OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2023-03-31-accounts

Charity registration number 1086306

Company registration number 03978344 (England and Wales)

LEARNING FOUNDATION

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

LEARNING FOUNDATION

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Mr D Burrows
Mr W McLean
Ms I Brannen
Mr T Kane
Mr S Bethel (Appointed 15 June 2022)
Ms B Clarke (Appointed 15 June 2022)
Charity number 1086306
Company number 03978344
Registered office 3rd Floor
86-90 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4NE
Auditor Kirk Rice LLP
The Courtyard
High Street
Ascot
Berkshire
SL5 7HP
Bankers Lloyds TSB
49 High Street
Godalming
GU7 1AT

LEARNING FOUNDATION

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 7
Independent auditor's report 8 - 10
Statement of financial activities 11
Balance sheet 12
Statement of cash flows 13
Notes to the financial statements 14 - 24

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The Trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act and the sole members currently, submit their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. In preparing their report and the financial statements of the charity the Trustees have complied with the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” 2005.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

The Learning Foundation, through its initiative the Digital Poverty Alliance, research and associated programmes, has identified key determinants which lead to digital exclusion. The key issues relate to equipment and connectivity, access, capability, motivation and support, although there are also other issues such as home environment and socio-economic challenges.

These are the key concepts we are looking to address in our work, which focuses on two main areas: advocacy and research to create social change, and direct delivery of services and support – including through our DMS scheme and Tech4Families.

Current Mission and Charitable Objects

Our mission is: “We will inspire and support schools and families across the UK to take positive action so that every schoolchild in this country can benefit from good access to learning technologies when and where they need them.”

Charitable objects as stated in our constitution: “The charitable advancement of education, in particular of those who have a social or economic disadvantage or who have disability, through the provision or assistance in the provision of information, learning and communications technology.”

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

How Will We Do This?

Our work will focus on tackling the factors through four core strategic aims:

Strategy

The Learning Foundation has a long history in tackling inequality caused by a lack of access to digital tools. Our Donation Management Service provides support to schools looking to engage with digital on a 1:1 basis, and for many years this has been at the core of our work.

The Digital Poverty Alliance, set up in response to the pandemic and the need to drive digital inclusion more broadly, aims to unite the digital inclusion sector across all areas of civil society, with the aim of ending digital poverty once and for all within the UK. We do this through advocacy, research, community building and delivery of projects.

Structure

All staff report to the Chief Executive currently. Functions include management of the Donation Management Service, advocacy, communications, project support, partnership development, and administration. Matters of strategic, operational, financial and governance day to day running of the organisation are delegated to the Chief Executive.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The organisation has a flat structure with staff reporting to the Chief Executive or to the Chief Operating Officer. Employees are consulted on issues of concern and interest to them by means of regular team meetings. They are also kept informed on specific matters directly by management through e-mail and ad-hoc meetings. The charity carries out exit interviews for all staff leaving the organisation. The charity has implemented a number of detailed policies in relation to all aspects of personnel matters including:

These are set out in detail in a Staff Handbook.

The Foundation is fortunate to have a number of people to call on as volunteers for short term support where needed. Currently we have a pool of people who provide occasional support – normally just a day or two although certain activities have needed longer support. We thank them for everything they do and bring to us.

Achievements and performance

In 2022, the focus of the charity remained on communicating the impact of digital poverty, continuing to benefit from a significant donation made by Currys plc in the previous year. We began the year by launching the Evidence Review curated by Dr Kira Allman, which synthesised over 100 reports from the previous year as well as building in consultation evidence and the results of our Parliamentary Summit. The launch event was held at the House of Lords, and saw widespread coverage, bringing out six key insights which would form the basis for our National Delivery Plan.

Another highlight from the start of the year was the launch of Tech4Families, which remains a flagship scheme. Launching its first phase in May 2022, this became the focus of in-store donations made within Currys stores. Thanks to a partnership with Pennies, Currys customers were able to donate 25p in store with their purchases. Parents and carers would then be able to apply for a laptop for their school age child, beginning in five areas - Norfolk Coast, Staffordshire, West Cumbria, Ayrshire and Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot. The set up of this was a major operational focus, and also saw us undertake a series of roadshow events in each of the areas, meeting families, Currys colleagues and talking to the press in each area. We were able to secure separate funding to use the programme to assess the impact of laptops in families that have previously been mobile first. It is expected that this will demonstrate the importance of children having access to keyboarded devices in improving educational outcomes.

