40 years
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REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014/15 www.outward.org.uk
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Contents Chair’s report - Thriving for 40 more years 03
Eva Sparks - supported by Outward since 1977 10
Review of the Year 03
The Drive – Enabling people on the autistic spectrum to be part of the community 11
Volunteering & Befriending in Hackney 04 Digital champions 05 Outward’s Volunteer Club goes from strength to strength 05 Tackling food poverty and social isolation 06 2
The Hub Club – innovative day opportunities through direct payments 07 Nutley Edge – a holiday destination for all 07 Celebrating 40 years 08
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OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
Anthony Kendall House & Desmond Court - new independent living schemes 12 Statement of Financial Activities 13 Balance Sheet 13 Outward’s journey over 40 years 14
Chair’s report
Review of the Year
Thriving for 40 more years
You will read in this year’s Annual Report about the achievements of Outward over the last forty years, enabling people to make real choices to take control of their lives. We have celebrated these achievements with our customers, our staff, our volunteers and our supporters. We have had a successful gardening competition, a theatrical production by our customerled theatre company, great parties and a display of fantastic customer artwork. For me, the real celebration of Outward is continuing to empower the people we support to achieve amazing things, overcoming the challenges and barriers they face.
This year Outward celebrates its 40th anniversary. In 1975 a group of parents and professionals in Waltham Forest first got together to find a way for people with learning disabilities to live outside institutional care. At the time, before “care in the community”, this was a radical way of thinking, and is where the name ‘Outward’ comes from; living ‘out of the wards’, in local communities. Forty years later, Outward is still helping people to live independently and to take control of their lives. We now support over 400 people with a learning disability or on the autistic spectrum in ten London boroughs. However, a lot has changed since 1975, and we have moved with the times, by branching out to support other groups of vulnerable adults, including older people in need of secure places to live, adults with mental health issues and young people requiring support to overcome crises in their lives. The Outward Board recognises that it is just as important today, if not more so than forty years ago, that innovation and a commitment to volunteering are key to our charity thriving and supporting our beneficiaries. That is why we have now partnered with FoodCycle, a national charity that recycles food donated by supermarkets
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and local shops, to open a new hub in Hackney, tackling food poverty and social isolation. We intend to do more of this work across north and east London. We are also continuing to expand our Volunteer & Befriending services, as well as investing in our Volunteer Club for people with learning disabilities, to give them opportunities to volunteer in their local communities. Like so many charities whose existence we now take for granted, Outward came into being through the good will of a small group of individuals. They were committed to empowering disabled people to make real choices to live where and how they wanted. That good will and commitment still thrives at Outward today, as does our commitment to empower our customers in these challenging times. Jackie Ballard Chair of the Outward Board
Since Outward started, we have worked in partnerships. The first house we managed was owned by Newlon Housing Trust, and this year we continue that successful relationship, developing new projects made possible by our membership of the Newlon Group. We now manage refurbished flats for people with mental health issues in Hackney, and will soon be opening Desmond Court in Enfield, enabling people with learning disabilities to live in their own homes, empowering them to live independently.
support to improve their lives. Today, with limited resources, this is more necessary than ever. This led to us developing our holiday and respite project at Nutley Edge, providing opportunities for our customers to take activity breaks in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. We continue to develop our Volunteer Club, enabling our customers to engage with their local communities. Our commitment remains to work with people who require individually-tailored, personalised support, to enable them to live more independently. Peter Little Outward CEO of Outward
Outward has always strived to attract people who have innovative ideas, to engage with and enable the people we 3
Volunteering & Befriending in Hackney
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30,000 voluntary hours and counting … Outward’s Volunteer & Befriending Service started in 2013 as part of a wider Targeted Preventative Service, aimed at supporting vulnerable and isolated adults in Hackney. The benefits of the service are obvious and it is a model that can be replicated in other communities. It saves money by harnessing the power of volunteers to support individuals in need of companionship and help with day-today activities, thereby preventing them from drawing on more expensive social care. At the same time, it improves community cohesion by connecting people, volunteers and beneficiaries, who might not otherwise come into contact with each other. The potential of the Volunteer & Befriending Service when it first started was huge, and this has been borne out in two years of success story after success story. Joe Doran, Volunteer Manager at the service, points out that “we currently have 300 volunteers that support 1,100 beneficiaries in the borough. We deliver over 30,000 voluntary hours per year, supporting a wide range of people; our oldest beneficiary is 106 and our youngest is 19. The diversity of our team matches that of the borough. We have volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, who can speak over 40 languages between them”. Joe explains that “this low level support enables people to stay in their homes for longer and maintain their independence and, through our volunteers, staff and partners, we are able to meet a variety of needs in innovative and less costly ways”.
