Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2021 Trustees' Annual Report for the period 01/08/20 to
31/07/21
Section A. Reference and administration Details
Charity name
Christians in Schools Trust
Registered charity number
Registered charity number 1019848.
Charity's principal address
The principal address for the charity is that of the Treasurer
Mr. Joseph Alec Whetham, 35 Drayton Drive, Heald Green, Stockport, SK8 3LE.
Office Address
Church House 99 Chatham Street Stockport SK3 9EG
Trustees
As at the end of the financial year, 31st July 2021:
Mr Stephen Innes (Trust Chairman) Mrs Jo Lawrinson (Secretary & Safeguarding) Mr Joseph Alec Whetham (Trust Treasurer) Mrs Deborah Allen Mrs Vivienne Allen Mrs Janet Elizabeth Ford Mrs Christine Joyce Hall
Section B. Structure, governance and management
Governing document
The charity is governed by a Declaration of Trust made on 17th March1993.
Trustee selection methods
Clause 6 of the Declaration of Trust which governs the trustees provides for not less than 3 nor more than 9 trustees. Each trustee is required to assent in writing to the doctrinal basis of this trust. The appointment of new trustees is by the continuing trustees. There are no custodian trustees. The Trustees met 5 times during the year and
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2021
the average attendance was 80%. Only one trustee attended less than 50% of trustee meeting, Apologies were given at all times.
Review of major risks
Major risks are reviewed at trustee meetings. Systems designed to mitigate significant risks are introduced as necessary. Trust polices are reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
Section C. Objectives and activities for the public benefit
Objects of the charity
The purpose of the Trust is the advancement of Christian religion as follows:
The proclamation and furtherance of the Gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and the preaching and teaching of the Christian Faith in schools throughout the Stockport area and elsewhere.
The organization, sponsorship and promotion of Inter-denominational Christian work throughout the Stockport area and elsewhere the object of which shall be to present to
men, women, young people and children the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord by all possible means.
The trust
The Trust is committed to providing Christian support for schools. Funds are provided by gifts from churches and individual supporters, mainly from the Stockport and the surrounding areas.
The Trustees updated our Mission Statement last year to reflect more the work that we do and how we do it.
Our mission is to:
share the relevance of the Christian faith with young people support and promote excellence in religious education, Assemblies and Schools’ work To Partner with Christian communities in providing opportunities for children and young people to explore the Christian faith
Founded in 1993, in association with Scripture Union, the work has developed and multiplied. Support is currently being given to primary and secondary schools, local education authorities and churches of all denominations.
Grant-making policy
The Trust does not normally make grants. A specific decision of the Trustees, following
appropriate enquiries, is necessary before a grant could be
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2021
made.
Investments policy
The Trust seeks funds to support its current program. It does not currently have any long-term investments. Specific investment powers are included in clause 3 of the Declaration of Trust.
Volunteers
Volunteers of the trust offer support by praying for the trust it’s work and workers. They do this on their own and also through meeting together for prayer. The staff compose a monthly news sheet which includes news of our work and points to pray for.
2019 saw the trust introduce “Mission Partners”. These are gifted individuals who support our staff in their work in a practical way both on an ad-hoc and unpaid basis. The Trustees have so far recruited two Volunteer Mission Partners. Section D. Achievements and performance for the public benefit
Overview
From Sept 2020, with restrictions in place in school, staff returned to work on a parttime basis with flexible furlough. The possibility for work was further curtailed from Jan 2021- Mar 2021 due to the second national lockdown. From Easter onwards, staff increased their contact time in schools and were booked to deliver a transition project for Year 6 students across 21 schools. This was particularly valued by schools this year as transition visits to secondary schools were not possible during the summer term.
The Staff team continued to be on part time “furlough” to date. Because of the removal of national restrictions in schools, including the ability to hold assemblies, the level of bookings from schools has increased and so the trustees expect that the staff will return to their normal working hours in September 2021. During the last year the trust has received financial support from the government’s “furlough” scheme.
