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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM
(A company limited by guarantee)
REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2023
Charity number 1098936
Company number 04638390
- SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM
»
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 January 2023
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List of Acronyms
| AEC | Amagezi Education Centre |
|---|---|
| DEFRA | Department for Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs |
| ICT | Information and CommunicationTechnology |
| IT | Information Technology |
| IWTCF | illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund |
| KCC | Kyabirwa Children’s Centre |
| KSN | Kyomya Special Needs |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MIDGs | Millennium DevelopmentGoals |
| NSSF | National Social Security Fund |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organisation |
| PAYE | PayAsYou Earn |
| PMP | Performance Management Process |
| PS | Primary School |
| SAVE | South African Volunteering Experiences |
| SC | Sub County |
| SEN | Special Educational Needs |
| SPE | Soft Power Education |
| SPEC | Soft Power Education.com |
| SPH | Soft Power Health |
| TEFL | Teaching English as a Foreign Language |
| TUSC | Transporting Uganda’s Sick Children |
| TEL | Telephone |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| UGX | Ugandan Shillings |
| UN | United Nations |
| UPE | Universal Primary Education |
| URA | Uganda Revenue Authority |
| USA | United States ofAmerica |
| USL | Uganda Sign Language |
| UWEC | Uganda Wildlife Education Centre |
| VSLA | VillageSavingsandLoanAssociation |
Y * Legal and administrative information Constitution
SoftPower Education.com is a company limited by guarantee (incorporated on 15 January 2003) and a registered charity (registered on 11 August 2003) governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. Charity number: 1098936 Company number: 04638390
Directors and trustees
The directors of SoftPower Education.com (“the charity” or “the company” or “SoftPower”) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees. The trustees are elected by a General Meeting of the board and serve for a period of two years or more, subject to certain rotation provisions.
The trustees serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:
Hannah Killingly Small (Chair of Trustees)
James Warrender Bayne Emma Oxnam
Moira Oliver Dr Janine Dixon Robert Johnson Natasha Rosenthall
Secretary
James Warrender Bayne
Registered Office
55 Guildhall Street Bury St Edmunds IP33 10QF
Bankers
HSBC plc Grosvenor Court 149 Whiteladies Road Bristol BS8 2RR
Solicitors
Russell Jones & Walker Solicitors 324 Grays Inn Road London WC1X 8DH
Accountants
David Roberton & Co 84 Whiting Street Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP33 1NZ
Trustees’ Report for the year ended 31 January 2023
The trustees are pleased to present their report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year to 31% January 2023.
The legal and administrative information set out on the preceding page forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice — Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
Objects of the Charity
SoftPower Education is a non-religious British registered charity working closely within the local community of[Jinja,] Uganda.
The objects of SoftPower are to:
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e Educate children and adults about cultures other than their own with a view to fostering mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds, and
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e Advance the education of children, mainly in the primary sector, in developing countries through the provision of teachers, equipment and the building of schools.
SoftPower’s original 7-year plan, which started in 2003 has been extended and is reviewed each year. The plan is primarily aimed at refurbishing, up to government standard, the 20 primary schools in the Jinja area. The schools are in varying states of disrepair and with the help of volunteers and donations that the charity receives it is able to build new classrooms, refurbish old ones and assist with teaching programmes.
Softpower’s programmes to achieve these objects are:
Pre-School Education
- ¢ Our two pre-schools, for 180 children from the communities of Buwenda and Kyabirwa, provide free of charge, high quality pre-primary education ensuring readiness for primary education. Over the past 20 years, our pre-schools have developed an outstanding track record through our fun and interactive approach to learning. Teachers from primary schools often praise our graduates and their readiness for the next step in their education.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
- e Working across 5 therapy clinic locations we offer free of charge physiotherapy and occupational therapy to over 100 families at Walukuba West Primary School, Kyomya Primary School, St Francis Health Clinic (Mbiko), Kyabirwa Special Needs Clinic and Bugembe Clinic. In addition, we support 24 children with disabilities to access daily education at Kyomya Primary School by running a residential unit, ensuring they are cared for by two full time matrons.