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Thanking our volunteers
4 Our five Digital Champions
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Carly Attridge, Volunteering Manager
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Recruiting new volunteers
6 Clearing litter in Abney Park, Hackney
OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
Our Digital Champions are trained
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It’s like we’re old friends now Mary, aged 73
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“It’s very easy. If you’ve had an operation or something, to get yourself stuck in the house. I had two hip replacements and I had a social worker. She mentioned to me about the befriending and that’s when I first heard about it. I wasn’t sure at first and when I met my volunteer for the time I was a bit nervous. But it’s like we’re old friends now. He helps me get to the lunch club and my hospital visits and things like that. I was very low when I got out of hospital but I really look forward to Wednesdays now.”
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Getting Outward customers online
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Digital champions
Outward’s Volunteer Club goes from strength to strength
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Each summer Outward gets out into the local community with our customers to do environmental volunteering. This a fantastic opportunity for our customers to give back to their local communities, help others, meet new friends and also travel to parts of London they would ordinarily not be able to. Outward is committed to volunteering as a social force, which means we want to support our customers to volunteer too. To encourage more customers to join, this year we have expanded Volunteer Club across four boroughs: Camden, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Enfield.
Outward is committed to increasing digital literacy among its customers. We believe that this is one of the best ways for vulnerable people to be more connected to the outside world, meet new people and built confidence. It is also a very important step to employment. Through consultation with our customers, we were made aware of their wishes to improve their IT skills and get online. To make this happen, we secured a grant of £5k from Santander to kick off the Digital Champions initiative in late 2014. Working alongside Newlon Fusion, the branch of Newlon Group dedicated to community development and reinvigoration, we recruited ten volunteers; our Digital Champions. Five of these were Outward customers, all with some kind of learning disability. The aim was to empower these customers to teach basic IT skills to other Outward customers. Once again, we could see the power of volunteering to transform people’s lives.
Carly Attridge, Volunteering Manager, explains more about what Volunteer Club will grow to become: “Outward believes that creating opportunities for our customers to volunteer locally and to develop skills is really important. We will be expanding Volunteer Club across the boroughs and client groups to create more volunteering opportunities for the people we support. Most importantly, we will be consulting with customers to find out what they are interested in doing”.
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In 2014/15, each Digital Champion was supported to assist ten other Outward customers, meaning that a total of 55 Outward customers were up-skilled to get online. We hope to further progress the Digital Champion roles and to train a further 10 champions in 2015/16. In the long term, we would like all Outward customers to be computer literate, ideally through peer-to-peer support instead of more expensive paid-for tuition. The Digital Champions programme is another step towards achieving this! 5
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Tackling food poverty and social isolationi Food waste is a huge problem across Europe, and the UK has the unfortunate honour of sitting at the top of the EU food waste chart. We throw away over 12 million tonnes of food each year. The problem of food waste is particularly acute in London, especially in the boroughs in which Outward works. Recognising this, we developed a partnership in 2014 with a national charity, FoodCycle, to open a new ‘hub’ in Hackney. The concept behind FoodCycle is simple, but extremely effective and innovative. Food normally thrown out by supermarkets and local shops is collected by volunteers and turned into healthy meals for people struggling to find enough food to eat. Outward supports its own customers with learning disabilities and ASD to volunteer at the hub, where they develop new cooking and social skills. It is a project where innovation and volunteering go hand-in-hand. Working alongside FoodCycle, we have developed relationships with supermarkets, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and local shops in Hackney. Carly Attridge, Volunteering Manager at Outward, sums up the aims of the project: ‘The Hackney Hub is a place for local people to enjoy a free nutritious meal in a friendly environment, and to meet new people. Hackney is badly in need of an initiative like FoodCycle to help tackle food poverty in the borough’. The Hackney Hub, therefore, tackles not just food poverty, but also social isolation. Following the success of our first hub, Outward will be working with FoodCycle to open more hubs in Hackney, and will soon be expanding the project into Waltham Forest.
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OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
Meg Hillier MP opens the Hackney hub
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On 5th March 2015 we officially launched our Hackney FoodCycle hub with a visit from Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch. Meg commented that ‘Hackney may be achingly cool and gastronomic but there are also those who are achingly poor and hugely isolated. FoodCycle gives people a good warm meal but perhaps more importantly, it brings people together from all parts of the community. FoodCycle is the good food and gastronomy of Hackney but for people who might not be able to go to the trendy eateries’.
