Annual Report 2018-19 Chairman’S Introduction Welcome to Enable Ability’S Annual Report, and Thank You for Taking the Time to Read It
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Annual Report 2018-19 Chairman’s Introduction Welcome to Enable Ability’s Annual Report, and thank you for taking the time to read it. As always the report describes the charities activities, development and performance for the past year and our plans for the year ahead. This has been an exciting and productive year for It is with such sadness to report that our fellow the charity. We have seen significant growth in trustee and friend Ken Bowen lost his battle with service delivery and laid the foundations for further cancer earlier this year. Ken contributed so much development. In particular, we have responded to the charity, as a former Chair of Trustees, our to meeting the needs of children with very high safeguarding lead, and above all his knowledge and needs through expanding our befriending service quiet authority. He will be greatly missed. We will and reprioritising children supported at our play dedicate a room at Landport to Ken’s memory as a schemes. Much work has been done to put the measure of the esteem which we all held for him. building blocks in place to run a social enterprise for young adults with mild to moderate needs wishing We have welcomed Alison Bowie to our trustee to enter employment. In addition, the charity group. Alison is a parent carer and brings an has achieved one of its key aims in establishing a important perspective to the work of the charity, as service hub though our newly formed partnership well as being a stalwart fund raiser over many years. with the diocese, enabling services at Landport Trustees have now adopted governance principles Community Centre to come on stream. All of these set out by the Charity Commission to ensure their developments assist with our aims set out in the responsibilities are delivered effectively. charity’s strategic plan. With such a busy year, I want to pay particular The play schemes continue to be our most popular tribute to the Charity’s senior management team for and sought after service. The children have fun, their hard work and commitment on behalf of Enable their carers receive much needed respite. Demand Ability; to Richard, Julie and Mary, a huge thank you. has been such that we have developed a further holiday scheme for children with moderate needs to We have invested in the development of our website ensure that our response is appropriate to them. to ensure that it is easily accessible, describes our We hope to continue this service at the Landport services and how to access them and provides timely site next summer. Notwithstanding this additional information about the charity. Our thanks to Bill provision, the play scheme continues to be over John, our trustee marketing lead for his creativity, subscribed and we will look at how the resource can leadership and drive on this project be utilised to support as many children as possible. We are grateful to many local and national I’m delighted to say that our bid to the Lottery has organisations who have supported us this year been successful, enabling the social enterprise to with grants and awards. We look forward to their continue for the next 3 years. The bid was brought continued help. Fundraising has also brought together by managers, trustees and partners in a significant funds to the charity and we are grateful huge collaborative effort, and my thanks to all those as always to our fundraising committee and sponsors who have been involved. This development aims to who’s efforts make such a difference. I would like to support up to 24 young people each year to gain thank and celebrate the huge effort made by Harley employability skills. We are working with a range of Salter and his mum Vanessa for not only raising partners to give our young people opportunities to significant funds for Enable Ability through his 10 build a repertoire of skills, and are looking for more feat challenge, but showing that disability is no of these partnerships to broaden the offer. barrier to what can be achieved. Well done Harley! Significant work has been undertaken to build And finally, on behalf of all those who benefit from our partnership with the trustees of the Landport Enable Ability’s support, a huge thank you to our Community Centre, and the charity has now taken staff, volunteers and funders over operational responsibility. This is an exciting development for Enable Ability, provides a service hub for some of our services, but importantly a base from which we can develop others, including services for pre school children with disabilities. The centre will, of course, provide support to the local community, meeting a range of social and educational needs The charity’s finances are in good order and are Jon Muller thoroughly externally audited. Our thanks as always Chair of Trustees go to Joe Harbour, the Charity’s Honorary Treasurer, who steers our finances with diligence and expertise. Manager’s Report I am delighted to be able to once again report on a progressive year of growth and development for Enable Ability and I would like to highlight the starting of a new Portsmouth Youth Scheme, the taking over of all services formerly run by Portsmouth Autism Support Network (PASN) and an almost perfectly balanced income & expenditure profile for the year as key accomplishments for us as a charity. During the last financial year Enable Ability’s In September 2018 Mary Ive, our 16+ & Adult ongoing determination to meet the needs of the Services Deputy Manager, was commissioned to local community was characterised by the further undertake a feasibility study to determine the most growth and development of its existing services effective way in which the charity could set up a whilst striving to establish a new social enterprise Social Enterprise. Following an intensive period for individuals wishing to gain vital employability of meetings, visits and discussions the proposed skills. As a part of a re-configuration of services the way forward has resulted in Enable Ability entering activities that were being provided by the Sports into partnership arrangements with ‘Landport Club (which had been running for more than 6 Community Centre Association’ and ‘Game Over’ to years) were absorbed into the newly re-named both take over the running of Landport Community Junior Club and the autism support provision that Centre and set up a social enterprise that is we took over from PASN. based within the building. This represents a very significant undertaking that will support our clients During August 2018 the charity’s adult befriending whilst serving the wider local community. service was subject to a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. Rated ‘Good’ overall (and January 2019 saw the development and launch of a for all of the 5 categories), the summary report fresh state-of-the-art website, designed to provide spoke very positively about the service provided information about our services in a much clearer and clearly stated that the provision was and more user-friendly way. This was followed very responsive to people’s individual needs, up with a structured and financially resourced supported them to achieve identified goals and marketing campaign, an immediate outcome of enabled people to have a presence in their local which was to receive sponsorship from ‘My VIP community. The closing statement read as follows: Card’ and ‘Southern Solutions’ as the chosen ‘the provider was focused on the integration charity for a very successful quarterly LinkedIn and promotion of opportunities for people with Local event. This, together with an increased a disability in Portsmouth’ – and this, I think, level of engagement with a growing number of encapsulates the ethos that all of our services local organisations that wish to partner with us strive to achieve. (including Hayling Golf Club, Panero Lounge, South of England Jujitsu Kai, Starbucks and the Co-op) In February 2019 we were subject to our 3-yearly has greatly helped the charity to build support ‘Investors in People’ (IIP) assessment. Their for its fund raising activities and regular events summary stated that: ‘Enable Ability was found to throughout the year. With further opportunities have a culture which promotes excellent practice arising with a number of potential partners since in care, welfare and advancement of disabled that time we are very optimistic about the future people. There are high levels of teamwork and support that we will receive. autonomy, and a positive culture where people can truly benefit from being a part of the community Ultimately I must express gratitude for the and fulfil their potential. There is a welcoming amazing support that the charity receives from atmosphere and family-feel that people engage its staff, volunteers, trustees and partnership with’. Their assessment further demonstrated the organisations. Special mention must go to Bill organisation to be performing at a higher level John for his enthusiastic commitment to website than the national average for the Social Work and development and a marketing campaign that Charities sector in every indicator and rated it sixth has made significant in-roads into breaking the equal out of 79 IIP organisations within the sector. charity’s former status as ‘Portsmouth’s best kept In the increasingly busy environment within secret!’. Additionally I would which the charity operates, whilst continually like to particularly mention endeavouring to embrace the necessary changes Joe Harbour for so effectively to more fully meet the local need, it is very managing the finances, as encouraging to receive such positive reports well as Drew Ramsay and from these in-depth assessments undertaken by Jon Muller for their input and external and regulatory bodies.