THE_ARK_FAMILY_RESOURCE_C - Accounts

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association,the Companies Act 2006 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).

Our primary organisational objective is to maintain our long standing reputation for excellence. We do this through quality staff training and support and by ensuring that we employ staff of exceptionally high calibre. We ensure that we keep our promises and provide support without judgment or prejudice.

The Trustees are committed to ensuring the continuing survival and activity of the Ark Centre. In order to maintain this, opportunities for funding are continually sought and pursued. These two objectives remain unchanged year on year. As our services have developed and grown we have a growing responsibility to maintain the level of quality activities that we provide.

Our dilemma is, as always, that many donors will not give grants if accounts are in deficit. We have been fortunate this year to receive some larger grants which are non-specific and can be used across all our services as required. We are particularly grateful for this flexibility and understanding; it is not always possible to start and sustain projects when continuing and building on our existing core work must be our priority.

The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.

Achievements over the year are many. The TASK groups for children with additional needs are very popular. The Outreach and Counselling services are running to capacity. Positive feedback is continually received from service users and referrers across all our services. This year the Centre has provided services to more than 1300 people.

There are significant factors outside the control of the charity which would impact on our ability to achieve our objectives. The insecurity of funding makes budgeting and forward planning very difficult. We remain almost completely dependent upon grants in order to maintain our existing level of service. We are able to ask for voluntary donations for some of our services, but for most of our projects, asking the clients for fees would not be appropriate or possible.

Probably one of our finest achievements this year is the ongoing support and practical help that we have been able to give to such high numbers of families and individuals in need, despite our often very fragile financial situation. It remains a priority for us to deliver a service that is needs-led rather than one in which service users must comply with an impersonal agenda.

We have also successfully worked in partnership with other local voluntary organisations to deliver emergency services to specific families who were at risk. As with so much of our work, this involved working in new and flexible ways and defined "thinking outside the box" as a valuable learning tool taking us forward.

Overview of services

The Ark continues to maintain its high standards of excellence across all its services. Because of our reputation we continue both to build on our service provision and to welcome increasing numbers of service users. Our established network of referrers and partner organisations ensure that we can be found and used by those needing our provision.

Sessional Pre school

The sessions are thriving, with numbers continuing to increase. New staff have been employed to support increased numbers of children. The atmosphere in the pre-school is relaxed and busy. We are now supporting additional children and their families who sometimes bring some very complex issues for us to work with.

We are very grateful to the specialist teachers who come in to support us in our work with individual children with additional needs.

Outreach service

Approximately 29 families weekly receive support. The work on our domestic violence project has widened out considerably to include advocacy, benefits and housing advice and support during court appearances. A plan for next year is to run the Freedom Programme: a support group for survivors of domestic abuse. Training is in place to enable this to begin.

TASK (Talk About Special Kids)

With 31 families on roll, TASK is thriving. For many families the days-out are a lifeline.

Counselling service

The service has supported an average of 34 children, young people and adults over the year. We continue to turn away considerable numbers of referrals, some of them urgent, as funding for counselling remains difficult to achieve. Small grants have enabled us to continue the service. as has requesting voluntary donations from clients to support the work.

Thursday group

This group meets one afternoon a week and is well used by the parents of children with additional needs.

Ark Angels child-sitting service

Remains a useful and valued service for several of our families.

Two by Two

Our group for babies, toddlers and their adults. The group is very popular and busy, with attending parents often putting their child’s name down for the Nursery.

The Project Juniors

A club one evening a week for children aged 7-11. Numbers continue to rise and the sessions are running to capacity.

Contracted funding is received currently from Essex County Council, through Action4Children and the Government through the Early Entitlement Grant scheme. Other funding is achieved through a rolling programme of grant applications and through fees. The Trustees long term aim is to secure further ongoing funding under service level agreements.

The Board is aware that the insecurity of ongoing funding places great pressure on the management. It also acknowledges the difficulty of addressing this.

