Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2023 Trustees' Annual Report for the period 01/08/22 to 31/07/23
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 2023: Mr Stephen Innes (Trust Chairman) Mrs Deborah Allen (Secretary) Mrs Gill Golding (Safeguarding) Mr Joseph Alec Whetham (Trust Treasurer) Mrs Vivienne Allen Mrs Janet Elizabeth Ford Mrs Christine Joyce Hall Mr Phillip Pasteiner
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 6 times during the year and the average attendance was 83%. No trustee attended less than 50% of trustee meeting, Apologies were given at all times.
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2023
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. The Following policies form part of our overall policy pack Safeguarding Policy and Procedures Complaint’s policy Bullying and Harassment Policy Social Media policy Conflicts of Interest policy Safer Recruitment
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 Stockport and the surrounding areas.
The Trust has a Mission Statement. All activities that we carry out must adhere to at least one of the points in our mission statement.
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
Partner with Christian communities in providing opportunities for children and young people to explore the Christian faith
Founded in 1993, the work has developed and multiplied. Support is currently being given to primary and secondary schools, the local education authority and churches of all denominations.
Grant-making policy
The Trust does not normally make grants. A specific decision of the Trustees, following
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2023
appropriate enquiries, is necessary before a grant could be 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 and
Supporters
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 currently has one Volunteer Mission Partner.
Section D. Achievements and performance for the public benefit
Overview
From Sept 2022, with restrictions in place in school being removed, staff continued to work on their contracted hours. The team continued to rebuild their links with schools and form new links with schools that we had lost contact with.
The team have continued to update our weekly assemblies programme and they have produced some “specials” e.g., the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the King’s Coronation.
The trustees welcomed a new trustee in 2023. He attended his first meeting as a trustee in June 2023 and will shadow our current treasurer.
Staffing
It has been a difficult year for the trust with considerable Changes of staff, our secondary school worker left the trust in August 2022 and our team leader moved on at the end of December 2022. However, we were able to employ two new staff members in September 2022 one of which was a previous Volunteer Mission Partner. One of the current staff took over the roll as Team Leader in January 2023. This has meant an increase in agreed hours contracted to work.
Secondary schools
Due to the fact that our secondary school worker left in August 2022 and that the trust has been unable to employ a suitable replacement the trust has been unable to undertake any input into our secondary schools.
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2023
The trustees are currently reviewing what shape our input into Secondary schools might look like and are planning to employ a suitable replacement
Primary schools
The Trust continues to develop its work in primary schools. Throughout 2022 and 2023 both our staff have produced weekly in school assemblies, lessons and projects which have been widely used and valued by many schools. The trust has currently links with around 35 local schools and visit most on a regular basis. Many new lessons have been written to link with the new Greater Manchester R. E. curriculum. The staff has also received training on” Prayer Spaces in Schools” a U.K. wide organisation and the trust has now become a hub for Prayer Spaces. Partly due to the current “Mental health” amongst children these Spaces have become very popular and useful to schools and they are making use of them.
During the year our staff planned and led around 150 workshops as well as taking over 160 lessons plus assemblies and have had contact with around 10,000 children
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, One member of staff takes overall responsibility for this and attends the church leaders meetings
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.
Over recent years the staff team have continued to develop 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 all continued to developed some sessions and projects suitable for reception and Key stage 1 children, The Trusts intention is to rebuild links with the secondary schools develop the Prayer or reflective spaces projects more and encourage local churches to take an active interest in and serve their local schools where possible.
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.
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year
ending 31[st] July 2023
Through one of our trustees, the trust also has representation on the local authority’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education
Safeguarding
Safeguarding training for staff and our safeguarding trustee was completed in a local school in September of 2022 where they joined with the school staff on their safeguarding training day. The trustee’s hope that staff will continue to have access to in-school training this coming academic year. One member of staff has also undergone Mental Health First Aid training with MHFA England and is now a qualified Metal health First aider. Our Safeguarding trustee and team lead has had “Safer Recruitment” training. The Trustees have also done some on-line training in “Safeguarding” and “Safer Recruitment” recently.
Our Safeguarding policy is discussed at each trustees meeting and reviewed yearly
Internet resources
The Christians in Schools Trust web site (www.cist.org.uk), was originally launched in September 2000. 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 and is updated by our “Team Leader”
The staff also use other social media sites such as “Facebook” and “Instagram” to keep our supporters informed on a regular basis.
Public Benefit
The trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in planning all our activities.
Serious Incidents
There were no serious incidents relating to the charity during the previous year that the Trustees neglected to inform the Charity Commission.