School Infrastructure Programme (SIP)
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e We partner with government primary schools to ensure pupils are learning in safe and conductive environments. Our work focuses on improving and/or building classrooms, pit
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latrines, water catchment systems, solar installations and teachers’ accommodation. We are known as a trusted partner thanks to over 20 years of successful partnerships with local government.
SPE ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2022/23
Staff Training — In April, the entire SPE team, alongside members of our pre-school Parent Teacher Association (PTA) & School Management Committee (SMC) took part in a two-day Child Protection workshop. This is a crucial topic to ensure the wellbeing of all of the children in our programmes. Following the training we strengthened our reporting and referral procedures to ensure that each and every concern was followed up and the necessary support was provided.
Team Building— Our team enjoyed two fun filled days of classic team building games and taking part in a mass floating trip as part of The Nile River Festival. Such events are a wonderful way for us all to get to know each other and to strengthen our working relationships.
Knitting — The knitting ladies had another successful year with their popular knitted animals, sold both by The Deli, Jinja and online. The addition of a Santa hat provided a popular option at Christmas. An impressive £3,162 was raised through the sales of the knitted items.
Staff Benefits - A happy and healthy team is as important to us as every other aspect of our work. The are integral to running successful programmes and we were delighted to introduce a weekly Friday Team Lunch and a Healthcare Support Policy.
Partnerships — We continued our partnerships with Solar Light for Africa, DENTAID, TUSC, EKISA and Soft Power Health.
PRE-SCHOOL PROGRAMME ACHIEVEMENTS 2022/23
Reopening of BPS and KCC — In January 2022, with a total of 174 pupils (KCC 90 & BPS 84) we were thrilled to finally be able to reopen our pre-schools. This was a hard transition for many of the children at the pre-schools after the two-year closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The children who had started at the pre-schools before the pandemic either went into top class or left to join the first year of primary school. The baby and middle classes were filled with new children, who were finally able to take their first steps into education. The soon transitioned into school life and were very happy to be learning alongside their friends.
Dentaid — We were visited by the wonderful Dentaid team, who provided free dental treatment to all of our pre-school pupils. We had only a handful of children who were reluctant to see the dentist! Following their visit, Dentaid kindly donated a free toothbrush for each child to keep at school. Every morning before lessons begin, all of the children brush their teeth to reinforce the importance of dental hygiene.
School Uniform — Our pre-school pupils are normally able to continue to wear their uniforms from the previous year but due to COVID none of them had any uniform! This year we provided everyone with two t-shirts and two skorts/pairs of shorts. The children were so excited and proud to be in their uniforms. They all looked very smart when they happily posed for photos!
New PTA & SMC - This year we refreshed the PTA and SMC at both pre=schools, with parents electing new members. We welcomed 3 to the KCC SMC & 3 to KCC PTA. At BPS we welcomed 4 to the SMC and 4 to the PTA. We met with these members a number of times throughout the year to discuss
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plans and any concerns/issues we the pre-schools. Their guidance is a crucial part of running the preschools. In December 2022, we provided each member with a Christmas food package as a thank you for their help and commitment during the year.
Rewarding pupils/parents — As an incentive and to appreciate our children at the end of Term 2, we awarded certificates and a prize of a bar of soap to 5 children in each class. The certificates were awarded across 6 categories, including best attendance and timekeeping, highest assessment grade, most improved, most heipful and great participation. The parents were appreciative of this recognition and for the soap — especially as the price of soap increased significantly during 2022.
Parent Training— The parent’s training focused on 3 main areas; Health & Hygiene, Nutrition and Jolly Phonics. We welcomed 3 external trainers who delivered incredible sessions to the parents: Margaret (activist, charity worker & friend of Solar Light for Africa), Ali (Kyabirwa’s resident garden guru), and 2 nurses from Soft Power Health. It was great to have external trainers working alongside the SPE team, and the parents responded well to them. We conducted a pre and post training questionnaire with the parents to be able to collect data on what they learnt on the day of the training. Each parent, who attended the training, left with resources so that they could make their own tippy tap and sack garden at their home. We addeda little healthy competition by grouping the parents into teams of 5. The group who completed the tippy taps and sack gardens at all 5 homes would win a prize.. a goat. The winning group from KCC had completed everything just a few hours after the training.
