During the 2025/26 financial year, Philo CIC continued to develop community-led pro-grammes that centre art, play, design and cultural history to strengthen community connections and expand access to creative opportunities for children and families, many of whom are local residents. We have also found a new home at Goldsmiths Community Centre in Downham and are very excited about this connection and supportive relationship. A key achievement was the delivery of the Educate to Liberate pilot programme, a 7-week creative programme that supports children in exploring social justice issues through artmaking, cultural knowledge and collective imagination. The use of analogue skills and a variety of art forms laid the groundwork for what would become the Young Artists Gallery (see be-low). Philo also launched The Green Room, a new exploratory space for families to come and share in art and play. With visual prompts throughout the space around themes of social and environmental justice, families were invited and encouraged to take part and creatively respond using the reused and repurposed materials and tools available. A key component of The Green Room is the Share Shop, which at its heart is about redistributing art materials to local families to support environmentally conscious, child-led artmaking that reduces the barriers to access. To celebrate young people's creativity, we established the Young Artists Gallery, providing children and young people with the opportunity to publicly exhibit their artwork, building confidence while increasing the visibility of young creative talent within the community. Our organisation continued to participate in local cultural infrastructure steering groups and local events, including activities at Deptford Market and the People's Festival, creating opportunities to share some of our creative practice and principles beyond our physical location. This has been a great opportunity to connect with like-minded organisations, spend time building community connections, connect with our community, and increase the visibility of the work. One of our most significant collaborative projects was Textures of Light, delivered in partnership with the National Trust as part of the Downham Centenary celebrations. Working alongside more than 100 local residents, Philo co-produced a community artwork that celebrated the area's history, and also the dreams, desires and intentions our local residents shared. The completed work was publicly exhibited and now forms a permanent display at Downham Library, creating a lasting cultural legacy for the local community. To support the long-term sustainability of our work, we also launched the 247 Campaign, an initiative to build a community of monthly supporters (community members). The campaign aims to establish a sustainable income stream that will enable Philo to secure a permanent community space and expand its creative programmes for local residents in the years ahead. Through these activities, Play at Philo CIC has continued to increase access to arts and cultural opportunities and support young people's creative development. As we have become more embedded within our local community, our desire to anchor ourselves as a vital part of the local cultural infrastructure is underway, and we will continue with our team, volunteers and community members on this mission.

Throughout the 2025/26 financial year, Philo CIC engaged with a range of stakeholders, including participating children and young people, parents and carers, local residents, volunteers, partner organisations, and members of the wider community. Consultation has primarily taken place through ongoing conversations during and after workshops, informal feedback from families, observations of participants' experiences, discussions with volunteers and partner organisations, and engagement through community events and collaborative projects. As a community-led organisation, we value these continuous relationships as an important part of shaping our work. Feedback from families highlighted the importance of affordable, accessible creative opportunities, greater access to quality art materials, and spaces where children could explore creativity without pressure or prescribed outcomes. In response, Philo developed The Green Room and the Share Shop to increase access to reused art materials, expanded opportunities for child-led creative exploration, and established the Young Artists Gallery to celebrate children's work publicly. There has also been significant feedback from local families re-questing the Educate to Liberate programme be run again, so it will be returning in the winter term of 2026. Feedback from community partners also reinforced the importance of embedding our work within the local cultural infrastructure, contributing to our move to Goldsmiths Community Centre and our continued participation in local steering groups and community events. We will continue to consult with our stakeholders as our programmes develop to ensure that our activities remain responsive to local needs.

No remuneration was received by any director in respect of their role as a director of the Company. Directors acted on a voluntary basis in carrying out their governance and director responsibilities. During the financial year, two directors received payments solely for the delivery of funded workshops undertaken in a separate operational capacity. These payments were not remuneration for their roles as directors and were made in accordance with the funding for those activities. There were no other transactions or arrangements in connection with the remuneration of directors, or compensation for director's loss of office, which require to be disclosed

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration