ANNUAL AUDIT (2 days) The Annual Audit was completed on Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th April 2005. The Auditor, Mr Barry Ardis was informed prior to the Audit of the new computerised till and bookings / invoicing system which commenced November 2004. The new system is working really well with all climbing wall and fitness room members using swipe cards. Photo ID is held on the till and this has helped with fraudulent use.

ART CLUB EXHIBITION The Art Exhibition on Thursday 30 June 2005, 8 – 9 pm in the Conference Room was extremely successful. This was an opportunity to see the students art work and enjoy light refreshments. There was an excellent turn out on the evening. The standard of work was very impressive and our thanks must go to Cheryl Whalley, the Art Tutor and all her students for allowing this event to be organised. Since the Exhibition we have had enquiries from possible new members who wish to join the weekly sessions, which run every Thursday 7.30 - 9.30 pm in the Conference Room.

BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE It now seems hopeful that the Association will be part of the new 16 – 19 centre on the Barden site. The community use scheme at Barden High School is funded by the Youth & Community Service and Officers from the Service are due to meet with Stuart Smith, the new Headteacher to formalise the future of community use. We are due to meet some of the Building Schools for the Future Project Team who will liaise with the Nursery and Primary Headteachers who will also be based on the Barden site.

CLIMBING WALL There are now 2 x ‘Girls Only’ classes on Wednesday evenings running an hour each between 5 pm – 7 pm. The Climbing Instructor, Ian Barnett continues to complete 2 hours per week maintenance work which involves cleaning and checking / repairing / replacing holds. The Saturday morning 3 x junior classes are very popular with a waiting list in operation for all of these. Ian has attended classes as Instructor with Burnley College students and Burnley Sport Development juniors. Whilst Park High School and Nelson & Colne College students attend on a block-booking basis, with a SPSA qualified Tutor in attendance. We are now requesting that the leader of any group bookings provide original certificates (which we will take a copy of for our files) of enhanced Police Clearance and Child Protection courses. We also advise that the group leader has a recognised first aid course certificate.

We continue to work with the following agencies using the climbing wall. The agencies are – GRIP (Group Intervention Policy / Panel, Marles Hill (Pupil Referral Unit), Recreation & Play Services (Blackburn & Darwen Borough Council) – PAYP (Positive Activities for Young People) in engaging young people into sport.

COMMUNITY STEEL BAND Mr Maullin was granted extra funding at the Executive Committee meeting in January 2005 to purchase – banners, a display stand and t-shirts for future promotional events with the intention of raising monies for local charities i.e. the Hospice, Oxfam etc. There are now 10 attendees in the junior band and 13 in the adult band. Our sincere thanks to Mr Maullin for all his hard work in taking the Steel Band forward. Mr Maullin and the Steel Band members attended their first public performance in June 2005 as part of the Briercliffe Show. Another member of school staff Mr Ashworth kindly agreed to drive the School minibus to transport the equipment and to take photographs of the event. Although the band members were nervous their performance was excellent and the crowds were entertained with a wide range of tunes. Congratulations all round.

CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS RUNNING COSTS The schemes contribution towards the running costs will continue at 10% for 2005 / 6. The invoice for 2003 / 4 has only recently been settled at a cost of £30,658. This was due to the delayed appointment of a new Finance Officer at County Hall, who will be working specifically for the Youth & Community Service. An invoice for £32,273 for 2004 / 5 has been settled in August 2005. The 10% fee is to contribute towards the schemes running costs – cleaning, heating, lighting, maintenance and staffing costs.

FITNESS ROOM Ian continues to run the after-school fitness club (maximum of 6 per day) Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 3 pm to 5 pm, for a nominal fee. This is available for Year 10 and Year 11 students only. Electrical work has been paid for by BCA to stop the air conditioning unit cutting out on a frequent basis and the 3-year Leases on the new concept rower, cross trainer and treadmill have been renewed August 2005. The maintenance contract for leased equipment ensures priority when call outs for repairs are required.

PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE Meetings have taken place with 2 representatives from Zurich Municipal to find the best way forward to reduce our £13,125 annual premium. The main recommendation made is checking each area before and after each group uses, or when practically possible. Security Attendant Porters’ are concerned about the time / manpower to complete the checking properly and the extra responsibility with possible Court appearances re accident / injury claims. Zurich Municipal have advised that we insist groups have their own Public Liability cover, because BCA has no control over how groups operate in the areas booked i.e. a game of football. All groups have had notification that they must have their own Public Liability insurance cover from 1 October 2005. There seems to be more of a problem in the Burnley area with people ‘claiming’ more frequently. A further meeting has been held with Community Staff / School Staff / Health & Safety and Union representatives to discuss reducing community use accident / injury / risk / whilst formalising a handover procedure between the School and the Community Association.

