Contents. K-Otic Productions is a registered Charity in Scotland: SCO43552.

Transcription

1 K-Otic Productions Annual Report 2016

2 1 Contents About... 2 About K-Otic Productions... 2 About this Report... 2 Answers from Members... 3 Demographics... 3 Age... 3 Gender... 3 Travelling to K-Otic... 4 Health Conditions... 5 Reasons for Attending... 6 Enjoyment of K-Otic Activities... 7 Class attendance... 8 How did you first hear about K-Otic?... 9 Some quotes from our members Answers from Parents/Carers Year first joined K-Otic Parent/Carer attendance Relationship Rated statements Comments from Parents/Carers Alternative Days Performances Performance Evaluations Funding Grant Applications Fundraising Class Totals Fees Training Other Activities Conclusions Future Planning... 20

3 2 About About K-Otic Productions We are a charity based in East Kilbride which provides drama groups for adults with learning difficulties/autistic spectrum disorders etc. We currently have classes in East Kilbride, Hamilton and Coatbridge. All abilities are welcome, and members are encouraged to participate at a pace that is comfortable to them. All of our scripts, dances and workshops are created around the individual abilities of each actor. Being involved in a drama group is a great way to build confidence, make friends and, most importantly, HAVE FUN! We have no audition process - anyone who feels they will enjoy the groups is more than welcome! K-Otic Productions is a registered Charity in Scotland (SCO43552) which helps when we apply for grants, but things like hall hire/teachers/ equipment/costumes/theatre hire all add up so we still need support from fundraising too! We hold various fundraising events throughout the year and also use online donation platforms such as Justgiving, Easyfundraising and Paypal. Our committee oversee the general running of the charity and meet around three times per year. The committee is comprised of group members, family members and staff members. About this Report The purpose of this report is to obtain feedback in an easy-to-read format to assess the service we are providing and to consider areas where we can improve. We also hope this report will provide an overview of our charity for other interested parties, for example potential funders. The data in this report comes from questionnaires which were sent out to both parents/carers and members of our groups. A total of 55 forms were sent out and 31 were returned. This report was compiled by Alex Barr (chairperson) and Janelle Turnbull, a psychology student from the University of Stirling who completed a placement with K-Otic in Spring 2017.

4 3 Answers from Members Demographics Age We asked members their ages to gather some basic demographics information for all members. figure 1 From those who responded, the average member age is 32 across all classes, as shown in figure 1. The most common age group is Gender figure 2

5 4 The respondents were almost split evenly by gender, as seen in figure 2. Of those who responded 15 were female and 14 were male. One person did not answer this question. Travelling to K-Otic We asked members how they got to class each week. Answers to this question are demonstrated in the graph below: figure 3 It is shown in figure 3 that most members use public transport, followed by those who get a lift/taxi. Only one respondent walks to class. We aim to maintain the current locations of our groups all of our classes are held in local community halls which have good access for public transport. Additionally, they all have ample car parking space for those who get a lift from parents/support workers. Whilst we aim to promote physical fitness, many of our service users would be unable to walk to the groups due to location/physical conditions. We also aim to maintain our daytime classes to promote independent travelling wherever possible.

6 5 Health Conditions Our members come from various backgrounds and with differencing conditions below is a summary of all conditions reported by the members themselves and their parent/carers: figure 4 Members reported a variety of conditions as outlined above in figure 4. We do not require a specific diagnosis from members and encourage anyone who feels they will benefit from the classes to come along.

7 6 Reasons for Attending We asked if our members enjoyed coming to K-Otic and why they enjoy it: figure 5 figure 6 Of those who responded, 25 people said they love coming to K-Otic, 1 person said they like coming to K-Otic and 4 people said they were not sure, shown in figure people said they enjoy coming to learn new skills. 25 people said to gain confidence, 26 people said to make new friends, 26 said to learn new things and 24 said to get out of the house, shown in figure 6. N.B. Respondents were able to choose more than one option.

8 7 Enjoyment of K-Otic Activities We also asked members to rate their enjoyment of common K-Otic activities: figure 7 As shown in figure 7, of those who responded for improvisation, 19 people said they loved it, 6 said they were not sure and 1 person said they don t like it. Of those who responded for scriptwriting, 16 people said they loved it, 5 said they were not sure and 1 person said they don t like it. Of those who responded for storytelling, 18 people said they loved it, 6 said they were not sure and 1 person said they don t like it and 3 people did not answer this question. Of those who responded for the shows, 19 people said they loved it, 5 said they were not sure and 1 person said they don t like it and 4 people did not answer this question.