Pre-School Porridge — We have frequently been asked by the pre-school parents to provide porridge to the pre-school pupils. In 2022, it became clear that this was now an urgent need as teachers were reporting how pupils were coming to school unable to concentrate due to hunger. Many families had been adversely affected by COVID and were struggling to provide the basic necessities for their children. Thanks to an incredible response to an appeal we launched on social media, we took the decision to trial providing the pre-school children with porridge 3 days each week. Thank you so much to everyone who responded to our appeal and madea donation to enable us to trial this in Term 3.
The positive aspect of providing porridge was almost instantaneous! Teacher Anna said, ‘Children used to miss some days saying they are sick but since we began having porridge, they come all days of the week’. Teacher Deborah said ‘ Children are very happy because if they come with no snacks, they know they can have their porridge’. The impact was also visible in the attendance records — the attendance of Mybayente Lauza from Middle Class improved by 35%. Namutebi Nahimu (MC), Ngobi Rahim (BC), Magoba Faith (BC) all achieved 100% attendance in the month of September— an average 20% increase from the previous month before porridge was introduced.
Termly Reports - The teachers created monthly and end of term assessments for the pre-school children to track their progress against the learning objectives for each class. This is always a great opportunity for the teachers to assess any gaps in the children’s learning and to ensure lesson plans are adjusted for the next term. At Buwenda Pre-School 83 children took part and 65% of them achieved 80% or higher. At Kyabirwa Children’s Centre 87 children took part and 62% of them scored 30% or higher. Middie Class KCC pupil Bushira achieved an incredible 98% overall in her yearly assessment.
Attendance — We saw great attendance from both pre-schools this year, with porridge playing a key role! At BPS 76% of top-class pupils, 82% of middle-class pupils and 73% of baby class pupils achieved 90% attendance in the year. At KCC 100% of top-class pupils, 85% of middle-class pupils and 58% of baby class pupils achieved 90% attendance or more. KCC top class pupils, Prudence and Hajjara, achieved a brilliant 99% attendance, missing just 2 days in the entire year.
Home Visits — We conducted 3 home visits to each child this year; a home verification visit, a baseline pre-training visit, and an end line post training visit. Each time we were welcomed warmly by the families and collected the information needed. The pre-training questionnaire showed that none of the families at the 2 pre-schools had a working tippy tap. Post training showed that 84% of the BPS parents and 62% of the KCC parents installed a tippy tap following our training.
Christmas Party — COVID restrictions in 2020 and 2021 meant we couldn’t hold our usual events, such as our Pre-School Christmas Party. Unfortunately, 2022 was not drama free as Uganda saw an Ebola outbreak at the end of the year and we were forced to implement some prevention measures. This, sadly, meant holding separate parties for the two pre-schools without parents. The teachers and pupils had worked immensely hard at preparing their performances and they did not disappoint on the day! Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch, and some energetic party games.
Top Class Graduates — We were very proud to have 28 graduates from KCC top Class and 25 graduates from BPS top class at the end of the 2022 academic year. Our graduation ceremony was held during the Christmas party for the children. Unfortunately, the parents were unable to attend this year due to the Ebola restrictions in place. Each graduating pupil received a leaving pack consisting of 12 exercise books, 12 pencils a ruler, and eraser and a sharpener. Each pupil also received an official graduation photo thanks to a local photographer who spent the day with us. The teachers were extremely proud to see the children graduating and progressing to P1 but also sad to say goodbye to them. For KCC Head Teacher, Deborah, it was a special moment as this was her first graduating class.
