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A haven for play
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2023-2024
## **Annual Trustee’s Report and Financial Statements**
Coram's Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground | Registered Charity Number : 302963
## **Contents**
## **Annual Trustee’s Report**
|Message from our Chair and CEO|1|
|---|---|
|Our Year at a Glance|3|
|Our Highlights|7|
|Our Community Spaces|11|
|Our Community Services|13|
|Partnership and Collaboration|21|
|Demonstrating Impact|22|
|Commitment to Safeguarding|22|
|Financial Review|24|
|Structure, Governance & Management|30|
|**Auditor’s Report**|35|
|**Financial Statements**||
|Statement of Financial Activities|38|
|Balance Sheet|39|
|Statement of Cashflows|40|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|41|
## Trustee’s Report
Registered Charity Number : 302963 | 93 Guildford Street WC1N 1DN | 020 3384 2203
## **Message from our Chair and CEO**
## **Welcome to Coram’s Fields Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year 2023-2024.**
Coram’s Fields’ mission is to have a positive impact on the lives of children and young people in Central London by providing a safe sanctuary and delivering a range of community services in response to local needs.
2023/24 saw many of our families continue to feel the strain of the cost-of-living crisis, placing even greater pressure on our free community services, and offering a reminder of the importance of our park and green spaces, in providing families with much needed respite and recreation.
Investment in our park and facilities was a significant focus during the year. The growth of our gardening volunteer programme led to further improvements to our green spaces, boosted by some new funding and support from 580 corporate volunteers. We also embarked on some significant capital projects, completing over £70,000 worth of restoration work to our Grade II listed buildings, alongside the installation of an exciting new nature play trail, that proved an instant hit with young visitors.
In April 2024 we launched our campaign to replace our iconic 20-year-old Play Tower, giving young people the opportunity to vote on their favourite
design. With funding now secured, we’re looking forward to transforming our adventure play area with the arrival of the new tower in autumn 2024.
It was a challenging start to the year for our Nursery with the retirement of our Nursery Manager after 22 years and a disappointing Ofsted inspection in June 2023. The arrival of a new Manager though in October 2023 brought some fresh impetus, and we were delighted to end the year on a high, with an impressive Ofsted inspection offering just rewards for the hard work of the team.
During the year, new funder relationships for our Youth Programme led to an extension of support for young people, helping us respond to increasing demand in a year when we recorded our highest ever attendance of 76 in a single night. It was also a strong year for our Community Sports Programme with new partnerships and funding extending the reach of the service and resulting in the development of our targeted work with young people at risk.
Our Out of School Club continued to play a key role in the Play Providers Network, and strong cross sector partnerships contributed to another hugely successful National Play Day event in August 2023.
A focus on digital marketing and communications led to the growth of our online profile during the
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year and we were thrilled to launch our new website in March 2024.
We also welcomed some new faces to the team, with the appointment of a new Fundraising Officer in June 2023, whilst in May 2024, the development of a new Community Outreach role placed even greater emphasis on our partnership working. We were also delighted to welcome four
new Trustees to our Board, and said a fond farewell to Martin McNeil, one of our longest serving Trustees.
We would like to thank all those that supported us during the year and look forward to continuing our work together over the year ahead.
Craig McWilliam Stuart Woods Chair of Trustees Chief Executive Officer
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## Our Year at a Glance
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36
150,000+
young people with
visitors to our park SEND supported
and playgrounds through our sports
programme
960 3,090 264
young people young people
free meals
supported through attended our
distributed to
our youth after school and
families in need
programme holiday clubs
32 580
received free corporate
childcare places at volunteers
our Nursery
809 50 5233
young people
parents and carers hours of free
visited our Under 5s progre ssed i nto
sport delivered
training, employment
Drop In for young people
or further education
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“We had a wonderful time at Coram's Fields. We felt safe to let the children explore the space and go off to play in the different activities. As parents, it was the first time we felt no anxiety at all. Cafe was great and the open air library book cupboard was a gorgeous and exciting highlight!“
- Park Visitor
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“This place is awesome! It has kept my kids aged three to eight very entertained. It feels safe since every adult has to be accompanied by a kid”
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Case Study
## **The Magic of Music**
Jerome, 18, has been attending our Youth Programme for three years. The oldest of four siblings, he lives with his mum, sister and two brothers around the corner from Coram’s Fields. Jerome has always had a passion for music and regularly attended our free music sessions. After leaving school, Jerome enrolled at Westminster Kingsway College on a music engineering course but with more time on his hands and the pressures of a complex home life, he started to find himself in trouble with the police and was kicked off his course.
professional tutor, developing his skills and reigniting his passion for music, and eventually re-enrolling at college to finish his studies.
Jerome is now working alongside our music tutor to deliver sessions for young people, and we are seeking funding for him to become our second tutor. He’s also been nominated to become one of our next Young Leaders and is due to pass his college course with flying colours, putting him on route to be the first person in his family to go to university.
Our youth team quickly devised a plan to help him stay out of trouble, using his love of music to engage him in more studio sessions. Over the last year, this has seen Jerome mentored by our
Given the focus and commitment he’s shown, we have every faith he’ll continue his impressive journey.
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## **Our Highlights**
## Power to Young People
Co-production has always been at the heart of our work with young people. Three years on from our Kids Council’s decision to install a new climbing wall and monkey bars in our adventure playground, we were once again placing the power back in young people’s hands.
This time though, the stakes were higher, as we launched an ambitious campaign to fund the replacement of our iconic Play Tower, giving young people the chance to decide how to spend £100,000 to transform our play offer for local children. And they didn’t disappoint.
Working with schools and community partners, young people were able to choose their favourite design, and we were delighted to see over 520 young people cast their vote. That just left the small matter of raising the remaining £35,000 needed, following a commitment of support from Camden Council of £65,000. Our campaign quicky grabbed the attention of the local community, reaching our fundraising target within just three months, thanks to incredible individual generosity, and significant support from our friends at Bedford Estates, The Russell Square Commission, and new corporate partners SavGroup and X Construct. We’re looking forward to cutting the ribbon on our new Play Tower when it’s installed in October 2024.
## Pathways to Employment
The last year has seen young people face enormous financial pressures, with many prematurely seeking work to provide for their families. As a result, it’s been an incredibly busy year for our Youth Employment Programme.
Unlike conventional employment services, our work focusses on disentangling the barriers young people face and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and know how to successfully navigate the world of work.
The year saw 55 young people benefit from a host of support, from CV writing, job and college applications, to help with recourse to public funds, housing advice, and access to mental health services.
Our cross sector partnerships delivered some transformational outcomes. Workshops by Venture Capital educated young people about the world of enterprise and business; Deckers Brand provided mini employment bursaries and our partnership with Payne Hicks Beach saw another cohort of budding solicitors graduate, and the appointment of one of our former young people and youth workers, Deenah Ali, as a full time member of the team.
We were also delighted to see two of our young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) invited to join the Well-Come Collective Youth Panel, as part of a drive to improve the accessibility of the collection for young people.
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## **Celebrating diversity, inclusion, and community cohesion**
**84% of children attending our Nursery received free places 25% of children attending our OSC received free or subsidised places Over 2,000 children celebrated their right to play at our national Play Day event**
Coram’s Fields has always been a melting pot for the community, where families from all walks of life come together and learn from each other. Celebrating the rich diversity of our community was once again at the forefront of our work.
As families struggled to contend with the cost-of-living crisis, our free park provided an invaluable resource for thousands, whilst our services continued to reimagine themselves to ensure families could access the support they needed. It was a year in which our Nursery and Out of School Club continued to provide parents and carers with high quality, free and affordable childcare, with 84% of children attending our Nursery receiving free places, and 25% of children attending our OSC receiving free or subsidised places.
It was also a year in which we delivered extensive support for neurodiverse young people, those with SEND and those struggling with their mental health. Our partnership with Kith and Kids delivered another hugely successful family day in June 2023 for young people with learning disabilities and autism whilst our Youth Programme’s support of young people at risk of violent crime, saw 35 young people access mental health support, through community based clinical intervention.
During the year, the strengthening of our partnership with Great Ormond Street (GOSH) saw the team work with GOSH Arts to plan our 2024 Play Day event, whilst workshops with our Out of School Club, saw young people involved in the design of new artwork to support GOSHs ‘Safe Streets’ project, promoting safety during the redevelopment of the hospital’s new children’s cancer centre.
Our programme of free events also offered the perfect opportunity for families to come together; our Play Day in August 2023 saw over 2,000 children celebrate a child’s right to play whilst a new theatre residency brought the arts to the masses, attracting over 17,000 visitors and giving out over 1000 free tickets to families who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience the magic of the theatre.
