Annual Report 2009-2010

A full copy of the annual report (with photos) can be downloaded here.

The following is a text only version.

HISTORY

1Voice was established in 1999 and held its first family event in December 2000. Since then it has developed its scope to run two national family events per year, Role Model and Teenage workshops, local branches, a website, email group and a twice yearly newsletter.

MISSION STATEMENT

1Voice creates opportunities to bring together children and young people who use Augmentative Alternative Communication and their families to share ideas, information, skills and personal experiences. 1Voice provides a range of services and support activities.

1VOICE VISION

"A world where the voice of every child and adult, however they communicate, is listened to and heard"

OBJECTIVES

1. To preserve and protect the health and to advance the education and development of children and adults who have communication difficulties. Particularly by assisting or encouraging persons using Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) within the United Kingdom to achieve their communication potential, and to make provisions or promote any scheme thought necessary to meet this aim.

2. To advance the education of the public, to increase their awareness and understanding of AAC.

CHAIR’S REPORT

Membership

We now have a membership of over 200 families, role models, professionals and supporters. As each family counts as one member, this means that we reach and support approximately 500 people. Our mailing list includes schools, Communication Aid Centres, Speech and Language Therapists, Social Service Departments and voluntary organisations.

1Voice Teenage Project- “Moving On Up”

Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire

We held another successful Teenage project this year, including young people of all ages and experience.

Groups carried out 4 workshops looking at different aspects of being a teenager.

The younger teenagers wrote a "Towards Teenagehood" resource book, thinking of questions about the future and how to tackle challenges ahead.

A second group considered

whether they would like to become 1Voice Role Models in the future and how to prepare themselves for this.

A third group looked at the different ways people can be role models, including raising awareness and using communication aids in everyday life to show people AAC in action and in the community.

In our fourth group we were proud that some of the teenagers who have attended 1Voice over the last 9 years were ready to become Role Models themselves and they honed their skills and graduated at the end of the weekend.

The parents had their own workshops, including information about Individualised Budgets.

Family Network Day – June 2009

We welcomed new members to the network day at Hayes conference centre and had a chance to catch up with old friends too. 7 newly “graduated” role models teamed up with 4 experienced role models and our team of 15 volunteers to welcome the families.

Approximately 90 people attended to take part in arts and crafts, face-painting, scavenger hunt, volley ball and listen to the Role Models give their presentations. We enjoyed afternoon tea on the lawn(!) and families had the chance to share experiences and ideas. People had travelled from as far afield as the Shetland Isles to the Southwest and we really appreciated people making the effort to travel all that way.

1Voice National Family Winter Weekend 2009

In November 2009, 1Voice celebrated its 10th birthday. The Family Winter Weekend was, once again, an activity packed and fun filled weekend.

The children took part in performance workshops with Laura and Andy from Equal Voices to produce a 1Voice Birthday Song which was premiered at the dinner disco. Children designed and made special birthday cakes which they displayed at our cake exhibition (before eating them all!)

Our Role Models inspired children, families and

volunteers alike, taking part in workshops and activities and also through the invaluable networking and informal support offered during “down time”. We were pleased that two of our recently graduated role models were able to actively support younger children. It felt like a complete circle, as these role models had attended Blackpool as children, one had attended as a Junior Role Model last year and now they were attending as Role Models in their own right.

Parents had a chance to discuss issues during their own workshops and worked with Jenny Herd to give their opinions to be fed back to the Communication Consortium.

The birthday song is available on our website.

Finance

We have had an excellent year financially. Income exceeded expenditure by £21755.00 and our net current assets rose from £22,061.00 on 31st March 2009 to £43816.00 on the 31st March 2010. Restricted funds were £2660.00 at 31st March 2010. Reserves and Unrestricted funds at 31st March 2010 stand at £41,156.00

The Restricted funds are explained in the accounts. We are taking a prudent approach to the development of 1Voice over the next 3 years and particularly the employment of staff. In this context Trustees have now decided to establish a clear reserves policy. Over the next 3 years we aim to build and hold a minimum of 6 months of free reserves. This is particularly important in relation to the decision of Trustees to employ staff and to grow the Branch network.

We have been more successful this year with our fundraising. It is really important to record our huge and grateful thanks to everyone who gives us money. I want to pay particular thanks to Ann Morris who valiantly continues her work of many years with some key funders who provide a significant level of ongoing support. We have received substantial donations this year from The Bernard Morris Charitable Trust, The Scotshill Foundation, The Sobell Foundation, The EM Ellis Charitable Trust the Albert Hunt Trust, The Phyllis Leigh Charitable Trust and the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation. And more special thanks to Jodie Turner for a really excellent and special donation. We have received many small donations over the past year and every one of these is valuable.

We already know that 2010/11 will be a very exciting year for 1Voice. Our first employee, the Events and Branch Coordinator, commenced employment on 23rd August 2010.

We are looking forward to another year of exciting developments as our Branch network expands and we invest in our infrastructure for the future.

Website and Newsletter

The website is updated on a regular basis and gives announcements and feedback of national and regional events. Donations can easily be made via our website which links to our JustGiving page.