Jolly Phonics Days — We held 3 Jolly Phonics Days for the pre-school children, focusing on 9 sounds per class. Each Jolly Phonics day had new and exciting activities and homemade resources and snacks relating to the separate sounds ranging from balloon painting to chapatti making! The children and teachers alike really enjoy the Jolly Phonics days as an alternative day of learning.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) Programme — Achievements 2022/23
Clinic Attendance — Our clinics continue to register new children as new parents are told about the services we offer. In 2022/23 a total of 145 children received therapy during 1,862 individual therapy sessions at 247 clinic sessions. 7 children individually attended 45 therapy sessions each or more and saw the benefits of this regular attendance. A special mention goes to Mama Thomas who attended 73 therapy sessions in 2022. She said ‘lam so much happy that my boy can now walk on parallel bars because in the beginning | thought he could not make it. | thank Soft Power Education and the therapists for the work they have done with my child’.
SEN Parent Training — We hosted 5 training sessions for parents/carers and community members, which were attended by 250 people in total. The post training questionnaires following the session on sleep positioning saw a 93% increase in parent’s knowledge. The parents are always very thankful for these opportunities to learn more about how they can support their children. These sessions are particularly important for the newer members of our programme as they allow an opportunity to interact with families from across our clinic locations. The support the mothers provide to each other is a crucial part of our programme as seeing the progress of other children provides important motivation to continue with therapy.
Clinic Space — We were grateful to be able to relocate our Bugembe clinic from a small cramped room to a wide-open space at a local church. This church has also been very generous in allowing us to use their facilities for free and to host several of our training workshops, including our Cerebral Palsy (CP) Celebration Day in October 2022.
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Rewarding Parents — For the first time, we introduced reward packages to show our appreciation to some of our most committed families and as an encouragement to others to be consistent in their attendance.
8 parents were rewarded with items worth £60,000ugx each. They received 2kg bags of sugar, 2 bars of soap, one small flask and 1 pack of diapers each. Parents were decided based on their attendance from the time of enrolment and how actively they are involved in clinic therapy sessions and home activities.
Kyoma Residential Unit — Our Kyoma Residential Unit was finally able to welcome children back in 2022. The children were delighted to be back with their friends under the loving care of our matrons. Hajjab and Susan. Unfortunately, not all the children returned as several families did not want to send their children back to school after COVID or simply couldn’t afford the costs. We were very pleased to have 3 children sit for their end of primary school leaving exam. It was a huge achievement for both the families and the children when we heard that all three had passed the exam. Families came to visit their children during the termly visitation days and they are always excited to spend time with their parents after being away from home.
Community Workshops — Community sensitisation was organised and conducted for the community members and SEN parents in Mbiko and this was attended by 39 community members including parents of SEN children. This sensitisation workshop was organised as a result of some parents of SEN children facing stigmatisation because of the negative attitude of the community towards them. The community also used to use inappropriate names for children with SEN. The sensitisation workshop brought awareness on different disabilities and children living with them. At the end of the workshop, 71% of the participants were very satisfied with the workshop, 19% were quite satisfied and no one was dissatisfied. 90% of the participants were willing to attend such workshops again in the future.
Assistive Devices — Thanks to a very generous donation from the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust, we were thrilled to be able to supply assistive devices to many of the children in our SEN Programme. A total of 25 Cerebral Palsy (CP) support chairs, 10 wheelchairs, 20 standing frames and 8 knee and ankle splints (KAFO’s/AFOs) were distributed during the year.
Assistive devices can be life changing for children with disabilities. A CP chair for a child who has previously only been able to lie on the ground means that they can suddenly see and participate in the world around them. Sitting in an upright position also brings significant improvements in breathing and digestion. Fatia received a wheelchair, which has allowed her to attend school for the first time. Viola was delighted with his wheelchair and declared that he now has “his bicycle”.
Our SEN team dedicated a lot6 of time to delivering the devices to the families and empowering the parents/carers to be able to support their children with the correct usage of the devices as well as key elements of maintenance.
