AnnualReport

2014Annual Report

3 AnnualReport 2014Board of3 Directors2013/14ProjectManagers’Highlights4 AdultServices5 Children’sServices5 SherrickHouse6 EqualityHousing6 Expectthe Best7 FinancialReview8ContentsThanking oursupportersSmile! Top row: StephenColby, Ricky Fernandes andGrace Peters at ParadiseWildlife Park; Tom Flynn cyclingwith Tom Gardner. Middle row:Gary Jelen with Jack Sparrowon the Southbank; Mia Arnottwith mother Lisa at a Soft Playsession; Rupert Valia, GovindPatel and Joanne Waters atthe Happy Healthy Fun Day.Bottom row: Tessie Sarsfieldafter the London Marathon;Sally-Anne Everett withmakeup artist Donna-Marie atthe Happy Healthy Fun Day35 Hendon Lane, FinchleyLondon N3 1RT• Tel: 020 8349 3842• Fax: 020 8349 2192• Email: projectsupport@barnetmencap.org.uk• Website:www.barnetmencap.org.ukRegistered Charity No: 1089388Affiliated to Royal Mencap SocietyWorking together with Barnet CouncilA Company Limited by GuaranteeRegistered in England and WalesCompany Registration No: 4274621Design by David Gibbonsdavidjng@hotmail.co.ukPrinted by printpal020 8343 0099www.printpallondon.com2 ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Annual Report 2014Board of Directors2013/14ChairPeter CarterVice-ChairKaren BilkusHonorary TreasurerMike WiffenCompany SecretaryTeresa SkibaBoard MembersAngela Bloombergresigned 07/11/2013Lindsay Gamesresigned 07/11/2013Meg KirkSheila OliverSally Wickendenappointed 07/11/2013StrongpartnershipsBarnet Mencap recognises the needfor support that people withlearning disabilities and autismhave. From this autumn, it has a newthree-year contract to provide thissupport for adults in the borough.We continue to work closely with RoyalMencap Society and they will beproviding employment services as partof the contract.In the past year we have developedthe services for children and youngpeople, including under-fives, andmaintained some short breaks forchildren. People with learning disabilitiesand family carers continue to value theseshort breaks and the range of leisure andlearning projects available.Healthwatch Barnet has been set upto give people a say in local servicesand Barnet Mencap has been involvedin identifying how to improve healthservices for people with learningdisabilities.Expect the Best, the peer qualitychecking service, is working with fiveother Mencap groups in London, andis doing well.Working closely with families andthrough strong partnerships with otherorganisations is the best way to helpBarnet Mencap thrive. We appreciateenormously the confidence shown byfamilies in the services we provide, andwill continue to strive to ensure theirneeds are met.Next year is our 50th anniversary, atime to look back and also to the futureand what comes next.Peter Carter, ChairRay Booth, Chief Executive2014 ANNUAL REPORT 3

Project ReportsAdult Serviceshe Community Opportunities Project andT Fit2gether continue to thrive. The projectsnow have a more certain future and we are ableto continue developing our work. In addition tothe wide range of community leisure and learningand fitness sessions and courses, the projectoffers a wide range of additional activities.HealthwatchAs part of our work with Healthwatch Barnetwe researched the health care experiences ofpeople with learning disabilities. We obtainedfeedback from 63 people through a variety ofmeans including focus groups and one-to-oneinterviews.Many people had had negative experiencesincluding not being spoken to directly by healthcare professionals, not being given enough timeand not understanding what had been said tothem. The report, entitled ‘Talk to Me’, hasbeen received well locally and nationally.The recommendations are being takenforward at a local level and hopefully will beimplemented in the foreseeable future.Cut FilmsEarly in 2014 we were invited by Cut Filmsto make a short anti-smoking film. Theparticipants had to be aged between 16 and 25.Three young people — Alexander Ward, ReeceMullings and volunteer Shibani Datta, plus astaff member — were supported by a workerfrom Cut Films to make the two-minute film.We thought it was a great project and all feltvery proud of the end product.The film ‘One-Way Ticket’ not only went onto win in its category in the Barnet competition,but also got through to the national final (beingone of only 13 out of 352 entries) which was heldat BAFTA HQ. This was a mainstreamcompetition and we finished second in ourcategory nationally. A great achievementby all concerned.Hate Crime and Community SafetyWe have continued to develop our hate crimework by developing a number of workshops.The theme was ‘recognising and reportingHate Crime’ and the sessions were facilitatedby Barnet Mencap’s theatre group The BiscuitTheatre Company, made up of people withlearning disabilities, police officers andprofessional actors. In total, five workshopswere held: four in Barnet and one in Brent.4 ANNUAL REPORT 2014195 people with learning disabilities and autismaged between 17 and 82 attended. The venuesincluded Barnet and Southgate College,Community Space and Oak Lodge School.In addition we have run Bus Days. Workingalongside the Metropolitan Police SaferTransport Team, we facilitate sessions whichenable people to feel more safe when out andabout in the local community and when usingpublic transport. The community safety workwon a prestigious London Problem OrientatedPartnership Award, which was presented atNew Scotland Yard.Health4AllThis was a 13-month partnership projectbetween the learning disability nurses andBarnet Mencap. Monthly sessions were heldoffering mini health checks and there was aspeaker at each session offering advice andinformation. Topics covered included HealthyEating, Growing Older, Keeping Fit, Men’s andWomen’s Health and Footcare. 67 peopleattended the sessions which were funded byAwards for All.Clockwise from top: Service users, staffand the Metropolitan Police at a HateCrime workshop; Shernette Morris andDominic Chilon on a Wembley Stadiumtour; focus group for Healthwatch Barnet‘‘Our antismokingfilm, ‘One-Way Ticket’,finishedsecond inits categoryin anationalshort filmscompetition’’

