North Down and Ard8 Downs Syndrome Support Group NIC number 107166
TRUSTEES REPORT
For the financial year ended 11t Febnwy 2026
The Trustsas present their Trustees re￿t and unaudiied fmncial statements for the year ended 1
February 2026.
MI￿lOn, oblectSves and str410gy
MIs8lon •tatsm•nL"
Relieve the needs of persons affected by Down's syndrom in any chariiabie way but in particular by..
Providing services in the Ards and North area to encourage peo* *ith Down's
syndrome to ￿hleYe their full potenlial.
Promoting the integration of all people wlth Duwn's syndrome and their families into theSr
communities regardless of distinction.
Providing apwopnate suppNt and informakn to Mv parents of babies with Down's
syndrome.
The nurturbng and developrrmt of social skilh. fr*ndships with peers. and increased
Confidence so that wrth Dtr*n's sy￿1￿)￿ feel less isol8ted and can provide the
maximum conlribution to soc4ety.
The creatw)n of a netsvork of people wlh experEThx of Ixinging up children wbth tknvn's
Syndrome who can $UpF￿ parents with younger ¢hildren and bab* with Down's Syndrome.
8tructur¢. governance and managomenL
Irustees who served durirwJ the year ate as folows:
Mie**aela BUm￿de
Andrea McRoberts
Gillian GedgtrDufy
Janis Irving-Pro¢tor
Janis Irving-Procior ¢c￿tinued as ChawFWWI throughoui the year.
Ouring the year the group met regu*. aThJ minutes of m8etifvJs were kepL We changed bank
a¢¢ounts durirvj the year meanirKJ Ihat Ihe treasurer can, together with a countersignatory. pay for
gothjs and Serrf￿ with greater ease through online payffents.
R•vl•w of actfvltles, achlev•monts and performanc•
During the year the group continued to kyovth a weekly Ycga group for members of all ages. In
addition to this we held regular sessi)ns with"rressy n￿lAg$. and Squ￿gIeS and giggles- for
babies. loddlws and their parentsl carer5.
È alx) held a Summer ouling for all methrg famil*s and a Christmas paty as well as a trip to the
Grand Opera house Pantomime k)r chitdren and youNJ adults aged over 10 and their parentsl carers
and a kn"p to the Pantomime in Stranmillis for under 10's and their families. A members relative

donated the b)x for Bewasl Grants for we attendwj this on three occasvjns. In
additDn to this we organised some ouiings to go b(Ything fi)r members and their families.
We were extremely successlul with fundraifAng this year. Tr kral branch of the ProgressNe Buikjing
society offered lo sponsor us frjf Ihe year with a large donatK*n of £10CiI. our IKal Tesco store
donated £3500 through their Groundworks. Stronger together wogramme. As well as this there were
several successfiJl fundraisers organised by ￿r[tsr5 and their families: these included a Tractor
Run. vintap car ralty, Musical BirKJo and Raffle evening and a members relative who ￿ the London
Marathon c￿r group. Anolher member linked with her workp*e to register our group for their
Benevity scheme. thts resulted in donations of over £2000.
AS a result at year end we are wel resourced financially whth shoukl provide activities for the group
for the next few years.
Flnanclal rnvlow
See report ￿ income and expenditure.
Resuhs and dlvidends
At the end ol the financial year the charity has assets of £12.715.0112025 £1774.79) and liabiffil￿s of
£00.0012025 £00.00). The net assets of the tharity have MKreased by £10,940
Reference and Admlnlstratlve d•tall•
We have an ethted chairperson. secretary arKI treasurer with desb3nated roks within the 9[￿p. We
also have three trustees who all assist in the efficient funning of Ihe ￿ganiSatiOn.
Publlc bon•fft 8tst•mont
The North Oown and Ards D(x¥ns syndroff￿ is set up for the benefit of its members and their families.
Our locus indudes the nurturing and devel0pff￿nt of social skilLs. friendships with peers,
increased confidence for people with Down's Syndroff*. The aim of this is that our chiklren and
youn9 aduhs feel less isolated and can wovhje the maximum ￿ntribUtIon to so¢￿ty.
I￿￿ also set out to promot8 a greater understanding of*tst D(Thvn's Syndrome is. how people vrith
Down's Syndrome can be supported to achiove their potential and hthv they can be ￿pted into and
contribute lo everyday society. We strNe to create of a netsyork of peo￿ with experience of bringing
up children with Down's Syndrome who can share advi￿ wtlh parenls of younger chikiren and babiès
with Down's Syndrome. The aim of this is to reduce isolath)n and the fear ol the unknown and
erryower families to make better chrmces for their chikl.
This ne￿Ork also serves to alkAv rnembers to share kn(Th*lethJe about events. clubs and so¢ielies
wrthin the area so that others can ty these out. This prowrf)les soch41 inclusK)n. the deVeh?p￿nt of
fr*ndships and support netM4orks and the devdopment of varK)us skills such as social. nb)ior skills,
and lrfe skills.
The Success of our witentions 15 evidenced through ffKJnitoring the developrrent of our members.
Evidence of this includes inyoven*nts in Soci￿ interactw)n wlth peers. and the general public.
educatK)nal successes and employment $u¢tssses. also ev￿enCe succ8SS through monitoring
how our members feel they are accepted into soc*.
The efficacy of tr¢e group is also evkjenced through growirKJ membership. especially those wtlh
very young children and babies and through seeing frierKlshps develop beknveen the children and
their parents. The ev￿t$ Ihat we hold Improve comMun￿at￿￿. gross and fine mtor skills in infants
and ¢hlklren social skills conmence in the older chrfdren.
The wrpose of the charity does not lead to any harm and is no private fina￿la1 benefit

The beneftciaries of the charty are wimarily people ￿￿1h D(r•m's SyndronE along with their families,
friends, carers and the general public as a whole. strive to suppyt our members to develop as
individuals. promob'ng 9￿ater so￿1 inclusK)n and &Cept￿ for people *ryth Downs syndrome in
mainstream S￿Iety. In thbs way we to benefft soc* as a whole.
Our specfft SUPFth ftjr parents and Garers of childrèn with L)wn's Syndrome can span the whol8 of
the chld's development aThJ Ir￿lude matters such as feediw. heallh. toiletin9 and education.
The benefi¢iaTies of the charity are the members with Dcp•ms syndr¢me and their families
and caregivers.
Approved by the Board ol Trustees on 18105r26 and svJned on bts bghalf by
Janis Irving-Prcttor. Chairpers(