## ANNUAL REPORT ## 2022/2023 A world where everyone with Down's syndrome thrives! **Learn and Thrive** Charity Number: 1195053 Year ending March 31st 2023 ## Thank you to our supporters We are so grateful for all the support from our current and future funders. Their belief in our vision has been inspiring and has allowed us to step into the next financial year with confidence. There remains a lot of work to do to meet our project targets, but having the continued support of the organisations below has allowed us to concentrate on the quality of our projects and meeting the needs of our communities. **----- Start of picture text -----**
David Solomons Marsh
Charitable Trus t Charitable Trust
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Annual Report 22/23 ## Annual Report 22/23 The Objects for which the charity is established are exclusively charitable according to English law and for the benefit of the public anywhere in the world by advancing the education of children and young people with Down's syndrome and similar learning difficulties, including but not limited to, providing access to specialist teachers and therapists through digital content and other resources. ## **VISION** A world where everyone with Down's syndrome thrives. ## **MISSION** Using digital tools to empower people with Down's syndrome to thrive throughout their lives. Annual Report 22/23 ## Chair's Report ## **A diagnosis of Down’s syndrome must never be a barrier to life or love.** 2022 took us on the next exciting chapter in our journey towards our vision of helping people with Down’s syndrome live life to the fullest. We're thrilled to share that we extended our support to over 2,600 children and young people. This significant growth is a testament to the quality and diversity of resources now available on our platform and there is so much more to come. As we expand our resources to magnify our impact, our role as Trustees is twofold: first, to prioritise the development of valuable content, and second, to establish a robust and scalable organisation that can amplify the support we offer. Our efforts in fostering partnerships with communities, local authorities, and schools have continued to thrive. These collaborations enable us to maximise the positive impact our resources have on those who need them most. Nevertheless, we recognise that one of our primary challenges lies in making sure that the wider community is aware of the valuable resources we have to offer, and we make it as easy as possible for them to access and use them. In 2023, we are committed to furthering this journey. Thank you for your ongoing support, and together, we look forward to a promising year ahead. Nikki Walker Annual Report 22/23 ## **Message from our CEO** **"Seeing the impact keeps me moving forward"** ## **A Promising Start for a New Charity: Learn and Thrive** 18 months on and Learn and Thrive has made a remarkable entrance into the charity world, with the aim of empowering individuals with Down's syndrome and other learning needs. The organisation is helping to promote meaningful inclusion in communities by providing essential skills. This mission is personal to me as I have witnessed firsthand the impact of not having these services available for children and young people. As a parent, I have felt the frustration of not having access to the necessary support, and as a supporter of educators, I have seen the struggle to find ways to better serve their students. With Learn and Thrive paving the way for progress, there is hope for the community. As the range of resources we offer expands, so does the team, and I am so proud of everything they have achieved together. The whole team comes together with one simple aim; empowering children and young people with Down’s syndrome to live full and vibrant lives. Annual Report 22/23 About Us ## Learn and Thrive: Empowering Individuals with Down's Syndrome Our mission is to help people with Down's syndrome live fulfilling lives with the aid of digital tools. At Learn and Thrive, we recognise the societal hurdles faced by this group and are committed to providing online resources to help break down those barriers and enable everyone to achieve their full potential. Through our research, we've learned that outdated stereotypes, a lack of understanding of unique learning needs, and limited access to services hinder people with Down's syndrome from receiving the necessary support within their communities. However, we also know that individuals with Down's syndrome are lifelong learners who, with targeted and specific assistance, can develop the essential skills required to participate fully in their community. Practical approaches are used to develop language skills through play, focusing on early learning concepts and skills. This content covers personal health, emotions, relationships, and appropriate behavior from pre-teen to adulthood. Supporting more than 2,600 Children and Young People Annual Report 22/23 Reach In 22/23 we reached Children and Young People **2,648** **----- Start of picture text -----**
+172%
Increase on
21/22
57% 43%
57% of sign ups use TM2 43% of sign ups use LFL
