The Reader Annual Report 2015 - 2016

2015 - 2016

Annual Report TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2016

The Reader Organisation - a company limited by guarantee Charity Registration Number 1126806 (England and Wales) Charity Registration Number SCO43054 (Scotland) Company Registration Number 06607389 (England and Wales)

Trustees’ Report The Trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016.

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.

Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document The charity, which is a company limited by guarantee, is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 2 June 2008, and subsequently amended on 20 April 2011. All members have agreed to contribute the sum not exceeding £10 in the event of a winding up.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Kathy Doran (Vice Chair to 15/2/16; Appointed Chair 15/2/16) Simon Barber Hugh Biddell (Appointed 19/10/15) Giles Brand Philip Davis Lindsay Dyer (Retired by rotation 19/10/15) John Flamson Rosemary Hawley Lawrence Holden (Resigned 19/10/15) David Levin (Appointed 19/10/15) Shyamal Mukherjee Roger Philips (Retired by rotation 19/10/15) Susan Rutherford (Chair to 15/2/16; resigned 15/2/16) Ruth Scott-Williams (Secretary) Jacqueline Tammenoms Bakker (Appointed 15/4/15)

Organisation The charity is governed by a board of trustees which must have between three and twelve individuals.

The board meets four times a year.

The trustees have appointed a Chief Executive to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity.

3

Objectives and Activities Objective of the Charity The charity's objects are to promote any charitable purposes for the benefit of citizens and inhabitants of the United Kingdom and other countries, in particular the advancement of education, the furtherance of health, the relief of poverty, distress and sickness, the promotion of social inclusion and furtherance of community especially through reading and literature based activities

Our Mission Our mission is to build a reading revolution

Our Vision We envisage a world in which everyone has access to great literature, and in which a personal responses to books are freely shared in reading communities in every area of life.

About Us The Reader brings books to life. We create vital connections between people and literature through which everyone can feel more alive.

Our unique Shared Reading model reaches across all ages, demographics and settings because it helps people connect with a better understanding of themselves and others, which enables them to realise the changes they want to make.

Shared Reading takes place in small groups. A great story or poem is read aloud. We stop and talk about what we have read. There is no need for group members to read aloud, speak or even stay awake – the idea is to create a place where people feel at home. Groups are open to all ages, educational backgrounds and abilities, and are free to attend.

We work across what seem to be widely diverse areas of life. How can the same thing help in a mentalhealth ward and with two-year-olds in a private day nursery? Or in a high-security prison and a dementia care home? What connects these places are the people in them and the human experiences those people share. Reading aloud gives all sorts of people access to literature; literature gives people access to powerful language, to thoughts and feelings about what it is to be human. By experiencing these complex meanings with others, people can start to (re)build a better understanding of themselves and the world.

4

Introduction Jane Davis, Founder and Director When writing the Annual Report it is always a pleasure for me to look back over the past year and reflect on the varied and demanding work that The Reader has undertaken. In 2015-16 we certainly got a lot done but we also formulated our next big challenge: how will our much-needed charity and social enterprise continue to develop and spread its impact, while we have to contend with continuing reductions in public sector budgets? How do we do more with less?

The Reader is a young, lively organisation and we live with a lot of change. There is so much to talk about, from the opening of our magnificent Storybarn, through the Launch of A Little, Aloud with Love to the completion of a large-scale project with Liverpool’s private, voluntary and independent sector nurseries, but there are two things I especially want to point to as of significant importance: Double Impact In 2010, The Reader secured a grant from Big Lottery Fund to train and support volunteers in North Wales to become Reader Leaders and to deliver Shared Reading groups in their own communities.

Five years on, we have really seen this community-led model blossom with a growing number of our projects now be delivered by passionate, well-trained volunteers. These projects include: -

Guys and St. Thomas Charity: Providing training and support for 175 professionals and volunteers to deliver Shared Reading sessions across hospital and community locations in South London to improve mental well-being Off The Page, a project with Liverpool City Council Families Team: Training and support for 75 volunteers to deliver one-to-one reading sessions for hard-to-reach children Reading Revolutionaries: Training for 600 individuals to deliver peer-led reading sessions in secondary and primary schools empowering older children to become reading mentors.

One of the highlights from these projects has been Brenda’s Reader Story: Brenda had had a serious breakdown and was admitted to hospital, where she received Electro-Convulsive Therapy and was put onto medication. ‘I couldn’t do anything. Not even watch telly.’

An occupational therapist at the Maudsley Hospital encouraged her to try a Shared Reading group – and accompanied her to it for the first few times. Brenda felt at home and was able to become a member of the group: ‘It just seemed natural. No one was asking anything of me but I could feel it kick-start my brain again. It engages all of your mind and gets you off the negative thoughts. I suddenly started to feel all right – it was such a surprise!

Now, having been trained as a Reader Leader, she runs a weekly group in South London: ‘My daughters can’t believe it. I am back. I love running the group, we all get so much from it – it’s transformed my life completely.’