Children’s ServicesOpen Doorhis borough-wide project working withT under-fives and their families remainsa highly valued resource. Open Door East,despite being threatened with closure, still hasa drop-in at Newstead Children’s Centre and iscurrently funded until March 2015, and OpenDoor West, with a drop-in at Greentops atGrahame Park, has been refunded by Childrenin Need for another three years.The workers continue to advise familiesabout a number of matters including housingand education and in the past year the projectshave also provided Soft Play sessions and arenow looking at a number of new play-relatedinitiatives.We have welcomed Valerie Lam as the newOpen Door East worker and Nia Panayiotopouloscontinues at Open Door West.We were very sad this year to hear of thedeath of Pat Verity, who for many years wasthe project worker with Open Door.Pat helped a vast number of families and sheis remembered fondly by many people.Family SupportFamily Support, as always, continues to aid andsupport a large number of families with learningdisabled children aged five and over. EdytaKatna has been joined by Sandra Levell, who hasnow been with the team for over a year.Halfway through the financial year the projectwas faced with having its funding reduced andwe lost the specialist Triple P parenting coursesthat have helped so many people.Shelley Gibbons,Community Services Manager(Adults and Children)Robert Oprea with mother Janina at a Soft Play sessionAndrewChristodoulouwith mother Mariain the SherrickHouse garden‘‘As a teamwe have puta largefocus onsupportingindividualsto developandmaintainlife skills’’Sherrick HouseShort-Term Break Servicehis year has proven to be a busy andT exciting year for Sherrick House. Not onlyhave we continued to offer in excess of 1,200nights to more than 40 visitors from Barnet,Haringey and Enfield, we have also begun tooffer day support where families haverequested this service.As a team, we have put a large focus onsupporting individuals to develop and maintainlife skills with the long-term goal of supportingpeople to move on to shared accommodationand supported living services. We want to workmore closely with families to help them planahead with these long-term goals.We have seen four of the people that wesupport move on to supported living servicesover the last 12 months. We continue tochampion others to reach their goals.Between March and July there have beenfive holidays to various parts of the countryand there are a further two planned forSeptember and October. In addition to this,2014 is the second year of our summerscheme. We have organised numerous day tripsto Thorpe Park, zoos, the seasides, bowlingand museums etc.We have welcomed new visitors, and newbank and volunteer staff to our team. Ourgreatest thanks go to our staff who have workedso hard to make this such a special year.Billie -Jean LockhartSherrick House Manager2014 ANNUAL REPORT 5

