About Us: Financial and Legal Policies

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Use of charitable funds
Earmarked funds
Financial reserves
Transparency and accountability
Trustee financial reporting responsibilities
Trustee independence
Confidentiality
Child Protection Policy
Equal Opportunities Policy
Code of practice

Our Use of charitable funds [top of page]

Trustees seek to maximise funds spent in direct furtherance of the charity's objects and keep the proportion of charitable funds spent on administration and fundraising to a prudent minimum level commensurate with the effective and professional operation of the charity and its future financial sustainability.

In the first three years of its life, the charity sought to keep expenditure on fundraising and administration to a maximum of 25 per cent of total expenditure over the three-year period. Thereafter, it is expected that it will fall to a maximum of 20 per cent in any rolling three-year period. In fact, spending on costs of generating funds represented less than 6.3% of expenditure for the financial year 2005-2006 and 3.8% for 2004-2005.

The charity applies funds solely for the purpose for which they were intended by the donor. It distinguishes in its management and financial accounts between such restricted funds and unrestricted funds.

Earmarked funds [top of page]

The charity will apply funds solely for the purpose for which they were intended by the donor. It distinguishea in its management and financial accounts between such earmarked funds and funds which are used for ‘untied' purposes.

Financial reserves [top of page]

In the event of the charity carrying reserves forward, the board of trustees maintain two reserves funds restricted and unrestricted. Restricted reserves are those funds that are earmarked by donor's wishes for specific future uses. The level of restricted reserves varies from year to year in accordance with the amount of restricted funds raised. We also seek to build a level of unrestricted reserves that will be sufficient to protect our programme of work from unexpected variances in income and to allow time for fundamental restructuring in the event of a major downturn in income. The level of unrestricted reserves is reviewed each year by the board of trustees by considering the financial risks associated with our various income streams, expenditure types and balance sheet items.

Transparency and accountability [top of page]

Auditory Verbal UK seeks to go further than the minimum reporting required by the Charity Commission. We publish our accounts and policies together with an impact statement', reporting the impact of our activities and progress towards goals, on our web-site and make such a report available to any interested parties on request. .

Trustee financial reporting responsibilities [top of page]

Company law requires the Board of Trustees, as trustees and directors, to prepare consolidated financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of Auditory Verbal UK and the results for the period.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any one time, the financial position of Auditory Verbal UK and enable them to ensure that financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985 and the Statement of Recommended Practice on Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of Auditory VerbalUK, therefore taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Trustee independence [top of page]

Our trustees are independent and impartial with their sole interest being the furtherance of the charity's objects. Any person seeking to be a trustee must declare that there is nothing that, to their knowledge, could conflict with trustee independence before they are appointed as a trustee.

Any potential conflict of interest must be declared in advance of any agenda item and, in such an event, an individual trustee may be excluded from the decision-making process.

Stephen Woolgar, husband of the director of the charity, serves on the trustee board. At all times, the above principles apply.

Confidentiality [top of page] The charity operates a strict confidentiality policy. All material and information on the cases of individual families are confidential and cannot be shown or disclosed to third parties without the express permission of parents.

Child Protection Policy [top of page]

1. Aim
To provide a safe and secure environment for children attending Auditory Verbal UK.

2. Responsibilities of Auditory Verbal UK

• Appointment of staff to all positions involving contact with children is done according to the guidance provided by the DfES. Appointments are only made subject to completing Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure procedures, birth certificates and educational/professional qualifications.
• Visitors to the Centre are met at the front door by a member of staff. Only people with valid reasons for visiting are given access.
• A member of staff will always gain written permission of a parent or guardian prior to making videotapes of a child. Parents will be offered a copy of the videotape. Such video is used only as an integral part of the therapy. Parental consent is a pre-requisite to the material being used in this way, and will be obtained as soon as possible following the child's entry to the programme.
• Information on a child and ongoing notes on their progress, together with reports received from other outside agencies concerning the child, are kept in a named file. Information contained within these files is considered to be confidential. The permission of the child's parents or guardians will be sought in the event that any other agency requests information about their child from Auditory Verbal UK.

3. Responsibilities of parents and guardians attending Auditory Verbal UK

• Parents or guardians are asked to be present with their child during the therapy session. If the therapist, in agreement with the parents, feels it is more appropriate for the child to be seen without the parents present, the parent or guardian will be told that they may join their child at any appropriate point in the session.
• If parents leave their child or sibling in the care of a member of staff at Auditory Verbal UK, that is their choice. If is considered appropriate for a child on the programme or a sibling to accompany a member of staff into another room, or outside to play, go for a walk or visit a local shop, this must be with the parent's full agreement. The length of time involved and the exact location must be fully understood, and if the child or sibling becomes unduly distressed, the member of staff will return to the parent immediately.

4. Complaint procedure
In the event of a complaint, the family is asked to raise the matter with the Director. If the issue cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the family will be invited to discuss their complaint with a member of the Board.

Equal Opportunities Policy [top of page]

We are committed to the principle and practice of equal opportunities and aim to apply equal opportunities as an employer, professional accreditor and as a deliverer of services. We will ensure that no job applicant, employee, or family receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, marital status, age (within the constraints of statutory retirement policy), race, colour, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, HIV/AIDS status, sexual orientation, personal circumstances or any other grounds which are unjustifiable in terms of equality of opportunity for all.

Code of Practice

• Download our code of practice - MSWord doc