Brenda is passing on to others the thing she needed - but didn’t know she needed - and found in Shared Reading. She epitomises the Reader Leaders who are going to bring about the reading revolution.

Through community-led Shared Reading, where The Reader trains and supports community members like Brenda, we are putting Shared Reading into the hands of those who are closest to, and understand best, the needs of their communities. We now need to develop the infrastructure to support this new double impact model, where passionate readers, who know, personally, the value of Shared Reading can offer their attention and energy and love of reading to others, who need to find it.

5

Creativity, Time and Spirit Calderstones Mansion House continues to thrive as The Reader’s national HQ and International Centre for Reading and Well-being. Over two years ago we set out on the journey of raising £4m – which rose to £5m during the trip – to renovate and develop the Mansion House. As we go to press, that journey is almost complete, and I look forward to reporting on the start of the build in next year’s report. Many thanks to Heritage Lottery Fund and Liverpool City Council for their sustained support during the development period.

Some very exciting enterprises have been launched this year at Calderstones. November is perhaps not the ideal month to have opened our Ice Cream Parlour but even so the 22 flavours drew some hardy customers. It’s a once a month treat for me to pop in and see what is new on the menu. When I started The Reader I could never have imagined we would be running an Ice Cream Parlour! Alongside The Reader Café, the ICP, as it is known to its friends, will bring in valuable unrestricted funds to The Reader for years to come, as well as providing employment opportunities at Calderstones. Many parkusers have told me how glad they are that The Reader has come to the park, and what a lot we have added to it.

In February we opened our amazing and unique Storybarn - an interactive story, book and imagination space, with its hot-air balloon, giant robot and fire-escape-slide. Many congratulations to the production team - those who imagined it, those who found the investment to build it, those who imagined the reading experiences within, those who did the business planning and organised the staffing rotas and those who marketed the offer to schools and the public.

All of this is testament to the enterprise and creativity that exists at the heart of The Reader and which is crucial to future success of the organisation.

But I also want to thank the reading group members who turn up, week-after-week to benefit from the Shared Reading groups we provide and who also spread the message of The Reader’s work at Calderstones. And I want to thank the volunteers who run the reception desk, day-in and day-out, wonderfully and calmly welcoming our visitors, dealing with found dogs and lost children, and with complaints about the public toilets with immense patience and civility. Volunteers who repot or water the plants, bring flowers, or photos, or help to maintain the buildings, bookshelf-putter-uppers, decorators, those who help in The Storybarn and Café, the books-sorters. Without these contributions from individuals giving their time and attention and spirit – more important than the money, in the end - this huge project would simply not be possible.

As we enter the next chapter for The Reader - rebuilding the Mansion House and building the infrastructure to support community-led Shared Reading, I want to end this introduction by thanking all my colleagues and fellow readers, and ask that you continue to spread the word about the work of The Reader, so that everyone, whoever they are, wherever they are, can access a Shared Reading group.

Thank you, readers Jane

6

The Reader in Health “I believe that it was mainly thanks to this experience with The Reader that I was hired as a facilitator in a therapeutic community where people with serious mental health live. Volunteering for The Reader was a powerful life experience where I also learnt a lot about myself and my abilities.”

Reader Leader, South London The Reader has continued to bring the benefits of Shared Reading to people experiencing or at risk of experiencing health problems. Many projects focussed on the delivery of Shared Reading groups by trained community-based Reader Leaders including: • •

•

• •

Barnet: Training and support for 36 volunteers to deliver Shared Reading sessions for older people living in the community or in care homes.

Merseyside: Five year Big Lottery supported project in Merseyside recruited and supported 242 individuals either experiencing or at risk of experiencing mental health problems to deliver Shared Reading groups but also volunteer to support Head Office Teams at Calderstones.

South London: Supported by Guy’s and St. Thomas Charity, The Reader has now provided training and support for 177 professionals and volunteers to deliver Shared Reading sessions across hospital and community locations to improve mental well-being.

Knowsley: on-going two-year project funded by Knowsley Public Health and Knowsley CCG delivered by 107 Reader Leaders working across young people, mental health and dementia.

