**Annual report for Friends of Springfield House** 

## **for the period** 

## **01/03/2024 to 31/03/2025** 

**Charity Name:** Friends of Springfield House 

## **Registration Number:** 1207281 

**Trustees** :  Mrs Helen Hayward 

Mrs Clare Hood 

Ms Rachel Palmer 

Daisy Scott 

Friends of Springfield House have four trustees who meet quarterly to discuss how the charity’s activities for that period, what grants have been applied for, if any have been successful and what this money is ringfenced for/to be spent on and to agree the accounts. 

Any of the trustee can apply for grants.  Three trustees have access to the charity bank account, and all payments must be authorised by two trustees.  Trustees are recruited through word of mouth and must have an understanding of children and young people who suffer from significant social, emotional and mental health difficulties and its effects on their lives. 

As a charity, our aim is to increase the positive outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children in Birmingham, Solihull, Warwickshire & Coventry who have a disability and/or suffer from adverse life experiences who attend Springfield House school. Springfield House is a Birmingham maintained special school for 5 to 11 year old children who suffer from significant social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The children have disabilities including Autism, A.D.H.D, attachment disorders/difficulties, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) and trauma. 

Our objectives are to raise funds, mainly through receiving grants to provide desperately needed resources such as sensory equipment, safe indoor spaces (deescalation/sensory rooms) and outside spaces with appropriate play equipment. In addition,  we hope to be able to provide the school with sufficient funds through grants to employ a full-time family support worker, as well as much needed therapeutic services such as play, art therapy and bereavement counselling. 

This first year we have been successful in securing a grant to provide a deescalation/sensory room within the ‘Lodge’ area of the school which has been successfully access daily by multiple children. We have also created a ‘Family Hub’ within the ground of the school using an abandoned residential worker flat where parents/carers and professionals are now able to meet in pleasant, homelike surroundings, away from the school environment. We cleared, painted and obtained donated furniture to create a welcoming lounge area, kitchen, an office space/room for the future family support worker, and a room where visiting professionals i.e. paediatrician and school nurse can meet with children and their families. We have also created an enclosed garden area, with the kind donation of fencing panels from 



EH Smith, which we hope to turn into a tranquillity garden for families and groups to use. 

In addition to this we have also secured donations of sensory toys, Christmas presents and food parcels from a variety of sources including: the Salvation Army, Pathfinder, Aspire People and Milestones Education. With the support of the wonderful Dave Claridge, from ‘The Notables’ (charity number 1072700) we hosted a family Christmas concert where the majority of families attended and over thirty children were able to showcase their musical talents to their families. 

Financially, this during this period we were successful in securing a grant from Birmingham Airport Community Fund which provided the funds for the afore mentioned deescalation/sensory room.  We have received two cheque donations of £650 which we have not yet allocated so remain in the charities bank. 



**Income & Expenditure Account to 31/03/202** 

## **Friends Of Springfield House** 

|**Receipts**<br>Grants Received - Birmingham Airport<br>Donations<br>Bank Interest<br>**Total Income**<br>**Expenditure**<br>Cheque Drawn Grant expenditure - Bham Airport<br>Cheque Drawn Grant expenditure - Bham Airport<br>Bank Charges<br>**Total Expenditure**<br>Cash Funds Net of Receipts & Payments<br>Represented by cash at bank as at 31.3.25|**£**<br>4932.71<br>650<br>3.95<br>**5586.66**<br>2466.36<br>2466.36<br>51.5<br>**4984.22**<br>**602.44**|
|---|---|
||**602.44**|