Trustees. Annual Report for the period Period start date Period end date From To Section A Reference and administration details Charity name St Albans and Harpenden Christian Education Project Other names charity Is known by Step Reglstered charlty number (If any) 1091290 Charlty's prlnclpal address clo Verso Vineyard Church 7 Brick Knoll Park St Albans H8rts Postcode AL15UG Names of the charlty trustees who manage the charlty Dato8 actod If not for whole ear Tru8t•o namg OffSGg Ilf any) Namo of p•r•on {or body) ontltlod toa olnt trustee Ifan Philip Nicholas loannou Richard Clarke Will Treasure Secretary Treasurer Chair Graham Clarke Hannah Goatly Namés of the trustees for the charlty, If any, (for example, any custodlan Iru8to88) Name Dates act6d If not for whole ear Names and addresse8 of advlsers (Optlonal information) a of advlser Name Address Nam8 of chlof 6x•cutlve or names of senlor staff members (Optional information Director: Mr Christopher Birch-Evans TAR 2023124 Section B Structure, overnance and mana ement Description of the charity's trusts Type of governing document Trust Deed How the charity is constituted leg. trusi ociaiio ompani Trust Trustee selection methods elect Selected and appointed by existing trustees Addltlonal governance Issuès {Optlonal Informatlon) You may choose to Include additional information, where relevant, about.. The induction of new trustees is arranged according to the familiarity they already hav6 with Step and the role they are expected to play but to the extent that relevant ground had not already been cov8red in preliminary contacts, it would include briefings by the Chair of Trustees and the Director. policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; the charity's organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works., relatlonship with any related parties., trustees, conslderation of major risks and th8 System and procedures to manage them. Training Is undertaken as necessary to m8intaln the up to date knowledg8 and skills needed for the effective management of the charity. Step's baslc organisatlonal structure remains flt for purpose and was unchanged, with th8 truste8s exercising strategic oversight, and the Director, assisted by the Assoclate Director, responsibl8 for managing the charity on 8 day to day basis. Step's wlder n8twork in th8 community included active connections with 43 local churches, of which 29 provided at least one volunteer to help deliver services to the school8. The major risks identified by the trustees fall into two main areas: finance and safeguarding. Financlal risk is managed at a number of levels; there are clear processes for approval of individual items of expenditure according to the sum involved and, more strat8gically, the Treasurer circulates regular reports to trustees and managament giving a graphical, month by month summary of Income and expendlture and cash in hand. St6p's safeguarding obligations are fulfilled by the practical application of a suite of relevant policies and procedures, in particular the Safeguarding Policy. This is designed to ensure that all members of the Step team who hav8 contact with young people ar8 made clearly aware of their obligations and the appropriate responses in a range of contexts. TAR 2023124 Section C Ob-ectives and activities Summary of the objects of the charity set out In its governlng document Step aims to promote the Christian faith, teach Christian truth and uphold Christian standards in secondary schools in the district of St Albans and Harpenden. In the course of the year Step worked in 15 of the 17 secondary schools in the district, contributing to their life through both formal education, typically teaching individual lessons and running half and whole-day retreats and interactive serninars, and also less formal, non-taaehing activities, typically clubs, courses and mentoring. Step continued to teach topics ranging from insights into Christian beli8f and practice to contemporary lifestyle issues and moral, cultural and social questions. Informal education and support Included one-to-one mentoring, encouraging stud6nt-led Christian Unions, leading cours8s on leadership, loss, anxiety and Christianity and also running a wide range of other lunchtime activities. Summary of the maln activities undertaken for the publlc beneflt In relatlon to these objects (Include wlthln thls sectlon the statutory declaratlon that trustees have had regard to the guldance Issued by the Charlty Comml8slon on publlc bèneflt) In addition, Step engaged with local primary schools, offerlng 117 'Step Up, sessions to year 6 students transitioning to secondary schools. Step also continu8d Its mental health work, glvlng away 923 imatter journals to students seeking further ways to develop resilience and $81f- worth. The charlty contlnued to take an active part In external Inltiatives where these complemented the work in schools, for examp16 the "Verso Care" (formally FEED) programme. Thls not only beneflted those In partlcular areas of need in the wider community but also provided valuabl8 learnlng 8xperl&nces for the students, in particular opportunities to put into practice the Christian values of awareness and concern for others. The Trustees confirm that In plannlng and implementlng these activities they had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. Addltlonal detalls of obJectlv88 and actlvltles (Optlonal Infonnatlon) You may choo8e to include further statements, where relevant, about.. policy on grantmaking,. policy programme related investment; contribution made by volunteers. The charity did not make grants to any other organisatlons or Indlvldual8. The Charity invests in equipment not only to run the operation as efficiently as possible but also to facilitate lesson delivery, for 8xample use of hand-held devices and laptops, as needs arise and as funds allow. Step's body of 58 schools work volunteers have continued to play a critically important role in the delivery of the Charity's programme., 45 of these are "actlV6" defined as being involved in 10 or more activities. In addition, there are a further 8 volunteers who assist with administrative tasks. TAR 2023124 Section D Achievements and performance Summary of the main achlevements of the charity during the year Step's achievement during the year can be summed up as seeing steady demand in the scope and number of activities run in local schools increasing by 15 % compared to the end of the 2022123 acadernic year. As an indicator of the scale of Step's operation, the total number of activities delivered for 2023124 was 2,534. The biggest single category of activity was 1.165 lessons and workshops delivered alongside other activities as described in Section C above. Step has strategically sought to increas& its delivery of courses, which has incr8as8d by168 $8ssions, with a total of 688 sessions throughout the year. On an average term time week. Step engaged schools in 65 