Finance Score: 0
Governance Score: 9
Support Score: 12
  • Liabilities <10%: +3
  • Excess liquidity: -1
  • Multiple Deficits: -2
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Grant maker support: +12
Overall GiG Score: 21 ?

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE EAST LONDON 

Discover Children’s Story Centre is a place where children and their families can enjoy playing, learning and making up stories together.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has a robust balance sheet
  • Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • One or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity for providing services to the charity

Financial issues to consider:

  • Liquidity appeared to be in excess of CC guidelines at the latest year end especially considering the historic stability of income
  • On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending
Established: 26 years

www.discover.org.uk

team@discover.org.uk

02085365555

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookInstagramX
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£1,812£2,199£-387£225£3,230£3,18417.4529
31/03/22£1,634£2,072£-438£163£3,618£3,452204713
31/03/21£1,589£1,548£41£157£4,055£3,68328.5540
31/03/20£1,964£2,035£-71£176£4,014£3,85122.76316
31/03/19£1,933£1,911£22£166£4,085£3,96724.95934
31/03/18£1,608£1,654£-46£62£4,063£3,94828.6510
31/03/17£1,640£1,751£-112£228£4,110£4,02427.6470
31/03/16£1,869£1,617£251£179£4,221£4013530
31/03/15£1,579£1,367£212£284£3,970£3533.1290
31/03/14£1,311£1,556£-245£314£3,758£3332.6320
31/03/13£1,346£1,476£-130£255£4,003£4073.3260
31/03/12£1,005£1,160£-155£152£4,133£3533.6180
31/03/11£1,000£1,058£-58£139£4,289£3063.5170
31/03/10£1,002£901£101£157£4,346£2072.7160
31/03/09£782£984£-202£154£4,246£1842.2170
31/03/08£1,093£1,000£93£145£4,448£1782.1170
31/03/07*£870£869£1£115£4,355£1862.6170
31/03/06*£745£797£-51£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05*£548£721£-173£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04£522£807£-286£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 18.1%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 10.2%
Highest pay band: Less than £60,000
Liabilities/Assets: 4%
Liabilities/Income: 7%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 99%
Reserves/Spending: 17.4 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 3 months
Quick Ratio: 2.7
Asset Split ?
Listed activities
  • Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • Environment/Conservation/Heritage
  • Recreation
How it operates
  • Provides buildings/facilities/open space
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Manchester City, Throughout London,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • People With Disabilities
  • The General Public/Mankind
Who works here?
  • 52 employees
  • 9 volunteers

