Supporting Carers in East Sussex

Annual Review

2010/11

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L ooking back over the year, I am struck by the volume and diversity of Care

for the Carers’ achievements in 2010/11. By the end of the year, we had supported 5649 adult carers and 207 young carers, through a wide range of services. Particular successes have included the Carers’ Demonstrator Site project, the development of a new Carers Forum for East Sussex and the beginnings of a shift in how we deliver services in a changing environment.

As ever, volunteers and supporters are central to our being able to meet the needs of a growing community of carers across the County. This year yet more of you have joined us, taking on vital roles from helping to run young carers’ clubs to volunteer counselling.

We have also been privileged to receive backing from our local communities, with Mayors at Hastings and Eastbourne selecting us their Charity of the Year, businesses and individuals raising much needed funds and donating

A s ever, 2010-11 has been a busy year for Care for the Carers and has seen

us delivering an ever wider range of services to a growing number of carers – all during the challenging financial climate that has had a huge impact on most charities. As the dust settled on last year’s 20th birthday celebrations, the insecurity of the economic downturn was already being felt, and it was clear that a key challenge for this year would be guaranteeing sustainable funding to be able to keep offering the quality services that local carers deserve.

As your local Carers’ Centre, we are here for all carers who live in East Sussex, of any age group. As the threat of funding cuts to statutory services loomed, we worked particularly hard to keep the importance of supporting carers high on the decision-makers’ agendas. The carers who make up the core membership of the Carers’ Forum deserve special mention for their energy and conviction in championing the carers’ cause.

But despite these very real worries, you will see from our financial statement on pages 14 & 15 that we have, on balance, had a good financial year. Je

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their time to give practical help to carers.

I must pay tribute to the commitment and hard work of our Board of Trustees, who govern Care for the Carers with insight and expertise, whilst balancing this volunteering alongside their caring roles and careers.

And finally, as Chief Executive in 2010-11, Liz Fenton was responsible for overseeing the work set out in this Annual Review. We thank her for her inspirational leadership

and congratulate her on both her achievements for carers in East Sussex and her new post as CEO of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers where she continues to work for carers across the UK.

Recognising the need to adapt to the new environment early meant that we could implement a period of organisational development intending to strengthen our offer to funders. Enabling more of our supporters to volunteer, fostering support in local communities and heightened media campaigns have all contributed to this growth.

It may be a cliché, but the organisation is made up of individuals who really do care. Our fantastic volunteers have worked tirelessly this year to fundraise, spread the word and most importantly to provide practical help to carers who really needed them. Our skilled and dedicated staff and

management have gone above and beyond to help adapt the organisation to a changing environment without compromising on the delivery of the day to day services. And our funders and donors have continued to back us, despite the financial challenges they have faced.

Heartfelt thanks to you all for your wonderful work,

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Navigating health and social care services, finding time for yourself and accessing the support you are entitled to are daily challenges for carers. Young carers can experience difficulties negotiating roles within the family, alienation from their peers, bullying and can find it hard to juggle home, social and school lives. Our support workers work with carers of all ages to help them to establish a network of support and services that will work for them. With specialist knowledge on a range of issues, and expertise in working with both adults and children, we provide a tailored and personalised service to carers from age 8 upwards.

Joint working with statutory colleagues enables us to meet the needs of carers who provide regular and substantial care, and in the case of young carers to support the family to find more appropriate sources of care and help young carers to meet their educational potential. Contact ranges from telephone advice, one to one meetings, information sessions, support groups and events provided across East Sussex.

» This year, 1257 adult carers and 207 young carers accessed one-to-one support

» In partnership with NHS Hastings and Rother and East Sussex County Council, we secured over £500,000 from the Department of Health to deliver a Carers’ Demonstrator Site to pilot innovative ways of developing better NHS support to carers in primary and secondary care settings. The project built on the work of the existing Hospital Liaison Service, enhancing the service in Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest and extending the model to primary care. The project ended in March 2011, but we were able to access continuation

support and advice

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funding until September 2011 due to the success of the project.

» Out of hours telephone support led to more working age carers accessing the service - 55% of the carers we supported were from this age group

» 20% more young carers received a service this year

» 12% of young carers were from Black and Ethnic Minority Communities, 71% more than last year

» The Back Awareness service helped 304 carers avoid injuries with advice on safe moving & handling and equipment & adaptations.