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FoodCycle launch event
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Nutritious food donated to FoodCycle
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Arts and crafts at The Hub Club
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Enjoying an activity break at Nutley Edge
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The Hub Club – innovative i day opportunities through direct payments 3
Nutley Edge – a holidayi destination for all This year, people with learning disabilities from across London and the South East have been having fun, trying new things, making friends and enjoying the beautiful Sussex countryside whilst at our holiday venue, Nutley Edge. We hosted two specialist activity breaks in 2015, supporting people with a range of needs to get involved in sports, art, music, photography, baking, pampering, horse riding and many countryside pursuits. We have a waiting list of people for our all-inclusive activity breaks in 2016, so will be putting on more themed and specialised holidays throughout the year, catering to a wider range of interests and hobbies. Outward bought Nutley Edge because we wanted to invest our charitable reserves in something that could really benefit our customers and other disadvantaged people. We have raised funds to provide holidays for homeless families through our subsidiary Finsbury Park Homeless Families Project and welcome many customers with disabilities to holiday with us. Nutley Edge has also been a venue of choice for partner charity events and supported holidays.
In London Borough of Hackney, we became aware of a lack of personalised day activity options for people with learning disabilities. Outward proposed a new innovative way of providing day opportunities called “The Hub Club” and we were delighted to welcome our first members in July 2015. The Hub Club is different to traditional day centres. Everyone who attends is a member and has a say in the activities and projects run by the Club. Florence Voller, Activity Leader, sums up the ethos behind Hub Club: “The idea is that the members are part of the community and, as such, activities are primarily based in the borough. Members travel by public transport rather than specialist buses, and access services and events alongside other members of the community. It is not solely a leisure scheme and there is an element of learning to every activity. The members have greater choice as they access the Club through direct payments.”
To find out more about how you, the people you support or your organisation can use Nutley Edge, please contact our New Business Team on: 020 8980 7101 / info@outward.org.uk 4
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The members and their families form the steering group which decides the direction of the Club and feedback so far has been excellent. 7
Celebrating 40 years To mark our 40th birthday, we wanted to involve as many of our staff and customers as possible in the celebrations. Staff and customers were asked what kinds of fun and engaging things they wanted to do. The result has been a year of creativity, innovation and laughter.
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OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
Artwork exhibition
Gardening competition
Summer parties
Customer Conference 2015
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Eva Sparks
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INDEPENDENT LIVING
Supported by Outward in the 1970s to live ‘out of the wards’ Eva Sparks, now in her nineties, was one of the first people to be supported by Outward to move from an institutional setting into her own home. This is her story. Outward came into existence in 1975 in Waltham Forest, and in 1977 we opened our first home for people with learning disabilities, on Forest Glade. Eva Sparks was one of the first people supported by Outward to move into Forest Glade, and she still lives in an Outward house today, on Shernhall Street, also in Waltham Forest. Eva’s story is a prime example of how Outward has supported people with learning disabilities to leave institutions and live independently, ‘out of the wards’. Eva was featured in a 1982 BBC documentary called ‘Members of the Community’ (we have only recently uncovered the original footage!) and explains in the film that “I wanted to have my own life, living out, and see how I could do it”. Before moving into Forest Glade, she had been living in Leytonstone House Hospital, a large institution for people with learning disabilities, where residents shared large dorms and had little or no independence or private space. When Outward offered Eva the chance to move into her own flat, she jumped at the opportunity. Alex Sowerby, Chairman of Outward at the time, says in the film that the key to successful care and
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OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
“I wanted to have my own life, living out, and see how I could do it”. Eva Sparks, Outward customer since 1977
support is “to look at individual needs and devise schemes and services around these”. This is as true now as it was then, with Outward today tailoring its services to new individual budgets.
Today Eva maintains her independence, despite her age, and receives low-level support. She can be seen most days walking her friend’s two dogs, and enjoys a cup of tea with her neighbours on Shernhall Street. “I was one of the first” she says today “and I thank Outward for supporting me to live my life the way I want to live it”.
The Drive – Enabling people on the autistic spectrum to be part of the community
INDEPENDENT LIVING
The Drive is a specialist Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) service, whose staff have successfully demonstrated how to support people with very high support needs to be active members of their local community. The Drive is a large detached house in a leafy suburb of Waltham Forest and is home to five people who are all high on the autistic spectrum. Despite the challenges autism can pose for these individuals, the experienced staff team are enabling residents to pursue new interests and build new relationships. “Robert* arrived at the scheme in 2014 and at first found things difficult. He was prone to very loud outbursts” says Simon, Manager at The Drive. “Victor and Emir, key workers, started working with Robert on a 1:1 basis, and immediately identified nutrition as an important starting point. Robert didn’t know when to stop eating” explains Simon. He was helped to develop eating patterns, and now has a chart on his bedroom wall to remind him of meal times. One of the most important techniques used to rein in Robert’s excess energy has been to encourage him to do more exercise. He has now joined a local gym. “We think that eventually Robert will be able to live by himself, which would be a huge achievement. Next week he is going on his first ever holiday, to Bognor Regis. We always want our customers to live as independently as possible” concludes Simon.
