## **SHEFFIELD MUSIC SCHOOL- Charity Number 1038515 Trustees’ Report for the year ended 31 August 2022** 

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2022. 

## **Objectives and Aims** 

- To run workshops and events promoting musical performance 

- To provide ensemble and band opportunities with expert tuition 

- To provide high quality general musicianship skills, including music theory and composition 

- To generally promote active music making and musical learning 

## **Achievement and activities** 

In September 2021 we returned to in-person music school at our regular Sheffield High School.  The register of students remained below 20 students, creating financial difficulty particularly with regard to paying venue fees.  The decision was made to relocate to a building with lower rates and in a community-based location.  For the spring term of 2022, Saturday music school moved to its new location of Manor Lodge Primary School. 

Outreach initiatives in 2021-2022 included Tracks events, funded through the Sheffield Council’s Healthy Holidays and Activities Fund, during the Christmas and Easter term breaks and during the summer holidays.  These events have been very well received and future funding is anticipated to run Tracks again in 2022/23.  SMS also partnered with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a special song-writing workshop and performance at the Sheffield City Centre Fan Zone celebrating the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022. 

Tracks has also led to a connection with Virtual Schools, who provide and fund activities for lookedafter children.  Virtual Schools funded additional places at Tracks for looked-after children and some follow-up funding for looked-after children attending on a Saturday morning.  There are plans in place to work more closely with Virtual Schools from Jan 2023 to develop our offer for looked-after children and young people. 

The band mentorship scheme has continued and as well as rehearsal support, SMS has provided gigging and recording opportunities for the band, Sunburst along with an interview in Exposed magazine.  Mentorship of female identifying young musicians has had a slower uptake, however, through continued work with Tracks we hope to establish a female group within the mentorship scheme for 2022/23. 

After the move to Manor Lodge school, we worked to develop our links to the community through the school.  We offered bursary places to children from the school, increasing our provision to include small group beginner keyboard and ukulele classes alongside a pop choir.  We hope to build on these community ties into 2022/23. 

Since moving to Manor Lodge, the register has grown to over 40 students, many of these being new starters as the Seniors group has reduced significantly after the move.  This decrease was due partly to the move, as former students decided not to follow us to the new location, but was also due to students in their GCSE year deciding to cut back on activities.  The new joiners are a mixture of students who attended Tracks, were invited through Manor Lodge Primary School, and some who found us through our webpage.  New joiners are predominantly joining through our bursary scheme rather than fee payers, as was traditionally the case.  Increasing our funding to continue to expand our 

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bursary offer into 2022/23 will provide a challenge but also demonstrates that we are succeeding in widening the musical opportunities available to children and young people in Sheffield. 

## **Financial Review** 

SMS pupil invoiced income improved somewhat from the previous year, up from £10,566 to £13,769, however invoices were no longer the principal funding source.  Council funding through both the Healthy Holidays Activities and Food (HAF) initiative and Children Looked-after funding brought in a total of £25,820. Grants from local trusts made up a further £10,271.  Private donations and fundraising events made up the remainder of the total income. While the total income nearly doubled from 2020/2021, the majority of the funds were tied up in special project work and so funding for the day-to-day running of SMS, including the regular Saturday morning music school, remained precarious.  Cashflow problems were, however, lessened in comparison to the previous year.  Moving forward, SMS must begin to build up free reserves through developing a sustainable income structure.  The main funding source, HAF, is secured at least for the next financial year but is unlikely to continue past 2023/2024 as it is a central government initiative designed with a limited timescale. 

The current account balance ending 31 August 2022 was significantly better than originally forecasted, though some of the monies are restricted to cover outstanding invoices from the HAF summer project.  Various funding applications were submitted over the summer, the outcomes for which should be confirmed by October/November 2022.  In addition to a fundraising drive for 2022/2023, there will be a continued focus on developing the bursary fund and recruitment. 

## **Reserves Policy** 

The charity policy is to maintain £3,000 in free reserves to cover outstanding hire fees in the event of foreclosure.  Free reserves are currently at £1,296.  The charity is not yet in a financial position to rejuvenate the free reserves.  This situation will be kept under review. 