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“A gem of a park in the middle of the city. There's a basketball court, football pitch, a playground for older children, and a playground for younger children. Highly recommended!”
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## Case Study
## **Kamal's Story**
Kamal, 6, began attending our sports programme in September 2023 after we visited his local primary school. Kamal is autistic and suffers regular seizures as a result of his epilepsy. Until joining the programme, he hadn’t really taken part in any organised sport, except occasionally at school, and so his mum was quite anxious that he might struggle to cope.
Our sports coaches did lots of research and met with Kamal’s mum so they could start to understand his needs better, using what they had learnt to create a plan for Kamal to ensure he was fully included and able to get the most of out of the sessions.
Kamal sometimes struggles to communicate, and managing his emotions can be challenging for him. Over the last 10 months, the team have worked hard to build a strong relationship with Kamal, learning and applying different delivery methods, and constantly adapting these to find out what works best. During his time on the
programme, Kamal has grown in confidence, attending weekly multi sports sessions, as well as our new swimming programme at Central YMCA, which his mum now feels confident in him attending without her – a major step for her and one that also provides her with some short term respite, supporting her own mental wellbeing.
It’s been an absolute pleasure seeing Kamal grow, as well as seeing the positive impact he has had on those around him.
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## **Our Community Spaces**
## **The Green Lungs of the City**
**Over 150,000 visitors to our park and playgrounds during the year 580 corporate volunteers helped maintain our park and facilities**
As one of the largest and only green spaces dedicated to children in a densely populated part of Camden, our park has long been a safe sanctuary for local families, providing vital access to green space, and a unique freedom for children to roam and parents to connect.
It was a year that brought a renewed focus on future planning and development, following the arrival of some new faces within our grounds and operations team.
A new grant from the London Marathon Foundation in April 2023, alongside a legacy gift from the Estate of Sheila Hamburger paved the way for some exciting developments across our park. Our Nursery playground was transformed with new planters and play equipment, and the installation of new raised beds across the site brought a much welcome splash of colour and vibrancy, whilst providing young explorers with the opportunity to connect with nature.
The last few years have seen us establish a core group of volunteer community gardeners and we were delighted to see the group grow during the
year, further developing our growing spaces and wildlife garden, creating more sustainable composting and animal habitats, and delivering a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables, from kale to parsley and mulberries. As we headed towards the end of the year we teamed up with local school, City Junior, to deliver fun, weekly gardening classes for Years 4, 5 and 6 students, offering children the perfect excuse to get their hands dirty and stake a claim on our new growing spaces!
The biggest impact though came in the form of our new 15 metre nature trail on our East lawn, which within minutes of being installed, was overrun by children wanting to try out the newest addition to the park.
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## **Our Community Hubs**
## **234 hours of free space provided to local community groups 122 children’s parties hosted during the year**
Our community spaces continued to be a hive of activity, with a host of new partnerships adding to an already diverse programme for local families and support for a range of organisations locally.
Our Guide Hall and Band Room remained the go to venue for local families looking to deliver the ultimate birthday experience, with 122 children’s parties taking place during the year. Our historic relationship with the 8th Holborn Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, and St Pancras Brownie and Guide groups continued and we were delighted to welcome over 20 volunteer Scouts to our Fireworks event in 2023, making the event one of the most successful yet!
remained key to our success, and we were delighted to partner up with several new organisations including Portuguese community group, Cantos dos Mafagafos, who delivered a programme of cultural events for the Portuguese community.
Other events during the year included ante natal classes for the Japanese community, acting auditions for children with cerebral palsy, and a memorial day for bereaved families from Great Ormond Street Hospital. We were also thrilled to be able to host several AGMs throughout the year including for the London Ramblers Association, London Woodcraft, and the National Day Nurseries Association.
Our role in supporting local organisations through the provision of low cost, accessible community spaces
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## **Our Community Services**
## **Sporting Pathways** Sports Development Programme
**761 young people accessed 5233 hours of free sport 36 young people with SEND received support during the year 31 young people engaged in volunteering and training opportunities 90 clubs took part in our Camden Youth Football League**
April 2023 brought some new funding and exciting developments in our work with young people at risk of exclusion, with our new Future Ready Programme extending our early intervention work and delivering over 252 hours of school based mentoring for young people.
It was another impressive year for our Camden Youth League and our very own Coram’s Fields Under 11s and Under 12s teams who joined over 300 children from 90 clubs across London to take part in what has become one of the most successful youth leagues in London.
Removing barriers to sport has long been one of the core aims of the programme. A new partnership with Central YMCA gave 21 young people the chance to access free weekly swimming lessons, removing the financial barriers faced by many families and equipping young people with an essential life skill.
It was another year of growth for our work with girls and young women. Attendance at our weekly football
sessions for 6-11 year olds more than doubled, whilst the extension of our partnership with New Horizon Youth Homeless Charity, led to a new project for 16-24 year old women, providing some short term escapism for those facing homelessness and the opportunity to develop new support networks.
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**Community Services**
The loss of two Sports Workers during the year and subsequent recruitment challenges, led to some short term scaling back of our delivery during the winter term but as we entered the spring, we were delighted to recruit two new team members, just in time to kick start our summer plans.
During the year, the delivery of 5 free sports holiday camps gave 82 young people the perfect opportunity to try out new sports and build friendships, with young people getting involved in everything from circus skills to rock climbing and gymnastics!
In June 2024, our Young Women’s Sports Day, attended by over 100 secondary school girls, provided
the perfect end to the year, with the return of British athlete, Desiree Henry, surprising everyone with a visit following her gold medal winning performance in the European Championships!
A new partnership with Central YMCA gave 21 young people the chance to access free weekly swimming lessons, removing the financial barriers faced by many families and equipping young people with an essential life skill.
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**Community Services**
## **Positive Pathways** Youth Programme
- **960 young people supported during the year**
- **417 girls and young women engaged**
- **63 young people supported through our community outreach**
- **50 young people progressed into training, employment and further education**
- **35 young people received clinical mental health support**
It was a phenomenally busy year for our Youth Programme, with 960 different young people accessing support during the year. Our employability programme in particular witnessed a considerable spike in demand, exacerbated by higher than usual college dropout rates and the financial pressures facing young people and their families. We were therefore delighted to receive fresh support from the Henry Smith Charity in late 2023, securing the employment programme for the next two years and enabling us to increase our capacity. Further significant support from the Gamble Aware Foundation enabled us to tackle the challenges of gambling and addiction among young people, whilst providing financial literacy support.
It was however another sobering year in our efforts to support young people affected by youth violence, as the fatal stabbing of one of our young people in May 2023 provided a stark reminder of the work needed to end the devastating impact of youth violence in our communities.
Demand on our services inevitably presented some challenges for the team, balancing our desire to help every young person, whilst maintaining the quality that has helped us become one of the most well regarded youth provisions in Camden.
Our work in leading project 10/10, a multi-disciplinary partnership with the NHS, continued to provide critical support for young people affected by violence, and our role within Camden and Islington NHS’s new Vanguard community mental health model, delivered improved integration of services across the borough.
During the year, we started work on the re-design of some of our spaces. Following previous funding from Camden, we finalised of our new youth gym zone, and support from Stortford Interiors delivered a new workshop space, providing an invaluable resource for group work, one-to-one support and clinical supervision.
Our creative work with young people has long been a cornerstone of our work. Our music studio provided over 200 young people with a safe space to express themselves and a pathway for young artists into the music industry, and we saw some unbelievable talent on show. One of the standout achievements being Hala, who at just 17, brought the house down at our AGM, before performing at the Jack Petchey Awards and Camden Mela in front of thousands.
Our music studio provided over 200 young people with a safe space to express themselves.
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**Community Services**
## **First Steps to Success** Under 5s Drop-In
## **809 parents and carers visited during the year 546 hours of free support provided**
It was another successful year for our Under 5s Drop In, with over 800 parents and carers taking advantage of a full programme of free activities through the year, from slime making and arts and crafts, to music and storytelling.
During the year, the service provided a welcoming and safe space for parents and carers, where they were able to get together, make friends and build social connections. The service also created an invaluable peer support offer for many of our families, helping reduce social isolation and loneliness and promoting positive mental wellbeing, at a time when so many find themselves struggling with the new found challenges of parenthood.
Strong links to our Nursery continued and we were delighted to see several children make the move over to the service during the year, providing parents with access to affordable, high quality childcare, and enabling us to further strengthen our relationships with families, many of whom had made Coram’s Fields their second home.
