Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2022 Charity number 304693 ## Contents Page 3 Who we are Page 4 People Page 5 - 6 Services & Support Page 7 - 8 View from the Trustees Page 9 Financial Review Website www.yog.org.uk ## **Who we are** Yeovil Opportunity Group is a Registered Charity established in 1970. We are governed by a Constitution which was revised and accepted by the Charity Commission in 2010. Our charity number is 304693 **Our Bankers are:** Lloyds Bank plc The aim of the Group is to enhance the development and 9, High Street education of children irrespective of their race, culture, Yeovil BA20 1RN religion, means or ability and in particular, those with additional needs. We offer **Our independent examiner is** : specialist Early Intervention support and are dedicated to PS Wellspring FCCA giving children and their families extra help and support 42, St Andrews Avenue through the early years learning and development journey. Weymouth DT3 5JS The Group is based in Yeovil at the Balidon Centre, on the **Public Interest** Summerlands Hospital site. We are grateful to the Somerset Partnership for the How the Group delivers its principal charitable aim is provision of our facilities at a nominal cost and are very demonstrated in the rest of this report. The public benefit fortunate to arising from our work is implicit in the services delivered have a safe and secure building. and the education and support provided for children with additional needs to help them reach their potential, to the **Our correspondence address is** : benefit of society as a whole as well as the children and Yeovil Opportunity Group their families. We provide all of our pre-school and Balidon Centre transport services at a subsidised cost and the Rainbows Summerlands Hospital Time Together Group free of charge. Preston Road Yeovil BA20 2BX **Risk assessment** 01935 384157 email Kim@yog.org.uk The Trustees annually review the risks the Charity faces and takes appropriate ameliorative action where necessary. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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People
Patron
Graham Cole CBE Our thanks go out to the amazing team of staff who have
work tirelessly to ensure our children and families have the
Trustees
best possible start in life on their learning and development
journey.
Chair Jane Lock
Treasurer Simon Rowbottom
Volunteers
We are extremely grateful to our volunteers who
Trustees Rachel Goodfellow supplement the work of the staff team to great effect.
Julie Lewis
Without them the Group could not provide the services it
Wendy Vincent does.
Dr Gabriela Fillon
Secretary Min Hodges Students
Financial Advisor Simon Skipper
We are delighted to be able to regularly provide work
experience placements for students from local colleges and
YOG Team (2021/22)
schools. We also
welcome medical students from YDH, with their Tutors on a
Kim Duller CEO
regular basis.
Charlotte White Head of SEND & Childcare
Manager
Tracey Ward Deputy Manager &
SENCo
Jessica Jacobs SEND Key Worker
Kaye Boucher SEND Key Worker
Emily Gardiner SEND Key Worker
Hayley Robinson SEND Key Worker
Denise Watts SEND Key Worker
Libby Irvine SEND Apprentice
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||Our children and families receive a range of services and| |---|---| |Page 4|support they would not normally be able to access; the
opportunity to be able to| |**Services and Support**|have a positive start to their early learning and
development journey| ||and social beneft in terms of vulnerability and| |Yeovil Opportunity Group was the vision of a Consultant|achievement.| |paediatrician
and a Speech and Language therapist 52 years ago who
realised that children with special needs and disabilities
were not receiving|Additional support includes safeguarding, reduction and
prevention of escalation to high levels of complex need and
intervention.| |the learning & development support they needed in their|| |early years.|| |Despite many changes over the past 52 years, YOG still
provides support for children and families, but in a very
diferent world to when we frst started.|YOG supports children to be able to have a positive start to
their early education rather than fail at such an early age.
We also support families to become resilient, reducing the| |Our main main aim is to provide “Early Intervention”|likelihood of family breakdown and crisis.| |learning & development support for children with
disabilities_and their families_
_._|YOG provides a lifeline to many families when so many| ||other support services have been cut. Specialist Early| |Some children may have as many as 12 professionals,
sometimes more, working with them and come to us with a
range of needs including severe speech and language and
communication difculties, physical disabilities, complex|Intervention is proven to increase the chances of success
for both the child and family throughout their lives,
including successful transition into school and prevention
of exclusion.| |medical needs and life limiting conditions.|We work in partnership with an incredible number of| |Our aim is also to work with the “whole” family as this
majorly increases the chances of success, not just for the|professional services including the police, social services
and Somerset Safeguarding.| |child we are working with, but the whole infrastructure of
the family and their support network.|**We currently provide 3 core services: -**| **----- Start of picture text -----**
Pre-school Sessions 18 months to 5 our children, the staff team and parents.
We are open 5 mornings per week, during term time, Family Support Services
catering
for children aged 18 months to 5 years and Tuesday Whilst our aim is to ensure a smooth transition into school
afternoon. We with some of the children going on to attend mainstream
follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum to school, our role is far more strategic, yet subtle. In the last
support and enhance the children’s development and year, with an increase in charity
support their progress, funding for direct family support we have been able to
providing our children with a range of additional early strengthen and expand the services we provide.
intervention strategies to support their individual needs.
We also encourage families From day 1 at YOG, we provide support strategies which
to access their local mainstream pre-school on dual give parents the resilience they will need through their
placement and work SEND journey and our role in Early Intervention is
in partnership with these groups to ensure the best fundamental to the success of that journey.
possible learning
and development outcomes for the children. We offer daily support to parents and carers, including
signposting, liaison with professionals, submitting referrals
and EHCPs, helping parents with complex paperwork
Page 5 including housing, DLA and applications for funding,
to name a few. We regularly Chair various meetings and act
as advocates for our children and families. Our door is
YOG’s uniqueness stems from our incredibly strong working always open and parents feel confident that they can turn
relationships with the many professionals who support our to any member of the team for support.
children & their families.
Over the year we have worked directly with 31 families.
We provide a minimum ratio of 1:3, that being one
qualified SENCo early years’ practitioner per three children,
with most children receiving Rainbows Time Together
1:1 specialist intervention each day. To complement the
support our children receive from the NHS Speech & Rainbows provides an opportunity for parents of babies and
Language therapists we also employ a Speech & Language toddlers
therapist one morning a week to work with with additional needs to meet together with staff &
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therapists & play
with their children in a supportive environment. View from the Trustees – achievements
and performance
The sessions focus on singing, access to our sensory room
and tactile play. Children and their parents can access
activities such as finger painting, water play and, wet and In 2021/22 the Group consolidated its vision of a “Centre of
dry tactile play without the worry of clearing up afterwards. Early Intervention Excellence” for children with SEND.
The group is small to enable us to offer individual attention
to children and parents. There is always an opportunity for There were a number of “blips” along the way, with the
group or 1:1 discussion during the sessions and lots of recovery from
family support. the impact of COVID taking longer than anyone could have
anticipated.
Group numbers fluctuate as the children move into the
main group but over the year we have worked with 5 Illness amongst the children, the team, volunteers and
families. We welcome children from Dorset as well as students
Somerset to both sessions. was a constant throughout 2021, never quite knowing what
challenges each new day would bring.
We are grateful to our many varied professional colleagues
who work with the children and their families, and provide The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage Framework) was
us with invaluable support. revised and became law in 2021 and YOG was one of the
first Early Years settings to
Transport be inspected by Ofsted. After an incredibly detailed
inspection, including immensely positive feedback from
We continued to provide subsidised transport for parents parents, YOG was awarded “Good”.
wishing to use our mini bus service. During 2021/22 we
have provided transport for 8 children, who without This was an amazing feat following on from what had been
transport would not have been able to access YOG. an incredibly tough 2 years, and acknowledgement for all
of the hard work the team
had put in.
Charlotte White was recruited as Head of SEND/Group
Page 6 Manager, with
Kim Duller, becoming CEO. Tracey Ward, our Deputy
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Manager and qualified SENCo took on the additional role of to the National SEND Green Paper as well as the Somerset
student co-ordinator and mentor and our existing SEND strategy. YOG was also asked to give evidence to the
Keyworkers Jess and Kaye, both who had many years of Ofsted SEND return visit to the Local Authority.