INSURANCE / THE WAY FORWARD A site assessment is due when the Risk Assessment training has been completed. Advice, guidance and clarification on completing the new checklists with assistance from Community Use Development Team Officers who kindly agreed to visit the Porters’ whilst they are on duty to review the revised checklists, which would be in a draft format until the Porters’ were satisfied they were working. The changeover times need looking at re the sports hall so there is a gap allowing for the checks to be completed in between groups. To best protect the Association from future claims and in the interests of good practice it was suggested various checklists are required - daily, monthly, bi-annual, and annual.

STAFF TRAINING All community staff have completed a ‘Qualifications Audit’ and from this information any training needs will be addressed. A renewal course of ‘Basic Health & Safety’ will take place in September 2005. A Manual Handling Assessment course is also booked for September 2005, whilst a Risk Assessment course date is due to be finalised.

SUMMER PLAYSCHEME (TWO WEEKS) – MON 25 JULY TO FRI 5 AUGUST 2005

Burnley Play Association funded the staffing costs for the Play Workers. There were lots of volunteers this year too. BCA agreed to provide the areas to use (free of charge) – sports hall, gymnasium and climbing wall and the staffing costs for the office to be manned (providing access to a telephone and first aid equipment throughout), along with climbing instruction for 2 days, each week. A leaflet drop on the local housing estate was completed early July. Places will be limited to 30 - 40 per day for those aged 5 to 13 years, on a first come first served basis. Children with special needs were integrated into the Playscheme which is Ofsted inspected.

TABLE TENNIS Keith is now employed by Barden Community Association and continues to run table tennis coaching for juniors and adult practise session in the Gymnasium on Thursday evenings 7 pm to 9 pm, except when this area is used for School Examinations, then Keith will transfer to another evening when he is able to use the main hall. Keith has attended a Child Protection course and has up to date insurance cover through ETTA (English Table Tennis Association). Keith is going to try running league matches on a Monday evening from September 2005, where attendance will not be open to the general public. In the past the gymnasium lighting has been a problem, but Keith is willing to try this instead of travelling to the Hyndburn district to play his Barden members in league matches.

YOUTH & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Attendance by BCA staff at the Youth & Community District Team meetings has commenced and this has proved a good starting point to share information and opportunities to enrol on other training courses. Further discussions and meetings with a Youth & Community Worker have taken place regarding taking forward the Government recognised qualification - AQA’s. The cost to register a junior is £6 per year, regardless of how many AQA’s are achieved and there is a possibility that costs can be shared with the Youth & Community Service. By taking part in this we will meet the targets of the Youth & Community Service and also the development targets of BCA. The AQA has no levels it’s a pass or fail system which can be simple or complicated. This is available for 0 – 99 years of age. Funding of £300 was agreed at the AGM in June 2005. Registration for the AQA scheme (charged at a £6 per junior) will be via the Youth & Community Service, District Office in Burnley.

We wish to continue with the above work but in addition we feel we could make a worthwhile contribution by participating in the AQA awards scheme, which is a Government Body Award that recognises a young persons learning. Certification is available on a wide range of activities. Ian the Climbing Wall Instructor has spoken to a small group of junior climbers who attend the Saturday morning training sessions and they are all keen to attain this qualification.

We wish to continue accommodating the local communities requirements and to continue supporting adult and junior groups, and their many volunteers. There is a lot of voluntary work going on within the scheme, which needs support to ensure this flourishes. Special thanks must go to the Executive Committee who attend meetings and oversee the community use scheme’s continued development for the benefit of all users.

Our aim is to encourage local and wider community use, in particular for the disadvantaged. If you have any ideas on setting up something new or improving community use please call in at the community office or telephone (01282) 831394 to discuss your ideas - we will do our best to help you.

Our sincere thanks are expressed to the Executive Committee for their continued involvement in attending 6 meetings per year to discuss and agree planning / improvement opportunities for the community use scheme at Barden High School. Any member can become involved on the Committee and you will be made very welcome indeed.