9 8 Class attendance Members were also asked which class days they attended at this present time: figure 8 As shown in figure 8, most of the respondents were from the Friday classes in Coatbridge and East Kilbride and from the Monday AM Ferniegair group. Four respondents attend more than one class (Monday and Friday EK or Monday EK and Coatbridge). Aside from these evaluations, our own class registers show that our Coatbridge class is the busiest, followed by Friday EK which have 18 and 17 members respectively. These classes are now considered full, as busier classes are not to the advantage of our actors and we aim to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity of learning and enjoyment from our groups.

10 9 How did you first hear about K-Otic? Members were asked how they discovered K-Otic, below details their responses: Figure 9 The above figure 9 shows the various places that our members first heard about us. K-Otic Productions was originally founded by Helen Jordan who teaches drama to adults with learning difficulties at South Lanarkshire College, where many of our original members came from. In our 5 years, we have created a reputation in the local community therefore we believe our name is known amongst care organisations that regularly pass on our details to potential members.

11 10 Some quotes from our members I love and enjoy coming. Drama is my favourite hobby since age 7. To be happy and be nice. To Keep Fit. Make friends. I just love going every week. To learn new skills. Confidence. I Hope it keeps going. Learn new things. to get out the house. Enjoy all my class. I love everything and work to my own level of capability in class. I love my drama class and try not to miss it for anything. All teachers are the best ever and my friends are nice too. I like the people and I have made friends. Hope we raise a lot of money to keep the drama on. Teacher Sandra is fantastic and has great time for all and great patience with all needs. She has a fab group. Well needed. Alex and the smiling girl are always happy to help.

12 11 Answers from Parents/Carers Year first joined K-Otic We asked parents/carers what year our members first joined K-Otic. figure 10 The data in figure 10 shows that most of the respondents joined in Parent/Carer attendance We also asked parents/carers if they stayed in classes with members. figure 11 The data in figure 11 shows that 15 members are accompanied by a parent/carer in class and 13 are not. One person is sometimes accompanied.

13 12 Relationship On the form for carers/parents, we asked what their relationship to the member was. figure 12 The chart in figure 12 shows that 13 respondents were carers, 12 were parents and 3 were other family members. Rated statements Parents/carers were asked to rate the following statements from 1-5 (where 1 was strongly disagree and 5 was strongly agree). The graph below shows the average score which was given for each answer. figure 13 The data in figure 13 shows that all of the options were rated at least 4 out of 5 with the exception of weight.

14 13 Comments from Parents/Carers She loves this drama group and would not miss it for anything. She loves the interaction, teachers, other students and of course the shows. Wonderful, supportive, fun, friendly atmosphere is created every Monday at drama and is totally inclusive of all abilities. Our son thoroughly enjoys his time at K-Otic. Their confidence has grown from being in the classes. The lady I support has made many new friends as have I. Her confidence has grown. She enjoys her time at K-Otic. The dances do help as it keeps his fitness level up to a certain degree, however due to being overweight the exercise of dance can cause pain in his back or legs. More attention could be paid by the dance teacher to be aware of this and adapt the dances to his level of fitness. Only joins in when prompted. Wheelchair user so mobility limited. Takes time to get used to new people. Feels a sense of pride. She participates well and enjoys making new friends. K-Otic drama classes have made an immense improvement in my son's confidence. He looks forward to his class. It is the highlight of his week. Need more of classes like this and definitely more class leaders or teachers like Sandra who does a great job here. A real benefit to my son K-Otic has been a godsend as there are so few activities for learning disabled adults. My child would still be virtually housebound if not for confidence gained through time at classes. Wonderful class! Confidence builder. Friday comes around too slowly. Instructors are amazing in ideas, patience and kindness. A brilliant class! Service user s confidence and self-esteem has grown. It's great to see their parents praise drama for this and she now goes to college to do drama as well!

15 14 Alternative Days We also asked parents/carers if there were other days/times that would suit for K-Otic. These were the responses: Monday anytime at Ferniegair but travelling might be a problem. Wednesday. Any time on Friday. Afternoons. Any day. Maybe on a Friday. Yes I would like to come to another class, not sure what day. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. No (x7)

16 15 Performances

17 16 Performance Evaluations Evaluations were also handed out during the spring 2017 performance. A total of 21 people responded; of these 4 were friends/family of staff and one was a support worker. The remaining 16 were friends/family of our actors. Here are the feedback comments we received: Fantastic as always Brilliant as usual Fabulous Just great The staff put in a lot of work Fantastic! So much hard work and it paid off! Well done! Everyone did a great job. Superstars - all of them. Great dance moves. Excellent. All enjoyed themselves, and a great opportunity. A lot of hard work and effort put in by the staff. Well done. Both shows were brilliant! It was very good! Great to see all participants expressing themselves via song and dance. You can also see them becoming less nervous and more confident as the show progresses - well done! Well put together Get microphones! Everyone was very professional and obviously enjoyed themselves Can t wait for the next one! Keep up the good work!