Autumn and spring editions of the newsletter have been distributed. Spring 2010 saw our first electronic distribution, which has made our newsletter more widely available and also saved us over £300. Members are able to request a paper copy if they would prefer and we also have hard copies for publicity and to send to funders.

An electronic newsletter also means that we can afford to distribute more widely and we are building up our mailing list to ensure our profile is raised across the UK.

Publicity and Networking

Over the past year we have written regular articles in Communication Matters Journal and in the March issue one of our Blackpool attendees appeared on the front cover. We had an information stand at the September Communication Matters Conference and our wonderful team of young people from the Teenage Project came for the first time and presented. The young people showed films, did powerpoints, showed photos and gave talks on the history of 1Voice, our different projects, and what 1Voice means to them.

We have had a seat at national strategic level and have therefore been able to network with the other organisations and charities that sit on the Communication Consortium whilst at the same time raising our own profile.

Jodie Turner was Harvest Queen and used her position to talk to people in her community, raise awareness about communication aids and raise £1200 for 1Voice. A big thanks to her.

Alan Martin has made a new dance/drama film, "Scenes in a Mirror" co-starring Laura Houghey. He has been offered the opportunity to submit the film for inclusion in the Wirral International Film Festival and "Documenta Film Fest" in Sezza, Italy later in the year.

Katie Clarke was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists for her outstanding contribution to speech and language therapy and people with communication disabilities. She travelled to London in November, with Tamsin Crothers (her nominator) to be presented with her award.

Well done to Beth Moulam and friends, who won the Multimedia category of the ISAAC Writing competition 2009. “AAC Around the World”, by Beth Moulam from the United Kingdom, Emma Green from Australia, and Morgan Liddle-Webb from Australia, a joint entry by three friends across the globe who tell about their friendship and their many methods of communicating in different situations and with different people. You can find details at http://www.aacawareness.org/2009stories.htm

Congratulations to Dr Mary Wickenden who has finished her PhD study about the identity and lifeworlds of teenagers who use AAC. She worked with 1Voice teenagers and families throughout her project. If you are interested in reading the study, it will be available online through the University of Sheffield. Please keep an eye on www.1voice.info for the link when it becomes available.

Funding/Strategy for Communication Aids

Jenny Herd has been representing 1Voice on the Scope “No Voice No Choice” steering group for the last 3 years, and for the last 18 months on the Communication Consortium

– a collective of over 30 voluntary sector organisations concerned with children’s speech, language and communication issues, which informs the work of the Communication Trust.

Jenny writes:

- I have to preface this with an apology to all 1Voice members outside England – the following only applies in England – things are happening in Scotland and Wales re speech and language, and AAC, but as yet 1Voice is not represented on any committees or working groups there.

“No Voice No Choice” is now winding down (though they are now actively involved with the Adult Communication Coalition England) but it is fair to say that we have at least managed to get AAC onto the political agenda in a potentially more concrete way. It is specifically mentioned in the Bercow Review – and the subsequent Better Communication Action Plan (BCAP), the government's response to Bercow.

The Communication Trust was originally set up 3 years ago and comprised I CAN, Afasic, Council for Disabled Children and BT Better World Campaign. Now each year the Consortium members elect from their own number, 2 further organisations/people to sit on the Trust board, and I am delighted (if a little daunted!) to tell you that I was elected on this year. This means that 1Voice, and AAC issues of all kinds (no-tech, low tech and hi-tech) will be represented at Communication Trust Board level.

One of the outcomes of BCAP was the establishment of a Communication Council (public sector, private sector and voluntary sector) and the appointment of a Communication Champion who will be in post for the next 2 years and will be looking in detail at how Local Authorities are implementing (or not) the recommendations in the BCAP. Jean Gross was appointed to the post of Champion, and started in January this year. I have now met her on a number of occasions and found her to be very aware of the specific challenges faced by children who use AAC and their families. In fact on my first meeting with her (she met with Consortium members last December, before her official start), when I said I was from 1Voice she already knew exactly who we were, what we did and had looked at both the web site and some of the DVD!

The Communication Council has a number of sub groups – and one of those is on AAC. So far it has met once and is due to meet again in May, to be chaired by the Communication Champion.As it is closely associated with the work of the Communication Consortium 1Voice was asked if I could also be on this AAC sub group, which I agreed to.

Another aspect of Jean's role is to oversee the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication which will be next year (2011).The actual running of the year, events, publicity etc was put out to tender and the Communication Trust won the bid. Therefore 1Voice will have a unique opportunity to be part of the organisation and development of a year-long programme of activities, events and publicity about the needs (and ways of

meeting them) of children and young people with speech and language impairments.

We still have a long way to go, and the current economic and political climate makes everything that much harder! (As I write we are still 3 weeks away from the election so everything is as yet unknown.) The good news is that 1Voice, though small, is definitely raising the profile of children who need AAC, and all the issues that entails.