North Wales: Three-year project focussed on groups in community, care home and hospital locations with an emphasis on rural locations and groups in the Welsh language. Midway through the second year of the project, we have trained 57 individuals as Reader Leaders and engaged over 600 individuals through Shared Reading groups

Evaluation from these projects demonstrates how the Reader Leader role has an impact on the lives of those leading the groups, as well as the people they read with: • • • •

77% tell us being a Reader Leader improved their well-being 84% report improved confidence 94% developed leadership skills 68% say it helped them feel more connected to their community

The Reader has continued to deliver staff-led groups through long-standing projects with: • • • •

Mental Health Trusts: 5 Boroughs, Mersey Care, Greater Manchester West, West London and Sheffield Care Trust Public Health Departments: Wirral and Cheshire East Clinical Commissioning Groups: Liverpool, Inner West London Library Services: Tri-Borough

Through both community-led and staff-led groups The Reader has engaged a total of 4,388 individuals either experiencing or at risk of experiencing mental health problems. Evaluation from Shared Reading groups for people living in the community highlights the following impact: • • • •

94% feel relaxed (calmer) whilst in the group 97% feel safe and welcome in the group 92% hearing other people’s views helps me think differently about things 85% listening to and talking about the stories makes me think about my own life

7

As part of The Reader’s strategic plan we have identified the need to improve the evidence base for Shared Reading. In January 2016, through funding from the British Academy and Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospital Trust, the University of Liverpool started a research study comparing the benefits of Shared Reading to Cogitative Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for individuals living with Chronic Pain.

This ground breaking study will be the first time Shared Reading has been compared against a NICE recommended intervention and will hopefully lead to future NICE recommendations for Shared Reading and support medical professionals incorporating Shared Reading into treatment pathways.

Double Impact - Jennifer’s Reader Story Care Home Reader Leader My grandmother attended a Shared Reading group. I went with her a few times and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I got the opportunity to train to be a Reader Leader in the care home I worked at. I had three days training which was fresh, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. I ran a weekly group in the care home for elderly people and people living with dementia for a year. It was the highlight of my week and theirs too. I found this was the best possible activity to enable elderly people and people living with dementia to truly express themselves. The poems unlocked something inside them like nothing else can.

I left school with very poor qualifications, but following this experience I have since been able to enrol in a course for serious readers, the Reading in Practice MA. I never imagined I would be working towards earning a degree in my whole life so that is a big surprise and benefit for me.

From admittedly not having a scrap of appreciation for poetry I have developed a love for poetry and a desire to read. I feel I have definitely gained more confidence in public speaking. I have far better conversational skills and am able to quote poems, which makes me sound like I have been reading poetry all my life! As volunteering opportunities go, it is everything you wish it was and more. Everyone should try it at least once.

8

The Reader in Criminal Justice “I’ve been in here for – it’ll be 28 years in three days.

And to be honest, this is the best part of my week. This makes you feel human.”

Shared Reading group member, Category A prison, reading Silas Marner by George Eliot For nearly a decade The Reader has been running Shared Reading groups in the Criminal Justice System in a range of settings including prisons, Approved Premises, high-security psychiatric hospitals, secure units and community justice initiatives. Within the prison estate we work in categories A, B and C with men, women and young offenders. Through the Personality Disorder pathway, we work in all Psychologically Informed Planned Environments (PIPEs).

During the past year, the main developments within the criminal justice sector have been: •

•

•

Through partnership with Greater Manchester West Mental Health Trust, we secured funding to deliver Shared Reading groups in Secure Children’s Homes – Barton Moss and St. Catherine’s. The groups have been shown to increase pro-social behaviour and our sessions complement the work of the unit by heling the children find ways of moving away from unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving.

Secured funding to work with HMP Liverpool and HMP Kennett through partnership with Lancashire Care Trust. Through this project, The Reader has delivered Shared Reading groups and DIY Shared Reading training which enables group members to progress to deliver their own Shared Reading group.

In a ground-breaking moment for The Reader, The Northern Ireland Public Health Agency released the first ever tender for ‘Shared Reading Services’. The Reader successfully secured the contract to work in all prisons in Northern Ireland.

“He’ll share his thoughts but also share some real sensitive issues; he talks about his mum with mental health issues, his brother with a learning difficulty, his childhood experiences and he would never allow himself to do that in other environments.”

Staff member, Secure Children’s Unit

We are now working in a total of 33 justice settings across the UK and in these environment last year engaged 1,091 individuals which provided 14,771 beneficiary experiences. Outcomes from this work has included: • • • •

62% reported improved mental well-being 95% felt safe and welcomed 88% felt different after hearing other’s views 70% said listening and discussing helped them think about changes they wanted to make in the future

The largest area of work within Criminal Justice remains the work with PIPEs. During this year we worked with PIPEs in 11 Prisons and seven Approved Premises. Developments included working with three therapeutic communities and a wing for over fifties. Training remains a key feature of the project and this year we trained staff in 27 prisons to deliver Shared Reading groups.

9

Double Impact - Ben’s Reader Story Group member and Reader Trained Peer Group Leader Category A. Prison ‘….it’s like a sort of skill you can use outside of the group to switch your mood if you wake up in a bad mood.The group’s made me kinder.’

This group is the best thing I do in here. It took me a while to get my head around it – being with so many people in the room all at once was a big adjustment, I wasn’t used to group working. And I didn’t understand why I couldn’t choose what to read. I can see now the rationale behind having things chosen for us because if I was just left to myself I’d only read stuff like fantasy, stuff I already know.

If you always just stayed comfortable how would you change, how would you move forward?