**----- End of picture text -----**
Supporting Children across the UK and far beyond! Annual Report 22/23 ## Projects Teach Me Too now has historic sign-ups of well over 4500 people. In the year 22/23 it has had 1219 new members join. 908 of those worked with those with a diagnosis of Down's syndrome. 170 sign-ups were people that worked with young people with a range of different needs. We have reviewed our strategic priorities and intended audience, which identified local authorities and statutory services as the areas we need to target to ensure we reach those children and young people who often don't have the financial or educational means to access specialist support. To support this aim, we teamed up with Hertfordshire Local Authority and commissioned an independent review of the Teach Me Too project in early years settings and schools throughout the region. Launched in April 2022, Learning for Life is a new project developed by the team, alongside external experts and families. It delivers targeted and differentiated support to parents, schools, and other organisations tackling the complex area of relationship, sex, and health education. We are identifying key areas of learning that are often missed, or whizzed through in education settings. These form the basis for key independent life skills and include areas such as public and private, appropriate touch, relationships, social boundaries and socially appropriate behaviour. Without fully understanding these areas our young people are left vulnerable to abuse, and with significant barriers to inclusion in work, leisure and activities of daily living. 1128 sign-ups highlights the volume of young people benefitting from specialist support and many more will follow in the future. Annual Report 22/23 ## The Future We know what we do works! Now we need to reach more people. **Getting Message Out** Through strategic and targeted marketing plans, we need to ensure that we are not only reaching our intended demographic of young people with Down's syndrome and other learning needs, but we are also reaching our target of accessing those harder to reach communities as well. Our next steps are to broaden our offer, incorporating a wider range of resources, from digital to kinaesthetic, to enable more young people find the support they need. With many more topics in the pipeline and plans to use different, but complimentary style videos, we are looking to broaden our content and keep providing the next steps for our young people. **Broaden Content** ## **Diversify** Our mission to empower young people with Down's syndrome includes being seen and heard in the media and within educational resources as a top priority. We pride ourselves on providing diverse content, but we're committed to going even further. Our aim is to include as many different communities as possible within the scope of our offerings. To achieve this goal, we're exploring collaborations with various presenters to ensure that our platform is as diverse and inclusive as possible. We are committed to including gender-neutral characters in our curriculum, but we also recognise the need to improve our approach to inclusivity. We plan to seek advice on how to better integrate the LGBTQIA+ community into our teaching practices. Annual Report 22/23 ## **Impact** External evaluation and independent research have both shown the difference our resources are making to families, schools and other charities. You can read more about this in the appendix. **----- Start of picture text -----**
Learning For Life users
1128
1520 Teach Me Too users
Free learning videos
90
"This truly is the best resource I have
seen for our students and we can’t
praise it enough! Thank you! " -
Hannah Wright (School Staff)
"Me and my daughter have been using the
growing up videos both at home and school
and they are just brilliant. The videos are
perfect to tackle these sensitive subjects and
the follow up work ensures that there is a good- Jo Thompson (parent)
understanding of what has been talked about."
**----- End of picture text -----**
Annual Report 22/23 ## Achievements ## **Learning For Life** More content is now available and we are well on the way to reaching our strategic aims of recruiting more teachers and professionals to the project to ensure we are serving those lesser-served families where parents are not directly engaging with learning programs themselves. Our joint partnership with 21 Together and the National Lottery has been a huge success. We have seen the impact on the lives of young people but have also been able to learn from the young people themselves. We are proud to have been invited to speak at national conferences on the subject of RSE and spend time with other professionals, always seeking to improve our knowledge and offering for our young people. ## **Research and Development** Independent evaluators assessed the Teach Me Too project from September 2022 to March 2023. To measure the impact of the Teach Me Too resources we teamed up with Hertfordshire Local Authority to run an independent trial. The Teach Me Too suite of materials was highly rated and valued by the settings that participated in the trial. Staff were positive about the impact the program had on their practice, their confidence in supporting children with Down’s syndrome and on the children they were teaching. Key areas of change reported by staff were in their ability to use signing/Makaton more effectively and in feeling more confident in adapting activities to meet the individual needs of the children they were supporting. **----- Start of picture text -----**
“Overall, a great tool to steer
content that we could take further.
It gave us ideas….”
(SENCO, Primary)
‘I’ve learnt a lot – for me to
follow it, it has given me new
skills in Makaton. I’m getting
more confident over time’.