This is my first time at this stay and play and I’m so amazed at how well thought out everything is. It’s the best one I have been to so far. Love how clean everything is. I’d also like to say how welcoming and lovely Kathy is. She is so warm and friendly. The place is great!
Hannah, parent – March 2024
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## Case Study
## **A Safe Sanctuary akin to Home**
Jamila, 9, arrived from Sudan with her mum, Razia, in September 2023. Razia, a single mum, had been offered a place at Goodenough College and had been researching after school clubs for her daughter. She loved the ethos of Coram’s Fields’ play offer and felt it would give Jamila the stability she needed after leaving her friends and family in Sudan.
Despite all her plans, travel delays saw them arrive in the UK just a day before the start of Razia’s course, meaning Jamila found herself walking through our doors less than 24hrs after landing.
Such a huge change was a lot to take in and Jamila was initially very shy, often just sitting in a corner, observing other children. Over the coming days though, the persistence and warmth of her new class mates proved too much, and she quickly started to find her feet, discovering a love of arts and crafts.
As friendships and relationships grew, so did Jamila’s confidence and she soon became an active member of the OSC, even volunteering in December as a buddy to help settle some new arrivals.
Her only disappointment was that she thought we needed more toys, but rather than let it get her down, she organised a bake sale with her new friends, surprising us all with a £360 donation!
Jamila is one of three young people on our AGM organising committee and it’s likely to be one of the best AGMs yet as a result!
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## **Community Services**
## **Playing to our Strengths** Out of School Club
## **264 young people attended our Out of School Club 8 young people with additional needs received 1:1 support 37 young people received free or subsidised places**
2023/24 was a year when our partnerships across the play sector brought some outstanding opportunities for our young people and enabled us to deliver a truly inclusive offer for local families, the majority of whom were from low income households.
It was though a year in which many parents continued to feel the squeeze on their finances, leading to some reducing their use of our after school service, and leaving it a little way off its capacity of 40 young people a day.
Our holiday schemes however continued to thrive as those living and working locally were drawn by our offer of high quality, affordable childcare delivered from our green oasis in the heart of the city. And it was our green, open spaces that brought some of the greatest benefits to young people with additional needs during the year, with 8 young people benefiting from our unique sensory environment, safe sanctuary, and specialist 1:1 support from the team.
Our partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), saw 56 working families attend during the year. We were also thrilled to team up with play providers across Camden, securing funding through the Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) to deliver 2000 hours of free childcare, meals, and activities, for 20 children, whilst providing welcome respite for parents and carers.
In November, we welcomed back our friends from the Middle Eight Hotel to deliver a baking masterclass, with the proceeds from their bake sale supporting our Christmas campaign. Young people also took advantage of all that London has to offer with trips to the postal museum, pirate castle and an unforgettable Thames kayaking experience, for 12 of our young people.
Reductions in funded training for the sector over recent years has removed many of the pathways for young people seeking a career in play. Towards the end of the year, we were delighted to pilot our new ‘Pre Apprenticeship Programme’ offering young people an insight into the sector through a programme of volunteering, employability skills and training in the fundamentals of Play, from safeguarding to inclusive practice.
**It was our green, open spaces that brought some of the greatest benefits to young people with additional needs during the year.**
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**Community Services**
## **Stimulating Young Minds** Community Nursery
## **38 children attended during the year 32 children benefitted from free places 8 different nationalities represented**
Summer 2023 marked a significant change in our Nursery as we bid an emotional farewell to our Manager, Carole Perry, after 22 years.
With big shoes to fill, and plenty of challenges ahead, including our recovery from a disappointing Ofsted inspection in June 2023, we were delighted to welcome Alketa Malaj to the team as our new Nursery Manager in the autumn.
A renewed focus on delivering the highest quality curriculum and learning experiences, parent partnerships, and the development of our physical spaces, led to some exciting developments.
Our Nursery has always attracted a hugely diverse group of families, with over 75% accessing free places, and 8 different nationalities represented. Celebrating the rich diversity, heritage and uniqueness of our young people was a significant feature during the year, from bilingual reading sessions to Chinese New Year and International Women’s Day celebrations.
Our commitment to supporting children with additional needs, saw us strengthen our ties with Camden’s Inclusive Intervention Team and NHS Mosaic Team and regular visits from Camden’s Early Year’s Advisory Team, ensured the delivery of a rich curriculum, accessible to all.
In November 2023, the development of our outdoor space brought some fantastic benefits for our children. The re-surfacing of our playground was followed by the installation of new play equipment to challenge our young minds, whilst new planters helped children find their inner gardener, with regular growing sessions led by the team and our wonderful parents.
Recruitment of children remained a focus and we were delighted to work with partners, Sunbelt Rentals and Phil Amazu, to produce a new promotional video showcasing our unique nursery environment - Coram's Fields Nursery (youtube.com).
The year ended on a high, with a glowing Ofsted report offering just rewards for the hard work and commitment of the team during the year.
The development of our outdoor space brought some fantastic benefits to our children.
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**Community Services**
## **Food for Life** Our Café
Despite the weather doing its best to thwart us, it was another good year for the café. Our Café has always been much more than just a place to pick up a snack and a bite to eat. Run entirely in-house by our Manager, Kelly, the service runs as a social enterprise, with every penny going back into the work we do to support children and young people.
It was a year in which the café’s collaborations with other services across the Charity brought some fantastic outcomes. Our new Mayor of London Future Ready project, in partnership with our Sports Programme saw the service provide weekly healthy snacks for 20 young people weekly, as part of a mentoring project for those identified as being at risk of school exclusion.
As we moved towards the end of the year, improvements to our outdoor space, gave the café a
much welcome facelift, with new raised planters, an outdoor seating area, new signage and our very own Little Library, supported by local parent, Alia Bokhary, creating an even more welcoming environment for cafe visitors.
The café also continued to be the go to place for children’s parties, providing catering for a host of events in our community halls and outside space, as well as providing some much needed sustenance for our community and corporate volunteers.
Our very own Little Library created an even more welcoming environment for cafe users.
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## Stronger Together
Extensive and strong partnerships with organisations from the voluntary and public sector, and a growing network of corporate partners, enabled us to double down on our support and deliver some fantastic outcomes for young people.
We continued to play a key role in the South Camden Neighbourhood Forum and the borough-wide Play Providers Network and were pleased to join VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) organisations across Camden in shaping the work of the Council’s new Family Hub model, early in the year. Our successful work in tackling youth violence through Project 10/10 saw our reputation grow and we were delighted to form part of a new steering group for the NHS Vanguard Programme in May 2023, working with representatives from Camden and the VCS to increase access to community mental health services across the borough.
In November 2023, collaborations with local schools, voluntary sector partners and businesses saw us deliver another hugely successful free fireworks event, with children from St Albans school choir and
LAPS Ukrainian Dance and Singing Group performing to a 5,000 strong crowd. We were also delighted to partner up with our neighbours at Ciao Bella once again, with Patrizia and her team working tirelessly to support our Christmas Raffle, raising a phenomenal £6,500 in the process.
A renewed focus on marketing and communications saw us team up with corporate partners to grow our digital profile, including the creation of two new video assets for the Charity and our Nursery thanks to Sunbelt Rentals, supported by a new markcomms plan developed in collaboration with partner NBCUniversal.
It is the depth of our partnerships with children and young people though that brought the greatest benefits. In early 2024, the launch of an ambitious campaign to replace our iconic Play Tower saw over 500 children vote on a new design, whilst in April 2023 and April 2024, over 100 children from City Junior School took on the Mini Marathon to raise vital funds for our work.
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## Demonstrating Our Impact
The strength of our relationships with the young people and families we work with has always been key to understanding the true impact of our work, enabling us to draw on a wealth of qualitative insights, alongside the quantitative data sets that demonstrate the reach of our services.
A change in our CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software during the year saw a move over to Plinth. The change brought a wealth of benefits including more seamless integration with funders such as Camden Council, improvements in how we analyse and present impact data, and stronger impact tracking for the young people and families we work with.
Young people continued to play a crucial role in not only shaping our services but also in contributing to the delivery of services across the borough. We were thrilled to see three young people join fellow Camdenites on Camden Giving’s young people’s
funding and research panels, firmly placing young people’s voices at the heart of local decision making and sharing responsibility for the distribution of £220,000 of community funding through the ‘We Make Camden’ grant programme.