Our three-year funding from the Tudor Trust is enabling us to spend more time on fund raising. Our aim is to achieve further grants of two or more years’ duration. The Manager will apply to Tudor for further funding as the end of the current grant approaches.

It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six months expenditure. The trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has not been maintained throughout the year due to funding difficulties explained above.

The liability for our pension scheme will only be incurred should all staff paying in leave the scheme: an event which we do not currently foresee happening. In previous years this has been disclosed as a note to the accounts but due to changes in accounting standards it now needs to be included in our balance sheet. This has unfortunately increase the deficit on our unrestricted funds by £34,241 (2018 £40,708).

It is essential that the Trustees secure ongoing funding in order to maintain not only the quality of our services but also to secure the existence of the Organisation. This has been highly successful over the 66 years that the Ark has been running and we must build upon this success.

Now that the Trustees have received training from TCVS, we hope that there will be a greater number of funding avenues to explore and greater involvement from the Trustees in this vital area.

Services can only develop, grow and be sustained with the support of funding.

As always the Trustees intend to support the management in their work to continue to offer a service of quality that has earned great respect both locally and in the wider community.

The Trustees greatly value and appreciate the very high standard of work and commitment given by all staff. We know how very fortunate we are as an organisation to have such a dedicated and skilled team. Thank you to all the staff, who give so generously of their time and energy to the Ark Centre.

The Charity is a constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee and is therefore governed by a memorandum and articles of association.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

The recruitment of trustees is carried out with support from our local Councils for Voluntary Services. Interested parties are invited to attend our monthly meetings of Trustees. Elections of new Trustees take place annually at our AGM. New Trustees complete an induction programme and all Trustees are offered appropriate training opportunities when these arise

The Ark Centre is managed by its board of Trustees who employ the Centre Manager.

The Ark works locally in partnership with other appropriate statutory and voluntary organisations. Risk assessments are in place for the building and other specific areas such as taking groups of children on outings and individual risk assessments for some children.

The charity is constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee and is therefore governed by a memorandum and articles of association.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Ark Family Resource Centre (the Charity) for the year ended 31 March 2019.

As the trustees of the Charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Since the Charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of , which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Your attention is drawn to Accounting policies section 1.2 Going Concern and the Financial review section of the Trustees report in respect of the going concern basis of the charity. The charity had negative overall reserves as at 31 March 2019 as a result of the inclusion of the potential liability for the pension scheme deficit.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2019.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The Ark Family Resource Centre is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Ark Family Resource Centre, 36 Main Road, Harwich, Essex, CO12 3LU.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act 2006 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

As with most voluntary sector organisations the going concern basis used for preparing these financial statements is dependant upon obtaining further funding to provide the necessary working capital for the general running of the charity.

The trustees are working hard to obtain the funding required to continue the wide range of services offered. On this basis, the trustees consider it appropriate to prepare the accounts on the going concern basis.

Funds restricted by the donor are treated as restricted funds. All other funds are unrestricted. A description of each fund is given in note 20 to the financial statements.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the Charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected.

Grants from government and other agencies have been included as incoming resources from charitable activities where these amount to a contract for services, but as donations where the money is given in response to an appeal or with greater freedom of use. These grants are accounted for on an accruals basis.

Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period.

Income from fundraising activities is recognised on receipt.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay. Expenditure has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resources.

Costs classified as governance relate to the general running of the charity and include the operations of the Board of Trustees and addressing constitutional audit and other statutory matters.

Resources expended include attributable VAT, which cannot be recovered.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

At each reporting end date, the Charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. Financial assets comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with other debtors. A specific provision is made for debts for which recoverability is in doubt. Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant access bank accounts and used as working capital. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes, deferred income and provisions.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

The Charity operates a defined contributions pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company. The annual contributions are charged to the profit and loss account.

The Charity also participates in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme.

The cost of providing benefits under defined benefit plans is determined separately for each plan using the projected unit credit method, and is based on actuarial advice.

The change in the net defined benefit liability arising from employee service during the year is recognised as an employee cost. The cost of plan introductions, benefit changes, settlements and curtailments are recognised as incurred.