(SENCO, Nursery)
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Annual Report 22/23 ## **Learn and Thrive** ## **PRESENTS Strictly Makaton** The Trustee Board already give so much to the charity. Well, now they have gone one step further out of their comfort zone! For many, this was their first step into the world of signed communication, so taking on the challenge of learning all the Makaton signs to the song ROAR and then performing them live to our panel of judges was daunting! Everyone did a brilliant job and we raised a whooping £17,000 to help build more resources for our community Annual Report 22/23 ## Challenges ## **Digital Transformation** With AI and digital transformation now at the forefront, it's important that we utilise all tools available to serve our community effectively. Integration of these tools into our existing systems can prove to be extremely beneficial for our community. However, we must also acknowledge the potential risks we may face and be diligent in evaluating any potential cybersecurity threats. Our current focus is on broadening our impact and utilising available content. However, we must also explore other platforms or means of delivery, such as apps or browsers. The digital transformation era presents many opportunities, and we want to ensure that we are prepared to take advantage of them in a way that is safe for the organisation. ## **Navigating Tough Times: Building a Strong Foundation for Our Charity** As a young organisation, it's important to recognise the impact of rising living costs on both our beneficiaries and our operations. To ensure longterm sustainability and success, we need to build a strong financial base. However, obtaining grants and donations has become more challenging due to increased competition among charities and reduced funding. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to our mission and are taking proactive steps to adapt to the changing landscape. This includes developing comprehensive impact reports, improving our marketing strategies, and keeping our content and design up-to-date. We also prioritise community feedback and work collaboratively with those we serve through co-production and joint initiatives. By staying focused on our goals and building a resilient organisation, we will continue to thrive despite these difficult times. Annual Report 22/23 ## Treasurer Report ## **Together we thrive.** This annual report reflects our first 12-month reporting period, during which we have continued to grow and diversify our income streams, and resultingly expand our online offering. We have also been able to use our first full reporting year to build a robust financial plan for the years ahead, with a clear view of funding requirements to deliver new content for our young people. In the 12-months to 31st March 2023, we generated income of £141,965 (of which, £73,414 was restricted funding) from numerous grants, trusts, as well as from individual donors. We incurred a total of £86,846 expenditure, which primarily related to contracted services for content development and salary costs. These continue to be our main categories of expenditure, with a clear pipeline of content that will be developed and made available online in the coming months and years. The charity remains in a strong financial position, with funds carried forward totaling £151,755 at the end of the year. As a new charity, we had previously set a prudent Reserve policy of 12 months. As we gain clearer visibility over our funding and expenditure, we deem it appropriate to revise this down to 9 months of expenditure. This enables us to continue to use our funds to provide for our young people, while remaining in a financially strong position should our funding environment change. Kate Taylor Annual Report 22/23 ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Learn and Thrive** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Learn and Thrive for the period ended 31 March 2023 , which are set out on pages 1 to 7. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011(‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Trustee’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and 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 have completed my examination. I confirm that no material 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 Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. 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 accounts to be reached. S.R. Sampson BFP FCA FCIE DChA Ashdown Hurrey Auditors Limited 20 Havelock Road Hastings East Sussex TN34 1BP Date: 17 November 2023 ## **LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |Notes
**RECEIPTS**
Grants
2
Donations
3
Interest
4
Charitable Activities
5
**Total**
**PAYMENTS**
Costs of Generating Funds
6
Charitable Activities
7
Management and Administration Costs
8
Other Expenditure
**Total**
**NET RECEIPTS / (PAYMENTS)**
**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**
9
**Transfers between funds**
**Total funds brought forward**
**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**|Unrestricted
funds
£
-
68,131
184
236
68,551
86
4,207
1,062
-
5,355
63,196
(35,000)
51,909
80,105|Restricted
funds
£
73,334
-
-
80
73,414
5,197
72,803
3,492
-
81,492
(8,077)
35,000
44,728
71,651|Year
Ended
Total funds
£
73,334
68,131
184
316
141,965
5,282
77,009
4,555
-
86,846
55,118
-
96,637