» 76 carers accessed free counselling

» 25 Volunteer Befrienders supported 74 isolated rural carers to build links in their local community and develop their own support system.

» Our volunteers kept in touch with 218 carers we hadn’t heard from for a while, by phoning them to see how they were, providing a listening ear and putting them back in contact with a support worker if appropriate.

» Our pilot Advocacy project, in partnership with East Sussex Disability Association and Age UK, supported 86 carers who requested help with complex issues.

» Our pilot Young Adult Carers Project was launched to support young adults through transitions to college, university, employment, skills based learning and from Children’s Services to Adult Services. Our ‘YAC’ facebook site put young adult carers in touch with our specialist support worker and each other.

Saray-Fay Burt has been outstanding. She has always been there for us - whether it is contacting my son’s school or visisting him in harder times. We would have struggled much more without Sarah-Fay.

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By working together with carers, the voluntary and statutory sectors, sharing information and good practice, we make the most of our resources and our position as a Carers’ Centre, ensuring that carers in East Sussex have a strong voice. Carers make an enormous contribution to society and we value highly their involvement in all aspects of service delivery and planning. We support carers to influence policy by creating communication pathways, providing information and ad-hoc advice on the development of statutory services, with the aim of empowering carers to inform and challenge local and national policy decisions.

This year, we:

» Worked with Adult Social Care to develop robust carer involvement mechanisms across the health and social care system, ensuring that carers’ input is built into the decision making process.

» Supported 12 carer representatives to sit on the Carers Partnership Board and its subgroups, prompting both carers and partners to express their satisfaction with the support received.

» Launched the new Carers’ Forum, which bring carers together with key officers from the statutory and voluntary sectors to scrutinise services and was well received by carers and partners alike. Over its first year, some 204 carers have attended 3 Forums, having their say on Personalisation, Respite and future plans for carers’ services, and holding senior officers to account. Delegates have consistently rated the Forums as ‘excellent’ and a wider number of carers have been able to voice their views.

» Provided specialist involvement opportunities to 68 carers of learning disabled adults, through the Learning Disability Carers Focus Group and Network.

» Continued to deliver the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Carer Involvement project, embedding best practice into our processes, maintaining community links and tailored publicity materials. Referrals of Young BME Carers rose by 71% in comparison with last year, and 5% of adults receiving support were from BME communities.

involvement

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Carers can struggle to find out information about support available to them and the person they care for. We aim to guide local carers through the vast amounts of information available to find what is most useful to their own situation. We do this using a range of methods, from telephone contact with outreach teams, to leaflets and factsheets, the Care for the Carers’ website and CareLine magazine. We also provide information to professionals working with carers and the general public.

» This year the 5,000 carers we were in contact with also received the bi-monthly magazine ‘Careline’, while 207 Young Carers received the quarterly ‘Youth Yap’.

» 19,447 copies of CareLine magazine were distributed in paper, electronic, CD and tape formats.

» Following consultation, we introduced a new policy newsletter in February, which was well received by the 38 people who have so far signed up for the publication.

» Our new database is now fully operational, enabling us to effectively work with clients across the organisation, generate comprehensive reports and statistics, revolutionising our handling and analysis of information.

» We distributed 15,675 leaflets and received 9397 hits to our website, which has also undergone considerable improvements during the year. More regular news updates, the addition of information resources, and an events calendar have led to increasing numbers of hits as the year progressed.

information

The most important thing is that I now have Care for the Carers support instead of fumbling around in the dark on my own.

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We also provide a range of resources as practical tools to help carers manage their caring role.

» The Carers’ Personal Plan was launched, enabling carers to record important information about them and the person they care for in one place it case it should be needed in an emergency.

» Young Carers workers use the Princess Royal Trust for Carers’ assessment tool to develop individual action plans with young carers. The plans aim to reduce their caring role, improve attendance and performance at school, improve wellbeing and reduce isolation.

» Former Carers’ packs were developed to provide information to support those whose caring roles have recently ended.

» Introductory packs provided those new to caring with an overview of the help available, reducing the ‘information overload’ which often comes hand in hand with being a carer.

» This year we reviewed the Emergency Alert Card in partnership with Adult Social Care and Welbeing. To simplify processes for carers eligible for both services, the Alert Card was merged with Adult Social Care’s CRESS card (Carers’ Respite Emergency Support Service). We continue to offer a separate Emergency Alert Card for those carers who are not able to access CRESS.

