CHAIR’S REPORT

2022-2023

Linden Lodge is a specialist school in Southfields (near Wimbledon, S London) for children who are visually impaired or deaf-blind and many have profound learning difficulties and complex needs. Pupils come from all over the South of England, many of whom board at the school on a weekly basis. Community at Linden Lodge (C@LL) is the school’s “friends of” type association, based on a Parentkind constitution and officially registered as a charity in England and Wales since 2019.

Run by and for parents, staff and close friends of the school, we know the joys and immense challenges of looking after a child with a disability, we know how exasperating it is to find the right advice and support and how isolated many parents feel, especially when so few can actually meet at the school gates. Our aim as a charity is to build a community around Linden Lodge that supports families and helps organise fundraising activities that will benefit the pupils, their families and all staff at the school.

C@LL believes we can give families, pupils and staff the chance to thrive by providing opportunities to meet up, have fun, learn from specialists, exchange ideas and encourage mutual support. A full year unaffected by Covid has meant the C@LL community could come together with certainty again.  We have also continued with a series of remote information sessions to ensure all families can benefit, regardless of location.

Every year C@LL events get bigger and better.  For the year ended 28 February 2023, we delivered a record fourteen events.  Through social events such as the summer event and holiday cookery sessions, we have grown the C@LL community.  It has been so rewarding to see new and old faces, near and far attending and enjoying these unique events.

This year we also focussed on raising funds to support the school with the purchase of an Innowalk.  The Innowalk is an innovative robotic device, similar to a cross-trainer, that allows pupils to repeatedly move their limbs reciprocally in a supported position whilst weight-bearing and deliver numerous physical and emotional benefits. Pupils, staff and their families took part in sponsored events walking the 10 bridges of London and covering the distance of London to Brighton on a loaned Innowalk.  The C@LL community raised a staggering £17,000 through personal donations from friends, family and other contacts showing how much care and love there is for our children and young people.

But for all the things C@LL members see, there are an equal number of things that happen behind the scenes.  C@LL is a charity and with that comes many regulatory and governing requirements which we have continued to embed this year.

Our association is unique in that almost half the committee are staff, who provide invaluable links into the school and are unwavering in their support.  I would like to personally thank the entire C@LL committee for giving their time, enthusiasm and expertise.  These parents and staff volunteer despite their own pressures and commit to meeting each half term to plan and undertake events and fundraise to create a community of support around families and most importantly the children of Linden Lodge.  They also have important Trustee obligations in line with our charitable status.

We have exciting plans ahead including a further three events for this academic year.

As always, we welcome input from all parents, staff and friends to make this truly our Community at Linden Lodge. We also encourage new volunteers to take part in as big or small a way as they can – it is truly rewarding. We are lucky to have such a wealth of talent in the school. With a few bright ideas and some gentle encouragement, we can truly make a big difference. Thank you!

Yours truly,

Naseem Walker

Chair of C@LL

Activities Report

Charitable Status

C@LL is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales since 5 August 2019, under number 1184769. We have successfully complied with all our obligations thereof.

Financial Structure

Financial safeguarding procedures have been maintained to ensure full accountability and minimise financial risk. These have been compiled in a single document and shared with all Committee members, who are all Trustees and equally responsible for the financial safeguarding of the association.

C@LL has managed to maintain a good financial position to cover running costs but also facilitate digital and in person events.  We meet regularly with the Linden Lodge Charitable Trust and the Heads of Linden Lodge School to assess and optimise fundraising opportunities.

Please see the full financial report for more details.

Operational Structure

We on-boarded one Trustee post maternity leave this year.  All Trustee declarations and safeguarding checks have been completed.

This year we have focused on further developing our infrastructure with revised protocols for running events and agreed processes for using the school’s facilities.

Communications

Digital communications remain an important way for us to stay connected given our busy home lives and the distance of many families from the school.  Since opening up Classlist so that all members can post, parents and staff have taken active roles in sharing information, providing support to each other and just keeping in touch. We have received numerous thanks from parents for the way C@LL has allowed them to keep involved and feel supported.  Please keep using Classlist to provide a listening ear or helping hand to others in a similar situation.

We have continued also to communicate via the school’s regular newsletter.

The dedicated website continues to showcase C@LL’s activities and events and will help with future fundraising efforts: https://www.communityatlindenlodge.uk/.

Events

We delivered fourteen events this year.  These have been a mix of virtual and in-person events aimed at pupils of all ages and families from all locations.

Workshops

Having a child with additional needs can bring a lot of worry, often due to issues outside of our control.  This year C@LL delivered a series of virtual information sessions to help alleviate some of those fears.  We ran sessions on the transition to college, relationships, sex and health education, puberty and periods, and continence.  External speakers, staff and parents shared their expertise and provided a safe space for parents and carers to learn but also share their experiences and concerns.  Whilst daunting topics to discuss, parent attendance and feedback was excellent.

Social events

The ever-popular family walk returned at the end of the last academic year. This year we extended the event to include a barbecue, entertainment and disability cricket.  In a break with tradition, this year instead of rain, we faced a heatwave!  Families still came out in full force and made full use of the paddling pools on offer!

We delivered another family portrait day creating beautiful memories for our families.  And this year we held our first Christmas event complete with Santa, elves and a grotto.  Christmas is a wonderful sensory time for our children and it was joyous to see them interacting and singing with their families and staff at this festive event.

Holiday Sessions

The holidays can be particularly challenging for us all, especially as there are few venues and activities which are suited to our children.  This year we continued with one online music session each school holiday and extended this to include sessions on teacher strike days.

Also, this year, we introduced sensory holiday baking; in-person immersive events for the whole family which have been incredibly well received.

SH@LL

Our group for sisters, brothers and other young supporters held another popular event at the school. The children explored the school in a scavenger hunt and immersed themselves in a Junkyard percussion activity.

Priorities for the Year Ahead

Fundraising

We will aim to run events at no or low cost to families so we will keep applying for relevant grants as appropriate.  Moving forward we will need additional income to ensure we can continue to deliver ‘whole community’ experiences such as the Christmas and Summer events.

Any contributions via individual (e.g., undertaking a 5k run or any personal challenge) or corporate activities would be greatly appreciated.

Communications

We hope members will continue to utilise Classlist to support each other.  Our aim is to encourage even more families to sign up to Classlist, particularly parents and carers of new pupils.

Activities

We plan to continue an active programme of in person and virtual events.  Three events are already confirmed for the remainder of this academic year: family portraits, a sibling event and a summer family event.

Next half term we will be seeking feedback from you all on the type and format of events you’d like to take part in during the next academic year. Events run best when they are designed by the parents and pupils.  If you would like to help out, please contact the C@LL committee.  It’s a great way to meet other parents and staff and feel closer to your child’s school.

(Published 17 May 2023)