NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST Annual Report For the financial year ended 31 March 2023
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTTRUST REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Contents Page Trustees and Other Information Trustees, Report Independent Auditor's Report 9-12 Statement of Financial Activities 13 Statement of Financial Position 14 Statement of Cash Flow 15 Notes to the Financial Statements 16-30
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTTRUST TRUSTEES AND OTHER INFORMATION AT DATE OF APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Trustees P Sheridan A Treacy A Wilson P Hillman R Singleton K Rollo M Rainey G Maguire (resigned April 2022) F O'Brien I resigned May 20221 R Brown I resigned March 20231 Company Secretary A McGowan Registered and Principal Office 18b Newforge Lane Belfast BT9 5NW Independent Auditors Ruddell & Company Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors 16 - 18 Church Street Dungannon BT716AB Bankers Bank of Ireland l Donegall Square South Belfast BTI 5LR Solicitors Edwards & Co 28 Hill Street Belfast BTI 2LA Registered Number N1643348 Charity Commission Number 107999
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 The Trustees submit their Annu31 Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland {FRS 1021 (effective l January 2015) {"Charities SORP {FRS 1021,1, in preparing the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Company. Reference and Administrative Details Details of the Registered Office, Trustees, Independent Advisers and other relevant information are given on page 2. Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document Newforge Community Development Trust I'the Trust") is a Company Limited by Guarantee and therefore does not have share capital. Recruitment and Training of Trustees Trustees of the charity are elected in accordance with the Terms of Reference for the NCDT Board. Membership and composition of the Board is specified as follows: Chaired by Peter Sheridan (Co-operation Ireland) for a 3 year tenure; I x representative Royal Ulster Constabulary Athletic Association IRUCAA), 18b Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5NW; I x representative Police Service of Northern Ireland IPSNI), 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LD; I x representative Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue SeNice INIFRSI, I Prince William Road, Lisburn, BT28 3AN; I x representative Northern Ireland Prison Service INIP5), Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast. BT4 3SU; I x representative An Garda Siochana (AGS), Phoenix Park, Dublin, D08 HN3X, Ireland- I x representative Sports Changes Life ISCL), 78 Mersey Street. Belfast, BT4 IEY. The Board may also co-opt additional Trustees to sufficiently meet the needs of the Trust in achieving its objectives. Trustees from sporting representatives of Pegasus Hockey and Netball Nl were appointed to support the Board. Organisation Management The Trustees of the charity are legally responsible for the overall management and control of the Trust. They meet on a quarterly basis. They receive detailed Management Accounts and a Management Report from the Chief Executive and his Senior Management Team who are tasked with the day to day running of the charity. A Project Board meets on a monthly basis and makes recommendations to the Executive Board on financial matters. A Steering Group also meets on a monthly basis and undertakes specific inspections of policies, procedures and their implementation, to ensure the highest level of probity and corporate governance are maintained within the charity. The Trustees have ultimate lega l and financial responsibility for the affairs of the Trust. Day-to-day management is delegated to the permanent staff, through the Chief Executive. The Trustees of the Trust (as listed on page 21 at 31 March 2023, all have been Trustees for the whole of the year ended on that date, unless otherwise stated.