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
DCMS£396,997
National Lottery Community Fund£215,112
Garfield Weston Foundation£174,700
Paul Hamlyn Foundation£140,000
BBC Children in Need£128,732
Henry Smith Charity£100,000
Wolfson Foundation£49,600
Greater London Authority£30,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Children's Discovery Centre East London
£5,600 11/01/2024
£5,600 to provide an eco audit.
London Legacy Development Corporation - Voices of East Bank
£12,060 21/08/2023
Transfer of National Heritage Lottery Fund funding to the Voices of East Bank Partnership grant agreement with Discover Story Centre to deliver elements of this project.
Wolfson Foundation - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£49,600 07/12/2022
Installation of LED lighting and replacement of single glazed windows
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Creative Wellbeing Project
£120,000 18/07/2022
36
Discover Children’s Story Centre is a venue dedicated to engaging and supporting children aged 0-11, families and teachers with creative approaches to literacy. This grant would enable Discover to ....more
London Marathon Charitable Trust - Playground and Garden redevelopment.
£7,000 15/03/2021
A grant towards playground equipment including a treehouse, climbing wall, ropes and run-way and accessible play equipment for children with disabilities.
Garfield Weston Foundation - WCF award - COVID19 response
£174,700 05/02/2021
Weston Culture Fund
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£98,732 17/12/2020
Saturday club in a multi-sensory storytelling centre for disabled children and children with learning disabilities. Supported by Story Builders and artists, children will develop their creativity, ....more
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£100,000 23/10/2020
12
towards one year's running costs of an organisation providing creative activities and educational resources for vulnerable children and their families who have been impacted by COVID-19 in London.
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£76,400 29/07/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£30,000 28/05/2020
36
This project will provide an after school interactive storytelling club for children from low income families. The sessions will help them to develop their language skills, sense of ownership and ....more
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£14,800 19/05/2020
A grant of £14,800 to fund the essential and urgent costs outlined in the appliciation, so that the organisation can carry on providing support to Londoners.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - COVID19 Emergency Funding
£20,000 22/04/2020
3
Support to aid the organisation in dealing with the challenges posed by COVID19.
DCMS - Discover Children's Story Centre NPO application
£95,597 01/04/2020
We are the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Lets Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of ....more
DCMS - Discover Recovery Funding
£150,000 01/04/2020
To support Arts and Culture throughout England
DCMS - Discover Recovery Funding 2021
£75,000 01/04/2020
To support Arts and Culture throughout England
Greater London Authority - Discover Children's Story Centre
£30,000 12/02/2020
Newham Word Festival
London Marathon Charitable Trust - Playground and Garden redevelopment.
£20,000 24/07/2019
Towards playground equipment at the Children's Discovery Centre in Stratford, East London, including a treehouse, climbing wall, ropes, run-ways and sensory play equipment to support children with ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Story Sandwich - activities for families facing homelessness and trans
£215,112 01/07/2019
60
The project will use the funding to provide free access to their Story Centre for 0-9 year olds, working specifically with disadvantaged parents and children particularly those who are at risk of ....more
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Catching Words
£139,000 05/06/2018
36
To deliver an extended version of the flagship creative literacy programme to improve children's confidence and attainment in Keystages 1 and 2 in 24 schools, by supporting collaboration between ....more
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£99,500 07/12/2017
36
towards three years' continuation funding of the running costs of a creative activities club for disabled children in the London Borough of Newham
The Leathersellers' Company Charitable Fund - Grant to Children's Discovery Centre East London
£40,000 07/12/2017
Main Grant unrestricted core costs
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£29,801 13/11/2017
36
Interactive storytelling for children aged 0-5 from areas of local deprivation. Through multi-sensory play children will develop their language skills and have increased social inclusion and ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£119,534 17/10/2017
36
Saturday club in a multi-sensory storytelling centre for disabled children and children with learning disabilities. Supported by Story Builders and artists, children will develop their creativity, ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£30,000 24/07/2017
Story World Artistic and Education Programme
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Children's Discovery Centre
£59,493 06/03/2017
24
Towards core costs to deliver early years sessions enabling parents of 0-3 year olds, from disadvantaged backgrounds, to better support their children's language, personal, social and creative ....more
True Colours Trust - towards the roll-out of its work with special schools
£5,000 20/12/2016
towards the roll-out of its work with special schools
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Children's Discovery Centre, East London
£100,000 23/09/2015
£100,000 for access and improvement works at Discover’s Stratford site.
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Discover Children's Story Centre
£88,200 04/12/2014
36
towards three years' running costs of the 'Mighty Mega Project' for children with special educational needs and their families in East London
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Children's Discovery Centre
£300,000 05/07/2012
Towards the salary of the events and marketing manager and a contribution towards the organisation's artistic programme and community ambassador scheme.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (11)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 10/11 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 28-66
  • LOUISE DANCE Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Pr & Communications Consultant
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 09/07/1998, number: 1070468
  • Registered at Companies House on 11/12/1997, number: 03479284
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
20 returns made; AR07: 120 days late, AR06: 1 days late, AR05: 15 days late,
Main office

Discover
383-387 High Street
LONDON
E15 4QZ

Objectives

TO PROMOTE MAINTAIN IMPROVE AND ADVANCE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE ARTS SCIENCES HUMANITIES AND TECHNOLOGY IN PARTICULAR BY THE PROVISION PROMOTION AND MAINTENANCE OF FACILITIES AND AMENITIES FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PERSONS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND TO RELIEVE POVERTY IN PARTICULAR BY PROVIDING OR ASSISTING IN PROVIDING RECREATIONAL OR OTHER LEISURE-TIME FACILITIES AND AMENITIES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

Defined Area of Benefit:

LONDON

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase
Authorised officials of this charity can add information to this page (including a Donate Now button) for no cost

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