The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the un-audited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", issued in March 2005.
The charity's objects are to safeguard and preserve the good health, both mental and physical of children and parents of children, to prevent cruelty to or maltreatment of children, to relieve sickness, poverty and need amongst children and parents of children and to promote the education of the public in better standards of child care; principally but not exclusively within the area of Hull and its environs. The policies adopted in furtherance of these objects are applied by the committee and there has been no change in these during the year.
To provide support to a minimum of 100 new families using home-visiting volunteers. This is our core work.
To support an additional 30 families per year on our Families in Mind project funded by the Henry Smith Charity since January 2022. This project supports parents with a lasting and enduring mental health condition.
To support an additional 100 families per year on the Start for Life Partners & Dads peer support project and Parent Infant Well Being (West Hull) project.
To support 20 of the most complex or short-term families through the Family Support Worker
To offer 8 preparation courses for new volunteers, annual refresher training and at least one specialist training opportunity per year for all volunteers.
To offer at least one additional specialist training course per year to active volunteers, trustees and staff
To identify a Vice Chair of Trustees as part of our succession planning.
Identify new funding/grants for the core work, Families in Mind project, and Start for Life projects.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Home Start Hull applies for the funding of its activities through a tendering processes. Successful applications result in service contracts or grants received to deliver the specific area identified in the application. The following
To increase the support available to families through both the core work and projects. Current target of 230 families.
To maintain current staffing levels and volunteer numbers.
To assess whether we need to expand our services to families
To maintain our current representation on the Trustees board.
Our Local Home-Start supported 91 families this year through the core work, 47 through the Families in Mind project, 334 families through the Start for Life projects (including NICU, Facebook group, infant massage and Grobrain), by 51 home-visiting volunteers offering 2146 hours of support.
We have successfully secured funding for our Family Support Worker for three years who provides invaluable support to our most complex families whist waiting for a suitable volunteer. The FSW has supported 26 families this year.
We have successfully secured and started delivery of a new three years funding of the Families in Mind project from the Henry Smith Foundation.
We have successfully complete the third year of our Start for Life contracts and secured a further six months extension funding from Hull City Council.
The volunteers and families were supported by 10 trustees (one new trustee recruited during the year)and 11 staff during the year. (Joanne Boasman, Gemma Brown, Charlotte Dunstan (Left February 2026), Lucy Jonas (Left January 2026), Kelly Sykes-Moody, Bridget Marvin-Smelt, Charlotte Neale, Helen Percy, Phil Vincent, Katie Warren, Caroline Watson.)
All staff, volunteers and trustees continue to complete role appropriate training including Safeguarding Children’s Partnership training.
We offered 8 and delivered 4 volunteer preparation courses, as well as one-to-one sessions, recruiting a total of 15 new volunteers. None of the volunteers chose to accredit the training during the year.
44% of volunteers leaving the scheme this year did so for work and training and we offered 3 student placements contributing to their educational experience.
We offered additional training in the ‘Prevent’ strategy, Hull Safeguarding Children’s Partnership sources of stress, neurodiversity, unintentional injuries and safer sleep, infant massage, Institute of Health Visiting Father's Perinatal, and Infant Mental Health Multi-Agency training. We held feedback sessions with staff, volunteers, and trustees for our new Strategic Plan.
The board have reviewed the reserves set aside by the scheme and are satisfied that they cover the necessary requirements identified in the Reserves Policy.
The reserves covers approximately 4.5 months of running costs plus redundancy costs.
We continue to look for ways to provide additional funding for the scheme and increase volunteer numbers.
There have been no incidents or near misses regarding information governance.
The executive committee review the financial position regularly throughout the year.
The Charity receives income from a contract, donations, grants and investments. During 2025-2026 this amounted to £283,238. Its income is used to finance direct charitable expenditure and other expenditure amounting to £283,396.
Our reserves amount to £94,150 Unrestricted General Fund and £50,000 Designated Contingent Reserve Fund.
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
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.
The Board recognise that over the next five years, the amount of funding from the Hull Health & Care Partnership will decrease each year and have planned provision to cover a predicted shortfall as costs increase due to workplace pensions and increased costs associated with volunteer training and DBS checks.
We continue to look for ways to provide additional funding for the scheme
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has been registered as a charity.
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 current trustees continue to seek new trustees as vacancies or skills profiles are required from the general public and those associated in the area the charity operates.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The organisation is managed by an Executive Committee comprising of no fewer than 4 members and not more than 12 members. All the trustees sit on this committee.
Home Start Hull is a member of the Home Start UK organisation which provides areas of support to the organisation. Service Agreements are entered into with various providers operating in this area
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Home-Start (Hull) (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2026.
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 ACCA, 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 statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Home-Start (Hull) is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales.
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 charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities 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, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. 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.
Expenditure incurred by the organisation is accounted for on an accruals basis. Items relating to operational matters are charged to the SOFA, and any capital items to the Balance Sheet.
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.
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.
Accommodation costs
IT costs
Telephone
Utilities
Office costs
Professional fees
Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiner of £1,040 (2025- £ 1,400) for professional fees.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
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 (2025 - none).