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTTRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (continued) Risk Management The Trustees of the charity are responsible for the management of risks faced by the Trust. Detailed consideration of risk is delegated to the Steering Committee assisted by the Chief Executive and his Senior Management Team. The key controls used by the charity include: Formal agendas for all Executive Board and all other Committee Meetings- Terms of Reference for all Committees; Delegation of Interests as an agenda item for all Committees; Comprehensive budgeting, management accounting and detailed reporting; Formal written policies which are reviewed on a regular basis; Clear authorisation and approval levels and transparent tendering procedure; Vetting procedures as required by law for the protection of the vulnerable; Vetting procedures for all employees to ensure the integrity of all personal information is maintained; Regular detailed surveys on all aspects of health and safety management. Through the risk management process the Trustees are satisfied that the major risks have been identified and have been adequately mitigated where necessary. Internal Control The Trustees are ultimately responsible for monitoring that the Trust has an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise, to provide reasonable assurance with respect to the: Busine55 being operated efficiently and effectively; Safeguarding of assets against unauthorised use or disposal; Maintenance of proper records and the reliability of financial information used within the Association or for publication,. Compliance with law and regulations. In assessing what constitutes reasonable assurance the Trustee5 have regard to the materiality of any financial risk5 involved, the likelihood of such risks crystallising and the cost of and benefits from particular aspects of the internal control system. The Trustees review the effectiveness of the system of control regularly. Charitable Objectives and Activities Newforge Community Development Trust {NCDT) is a visionary project designed to create a more cohesive society through community development, promotion of sport and advancement of the arts. NCDT promotes community participation in amateur sports and healthy recreation for the public at large. Public Benefit ststement Purposes The Trust's primary charitable purpose is to advance community development and active citizenship by- Promoting inclusivity, good community relations, social cohesion, racial and religious harmony and equality and diversity;
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (continued) Organising and delivering, for the public benefit, social, celebratory and community events and initiatives; Facilitating the availability and safeguarding of assets for use by the community and sports, community and voluntary sector groups and organisations. The Trustees believe that our purposes satisfy both elements of the Public Benefit requirement. The following section of our Annual Report comments on how the Trust's activities meet our charitable and operational objectives for the year ended 31 March 2023. The COVID-1g pandemic had disrupted NCDT'S planned activities within the Peace IV Fund by causing, initially, a one year delay to scheduled programmes and activities. The appointment of Outreach Officers was therefore delayed from April 2020 until March 2021 and subsequently the project lost 12 months of planned programme time to achieve the outputs as outlined in our Programme Plan. Consequently, the programme of activity was truncated to fit into the remaining timeframe of the funding period which is due to finish on 315t December 2023. NCDT peace & reconciliation programmes at Newforge began in the summer of 2021 but since the EU and Sport Nl funded Indoor Sports Facility was still in the early stages of construction, several programmes were held at the existing facilities in Newforge, namely the older clubhouse and outdoor pitches. Again, this limited capacity, with programmes subject to adverse weather conditions and more limited pitch and room availability. Delays continued during the reporting period of April 2022 to March 2023. The knock-on from COVID19 was the downturn of global economics and drastically increased costs spiralled upwards during construction. The building also faced significant delays in the supply chain which pushed back the completion date of the whole facility to beyond the reporting period of March 2023. The cost profile of construction was recalculated, and extra funding secured from funding bodies during the reporting period in order to complete the construction of the building as planned. The main building was completed and opened at the end of the reporting period in March 2023. This completion included the 6 multi-purpose rooms upstairs and the downstairs gym and changing rooms. This allowed NCDT a partial opening of its new "Hub" with gym memberships launched for the public at large. During the reporting period of April 2022 to March 2023, NCDT continued to complete cross-community and cross-border programmes in line with PEACE IV funding requirements. The programmes completed included: Environmental Programme: Took place from 9th March - 10th May 2022. It was a Belfast-based Schools Programme of Licensed Wildlife Connections & (Key Species) Specialist Biodiverslty Workshops by 2 Experienced & Local Facilitators. It worked with young people on Bird Boxes, Bat Boxes, Hedgehog Houses & Bug Hotels for 6 x school locations, integrating the peace & reconciliation themes into the learning. The 5 Themes were.- Bird Box Building, Bird Ringing, Animals, Bat box building, Bio Blitz {competition between the schools to find who has the most living species in their school grounds). The Finale of the programme was held on the 10th June at 10- 11.30am in Newforge where each school presented a bird and bat box to members of our Trustees and the Funders. The participant schools involved were: Dunmurry Primary School; St. John the Baptist; Seymour Hill Primary School; St. Anne's Primary School; Forge Integrated Primary School. 597 completed the programme, 306 were girls, 291 were boys with ages ranging from 7 to 11. Cross Border Disability Rugby.- A cross border peace & sport programme involving rugby clubs comprised of players with disabilities from Belfast and Dublin took place with a fixture at Newforge on 28th April 2022. A return fixture was planned in Dublin for September 2022. The Newforge Taggers and NV Barnhall Buffaloes are two Tag Rugby teams for males with a learning disability based in Belfast, County Antrim and Parsontown in County Kildare. A cross border exchange programme was organised with the Barnhall Buffaloe5 being hosted
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (continued) firstly at Newforge Sports Complex for a training session, tag rugby competition followed by a social event in the Newforge Clubhouse. NCDT coaches, outreach workers and Newforge Taggers coaches delivered ice breaking activities with the players, coaches, families and supporters, that included areas of diversity, equality and inclusion in sport as well as some unified sporting activities. A return session to Barnhall Buffaloes is scheduled for Sunday 6th September when NCDT Outreach staff will accompany the Newforge Taggers to a return event. The event engaged with 96 male players and 50 coaches, families and supporters. Sport & Mindfulness Programme: Took place in Primary schools from 25th April 2022 for 8 weeks with a finale blitz at Newforge on 21st June. Four Themes were delivered that incorporated mindfulness skills in sport coaching sessions. The Outreach Officers developed a booklet for all the teachers to be able to incorporate the programme again. The 4 Themes were: Creating Awareness 'Focus our Attention ' Dealing with Tricky Experiences" and Choices have consequences The sports element of the programme were facilitated by two Stranmillis student coaches Lewis McKinley and Rhys Dale. The participant schools included.. St Brides, St Michaels, Stranmillis, Knockbreda, Scoil an Droichid, Holy Rosary, Botanic, Holy Family, Sacred Heart, Cliftonville Integrated, Taughmonagh, Finaghy, BS Phobail Feirste. Finale Funday for the programme will be on June 21st in Newforge. 1134 children completed the programme; 592 boys and 542 girls; across 41 different school classes. Capacity Building programme: NCDT hosted a GAA Child Protection Course at Newforge on 12th May 2022 and an Introduction to Gaelic Games Award course 14-15th May 2022. This GAA courses were the first to be held at the facility since its inception and a real statement of the progress for the project. There were 27 participants booked and it was run by 2 external facilitators. Primary Schools Funday Programme: Took place on the 21st June 2022 as a finale event to the Sport & Mindfulness Programme. The aim of the project was to provide an opportunity for children from Irish Speaking, Integrated, Maintained and Controlled schools to be able to mix and create a friendship that would not normally be provided. 10 groups of approximately 20 children each were provided with an array of relay games, target games, Tag rugby, Gaelic football, blind football, tug of war, mindfulness games. Each group had at least 4 different schools represented and before the games began the coaches delivered "ice-breakerf, sessions to provide a fun platform for the children to get to know each other. 7 schools participated in the programme. Unfortunately 5 other schools were unable to secure transport to the venue a5 there was a bus shortage. Participants included Scoil an Droichid, Bunscoil Phobail Feirste, Taughmonagh, Finaghy, Holy Rosary, St Brides and Botanic Primary Schools. In total. 195 pupils took part with 115 boys and 80 girls. Summer Intervention Programme". Six youth clubs were invited to have 15 young people from each club to take part in the programme, which took place from 9.30am to 2pm each day on: Tuesday 5th - Thursday 7th July 2022 (West Belfast- Suffolk & Horn Drivel- Tuesday 19th- Thursday 21st 20221- West Belfast - Matt Talbott & Nubial; Tuesday 26th-Thursday 28th July 2022 (South and East Belfast- St Malachws & Ledley Hall). The youth clubs were initially identified on week l and 3 by PSNI and week 2 by EA Youth Service with direct contact and invitation being made by NCDT staff. The first week involved young people aged between 8yrs 12yrs from Suffolk {PUL} and Horn Drive ICNR) Youth Centres and the othertwo weeks involved young people aged between IOyrs- 14yrs from Matt Talbot ICNRI and Nubia (PULI on week 2 and from St Malachy's ICNR) & Ledley Hall {PULI on week 3. A set programme of activities was planned for each day of the three-day sessions, with sultably qualified and experienced facilitators. Day l - Environmental I biodiversity session- Day 2 - Sport and mental health session and Day 3 - Sport and mindfulness session. Disability Schools Multi-sport & Mindfulness Engagement Programme: held from 16th Januaray 2023 for 6 weeks. Three Special Schools were engaged in the project- St Gerard's, Harberton and Glenveagh. The