SEND practical experience, undertook SENCo training to
become qualified SENCOs. 3 new SEND Keyworkers as well Referrals to YOG come from a number of sources. There
as a new SEND has been a significant increase from parents and families
Learning Support Assistant were recruited and Libby Irvine self-referring as well as from our partners in the NHS and
as our SEND currently (January 2023). There is a waiting list of 7
Apprentice continued to flourish and develop. children for the start of the Autumn term. Another
significant change has been the number of 2YOs being
Colin, our Mini Bus Driver kept our children not only safe referred with a diagnosis.
and well, but also provided the entertainment on the drive
to and from YOG. Page 7
Partnership and collaboration with local professionals and
agencies continued to go from strength to strength,
however it was an incredibly tough year with them With the new team and a redesign of the way we now
experiencing staff shortages and major difficulty with manage our facilities, we have been able to increase our
recruiting. Charlotte supported Somerset County Council in daily intake to 18, with a
the recruitment of new Inclusion advisors and has total of 28 children and families being supported on the
continued to provide support to the Area SENCo team. YOG register.
Our partnership with local specialist schools remains With inflation costs rising, currently 11%, the Early Year’s
incredibly strong as well as working in very close sector is struggling. Wages costs over the past 7 years
partnership with local mainstream primary schools and pre-have risen by 45%,
schools towards our dual placement strategy. whereas the basic hourly rate which is paid to Early Years
settings in Somerset has only increased by 11%.
YOG represents SEND Early Years on a number of Boards &
continues to lobby for increased SEND support for children In the UK, 124 Nurseries on Ofsted’s register closed
& families. Representatives from YOG currently sit on the between April 21
SENDIAS Board, The SEND Partnership Board, Early years and March 22. This impacted on 4,999 children with a high
Communities, various SEND strategy groups and the percentage
National SEND Early Years Board. The Trustees contributed coming from areas of high deprivation. This trend of
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closures is set to continue, with increasing concerns that children needing the Jane earliest SEND intervention are going to be increasingly excluded as nurseries fight for survival amidst rising costs. **Jane Lock** YOG is now operating at its maximum capacity and is **Chair of Trustees** reviewing how it might be able to increase capacity by working in partnership. During 2021/22 YOG provided places to 31 children and their families in our Preschool and 5 in our Rainbows Children’s group, a total of 36 children and families supported. Despite the economy being gloomy and the prediction of even tougher times ahead, the Trustees and the team at YOG remain optimistic. Now, more than ever YOG is able to present unequivocal evidence to demonstrate the difference that high quality SEND Early intervention makes to the life of not only a child, but also their whole family. Page 8 **Financial Review** YOG will continue to lobby for increased investment and recognition of the unique