Family Support — In 2022 we provided additional support to some of our most vulnerable children. Hilda had not been attending therapy for an extended period so our Social Worker visited the family. Hilda was sick and malnourished as the family had been struggling to provide necessities. We stepped in to provide food packages and paid for Hilda to receive milk supplements from Soft Power Health. Hilda’s family situation has now improved and after 6 months of milk supplements, Hilda is also thriving again. We supported a number of other families in similar circumstances but sadly some the children did pass away following prolonged sickness.
Cerebral Palsy Day — On the 6" of October, we welcomed 75 parents with their children to celebrate 8.
: : world CP Day. It was truly a day of celebration and a pleasure to host Rashid Titus, a member of the Uganda Association for Cerebral Palsy, a support group for people living with CP in Uganda, who delivered an inspirational speech to the 75 mothers who attended. It is vital that we can inspire our families through incredible role models like Rashid. In addition, several of our mothers spoke passionately about the difficult journey they have faced. They all spoke with joy about the progress their children have made, thanks to the therapy that we have been able to offer them. Our parents left messages such as “I am proud to be a mother of a child with CP” and another one wrote “I appreciate you for the courage, support and hope you have given to me”.
Christmas Parties — We organised a Christmas party for all the SEN parents and their children in our 4 clinics. The party was held on the 20" January 2023 due to the Ebola restrictions that were in place at the end of 2022. We welcomed 67 parents with their children who enjoyed many activities including face painting, pass the parcel and some games for the parents too. Gifts of clothing were given out to all the children in the programme, which the parents were very grateful for. The KSN pupils also enjoyed a day of fun before the end of term 3 where they designed Christmas cards for their parents and enjoyed all of the usual party games. They too received gifts of clothing to take home.
School Infrastructure Programme (SIP) Achievements 2022/23
Busiya 1, Two Classroom Block Construction — In December, we completeda building project with a special donation in memory of Sarah Hall. Sarah was a teacher so it was fitting to build a classroom block in her memory. A huge thank you to Sarah’s family for this donation. Our team of 14 builders, under Swaibu’s leadership, worked nonstop for 12 weeks to ensure the classroom block was finished before Christmas. It was an exciting and special project for us all at SPE as our School Infrastructure Programme (SIP) came to an abrupt halt due to COVID-19. SIP has always been at the heart of SPE with hundreds of schools in Uganda benefiting from our projects. It felt good to be back doing what we love! Busiya 1 Parents’ Primary School has now had a brand-new 2 classroom block — much to the delight of the pupils and teachers. In a survey before we started the project, 77% of the teachers said the classrooms were too overcrowded but hopefully these 2 classrooms will ease some of that congestion. The Head Teacher of this school is possibly one of the most proactive and passionate Head Teachers SPE has come across. We are thrilled to play a part in helping to provide this schooi and the learning environment for its pupils.
Buwala Library Construction — In 2019, we welcomed a large group of UK Scouts who funded 3 projects at Buwala PS, Bubugo PS and Bituli PS. After the completion of[the][ three][projects,][ the][balance] of money was assigned to provide an additional project to Buwala PS but COVID prevented us from completing this work.
In 2022, after consultation with the leadership at Buwala PS, it was agreed that a small library facility would be constructed to provide a home for the books that were locked away in the head teacher's office.
The project was completed in August 2022 and we hope to provide some solar light in the near future.
Solar Light for Africa — Our long-standing partnership with Solar Light for Africa, continued to thrive in 2022.
The team installed solar lights to the classrooms, dormitories, office and store at St Francis de Salles School for the Deaf.
The addition of light to a school where everyone is communicating in sign language cannot be underestimated. The pupils and the staff were immensely grateful for this addition as regular, prolonged power cuts had made communication difficult in the dark.
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This team, also, generously, installed some additional solar lights to the KCC compound to help combat some theft challenges we had been facing.
Fundraising 2022/23 — We thank each and every person who made a donation, held a fundraising event or spread the word about our work in Uganda. Your support means everything to us. We cannot fail to mention our Irish friends who went above and beyond in their support of SPE through John Conroy, raising almost £20,000. We hope we will be able to welcome some of you to Uganda in 2023.