As well as these two core projects, we also focussed on the delivery of our first two Proof of Concept projects.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Thanks to grants from Barclays and Intel, we were able to expand Tech4Teachers’ second phase to provide 750 devices through 75 schools. Working with University of Wolverhampton we set up the formal evaluation of the scheme, which will see the launch of a white paper demonstrating the importance of teachers having access to devices, connectivity and digital literacy support.

Tech 4 Prison Leavers kicked off within the community, funded by Intel. The project would seek to help c20 men to overcome the barriers of criminal convictions. With the project still underway, by the end of the year we had learned much about the challenges faced by those leaving prison, including the instability and difficulties in accessing secure, long term housing, and the impact on this of being able to participate in any programme to raise aspirations and develop new skills. A white paper on this will follow next year, with the aim of identifying key changes required to allow male prison leavers to access employment and build their own wellbeing in an ever more digital world. We thank our other partners on this programme who are providing pro bono support in a range of ways – including Capgemini, Vodafone, CGI, We Are Digital, iDEA and Nacro. The scheme is again evaluated by the University of Wolverhampton.

The policy focus of the charity moved to the creation of the National Delivery Plan, where we have convened six expert panels – one for each of the key insights from the Evidence Review, to create meaningful actions. The National Delivery Plan will set out a phased approach to ending digital poverty once and for all by the end of the decade, with actions refreshed annually to take account of progress, opportunities, risks and technological advances.

As well as DPA activity, the Learning Foundation continued to focus on its core work of the Donation Management Service. Having invested in our new cloud platform on which this service runs, we are embedding this to support our existing grantee schools, and will be looking in the next year to expand the number of schools that we are able to work with.

The Learning Foundation also began a programme with Amazon, who provided IT equipment to over 20 schools to enable 1:1 device schemes. Teach First and In Kind Direct were additional participants within this programme, and the work is being evaluated by University of Nottingham Trent.

The profile of the Foundation’s work, especially the Digital Poverty Alliance, has rapidly grown over the past year, with growing press and media coverage, invitations to speak at conferences, and an expanding footprint through digital marketing and social media.

Internally, the Foundation focussed on continuing towards best practice in governance and risk management. We refreshed our Staff Handbook, and modernised a number of staff policies. Our team remains entirely remote, meaning we continue to spend our funds on people not premises, and ensuring we can recruit talent from across the country, rather than one location. We invested staff time in a full move to the cloud, saving us IT costs relating to a physical hosted server, and enhancing cyber security both through systems and staff training. We also held extensive staff training on GDPR and Data Protection, including on the relevance of these policies to working with children.

During the year, the Trustees approved changes to our Articles. These changes were mainly to modernise the language, remove clauses which were no longer required, and reflect the agreed introduction of term limits for Trustees.

Towards the end of the year our Chief Executive, Paul Finnis, informed us of his intention to step down after eight years leading the charity. Paul had achieved a great deal over his tenure – including the development of the ENABLE system behind the DMS, the inception and formation of the Digital Poverty Alliance, and the bringing together of a wide variety of partner organisations to sit as part of that Alliance, and the Trustees thanked him for his commitment and dedication.

Since the end of the reporting year, the Trustees asked the Chief Operating Officer, Elizabeth Anderson, to move first into an Interim CEO role, and then latterly promoted her into that role on a permanent basis.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Financial review

We continued to fund much of our DPA work through its second year from the large grant received from Currys previously. We also received grant funding from Intel for our Tech4Teachers and Tech4Prison Leavers programmes. This grant was made in US dollars, and we benefited from the exchange rate at the time of the transaction, which meant that the funds received were higher than predicted.

Parental donations contributed £977,412 to our income, which is restricted income directly granted to schools. We continued, in addition, to receive other ad-hoc donations, including towards our wider Learning Foundation work, and restricted to the Digital Poverty Alliance.

