## **BFCA AGM Chair Report – May 2026** ## **Chair’s Overview of the Year 2025–2026** The BFCA Committee has comprised Mark Pennington-Field (Chair), Helen Alridge and Claire Cains (Gueye) (Vice Chairs), with Claire Cains (Gueye) also undertaking the role of Treasurer. We have also established a sub-committee consisting of Gary Lovegrove, Paula Morris, Natalie Jones, Steve Thornhill, Kerrie McDonald and Andrea Warnes. The past year has been one of the busiest and most transformative in the Charity’s history. We have experienced a number of committee changes and introduced new roles, prompting a period of reflection and a strategic reset to ensure we are best positioned for the future. At the same time, we welcomed Helen Alridge as Vice Chair, whose professional expertise, alongside her lived experience as a Kinship Carer, has brought a fresh and valuable perspective to the committee. A key outcome of this review was the decision to appoint two Vice Chairs rather than one. This has enabled a more balanced distribution of responsibilities and strengthened leadership support across the organisation. The support team has also undergone significant change. We are, however, delighted to welcome Andrea Warnes back to the committee, bringing additional strength to the team. Over the course of the year, we have said goodbye to several long-standing members, including Georgina Morgan, Marie Bowden and Yvonne Harrison, whose contributions to support have been invaluable. Our support provision has evolved considerably, with a new support structure now in place and a comprehensive policy soon to be introduced. We believe this will significantly enhance the level of service we provide to carers. Over the past year, we have supported a total of 47 carers - an exceptional increase on previous years. While many cases required lower-level support, each was nonetheless meaningful and important to those involved. In addition, we managed 11 intensive support cases, reflecting the depth and complexity of need within our community. Claire Cains (Gueye) and fellow committee members worked collaboratively with the service to secure modest increases to fostering allowances for the 2026–2027 financial year, as well as to address and rectify some previous errors. Claire will continue to work with the service over the coming year to seek improved financial arrangements for our foster carers, helping ensure carers feel supported in their role and strengthening carer retention. We were fortunate to receive funding from the Service, along with additional support from The Nisbet Trust. This funding has enabled us to deliver a wide range of memorable experiences for carers and their children, including Christmas parties, the Santa Train, and trips to Puxton Park, Cadbury World and Crealy. We have also successfully established a fully operational Hippodrome ticket service, allowing us to purchase tickets on behalf of the charity and offer them to carers and their children at a significantly reduced cost. Our community partnerships continue to thrive, with sustained memberships at Puxton Park, Bristol Zoo Project, SS Great Britain and We The Curious. This year alone, we have provided 187 tickets to Puxton Park and an impressive 347 tickets to Bristol Zoo Project, demonstrating the scale of engagement and benefit to our families. We strengthened our Diversity and Inclusion offering this year, hosting both an Eid Celebration and an African/Caribbean Celebration. Our fostering families embraced these events with kindness, generosity and enthusiasm. Together, we celebrated diversity, cultures and religions; we crafted, danced, laughed, learned new instruments and enjoyed incredible, authentic food, kindly provided by foster carers and the local community. We left with a deeper sense of community, and our children gained valuable experiences that broadened their understanding of and participation in the world around them. In addition, the BFCA social programme has expanded considerably. We have increased the number of events we offer, including tea parties, social gatherings, quizzes and bingo sessions. Our regular online raffles have also proven extremely popular among carers. Special thanks go to Gary and Yvonne for their dedication and creativity in driving this aspect of our work forward. Raffles on our Facebook Group have been a massive hit bringing in some funds to this section which has then put back into further social events. We are also looking at increasing our funding into the charity from other sources like we do with The Nisbet Trust, which further enhances the social experience for our carers and their families. Our Youth Club provision continues to go from strength to strength, and we are pleased to have secured funding from Bristol City Council for a further year. The