As we neared the end of the year, a new project with the London Film School saw young people work alongside budding filmmakers on a new promotional video for our Youth Programme. Among the challenges we face is how to showcase the impact of our work through the stories of our young people, without increasing their vulnerability. We were therefore delighted to see young people work closely with the filmmakers on key production decisions, from the impact of personal story telling on audience perception, to how we convey key messages around safety and the trusting relationships our young people have with the team.
## Our Commitment to Safeguarding
We continued our commitment to making sure our seven acre park offered a safe sanctuary for children, and that our community services provided a warm and secure environment, ready and waiting to support young people whenever they needed us.
Since inception, our park and playgrounds have been a place where adults can only enter with a child. Our park is staffed at all times and an organisation-wide approach to safeguarding means we understand that protecting children and young people is everyone’s responsibility. We recognise the importance of our role in the lives of the young people we support, as mentors, ambassadors and advocates, and value the trust young people place in us to protect and guide them.
We continued to strengthen our safeguarding knowledge and the application of best practice through the work of various safeguarding committees. This included the review of key policies and staff training and development, with our committees also
providing a safe environment for staff to discuss safeguarding challenges with the benefit of peer review and reflection.
Strong partnerships within the local authority and the VCS remained a critical piece of the safeguarding jigsaw. We worked closely with the Early Years intervention team, Early Help and Camden Mosaic to support our preventative safeguarding work, as well as working with Camden’s Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), playing an active role in individual cases, through case conferences and the development of Child Protection and Children In Need (CIN) plans.
Robust recruitment, induction and training ensures all staff understand their role in safeguarding young people and a commitment to reflective practice enables us to create an environment where staff feel empowered to challenge and are open to challenge. All our staff are subject to enhanced DBS checks and are required to enrol with the DBS tracker service as part of their employment.
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## Basis for Preparation
Coram’s Fields is an unincorporated charitable trust with a Corporate Trustee, Coram's Fields Company Trustee Limited (a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 09001024). The Directors of the Corporate Trustee are responsible for the Charity’s governance.
The Corporate Trustee presents its Annual Trustee's Report and the Financial Statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Charity's Trust Deed, the Charities Act 2016 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
## History
The Charity occupies the site of the former Foundling Hospital which Captain Thomas Coram established in 1739 to provide a home for destitute and abandoned children. The main hospital building was demolished in 1926 leaving only the Georgian colonnaded buildings and lodges which had enclosed the hospital forecourt and lawns. A public campaign was launched by local people and well-wishers to save the Foundling site from proposed commercial development and turn it into a children’s playground. When sufficient funds were raised and the land finally acquired, the Foundling site was renamed Coram’s Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground and was officially opened in July 1936. Coram’s Fields has remained a centre for children and young people’s activities of all kinds ever since. The playground is located in the King’s Cross ward of the London Borough of Camden.
## Objects of the Charity
The Trust Deed stipulates that the land shall be preserved, developed and maintained in perpetuity as an open space for the welfare of children and young people.
## Purpose
To have a positive impact on the lives of children and young people in Holborn, King’s Cross, Bloomsbury and neighbouring areas. We do this by providing a safe haven for play and a stimulating range of programmes that support the cognitive, physical, social and emotional development of children of all ages.
## Vision
We will be the go-to place for local families, children and young people, widely known for the outstanding quality of our facilities and services, the diversity of our programmes and our responsiveness to the needs of our community.
## Our Values
The Charity’s work is underpinned by a set of core values that ensure its integrity in pursuit of its core mission, whilst also providing a clear framework for the development of the organisations’ work in the short, medium and long term.
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- Safety: Our paramount concern is for the safety of children and young people and of our users.
- Inclusion: We strive to ensure that Coram’s Fields, and the services that it offers, are equally accessible to all the children and young people of our community.
- Partnership: We constantly seek to gain greater understanding of the strengths and the potential of individual users and their communities, and to work with them in continually improving the services that we offer. Sustainability: We aim to deliver consistently good value for money and to use our resources in ways that benefit existing users without compromising the well-being of future generations.
- Accountability: We are committed to measuring the impact of our work and actively encourage users and the local community to hold us to account for our stewardship of Coram’s Fields
## Public Benefit
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee ensure that the charitable purpose and aims of the Charity are carried out for the public benefit by delivering services to any and all children and young people who visit Coram’s Fields. The structure of the Charity’s Annual Trustee's Report allows the Charity to report each year on the core services that the Charity delivers.
## Achievements and Performance
Despite facing some challenges during the year, 2023/24 was another successful year for the Charity and one in which changes across key areas of the staff team including an increased investment in our fundraising resource began to bear fruit.
Our services continued to adapt and evolve in response to the needs of the young people and families we support, whilst our seven acre park, playground and sports facilities provided a lifeline for local families, offering free access to some of the best play, sport and recreational facilities in London.
During the year, we worked with 2,832 young people through our programmes and services alone. Our park also played host to several community events during the year attracting over 15,000 visitors between them, from our ever popular free fireworks display and Play Day celebration, to cultural celebrations such as the Camden Mela.
We also continued to invest in our park and facilities, including over £70,000 worth of restoration work to our Grade II listed buildings, £30,000 of investment in new play equipment and significant developments across our green spaces, providing even more opportunities for families to connect with nature and increasing the biodiversity of the site.
## Financial Review
While much of the Charity’s income in any year can reasonably be assumed from the service delivery of charitable activities, the Charity’s various trading activities and from secured grant income, there is still the financial challenge of raising sufficient income to deliver all our services including the significant cost of maintaining our park and facilities. Consequently, there is always an on-going reliance on grants and donations. As is usual in the Charity’s budgeting cycle, in March 2023 the Board approved deficit 2023/24 budgets of £203k and £93k for unrestricted and restricted activities respectively (Total, £296k)
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In terms of our income from charitable activities, by the end of the year the changes in the nursery referred to above had resulted in turning a budgeted deficit of £55k into a small surplus of £3k. The Out of School Club continued to operate at less than full capacity, a likely consequence of the cost-of-living crisis, resulting in a modest surplus of £10.8k, which was £9.6k less than budgeted.
Overall, income from trading activities proved to be higher than had been budgeted, including an additional £15.3k from Awesome Events’ Christmas marquee and an extra £19.4k from the summer children’s theatre events provided by Perform.
From a grants and donations perspective, during the first quarter we received new unrestricted core funding of £15k from Phoenix Court and recurring core funding of £20k from John Lyon’s Charity. Additionally, we were awarded £50k from The London Marathon Trust for a greening project and £29.5k for capacity building work from the London Borough of Camden.
As we moved through the summer of 2023, the funding deficit on our youth programme was substantially reduced by a grant of £30k from Camden Giving and a donation of £10k from the Lock Charitable Foundation. We continued to receive support from our valued corporate partners, from Finecast through our Connecting Futures programme, volunteering days including from NBC Universal, and with other donations, notably £10k raised by Sunbelt Rentals from a golf day.
The most significant change to our financial outlook came in October with a grant award from the Oak Foundation of four years of core funding totalling £780k, of which £180k was received in 2023/24. Previously, the Oak Foundation had funded our sports programme, but the switch to core funding afforded us more flexibility in how we use the funding going forward.
During the autumn, the remaining funding gap for our youth services was closed with the award of £15k from Drapers’ Charitable Trust for our employability programme and £10k from St Giles & St George Education Charity. We were also pleased to receive continued support from St Andrew Holborn, Tom Ap Rhys Trust, Jack Petchey and LabTech. In November we held our hugely popular fireworks evening, and we were especially grateful for sponsorship received from Central District Alliance, École Jeannine Manuel, Bedford Estates, John Sisk and Son and NBCUniversal. In the same month we also received a core grant of £70,000 from Coram’s Fields Sports and Recreation.
In January and February 2024 respectively, we received grants of £66.7k from Henry Smith and £85k from GambleAware, both for youth services, though much of the activity will take place in 2024/25 and funds have been carried forward to reflect that. The final quarter also saw a total of £14k received for Connecting Futures membership from Deckers Brand, Payne Hicks Beach and Sunbelt Rentals. Finally at the end of March the Charity received a core grant of £130,000 from Coram’s Fields Sports and Recreation, which took the Charity into financial surplus for the year.
In terms of our capital work we continued to commit to a number of improvements across our community spaces during the year. A total of £67k was spent on essential roof and timber repair work, funded mainly from unspent capital balances brought forward from the previous year. Additionally, local councillors provided £23.6k for emergency lighting from the Community Infrastructure Levy.
