2023-10-31-accounts - The Sensory Place

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The Sensory Place Report and Financial Statements Year Ended 31 October 2023

Contents	Page
Legal and administrative information	3
Report of the Management Committee	4-7
Report of the Independent examiner	8
Statement of Financial Activities	9-12
Notes to the financial statements	13-14

The Sensory Place

Report of the Trustees

Year ended 31 October 2023

Legal and administrative information

Board of Trustees Ann Young Amy Henderson Louise Monaghan Helen Abernethy Rebecca Follesa Registered Address 6 Bedford Place Silksworth Sunderland SR3 1LA Independent Examiner Kevin Bell Accountancy Direct Jeffries House South Ramshaw Blanchland DH8 9XA

Trustees Annual Report

The trustees present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 October 2023.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Sensory Place is a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales since 27 September 2021, charity number 1195932. The Sensory Place is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

Public benefit statement

The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit as published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. In setting our objectives and planning activities our Trustees have given consideration to the public benefit and in particular to the relief of the needs of children and young people with additional needs and disabilities.

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the CIO is:

To relieve the needs of children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in the North East of England by providing a support network in the form of support groups, sensory friendly activities, training courses, facilities for play, sport and recreation in a safe, secure and non-judgemental environment.
To promote social inclusion amongst parents/carers who are socially isolated or excluded as a result of their child’s condition by providing information, advice, guidance, practical support and recreational facilities in order to promote their life conditions.

Vision

Our vision is that all children no matter what their disability have the same opportunities for play, recreation and fun as their non-disabled peers and that they are free to be able to be themselves.

Mission

Our mission is to provide inclusive and accessible activities for all children with additional needs and disabilities and to give them opportunities they may not otherwise have. We also endeavour to support the whole family by providing family friendly activities and training and information sessions for parents and carers as well as opportunities for them to be relieved of the caring responsibilities even for a short period.

We will do this by:

researching appropriate, family friendly activities that are inclusive to all.
Speaking to our families to find out what they would like to do.
Recognise the contribution and sacrifices that siblings and other family members make and welcoming them to activities.
Provide safe spaces, free from judgement where families can come together to relax and make friends.
Provide a wide range of things to do. We aim to offer activities where there is something for everyone to choose from.
Remove age and location barriers to activities. Where funding dictates that certain ages or locations are specified. We will utilise other funding to ensure that families who fall out of these brackets can still attend.
Signpost families to other organisations where they can receive the support they need.
Offering activities at a subsidised rate or for free.
Providing training sessions to give parent carers information, advice and guidance on a range of subjects that will make their parenting journey easier.

The Team

The Sensory Place is supported by a team of passionate trustees and volunteers. The trustees all live and work in the areas in which they serve and also have first-hand, lived experience of raising a child with additional needs and/or disabilities. This gives trustees a unique perspective and an understanding of the challenges that families accessing the charity face as well having the knowledge to be able to provide the right type of support.

Achievements and Performance

The Sensory Place is a family friendly organisation who want to make a difference. We understand how difficult it can be for families to come together and enjoy activities when there is a child or children within the family who is unable to access mainstream activities. We believe that every child should be able to be their authentic selves and have fun in a way that is meaningful to them. With this in mind, we regularly speak to our families to find out what activities they have enjoyed in the past, what they would like to do in the future and any suggestions they can make so we can continue to improve upon what we do.

Throughout the year we have also been able to offer a wide range of activities due to receiving grants and donations. We are extremely grateful to all funders and people who have donated to us to enable us to be able to carry out our objectives.

Due to receiving such generous donations we have been able to increase our range of activities as well as being able to introduce regular monthly activities of swimming and soft play

Some of the other activities we have done include forest school sessions, science sessions, watersports, gymnastics, cooking sessions and craft and play sessions. One of our biggest events of the year was a family fun day to celebrate the coronation of King Charles in ways that were meaningful to each family. We had a wide variety of activities for the whole family to enjoy,

including a bubbleologist, circus skills, birds of prey, crafts and messy play and a silent disco. One of the highlights of the day was when a real fire engine turned up and the children were able to meet the fire fighters and have a go with some of the equipment. We also hosted a sensory friendly firework party for Bonfire Night to enable children who want to see fireworks but struggle with the noise of fireworks to be able to do so in a safe and quiet environment.

In addition to activities for the whole family, we also introduced our ‘Caring for Carers’ project following feedback about how socially isolating and draining being a carer can be. This project includes providing carer only craft activities, mindfulness sessions, swimming sessions and holistic therapies to help ease some of the stresses that parent carers often feel as well as improving support networks.