Staffing
In August of 2020 Mr Joshua Openshaw left the trust to begin training for the role of “Minister” within the Church of England. This meant a little reorganisation of our work. Due to the Current Covid situation the trustees decided not to replace him at present. During the last year the staff have carried out the majority of their work from home. Some school visits have taken place whilst some filming and recording of sessions was done at the office working socially distant.
Secondary schools
In January 2020 Miss Hannah Moore joined the trust full time and spends her time working in both Primary and Secondary schools. She was just getting into her role when schools closed due to the pandemic. Since schools have reopened Hannah has found it difficult to re connect with secondary schools. She has however from September 2020 suppled on-line material and done a small amount of in-school work. 3 | P a g e
Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2021
The majority of the work in schools includes taking assemblies, supporting Christian clubs to which all pupils are welcome and involvement in the RE/PSHE curriculum at the request of the school’s management.
This year Hannah got married and will therefore be known as Hannah Buckley from now on.
Primary schools
The Trust continues to develop its work in primary schools. Throughout 2020 and 2021 both Sarah and Hannah have produced weekly on-line assemblies, lessons and projects which have been widely used and valued by many schools. Since the Easter holidays both staff have begun to re-engage with schools and their workload has increased steadily. Our “it’s your move” projects aimed at year six children was this year fully booked.
The trust also works in conjunction with the “Heaton’s churches Partnership” to resource and manage input into the schools there and to build links with churches, Hannah has taken over this role from Joshua Openshaw.
The primary RE scheme, Primary Vision, has been removed from our web-site as it is now out of date.
Development work
Trust employees and some Trustees visit local churches and related organizations to promote the work of the Trust. Networking with Christian organizations and educational bodies is an important part of the Trust’s work. The Trust has played a significant part in facilitating partnership work within Stockport schools and bringing together others who work in this way.
Since February of 2016 the staff team has begun to develop far more projects for schools. The projects that have been developed so far are aimed mainly at key stage 2 and 3 children which have been well received.
The staff have continued to developed some sessions and projects suitable for Key stage 1 children, Sarah has continued to develop lunch time clubs using material from Scripture Union and also material which they have developed themselves. The Trusts intention is that any Lunch time or after School clubs will be supported by and have a link with a local church or Christian community.
The trustees continue to make sure we comply with current Data Protection and our privacy policy, making sure both are up to date.
As a trust we are committed to having a high standard of safeguarding both for our staff and those they come in contact with. The trust has a safeguarding policy and we review this policy at regular intervals.
Safeguarding training for staff was completed on-line rather than in school due to restricted access to in-person training. The expectation is that staff will access in-
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2021 school training this coming academic year. Jo Lawrinson (trustee) who took over the role of safeguarding from Viv Allen in April 2021 attended safeguarding training for trustees provided by thrityone:eight.
Through some of our trustees the trust also has representation on the local authority’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education
Internet resources
The Christians in Schools Trust web site (www.cist.org.uk), was originally launched in September 2000. In June 2004 it was extended with further lessons, resources, subject maps and assembly outlines to link the lessons to the latest revision Stockport syllabus. The website continues to be upgraded and developed as a point of information. Our website was redesigned, edited and our new site was launched at Easter term of 2021.
The staff also use other social media sites such as “Facebook” to keep our supporters informed on a regular basis.
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2021
Section E. Financial review
Income 2019-20
General gifts received during the year of operation totalled £24,685 from churches and £17,948 from individuals. We also received £1,000 from the “Lindow Trust”. The total of tax recovered was £3,449. A further £3070 came from the service agreement with the Heatons’ Group of Churches. The trust also received £10,638 from the Governments “Furlough” scheme
Expenditure 2019 – 2020
Employee costs totalled £25,970 for salaries and £845 for expenses. Support and Administration costs for the year were £2,600
Budget for 2020 – 2021
Total Assets at the start of the next year are £98,421 The trusts budget for 20202021 is £51,940 Our aim is to have a balanced budget for the year; however, we hold enough reserves to cover any shortfall.