“Daniel* had never been to the doctor. We supported him to have a full health check” Jocelyn, Deputy Manager, explains that Daniel, resident at The Drive, had always refused to go to the doctor or dentist. “His mother was very concerned about him being diabetic. His teeth were rotting”. Staff worked closely with Daniel and his parents to get him to the Royal London Hospital for a full health check. “The improvement in Daniel has been incredible” says Jocelyn. “He now smiles. He never used to smile. He is also keen to start cycling and swimming again”.
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Eva at home today
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Eva filmed in 1982
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Eva (second left) at the opening of Outward’s Wood Street office in 1993
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Proud of living independently
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Life at The Drive
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*Names have been changed to protect customers identities
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Anthony Kendall House Enabling people with mental health issues gain independence
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“Nice new flat, looking for work and feeling positive”
Desmond Court, Enfield
INDEPENDENT LIVING
Living independently and developing social networks can be a major challenge for people suffering from mental health issues. Outward supports a number of customers who face such challenges, and we are proud to report on a recent success story in this area; Anthony Kendall House, a new service in Hackney. In 2013, London Borough of Hackney approached the Newlon Group to see if we could assist in developing long-term housing for adults with enduring mental health needs who were ready for more independent living after a period in supported housing. This type of provision was desperately needed in the borough and therefore Newlon Housing Trust, Outward and Hackney worked in partnership to design a scheme that could provide the opportunity for tenants to live independently, access employment, training, education and volunteering, and form friendships and social contacts. A successful application to The Mayor’s Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund led to a former care home being re-designed into six large, bright and modern one bedroom flats with gardens, in the heart of Hackney. The scheme opened in April 2015, with Outward providing a flexible, visiting support service designed to meet the changing needs of the new tenants and with a view to decreasing support as tenants begin to re-establish their independence and important social networks. 12
OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
James* moved into Anthony Kendall House in August 2015 and is really appreciative of his new flat. He was living in Homerton, also in Hackney, but says that his new neighbourhood has “better buses and transport”. James suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and sees Anthony Kendall House as an important new start. “I am taking bread-making and cookery classes, and am also looking for employment. I am trained in cabinet-making and micro-engineering, and am intending to find self-employed design work. Outward has supported me to do this” says James with a big smile on his face. *Name has been changed to protect customer identity
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James’s new flat at Anthony Kendall House
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On-site at Desmond Court, Enfield
Desmond Court is a new flagship service for people with learning disabilities, opening in London Borough of Enfield in November 2015. Outward, Newlon Housing Trust and Enfield have worked in close partnership to ensure that the new development, consisting of 14 self-contained flats, will give residents greater independence and provide a home that can accommodate their changing needs in the future. With staff on-site 24 hours a day, and with activity programmes and personalised models of care and supported provided, this scheme is testimony to how housing and support for people with learning disabilities has moved on in the last forty years since Outward opened its first shared home in 1977.
