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 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "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) (effective 1 January 2019)".

Since the Charity qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic Report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted.

The Objectives of Angus Special Playscheme are:

To offer practical support to the parents/carers of children with Additional Support Needs in the area of Angus by providing social, leisure and educational activities in the weeks of the school holidays.

To promote the interests of children attending Angus Special Playscheme by providing play experiences in a positive, safe, secure and stimulating environment. Where possible this should be in situations which are socially integrated.

To actively encourage social integration by enabling the participation of children with additional support needs in mainstream child and youth activities.

To promote the welfare and advance the education of parents or carers of children with additional support needs as well as the children themselves.

All children and their families have access to a high quality service. Holiday playschemes are provided to give opportunities for children to develop their skills, confidence and self-esteem, supporting them to overcome the social, physical and environmental barriers that create inequality. A varied programme of specialist visitors and outings is offered. Children have their voices heard and are encouraged to play an active and responsible role in the Playscheme.

Due to the lack of funding in 2023-24, which continued into the early months of 2024-25 we took the difficult decision to close two of our four schemes. However, we continued to provide a service for all of children and young people by creating two larger schemes and merging young people into their respective age groups regardless of ability. We now operate a 5 – 12 Scheme and a 13 – 18 Scheme both of which are fully inclusive and also accessible for children and young people who have more profound and multiple disabilities. The latter end of 2024-25 saw us secure additional unrestricted grants which enabled us to keep the senior staff of the 1-2-1 Scheme in their positions and support the children and young people in the remaining two Schemes. This also ensured that we could increase the number of staff required to operate at the safe matching ratio at least until we applied for and secured further restricted funding for the longer term.

The money we saved by making difficult decisions over the past two years has enabled us to improve our HR and Health & Safety support which now includes Payroll Services and an Employee Assistance Program.

After experiencing a reduction in numbers in the year 2023-2024, the additional funds enabled us to introduce twenty new children/young people the service between April of 2024 and March of 25, with a further eighteen joining us between April and October of this year. As things stand, we are on target to enrol a similar amount of children by the end of 2025-2026. The slight change to our admissions process has allowed us to reduce the waiting list significantly and we are now in a position where we can introduce five or six new children/young people at the start of each scheme.

Reserves policy

At the year end the charity holds £43,429 (2024 - £34,260) in reserves, £42,918 ( 2024 - £29133) is free reserves not invested in fixed assets. No material amounts have been designated.

The funds at the end of the year put the charity in a stronger position as we start 2025/26. The trustees regularly monitor the level of unrestricted funds as these are vital in allowing us flexibility in our work.

The Board of Directors has established a policy on unrestricted fund reserves, whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the charity should be at least £7,000 to cover redundancy costs should they be required.

The principal funds received during the year were from Angus Council, Shared Care Scotland and The National Lottery Community Fund.

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

Angus Special Playscheme is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up by a Memorandum of Association on 18 October 2005 and is a registered charity (SC018636) within Scotland.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

The management of the Charity is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Memorandum of Association.

New Board Members are often parent/carers familiar with the services provided. Induction is delivered by the Chairperson. Board Members are given an information pack and attend child protection training. The charity follows the guidelines set out by OSCR and Board Members are encouraged to attend trustee seminars and training organised by Voluntary Action Angus.

The Trustees who administer the group appoint a scheme manager, Tracy Maxwell, to manage the day to day operations of the company. The trustees shall have the power on behalf of the collective to retain, accept, purchase, sell, lease, hold and invest any property, heritable and moveable, real and personal of whatever kind and wherever suited.

At each Annual General Meeting of the Company one third of the members of the Board of Directors for the time being or, if their number is not three or a multiple of three, then the number nearest one third, shall retire from office. A retiring member of the Board of Directors shall be eligible for re-election. At this meeting of resignation the Board of Directors may fill the vacated office by electing a person thereto.

Safeguarding

Nothing is more important than the safety of the children entrusted to the charity. Staff and volunteers have child protection training, annually refreshed, and rigorous background screening is conducted on all staff and volunteers working at the schemes, including PVG checks and a minimum of two good references. All Playscheme staff are expected to conform to the Scottish Social Services Council Code of Conduct and must complete the required 12 hours of training each year. Strict policies are in place pertaining to health and safety, infection control, administration of medication etc.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 5 to 18.

The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of Angus Special Playscheme for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements.

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and

to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Angus Special Playscheme is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Froickheim Community Hub, Eastgate, Froickheim, Arbroath, DD11 4TG, Scotland.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "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) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

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.

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the Charity's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

There are some costs incurred which are not directly related to the charitable project but are deemed general support costs for the running of the organisation. The Charity have deemed that a percentage of the Manager's salary and rent should be considered a support cost. This application is consistent with prior years.

Staff wages and other overhead costs are allocated towards projects based on funding.

Grants

Volunteer expenses

Trips and entertainment

Telephone and internet

Print, postage and staitonery

Sundry

Storage

Insurance

Legal and professional

Payroll

Fundraising costs

Training

Grants to be repaid

Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiner of £2,880 (2024- £2,760) for the independent examination of the Charity's annual accounts.

None of the trustees received any reimbursed expenses from the charity during the year.

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.

Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:

Angus Council grant payment relating to April 2025.

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

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 related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).