Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Service Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directovs Report) (continufjd) Year ended 31 Mah 2021 Strueturfy governanee #nd mallAgemellt Accord Nl bas centres across N. Ireland with its Re8iOD210ffi¢¢ based in Belfa8L This yeaT the company Ily operdtionai with a centsal administration, ac(x)unt payment priwscs were effectivety implemented and reviewed. In 2020121, th¢ company had 2 11 time Ind 3 part-time employees, 56 volunteexs and 6 in trnilling. Th¢ Board of Tnjstees met on a quarterly basis and the day to day operations have been delegated to th¢ r¢gioDal director. Accord Nortbern Irelalld CLG Catholic MaTriage Care Service has 9 regional centres in Belfasl Derry. Arn814 Newry, Maghry oma BallyllLen4 Enniskillen and Downpatrick. 8n outreach eelrtre, in Coleraine and a Regional Office in Belf&st. Objectives and *ctlviti Accord is an agency of the Catholic Chur¢h providing a service to couplcg prepanng foT or seeking a deeper eomjnittnent withill tkn Sacramart of Marriage. Accord's setvices ate open to all regardless of faith, d¢nomination or non¢. Services are provide& based on client ueed rkthu than ability to pay. tn the marriage edu¢alion programme we emtM)wer couples to explore and reflect on the ential elements of their marriage and the PUTpose and value of their choices within a Committ relationship. Accord specialises in nter-Ccb llriage pr¢pardtion and works with clergy from the other main denorninations. Accotd'5 Wst primary relationships and sexualiry education servie¢ - Ix)ve Matters. _ developed in partnership with the CCEA is under review. It is a progrdmme for young people aged I I to 16 years to help them develop safe and fillfilling r¢lationships. RelatioELship ClmDsellillg is provided for couples as w¢U as individuals in a couple r¢lationship in a carmg and confidentsai maDn¢r. People who benefit from ow work are", Those whose ability to communicate in maThiage is cnhanod in Dwriage preparatio Those who learn through counselling to cope Wit what oll their OW would be ovtr-wbeltning hallenges in their relationshi. Those WILO avail of fhe fertility and wellbeing service. The Chi are h¢lp¢d through counselling to sepaTate amicably and to Min1ze the consequential damage to their cbildren.
Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Servlce Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report {Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (coRtinu•dJ Year ended 31 March 2021 Obje¢tives and activities Accords coullselling service co]rIbut&S in a very positive way to the happin&5s and well-being of many children. often very significantEy. wh¢n th¢ir par¢nts seek help in order to resolve their relationship difficulties. This is even mot? critical for children living in sitLtstions of doinesti¢ viol¢n¢e or abuse. The family is necessary for the stability of society as a unit in which cbildw the tllre g¢ncrdtion, are nurttwed, cared for amd Teared into adulthood. The reaction of parents to each other in their home environment and the example children see set by them Shapes and mould5 to a great degree the pattenL8 of thinking, feelitig artd behaviour of young people. The family gready coDtributes to and influences personality developtllellt for children. As they grow. Children, thaw into themselves attitudes and styles of life from around those persons living close to the1 they mirror the behaviour of others and frequently act it out in their own lives. It follows frorn this that emotionally unhealthy or dysfunctional families find the task of rearing and enabling children to be balanced and happy is quite challenging and difficult. Bccause of the i]ntK)rtallce of the family for the Ixfe and w¢ll-b¢ing of society li is essential that Accord continues to work to provid¢ th¢ n¢ctssary suprtS to strengthen marriage and the family. Accord's work falls within activities Manded by the Depatht of Health Family and Children's Policy Directorate. Ill addition, the alTh of the organisation dovetail with and complimeni the Govemment's Families Matter - Supporting Families in liolthern freland (28). This strategy supports the aims and objectives of another strdt¢gy-'Ollr Children and Young People, Our Pledge'_ whtch s¢ts out the vision for improving support for families and ¢hildT¢n. With I I locations throughout Northern JrelaTML Accord Nl Strives to as 2ccesgible &s possible 8nd io reach out to those most aTga1tsed ID our society. The vast majority of people who avail from our services could not afford couns¢lling within the private se¢tor. Au additio11 diT¢Ct Een¢fii is tbat beipillg faD]ilies to remain together reduc4s the cost to the exthequer. Public Benefil Th¢ m]5tr¢5 of Accord (ND have fiilly complied with th¢ Public Benefit Yequirements as set out irt the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's statutory guidance on public benefiL The main purpose of Accord (ND is to sUprt the f8n)ily and relaiionships and they do this by Providing marriage and relationship counselling and facilitating pre marriage ¢OUTSes throughoutNorthern Ireland. Strat¢gl¢ report The following sections foT achievements perfornwlce. finartci review and plalls for periods fornh the strategic report of the thDty.
Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Service Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (Lttu9 Year ended 31 March 2021 Achievemellts gnd p¢rforJnallee The economic hardship a{ social CODstraillts impowj by the Corottavln pandemi¢ ¢hang¢d life for everyone and caused significant th'Stre to m#Triages. relationships and families. Many couples hkd to deal with illn¢&s and loss, the UnCernty of ernploymenl home-sch¢)oling and Precedented levels of stress and pre&sure. To help alleviate distr. a Covid-19 Emergency Couples Support Helpline became opeiational, mallned by volunteer. acuedited usello[S. This proved to be a lifeline for people during lockdown and the service was available Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm. This Supp)rt Helpline re5Trnded to 597 calls from indiv1thl5 and couples experierKing difficulti&S ll) their relatiollships. Accord Nl responded iti the following ways= For individuats living iti feat at home, Accord NI ¢ouTtselloEs were able to identify and handle domestic abuse. In such situations the priority is th¢ safety of the fearful person and their children. Ac¢ord sw?ported individuals to develop a safety plan and advised on specialist crisis Sport CQDtacl numbers.. AccoTd Nt advised that, in g¢n¢rnl. Coupl should ty aod k¢¢p th¢ lines of comrnuDication open with their spouselpartner, be Conscio of how they raise issues with their spous&p8rther, and be willing to look at themselves and their bebaviow ID addition to their SEse1 paTtsierfs shortcomings. When permitted aDd in compliance with Govemment health athice and gwdance. Accord Nl provided 861 [a¢¢-tfe counselliDg knuls. The orgaD]Sati0 during the ttme of incr¢ased r¢strictions, took steps to millimtse the amount of its staff and volunteers tbat needed be physically in officeg. The Departrnent of H1th is%ued a letter to Accord counsellors confimiing that they were catrying out an essential s¢rvice a& slipulat¢d by the DepaTknent of Health Nl as a voluntary registered chatity part-fund¢d by DOH Accord provides ¢oullKlling couples and individuals experienclng relationship diffi¢ults"e5 including domestic abth. This wot* is especially needed in this unpr¥edented tiTne of stres5 and anxiety for couples and familics. We alt particularly aware that the quality of couples. latiOnshIpS is Itkely to deteTiorate (tllring this time with an increased likelil0d that children will be exposed to unsafe behaviow in the home.,
Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Service Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (contsnua• Year ended 31 March 2021 Acbievements 4nd perfornwi¢e Ir4wrtin¥rfé) Accord NI embarked on a progt¢ssive progranjme to train ¢4)unsellors onlille couple counselling and provide 2 safr and ethical internel platforn) for delivery of this service, in addition to fA¢e-tO-fac¢ cow)sellin& when po&gible. Protocols for online counsellin& and in preparntion for the rcopening of face--face COUDselling. were developed and all counsellors and adMintratorS were trained to tqUre publi¢ health gui(klines were 8dbthed to. This w&s also a time whell many couples wue Suffering the dIppOintment of having to postpone their weddings. Accord Mlage Education Facilitators offered support and deliv¢red marriage prepar10 to 905 couples. An adaptcd Virtual Interactive Marriage Preparation course was developed for delivery by zoom confetencing and frdcih"tstors enthusitistically engaged in the necessary training. Peer Support Groups have been established and extra administration has been put in pla¢e to accommodatr hosting of courses. Every effort w&s made to aCcommote eouple$ marrying up to March 2021 who were unable to acc a facC-t¢fa¢e c4)urs¢. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for ¢OUDselloE4 alld facllitator5 was provided in the toltow8 areas,. th¢ adapt¢d Virtyal Interactive Marrtage Prepard¢ion Progrrne, Couples & Rclationships Telephone Support and Online Counselling. Research comtnissioned by Accord Nl Catholic NlaTriage Cate stlee to analys¢ the Cuent PTQViSiOll for Relationships and Sexuality Education in Catholic st-prIMary schools An tbe Northem Diweses of trelatt4t was submitted in a re[ in April 2020. Accord Nl had three prlncipal aitns ill COTnmissioning the report: To begin a cycle oereview of the Accord (NI) Re]atiorLships and Sexuality kntion programme and resources that w¢r¢ first developed itl 2002. To analyse evidence sutTiciently enough to be able to forniulate WQTkable suggestions for the way ab¢ad io ¢thang RSE provision in Catholi¢ sth(KTr]s in Northern Ireland. To copIete a scoping report that id¢utifi¢$ th¢ Streng aod ar for developn)ent in th¢ provision of Relationships and S¢xua]ity Educatio To acbi¢v¢ these aiw il was thided that the approa¢b was undenakn a qualithiive srudy that careIlY sampled the situation in seven rM)st-primary Catholic schools. There are two main reasons behind this decision. Firsc qualitative reSeah allows for a Te tn-d¢pth ¢xploration of the provision of RSE. Rather than qllantlfyillg survey respojws or pr¢s¢nting tll¢asurable dats about student and t¢a¢h¢r attitlths to RSE, the attention is on COgniS1ng what different groupings within the school have to say about this imporfant part of the curriculum. Second a qUltatiVe approach allow the research to be fratned as a listenirLg ¢xercis¢ - conducted on be]Lalf of the Northern Bishops. A key goal was to listen carefully to what teachery governors. YOW Ople and their parents hav¢ to say about RSE in their Catho]ic school. This gave thc KseATch project an added pastoral dimension. As the research proceeded it quickly be¢xme apparent that the schLN)Is involved valued the OPFKbrtunity lo be part of a rport that was going ba¢k tt> their bishops. FUSIng on a sample of seven schools &5 part of a qualitative research investigation generdtrd a rich set of dat& It providas a timely and accurate snapshot of RSE in Catholic post-primary schools in Northern Ireland.
Accord Northern Ireland Cathollc Marrlage Care Service Company Llmlted by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (coftknuedj Year ended 31 March 2021 FiDan¢iai revlew AcLord Northern Ireland Mwriage Care SeThice obtains finance from a Thutllber of sources. prin)arily 8raot support from the Department of HeaJiK TnaTriage preparntion Courses, counselling ContriblOnS and diocesan grdnts. Given the unAvotdable loss of contributions from clients and couples and in order to meet ongoing costg, Accord Nl actively avaited of funding from thc D¢parlm¢nt for Communiti¢s to help alleviate financial diffi¢ulties. As of Ibt May 2016 the Accord Regional Offic¢ and the 9 centres ceased to operate individually and all resources were transf¢tred into the bank accounts of Accord Northern ITeland Catholic Marriage Care SeTvice. Since then. all fvnds have i*en lodged inio atsd all expenses have been paid from accounts operated und¢T the uame of the Accord Nl CLG.
Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Service Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) {rontinu) Year ended 31 March 2021 Plans for futDre periods In order to facilitate an effective online cout)selling servic¢ and ntinue face-tfrface counselling. Accord Nl will implement a seojre Case Management Systeln, thro Couns¢1360. This system will provide. A Global Calendar to replace centre appointment b(x)ks. enabling authorised stsff to quickly s¢¢ what counselling sessions a coming up, whicb completed sessiotts need to be UExlated 2nd importantly see Counsellor and Centre availability- Refe[ inforniation, captured once and avoidig rekeying of the same infornmion into muhiple systems {on papu, in the app)intmellt spreadskn}. All client and case related documentstion scanlle4 up10ed and stored c¢ntrally in Counse1360, leading to a reduction in paperwork a[ filing slorag¢ required. Counsellor login and UFMJating of counselling sessions online via the system securely from any I1tiOn wtth an internet connecti Ease of rep)rting as all the dats is in on¢ ceDtrniised datsbase. Supervision wsio]LS mattaged via the system ty t*Ure best practice coDwliarKe. Accommodation oflM)th online coutL8elling and ]n-pe counselling s&ssion& and m8n#gement of waitsng lists. GDPR £ouJpliance. A ffview of the Accord Malage F¥eparafion Programme w&8 completed and the pilot of a Tevised prowmme begon but had to be suspended in March 2020 thi¢ to Covid-19. Fina] recommendations will be submitted to the Board of Directors for ratification. on completion of the piloL and training will be rolled out for all Marriage Education Facilitators. A vtdeo supwt priests complettng the fin stage of the Marriage repatation Ptogramme is in prothKtion and will be nmde available througb diocesan strn¢ttJres. Bookings for the Vial Inth]Ve Marriage Preparation Progranm)e (12 progrnn]mes per month) will continue until public hea]th guidance allows for the resumption of face-to-fact programm¢s. Peer Support Groups are being established and extra thinitrdtion is being put in place to accommodat¢ hosting of courses. Work on the revisiou of the following w>licie5 is neaTing ¢onwl¢tion.' Child SafeguardiDg. Domestic Abuse, Adult Safeguarding and Complaints Handlllw. Trnstets, responsibiiitles stsltement The trustees, who are also directOT5 for the Pur[K of Ix)mpany law, are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accountttig Standards (United Km8dom GeneTrlly Accwd ACc4)u8 Pwtice).
Accord Northern Ireland Catholic Marriage Care Service Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report {Incorporatlng the Directorfs Report) (Gondnu•o) Year ended 31 March 2021 copanY law requires the cFwity trustees to prw fiDancio15tat¢ments for each which give a true and fairview of the state of affairs of the charitsble company a1 the inc4)n)itig r¢sour¢es and application of resources, including the income and expenditur4 foT that peTiOd. In preparing these fllrdncial statemenL% the tswtees ar¢ r¢quired io: select suitable accoullting 11¢1¢5 and th¢D apply them consistendy" observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP. gtsie whether Applicable UK Accounting Statmlarth bav¢ been followe4 subject to any rnat¢Tial departures disclos¢d and ¢xpl&in¢d in the financial stateMts. prepare the financial ststements on the going concern blS it 1$ inappropriate to prmIe that the charity wiu coDlinue in IxLSiD¢SS. The tnjstees aTe respollsibl¢ for keillg adequate 0nting recoTds that are sufficient to show and explai the charity's tra1CtionS and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the finAncial position of the chatity and enable them io ensure tha( tbe fjnancial statements comply with the CoTnpanies Ad 2006. They are also responsible for 5&feguarding the Lssets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and d¢t¢ction of fraud aud oth¢r iTr¢guknti¢8. Auditor Earh of the persons who Is a tnjstee at the date of ap0¥aL of this rep(Mt confirlljs thatr. so as they are awaY¢, th¢ff is no r¢l¢vkot audit infornjation of vthi¢h the charitys auditor is unawLre' 2nd they have takell all steps that they oUt to have taken as a kntee to nmke themselves awar¢ of any relevant audit inforrnation to establish thxt the ch8Tity's auditor is of that Infornli01L The ttustees, annual r¢port and the stTategic report weTE approved on 9 November 2021 and siglled on behalf of the of t¢¢5 by: Archbishop Eamon Martin MTS Deirdre ORawe Cknity Sccrei