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (continued) activities were facilitated by Community Sports Network who delivered the range of sport and mindfulness activities to the young people. The programme was designed for 3 classes per week, l in each school, for the 6 week period. A total of 230 young people were engaged in the programme with 100 being male and 130 being female. The religious background breakdown was estimated at 50/50. NCDT Youth Leadership Programme: commenced on Tuesday 25th January and ran until 14th March. from 7- 9pm at Newforge. Participants were drawn on a cross~community basis from St Galls U14 Girls Gaelic Football and Crusaders U13 football. The sessions were facilitated by Community Sports Network. On completion of the programme each participant received a Sport Leaders Award OCN Endorsed Level 2. The programme had 20 participants in total, all female and the religious breakdown was 8 PUL and 12 CNR. Women's Health & Wellbeing Engagement Programme: took place at Newforge for 6 weeks from February to March 2023. Participants were drawn on a cross-community basis Wlth a total of 42 women taking part. Facilitators delivered a range of activities from multi-sports, yoga and mindfLrlness, including educational sessions on mental health. For example in the Sport theme there were 3 x yoga sessions, 3 x tennis sessions with soccer and dance delivered to the groups after lunch. On the Educational theme were was mindfulness, cancer bus, nutrition, mental health sessions. The community breakdown was 16 PUL and 26 CNR. Women's Leadership Programme.. held at Newforge for 4 weeks from 25th January 2023 - 22nd February 2023. The event took place in Newforge from 7 - 9pm in the evening. Female participants were drawn on a cross community basis from St Brigids GAA, Harlequins, Cook RC and Pegasus Hockey Club. The sessions were facilitated by Women's Resource Development Agency and it was an OCN L3 Accredited Course. In total, 20 females took part in the course with an estimated 50/50 split in religious background. Peace Conference.. hosted on Thursday 9th March at Newforge, in conjunction with the Yale Program on Peace and Development. The inaugural cross-community conference was on the topic of peace education and conflict management under the title 'Understanding doesn't mean agreeing- Youth Perspectives" The event was scheduled from 9.30am to 7pm at Newforge. There was a keynote address by comedian and TV personality Patrick Kielty via Zoom as well as a live performance from Limestone United Cross Community Performers. The Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black attended on the day and South Belfast MP Claire Hanna MP took part in the discussion panel. The event also saw contributions from NCDT Chairman and CEO of Co-operation Ireland Peter Sheridan as well as Belfast High Sheriff John Kyle. Approximately 55 attended the event in person and 145 attended virtually via Zoom. NCDT Police Youth Academy: took place on Thursday 23rd March 2023. There were participantsfrom East Belfast High schools including Ashfield Girls & Boy5 High Schools) and Bangor SERC. The Year 13 & 14 classes attended a day working with a range of teams in the PSNI including the Dog Section, Armed Response unit and Air Support. There was also a motivational talk by marathon mountaineer Lauren O'malley on the benefits of a positive mental outlook. The event was opened by Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones who is the Area Commander for Belfast policing. The event was facilitated by 6 different PSNI departments and branches and was co-ordinated by Strandtown Neighbourhood Police Team. 38 young people took part in the event with 23 female and 15 male participants. The community background was estimated as IOOYO PUL. Access Policy The Trustees are very clear that access to our facility cannot be restricted by the cost of using our services. They have therefore sought to keep these costs to a minimum. At present, a "community rate" for service usage has been esta blished to ensure that our facilities and services are affordable to all.
NEWFORGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTTRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (continued) Plans for Future Periods l. Complete construction of the Indoor Sports Arena within the Shared Space 'Hub" Building. 2. Plan and deliver a range of cross-community and cros5-border programmes onsite. 3. Increase footfall to the new gym facility. 4. Continue to meet the requirements of the project funders. Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities in respect of Financial Statements The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees, Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the Trustees to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these Financial Statements, the Trustees 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 UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2(K)6 and the Charities Act {Northern Ireland) 2022. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularitie5. Disclosure of Information to Auditors In so far as the Trustees are aware: There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Auditors are aware of that information. Funds Held as Custodian Trustees on Behalf of Others The charity holds no funds as custodian Trustees on behalf of others. By Order of the Board A McGowan Company Secretary 11 July 2024