Trustees' Annual Report
| Trustees' Annual Report | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the period | March 2023- February 2024 | |
| From | 01/03/2023 To |
29/02/2024 |
| Section A | Reference and administration details | |
| Charity name | 1st Southwick Scout Group | |
| Other names the charity is known by | First Southwick Scout Group | |
| Registered charity number (if any) | 277465 | |
| Charity’s principal address | 7 Sandown Road | |
| Southwick | ||
| West Sussex | ||
| BN42 4HB | ||
| Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity and are registered with Charity regulator | ||
| Trustee Name | Office Appointed |
|
| Emily Nemeth | Chair November 2023 |
|
| Mark Noakes | Group Section Leader 2013 |
|
| Angela Rawson | Treasurer November 2022 |
|
| Julia Brown | Secretary November 2023 |
|
| Section B | Structure, governance and management | |
| Type of governing document | The Group's governing documents are those of the The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which gives | |
| authority of the Bye Laws of the Association. | ||
| The Policy, Organisation and Rules managed by The Scout Association are the rules each group must follow. | ||
| How the charity is constituted | The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts. | |
| Trustee selection methods | The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules | of The Scout Association. |
| (e.g. appointed by, elected by) | ||
| Additional governance information | The Group trustees are; The Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Group Section Leader. | |
| The Group Section Leader is responsible for the successful running of each of the Groups' Sections, of which there are four; | ||
| Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. | ||
| As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities and making returns to the | ||
| Charity Commission as appropriate. It is the role of the trustees to ensure; | ||
| - the safeguarding of members and adults | ||
| - the maintenance of group property | ||
| - the raising of funds and the administration of group finance | ||
| - the insurance of persons, property and equipment | ||
| - Group public occasions | ||
| - managing member records | ||
| - assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support | ||
| - appointing any sub committees that may be required | ||
| - appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected | ||
| In addition to the trustees the Group has a Group Executive Committee. The Executive Committee exists to support the | ||
| trustees in meeting their responsibilities of the appointments they are responsible for: The Executive Committee consist in | ||
| addition to the trustees, their role assistants plus representatives from each of the Sections. This could be the Section Leader, | ||
| Assistant Section Leader, Occasionner/Parent Helper or Young Leader. The Executive Committee meet once a month. | ||
| All members of the Executive Committee complete 'Essential Information for Executive Committee' training within the first 5 | ||
| months of joining the committee. |
| Risk and Internal Control | The Group Trust Board has identified the major risks to which they believe the Group is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them. The main areas of concern that have been identified are: Damage to the building, property and equipment. The Group would request the use of buildings, property and equipment from neighbouring organisations such as the church, community centre and other Scout Groups. Similar reciprocal arrangements exist with these organisations. The Group has sufficient buildings and contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss. Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members. The Group through the capitation fees contributes to the Scout Association's national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all activities. Reduced income from fundraising. The Group is primarily reliant upon income from subscriptions and fundraising. The group holds a reserve to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income to allow time to reassess needs and actions. Reduction or loss of leaders. The group is totally reliant on volunteers to run and administer the activities of the group. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or the group as a whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst case scenario the complete closure of the Group. The groups has a continuous recruitment process and leaders help across multiple sections, alongside requesting parent helpers. Reduction or loss of members. The Group provides activities for all young people aged between 4 and 18. If there was a reduction in membership in a particular section or the group as whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst case scenario the complete closure of the Group. The group has a waiting list for members. Financial Mismanagement The Group has in place systems of internal controls defined within our Financial and Expenses policy that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, by setting different approval levels depending of the expenditure. The accounts are collated within the rules of the Charity Commissioner and Scouts Policy Organisation and Rules. The 'in-flight' accounts are shared and discussed with the trustees at every Trustee Board meeting and end of year accounts are independently reviewed at least every 3 years. Comprehensive insurance policies are purchased to ensure that insurable risks are covered. |
|---|---|
| Section C | |
| Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document |
The Purpose of Scouting Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. We are an educating charity. The Values of Scouting As Scouts we are guided by these values: Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal. Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others. Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live. Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes. Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we cooperate with others and make friends. The Scout Method Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting, these are; - enjoy what they are doing and have fun - take part in activities indoors and outdoors - learn by doing - share in spiritual reflection - take responsibility and make choices - undertake new and challenging activities - make and live by their Promise. |
| Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects |
We are a grassroot organisation supporting local children in the Southwick (BN42) and surrounding areas to attend weekly term time section meetings where they get the opportunity to work on the tasks required to complete the activities associated with a badge. These activities are defined by The Scout Association and are age appropriate. Once the child meets the all the tasks they are presented with the badge which is displayed on their uniform. Our motto is learn by doing. A number of external events, outings, overnight stays and camping trips are arranged throughout the year for the young people to partake in, to help develop their skills, independence and confidence. |
| Public benefit statement | The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings. |
| Section D Achievements and performance |
Achievements and performance
Section D
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year |
The Group is financially stable with a turnover of nearly £55K. This financial year we went into profit with our income exceeding our expenditure by £469.03. The group membership is still growing with now over 80 children and young adults attending regularly. We are still looking for more permanent adult volunteers to join the group. We have introduced a parent helpers rota and have increased the number of parent helpers who have passed DBS checks and completed their safeguarding training. This enables them to get involved in more events and off premises activities where our risks assessments have highlighted additional adult supervision is required. We are recognised and appreciated within the local community for our fundraising and attending community lead events. To honour us the group was nominated and won a local 'best local charity' award' and received a £200 donation. Our community fundraising activities have been successful and we have the pleasure of purchasing 3 heart defibrillator. Two will be installed for local community use, one at our HQ and the other a mile or so away at a freehold public house. The third is a mobile device which can be used when camping or at other external events. We also contributed funds to help purchase a heart defibrillator at the Adur Valley District camping facilities in Hillside Henfield. We have also been fundraising to replace our old camping equipment, this activity has begun with the purchase of 3 new stoves. |
|---|---|
| Section E Financial Review |
|
| Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves |
The Group's policy is to hold sufficient reserves to continue the charitable activities of the group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The reserves have been set at £3000. |
| Additional Financial Information where relevant, about: • the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); • how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; • investment policy and objectives; |
- Our Income is via membership subscriptions, fundraising activities and the private hire of the above named property, unfortunately our private hire income stream has had to ceased and we haven't rented out the property since October 2023. - The Group's finances are managed so that we do not hold a huge surplus. Our income is invested into the Group for the benefit of all its members, as a consequence we do not have sufficient funds to invest in longer-term investments such as stocks and shares. The Group has therefore adopted a low risk strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies. - The property as shown in Section A has been valued with a resale amount of £350-£400K based on current market conditions and has a rebuild value estimated of £500K. - The money raised via membership subscription goes towards our capitation fee, running the section programmes, buying material, purchasing achievement badges and keeping the building we use in good working order and comfortable. - We have invested in some property improvements mainly on the outside of the building with new signage, showing pride in the group and advertising scouting to our community. - As the team frequently support each other and get involved in other aspects of scouting and not just confided to our official roles it was important that the children could easily identify us. We have invested in 1st Southwick branded named uniforms and these are provided to all role based adult volunteers and young leaders and are worn when on any official business. - We have seen a staging 140%+ increase in our utilities & insurance costs since 2022 as our membership has grown within this time period we have managed to weather this storm, (for now). |
| Section F Other Optional Information |
Other Optional Information
Section F
Plans for future periods
OSM System Transition
- We are going to transition over the next 12 month from bank transfers/standing order payments to using the capabilities of the Online Scouting Management system (OSM). This will aid payments for membership and other events, ie camping. It will reduce the time needed managing the day to day finances and reduce errors. The time gained can then be spent on other improvements. It will allow parents and section leaders to self serve and bring 1st Southwick in-line with the other Scouting Groups. It also means we can reduce where personal information is held to mitigate our GDPR risks.
Income
-
We have applied for a grant from Adur District Council to install air conditioning throughout the building allowing us to be comfortable throughout the summer months and remove the need to have the doors open, which could potentially disturb our neighbours. We are awaiting their decision whether we have been successful or not.
-
We will register for gift aid this year and submit our first claim, this is now essential as we have lost our rental hire income.
-
The group is growing and there are a number of children on our waiting list. It is therefore the intention of the group to start up a new Cubs section, who will meet on a Monday night. We will apply for a 'New Section' grant of £500 to help with the initial expense of creating this new section. Fundraising - We have scheduled a weekend in December 2024 to fundraise at our local Tescos. The money raised will be to replace old and damaged camping equipment with new modern versions. - We plan on holding at least two other fundraising events, probably bingo nights for the local community with cash prizes. It is undecided at the moment the fundraising cause.
-
Each of the sections will set themselves a fundraising target and by doing various sponsored activities will work towards this goal throughout the year. The money they raise will be for the benefit their own section.