## **Future Plans** 

Future plans are focused on developing Saturday Music School to meet the changing needs and interests of the students.  For Junior music school, small group beginner ukulele and keyboard classes have proven popular and the choir is continuing to grow. Numbers in Senior music school are very low though the rap/production class has been a good addition to Saturday mornings, with potential to grow over the coming year. 

Upcoming project work includes expanding the mentorship programme, though this is dependent on funding bids submitted over the summer.  Young people for the mentorship programme will be recruited through the Tracks programme as well as from Flourish, the mental health charity, and general enquiries from our website or word of mouth. 

Tracks is planned to run again during the Christmas term break of 2022, Easter 2023 and summer 2023. 

Online music theory has proved less popular now that face to face work has been fully reinstated.  Online teaching will therefore not continue into the new term. 

Recruitment for the bursary scheme through Manor Lodge Primary School and Tracks has been largely successful and will continue into the coming year. 

The ensemble offer to adult amateur musicians has been less popular and is no longer financially viable and will not continue for the foreseeable future. 

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## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust. 

## **Organisation Structure** 

Trustees are Lesley Blyth (Chair), Peter Hurst, Sam Olley and Tessa Sawyer. 

Two new trustees joined at the AGM in June 2022; Kate Grigsby and John Revis.  Lesley Blyth stepped down as a trustee and John Revis was nominated as an interim chair while the charity works to recruit a permanent trustee to take on the role of chair. 

The day-to-day running of the charity is undertaken by the Director, Lucy Revis, and Tessa Sawyer, who was given the role of General Manager in 2021 in recognition of the increased responsibilities she was undertaking in her role with the charity.  There is no longer a Head of Juniors as Tim Page stepped back from this role, there are no plans to recruit for this position as Junior music school has been significantly restructured. Chris Noble remains of Head of Seniors.  Other tutorship roles are filled on a freelance basis as needed.  All paid staff roles within the charity operate on a freelance, self-employed basis. 

## **Governance** 

The trustees meet at least three times a year to agree overall strategy and check all governance matters.  The trustees hold an Annual General Meeting which is open to all those associated with Sheffield Music School. 

Safeguarding policies were reviewed in December 2021.  Risk assessments and safeguarding amendments were undertaken periodically throughout the year to meet the requirements of specific project work. 

## **Management** 

Tessa Sawyer oversees the payment process for all freelance staff, including the Director, Head of Seniors, and tutors.  Tessa Sawyer also provides freelance administrative and managerial support to the Director.  Tessa Sawyer, Lesley Blyth and Peter Hurst are bank signatories. 

The independent examiner for the charity is Rod Ismay. 

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## **SHEFFIELD MUSIC SCHOOL - Charity Number 1038515** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31[st] August 2022** 

This financial statement has been prepared to comply with the requirements set out in Part VI of the Charities Act 1993 and where appropriate the related Accounts and Report Regulations issued in 1995, 2000 and 2005. 

The Accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis and the following summary accounts for all money received and paid out during the financial year 2021/22. There is also a statement giving details of our assets and liabilities at the end of the year. 

Tessa Sawyer – Treasurer 19 June 2023 

## **Summary of Income and Expenditure** 

||**2020/21**<br>**£**|**2021/22**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|
|**Receipts**|||
|Student Fees|10,566|13,769|
|Fees from previous year|0|0|
|Concerts|0|318|
|Grants, Awards and Donations|17,120|38,258|
|Other Income|0|402|
|**Total Receipts**|**27,686**|**52,747**|
|**Payments**|||
|Staff Fees Paid|24,480|43,382|
|Rental for premises|762|172|
|Master Classes|966|0|
|Music|0|0|
|Concert Expenses|0|2,388|
|Other Expenditure|1,982|3,190|
|**Total Payments**|**28,190**|**49,132**|
|**Surplus/(Deficit)**|**(504)**|**3,615**|