Statement of Financial Activities Balance Sheet Year ended 31 March 2015
As at 31st March 2015
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Total 2015
Total 2014
£
£
£
£
Investment income
784
49,767
50,551
34,389
22,252
-
22,252
20,884
Incoming resources from charitable activities
Tangible assets Investments
Debtors 5,947,265
-
5,947,265
6,119,698
Fees, service level agreements and grants
11,444,816
-
11,444,816
11,280,300
Total incoming resources
17,415,117
49,767
17,464,884
17,455,271
Resources expended Charitable activities Salaries
10,679,133
12,000
10,691,133
10,617,950
Other charitable expenditure
6,569,120
19,536
6,588,656
7,381,924
58,538
-
58,538
53,536
17,306,791
31,536
17,338,327
18,053,410
Total resources expended
£
£
£
2,637,998
2,643,797
1,070
1,070
2,639,068
2,644,867
Current assets:
Rents and charges
Governance costs
£
2014
Fixed assets
Incoming resources Voluntary income
2015
Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
986,510
1,506,804
5,619,780
3,898,958
6,606,290
5,405,762
2,406,481
2,013,540
Net current assets
4,199,809
3,392,222
Total assets less current liabilities
6,838,877
6,037,089
675,231
-
6,163,646
6,037,089
34,300
16,069
Designated funds
1,440,471
1,471,501
General funds
4,177,024
4,033,658
511,851
515,861
6,163,646
6,037,089
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year Net assets Funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds:
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources before other recognised gains and losses
108,326
Other recognised gains and losses: property valuation
-
-
-
213,263
108,326
18,231
126,557
(384,876)
Net movement in funds
18,231
126,557
(598,139)
Property revaluation fund
Total funds brought forward
6,021,020
16,069
6,037,089
6,421,965
Total funds carried forward
6,129,346
34,300
6,163,646
6,037,089
Total funds
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. The financial summary represents Outward’s financial statements for year ended March 2015. For a better understanding of the Charity’s financial position and the results of its operations, please refer to the detailed, audited financial statements which can be obtained from our registered office, Newlon House, 4 Daneland Walk, Hale Village, London, N17 9FE. 13
From one supported living service to supporting over 1,000 people in ten London boroughs A lot can happen in forty years! Back in the mid1970s, there was very little provision for people with a learning disability or on the autistic spectrum. Many lived in institutions far away from where they were brought up. They had few opportunities to develop new skills or talents, pursue interests or participate in wider society. Outward came into existence because a group of compassionate and committed parents, volunteers and social care professionals wanted this situation to change. People with a learning disability or ASD should be able to live as independently as possible, ‘out of the wards’.
Outward is managing housing for 30+ people with learning disabilities, who have moved on from hotels, parental homes and hospitals
‘Out of the wards’ Outward is set up by a group of parents, carers and professionals to support adults with learning disabilities
1975
1977
From opening one house for a group of people with learning disabilities in Waltham Forest to managing over 800 properties, we have come a long way in forty years. This has been largely due to the dedication and hard work of our staff and volunteers, who have demonstrated incredible creativity, innovation and drive in supporting vulnerable people. We must also thank our partner organisations, especially Newlon Housing Trust, without whose cooperation we would not be where we are today. Thank you to everyone who has helped us over the past forty years! To help chart our journey over four decades, we have created a visual timeline, which shows you some of the highlights and landmarks during that time. We hope you will join us for the journey over the next forty years too!
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OUTWARD REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014/2015
1985
With help from Newlon Housing Trust, we open two purpose-built registered care homes in Leyton
1986
Outward is incorporated as a limited company
We open our first supported living service, in Waltham Forest, for people with learning disabilities, in partnership with Newlon Housing Trust
1991
Outward starts working closely with other landlords, including Family Mosaic, L&Q and ISHA, to develop more supported housing
We employ our first outreach team to support people with learning disabilities to live independently in their own homes
1993
Through our HOLD scheme, people with learning disabilities can buy their own home
We are now supporting 650 older people, younger people at risk and people with mental health issues, learning disabilities and ASD
We join Newlon Group as a subsidiary.
1995
We open our new offices at Wood Street in Walthamstow. Today the office space is rented by LDX and also houses six live-in volunteers who volunteer for Outward.
2001
2006
2008
2009
2011
Outward launches its Specialist Autism Service and becomes ‘Autism Accredited’. The service is still going strong today
We open a successful transition service for vulnerable young people in Hackney
We open Century Court, an ambitious 40-bed extra care scheme for elderly customers in Hackney
Outward today • Part of the Newlon Group • Turnover of £18m • Manages 800 properties • Operates 36 care and support services
Finsbury Park Homeless Families Project becomes a subsidiary of Outward
2012
2013
Outward trains and recruits eight customers to become paid Quality Checkers, responsible for helping us improve the quality of our services
2014
• Employs 450 staff • Delivers 33,000 volunteer hours to over 1000 beneficiaries • Supports 880 people across ten London boroughs.
2015 We launch the Hackney FoodCycle Hub and The Hub Club, two innovative projects in Hackney. Diane Abbott MP visits the Hackney FoodCycle Hub in February 2015
Nutley Edge, our holiday cottage destination in East Sussex for disadvantaged people, opens to the public
Outward is a registered charity and is a member of the Newlon Group If you would like further information about Outward services, please get in touch: Call us on 020 8980 7101 Email us at info@outward.org.uk Outward Housing trading as Outward is a company limited by guarantee. Registered office: Newlon House, 4 Daneland Walk, Hale Village, London, N17 9FE. Registered company no. 2151434, registered charity no. 800529, registered CQC no. CRT1 - 439476463. Š Outward 2015. All rights reserved.