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Chair’s Statement People Matters had a year of big changes during 2013-2014. We made some hard choices. We stopped doing supported living work. We were spending a lot more money than we were earning. This had to stop. It was very difficult but we managed it. The board of directors decided that it needed more people so it could make choices carefully. The new people we found have helped us a lot. It has meant that the changes we have made have been done properly. Everyone who comes to the board meetings is a volunteer. We had to make sure we looked after our staff as well as we could. Some people stopped working for us and we sadly said goodbye to Maureen. Maureen started People Matters in 2002, without her there would be no People Matters. Tina became Chief Executive in 2013. Tina has been busy making sure that we could carry on. We are very pleased that good things happened during the year too. We had a fantastic Autumn Ball organised by the Teens and Twenties. We did lots more classes at Barkston House and other places in Leeds. Lots of new people started doing things with People Matters for the first time. 2014 – 2015 is another year of change. We are sad that our Lottery Grant for Teens and Twenties finishes during the year but we are working to replace that and start new opportunities up for young people. We don’t like stopping doing things with our members that they enjoy. My time with People Matters has now come to an end as well. One person has to step down so you can choose other people. The board recommends that you confirm Charles Ward as the new Chair of Directors. Charles is a parent of one of the young people from Teens and Twenties. I also recommend you confirm that the other volunteers attending board meetings become full board members as well. Tina tells me that she finds that they challenge her & support her to make sure that the work People Matters does is right for you. Robert & Paul both will carry on as members of the board. I have been very pleased to be involved with the organisation for the past two years. People Matters has made lots of the changes it needs to. There is more work to do but the board think that the future is looking brighter. Tina is looking for new places to get income for us. I intend to stay in touch so I know what is happening. May I wish you all the best for the future. Becky Farren, Chair of the Board (Retiring)
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Chief Executive’s report The board of directors asked me as Chief Executive to do a number of tasks during 2013-2014. Some of these Becky has talked about in her Chair’s statement. Things you should know about:
we owe all the staff a big thank you for all their hard work. Things have not always been easy for them but it’s starting to get better. Some people have left but there are new faces too. We involved an accountant from a charity in Leeds to help us. This was to make sure we knew what was happening to our money. we are sorry to see Becky our Chair of the board leave us. We need to say thank you for all her volunteering. We need to say that she is very welcome to keep in touch. Becky has said that she wants to do this we know that there are lots of new people that have got involved in People Matters for the first time. They need to keep seeing that we are a community that welcomes and supports them.
Thinking about this year now; the board of directors is asking me to do different things. They want to make sure you
hear about what happens at their meetings. They have asked me to make sure that the minutes of their meetings are put on the website. This is so that you can see them. We have already started to do this. We will tell you when you can see new ones through Facebook. have more chances to tell us what you think. We have already started a new steering group for the Thursday night group. We have a new grant for doing day time activities in 2015. This will also have a steering group. Some people from the classes are going to have chances to meet up and tell us what they want us to do too. have a chance to hear what is happening at People Matters so you know the news. We will carry on with telling you what is happening on Facebook & we are on twitter too. We are also doing a newsletter. This will go on the website. You will also get the chance to pick a paper one up when you see us in a group. find it easier to find out useful information from us. We are making a start by putting even more on our website. We know we have lots to do still on making sure that we tell you things in ways you can understand. You can already find on the People Matters website things like how to o apply to adult social services for support
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o make a complaint or give someone who works with you a compliment o keep safe with us o understand our approach to equality o where you can find financial advice if you need it have new chances to do things with us. We are really pleased that we have new grants from City Connect and from the People’s Health Trust. Look out for more news. We also got through the 1st stage of a new Big Lottery bid. We are now busy doing the 2nd stage to replace the Teens and Twenties. It can’t be exactly the same so there will be some changes. There are other applications that we are making too. We will let you know what happens. The board also wants People Matters to be clear about who we are and what we do. They want us to have a good plan which we need to start thinking about in 2015. They want us to be careful with our money and tell you what happens.
They want us to work with other people and organisations like
Getting involved in Learning Disability Week each year Being part of Tenfold Talking to different parts of the council like Children’s Services and Adult Social Services. This is so we know what is happening. It means we can tell them what you may think about their plans. Have more volunteers and make sure they have good opportunities to contribute and stay with us Have good links with SILCs, the college and other organisations that organise opportunities to make what we do work better So 2014-2015 is a busy year. Do look out for more news and tell more people about what we do.
Tina Turnbull Chief Executive
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What we do ………. Create opportunities for people with learning and other disabilities to be more independent and enjoy life in the same ways, and in the same places, as anybody else.
The way we do things round here……….
Put you first
We are flexible and inclusive, everything about our people and each other matters to us.
Work together
We collaborate to build our teams, communities, friendships and how we engage with you.
Have integrity
You can trust us to be honest, treat you equally, respectfully and with empathy.
Are determined to see potential thrive
Our commitment means we stay with you and take pride in your successes.
Are enterprising
We solve problems, adapt to your needs and take care with your money.
We know that it can be hard at times but it’s really good to aim high! 5
What happened in 2013/14
Spring – Maureen retired as Chief Executive and Tina took up this post instead. 3 new volunteers Alan, Rowena and Susan became advisors to the board. 8 social groups met each week. By working with the council we also agreed to stop doing supported living work.