151,755|Year Ended
31.03.2022
Total funds
£
64,913
52,474
-
-| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||117,387
-
18,617
2,133
-| |||||20,750| |||||96,637
-
-| |||||96,637| ## **LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |**Monetary Assets**
Cash at Bank and in Hand
**Debtors**
Accounts Receivable
**Current Liabilities**
Accounts Payable|Unrestricted
funds
£
80,105
80,105
-
-
7,941
7,941|Restricted
funds
£
71,651
71,651
-
-
1,538
1,538|31.03.2023
Total
funds
£
151,755
151,755
-
-
9,479
9,479|31.03.2022
Total
funds
£
96,637| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||96,637| |||||-| |||||-| |||||1,323| |||||1,323| The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 17 November 2023 and were signed on its behalf by: K Taylor - Trustee N Walker - Trustee ## **LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **Basis of preparing the financial statements** The financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis. ## **2. GRANTS** |Grants - 21 Together
Grants - Awards for All
Grants - Arnold Clark
Grants - Albert Hunt
Grants - KCF - Friday
Grants - KCF Barrett
Grants - KCF/ KCC Digital
Grants - David Solomons
Grants - Groundwork/ Tesco
Grants - Marsh Charitable Trust
Grants - Philip & Connie Phillips
Grants - Cantiacorum
Grants - The Lawson Trust
**3.**
**DONATIONS**
Donations - 21 Together
Donations - Corporate
Donations - Fundraising Platform (was Enthuse)
Donations - Individuals (individuals)
Gift Aid
**4.**
**INTEREST**
Interest - CAF Account|31.03.2023
£
39,764
-
1,000
2,000
5,500
4,000
6,000
500
1,000
500
5,000
3,070
5,000
73,334
31.03.2023
£
-
191
14,982
50,345
2,614
68,131
31.03.2023
£
184
184|31.03.2022
£
54,982
9,931
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-| |---|---|---| |||64,913| |||31.03.2022
£
28,894
20,000
3,580
-
-| |||52,474| |||31.03.2022
£
-| |||-| ## **LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |**5.**
**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES INCOME**
Shop Product Sales
**6.**
**COST OF GENERATING FUNDS**
Fundraising Products Brought
Advertising & Marketing
**7.**
**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES EXPENDITURE**
Direct Wages
General Expenses
Pension Costs
Recruitment
Resource Creation
Staff Training
Travel - National
Venue Cost
Bought-in Services
**8.**
**MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COSTS**
Audit & Accountancy Fees
IP, Licence, Permissions
Website Maintenance
Bank Fees
IT Software & Consumables
Software Costs
Postage, Freight & Courier
Subscriptions
Insurance|31.03.2023
£
316
316
31.03.2023
£
31
5,251
5,282
31.03.2023
£
35,232
296
1,774
89
471
10
164
978
37,996
77,009
31.03.2023
£
1,313
44
418
72
-
-
23
2,201
483
4,555|31.03.2022
£
-| |---|---|---| |||-| |||31.03.2022
£
-
-| |||-| |||31.03.2022
£
9,161
-
264
142
225
75
-
408
8,342| |||18,617| |||31.03.2022
£
-
300
448
56
12
139
18
677
483| |||2,133| ## **LEARN AND THRIVE** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |**9.**
**RESTRICTED FUNDS**
Fund Name
21 Together
Awards for All
Arnold Clark
Albert Hunt
KCF - Friday
KCF Barrett
KCF / KCC Digital
David Solomons
LFL
Resource Creation
Groundwork/ Tesco
Marsh Charitable Trust
Phillip + Connie Phillips
Cantiacorum
The Lawson Trust|01.04.2022
Receipts
Payments
Transfers
£
£
£
£
36,297
39,764
(62,850)
-
8,431
-
(8,431)
-
-
1,000
(1,000)
-
-
2,000
(2,000)
-
-
5,500
-
-
-
4,000
-
-
-
6,000
(3,723)
-
-
500
(500)
-
-
-
-
35,000
-
80
-
-
-
1,000
-
-
-
500
-
-
-
5,000
(1,750)
-
-
3,070
(1,237)
-
-
5,000
-
-
44,728
73,414
(81,492)
35,000|31.03.2023
£
13,211
-
-
-
5,500
4,000
2,277
-
35,000
80
1,000
500
3,250
1,833
5,000| |---|---|---| |||71,651| During the year, £35,000 was transferred from unrestricted to LFL Restricted in order to fund the RSE Primary project. Charity Number: 1195053 Email: contact@learnandthrive.org.uk TEL: 01622 230781 ## Trustees during reporting period: **----- Start of picture text -----**
Name Date Appointed Date Stood Down Role
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**Name**|**Date Appointed**|**Date Stood Down**|**Role**| |---|---|---|---| ||||| |Nicola Walker|05 July 2021||Chair| |Kate Rosanna Taylor|22 September 2021||Treasurer| |Vikki Leach|05 July 2021|16 November 2022|Trustee| |Karen Michelle McGuigan|05 July 2021||Trustee| |Shilpa Bose|05 July 2021||Trustee| |Andrea Melanie Wilson|05 July 2021||Trustee| |Andreas Lundberg|25 January 2023||Trustee| |Sophie Evitts|25 January 2023||Trustee| The Key Management Personnel are the Trustees and the Chief Executive Offcier (CEO): Johanna Aiyathurai – CEO Registered Office: 265 Maidstone Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0HA Operational Address: MCSC, Marsham Street, Maidstone, ME14 1HH Independent Examiner: S R Sampson BFP FCA FCIE DChA, Ashdown Hurrey Auditors Limited, 20 Havelock Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1BP Bank: CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA Governance and Structure: Type of governing document Foundation Registered 05 July 2021 How the charity is constituted Foundation CIO Trustee selection methods Trustees are appointed by the existing Trustees **The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.** **Signed on behalf of the Trustees:** **Nicola Walker Chair** **Kate Taylor Treasurer** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Date: 17 November 2023
**----- End of picture text -----**