If anyone wants to know more about anything I have mentioned above please do not hesitate to contact me: jenny@herdy.org.uk Tel: 07715289352

Or look at these web sites for more info

http://www.ican.org.uk/Communication%20Trust/ http://www.thecommunicationcouncil.org/

Volunteers

Our volunteer co-ordinator this year has been Jane Handley and she has competently taken on the task liaising with all our volunteers to make sure our events have run smoothly. She has also made facilitated our safeguarding policy by organising all our CRB checks, which are currently a requirement for all our regular helpers.

We are so very grateful to all our volunteers who are skilled and enthusiastic and whose time and energy make our events possible.

Role Models

Our team of Role Models is now stronger than ever, with our newly graduated teenagers joining their ranks. We would like to thank all our Role Models who unfailing motivate and inspire children, families and other role models and volunteers!

Trustees

The Committee Consists of Katie Clarke (co-opted Chair), Toby Hewson (Treasurer), Tamsin Crothers (Secretary), Kate Caryer (1Voice Southeast), Jane Handley (Volunteer Co-ordinator), Terry Gibson (Multimedia and admin), Ann Morris (co-opted), Faith Douthwaite (1Voice West Yorks), Helen Dixon (1Voice Lakes and Bay), and Liza Clements (1Voice Southwest).

The Trustees meet every two months either through phone conferencing or face-face. We also have sub-groups to plan events and to organise the business side of the

organisation. As Trustees live in various parts of the country we communicate regularly via e-mail to carry out the smooth everyday running of 1Voice. The Trustees are sincerely thanked for their time, dedication, skills and commitment that they put in ensuring the sustainability and growth of the charity.

Development Feedback

We have continued to follow our Strategic Business plan. We have met the majority of our targets for the year 2009-2010 (as outlined in this annual report). Fundraising initially moved more slowly than we anticipated, but we are delighted that, although 12 months behind the time schedule, we are on course to fulfil the aims of the Plan and employ a worker.

This year we have have been supported by lawyers from Hogan & Hartson Lawyers who are working with us pro bono. Following their advice – and much discussion by the Board of Trustees - 1Voice is now in the process of becoming a company limited by guarantee. This will mean that 1Voice is a legal entity in its own right and can enter into contracts as an organisation. At the moment, it is actually the Trustee themselves who are legally liable for 1Voice, so this is a big step in making 1Voice sustainable in its own right.

Hogan & Hartson are helping 1Voice to update our constitution to reflect the structure of developing branches and employing staff and they will continue to support us as we comply with company law in addition to meeting our charitable responsibilities.

1Voice Branches

The local branches have continued to grow over the past twelve months, thanks to the hard work of local contacts.

Existing branches, 1Voice Southeast, 1Voice Southwest and 1Voice West Yorkshire held successful events this year.

Tex Mex day in the Southeast and Pirate Day in West Yorkshire.

1Voice Southeast have developed a strong committee and now have some of the young people helping to make decisions and organise events.

Planning for 1Voice Southwest’s third event is underway and their committee now includes three speech and language therapists, one AAC teacher and one parent. They have one role model who has been to the last two events and is speaking to parents at the next event.

We have developed policy and guidelines for developing branches and there are now clear financial guidelines in place. Each branch has its own bank account, overseen by the Treasurer.

We are delighted that a successful AAC group in Cumbria has chosen to become a part of 1Voice and 1Voice Lakes and Bay have already held two events since coming aboard (including a residential outdoor pursuit weekend).

Interest has been expressed in starting up 1Voice Northeast, 1Voice Wales, 1Voice Northants and 1Voice West Midlands.

Branch Co-ordinator and Events worker

We are delighted to learn (as this report is being written) that we have achieved funding for a 3 year post of Branch Co-ordinator and Events worker. This will mean that 1Voice can be more supportive of our existing branches and more pro-active in developing new

branches around the country. We can also turn attention to our teenage projects and special interest events.

We have formed a working party to recruit this member of staff as soon as possible and hope that they will be able to start in the autumn.

Sustaining 1Voice/The Future

1Voice is now ten years old. Katie Clarke and Tamsin Crothers had a vision – and made it happen. With the exciting changes that are taking place, we are now looking forward to 1Voice being sustainable in its own right.

Tamsin and Katie plan to stand down from the Board of Trustees in 2011, to allow 1Voice to develop in its own way and to become a long term organisation serving the needs of its members.

There is already an expanding network of local branches and the resources now to appoint a branch co-ordinator and events organiser. In addition there are currently a number of exciting national opportunities to raise the profile of both AAC and the unique work done by 1Voice.

In the next 12 months, we will be looking to appoint a new Chair to lead the Board of Trustees and 1Voice into the future.

2011 will be the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication and 1Voice has the opportunity to plan an integral role in ensuring that the issues faced by children and young people who use AAC, and their families are properly represented and recognised.

BIG THANKS...........

This has been such an exciting year for 1Voice, with a lot of the things we have been planning starting to come to fruition. We are enormously grateful to everyone who has put in time, effort and money into supporting us over the last year.

We thank all our wonderful young people and their families, our outstanding volunteers and role models, our fundraising team, and of course, the Board of Trustees, who are driving 1Voice forward. Their energy and enthusiasm is getting us closer to being a sustainable organisation which is able to meet the needs of all 1Voice families.