sessions remain well attended and are expertly overseen by Gary Lovegrove. One of our standout achievements this year was the BFCA Pantomime, held on 6 December 2025 at Bristol Beacon. The event played to a full house and provided a unique and inclusive opportunity for Children in Care and their birth family peers to participate in something truly special - an experience that many of our children may not otherwise have had the confidence or opportunity to access. My sincere thanks go to George Field for writing and directing the production, and to the many foster carers who contributed both on stage and behind the scenes. We are also grateful to Bristol Beacon for their support in making this event such a huge success. In conclusion, none of what BFCA has achieved this year would have been possible without the continued support of the fostering service, and most importantly, the dedication of our carers. Your commitment to the children you support, and your engagement with BFCA, is at the heart of everything we do. I would also like to extend my deepest thanks to all committee members, past and present. Your hard work, dedication, skills and unwavering passion have been instrumental in enabling BFCA to grow and thrive. Each of you has made a meaningful contribution, and your efforts are both recognised and deeply appreciated. **Warmest wishes,** Mark Pennington-Field BFCA Chairperson ## **Bristol Foster Carers Association (283305) Receipts and Payments Accounts (Cash Basis)** ||**01/04/2025 to 31/03/2026**|**01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025**| |---|---|---| |Opening Balance|£20,204|£14,486| |Closing Balance|£20,161|£20,204| |**Receipts**||| |Donation from Bristol City Council|£15,150|£18,500| |Grant from The Nisbet Trust|£5,000|£6,000| |Fundraising|£269|£330| |Bleed Kits Donations|-|£10,320| |Knife Crime Training|£3,216|£750| |Raffles|£1,424|£1,585| |BFCA Panto|£940|£1,196| |Income from Community Membership|£630|-| |Income from Trips|£2,450|£2,637| |Income from Theatre Trips|£4,777|£1,810| |Income from Events|£786|£697| |Income from BFCA Social|£361|-| |BFCA Meetings|£8|-| |Other|-|£57| |**Total Receipts**|**£35,011**|**£43,882**| |**Payments**||| |Grants Research|-|£135| |Bleed Kits|£1,620|£8,636| |Knife Crime Training|-|£4,102| |Raffles|£95|£168| |BFCA Panto|£243|£235| |Community Membership|£252|-| |Trips|£9,669|£9,726| |Theatre Trips|£11,619|£7,623| |Events|£6,061|£4,340| |BFCA Social|£2,629|-| |Youth Club|-|£1,383| |BFCA Meetings|£1,804|£1,268| |Printing / Stationery|£211|£90| |Gifts|£161|£435| |Travel|£38|£23| |Other|£628|-| |**Total Payments**|**£35,030**|**£38,164**| |**Net Surplus / (Deficit)**|**(£19)**|**£5,718**| Independent Examiner's Report (HARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the tru8t•e8 RISTOL FOSTER CARERS ASSOCIATION On accounts for the year ended harlty no Irf any) 2833( 31 MARCH 2026 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my exarnination of the accounts of the abDve charity (Yhe Trust") for the year ended 3110312026. Responslbllltles and basls of report As charity's trustee$, you are ￿SponsIble forthe preparation of the accounts in accordance wth the requiremÈrnts of the Charities Ara 2011 I'the Ad"). I reFK*I Sn respect of my exafflination of the Trust's accoynts carried out under se¢ion 145 of the 2011 AGt and in carrying OLrt my examination. I have followed all the applicable D1￿CtionS given by the Charity Commission under sedion 145(5llbl of Act. Indèpèndent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material rn8tters have examinerfs 3tatement come to my attentK)n in ¢onnection with the examination whiGh give5 rne cause to Lklieve that in. any material respe¢t'. the accounting recofds were not kept in accordan￿ with se¢tion 130 of the Charities Act.. or the arxounts did not accord wth the accounting ￿cords." or the accounts did not comply wth the applicable wuirements ¢on¢eming the fO￿n and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Repottsl Regulations 2008 otherthan any requirement that the ac￿)untS gwe a Yrue and fairf viewwhi¢h 1$ not a matter conSide￿d as part of an independent examination. I have no ¢oncem$ and have ¢¢me a¢ross no other matters in Connection wrth the examination to which attention should be drawn in thls report in order to enable a proper understanding ofthe accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: 231￿￿2028 Name: GEMIAA LOUISE HARRIS Ro18vant profe88ional qual*fiGationlsl or body lif anyl: ICAEW Addre￿. 2 RISCA ROAD. NEWPORT, NP20 4JW Section 8 Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to hwhlight Tnaterial matters of concem Isee CC32, IndekEndent examination of charity a¢¢ounts. direct10Tr5 and guidance for examinersl. Giv• h•r• briof dotall• of •ny Ittyms th•t tho examthnorwi•h￿ to dlac1088.