role that SEND Early Intervention has to play in the bigger picture and proof of the longer The Trustees anticipated a difficult year in terms of income. term benefit to society. This had been taken into this into account when producing the annual budget and there had been a number of “one On behalf of the Trustees, I would like to thank everyone off costs” specifically relating to the restructure of the who is involved with YOG for their incredible support and team to achieve the Vision. Our main sources of funding dedication to our SEND children and families. were from Somerset County Council in the form of the 15 hours’ entitlement and High Needs funding which totalled £62,862. (This included a COVID support grant of £2,162) and Session and transport fees of £1431. Expenses totalled £96,249 of which £85892 represented our wage costs. ## **Reserves Policy** The unrestricted reserves of the Group that were freely available for charity use at the year-end were £70,262. The Trustees consider a significant proportion of these are required for working revenue. The target is to maintain adequate reserves to enable the Group to continue running for a minimum 12 months, even if there is a significant reduction in funding. ## **We are grateful to our Donors as follows:**  Royal Masonic Lodge 2761  Preston Primary School  Numatic International Limited  Primark Stores Page 9  Somerset Community Foundation Ch*rlty Y4umber. 31M693 Yeovil Opportunity Group FlllaDd￿ Statements for the yur ended 31 fvlarrh 2022 Yeovll Opportunlty Gronp Index to the AMnMAI Re￿rt #nd A¢eounts for the yetr emded 31 Mvch M22 Yeovil Opportunity Group Chwlty Numb¢r mr5JL￿ Dr G Filll Mrs J Lewis Bulnem Mwr MsKDull The B4Tidon Centre Yeovil BA20 2BX Web ￿te Teleph•n¢ 01935 384157 Lloyds PIC 9 Hi8b Str¢¢t Yeovil BA20 IRN Independ¢mt PS Well8￿n8 FCCA tX)ryrt DT3 5JS Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of Yeovil Opportunity Group p•y3to9. A•th¢ ¢hlritytr￿￿ of Y1￿ )IM•tt rtqxmible frrthepryirkn ofth *xouthin with ¥E£4ioD 144(21 of the {￿wit1￿ Aet 2011 (the Act). ' S¢¢w 145 of the 2011 A¢ C4)thTDknnuttd¢r S*¢ioti 145(3Xb) of tr2011 ALL. Pwji S Wellw FCCA 42 St. Antr¢wJ Av¢ryx DT3 5JS D4t¢.. 11Ih Janu•ry.2023 Yeovil Opportimity Group ststemeat ofFknAncl•l Actlvllks (lucludlng IM¢om¢ •ttd Expendltllre A¢co4nt *od Statement of Totsl Rryised Gains aDd 1￿Me1) for the y￿r ended 31 M￿Ch 2022 2421 9Jl3 6V19 IOJ18 64.919 74 7S 216 216 733 733 (2I.9SBI ij 91487 SJ74 97.161 IS ￿6? ￿1 75 WJS Iwj 75JJJ 10.643 7JJSJ 18 Totsl In¢•ll 216 89,181 216 90,662 (3.481) (1.4811 14,9621 13.4811 (1.411) I4.￿2) To¢•1 fi*yJ•brn8bi frrn 55 IQZ,823 Yeovil Opportunity Group (Trry¥trati•D nuThb¢r. 31M693) Balance Sheet At 31 2022 Fhed A￿ts Tanzible fi￿￿￿ett iQ481 15.1Ifj7 1.058 82.757 83.815 65.391 66,483 Nct curroLt 65.422 75.￿3 82.794 97.861 Nrt •uets is 5.641 71J362 5.374 92.487 Total 75,￿3 97.661 siRt*d on tknir b¢baif by: Yeovil opporti￿lty Group for the yt*r emded 31 March 2022 V*ith the FioattiLi ReprfftiD8 StsTh1aYd applttoble in the arml Rybknt of IxelthTxI IFRS102) thttye l J4Dullry 2015 . CbAn"tt¢J SOB2 IFTrS 10214TwJ th¢ AL* 2(th. ult of th¢ trwi¢l￿ ts FRSIO2. . [k*￿tio￿ *rA gifi* 11¢ I￿lL￿d ill full ill thE ofPin￿l￿ kni¥itiM rnYiv•bl aDd serviceg frjr its i*nEf￿￿￿I￿S. It Im)Ib￿sts be nlkK*J ditediyto such •ctivitiEs IlwJsr coxts