Whilst our outgoings were greater than our income, this was expected for this year, as we continued to use the funding provided by Currys for the initiation of the Digital Poverty Alliance. A major focus remains on generating further funding from corporates, the public sector and charities. The Foundation has not received, nor sought, government funding for over ten years.

Reserves policy

As part of the management of risk, the Foundation recognises the need to retain free reserves to enable it to work to a long term strategy without the need to make short term adjustments forced on it by temporary deficits in funding. The Foundation has no regular guaranteed sources of income but does have fixed operating costs in terms of activities required to maintain its presence and further its charitable objectives. The Trustees believe that a target of 6 months cover of all operating costs, plus an estimated cost of closing the charity down in an orderly manner, is a reasonable target of reserves to carry forward.

The target level of free reserves is based on forward budgets and forecasts and takes into account anticipated future income flows adjusted to reflect the risk of non-receipt. The funds received in the 2020 commitment from Currys (was Dixons Carphone at the time) and others has meant that we started and ended the financial year with considerably more than our minimum of 6 months core operating costs in reserves.

Much will still depend on the confidence and engagement by schools and therefore use of our services in achieving the core LF budget. Owing to the risks inherent in the assumptions used in forward planning, the reserves policy and the adequacy of current reserve levels is reviewed regularly, and this was conducted during the year and led by the Chairman and our Finance Committee Chairman, Mr Tom Kane.

Investment policy

Funds not immediately required for the running of the charity or for the furtherance of its objects are placed on deposit with the charity’s bankers to generate interest as part of the Foundation’s treasury management operations. In practice, this is rare and we have not invested funds outside of normal banking arrangements for a number of years. No other investment instruments or facilities e.g. equities, bonds or unit trusts are approved by the board. No investments were made during the year.

Risk management

During the year the Trustees re-examined the major strategic, business and operational risks that the charity faces and the existing risk register was updated accordingly. A programme continues to be in place for the regular monitoring and management of risk on an ongoing basis.

Structure, governance and management

The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee number 1086306, incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 registration number 3978344 on 17 April 2000, and formally launched at the House of Commons in February 2001 following application to the Charity Commission. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association, last amended on 8 July 2003.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

Mr D Burrows Mr W McLean Ms I Brannen Mr T Kane Ms V Thompson (Resigned 19 September 2023) Mr S Bethel (Appointed 15 June 2022) Ms B Clarke (Appointed 15 June 2022) Mr D Norrish (Resigned 14 June 2023)

The Trustees regularly review the skill set of the board and match this against the requirements of the business plan. On this basis they are able to review the make-up of the board and if necessary recruit new members to fill any apparent gaps or vacancies. New Trustees may be sought by open advertisement, through specialist recruitment agencies and more commonly through recommendation.

Prospective Trustees are reviewed by the Chairman whose recommendations for Trustee appointments are then put before the full Board for approval. Prospective Trustees are invited to attend a Board Meeting as observers to meet the other Trustees and confirm their continued interest to act as a Trustee before the appointment is recorded at Companies House and with the Charities Commission. This is followed by an induction session with the Chief Executive to brief each new Trustee on the detailed operations and operating policies of the Foundation.

This was the fourth full year under the Chairmanship of Niel McLean, a long-standing Trustee and supporter of the Foundation. Since the end of the year we are reporting on, we were joined by two new Trustees - Stephen Bethel and Beverly Clarke and we thank them for making this commitment to us. Neelam Parmar stepped down as a Trustee during the year having accepted a new role based in Asia – we wish her well with her new role, as did Leigh Smyth in order to take up consultancy with the charity.

The Board of Trustees meets on at least four occasions during the year. The board delegates the finance function to the Finance Committee chaired by Mr Tom Kane, for recommendations to the Board. Given the size of the organisation other specialised governance work is taken on either by the whole board or through an individual Trustee. This work includes on areas such as risk, fundraising, employment & remuneration. as recruitment of a new CEO. At least once each year the board reviews both its Risk and Reserves policies.

Relationships between the Foundation and other parties - the Foundation has an additional company called E- Learning Enterprises Limited which has not and does not currently trade. Whilst we cooperate with a wide variety of commercial, governmental and NGO organisations, our contracted relationships are limited to the supply of operational services (including for IT, accountancy and audit, and PR), as well as subscriptions to various software services.

