchases, see table Sub total Total payments N8t of receiptsl(payments) AS Transfers betrleen lunds A6 Cash funds IAst yeAr •nd Cash fvnds this year end Page 12 bcgik? 6Vcll 4￿￿?￿￿1 RcpDrt 2023-24 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unresiricied funds to n••mi £ Restricted funds to £ Endowmeni funds io n•4r••i £ Details Bl Cash fvnds Total cash funds 1,358 IwTeebdarKeswth accc4Jrtl5}1 Unrestrlcted funds Restrlcted funds to Mar•st £ Endowment funds Detwl$ B2 Other monetary a$$et$ Fund to whS¢h I b¢lo Cost lopi10n￿l Current v•Ju• Ibon Detail$ B3 Investment assets Fund to whletb AS••1 b•lo Currènt valu• Detwls 84 Assets retained for the Fund io %thlch rllatei Amount du• lon When d Oetalls B5 Llabllltle$ SvJnÈd by onè or MO Iruslees on behall ol all Ihe Iws*es Signaiure Prlni Name Date ol roval Louisè Hughts 30.1.2025 Page 13 Begim Well 4MHudl RepDrt 2023-24