# Stories with Symbols **Trustees’ Annual Report** For the year ended 31[st] December 2023 23[rd] May 2024 14 Hartwell Road, Ashton, Registered charity no. Northampton, NN7 2JR 1193393 07736 275235 info@storieswithsymbols.com ## Table of Contents |Administrative details .......................................................................................................................... 3| |---| |Structure, governance and management ............................................................................................ 3| |Objectives and activities ....................................................................................................................... 3| |Achievements and impact .................................................................................................................... 3| |Financial review .................................................................................................................................... 4| |1.
Position at the end of the period ..................................................................................................... 4| |2.
Reserves ............................................................................................................................................ 4| |3.
Income and expenditure account for year ended 31.12.2023 ...................................................... 5| |4.
Balance sheet as at 31.12.2023 ....................................................................................................... 6| Trustees’ Annual Report 23rd May 2024 2 ## Administrative details **Registered charity name:** Stories with Symbols **Registered charity number:** 1193393 (England & Wales) **Principal address:** 14 Hartwell Road, Ashton, Northampton, NN7 2JR, UK **Trustees:** Alex Rowe; Katie Kennedy; Samantha Rowe ## Structure, governance and management Stories with Symbols is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) whose only voting members are its charity trustees. The charity trustees manage the affairs of the CIO and operate according to the Governing Document adopted on 3[rd] February 2021. ## Objectives and activities The objective of Stories with Symbols is to advance the education of individuals, in particular (but not exclusively), children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), through the provision of specialist videos, created by the charity. The videos are free-to-access and are designed from the outset for children with additional needs, to stimulate their interest in books and shared reading, while supporting the development of core communication, language and literacy skills. ## Achievements and impact The charity’s third year of operation was quiet compared with the previous two years: - In the previous Annual Report, it was stated that “the outlook for 2023 will be a slower pace of video production, with an emphasis on quality over quantity”. - A new video was published (‘Why should I brush my teeth?’), taking the total in the catalogue to 14. It featured a trip to the dentist and successfully demonstrated the concept of providing ‘social story’ style resources to support situations which some children find particularly challenging, while modelling useful language (e.g. “stop!”) which can be transferred to other situations in which self-advocacy is important. - The research into neuroaffirmative practice and gestalt language processing continued and led to a review of the use of non-fiction, topic based books for our videos. A revised plan was developed with a slower pace of production, a return to simpler texts for the time being, but using the third section of the videos more flexibly and imaginatively to introduce more explorative language and concepts. Trustees’ Annual Report 23rd May 2024 3 - Katie Kennedy began a new professional role at a special school, and Alex Rowe took on an additional voluntary role with nearby charity Autism Early Support. Both of these had a significant impact on video production during 2023, but were important causes which align closely with the values and objectives of Stories with Symbols. - The partnership with Usborne continues, and producing videos to coincide with World Book Day was prioritised while resources were thinly spread. - The Stories with Symbols team travelled to the charity ‘Support Dogs’ to film section 3 for the video, ‘That’s not my dog…’, for the World Book Day 2024 video release. - The Stories with Symbols YouTube channel grew from around 68,000 views to over 125,000. The average daily number of views remained consistent at around 150. The number of subscribers grew to 650. - Four videos are planned for 2024, including ‘That’s not my fire engine…’ which will include in section 3 a visit to a real fire station, a tour of a fire engine and a demonstration of the emergency response to a 999 call. ## Financial review ## 1. Position at the end of the period - (1) Total income for 2023 was £1,202 and total expenditure was £1,529 representing an inyear deficit of £327. - (2) Trustee Alex Rowe loaned £1,000 to the Charity to cover in-year expenditure. The terms of the loan are 0% interest indefinitely. ## 2. Reserves - (1) Stories with Symbols has no employees or ongoing financial commitments. Reserves of £200 are deemed sufficient to meet the charity’s needs. Trustees’ Annual Report 23rd May 2024 4 ## 3. Income and expenditure account for year ended 31.12.2023 |**Notes**
**Income:**
Loans
1
Donations
Sale of assets
Grants
**Total Income**
**Capital Expenditure:**
Equipment
Props
**Total Capital Expenditure**
**Non-Capital Expenditure:**
Software
Consumables
Presenter fees
Insurance
Marketing
Professional fees
Expenses
**Total Non-Capital Expenditure**
**Total Expenditure**
**Surplus/(deficit)**
**Brought forward**
**Balance C/Fwd**|**2023**
**2022**
**(£)**
**(£)**
1,000
-
-
527
202
-
-
1,832| |---|---| ||**1,202**
**2,359**
1,179
1,413
-
-| ||**1,179**
**1,413**
104
-
150
-
-
-
96
96
-
-
-
400
-
-| ||**500**
**496**| ||**1,529**
**1,909**
**(327)**
**450**
**1,026**
**576**| ||**698**
**1,026**| ## Notes 1. Trustee’s loan from A. Rowe Trustees’ Annual Report 23rd May 2024 5 ## 4. Balance sheet as at 31.12.2023 |**Notes**
**FIXED ASSETS**
Tangible assets
1
**CURRENT ASSETS**
Balance in current account
**LIABILITIES**
Loans
**TOTAL NET ASSETS**|**2023**
**2022**
**(£)**
**(£)**
1,662
1,297
698
1,026
(2,000)
(1,000)| |---|---| ||**361**
**(107)**| ## Notes 1 25% per year amortisation of the following items: |**Asset**
**Date**
**purchased**
**Purchase**
**Price (£)**
RØDE Wireless Pro microphones
19/11/2023
394.99
Aputure Amaran 200X S lighting
18/04/2023
372.00
Smallrig RA-D85 lighting softbox
17/04/2023
114.66
Pixapro C-stand
07/04/2023
139.98
Neewer X12 Teleprompter
27/02/2023
157.59
EF-RF Lens adapter
30/03/2022
104.00
EOS R Camera
30/03/2022
1,308.99
Cayer BV30L tripod
08/09/2021
138.99
Cushion fillings (set decor)
21/10/2021
18.99
Yellow cushion covers (set decor)
21/10/2021
16.99
Cayer BV30L tripod
04/11/2021
111.19
**TOTAL:**|**Value 2023**
**(£)**
296.24
279.00
86.00
104.99
118.19
52.00
654.50

34.75

4.75

4.25

27.80| |---|---| ||**1,662.47**| Trustees’ Annual Report 23rd May 2024 6