Project ReportsEquality Housingquality Housing has had a busyE year but a very successful one!Barnet Mencap won its bid to provideservices to adults with learningdisabilities and/or people with autismand Aspergers in Barnet of whichWorking for You is a large part.This was a fantastic achievement aswe were competing with nationalorganisations and it is thanks to thehard work and commitment of all ofthe staff involved.The project will double in size andwe hope to reach and help manymore people in the borough,especially those who have no formalsupport from the council.We are currently updating/decorating our three shared housesand the results so far are lookinggreat. We still have some vacanciesbut hope to fill them soon.14 tenants have been supported to‘move on’ to situations of greaterindependent living and we have takenon more outreach clients. We arecurrently recruiting three new staffmembers to keep up with the work!Many of our Equality Housing serviceusers have been supported to save forholidays abroad and have enjoyed themany and varied social events weoffer. They have very busy lives andhave all achieved a great deal overthe year developing their skills atwork, college, home or in thecommunity — well done everybody!Lucy Clifford,Equality Housing ManagerTom Flynn,Janette Hauff andDenise Webbrelaxing in anEquality Housingshared houseExpect the Bestt has been a busy year for ExpectI the Best which is a quality checkingservice for people with learningdisabilities. The project employs11 quality checkers who have workedhard visiting residential homes, dayservices and activities reporting backon good practice and whereimprovements need to be made.Following a check, Expect the Bestspeak to the managers and suggestways in which the service could beimproved and general findings are fedback to the local authorities.Expect the Best has carried out 472checks, 114 of which were in Barnet.A lot of people who use services saidthat they would like more reviews andregular meetings to talk aboutchanging support needs and that theywould like more information aboutsafeguarding and how to raisecomplaints.Training is provided for all staff andwe are delighted that some of thequality checkers are now making EasyRead documents, using Talking Matsand providing Facilitator Training.We would like to thank everyonewho has supported Expect the Bestover the past year and we lookforward to working with qualitycheckers, customers, serviceproviders, local authorities andvoluntary agencies in the comingyear.If you are interested in becominga quality checker please emailinfo@expectthebest.org.ukFrancine BeadsworthDirectorExpect the Best6 ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Financial ReviewSummary Statement of Financial Activities 2013/14’m pleased to report onI another good yearfinancially for Barnet Mencapin which we made a surplus ofaround £59,000, following asimilar result in 2012/13. Ourunrestricted reserves nowstand at £416,000. Both ourincome and expenditureincreased by around £70,000in 2013/14, with around halfof this representing our shareof the North West LondonMencap Consortium’s contractwith the Department ofHealth, ‘Expect the Best’.The winning of the Council’scontract for LearningDisability and Autism services,with Royal Mencap as oursub-contractor foremployment services, isworth around £350,000 perannum from this October,and together with furtherfunding for three years fromChildren in Need for OpenDoor West brings a periodof relative stability forBarnet Mencap.However the economicenvironment remainsuncertain — although theheadlines suggest recovery isunderway there are manymore reductions to be madein public spending that willinevitably impact on resourcesavailable to Barnet Mencap.We will ensure that weobtain the best value formoney with our purchasingand continue to seekadditional and new fundingsources to maintain andimprove our services.Mike Wiffen, TreasurerWHERE OUR MONEY CAME FROM . . .Contracts and Grants £698,000Outreach and Respite £229,000Residents' Charges £148,300Donations £32,300Other Income £74,900TOTAL £1,182,500. . . AND WHERE IT WAS SPENTEquality Housing £424,900Sherrick House £251,900Community and Family £136,300Community Opportunities £159,400Expect The Best £40,100Governance £57,800Office and Other Costs £53,100TOTAL £1,123,500In the last year we made a surplus of £59,000. . . AND WHAT WE ARE WORTHOur Investments £161,000Office Equipment £3,500Money we are owed (Debtors) £154,900Money in Bank £171,100Sub total £490,500MinusMoney we owe others (Creditors) £54,300TOTAL £436,200This is a summary of the information contained in our audited accounts for the year ended31st March 2014. For a copy of the full Annual Report and Financial Statements 2013/14please visit our website at www.barnetmencap.org.uk2014 ANNUAL REPORT 7

Above: Peter Christodoulou and Yosef Elmkies at a Soft Play sessionOn the cover: Nick Cox, Shibani Datta, Reece Mullings and Alexander Ward at the national Cut Films awards at BAFTA HQBarnet Mencap would like to thank youfor your support in 2013/14Baily Thomas Charitable Fund Big Lottery Fund Children in NeedCut Films GLL Healthwatch Barnet Help a Capital Child InteractiveLondon Borough of Barnet Metropolitan Police ServiceNew North London Synagogue Sainsbury’s Santander Saracens RFCSt Mary-at-Finchley Times Series Waitrose Wingate & Finchley Football ClubAnd all the individuals who give their time to help usand contribute to our work