18 17 It was a bit poor after the first show lots left and didn t watch the second show Keep up with future shows as actors so enjoy the time on stage Too many clips of music. Don t like everyone in seats at the back. Too many lines for actors. Great classes and appreciate the hard work everyone puts in to the performance The performance was brilliant. I love the fact that the actors were involved in the production and I think that shows in their performance and their enjoyment. The show was great. The second show could maybe have had a chance to go first as a lot of people left after the first show Fab performance. Well done to all actors/staff. Great that family can watch the performance. Fantastic. It was evident that there was a lot of preparation and teaching involved. The actors/performers should be very proud of themselves. Well done to all involved. The performances today were fantastic! Very cleverly put together, colourful and very entertaining. Excellent shows. The actors so obviously enjoy it as much as we do.

19 18 Funding Grant Applications For 2016, the following grants were applied for: Funder name: Agnes Hunter Trust Applied for: The two EK classes for 1 year. Status: Rejected. Funder name: Glasgow Giveaway Applied for: Christmas performances for Hamilton/Coatbridge. Status: Rejected. Funder name: Robertson Trust Applied for: Funding for two Hamilton classes for 3 years ( ) Status: Received funding for one Hamilton class, 4500 per year for 3 years. Funder name: Open Project Applied for: 2 Coatbridge classes for 1 year. Status: Rejected. Funder name: Bank of Scotland. Applied for: Wages for 1 year for all teaching staff. Status: Rejected. Funder name: Persimmon Homes. Applied for: Spring performances. Status: Rejected. Funder name: The ACT Foundation Applied for: Shortfall for 1 year July 16-July 17 Status: Received 2000 towards hall hire. Funder name: Morrisons. Applied for: for Memories project for three classes. Status: Received Funder name: One Family. Applied for: Winter project for EK classes. Status: Rejected.

20 19 Funder name: Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation. Applied for: Dance teaching wages for 1 year. Status: Rejected. Funder name: People s Health Trust. Applied for: EK Friday class. Status: Rejected. Funder name: Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation. Applied for: Dance teaching for two EK classes for 1 year. Status: Rejected. Funder name: People s Postcode Lottery. Applied for: EK Monday for 1 year. Status: Rejected. Total gained from grant funding: 9948 Fundraising Event: Sponsored walk May 16. Amount Raised: 257 Event: Pub Quiz November 16. Amount Raised: 845 Event: Hallowe en Disco 16. Amount Raised: Event: Stars in Your Eyes. Amount Raised: 1500 Event: August performances. Amount Raised: Total raised from fundraising: We also had performances in April and a fundraising evening in February which raised money to cover costs while waiting for funding.

21 20 Class Totals In 2016, the following amounts were raised from member fees: Monday AM Ferniegair class: 3072 Monday PM Ferniegair class: 2620 Monday EK class: 3041 Friday Coatbridge class: 5439 Friday EK class: 3427 Total raised from member fees: Fees Our fees were raised for the first time in 2016, from 7 per class to 8 per class. Training In November 2016, all of our staff received training in Autism Spectrum Disorders, epilepsy, Down s Syndrome and learning difficulties. Our staff also attended a training session in Emergency First Aid at Work. Other Activities In November 2016, we attended the VASLan (voluntary action South Lanarkshire) third sector awards where we won in the Arts, Culture and Heritage category. Conclusions The data gathered for this report shows that enjoyment of the classes is high, and that members appear to be enjoying the various activities we provide. Performances continue to be popular with audiences although there was some negative feedback in terms of audience leaving before the second performances. We have been successful in receiving funding from 3 funders, alongside some successful fundraising activities of our own. Future Planning To maintain the service we provide for our local communities, we aim to do yearly evaluations to create annual reports such as this to ensure we have clear feedback to sustain and improve our charity for future years. Alongside the fundamental themes of our workshops such as learning drama techniques, confidence building and improving social skills, we also would like

22 21 to explore themes such as mental health, physical fitness, independence and bullying within our workshops and performances in We will try to tackle the issue of audience members leaving after the first performance by sending out letters requesting that they stay to support their fellow classes. We will continue to apply for grant funding in 2017 and aim to improve on this year s overall fundraising total.