Summer – Our community learning contract was renewed by Leeds City Council and we expanded, more than doubling our classes. Our supported living work stopped. These changes meant we could concentrate on supporting people in the community and delivering adult learning.
Autumn – The Teens and Twenties worked very hard and organised our Autumn Ball. Maureen and Sarah left People Matters. Sally became our Learning and Community Manager. We started a restructure to improve how we looked after our money. It was very important to do this so we didn’t have to close.
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Winter – Our Xmas celebration was at Asda. We finished our restructure. A new advisor to the board, Kate started volunteering with us. Our website was developed so there was much more information available about what we do. We carried on delivering classes, individual support and groups.
Community Learning Community Learning got off to a great start in 2013. It continued to flourish throughout the year. Courses available included, cooking, photography, jewellery money matters, art matters, Christmas workshop, way finding, beauty and wellbeing, dance and gardening. Art Matters did very well during 2013-14. They sold lots of paintings in Fabrication and other places too. Learners were able to perform at several venues. They exhibited at our showcase in Learning Disabilities week. They won awards in the Leeds learning disability week photography competition We were part of the LCC Ofsted inspection which was graded as Good. The Ofsted report said; * Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Well - qualified tutors plan varied and interesting teaching that keep learners motivated and help them make good progress * Tutors encourage learners to achieve to the best of their ability. They give learners regular feedback on their work to help them understand how they can improve But what have learners in our classes said? “I have learnt things I never knew existed in photography.” “I have gained an awful lot.” “I like being with new people and I have become more independent because I have made new Joining in the friends. I feel really proud when my artwork is in the courses for the exhibition because I can see people looking at it and first time were buying the cards with my design on.” 101 learners – WOW! 7
Social Groups
During 2013 – 2014 we had 8 groups meeting each week in the evenings and on a Saturday afternoon. That is 80 people! Everyone in Teens and Twenties as well as the adult groups did lots of different activities. During the year we entered our last year of Big Lottery funding for the Teens and Twenties.
Highlights were the amazing trip to Herd Farm and our Autumn Ball. At Herd Farm so many people tried new things like the zip wire or the archery. We were very impressed! Over 100 people got glammed up and danced the night away at the ball. We spent a great evening at the Park Plaza Hotel in the centre of Leeds. The other big event was our Christmas Celebration at Asda. The people at ASDA House made us very welcome with a great Christmas meal. As 2013-2014 finished we were planning how we were going to evaluate the Teens and Twenties project and then start to apply for new funding. We decided that Sheffield Hallam University would do the evaluation for us.
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Support in the Community During 2013-14 our individual support in the community worked with about 18 people each week. The work we did built up during the year. We have been delivering about 100 hours of support each week. Adult Social Services has funded most of this. Some people have had direct payments. They have managed their budget themselves or with the support of their family.
People have had support to do lots of different things at home or in the community. They have used support to come to classes, do sport, apply for work, keep in touch with other members of their family, do volunteering and lots of other things. Everyone has had their own plan of what they want to do. They have told us what is important to them so we know how to support them.
What do people with support from People Matters say? “I've been to so many places and done lots of things I didn't think I could because of the support from people matters” MP “staff are nice and help me with things like volunteering and to understand money” – CW “I like that my support means I do activities I enjoy like shopping and bowling and also to bake at home” - SH
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About People Matters……………. Established in May 2002, People Matters (Leeds) CIC is a Community Interest Company and a Company limited by Guarantee that develops inclusive communities through leisure, learning and employment. People Matters is a not for profit, organisation that has proven social aims.
Our registered address: 68a Barkston House, Leeds LS11 9RT
Our Directors over the period: Robert Rae, Paul Jackson, Becky Farren,
Our Company Secretary: Tina Turnbull,
Our Bank: Co-operative Bank, PO Box 101, Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP
Our Insurers: Zurich Insurance, Zurich House, Stanhope Road, Portsmouth, PO1 1DU
Our Accountants: Rothwell and Co
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People Matters (Leeds) CIC 2013/14 Financial Report People Matters 2013/14 Income and Expenditure £331, 292
Balances Unrestricted £64,640
£336,444
Restricted £1,170
Total £65,810
Balances are ‘after reversal’ from 2012/13 and agreed with the Big Lottery. We spent £5153 more than we earned this year. We need to be careful about how we spend our money. Restricted funds are money from grants. This is where we have to follow the rules of the funder. We only spend this money on what they say like from the Big Lottery for Teens and Twenties. Unrestricted funds are money from contracts. We are free to spend any extra on our social purpose like helping the Thursday night group. (No money can be just given to any person or external group. This is in the People Matters rules in our ‘memorandum & articles of association’). It is very important that we have a good balance to help our cashflow. A good cashflow means we can pay our costs like staff wages, insurance, rent, telephone and electricity each month before our income arrives. For example we only get paid to run classes three times a year. This is a long time after we have done the work and paid the costs. You can find more information on how we spend our money in our full financial accounts. These have been checked by an independent accountant. They are available to any member or their family. 11
68A Barkston House Domestic Street Light Industrial Estate LS11 9RT tel: 0113 2346896 People Matters (Leeds) CIC is a Community Interest Company and a Company limited by Guarantee. Reg. No. 4437728 www.peoplemattersleeds.co.uk
www.facebook.com People Matters (Leeds)
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