Public benefit

The principles of public benefit, as defined by the Charity Commission, are regularly reviewed and the Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance and their belief that the Learning Foundation provides identifiable benefits to a section of the public.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Statement of trustees' responsibilities

The trustees, who are also the directors of Learning Foundation for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Learning Foundation’s systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss, and include:

I would like to thank my board for their enthusiasm, commitment and for their input, advice and guidance without which I and the Foundation would not be as effective. I would also like to thank the staff at the Foundation for their continued energy and hard work.

Auditor

Our auditors are Kirk Rice. Their work and ours is supported through Hedley Dunk who provide us with day-to-day financial support.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

..............................

Mr W McLean

Trustee

18/12/2023 Date: .............................................

LEARNING FOUNDATION

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEARNING FOUNDATION

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Learning Foundation (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

LEARNING FOUNDATION

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEARNING FOUNDATION

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Our audit approach was developed by obtaining an understanding of the charities' activities, the key functions undertaken on behalf of the trustees by management and by service organisations, and the overall control environment. Based on this understanding we assessed those aspects of the charities' transactions and balances which were most likely to give rise to a material misstatement and were most susceptible to irregularities including fraud or error. Specifically, we identified what we considered to be key audit risks and planned our audit approach accordingly.

We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charity and the industry in which it operates, and considered the risk of acts by the charity which were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud. These included but were not limited to compliance with Companies Act 2006, FRS102, Charities Act 2011 and SORP.

We designed audit procedures to respond to the risk, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion.

We focused on laws and regulations that could give rise to a material misstatement in the company financial statements. Our tests included, but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. As in all of our audits we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including testing journals and evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by the trustees that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE TRUSTEES OF LEARNING FOUNDATION

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Graham Jennings (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Kirk Rice LLP

18/12/2023 .........................

Statutory Auditor

The Courtyard High Street Ascot Berkshire SL5 7HP

Kirk Rice LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds funds
2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022
Notes £ £ £ £ £ £
Income from:
Donations and
legacies 3 196,168 1,481,918 1,678,086 790,384 1,219,618 2,010,002
Charitable activities 4 139,395 - 139,395 129,024 - 129,024
Investments 5 1,064 - 1,064 99 - 99
Total income 336,627 1,481,918 1,818,545 919,507 1,219,618 2,139,125
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 6 27,961 - 27,961 12,567 - 12,567
Charitable activities 7 974,597 1,165,414 2,140,011 1,276,784 1,078,693 2,355,477
Total expenditure 1,002,558 1,165,414 2,167,972 1,289,351 1,078,693 2,368,044
Net (outgoing)/incoming
resources before
transfers (665,931) 316,504 (349,427) (369,844) 140,925 (228,919)
Gross transfers
between funds 578,941 (578,941) - - - -
Net expenditure for the
year/
Net movement in funds (86,990) (262,437) (349,427) (369,844) 140,925 (228,919)
Fund balances at 1 April
2022 478,647 407,139 885,786 848,491 266,214 1,114,705
Fund balances at 31
March 2023 391,657 144,702 536,359 478,647 407,139 885,786

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

2023 2023 2022 2022
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13 5,580 10,331
Current assets
Stocks 14 9,399 199,200
Debtors 15 138,991 65,621
Cash at bank and in hand 672,453 856,232
820,843 1,121,053
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year 16 (290,064) (245,598)
Net current assets 530,779 875,455
Total assets less current liabilities 536,359 885,786
Income funds
Restricted funds 144,702 407,139
Unrestricted funds 391,657 478,647
536,359 885,786

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2023, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011.

The director acknowledges his responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. 

18/12/2023

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on .........................

..............................

Mr W McLean Trustee

Company registration number 03978344

LEARNING FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

2023 2022
Notes £ £ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash absorbed by operations 20 (180,207) (252,613)
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (4,636) (4,208)
Investment income received 1,064 99
Net cash used in investing activities (3,572) (4,109)
Net cash used in financing activities - -
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (183,779) (256,722)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 856,232 1,112,954
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 672,453 856,232

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Learning Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. In assessing the charity's ability to remain a going concern, the trustees have considered the level of future minimum outgoings of the charity in comparison with the available funds and expected future incomings. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Endowment funds are subject to specific conditions by donors that the capital must be maintained by the charity.