-
As our new uniforms have been a great success we want to sell 1st Southwick branded camp blankets/ponchos to our members. This we believe will be a practical item and a great keepsake to hold all non uniform achieved badges. We will adverting it to parents/carers as suggestion for birthday or christmas presents. Accounting Period - Our accounting period current runs from 1st of March to the end of February, however this makes us out of step with the other Scouting groups within Adur Valley District, therefore we have agreed with the District Treasurer that this years accounting period will be 13 months, this will ensure we have the same account period as the other groups within the district by the end of 2025/2026. Helping Out Fund - We wanted to make sure that finance alone wasn't a barrier for our members taking part in the full section programme or extracurricular activities, so we have created a 'Helping Out' fund where parents and carers can make a request to the Treasurer and/or Trustee Board for financial aid. Our financial policy has been updated to reflect the change and includes the governance / eligibility of this fund. Not all help offered will be 'financial'. Membership Fees - Our main source of income is our membership fees unfortunately not all our members have paid their subscriptions regularly, we were owed £1760 in subscription for this financial year. We have introduced a process where parent/carers who are in arrears are contacted by the Section Leaders, if finance aid is needed we will consider this, however just non payment is not acceptable and as a group with a waiting list we will start to enforce our financial policy with regards to non payment, which could result in the child being asked to leave.
-
There were also very lengthy elapsed time between the children joining the group and being invested. The trial period should only be 4 weeks however this is broken quite frequently. As a rule membership fees are not collected until the child has been invested. It is one of our objectives this year to activity invest children on week 5 and start collecting membership fees from that date.
-
It has been noticed that a barrier to a child being invested is the purchase of the appropriate section uniform. As a uniform organisation the child shouldn't be invested until they are in uniform. We are therefore going to mitigate this particular issue by holding our own stock of tops for each section which the parents/carer can purchase directly from us. Hopefully this will speed the enrolment and make it easily for the parents/carers.
-
Our membership fees have not increased for at least 5 years, so we wanted to review the fees, programme expenses and where we ask parent/carers to make extra payments to partake in the section programme. Due to the sections varying age ranges, the nature of the different programmes on offer and our determination to ensure the quality of the section programmes are maintained, we need to increase Cubs & Scouts membership fee by £2.00 per month, therefore subscriptions from May 2024 will increase to £16.00 for these sections, there will be no change in subscription fees for Squirrels & Beavers.
-
By increasing the subscriptions in these sections we are hoping that we can eliminate some/all of the extra payments parents/careers are asked to contribute in order for their child to participate in the sections' programme. Extracurricular activities i.e camping will still incur additional costs.
Property Improvement Equipment Replacement
-
If our air conditioning grant application is unsuccessful we will proceed with purchasing our own freestanding units.
-
We are planning on installing CCTV across the site to boost our security.
-
Within our group we have 2 firearm licence instructors, who teach not only our members but other members throughout the district. The rifles they use to do the training are owned by 1st Southwick, these rifles are coming to end of life and need replacing. This needs to be actioned before the spring for safety reasons.
-
The printer in the office is old, inefficient and expensive to run and we have had a few problems with it recently. We are therefore going to replace it with a new 4 in 1 printer . The running costs will be reduced as well as the ink cartridge replacements..
Section G
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above
| Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees | Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees | Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees | Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Office (Role) | Signature | Date |
| Emily Nemeth | Chair | Physical signature obtained at AGM. | 24 April 2024 |
| Mark Noakes | Group Section Leader | Physical signature obtained at AGM. | 24 April 2024 |
| Angela Rawson | Treasurer | Physical signature obtained at AGM. | 24 April 2024 |
| Julia Brown | Secretary | Physical signature obtained at AGM. | 24 April 2024 |
1st Southwick Scout Group Balance Sheet