The charity’s total income and expenditure for 2023/24 increased over 2022/23 by 17.5% and 8.3% respectively, which combined to produce net income of £105,864 (2023: net expenditure of £64,580). Net unrestricted income was £320,930 (2023: net unrestricted expenditure of £123,089), net expenditure on restricted revenue and capital funds was £132,869 (2023: £121,299) - reflecting the timing differences between receipts and outgoings - and the depreciation charge on endowment funds was £82,197 (2023: £62,790).
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## Total Funds and Free Reserves Position
The Charity holds total funds of £3,083,686 at 31st March 2024 (2023: £2,977,822). Of these funds, £1,493,986 (2023: £1,576,183) is held as permanent endowment, representing the original cost of the land and buildings, held in Trust, plus additions and improvements, less accumulated depreciation.
Restricted funds, not available for the general purposes of the Charity, are:
- Capital funds of £21,368 (2023: £99,959) restricted to expenditure on planned future capital works; and Revenue funds of £239,097 (2023: £293,375) covering programmes where income has been received in advance of expenditure in the next financial year, or where unspent funding has been carried over, because activities were not fully delivered.
- The Charity’s unrestricted funds (free reserves) carried forward at the end of the year comprise: General funds of £1,151,943 (2023: £846,487).
- The designated fixed asset fund of £89,654 (2023: £65,343) representing the net book value of the Charity’s tangible fixed assets which could only be realised by disposing of those assets.
- A premises refurbishment fund of £57,395 (2023: £57,395) maintained by the Directors to deliver improvements to the Charity’s historic grounds and Grade II listed community buildings.
- The amount of £30,243 unspent from a legacy of £39,080, received in 2020/21. This will be spent in 2024/25.
## Reserves Policy
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee review their reserves policy annually. Given the inherently uncertain nature of the Charity’s future funding, the Directors consider that the appropriate level of unrestricted general funds to hold is equivalent to six month's planned operating expenditure from such funds for the following year. The reserves policy is reviewed with consideration of the principal risks facing the Charity, the likelihood of these risks materialising and the financial impact that this would have on the Charity.
At 31 March 2024, the general funds of £1,151,943 represents just under 7 months of current forecast operating expenditure from unrestricted general funds for 2024/25. Although funding is secure for 2024/25, there are plans for a significant increase in capital spending during the next few years which are likely, to some extent, to draw on reserves. Accordingly, the Directors believe that the current level of general reserves is appropriate within the context of the reserves policy.
## Investments Policy
Surplus cash which is not required in the short to medium term is deposited in fixed term savings accounts with maturity of between 3 and 12 months. Upon maturity, future cash requirements are assessed to inform reinvestment decisions. Directors do not anticipate investing in anything other than fixed term savings accounts.
## Defined Benefit Pension Scheme
The Charity operates a defined benefit pension scheme, eligible to staff employed before May 2013, as a member of the London Pensions Fund Authority’s multi-employer scheme. An alternative defined contribution pension scheme with Aviva is open to all staff and used for auto-enrolment.
The actuarial valuation of the LPFA pension fund in accordance with FRS102 at 31 March 2024 was completed in May. It showed the Charity’s share of the scheme’s assets and liabilities to have increased marginally from a net
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asset of £419,000 a year ago to £425,000. With only 2 active members is it not possible for the surplus to be recovered through reduced contributions and nor is it possible for the charity to receive a refund, as the conditions for this have not been met. Rather than showing a pension fund asset the trustees have, in common with many other organisations, valued the charity's share as at 31st March 2024 at nil.
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee are aware that, in common with final salary pension funds across the public and voluntary sector, the liability changes significantly from year to year. The Directors and their professional advisers will continue to monitor the situation and consider the provision which needs to be made.
## Going Concern
In order to assess whether the Charity is a going concern, the Directors have considered the current level of reserves, the most recent forecast for 2024/25, an indicative deficit budget for 2025/26 and the resulting anticipated reserves position at the end of March 2026.
In reviewing these forecasts, the Directors have examined the underlying assumptions, particularly in relation to the performance of our income generating activities and consider that there are no other reasonable material uncertainties.
The Charity has sufficient unrestricted general reserves to cover projected deficits to March 2026 and sufficient funds to be able to settle financial obligations as they fall due during this period. The Directors believe that the immediate future of the Charity is secure for at least the next 18 months and that on this basis the Charity is a going concern.
## Fundraising
During the year, Coram’s Fields employed two full time fundraisers, with our Fundraising Manager being joined in June 2023 by our new Fundraising Officer. These two roles constituted the principal fundraising resource for the Charity and along with the CEO, was responsible for overseeing all fundraising activity in the year.
No professional fundraisers were appointed to carry out any fundraising activity on behalf of the Charity. Coram’s Fields used online platforms during the year to support its fundraising, these included: JustGiving and Committed Giving. The Charity did not raise any funds through a commercial participator.
Coram’s Fields remained a member of the Fundraising Regulator and our fundraising practices throughout the year were compliant with the Code of Fundraising Practice. Direct fundraising requests to individuals in the year were largely limited to online campaigns and through events and the Charity did not carry out any street/door to door/telephone fundraising. To ensure that the Charity protects vulnerable people and other members of the public in the course of our fundraising, we regularly review our fundraising practices. The Charity received no complaints during the year in relation to any aspect of its fundraising
## Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee confirm that the major risks to which the Charity is exposed have been identified and reviewed and systems established to mitigate those risks. The risk management review considered risks under the headings of governance, operational, financial, external and compliance risks to the organisation, and the control procedures in place, which include internal procedures and inspections by external agencies such as OFSTED.
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- The following are considered to be the principal risks for the Charity for the year ahead: Safeguarding – The risk and implications of any safeguarding incident occurring. Mitigated by clear and robust safeguarding policies, effective dissemination, training for all staff and the embedding of a strong culture of safeguarding across the Charity.
- Health and safety – Risk and implication of any physical injury to staff and users. Mitigated by registration with regulatory bodies, regular health, safety and compliance checks, regular policy and risk reviews, robust staff training programme and appropriate insurance cover.
- Fundraising – Unsatisfactory returns from fundraising activity to support capital development plans and build a more sustainable funding base. Mitigated by regular review of fundraising strategy and financial performance.
- Buildings and Facilities – Further deterioration to the fabric of our buildings, facilities and estate - Mitigated by delivering planned capital improvements, the development of a long term preventative maintenance plan, and securing investment from funding bodies, pro bono support and the diversification of unrestricted income.
- Nursery and Out of School Club - The ongoing risk for both services of low attendance and the potential draw on our reserves to subsidise the services. Mitigated by strong marketing and communication plans and the strengthening of partnerships with local schools and community groups.
- Cost of living – The fallout of the cost of living crisis on people’s disposable income and subsequent impact on income generated through our fee paying/commercial services, as well as increased demand on our free services. Mitigated by regular review of fee based services, effective marketing, and promotion of services to maximise income and the development of new funding opportunities and resource to meet increased service demand.
- Inflation - The ongoing challenge of high product and service costs as a result of previous high rates of inflation, and its impact on our general fund expenditure. Mitigated by carrying out cost comparisons, competitive tender processes (where appropriate) and rate negotiations.
- Recruitment - The challenging recruitment market (being an employee favoured market) and the Charity’s ability to retain existing staff and recruit new staff into key positions, within the financial constraints that the Charity operates. Mitigated by regular review of employee benefits, career development opportunities and effective and targeted recruitment, including the use of recruitment agencies where appropriate.
- Pension - The implications for Coram’s Fields of fluctuating pension surpluses and deficits. Mitigated by alternative pension provision, appropriate reserves policy and treatment of valuation, and regular communication with LPFA and auditors.
## Factors Affecting Future Financial Performance
The impact of COVID19 and the cost-of-living crisis over recent years has resulted in changes to the Charity’s financial operating model. The Directors are specifically aware that the cost-of-living crisis has contributed significantly to irreversible increases to the costs of running the Charity, and a significant reduction and in some cases removal, of the contributions from fee paying services towards our core operating costs.
The Directors recognise the invaluable contribution and opportunities presented by the recent core funding from Garfield Weston, Oak Foundation, Paul Hamlyn, Camden and Cadent Gas to support the substantial cost of running the Charity. However, they also understand the potential risk and financial exposure, should one or more of these funding relationships not continue beyond its current term.
The Board also recognise the need for significant investment in our park and community facilities, with much of our play equipment now reaching the end of its life cycle and limited investment over recent years in our community buildings due to the financial constraints faced.