In here there’s an emphasis on great literature and the reading can be quite rich. I like the fact it’s not predictable, there’s variety and you never know what the Reader-in-Residence is going to bring in for us to read.

We read Frankenstein, one chapter at a time. It took us a year! It was a deep one – there was so much to talk about and it was quite exciting because you didn’t know where the conversation would end up.

You hear the same thing day in day out in the prison environment and the group is something different. It’s really refreshing to hear different people’s perspectives and have my brain engaged.

It makes you see things differently and it’s like you start learning about yourself because you see bits of yourself in the characters and you relate to them.

It makes you see that you’re not on your own - some of the characters are just like you with what they are doing or thinking and it helps you to make sense of your own thoughts. We read Catcher in the Rye, that was really good, and it was like my thoughts and feelings had been given shape in the words, like more tangible.

You connect with the others in the group as well because you get to hear their opinions and find out a bit about who they are and how they think. You see a different side to them. And you can see them moving forward in a way they wouldn’t usually - part of their personality comes out. You see the quiet people building up confidence.

I lead a group now once a week and I think I understand better now the mechanics of what makes a good group, you know? It’s good. When you lead a group, you might get up in the morning and not want to do it and be grumpy about it but you kind of force yourself to do it and then you feel better.

It helps you to change your mood, make that shift, put things to one side and engage with the others and be kind and considerate.

And that works in the same way on the days when you don’t have a group – it’s like a sort of skill you can use outside of the group to switch your mood if you wake up in a bad mood. Yeah, the group’s made me kinder.

10

The Reader with Young People “I wish I could read with Jess forever ‘til one million or a billion or a gazillion infinity number…

I feel so happy when I read with Jess because then it makes me take all the bad memories and think about the good ones.”

Daisy, aged 10, Off The Page, a project with Liverpool City Council Families Team There has been much activity during 2015/16 with The Reader engaging over 2,500 Young People through Shared Reading activity. Key outcomes from this work has included: • • • •

91% improvement in reading and engagement with books 86% feel more relaxed during the Shared Reading group 64% I like to talk about (the) stories or poems (we read) 66% report improved levels of comprehension

Highlight have included: Off The Page, Liverpool City Council Families Team This ground-breaking project consisted of volunteer Reader Leaders being trained by The Reader to deliver a one-to-one Shared Reading session in the home of young person who is being supported by the Liverpool Families Team. These families are identified as having complex and multiple problems.

The project also provided a Summer School at Calderstones Mansion House and delivered a programme of reading-based events across the City. The project started in April 2015 and concluded May 2016, and during the first 12 months recruited and trained 88 volunteer Reader Leaders and engaged 70 at risk children in one-to-one Shared Reading sessions. Impact has been very positive including the following feedback from a parent: “I would like to thank you and your staff for the excellent support they provide to children and young people.

My son is diagnosed with ADHD and ASD and as such struggles in many areas including learning and engaging with people. The ‘matching process’ has been fantastic in matching Tom to his volunteer with whom he has developed a positive rapport. Tom’s reading has really developed to the point where he is now picking up the paper and reading articles without prompting.

Prior to becoming involved with The Reader, Tom refused to read independently at home despite prompting by myself and his father, so the turnaround in his enthusiasm to and enjoyment of reading is amazing. Thank you all so much for the fantastic work you do with the children and young people of this city.’

A key learning is that there are many people in our city of Liverpool who want to help children and families, and that the children and families welcome this help. It is clear that this significant human resource should be more formally recognised by the Families Stakeholder Group, and called on to do more for the city of Liverpool. The benefits in many cases are two-way. Whilst a key challenge at the outset was the gradual nature of referrals, the project finished the year with a waiting list for young people and volunteers wanting to take part in the project.

11

Liverpool City of Readers City of Readers is a campaign to transform Liverpool into the UK’s foremost reading city. The purpose of the campaign is to develop a generation of readers who love to read and will the power of great books into the future. The campaign is a partnership between The Reader, Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Learning Partnership with Jane Davis the Director of City of Readers, on secondment to Liverpool Learning Partnership to lead the delivery of the project.

The project has continued to expand during the 15/16 financial year with: • • • •

731 Reading Revolutionaries trained since the start of the project in 2014 37 Schools receiving Reader-in-Residence provision 120 students from Liverpool Hope University trained as Reading Ambassadors to support children with reading in in Liverpool Hope University Affiliated Schools.

Completed a Stories for You and Yours project the Liverpool Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector Nursery Sector funded by Liverpool City Council engaging over 600 two-year olds

High profile events have also been delivered across the City including the first Anytime is Storytime in Summer 2015, which involved free story sessions for families across in the City in five locations including The Dazzle Ferry at the Pier Head. After enjoying stories read aloud by trained Storysharers, families also received a free book to take away with them.