Below is an example of some of the activities we have offered which show how much our children and families enjoy what we have to offer.

THE SE S(RY PLACE

Independent Examinerfs Report CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to thè trusteosl members of The Sensory Place On accounts for the year ended 31 Octobei 2023 Charity no lif anyl 1195932 Set out on pag8s I report to the trustees on my examSnatlon of the accounts of the above charity l.the Trust") for the ye31 ended 3111012023. Responsibilities and As the chaiity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible lor the preparation basls of r8port ol the accounts In accordance with the requlrements of the Charlties Act 2011 1.the Act"}. I report in resped of my examination of the Trust's aw)unt5 Gartied out undei section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under sectlon 14515llbl ol the Act. I have cornpleted my examination. I conflrrn that no material matters have come to my attentlon lother than that dlsclosed below'l In connectlon wlth the examin3tion which gives me caLJse to believe that in, any material respect.. accounllng records were not kept In accordance wllh secllon 130 of the Act or the a¢¢ounls do not a¢¢ord with the accounllng records Independent examinerfs ststement I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Pl8ase dglgtg thg words in th8 brackgts rfthoy do not appty. Signed: Date: 21108124 Name: K BELL ACCOUNTANCY DIRECT LTD Company Name: Address: JEFFRIES HOUSE SOUTH, RAMSHAW, BLANCHL4ND, DH8 9XA

Accounts

Receipts and Payments Accounts

From 01/11/22 – 31/10/23

A3Pa ments Events anaAthvibes 9.809 17A58 27367 43 2,076 1,929 EquipmenlPuichased Room Hire 119 227 45 45 471 35 13T 521 Insurance Athertising and Markebng 471 404 1.154 1,154 300 32 192 72 stationery and Poslaoe 20 144 36 18Q Accountanry IOD Expens&S 187 RÈTunas RÈlreshmenls 78 78 Sub toral 13A40 19,51 32,950 23,048 A4 A55•t and inv95tmgnt pur¢has•s,1599 tabl•l Sub zotai Toialpayments 13A40 19,510 32.950 23.048 Ner of receipt51(paymentsJ AS Transfers bett¥een funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this yearend 2,525 11,059 ID,2QO 14,519 23,113 7,141 10,212 22,326 33.385 12,126 22,326 io

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

From 01/11/22 – 31/10/23

The notes on pages 13-14 form an integral part of these accounts.

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 22/08/24 and are signed on its behalf by:

Helen Abernethy Treasurer

Notes to Accounts

1. Legal Status of the Charity

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and the liability of trustees is limited.

2. Accounting Policies

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

These financial statements are prepared in Sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts are rounded to the nearest £1.

Preparation of accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees have reviewed the cash flow forecasts and there is a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue its operations for at least the next twelve months and on this basis the trustees consider that the charity is a going concern.

Fund accounting – Unrestricted and restricted funds

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.

Restricted funds are given for a specific and further details are provided in the notes below.

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance oof the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designed for other purposes.

Reserves

The purpose of the reserve policy is to ensure the stability of the ongoing operations of the charity by providing an internal source of funds should there be an unanticipated loss in funding, an unbudgeted expense or an unexpected increase in expenses.

The Reserves Policy is to retain enough unrestricted funds at any given time to support twelve months core costs. This is estimated to be approximately £8000.

This leaves approximately £15000 in free reserves to be used for any purpose to help the charity achieve its aims.

Trustees Remuneration

The trustees give freely their time and expertise and do not receive remuneration for this. Expenses, for travel, were paid to trustees to the value of £129.84. Remaining expenses were paid to a volunteer, for travel, to the value for £56.95 for the year.

3. Analysis of Income

i) Grants - Restricted


Name of Grant Local Giving The National Lottery County Durham Community Foundation (PovertyHurts) County Durham Community Foundation (Caringfor Carers) Tesco(Groundworks) Sport England (Sport for All) Total	Amount Received
	500
	2800
	2000
	5000
	250
	8050
	18600

ii) Income from Government Contracts

Name	Amount Received
Durham CountyCouncil	3435.36
Total	3435.36

iii) Other Donations - Unrestricted

Name	Donation Amount
John AbernethyMemory	355
Other donations	10410.21

Total	10765.21

iv) Income from Charitable Activities

Name	Amount
Events and Activities	10238.79
Memberships	970
Total	11208.79