» £25,468.25 was raised for individual carers from private sources such as charitable trusts, excluding statutory grants and state benefits.

tools & resources

in an emergency call01323 644422A Lifeline operator will be available 24hrsto assist in an emergency

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carersemergencyalert card

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organisational management & governanceCare for the Carers is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, who are also the Trustees of the Charity. They in turn employ a Chief Executive and staff team to carry out the strategic direction set by the Board. All aspects of the organisation’s Governance are regularly reviewed to ensure that an effective Board is in place. The majority of Trustees, including the Chair, are carers and 150 of our 160 members are carers or former-carers.

Developments in organisational management this year included:

» Being the first Carers Centre in the UK to be awarded accreditation for quality standards by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

» Being externally accredited Level 1 of the latest version of PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance Systems for Small Organisations) Quality Standards system.

At March 2011 the Board of Directors were:

Jenny Ballard (Chair)

Mark Rowe (Treasurer)

Fari Rassekh

Angela Chapman

Ken Hales

David Allam

Mark Moorton

Clare Szanto

We knew nothing of Care for the Carers, until we were approached, and then the

world changed.

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Care for the Carers’ Constitution and Vision expressly highlight the importance that we place on raising awareness of carers’ needs and rights, and of their enormous contribution to society. This year we have continued to prioritise partnerships with statutory agencies, contributing to a wide range of planning and strategic groups, ensuring that carers’ needs and rights are never overlooked and feeding in the views of the carers we represent. Health and Social Care staff and volunteers are a key audience – we aim to ensure that they are aware of carers, the value of their contribution to people who need care and to society as a whole.

Carer Awareness is delivered by all Care for the Carers to ensure that the people who work most closely with carers are aware of carers’ needs, concerns and rights, and the Board of Trustees help to maintain political awareness of carers.

In 2010-11:

» The ‘Carers Challenge’ matched all 5 local MPs with carers in their constituencies, seeking to enhance politicians’ awareness of carers and raise the profile of

carers with the local press and media. Norman Baker MP was so impressed with the young carer he met that he sent his comments to the relevant Ministers. The Challenge was covered by 3 local papers and featured on Sovereign FM and its satellite channels around the county.

» The Carers’ Demonstrator site established new practice, raising awareness of carers in health settings, and demonstrating that high visibility of dedicated carers’ workers increases referrals. A

representation & awareness

I was struck by how dependent Wallie is on his wife and how draining it is for her. Thank goodness for organisations like Care for the Carers who are there to guide people like Brenda and Wallie to get the most from statutory services

Stephen Lloyd MP

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full report will be completed in 2010/11 and will inform national and local policy.

» We delivered 116 awareness raising activities, some highlighting key dates such as Carers’ Week and Carers’ Rights Day – these included talks, information stands and training sessions

» We represented carers’ views at 561 health and social care meetings.

» We launched a new marketing strategy this year, taking a strategic approach to commu- nication via the press & media, in order to keep carers and their

needs visible. Press campaigns supported our promotion of Carers’ Rights Day, Carers’ Week and the Carers’ Challenges.

» The Young Carers’ team provided presentations, talks and training to professionals who work with young people. This included presenting to school assemblies to help young carers self identify and to raise awareness with staff, and training for health and social care workers.

» The Schools Project worked intensively with five secondary schools across East Sussex to pilot beacon practice.

representation & awareness

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Our network of activities, personal development, social and special interest groups for adult carers support carers to network, take time out from their caring role and to develop new skills. Specialist groups and training respond to development needs carers have expressed and enable particular groups of carers to meet.

Regular young carers’ clubs in Eastbourne, Laughton and Hastings provide young people with respite from their caring role, and time to take part in activities, build friendships and most importantly have fun. The clubs also enable specialist support staff to offer group-based work and engage face to face with more young people. We also run day trips, activities, short breaks and community based activities for young carers.

In 2010-11:

» 173 activity, group and training sessions were held.

» 86 adult carers were supported to access training and wellbeing opportunities with voluntary sector colleagues, and a further 31 carers accessed short courses.

» 19 ex-carers accessed the Former Carers group & 8 took the New Beginnings course as part of their transition following the end of the caring role.

» Additional volunteers and sessional workers were recruited enabling us to include more young carers in clubs.