City of Readers linked up with Merseytravel and Merseylearn to Shared Reading with travellers from across the City. As part of Moved to Read, thousands of free books have been distributed on public transport around Liverpool, promoting public reading as a habit. Not only do the books prove a great read but once people have finished reading they have been passing books onto another commuter.

Parental Engagement Fund Through the Parental Engagement Fund, a joint fund between Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and The Sutton Trust, The Reader secured funding to deliver Stories for You and Yours, a reading programme designed to engage parents in shared reading with their child by building their confidence to read with their child and encourage a love of stories and poems. The project is targeting the area of Sefton and has so far engaged 117 families.

The project has strong evaluation focus with The Reader working with a team of research experts from the University of Oxford. The experts are supporting the design and deliver of the evaluation process to help ensure The Reader secures a statistically significant evidence base which helps identify the key elements of successful parental engagement interventions Alongside this project, The Reader began a project in February 2016 with the University of Liverpool supported by the Economic Social Research council to determine how shared reading promotes child language development. The aim is to this knowledge to make Shared Reading an effective language boosting tool for child language boosting tool for children from all social and economic backgrounds.

12

Double Impact – Sally’s Reader Story Volunteer for Off The Page Project I’ve been coming to a reading group every Friday morning at The Reader for a long time, more or less since it opened. I was thinking of volunteering and a friend there mentioned Off The Page, which was about reading with children, so I put my name forward and that’s how it started. I had an interview and then did some training, and then in early January I was matched with Maya.

Maya is wonderful - very enthusiastic, a little bit excitable, funny, intelligent, and she loves reading! She loves talking about the books, and she loves the one-to-one relationship - she really likes that; I think the relationship is the most important part in a way.

I see her every Thursday at four o’ clock and I love those afternoons when I go to see her; I miss doing it when it’s the holidays. I get probably as much as she does out of it because it’s a pleasure to be with her, it really is.

It’s only an hour and it passes very quickly and she always says, “Have we got any longer?” It would be so easy to give her longer but I keep to the rules.

This child hasn’t had the greatest start in life. There’s obviously not a lot of reading in the house and I feel that this initiative not only gives her the opportunity to read with someone, it also gives her the opportunity to have a relationship with an adult who’s interested in her.

She was a bit serious to begin with - she’s relaxed a little more now and I think she realises that she can have fun with the reading, and that we can laugh together. We’ll read a book and then she’ll say straight away, ‘What’s the next one?!’ so sometimes it’s about slowing her down a little and getting her to think and talk about things a bit more – she has a little bit of a butterfly mind. It’s lovely when she says, “Is this a new book?!

A brand new book? Has nobody read it before?” She thinks that’s something really special. It’s so important for her this, and she gets such a lot out of it – as do I.

13

The Reader at Calderstones “This is where mental health services should be, somewhere beautiful like this. I feel good today” Service User from PSS, after retreat at Calderstones Mansion House We continue to bring Calderstones Mansion to life with people and with lots of activities; there is a real buzz about the place and lots of people feel it, whether group member, café user, volunteer or dog walker. We’re building on our Shared Reading model, extending the social connections into other activities such as volunteering, the arts, food, meditation, exercise and enjoying the park.

Since our lease began in 2014, we have: • • • • • •

Provided 55,624 beneficiary experiences through Shared Reading groups Delivered an events programme which has been attended by 10,780 individuals including a production of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare’s Globe.

Provided Heritage Tours which have been attended by 1,166 individuals Hosted 76 exhibitions through The Reader Gallery Recruited 114 volunteers to support all elements of Calderstones activity Employed 48 paid individuals to support enterprises and activity at Calderstones

Highlights this year have included: The Storybarn: Through generous funding from Social Investment Business, The Storybarn opened its doors in January 2016. The Storybarn is an interactive story-centre for young people to explore, share and discover their love of books. A thrilling world of imagination where children can embark on a literary adventure, The Storybarn features live-reading from our story-sharers, crafts and a giant slide! The Storybarn is also available for educational away-days for schools structured around key National Curriculum texts or tailored to incorporate a choice of texts selected by the school.

During February and March, 4,000 young people and their family members attended The Storybarn alongside 22 School Classes (550 School Children). During this time, The Reader hosted a touring exhibition from the Discover Children’s Story Centre in London. The Wonderful World of Oliver Jeffers brought classic Oliver Jeffers publications to life in an interactive exhibition. Over 3,500 individuals attended the exhibition.

Whilst The Storybarn continues to the build the market during this start-up phase, feedback has been very positive: “Exactly the learning class teachers would love to offer if we had the space, resources and staff” Mosspits Primary School “Fabulous place to come to with the children, amazing features, can easily spend the day here. Fabulous staff, an asset to the city.”

Parent “As always, we had a brilliant time at the Storybarn. The staff were so attentive with my daughter. The children were engaged, challenged and stimulated throughout. My children are quite shy and it was wonderful to see them responding so well.”

