The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 2 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)".
Business Plan Overview
Art Shape was created in 1993 as the result of a Gloucestershire-wide research programme commissioned by Artshare South West to address gaps in the provision of creative activity for disabled people in the county. Art Shape has since made significant steps in promoting everyone's right to access and engage with creative experiences. As an organisation, Art Shape has shifted its focus from working within care settings to a more pro-active role, shaping accessible progressional arts provision and opportunities for all within a framework of social inclusion.
Art Shape targets its activities at providing arts opportunities for those facing disabling barriers, particularly learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health service users and survivors and older people.
Art Shape's distinct skill in socially inclusive practice is developing tailor made provision to meet specific needs of individuals, communities and organisations and directly engaging people in the arts on their own terms, regardless of the point they have reached on their creative path.
Art Shape is a generator of ideas, of art and of artists and works with people facing disabling barriers, such as people with physical disabilities, learning difficulties, mental ill-health and those experiencing the limitations associated with ageing. To open up opportunities for people facing disabling barriers, we work with carers and care workers in homes and day centres providing activities for people facing barriers. To support integration, we also work in communities and to challenge exclusion on grounds of gender, sexuality, marital status, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion, age or disability and poverty or deprivation.
Art Shape always has extremely high expectations and the artistic quality of the output of its work and projects is paramount. Our mission is to contribute to improving arts, disabled arts and disability arts culture through our strong links with artists and the art world.
Art Shape primarily operates across Gloucestershire, but its work is expanding regionally and nationally, to inform policy and promote good practice within social inclusion and the arts. Art Shape is an active partner in the National Disability Network and Create Gloucestershire.
Art Shape is working closely with new initiatives in Gloucestershire including:
NHS co-production Arts on Prescription programme (lead organisation for the Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium)
Create Gloucestershire
Gloucester Culture Trust
Continuing progression as an accredited learning provider.
Arts and Health
‘It is time to recognise the powerful contribution the arts can make to health and wellbeing. There are now many examples and much evidence of the beneficial impact they can have. We have three key messages in this report:
The arts can help keep us well, aid our recovery and support longer lives better lived.
The arts can help meet major challenges facing health and social care: ageing, long-term conditions, loneliness and mental health.
The arts can help save money in the health service and social care.’
Credit: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing report - July 2017 Second Edition
Art shape is the lead partner for the Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium and is now contracted directly by the NHS to deliver services for social prescribing and creative health.
Objectives and activities
Art Shape's main focus for funding has been in building opportunity for participation through making the case for arts and creative opportunities as key to quality experiences in health and care sectors. Inspirations lead to New Horizons and 'Creativity In Social Care', the only accredited course of its type, which aims to enable social and health care workers to bring artistic and creative opportunities to their places of work to benefit the clients, the managers and the care workers. More recently Art Shape has built on this through the development of resources and training opportunities to support and inspire care and health workers to continue to bring artistic and creative focus to their work through our Inclusive Arts Leadership programme.
Art Shape will continue to build on its work with the health services, social services and local authorities and voluntary agencies involved in care to:
Promote the arts as an effective tool for well-being
Engage people with improving their environments through art project consultancies
Increase self-esteem and confidence of project/programme participants
Enhance social networks
Recognise and embrace diversity
Develop individual skills
Sustainability and future plans
In the light of the changing public sector environment and the increasing competition for grant aid, Art Shape has been working closely with commissioners in organisations such as the NHS and Public Health England to increase tender opportunities. This has increased Art Shape’s income dramatically over the past few years and offers a more sustainable future to the organisation. This was demonstrated during the 2020-22 pandemic where the organisations turnover and core funds have increased rather than declined. There has also been an increase in the need for Art Shape’s services due to the negative health impact the pandemic has had for people and this has also resulted in an increase in funding.
The pandemic also meant that we had to quickly adapt our provision for remote delivery. This was challenging but the online and posted resource packs developed have been very well received by participants and have enabled Art Shape to extend its geographical reach further. In turn this has resulted in increased skills in this area for the core team and resources which could potentially be adapted and used in the future to continue this increased reach and diversify the way in which people are able to engage with the organisation.
Our most recent strategic plan details 3 areas for organisational growth:
Education services
Community programmes
Arts and health services
We have identified these three areas as the main delivery areas for the organisation and areas where growth of service and therefore income is desirable and possible. Each Senior Project Manager has expertise in one of these areas and is currently working to expand Art Shape’s services in their area.
Progression routes for emerging artists
As ever, Art Shape will continue to use the resources at its disposal through commissions, eg the Adult Education Service Level Agreement, and grant funded projects to provide progression routes for emerging artists and to exhibit and sell the work of Art Shape artists and emerging artists.
Liability
All liability for the organisation in terms of assets, trustees and staff is covered by our insurance policy currently held with Hiscox through Brunsdons Broker, Barnwood, Gloucester.
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Organisational structure
The day-to-day running is managed by the Managing Director Lucy Garrett, supported by the directors/trustees.
The Board advise in areas of general policy and strategy and are an approving body. Members of the Board can be elected at the annual general meeting and new members are invited into the office for an induction to the organisation. Within the budget for the organisation there is a provision for training for the Board and this is used as and when necessary.
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales, the Charities Act 2011, Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Art Shape Limited (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 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. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 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 Companies Act 2006.
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 Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements 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 financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
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 £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Designated funds are funds which have been set aside by the trustees for the purposes of organisational development (£117,565), 6 months running costs and closure costs of the organisation if this becomes necessary for any reason (£223,804).
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost 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 resources.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).