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The Board and the senior team will need to monitor closely the performance of the Charity’s fundraising and will need use this period of relative stability to grow further our unrestricted income streams. This includes regularly reviewing strategic plans, to ensure the Charity can meet its future commitments and maintain the park, playground and facilities for local families. Specific factors affecting future financial performance over the next year are:
- Improvements in the financial performance of our fee paying services, with a specific focus on our community Nursery and Out of School Club, with low attendance and near static government funding contributing to a combined projected deficit of £27K.
- Our ability to hire out our halls and facilities when not used for service delivery, with income for 24/25 still projected to be just under 50% of that achieved pre pandemic.
- The continued development of our corporate partnerships, to grow financial support provided by current partners and the creation of new partnerships.
- Maintaining income raised through our major donor programme, the Patrons Circle.
- The successful development of new funding relationships and stewardship of existing funders to support the delivery of our Sports and Under 5s programme, to enable further contributions to our core costs. The development of new funder relationships that support core costs through unrestricted grants.
- Successful fundraising towards our planned capital programme to offset the use of our reserves to deliver essential improvements across the site.
- Opportunities to increase income earned through park hires and collaboration on events that align to our mission.
- The successful delivery of a financially sustainable café service, linked in part to growth in event hire catering, catering for volunteer days and children’s parties.
- The impact of further changes to inflationary costs on the supply of goods and services and organisational salaries.
- Reductions in interest rates and the impact of this on our fixed rate investments returns.
- The regular review of the Charity’s cost base and the successful implementation of efficiency savings across the organisation.
## Plans for the Future
As we look to the year ahead, we expect to see even greater demand placed on our services, and in particular the support we provide for older young people. The growth of our fundraising team in 2023/24 brought increased fundraising success and enabled us to start the 2024/25 year in the unusual but very welcome position of having all our free community services fully funded. We are therefore looking forward to harnessing the opportunities this brings to extend the impact and reach of our services, whilst re-directing our fundraising resources to grow our core income and secure essential capital investment in our park, playground and Grade II listed community buildings. Specifically we will:
## **Community Services:**
Continue work to improve quality assurance mechanisms across all our services, to build our understanding of the needs of our beneficiaries and the impact of our work. To identify emerging needs and gaps in current service provision and to work with funders, partners and key stakeholders to develop coordinated responses to these.
## **Capital Investment:**
Complete a comprehensive programme of capital developments, delivering significant improvements across our park, playgrounds and community facilities to improve our user experience. Specifically, we will; replace our Play Tower in our adventure playground, complete a second programme of roofing and timber restoration works to our Grade II listed buildings and begin work on the wholesale refurbishment of our sports changing rooms.
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## **Community Engagement and Collaboration:**
Enhance our existing community partnerships with the support of our newly appointed Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator. We will further embed ourselves within the communities we serve, strengthening existing partnerships with schools, voluntary sector partners, Tenant and Resident Associations and the local authority, creating new opportunities for future collaboration to enhance support for local families.
## **Infrastructure:**
Deliver improvements to our organisational infrastructure following the growth of the staff team and Charity’s income over recent years. Supported by the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer role with responsibility for delivering infrastructure development in key areas, including HR, people, culture and finance.
## **Strategic Development:**
Following the appointment of four new Trustees in November 2023 and January 2024, 24/25 will see us begin work to create our vision for the future as we work towards the development of a new five year strategic plan. This will include working with our Estates Committee to build our longer term vision for our park and playground.
## **Sustainability:**
Continue to embrace our role and responsibility as a green space for children and young people in central London; driving environmental education and developing our sustainable practices across all our work areas.
## **Digital:**
Further grow the reputation and profile of our work locally and across London by enhancing our online presence and developing our digital communications and marketing, increasing awareness of our work with key stakeholders to create opportunities for growth at service level and financially.
## Structure, Governance and Management
Coram’s Fields is an unincorporated charitable trust with a Corporate Trustee, Coram's Fields Company Trustee Limited. The Directors of the Corporate Trustee are responsible for the governance of the Charity. The Trust Deed dated 12 December 1935 and subsequently updated by Deed of Variation 7 September 2016, is the Charity’s constitution; it stipulates that the site should be held in trust in perpetuity to provide an open space, primarily in connection with the education and recreational needs of children and young people. The premises of Coram’s Fields are treated as a permanent endowment.
## Organisational Structure
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee meet bi-monthly. A Finance sub-committee ensures that the Board has sufficient oversight of the Charity’s financial activities. It is a requirement of the Articles that a minimum of two Directors are parents or carers of children or young people who currently use our services. Presently, the Charity has three Directors that meet these criteria.
The Chief Executive, who is also Secretary to the Trust, has responsibility for implementing the policies of the Corporate Trustee, dealing with the day-to-day running of the Charity and ensuring that agreed performance targets are met.
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## Recruitment and Appointment of Directors
The Board establishes an appointments sub-committee to oversee the recruitment of new Directors. Coram’s Fields is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and new appointments are made through open recruitment. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, from a diverse range of backgrounds. We strive for our workforce including our Directors to be representative of the communities that we serve and we know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for the families and children we work with.
## Directors’ Induction and Training
New Directors are invited to visit Coram’s Fields to meet the Chief Executive for an introduction to Coram’s Fields which includes a tour of all our services, an introduction to staff, an outline of the organisational structure of the Charity and a briefing on the current aims and objectives of the Trust and the history of the playground. All Directors are provided with a copy of both the NCVO ‘Good Trustee’ Guide and the Charity Commission’s ‘Essential Trustee’ Guide. Frequent opportunities are provided for the Board to visit Coram’s Fields and to gain a more in-depth experience of what is provided.
## Remuneration of Key Management Personnel
The Directors consider the Board of Directors and the Senior Management Team as comprising the key management personnel of the Charity in charge of directing and controlling the Charity and running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All Directors give their time freely and no Director remuneration was paid in the year. Details of key management personnel expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 9, 11 and 12 of the accounts.
The pay of the Charity's Chief Executive and other members of the key management team is reviewed annually in relation to average earnings across the voluntary sector. In view of the nature of the Charity and its economy of operations, the Board of the Corporate Trustee considers that a multiple of up to three times the median average salary for UK employees is appropriate for the role of Chief Executive. The remuneration is also bench-marked with charities of a similar size and activity to ensure that the remuneration set is fair and not out of line with that generally paid for similar roles.
Directors are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Chief Executive and in accordance with the Trust's policy withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.
## Coram's Fields Sports and Recreation
In May 2021 a new independent Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO - registered Charity number 1194312), Coram’s Fields Sport and Recreation (CFSR) was set up to lease sports pitches from the Charity. Two of the three Trustees of the CIO are existing Directors of Coram’s Fields Corporate Trustee, alongside a third independent Trustee. The first lease for the sports pitches between Coram’s Fields and CFSR commenced on 1st June 2021 and ran to 31st March 2024.
Full details of the transactions with CFSR, including grants of £70,000 and £130,000 in November 2023 and March 2024 respectively, are set out within the financial statements.
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## Reference and Administrative Details
**Registered office and place of business**
93 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1DN
**Registered Charity number**
## **Governing document**
Trust Deed dated 12 December 1935 and Deed of Variation dated 07 September 2016.
## **President**
Tamara Gray
## **Corporate Trustee**
Coram’s Fields Company Trustee Limited (Company Registration number 09001024)
**Directors of the Corporate Trustee**
Craig McWilliam (Chair)
Charlotte Robinson (Vice Chair) Toni McDermott (Treasurer and Finance Committee) Michael Horowitz (Finance Committee) Gudrun Wolff (Finance Committee)
## Charlotte Lamont
Martin McNeill - resigned on 26 September 2023 Azmina Siddique - appointed 29 November 2023 Alain Benoit Flatman - appointed 29 November 2023 Grace Maa - appointed 31 January 2024 Shaheen Mamun - appointed 31 January 2024
## Stuart Woods
**Chief Executive**
**Bankers** Lloyds Bank 88 Tottenham Court Road London W1T 4TH
**Auditors**
## MHA
Building 4, Foundation Park, Roxborough Way, Maidenhead, SL6 3UD **Solicitors** Edwin Coe Lincoln's Inn 2 Stone Buildings London WC2A 3TH
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## Statement of Trustee's Responsibilities
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee are responsible for preparing the Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Directors of the Corporate Trustee to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and the incoming resources and application of resources of the Charity for that period.
## **In preparing those financial statements, the Directors of the Corporate Trustee are required to:**
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- State whether applicable United Kingdom accounting standards and Statements of Recommended Practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable it to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of its Scheme. It is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the detection and prevention of fraud and other irregularities.
## Auditors
The Charity’s auditors MHA have indicated their willingness to continue in office and offer themselves for reappointment.