Reserves policy
Trustees are alerted when funds fall to near three months working expense and appeals to supporters are initiated as required. The Trusts funds include a sum of £8,750 which covers 90 days of total salarys, our employer’s financial responsibilities and any other finical commitments that the trust has.
Capital expenditure policy
Items of capital expenditure costing over £500 that have been bought for the use of the Trust
and its employees are treated as investment assets and are normally depreciated in four equal annual steps of 25%.
Covid Effects
Like all charities the trust has seen a reduction in giving, but due to prudent management and a reduction in staff we are at present in a healthy place financially. We anticipate that over the next 12 months we will need to increase our staff to cope with the growing demands of the work.
Section G. Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustee’s report above.
Original Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.
Mr Stephen Innes Cheshire SK7 6NS Chairman of Trustees 8 Highfield Road 05/09/2021 Hazel Grove Stockport
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
Mrs Deborah Allen Trustee 118 Mile End Lane Stockport
ending 31[st] July 2021 Cheshire SK2 6BY
05/09/2021
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Charity Name Christians in Schools Trust
No (if any)
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start date
Period end date
For the period from
To
7/31/2021
8/1/2020
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted funds
Restricted Endowment Total funds funds funds
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to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
Church Gifts 24,685 - - 24,685
Personal Gifts 17,948 - - 17,948
Tax Reclaimed 3,449 - - 3,449
Other Gifts 12,638 - - 12,638
Grants - - -
Heatons Service Income 3,070 - - 3,070
Investment Income 131 - - 131
Bequest & Legacies - - -
61,921 - - 61,921
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 61,921 - - 61,921
A3 Payments
Employee Salaries 25,970 - - 25,970
HMRC (includes NI) 1,188 - - 1,188
Nest Pensions 1,235 - - 1,235
Staff Training 80 - - 80
Employee Expenses 845 - - 845
Office Costs 1,000 - - 1,000
Insurance 1,026 - - 1,026
IT Costs 301 - - 301
Fundraising Costs - - - -
Sub total [ 31,646 ] - - 31,646
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
Equipment Purchase - - - -
Materials Costs - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total payments 31,646 - - 31,646
Net of receipts/(payments) 30,275 - - 30,275
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - -
Cash funds this year end 30,275 - - 30,275
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | ||
| B1 Cash funds | Current Account Deposit Account Total cash funds |
to nearest £ 33,398 65,023 - 98,421 |
to nearest £ - - - - |
||
| (agree | balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
Agreement Error | OK | ||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
| funds | funds | ||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Details | to nearest £ - - - - - - |
to nearest £ - - - - - - |
||
| B3 Investment assets | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - |
||
| B4 Assets retained for the | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - |
||
| charity’s own use | - - - - - - - - |
||||
| Fund to which | Amount due | ||||
| B5 Liabilities | Details | liability relates | - - - - - (optional) |
||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Name | |||
| Original signed by | Stephen Innes | ||||
| Original signed by | Janet Ford |
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CC16a
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Last year
to the nearest £
23,329 24,598 2,584 13,479 - 13,525 - - 77,515
77,515
42,895 5,149 2,465 - 1,893 982 982 250 - 54,616
54,616 22,899 - - 22,899
Endowment funds
to nearest £ - - - -
OK
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - -
Current value (optional) - - - - -
Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of approval 9/2/2021 9/2/2021
Charity Commission Number 1019846 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2021
Christians In Schools Trust
Independent Examiner’s Report on the Accounts
I report to the Trustees of Christians in Schools Trust on the accounts for the year ended 31st July 2021
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 42(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:-
Examine the accounts (under section 43(34)(a) of the Act: Follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 43(7)(b) of the Act and
State whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of the Independent Examiner’s statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those accounts. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required for an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent Examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
-
Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
-
To keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act and
-
To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act have not been met.
-
To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Original signed by Kate J Kinsey