activities involving roughly 1,300 students usually in an hour long context. As seen by Step and the schools conc8rned, the programme has seen young lives chang6d for the better and their education enriched. Section E Financial review Brlef statement of the charlty's pollcy on reserves The key indicator used by the trustees to monitor the charity's flnanclal health is the period of time over which essential 8xpenditure could be maintained while drawing on the cash in hand - the "cash cover" The targeted status is cover of at least three months; if it were to be18SS than this, th8 Situation would be progr8ssively more closely monitored as cover dropp8d. A search for cost savings andlor further sources of Incom8 would be correspondingly ramped up. Detalls of any fund8 materlally In deflclt None. Further flnanclal revlow detalls (Optlonal Informatlon) You may choose to include addltional informatlon, where r818vant about., the charlty's principal sources of funds (including any fundralslng); how expenditure has supported the key objectlV8S of the charity; investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. The prlnclpal sources of funding were: pledged funding from local churches and individuals sympathetic to the Charity's principles and objectives., one-off glfts from the same sources, g8nerally designated for specific purposes or to meet particular needs made known by the ch8rlty; and grants from ch8rltabl8 foundations. Regular income from individuals and churches held up well. The Charity normally undertakes at least one major fundraising event a year. All expenditure was on the running costs of the Charity in pursuit of its objectives, with the majority on staff salaries. step holds surplus funds in savings accounts with institutions that are protected by the Financial Servicès Compensation Scheme. TAR 2023124 Section F Other optional information Section G Declaration The tru8teo8 declare that thèy have approved the trustees, report above. Slgned on behalf of the Gharlty's trustee8 Slgnatur8{8): Full name(s): Philip Nicholas loannou Posltlon: Trustee Date: TAR 2023124 |||**Charity Name**||||**No (if any)**|**No (if any)**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**ST ALBANS AND HARPENDEN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION P**|**1091290**
**ST ALBANS AND HARPENDEN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION P**||||||||| |||**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||||||**CC16a**|| |||01/09/2023
31/08/2024
Period start date
Period end date
**To**
**For the period**
**from**
~~eee~~|||||||||| |**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 £**|||**to the nearest £**|| |**A1 Receipts**|||||||||||| |Bank interest||**9,553**|**-**||**-**||**9,553**|||**1,246**|| |Designated income||**-**|**6,705**||**-**||**6,705**|||**12,268**|| |Gift Aid tax received||**11,174**|**-**||**-**||**11,174**|||**11,161**|| |Undesignatedgift income||**157,879**|**-**||**-**||**157,879**|||**349,966**|| |Furloughgrant received||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| |Covid statutorysickpay||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| |||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| |||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| |~~**_Sub total_**~~~~_(Gross income for_~~||~~_(Gross income for_~~|||||||||| ||_AR)_|_AR)_**178,606**|**6,705**||**-**||**185,311**|||**374,641**|| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total receipts_ 178,606**
**6,705**
**-**
**185,311**
**374,641**
~~—————~~|||||||||||| |**A3 Payments**|||||||||||| |Salaries and NI||**209,278**|**4,075**||**-**||**213,353**|||**190,508**|| |Rent||**7,200**|**-**||**-**||**7,200**|||**7,200**|| |Insurance||**1,104**|**-**||**-**||**1,104**|||**1,081**|| |Team development and training||**1,891**|**3,316**||**-**||**5,207**|||**3,598**|| |Office expenses||**6,535**|**-**||**-**||**6,535**|||**10,525**|| |Work at schools||**10,681**|**3,517**||**-**||**14,198**|||**12,095**|| |Communication||**2,799**|**-**||**-**||**2,799**|||**1,793**|| |||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| |||**-**|**-**||**-**||**-**|||**-**|| ||**_Sub total_ **|**239,488**|**10,908**||**-**||**250,396**|||**226,800**|| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total payments_ 239,488**
**10,908**
**-**
**250,396**
**226,800**
~~=————=~~|||||||||||| |**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||**- 60,882**
**- 4,203**
**-**
**- 65,085**
**147,841**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**247,522**
**8,324**
**-**
**255,846**
**108,005**
**186,640**
**4,121**
**- 190,761**
**255,846**
~~===>>~~|||||||||| CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 10/10/2024 1 |**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**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
Business Reserve Account
Current Account
Deposit Account
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**6,027**
**4,121**
**180,613**
**-**
**186,640**
**4,121**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||OK| ||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**When due**
**(optional)**| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||Date of
approval| ||||| ||||| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 10/10/2024 2 Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of The St ASbans and Harpenden Christian Education Project On accounts for the year ended 3110812024 Charity no (if any) 1091290 Set out on pages Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responsibilities of The charFty's trustees consider that an audtt is not required for this year trustee5 and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charrty Commission (under section 145{5)(b) of the Charities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordan￿ with general Directions given examinerfs ststement by the Charrty Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the acc£)unts, and seeking explanations from the trustees con￿mIng any such matters. The prO￿dureS undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audrt, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fairf view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has cL)me to my attention.. examiner's statement 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in. any material respect, the requirements.. to keep accounting records in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Charilies Act" and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met. or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: 30 September 2024 Name: lan Michael LaRivière Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): BSC, BA, MSC, DMS. Address: 141 Park Street Lane, Park Street, St Albans, Herts. AL2 2AX IER March 2012 Section B Disclosure Only complote If the examiner needs to highlight material problems. Give here brfef detalls of . any itemsthatthe examinerwishes to disclosg. IER March 2012