This report was approved on 25th September 2024 and signed by:
Stuart Woods Toni McDermott Chief Executive Director (On behalf of Corporate Trustee)
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Auditor's
Report
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Auditor's Report
## **Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustee of Coram’s Fields & The Harmsworth Memorial Playground**
## Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Coram’s Fields & The Harmsworth Memorial Playground (the 'Charity') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
## In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity's affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
## Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustee’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustee with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditor’s Report thereon. The Trustee is responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the Trustee’s Report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
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Auditor's Report
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Trustee’s Responsibilities Statement, the Trustee is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements which give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustee determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Trustee is responsible for assessing the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustee either intends to liquidate the Charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor’s Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Enquiry of management around actual and potential litigation and claims;
- Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of noncompliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditors' Report.
## Use of our report
This report is made solely to the Charity's trustee, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity's trustee those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and its trustee, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## MHA
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors Maidenhead, United Kingdom
## Date: 01 October 2024
MHA is the trading name of MacIntyre Hudson LLP, a limited liability partnership in England and Wales (registered number OC312313)
MHA are eligible to act as auditors in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
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Financial
Statements
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## Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31st March 2024
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities The annexed notes form part of these financial statements
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## Balance Sheet
## As as 31st March 2024
The annexed notes form part of these financial statements
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustee on 25th September 2024 and signed on its behalf by: .........................................................................................................TONI MCDERMOTT, Director (on behalf of the Corporate Trustee) .........................................................................................................STUART WOODS, Chief Executive
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For the year ended 31st March 2024
## Statement of Cashflows
The annexed notes form part of these financial statements
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Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31st March 2024
## **1. Accounting Policies**
## General information and basis of preparation
The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. It is an unincorporated Trust registered with the Charity Commission in England & Wales. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) published in October 2019, the Charities Act 2011 and UK Generally Accepted Practice. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the Charity.
As described in the Trustee’s Report, the financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the FRS 102 Charities SORP 2015 rather than the Charities SORP 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.
## Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis
In order to assess whether the Charity is a going concern, the Directors have considered the latest financial forecasts for the remainder of 202425 as well as projections for the year to March 2026. In reviewing these forecasts, the Directors have examined the underlying assumptions and consider that there are no other reasonable material uncertainties.
The Charity has sufficient unrestricted general reserves to more than cover projected losses to March 2026 and sufficient funds to be able to settle financial obligations as they fall due during this period. The Directors believe that the immediate future of the Charity is secure for at least the next 18 months and that on this basis the Charity is a going concern. Accordingly, these financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value.
## Fund Accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Directors in furtherance of the general objects of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Directors for particular purposes. The aim and use of the designated fund is set out in note 19.
Restricted funds are funds subject to specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. Where allowed by the donor, the cost of raising and administering such funds is charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Statutory grants which are given as contributions towards the Charity's core services are treated as unrestricted income.
Endowment funds represents those assets that must be held permanently by the Charity.
## Income
All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Income from government and other grants is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income which is subject to conditions before the Charity is entitled to the funds, is deferred and not recognised until those conditions are met.
Donated goods and services are included at the fair value to the Charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102), no amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.
## Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Shared direct costs are allocated between charitable activities according to the staff time spent on each activity. Support costs are the cost of functions that assist the work of the Charity but do not directly undertake charitable activity. They include finance, HR, IT and governance costs. Support costs are allocated between the cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities in proportion to the staff costs attributable to those activities.
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## Termination Payments
Termination benefits, including redundancy payments are recognised when the Charity has the obligation to pay the benefits and they can be reliably measured.
## Operating Leases
Rental income receivable under operating leases is recognised on a straight line basis over the lease term.
Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they fall due.
## Tangible fixed assets and depreciation
Tangible fixed assets costing £1,500 or more are capitalised at cost and depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on the following straight line bases:
Asset Category Annual Rate Premises, including additions and improvements (excluding land) 2% of cost Sports and play equipment 12.5% of cost Other equipment 20% of cost
## Stock
Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value after making due allowance for obsolete and slow-moving stocks.
## Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year
Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
## Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
## Investments
Investments represent cash deposited on fixed terms with a maturity of between three and twelve months from the date of opening the account.
## Financial instruments
The Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
## Taxation
The Charity is an exempt Charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010.It therefore meets the definition of a Charity for UK corporation tax purposes.
## Pension arrangements
The Charity operates a defined benefit plan (Local Government Pension Scheme – LGPS) for the benefit of its employees who joined before May 2013. This is a defined benefit scheme operated by the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA). A liability for the Charity’s obligations under the plan is recognised net of plan assets. The net change in the net defined benefit liability is recognised as an actuarial gain or loss in the Statement of Financial Activities during the period. Pension plan assets are measured at fair value and the defined benefit obligation is measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit method. Actuarial valuations are obtained triennially and are updated at each balance sheet date for the purposes of the preparation of the annual financial statements.
At the year end, the fair value of the pension scheme assets is £2,146,000 which is £425,000 in excess of the present value of the defined benefit obligation of £1,721,000. When the scheme gives rise to a potential asset, the Charity is required to assess the basis for recognising an asset on the balance sheet against the FRS 102 criteria, this being ‘An entity shall recognise the plan surplus as a defined benefit asset only to the extent that it is able to recover the surplus either through reduced contributions in the future or refunds from the plan.’ In using the word ‘shall’, the emphasis is placed upon the Charity to consider the value of such an asset, rather than whether an asset should be recognised in the first instance. Accordingly, the Charity has considered the value at which they can benefit from either (1) refunds from the plan or (2) reduced contributions. As the Charity intends to continue to participate in the LGPS scheme, the likelihood of a refund being due has been deemed as remote and not practically achievable. Secondly, although the employer contributions have been reduced from 25.3% to 14.9% from 1 April 2023 until March 2026, the asset is not realisable due to there being only 2 active employees in the scheme. Accordingly, the Charity has not recognised the pension asset of £425,000 as at 31 March 2024.
The Charity operates a defined contribution plan through Friends Life which all employees are entitled to join. It is the default scheme for autoenrolment. Contributions are expensed as they become payable.
Staff costs, including the cost of pension contributions, are allocated to activities according to an estimate of the time spent on each activity. Where staff posts are funded by restricted grants and donations, the cost, including the cost of pension contributions, will be allocated against these restricted funds. Otherwise, the cost of pension contributions is funded from unrestricted general funds.
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## Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have been made in the process of applying the above accounting policies that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements:
- Allocation of support costs
- Depreciation rates for tangible fixed assets
- Useful economic lives of assets
- Pension scheme assumptions resulting in the valuation of the Scheme's assets
## **2. Donations and grants**
Donated goods and services comprised sculptures from Great Ormond Street Hospital, video production and assistance with the fireworks event from Sunbelt Rentals, marketing and communications support from NBCU, off-site storage from Attic Storage and Our Little Library built by Paul Godbolt.
The full comparable information for the prior year is set out in Note 27.
## **3. Charitable activities**
## **4. Other Trading Activities**
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## **5. Analysis of grants, contracts and donations by donor**
At 31 March 2024, no unfulfilled conditions existed on funding from government and similar bodies (2023: None).
The full comparable information for the prior year is set out in Note 28.
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## **6. Analysis of expenditure by activity**
The full comparable information for the prior year is set out in Note 29.
## **7. Analysis of support and governance costs**
Support costs are apportioned to different activities in proportion to the staff costs attributable to those activities.
The full comparable information for the prior year is set out in Note 30.
## **8. Net income / (expenditure) for the year**
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## **9. Analysis of staffing costs and the cost of key management personnel**
There were no redundancy payments in the year. (In 2022-23, three redundancy payments, in total £46,992, were made out of the provision of £67,350, which had been set up in 2021-22.)
One employee received employee benefits between £60,000 and £70,000 (2023: No employees received employment benefits in excess of £60,000).
The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the Directors of the Corporate Trustee, the Chief Executive Officer, the Fundraising Manager, the Buildings and Facilities Manager, the Head of Early Years, the Out of School Club Manager and the Head of Youth and Sports. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £322,106 (2023: £297,372), including employer's national insurance of £29,105 (2023: £26,889).
## **10. Staff Numbers**
The average head count during the year was 43 (2023: 39) and the average number of full-time equivalent employees was:
## **11. Directors of the Corporate Trustee**
The Directors of the Corporate Trustee did not receive any remuneration or other benefits from the Charity during the year (2023: £Nil) neither were they reimbursed expenses during the year (2023: £Nil). No Director received payment for professional or other services supplied to the Charity (2023: £Nil).