| MONETARY ASSETS | 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Bank account Cash in hand |
£0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £10,840.14 £15,893.11 £16,325.43 £0.00 £0.00 £36.71 £10,840.14 £15,893.11 £16,362.14 2.95% £0.00 £0.00 £500.00 £0.00 £500.00 £322.70 £707.15 £1,917.11 £1,114.43 £0.00 £0.00 £3,000.00 £707.15 £2,417.11 £4,937.13 104.26% |
|
| Total Assets | £10,840.14 £15,893.11 £16,362.14 |
|
| Helping out fund Grant Restricted funds HQ Reserve |
£0.00 £0.00 £500.00 £0.00 £500.00 £322.70 £707.15 £1,917.11 £1,114.43 £0.00 £0.00 £3,000.00 |
|
| £707.15 £2,417.11 £4,937.13 |
||
| TOTAL NET ASSETS | £10,132.99 £13,476.00 £11,425.01 |
15.22% |
| ACCUMULATED FUND | 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
|
| Accumulated fund brought forward Net district income expenditure for yr |
£12,358.13 £10,840.14 £15,893.11 -£1,517.99 £5,052.97 £469.03 |
2.95% |
| £10,840.14 £15,893.11 £16,362.14 |
||
| EXPENDITURE/INCOME | 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
|
| 130.31% 63.86% |
||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR | £6,283.57 £11,752.54 £27,067.75 |
|
| TOTAL INCOME FOR YEAR | £4,765.58 £16,805.51 £27,536.78 |
|
| EXCESS INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE | -£1,517.99 £5,052.97 £469.03 |
|
| EXPENDITURE | 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
|
| Membership Subscription Capitation Fee |
£1,495.00 £3,220.00 £3,685.50 |
|
| £1,495.00 £3,220.00 £3,685.50 |
||
| Sundry items Badges Scarfs & Uniforms |
£190.35 £0.00 £1,241.18 £157.54 £0.00 £1,021.40 |
|
| £347.89 £0.00 £2,262.58 |
||
| Activites Section Programme Camps Outings |
£0.00 £0.00 £1,601.04 £0.00 £2,835.00 £6,391.08 £0.00 £0.00 £1,042.82 |
|
| £0.00 £2,835.00 £9,034.94 |
||
| HQ Expenditure Equipment Maintenance Utilities |
£179.97 £0.00 £966.00 £0.00 £0.00 £603.45 £2,149.80 £1,540.80 £3,729.73 |
|
| £2,329.77 £1,540.80 £5,299.18 |
||
| Donations/Grants/Other Grant Loans |
| Donations | £0.00 £0.00 £3,764.14 |
£0.00 £0.00 £3,764.14 |
£0.00 £0.00 £3,764.14 |
£0.00 £0.00 £3,764.14 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reward & Recognition Refunds Misc Bank Charges |
£0.00 £0.00 £1,444.60 £0.00 £0.00 £146.00 £277.54 £2,656.71 £447.99 £0.00 £0.00 £305.51 £2,110.91 £4,156.74 £6,785.55 63.24% |
||||
| £2,110.91 £4,156.74 £6,785.55 |
|||||
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR | £6,283.57 £11,752.54 £27,067.75 |
130.31% | |||
| INCOME | 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 |
||||
| Membership Subscription Joining Fees 1st Southwick Group Squirrels Beavers Cubs Scouts |
£0.00 £80.00 £240.00 £2,749.00 £7,350.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £1,470.00 £0.00 £0.00 £2,104.00 £0.00 £0.00 £4,592.00 £0.00 £0.00 £3,164.00 |
55.72% 100.00% 218.94% -21.34% 21.45% |
|||
| £2,749.00 £7,430.00 £11,570.00 |
|||||
| Sundray Items Badges Scarfs & Uniforms |
£0.00 £0.00 £7.50 £0.00 £0.00 £67.00 |
||||
| £0.00 £0.00 £74.50 |
|||||
| Activites Camps Outings Section Programme |
£0.00 £2,525.00 £6,963.59 £0.00 £306.00 £999.79 £0.00 £0.00 £1,128.80 |
||||
| £0.00 £2,831.00 £9,092.18 |
|||||
| HQ income Rental hire |
£0.00 £2,683.00 £2,110.36 |
||||
| £0.00 £2,683.00 £2,110.36 |
|||||
| Donations/Grants/Other Grant Donations/Fundraising Refunds Misc/Assets sold Bank Cashback/Interest |
£0.00 £500.00 £0.00 £707.15 £2,716.66 £3,833.45 £0.00 £0.00 £231.03 £1,309.43 £642.00 £609.64 £0.00 £2.85 £15.62 |
||||
| £2,016.58 £3,861.51 £4,689.74 |
|||||
| TOTAL INCOME FOR YEAR | £4,765.58 £16,805.51 £27,536.78 |
63.86% | |||
| Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees | |||||
| Full Name | Office (Role) | Signature | Date | ||
| Emily Nemeth | Chair | Physical signature | 24 April 2024 | ||
| Angela Rawson | Treasurer | Physical signature | 24 April 2024 | ||
| Debra Venour | Auditor | Physical signature | 24 April 2024 |
Scrutineers Report to the Trustees of the
1 st Southwick Scout Group
I report on the accounts of the Group for the year ended 29th February 2024.
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Scrutineer
As the Group’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that neither the audit nor independent examination requirements of the Charities Act 2011 apply. It is my responsibility without carrying out an audit or independent examination to scrutinise the accounts and to report to you.
Basis of Scrutineers Statement
In accordance with the directions given in the Group's constitution, I have scrutinised the records and the accounts.
Scrutineer's Statement
In my opinion the accounts are in accordance with the records produced to me and comply with the constitution.
Name: Debra Venour (Auditor & District Treasurer) approved prior to AGM Date: 20/04/2024 via email/digital signature
Name: Emily Nemeth (Chair)confirmed at AGM Date: 24/04/2024
Name: Mark Noakes (Trustee)confirmed at AGM Date: 24/04/2024
Name: Julia Brown (Secretary)confirmed at AGM Date: 24/04/2024
Name: Angela Rawson (Treasurer & Author) confirmed at AGM Date: 24/04/2024