Parent

16

Capital Fundraising: In November 2015, The Reader received confirmation from Heritage Lottery Funding that we had been awarded a capital grant of £1,879,200 for the refurbishment of the Mansion House. This was followed by confirmation from Liverpool City Council of an award of £2.1m repayable over the duration of the lease for Calderstones Mansion House. This funding alongside several charitable donations from charitable foundations has enabled The Reader to begin preparation for the capital refurbishment programme which is anticipated to start in 2017. During this period The Reader will continue to fundraise for the remaining capital required to secure the total budget.

Calderstones and Health: The Reader at Calderstones grew out of the conviction that people needed a self-willed engagement in meaning and social connection for more than the couple of hours we can offer through Shared Reading outreach. We continue to develop the project in the spirit of Peckham Experiment which was an investigation into the nature of health. The experiment concluded that health is more than just an absence of disease and that the Peckham Experiment was an ‘opportunity to develop health and happiness’.

In Summer 2015, we held a Peckham flavoured Summer Fair, which was attended by Henrietta Trotter, the last living Peckham staffer, who reflected on her visit to Calderstones by saying: “What a pleasure to visit The Reader at Calderstones and their Peckham-flavoured Summer Fair. It was so moving to stand in the garden and see some elements of Peckham coming to life in this new incarnation. The spirit of Peckham lives on in this remarkable second phase experiment. Good luck, Readers!

We continued to engage with partners from across the City about the health benefits of the Calderstones model and in January 2016, we held an event with Rob Trimble, Chief Executive of Bromley-by-Bow, to introduce local GPs to the preventative health model of Bromley-By-Bow and the similarities with the work of The Reader at Calderstones. Rob Trimble subsequently agreed to become a Patron of The Reader.

17

Calderstones Community Interest Company The Reader worked with Hogan Lovells to review the charity law implications of activities delivered at Calderstones Mansion House. It was identified that several of these activities where considered non-primary purpose and the most appropriate way to govern and manage these activities was through a subsidiary wholly owned by The Reader Organisation. A Community Interest Company was considered the most suitable venture for both current and future activities. On 24 August 2015, Calderstones Mansion House Community Interest Company was registered to initially operate nonprimary purpose activity – The Reader Café and The Reader Ice Cream Parlour.

The Directors for the Company Interest Company will initially be staff and trustees of The Reader Organisation: • • • • •

Kathy Doran (Chair) John Flamson Jane Davis Chris Catterall (Chief Executive) Ruth Scott-Williams (Company Secretary)

The main highlight from Calderstones Community Interest Company: The Reader Ice Cream Parlour: In October 2015, we launched The Reader Ice Cream Parlour. Situated next to The Storybarn, the parlour sells the very best selection of ice cream flavours supplied by Cheshire Farm Ice Cream. Since opening the parlour has completed over 15,000 transactions. The Reader Ice Cream Parlour has proved to be a popular addition to Calderstones Park: “Just had a lovely walk round Calderstones park and had a brew in their new ice cream parlour.

Very nice and dead cheap too.”

Sam Avery, Twitter Gorgeous ice cream at The Ice Cream Parlour at Calderstones Park.

We recommend the ferrero rocher and white choc chunk!

Lynn Hilditch, Twitter

18

Organisational Development As a young organisation, The Reader also delivered several significant organisational development activities during 2015/16.

Chief Operating Officer: Following a staffing review carried out with the support of Social Business Trust the need for a Chief Operating Officer was identified. This role would free Jane Davis and Chris Catterall from day-to-day activities enabling them to focus on developing the organisation and provide the organisation with greater financial capability and capacity. In November 2015, Sarah Fletcher was appointed as the first Chief Operating Officer of The Reader. Sarah has significant management and financial experience following a career in leading professional services organisation supporting clients in both the private and public sector.

Rebranding: Due to the breadth of our work developing in an organic way, a recurrent challenge was how to articulate ‘what we do’. This was complicated further by operating in a crowded and competitive market places. In 2015 we identified the need to rebrand the organisation and appointed Small Black Room to assist with this. Small Black Room developed a series of tools that could be adjusted depending on the audience and setting. However it was also essential that no matter which were used, The Reader’s Story was consistent and compelling. To achieve this Small Black Room created ‘Connect, Realise, Change’, an expression that captured the heart of The Reader’s message and was also easily adaptable.

Staff Development: Following recent growth the need to focus on staff development was identified. During 2015, we have worked to establish Career Pathways in the organisation to support staff retention and ensure we have staff ready and available for future commissions. Through a detailed piece of work we have identified two clear pathways for career development in the organisation – Delivery Pathway and Management/Support Pathway.

The delivery pathway allows staff to build on their delivery experience and develop skills in either course leadership, or mentoring, or both. The support pathway allows staff to develop leadership and management skills which can be applied to projects, people or function management. Training programmes for each of these pathways has been implemented during 2015.

A further development during 2015 was the launch of The Reader Academy. The purpose of the Academy is to develop and deliver learning programmes which train staff, volunteers and Reader Leaders from both a technical and behavioural perspective. Sophie Clarke was appointed to lead the development and delivery of The Reader Academy.