## **12. Related party transactions**
Three Directors of the Corporate Trustee, Michael Horowitz, Martin McNeill (until his resignation on 26th September) and Toni McDermott (with effect from 2nd November), are also trustees of Coram's Fields Sports and Recreation (CFS&R) a Charitable Incorporated Organisation which commenced trading on 1st June 2021, with an operating lease from the Charity for the use of the sports pitches on Coram's Fields. Details of the operating lease are set out in note 21. In addition, the Charity recharged CFS&R £37,163 (2023: £32,213) for related utility costs and for office and administration support, the full amount included in year end debtors. CFS&R awarded grants of £70,000 and £130,000 to the Charity in November 2023 and March 2024 respectively (2023: £60,000), included in note 5.
There were no other related party transactions during the year (2023: none).
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## **13. Tangible fixed assets**
The endowment fund reflects the original cost of the land & buildings, plus additions and improvements, less accumulated depreciation. A legal charge was granted to Sport England in July 2015 in relation to a grant of £200,000 for the refurbishment of the sports pitches.
## **14. Debtors**
## **15. Investments**
## **16. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
## **Deferred income**
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## **17. Provision for Liabilities**
The Charity began a consultation concerning the staffing of the park's ground staff in March 2022, which was fully concluded during last year. The provision of £67,350 established in 2021-22 represented an estimate of statutory redundancy costs and additional payments to the LPFA pension scheme. All outstanding liabilities had been settled by the end of the year (2023:provision balance remaining of £17,336).
## **18. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year**
## **19. Analysis of charitable funds**
## **Endowment Fund - land and buildings**
The land and buildings of Coram's Fields were acquired in 1935 at a cost of £425,000 as a result of public subscription. They are held as a permanent endowment and can be used only for the education and recreation of young people. Part of the funding was received from the then London County Council (LCC). Should the site ever be sold a sum, to be agreed with the Department for Education and not exceeding the original grant of £52,000 from the LCC, must be refunded to the responsible successor to the LCC, which is the London Borough of Camden.
The endowment fund reflects the original cost of the land & buildings, plus additions and improvements, less accumulated depreciation.
With the consent of the Charity Commission, a legal charge was granted to Sport England in July 2013 in relation to a grant of £200,000 for the refurbishment of the sports pitches. A legal charge granted to The Big Lottery Fund in May 2007, in relation to a grant of £250,000 for the refurbishment of the youth centre building, expired in 2020/21.
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## **19. Analysis of charitable funds (continued)**
## Restricted capital funds
The Charity has a long-term programme of major refurbishment and improvement works. Expenditure in the year using Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding from London Borough of Camden, included repairs of doors and windows, roofing repairs and the installation of emergency lighting. Where funds are spent on items that are capitalised as fixed assets, the funds are transferred to the designated fixed asset fund. In 2023-24 the costs of emergency lighting of £23,568 were capitalised. Capital funds at the end of the year represent the unspent amount of CIL funding still to be used on capital works in due course.
## Restricted revenue funds
These represent grants and donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the Charity's work, either funding wholly, or in part, specific posts, sometimes with an element for non-staff costs and otherwise providing general funding for the specific service. Grants are received from a variety of trusts, foundations and funding organisations, which are included in Note 5. Balances to be carried forward into 2024-25 have arisen either where the funding covers a specific period which straddles our financial years and/or where funds received have not yet been spent as intended.
## Designated fund for premises refurbishment
The Directors maintain a premises refurbishment fund, set aside from unrestricted revenue, with the objective of investing to improve the Charity’s historic grounds and buildings. Part of the purpose of holding this fund is to demonstrate the ability to provide matched funding for subsequent donations to the Capital development plan project for the planned redevelopment of the site. The fund was not used in 2023-24 nor in 2022-23.
## Pension reserve
The Charity operates a defined benefit pension scheme, as a member of a multi-employer scheme operated by the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA). The pension scheme's actuary provided an assessment of the Charity’s share of the scheme’s net assets at 31 March 2024 of £425,000 (2023: asset of £419,000). The trustees do not consider the asset to be a realisable one, so the asset has been written down to nil.
## Sheila Hamburger legacy
During the year, the legacy received in 2020 was used to start delivering a programme of green space and playground development and the Charity is now finalising plans for a memorial as part of the reading corner in the community café.
The full comparable information for the analysis of charitable funds for the prior year is set out in Note 31.
## **20. Analysis of net assets between funds**
The full comparable information for the prior year is set out in Note 32.
## **21. Income from operating leases**
In 1967, the Charity entered into a deed with University College London (Institute of Child Health) to lease a piece of land at the north east corner of the site. The deed included permission to erect a building, known as the Wolfson Centre. The current lease entered into on 4 October 1985 and amended by Deed of Variation on 29 January 2009, runs until 2033. Rental income is reviewed every five years and is based on the movement in the Retail Price Index over the previous five year period. The most recent review took place in March 2023.
From April 2024 the Charity renewed a rental agreement with Coram's Fields Sports & Recreation to lease the sports pitches. The current lease runs from April 2024 to March 2027, with monthly rent of £30,000.
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## **21. Income from operating leases (continued)**
At 31 March 2024 the total of the future minimum lease receipts under non-cancellable operating leases was:
Income for the year from the operating leases for the Wolfson Centre and sports pitches is disclosed in note 4.
## **22. Capital commitments**
## **23. Commitments under operating leases**
At 31 March 2024 the total of the Charity's future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases was:
## **24. Pension and similar obligations**
The Charity operates two pension schemes: a defined benefit scheme which is part of the multi-employer Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) operated by the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) and a defined contribution scheme with Aviva. The Aviva defined contribution scheme is the pension scheme for auto-enrolment.
## Defined contribution scheme obligations
The pension cost for the year of the defined contribution scheme, excluding salary sacrifice amounts, was £34,103 (2023: £26,861). Contributions of £5,499 were outstanding at the end of the year (2023: £5,327).
## Defined benefit scheme obligations
The pension cost for the year of the defined benefit scheme was £23,188 which included a strain payment resulting from redundancy of £8,388 (2023: £47,675 included a strain payment of £7,258). There were no additional contributions to the pension scheme (2023: £Nil). No contributions were outstanding at the end of the year (20232: £Nil).
## Valuation of the defined benefit pension scheme
An actuarial valuation of the fund as at 31 March 2024 was completed in May 2023. The valuation was carried out in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS102) rolling forward financial assumptions from the previous valuation data, adjusting for market conditions at 31 March 2024 and income, expenditure and retirement data for the Charity for the period to 31 March 2024.
The valuation as at 31 March 2024 showed the net value of the Charity's share of the scheme's assets (fair value of the assets less present value of scheme liabilities) to be an asset of £425,000 (2023: asset of £419,000). This surplus of £425,000 is recognised in the financial statements only to the extent that the Charity can recover that surplus, either through a reduction in future contributions or through a refund to the Charity. It is not possible for the Charity to receive a refund as the conditions for this have not been met, and although the percentage contribution has been reduced to 14.9% until March 2026, the asset is not realisable due to there being only 2 active employees in the scheme. Rather than showing an asset of £425,000 the trustees have for the second year valued the Charity's share at as 31 March 2024: at nil, resulting in no actuarial gain for the year (2023: gain of £647,000) shown in the Statement of Financial Activities.
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## **24. Pension and similar obligations (continued)**
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## **24. Pension and similar obligations (continued)**
## **25. Ultimate controlling party**
The Charity's Trustee is Coram's Fields Company Trustee Limited a company limited by guarantee (registration number: 09001024) which controls the Charity. The Company is dormant and has never had any assets or liabilities. The members and directors of the Company are shown in the Trustee's Report.
## **26. Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities**
## **Analysis of net debt**
The Charity has no borrowings, no overdraft nor any other forms of debt (2023: nil).
**In accordance with the requirement of the Charities SORP (FRS 102) to disclose comparative information for amounts included in the notes to the accounts, the following notes 27 to 32 set out information for the prior year, as previously disclosed in the financial statements for the year ending 31st March 2023.**
## **27. Donations, grants and legacy - prior year**
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## **28. Analysis of grants, contracts and donations by donor - prior year**
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## **29. Analysis of expenditure by activity - prior year**
## **30. Analysis of support and governance costs - prior year**
## **31. Analysis of charitable funds - prior year**
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## **32. Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year**
## **33. Prior year results by fund**
These are analysed in the Statement of Financial Activities and Balance Sheet.
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Coram's Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground | Registered Charity Number : 302963