of Yeovll OpportuDIty Group Notrj to the fimAnclat st*ternents for the y￿r ended 31 Marth 2022 l A¢tounthi¢ ylkl¢•{Co•L) v4lu¢, 00 follrn 10 )Y4n Strnigbt line Mitii Debtot% C*th It bA#k attd IA h*ttd CAskL at iti h*tyl ¢•th *tyl•l¥M *rmbi8bly1¥4uM4 iDve*mBDtsllxt*Te rrnthly Lwltnrtibh kn 4 k￿Wll Pumd It￿￿￿tIn% polky objwlivw of the cb•xty. 2 TuAtIo 3J(Xl 3JrKI Beehive lthx 3,818 3,818 1943 Yeovll oppOrti￿nty Group Note4 to the tsternents ror tbe year eAded 31 MArth 2022 2021 34 1.431 59.268 1.431 59268 1.152 61119 IQ950 Session fees. tllcludiD8 HNF (SCC) 75 62 9l9 ￿5$ 216 216 216 132 85.W2 132 85,892 174 76.041 566 955 2410 95 563 955 248 458 955 Sthff travel co 3,853 287 4.140 3,918 1fv53 1.053 2.614 l.l70 Mini D¢prt¢iiti Office coJts I J03 450 450 50 733 B Staff cwts Of￿11￿E theyearwal 5 (W21 . 5) Yeovll op￿Irt￿nIty Grollp N•ta to the fmlnci￿ ￿t¢￿ellts for tbe yew ended 31 M￿Ch 2022 Totsl To 2•21 Al it J Aryil2021 15.502 31,687 4l.OlJ 94.l7l 94.171 at 31 MaTch2022 at IA￿12021 CThAry¢ forttr* yt4r 13.4tp3 31,055 3.lJ6 4.738 308 79.104 4.586 74.017 5.087 Net book valu A• at 31 M8r¢h 2022 A¥it3l M￿h2o21 31 l• Deblor*-d•t wtthlD on•yur 2022 2•21 2011 305 756 PAYE 439 12 R•11t￿ pthl CoBtrolllJ8 •nllty £llil). F•tsd# Opthiti8 l April 2021 OpwAtsD8 9wplu￿d¢fi¢1l} aoJiD¥ It 31 M*rth2022 91487 5,374 97,861 70 7￿] 63.682 (1.061) 70 10,481 66.483 (1,061) Yeovil OpportUDIty Group Notu to the Jtattmellts f•r th¢ year ended 31 Mar¢h 2022 (5 {541 {26) (150) 1.825 30B J44 362 170 450 3.510 33 4(J.867 51.620 (S,07T) 35, 34.472 74240 465) • OutO)•r pl*y 09￿. fijth thpoth pl•y•4U1Pm￿t 2011 Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of Yeovil Opportunity Group I report tu the truste¢s rny ¢xaThination of the accowjts of the Charity for the ytar ended 31 March 2022. which are set ¢)ut L)n pag¢s 3 10 9. Re5PeCtive Responsibilities of Tru5tee5 F.xaThl￿er As the chaTjry trustees of you are responsible for the preparation of the accounrs in aecordance wilh se£tion 144121 of the Charities Aci 2011 Ith¢ Acil. I rcport in respcci of my examination ofihe chariiys accounts. It is my rewnsibility to.. examine the accounts under Section 145 of the 2011 Act.. io tollow the procedures laid down in the generdl Direerions giv¢n by rhe Charity Commission und¢r SL¢iion 14515llbl of ih¢ 2011 Aci: and to slat¢ whethcr purticular mai*rs hai'e come 10 my aitcntion. Independent Lxamlner's Statement I hav¥ complciLd my Cxaminaiion. l ¢onfimi thai m)￿rial man¢rs hav¢ come io my aucniion in ¢oon¢ciion wilh Ihc ¢xaminaiion giving m¥ ca￿se io b¢lie%'¢ thai in any material r¢sp¢¢i'. iouniing r¢¢ords w¢r¢ noi k¢pi in rcsrtti of lh¢ ¢hariiy Is r¢quired by sttiion IJO of lh¢ A¢i.' or th¥ i¥ounis not a¢¢ord with ihos¢ r¢¢or(ts.' or lh¢ ilLLULinls nul Lumply with IhL JppliLoblL IL4uirLm¢nts ihL furin Lvnilni aLLuunls SLI uul iii IIIL h£iriti¢s IA¢¢ounL8 2nd R¢wrt%l Regulations ?IKI8 oih¢r ihan any r¢quir¢m¢nis ih31 th¢ a¢¢ounis giN¢ a 'iru¢ and fair vilw" which is not a mailer con%idcTed pan of an indepcndeni examinaiion. I havc no conLcrn¥ and have comc across no oihcr maitcrs in conncciion wtih Ihc examination lo which attcntion %hould bc drawn in Ihis ripurl in OTdLr IL) ¥nabli a propcr undcrslanding of Ihc ￿coUn1S lo bc rcachcd. Paiil 8 Well%pring FCCA 42 $1. Alldrcws Avcnuc WL'ymouih DT3 5JS Date.. 11th Janua.ry.2023