This report was approved by the Trustees at a meeting on 7[th] September 2023
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2023
Section E. Financial review
Income 2022 – 2023
Donations are received from supporting churches and individuals who support our mission/ General gifts received during the year of operation totalled £20,838 from churches and £25,980. from individuals. The total of tax recovered was £3,072.00. A further £7,200 came from the service agreement with the Heaton’s’ Group of Churches. The trust also received a further £1,688.00 in one off gifts
Expenditure 2022 – 2023
Employee costs totalled £31452 for salaries and pensions, £621.00 for expenses. Support and Administration and I.T. costs for the year were £2392.00. We also gifted £1050.00 to St Matthews Church for the use of St Matthews Church House as an office.
Budget for 2023 – 2024
Total Assets at the start of the next year are £137,223 The trusts budget for 2023-2024 is £54,513 Our aim is to have a balanced budget for the year; however, we currently 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 Trust’s funds include a sum of £9,230.00. which covers 90 days of total salary’s, our employer’s financial responsibilities and any other financial commitments that the trust has. Due to the fact that we have been unable to employ a further worker this year. We should be able to continue to operate at the current level for a lest the next 24 months
Capital expenditure policy
Items of capital expenditure costing over £500 that have been bought for the use of the Trust and its employees, these are treated as investment assets and are normally depreciated in four equal annual steps of 25%.
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2023
Section G. Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustee’s report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity
Mr Stephen Innes Chair of Trustees
Mrs Deborah Allen Secretary & Trustee
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Christians in Schools Trust
Charity number 1019848 Financial Year ending 31[st] July 2023
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| Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
Chr[stians pn schools No (if any) Christians in Schools Trust Receipts andpayments accounts Period start date To Period end date 8/1/2022 7/31/2023 For the period from ~~ee~~ |
CC16a ~~-~~ |
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| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | ||||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | ||||||
| A1 Receipts | ||||||||||
| Church Gifts | 20,838 | - | - | 20,838 | 24,687 | |||||
| Personal Gifts | 26,145 | - | - | 26,145 | 16,891 | |||||
| Tax Reclaimed | 3,072 | - | - | 3,072 | 3,314 | |||||
| Other Gifts | - | - | - | |||||||
| Grants | 1,688 | - | - | 1,688 | 767 | |||||
| Heatons Service Income | 7,200 | - | - | 7,200 | 6,800 | |||||
| Investment Income | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sales | - | - | - | - | 29 | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 58,943 (Gross income for AR) |
- | - | 58,943 | 52,488 | |||||
| - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 58,943 - - 58,943 52,488 A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). ~~——————~~ |
||||||||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||||
| Employee Salaries | 28,028 | - | - | 28,028 | 25,010 | |||||
| HMRC(includes NI) | 1,614 | - | - | 1,614 | 1,859 | |||||
| Nest Pensions | 1,810 | - | - | 1,810 | 1,125 | |||||
| Staff Training | 353 | - | - | 353 | 143 | |||||
| Employee Expenses | 621 | - | - | 621 | 874 | |||||
| Office Costs | 1,451 | - | - | 1,451 | 1,031 | |||||
| Insurance | 865 | - | - | 865 | 882 | |||||
| IT Costs | 941 | - | - | 941 | 416 | |||||
| FundraisingCosts | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total 35,683 | - | - | 35,683 | 31,340 | ||||||
| Equipment Purchase 220 - - 220 120 Material costs 1,013 - - 1,013 758 Sub total 1,233 - - 1,233 878 Total payments 36,916 - - 36,916 32,218 A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) ~~——————~~ |
||||||||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end **Cash funds this year end ** |
22,027 - - 22,027 20,271 - - - - - - - - - - 22,027 - - 22,027 20,271 ~~====>=>~~ |
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Current Account Deposit Account Details Details Details Details Stepen Innes Joseph Whetham # Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 42,124 - 95,099 - - - 137,223 - Agreement Error OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Stephen Innes Joseph Whetham Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
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| - | |||
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| - | |||
| - | |||
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| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| Stepen Innes | Stephen Innes | ||
| Joseph Whetham | Joseph Whetham |
Christians in Schools Trust Charity Commission Number 1019846 Financial Year ending 51[st] July 2023
Independent Examiner’s Report on the accounts
I report to the Trustees of Christians in Schools Trust on the accounts for the year ended 31[st] July 2023
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:
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Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
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– to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act and
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– To prepare accounts whish accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act have been met.
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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 Mrs Jeanette Sumner