Awards Jane Davis made The Independent Happy List 100 and was listed as one of 67 ‘Change Makers’ by the Southbank Centre for her commitment to using reading to enrich the lives of others.

19

Publications Highlights from publications released by The Reader include: A Little, Aloud with Love by Angela Macmillan In February 2015, we launched the latest anthology with ‘A Little Aloud with Love’ launched just ahead of Valentine’s Day at Waterstones in Liverpool One. The anthology is designed to be read aloud to a loved one and features popular selections from writers across time from Shakespeare and Shelley to Haruki Murakami and Wendy Cope.

The Reader magazine issues 58-61 Four issues of The Reader magazine where published during 2015/16 under the guidance (Editor) of Prof. Phil Davis. Highlights include: • • • •

New poetry comes from Matthew Hollis, Blake Morrison and Carol Rumens Bill Bailey speaks to Fiona Magee about his particular brand of comedy, his relationship with language and the importance of reading out loud Rowan Williams writes about a namesake in his essay on the difficult figure Charles Williams and the Inklings group Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris discuss their hugely successful series of Ladybird books for adults

Events The Reader either delivered or where involved in a number of high-quality events during 2015/16.

Highlights included: Penny Readings, Liverpool, 13 December 2015 An evening of special readings, music and entertainment were put on in the Concert Room at St. George’s Hall. The evening included readings from Maxine Peak and Shaun Lawrence. This sold out event was attended by over 450 individuals.

Participation in the Arts in Health Conference at Royal Festival Hall London On the 5 February 2016, The Reader was a key presenter at the first national Arts and Health Conference at the Southbank Centre. This major event has been organised by Aesop, the arts and health social enterprise, and was attended by the Secretary of State for Health, Chair of NHS England, Chair of Arts Council England and Public Health England's Director of Health and Well-being.

Other notable events during 2015/16 included: • • • • • • •

The Calderstones Summer Fair Shakesepare’s Globe on Tour Romeo and Juliet Launch event for The Reader Ice Cream Parlour Launch event for A Little, Aloud with Love at Waterstones, Liverpool Volunteer celebration events in Leicester, London and Liverpool Oliver Jeffers touring exhibition at Calderstones ‘In Conversation with Rob Trimble’ an event to introduce local GPs to the Bromley-by-Bow model.

20

Future Developments The focus of our work continues to be centred around the main aims set out in our Strategic Plan: • • • • • •

High Quality Core Business Delivery (Consolidate) Develop a Community-led Delivery Model (Create) Complete the Capital Refurbishment of Calderstones Mansion House (Create) Develop the evidence base for Shared Reading (Evidence) Secure project commissions for Community, Criminal Justice and Health projects (Proactive Development) Build strong organisational systems and processes (Build)

Trustees The trustees who served during the year are detailed on page 3.

The trustees of the charity may at any time co-opt any individual who is qualified to be appointed as a Trustee to fill a vacancy in their number or as an additional trustee, but a co-opted trustee holds office only until the next Annual General Meeting.

Susan Rutherford resigned as Chair of the Trustees on 15 February 2016; Susan resigned as a trustee on the same date. Kathy Doran was appointed Chair of the Trustees on 15 February 2016.

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, but one of them was reimbursed a total of £319.30 travelling expenses (2015: one was reimbursed £520) Trustees, Induction and Training The Reader has designed a comprehensive induction for new Trustees that includes but is not limited to: • • • • •

A briefing from the Chair Meeting with other Trustees Meeting with each of the Management Team Meeting as many Reader staff as possible at the first opportunity (usually by attendance at a Think Day/the Annual Conference etc.)

Attending a Shared Reading Group and / or a Read to Lead training session

This programme of meetings is accompanied by an induction pack that includes useful papers such as: • • • • • • • • •

The Reader’s Business Plan Copies of previous Board minutes The Reader’s constitution Charity Commission guidance ‘Being a Trustee’ and ‘The Essential Trustee: What you need to know’ A welcome letter from the Chair Trustee Role Description Latest Annual report and final accounts Vision, Mission and Key facts Information on conflict of interests

21

Investment Power and Policy Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to invest in any lawful way the trustees wish, after having obtained such advice from a financial expert as the trustees consider necessary having regard to the suitability of investments and the need for diversification.