## **Summary of Funds** 

|**Summary of Funds**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**2020/21**<br>**£**|**2021/22**<br>**£**|
|Total opening funds||6,064|5,560|
|Surplus/(Deficit)||(504)|3,615|
|Total closing funds||5,560|9,175|
|**Assets & Liabilities at Year-end**||||
|Current A/C||4,088|7,412|
|Deposit A/C||1,296|1,296|
|PayPal A/C||106|397|
|Cash in hand||70|70|
|**Total funds**||**5,560**|**9,175**|
|||||
|Restricted funds b/f||2,180|4,436|
|Add further restricted donations||12,700|35,591|
|Less Expenditure||10,444|35,425|
|Restricted Funds before transfers||4,436|4,602|
|Transfers from unrestricted fund||||
|Restricted funds c/f||4,436|4,602|
|Unrestricted funds c/f||1,124|4,573|
|**Total funds**||**5,560**|**9,175**|



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## **Summary of 2021/22** 

This year has seen an increase in total funds of £3,615. 

Student fees, including the bursary scheme, increased by 30% (£3,203).  There was an increase in fee paying students, from 20 to 26, and overall student numbers for Saturday music school have increased to a total of 42 students, with 16 new starters on full bursaries. The bursary funds were boosted substantially in May 2022 by £2,000 financial contribution from Manor Lodge Primary School to allow any child from the school to attend Saturday Music School for free. Term time project work, Tracks, was fully funded by the council’s HAF scheme.  Across all three Tracks programmes, a total of 122 young people attended. 

The financial situation was somewhat precarious throughout the year but especially so in the winter term when student fees only covered about half the staff fees and none of the venue hire fees.  This was offset by grants from local funding bodies but the situation was clearly unsustainable.  The winter term was shorter than the normal 10-week term in an effort to keep rent affordable. However, rent costs at Sheffield High School were still too high. Partnering with Manor Lodge Primary School by moving Saturday music school to the new location in the spring of 2022 removed rent costs, thus significantly reducing SMS’ core costs. 

Due to the commissioned Tracks project work, staff costs rose by 77% (£18,970), compared to 2020/21, and other expenditures also increased, from £1,982 to £3,190.  This increase was budgeted as part of the running costs for the out-of-term Tracks projects and included media and advertising costs as well as travel expenses for visiting musicians. Concert expenses included a special gig at the Leadmill as part of the Tracks summer 2022. 

The increase in reliance on grants, private donations, and council funding has significantly changed the way SMS operates financially.  While this has increased the total income, it has also meant that large parts of SMS income are reserved for Tracks and mentorship project work.  Securing funding for core costs and regular Saturday music school has been stubbornly difficult.  Smaller grants from local funding bodies, including the Coop Community Fund and Sheffield Town Trust, have helped to cover staff fees for Saturday music school.  Moving forward, applications will be made to Youth Music and other funding bodies to try and secure funding to cover core costs over the long term.  It is anticipated that student recruitment will continue to focus on widening participation with bursary students joining from Tracks and Manor Lodge Primary School.  Funding from HAF has already been agreed in principle for 2022/23, with Tracks expected to run over Christmas, Easter and summer term breaks in 2022/23. 

The winter term concert in December 2021 raised a total of £318.  One of the mentee bands performed at the Sharrow Festival as part of a mentorship programme commissioned by the Sharrow Community Forum with a grant of £6,854. 

Regular staff for Saturday music school remained unchanged from the previous year, with the exception of Tim Page who left music school in February 2022.  Tracks project work engaged various freelance staff, some of whom had previously worked at Tracks as well as some new staff.  Due to the nature of the Tracks and other short-term project work, freelance staff will continue to be engaged as and when needed. 

Rod Ismay has kindly agreed to review our accounts. He has made no charge for this service, and I would like to thank him on behalf of the Trustees and Director for his generosity. 

Tessa Sawyer Treasurer 19-June-2023 

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## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** 

## **Section A                        Independent Examiner’s Report** 

**Report to the trustees/ members Sheffield Music School of** 

**On accounts for the year ended 31 August 2022 Charity no 1038515** 

**Set out on pages 1 to 5** 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31 August 2021** 

**Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

I have completed my examination.  I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: 

- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or 

- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

**Signed:** 


**Date:** 19 June 2023 

**Name:** Rod Ismay 

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**Relevant professional** FCA. Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales **qualification(s) or body (if any):** 

**Address:** 74 Silverdale Road, Sheffield, S11 9JL 

## **Section B                           Disclosure** 

> [Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, ] Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). 

**Give here brief details of any** N/A **items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 

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