» Local community support enabled Young Carers at Laughton Club to make the most of the club’s surroundings and the expertise of local people. Key highlights were learning to ride and groom the horses, and street dance and drama workshops!

» 3 schools were supported to pilot new groups and provide individual support to 30 young carers.

groups, training & activities

Thank you for allowing my daughter to enjoy time away from her caring role.

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» A girls group was set up in Hastings to build self esteem.

» Young people got together at the Big Swim, Lazerquest, Drusillas, Chessington, Princes Park, the Police Academy and Christmas pantomimes.

» 13 young people made links with young carers from across the UK at Young Carers Festival camp.

» Our partners at Circle of Life Rediscovery, Hastings Excellence cluster and Sussex Police worked with us to deliver a range of young carers’ trips and activities.

» Through Circle of Life Rediscovery, 14 young carers were accredited with the John Muir Award, having learned to forage, fish and survive in a woodland environment.

» The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Paul Regan the ‘Secret Millionaire’ invited young carers to Butlins, Bognor Regis for a day out.

» 22 families spent their holidays at Combe Haven in our fully accessible caravan.

Carers young and old are the unsung heroes of our communities and certainly deserve greater support and recognition

Greg Barker MP

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summary statement of financial activitiesSTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2011(INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

Unrestricted funds (£)

Designated funds (£)

Restricted funds (£)

Total Funds 2011 (£)

Total Funds 2010 (£)

INCOMING RESOURCES

Incoming resources from generated funds

Donations and gifts - 2,051 37 2,088 5,428

Investment income - 2,008 - 2,008 775

Activities in furtherance of Charity’s objects

East Sussex County Council Pooled Fund 596,386 - - 596,386 595,386

Department of Health Grant - - 261,751 261,751 188,370

Other incoming resources 20,304 39,628 130,276 190,208 277,121

Total incoming resources 616,690 43,687 392,064 1,052,441 1,067,080

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Charitable activities

Direct charitable expenditure 421,239 24,923 357,481 803,643 647,672

Support costs 155,636 4,941 80,158 240,735 222,332

Total charitable expenditure 576,875 29,864 437,639 1,044,378 870,004

Governance costs 23,364 7,874 28,360 59,598 60,845

Total resources expended 600,239 37,738 465,999 1,103,976 930,849

Net incoming/(outgoing) resources before transfers 16,451 5,949 (73,935) (51,535) 136,231

Gross transfers between funds (17,239) 17,239 - - -

Net movement in funds (788) 23,188 (73,935) (51,535) 136,231

Fund balances at 1 April 2010 788 173,753 238,977 413,518 277,287

Fund balances at 31 March 2011 - 196,941 165,042 361,983 413,518

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BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2011

2011 (£) 2010 (£)

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets 24,001 31,560

Total fixed assets 24,001 31,560

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors 36,535 54,821

Cash at bank and in hand 327,835 359,615

Total current assets 364,370 414,436

CURRENT LIABILITIESCreditors: amounts falling due within one year (26,388) (32,478)

Net current assets 337,982 381,958

Total assets less current liabilities 361,983 413,518

Net assets 361,983 413,518

FUNDS

Restricted funds 165,042 238,976

Unrestricted / Designated funds 196,941 173,752

Other charitable funds - 790

Total Funds 361,983 413,518

TREASURER’S STATEMENT

The summary financial information is not the full annual report and financial statements, but a summary of financial information derived from the full annual report and financial statements.

The full annual report and financial statements are available from:

Care for the Carers, 1st Floor Greencoat House, 32 St. Leonards Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3UT,

Or online at: www.cftc.org.uk

On behalf of the Trustees,

Mark Rowe, Treasurer 1 November 2011

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS STATEMENT TO THE MEMBERS OF CARE FOR THE CARERS

We have audited the accounts of Care for the Carers for the year ended 31 March 2011. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

There are so many carers, volunteers, supporters, partners and staff who made Care for the Carers’ achievements in 2010-11 happen that we are unable to mention you all individually. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you all for your time, energy and commitment in ensuring that Care for the Carers continues to deliver the vital work that we are all so passionate about

The Board of Directorscall us on01323 738390

visit us online atwww.cftc.org.uk

email usinfo@cftc.org.uk

Care for the Carers is a charitable company registered in England and Wales with No. 3677361 and Charity No. 1074906. Registered Office: 1st Floor Greencoat House, 32 St. Leonards Road, Easbourne, BN21 3UT