The net interest element is determined by multiplying the net defined benefit liability by the discount rate, taking into account any changes in the net defined benefit liability during the period as a result of contribution and benefit payments. The net interest is recognised in income/(expenditure) for the year.

Remeasurement changes comprise actuarial gains and losses, the effect of the asset ceiling and the return on the net defined benefit liability excluding amounts included in net interest. These are recognised immediately in other recognised gains and losses in the period in which they occur and are not reclassified to income/(expenditure) in subsequent periods.

The net defined benefit pension asset or liability in the balance sheet comprises the total for each plan of the present value of the defined benefit obligation (using a discount rate based on high quality corporate bonds), less the fair value of plan assets out of which the obligations are to be settled directly. Fair value is based on market price information, and in the case of quoted securities is the published bid price. The value of a net pension benefit asset is limited to the amount that may be recovered either through reduced contributions or agreed refunds from the scheme.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Nursery fees

Nursery fees

Grants receivable

The bulk of the nursery fees are from Essex Council Council's Free Early Education Entitlement.

Other income unrestricted funds

Nursery running costs

Counselling

Canteen

Training

Bank charges

Unwinding of pension scheme discount

Accountancy includes cost of the independent examiner of £1,512 (2018:£1,440).

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or expenses during the year.

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

No employees received total employee benefits of more than £60,000.

The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Charity in an independently administered fund.

The company participates in the scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 950 non-associated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

The scheme is classified as a 'last-man standing arrangement'. Therefore the company is potentially liable for other participating employers' obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out at 30 September 2017. This valuation showed assets of £794.9m, liabilities of £926.4m and a deficit of £131.5m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

Deficit contributions

Unless a concession has been agreed with the Trustee the term to 31 January 2025 applies.

Note that the scheme’s previous valuation was carried out with an effective date of 30 September 2014. This valuation showed assets of £793.4m, liabilities of £969.9m and a deficit of £176.5m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

Deficit contributions

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the Series 1 and Series 2 scheme liabilities.

Where the scheme is in deficit and where the company has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement the company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The present value is calculated using the discount rate detailed in these disclosures. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.

Amounts recognised in the profit and loss account:

The amounts included in the balance sheet arising from the Charity's obligations in respect of defined benefit plans are as follows:

Movements in the present value of defined benefit obligations:

Colchester Catalyst Charity

This funding has been provided to be used in relation to the cost of respite care funding.

Essex PASS

This funding has been provided to assist with the funding of 1:1 child support in the community.

Harwich Connexions Community Trust

This funding has been provided to assist with counselling services.

Peoples Health Trust

This funding has been provided to fund the 'Domestic Violence' project.

Anglian Community Trust

This funding has been provided to assist with counselling services.

Big Lottery Fund

This funding has been provided to fund salaries of staff for TASK respite care/days out for children with additional needs.

Harwich Town Council (Training)

This funding has been provided to assist with the cost of training support workers.

Fowler, Smith & Jones Trust

This funding has been provided to assist with the core costs of running the charity.

Tampon Tax Community Fund

This funding has been provided to assist with the 'Domestic Violence' project.

Action for Children

This funding has been provided to assist with children with additional needs.

Action for Children (sensory room renovations)

This funding has been provided to assist with renovating the sensory room.

Eastern Association of Local Councils

This funding has been provided for an outreach worker.

Eastern Counties Educational Trust

This funding has been provided for IT Training.

Essex Community Foundation

This funding has been provided to assist with counselling services.

ECC Community Fund

This funding has been provided to assist with the replacement of the boiler.

ECC Capital

This funding has been provided to assist with the cost of IT equipment and training.

The Screwfix Foundation

This funding has been provided to assist with the cost of renovations and repairs.

Leeds Building Society

This funding has been provided to assist with the cost of two touch screen computers.

The True Colours Trust

This funding has been provided to help fund the 'You too' project to support siblings.

Santander Foundation

This funding has been provided to assist with the cost of Makaton signing training.

At the reporting end date the Charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.