1.4 Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Parental donations collected via the Donation Management System (DMS) are included when receivable. Incoming resources generated from sponsorship and advertising are included when receivable. Income from equity investment is accounted for an ex div date basis. Bank and other interest is accounted for on a receivable basis.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.5 Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.

Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is conveyed to the recipient except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attached under the control of the charity are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure. The directly attributable costs of processing grants and applications, including support to actual and potential applicants are included in charitable activities. The activity of Grants Payable does not receive any allocation or estimated proportion of non-directly attributable costs or other overhead costs.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Fixtures and fittings 25% straight line Computers 25% straight line

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

1.8 Stocks

Stocks of donated goods are recognised at the fair value (being the estimated market value) of the goods at the time they are received with a corresponding entry to income. Stocks are recognised as an expense at the time they are donated to the charity's beneficiaries.

1.9 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.10 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.11 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

3 Donations and legacies

Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds funds
2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £
Donations and gifts 196,168 1,481,918 1,678,086 790,384 1,219,618 2,010,002
Donations and gifts
Digital Poverty Alliance 45,838 - 45,838 775,000 - 775,000
Donations of less than £2,000 including parental donations from DMS - 977,412 977,412 32,756 1,064,521 1,097,277
Tech4Teachers - 140,448 140,448 11,000 140,000 151,000
Donated laptops relating to Digital Poverty Alliance 68,000 - 68,000 - - -
Gift Aid contributions on DMS income - 19,038 19,038 - 15,097 15,097
Tech 4 Schools - 25,000 25,000 - - -
Tech 4 Prison Leavers - 140,448 140,448 - - -
Tech 4 Families - 179,572 179,572 - - -
Pennies Donations 58,167 - 58,167 - - -
Other 24,163 - 24,163 - - -
196,168 1,481,918 1,678,086 790,384 1,219,618 2,010,002

All restricted DMS donations are included in the grants paid back to the schools.

Gift Aid refunds are claimed from HM Revenue and Customs on eligible donations made through the DMS, 90% of which is granted back to schools in the DMS scheme, with the remaining 10% retained by the charity and put towards administration of the scheme.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

4 Charitable activities

General General
fund fund
2023 2022
£ £
Commissions, conferences and admin fees 139,395 129,024
5 Investments
**Unrestricted ** Unrestricted
funds funds
2023 2022
£ £
Interest receivable 1,064 99
6 Raising funds
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2023 2022
£ £
Fundraising and publicity
Conference & exhibition costs 6,275 12,154
Other fundraising costs 21,686 413
Fundraising and publicity 27,961 12,567
27,961 12,567

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

7 Charitable activities

Grant funding Grant funding School
Campaigning
Campaigning		 Sustainable Sustainable Support Total Total
of activities support Fundraising
2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Charitable projects - 504,674 - - - 504,674 912,707
Grant funding of activities (see note 9) 1,001,784 - - - - 1,001,784 1,078,693
Share of support costs (see note 8) - 324,080 57,947 87,240 124,076 593,343 328,980
Share of governance costs (see note 8) - - - 40,210 - 40,210 35,097
1,001,784 828,754 57,947 127,450 124,076 2,140,011 2,355,477
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - 665,124 57,947 127,450 124,076 974,597 1,276,784
Restricted funds 1,001,784 163,630 - - - 1,165,414 1,078,693
1,001,784 828,754 57,947 127,450 124,076 2,140,011 2,355,477

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

7 Charitable activities

(Continued)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Grant funding Grant funding School
Campaigning
Campaigning		 Sustainable Sustainable Support Total
of activities support Fundraising 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £
Charitable projects - 912,707 - - - 912,707
Grant funding of activities (see note 9) 1,078,693 - - - - 1,078,693
Share of support costs (see note 8) - 188,316 29,412 53,567 57,685 328,980
Share of governance costs (see note 8) - - - 35,097 - 35,097
1,078,693 1,101,023 29,412 88,664 57,685 2,355,477
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - 1,101,023 29,412 88,664 57,685 1,276,784
Restricted funds 1,078,693 - - - - 1,078,693
1,078,693 1,101,023 29,412 88,664 57,685 2,355,477

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

8 Support costs

Support costs
Support
Governance		 2023 Support
Governance		 2022
costs costs costs costs
£ £ £ £ £ £
Staff costs 493,676 - 493,676 222,504 - 222,504
Depreciation 9,387 - 9,387 16,347 - 16,347
Communications 441 - 441 1,008 - 1,008
Irrecoverable VAT 8,056 - 8,056 43,616 - 43,616
Travel 15,300 - 15,300 2,598 - 2,598
Premises & general
office 19,538 - 19,538 8,420 - 8,420
IT & telecommunications 25,547 - 25,547 17,662 - 17,662
Accountancy fees 18,410 - 18,410 13,498 - 13,498
Bank charges 2,988 - 2,988 3,327 - 3,327
Audit fees - 6,000 6,000 - 6,975 6,975
Legal and professional - 34,210 34,210 - 28,122 28,122
593,343 40,210 633,553 328,980 35,097 364,077
Analysed between
Charitable activities 593,343 40,210 633,553 328,980 35,097 364,077

Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £6,975 (2022- £6,000) for audit fees.

9 Grants payable

Grant funding
Grant funding
of activities of activities
2023 2022
£ £
Grants to institutions:
Other 1,001,784 1,078,693

All grants payable were made to institutions participating in the DMS programme from funds that were restricted to use for that purpose only.

10 Trustees

Trustees' expenses

Travel expenses reimbursed for trustees during the year were £424 (2022: £nil).

One of the charity's former trustees, Ms L Smyth, received remuneration from the charity during the prior year in the sum of £101,100. Of this, during her time as a Trustee, she was paid £47,000. Following their initial appointment, the individual continued their work on a pro bono basis from 1st February 2022.

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

11 Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
2023 2022
Number Number
Administration 10 5
Employment costs 2023 2022
£ £
Wages and salaries 493,676 222,504
The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000
is as follows:
2023 2022
Number Number
£60,001 - £70,000 2 1

During the accounting period, the charity paid £18,891 (2022: £6,518) to a defined contribution scheme for the above higher paid employees, excluding salary sacrifice. There were 2 (2022: 1) such employees accruing benefits under the money purchase scheme.

12 Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxationof Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

13 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Fixtures and Computers Total
fittings
£ £ £
Cost
At 1 April 2022 428 38,771 39,199
Additions 101 4,535 4,636
At 31 March 2023 529 43,306 43,835
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 April 2022 107 28,761 28,868
Depreciation charged in the year 133 9,254 9,387
At 31 March 2023 240 38,015 38,255
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2023 289 5,291 5,580
At 31 March 2022 321 10,010 10,331

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

14 Stocks
2023 2022
£ £
Donated goods 9,399 199,200
15 Debtors
2023 2022
Amounts falling due within one year: £ £
Trade debtors 36,090 30,000
Other debtors 75,110 35,177
Prepayments and accrued income 27,791 444
138,991 65,621
16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2023 2022
£ £
Other taxation and social security 12,483 10,442
Trade creditors 26,457 14,066
Other creditors 247,857 214,440
Accruals and deferred income 3,267 6,650
290,064 245,598

Other creditors relates to DMS grants due to be paid out to schools at the year end.

17 Retirement benefit schemes

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. Pension costs are allocated in proportion to the related staffing costs incurred and are wholly charged to unrestricted funds.

18 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Restricted
**Total **		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds funds funds funds
2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022
£ £ £ £ £ £
Fund balances at 31
March 2023 are
represented by:
Tangible assets 5,580 - 5,580 10,331 - 10,331
Current assets/(liabilities) 530,779 - 530,779 468,316 407,139 875,455
536,359 - 536,359 478,647 407,139 885,786

LEARNING FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

19 Related party transactions

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).

20 Cash generated from operations 2023 2022
£ £
Deficit for the year (349,427)
(228,919)
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities (1,064) (99)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets 9,387 16,347
Movements in working capital:
Decrease/(increase) in stocks 189,801 (199,200)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (73,370) 198,159
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 44,466 (38,901)
Cash absorbed by operations (180,207)
(252,613)

21 Analysis of changes in net funds

The charity had no debt during the year.