Funders and Commissioners • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust London Borough of Barnet The Barbour Foundation BBC Children in Need Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Bedford Square Charitable Trust Big Lottery England Big Lottery Wales Big Venture Challenge Birkenhead Foundation Years Trust Broadgreen International School Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust Cheshire East Borough Council Cheshire West & Chester Council Comic Relief Devon Library Service Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation Gloucestershire CCG Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust The Guys and St. Thomas Charity Halton Borough Council Harbour Centre The Headley Trust Heritage Lottery Fund HMP Durham HMP Frankland HMP Low Newton Jewish Care John Ellerman Foundation Knowsley CCG

• • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Knowsley MBC Leicestershire Libaries Limbourne Trust Liverpool CCG Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Service Liverpool City Council Liverpool Hope University Liverpool Learning Partnership Mersey Care NHS Trust National Personality Disorder Team at the Department of Health/Home Office Maudsley Charity Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Phoenix Futures Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hopsitals NHS Trust Sefton Council for Voluntary Service Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust Social Business Trust Social Investment Business Somerset County Council The Sutton Trust Tri-Borough Library Service The Tudor Trust University of Liverpool Unwin Trust West London Mental Health NHS Trust Wiltshire County Council Wirral MBC Woodchurch High School, Wirral

22

Staff The trustees acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the charity’s staff which has been critical to the success of the organisation over the course of the year. It is not just their professionalism and dedication but also the over and above; community fundraising, organising events and trips for reading group members, being ambassadors, and embracing changes as the organisation develops and matures.

Public Benefit The majority of activities provided by The Reader are funded by third parties, principally public sector bodies but additionally, from charitable trusts and partner organisations.

There is an annual programme of activities, with some activities carrying a charge, however the majority of the programme at Calderstones is free at the point of entry.

The trustees have had due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Financial Review During 2015/16 The Reader Organisation’s income was split across the following sources: • • • •

10% grants and donations 80% commissioned delivery of Shared Reading (our principal charitable activity) 9% trading income (which led to the creation of a Community Interest Company in year) 1% investment and other income

The above income is utilised to delivery Shared Reading in a variety of settings to deliver our mission to build a reading revolution.

The overall deficit for the year before movement of funds and excluding designated funds was £55,923, following investment to grow the charity. Total income increased from £2,813,854 to £3,551,228, reflecting a 26% rise from 2014/15.

The overall surplus for the financial year after movement in funds was £251,681, resulting in a further increase in reserves. £373,855 of this has been included within a designated fund as it relates to the capital expenditure on The Storybarn building. This will be released over 10 years (the useful economic life of the refurbishments undertaken within the building), in line with our accounting policy.

The Reader Organisation’s end of year cash at bank balance stood at £733,183. The cash balance at the end of the year remains a significant proportion of organisational funding. The charity's working capital remains under constant review.

Reserves Policy The charity’s reserves policy is to build up unrestricted reserves sufficient to enable the charity’s core running costs to be continued for a period of three months should regular funding become unobtainable. Three months core running costs equate to around £304,271 and currently the level of unrestricted, undesignated reserves amounts to £429,938.

23

Risk Review The Reader is committed to sound business practice and the embedding of risk management into the organisation’s culture. The Reader’s risk register is used to gain a comprehensive view of the work of the organisation, and reveals strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses.

Risk assessments involve staff from across the organisation and the formal risk register is reviewed by the trustees at each meeting and the register details the steps and procedures in place to mitigate the risks.

Disclosure of Information to Auditors Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditors are aware of such information.

Small Companies Provision This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies with Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the Financial Reporting Standards for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008).

Auditors A resolution proposing that BW Macfarlane LLP were reappointed as Auditors was agreed by the Board at the Annual General Meeting on the 19 October 2015.

24

THE READER ORGANISATION COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE MEMBERS OF THE READER ORGANISATION Matters on which we are required to report by exception We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or the accounts are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the trustees’ report (which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law) and take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Other matter Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared accounts in accordance with "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) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.

This has been done in order for the accounts to provide a true and fair view in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.

Lesley Malkin BA FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of BWMacfarlane

.........................

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor

Castle Chambers 43 Castle Street Liverpool Merseyside L2 9SH United Kingdom

- 22 -

THE READER ORGANISATION COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2016

Income from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments

Notes

Unrestricted funds £

Restricted funds £

Total 2016 £

Total 2015 £

151,153 386,354 406,571 6,098

323,822 2,404,506 -

474,975 2,790,860 406,571 6,098

150,039 2,366,730 288,455 8,630

950,176

2,728,328

3,678,504

2,813,854

3 4 5 6

Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds

7

256,239

-

256,239

141,679

Charitable activities

8

728,454

2,426,301

3,154,755

2,587,520

Total expenditure

984,693

2,426,301

3,410,994

2,729,199

Net income/(expenditure)

(34,517)

302,027

267,510

84,655

(4,776)

4,776

-

-

Net income/(expenditure) & Net movement in funds

(39,293)

306,803

267,510

84,655

Reconciliation of funds Fund balances at 1 April 2015

485,861

66,251

552,112

467,457

Fund balances at 31 March 2016

446,568

373,054

819,622

552,112

Transfers between funds

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

- 23 -

This document contains an extract of The Reader’s full annual report and accounts, full details are available from Companies House.

Get in touch and be part of the story 0151 729 2200 info@thereader.org.uk thereader.org.uk @thereaderorg