On the 8* October we were finally able to host our first Jazz Fundraiser since COVID forced us to stop them. The event took place at a new location at The Jazz Centre UK in Southend with an all-star line up including Digby Fairweather, Karen Sharp, Julian Marc Stringle, lan Bateman, Dave Green, Craig Milverton and George Double. A huge thank you to James Bayne for continuing to organise these events as well as everyone who came to support. We hope to host two more events in April and October 2023.
Trusts & Foundations — ALMT continued to support us and it was thanks to their support that we were able to provide assistive devices to the SEN children.
The Four Acre Trust once again supported us through their final matched funding campaign and we were delighted to receive the full £10,000 to match the £10,000 from our generous donors. ELMA Philanthropies have been a long-standing partner and supported us through the second year of a three-year funding.
Thanks to the trust which supports out Knitting Project, which once again allowed us to donate knitted chickens to Francis House Children’s Hospice for their own fundraising.
Campaigns — Thank you to everyone who supported our Porridge Campaign and Christmas Appeal raising over £3,000.
Our Plans for 2023/24
Pre-School Programme Plans 2023-24 — We look forward to the 2023/24 academic year, hopefully without interruption. Our registration days will take place in January and we will continue to review and strengthen this process in partnership with the local leaders, SMC and PTA to ensure the places are awarded to the most deserving families.
We will continue to provide ongoing professional development to our pre-school teachers through a Jolly Phonics refresher training. This training will also be offered to the P1 teachers of[the][local][primary] schools, where our pre-school pupils progress to, and other local ECD centres. Following the successful trial of providing porridge, we plan to continue to implement this in the new academic year. We will continue to monitor the impact of this provision. We will host parent training days to empower our parents in the areas of health and hygiene. We plan to run some female specific sessions following requests from several parents in 2022. We will continue to provide outstanding pre-school facilities for the families of Kyabirwa and Buwenda, which focus on learning through having fun.
Special Educational Needs (SEN) Programme Plans 2023/24 — We will continue to provide crucial support to more than 100 families of children with disabilities in Jinja through providing free-of-charge physiotherapy, occupational therapy and educational support.
We will continue to support 24 children with disabilities through the Kyomya Residential Unit, ensuring that children can access daily education and complete primary school without the risks of travelling to school. We will host termly visitation days to reinforce the participation of the parents in their child’s education.
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We will further our holistic support to the families in our programme according to the needs of the families whilst also broadening our support through income generating programmes.
We will continue to be part of a strong network of SEN organisations in Uganda working together to improve the lives of children with disabilities.
School Infrastructure Programme (SIP) Plans 2023/24 — Our key objective for this new year is to build the new home for Buwenda Pre-School, which we were unable to achieve in 2022/23 due to funding constraints. The current Buwenda Pre-School building is woefully inadequate and we look forward to being able to replicate the lush green environment that the Kyabirwa Pre-School offers.
We hope to further support the library building at Buwala Primary School through the provision of shelving and books from other party organisations.
We will continue to support Solar Light for Africa in installing light into teacher's houses at government primary schools.
We will finalise the painting of the new two classroom block at Busiya 1 Parents’ Primary School and hand the facility over to the school.
On behalf of the Trustees.
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J W Bayne
Director
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Date serene Zoe eey, L028 as cssunsnsntes
independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of SoftPower Education.com
| report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 January 2023 which are set out on pages 13 to 18.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 {the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
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e examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act; ° follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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e state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity 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 accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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d, 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 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and ° to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities have not been met; or
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2 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
‘ %,
Stephen Cook MA FCA
David Roberton & Co Chartered Accountants 84 Whiting Street Bury St Edmunds > Suffolk IP33 1NZ 27 Ochs 02.
SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 January 2022
{including income and expenditure account)
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | |||
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | ||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Incoming resources | |||||
| Activities forgenerating funds: | |||||
| T Shirt and pottery sales | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Donations | 3 | 111,193 | O | 111,193 | 92,025 |
| Gift aid tax reclaimed | 7,262 | 7,262 | 9,392 | ||
| Fundraising | 2,900 | 2,900 | 702 | ||
| Interest received | 230 | 230 | 8 | ||
| Other income | 18,933 | 18,933 | 9,850 | ||
| Total incoming resources | 140,518 | O | 140,518 | 111,977 | |
| Less costofgenerating funds | 4 | 6,630 | 6,630 | 1,628 | |
| Net incoming resources available | |||||
| forcharitable application | 133,888 | QO | 133,888 | 110,349 | |
| Charitableexpenditure | |||||
| Direct costs ofschools project | 4 | 155,319 | O | 155,319 | 111,148 |
| Support costs ofmanaging the schoois project | 4 | 2,135 | 2,135 | 4,924 | |
| Managing and administering the charity | 4 | 6,800 | 6,800 | 5,057 | |
| Total charitable expenditure/resources | |||||
| expended | 164,254 | Q | 164,254 | 121,129 | |
| Movement in totalfunds forthe year - | |||||
| net income fortheyear | -30,366 | 0 | -30,366 | -10,780 | |
| Transfer between funds | 0 | 0 | |||
| Fund balances broughtforward | 183,608 | O | 183,608 | 194,388 | |
| Totalfundscarriedforward | 8 | 153,242 | O | 153,242 | 183,608 |
The statement offinancial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM Balance Sheet at 31 January 2023
| Notes | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | £ | E | |
| Tangible assets | 6 | 269 | 665 |
| Current assets | |||
| Debtors | 7 | 8,971 | 9,385 |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 151,426 | 189,099 | |
| 160,397 | 198,484 | ||
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | 7,424 | 15,541 | |
| Net current assets | 152,973 | 182,943 | |
| Total assets lesscurrent liabilities | 153,242 | 183,608 | |
| Creditors: amounts falling due afteroneyear | - | ||
| Total assets | 153,242 | 183,608 | |
| Funds | |||
| Unrestricted | 8 | 153,242 | 183,608 |
| Restricted | 8 | ft] | QO |
| 153,242 | 183,608 |
These Accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small entities.
For the financial year ended 31 January 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 Companies Act 2006; and no notice has been deposited under section 476. The trustees acknowledge their responsibility for ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and preparing accounts which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the year and of its profit or loss for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of section 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, so far as applicable to the company.
Approved by the trustees on27 October 2023 and signed on their behalf by James BayneCompany number 0463839a
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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2023
1 Accounting policies
- The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
a Basis of accounting
- The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) issued on 16 July 2014, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.
b Incoming resources
- Voluntary income is received by way of donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Income from the sale of T shirts, sponsorships and other fund raising activities are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. The value of the free services provided by volunteers has not been included.
c Resources expended
- Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis.
d Depreciation
-
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset over its expected useful life, which in all cases is estimated at 3 years. Individual assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost.
-
e Foreign currency
-
Donations received and resources expended during the period in Uganda have been translated into sterling at the average rate of exchange for the year. Any gains or losses on exchange are included in the Statement of Financial Activities. Foreign currency balances are translated into sterling at the exchange rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. Any gains or losses on exchange are included in the Statement of Financial Activities.
-
f Funds
-
Unrestricted funds are avaiable for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
-
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrcitions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
2 Legal status of the charity
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of a winding-up is limited to £1.
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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
| 2023 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| 3 | Donations | ||
| General donations | 111,193 | 92,025 | |
| 4 | Total resources expended | ||
| Cost ofgeneratingfunds | |||
| General fund-raising and marketing expenditure | 6,630 | 1,628 | |
| Direct cost ofschools project | |||
| Building materials and tools | 15,956 | 139 | |
| Project staffcosts | 110,133 | 93,094 | |
| Miscellaneous other direct project costs | 29,230 | 17,915 | |
| 155,319 | 111,148 | ||
| Support costs ofmanagingthe schools projects | |||
| Wagesand salaries | 0) | 0 | |
| Transport depreciation | 0 | 1,744 | |
| Plant and machinery depreciation | 0 | 0 | |
| Office equipment depreciation | 396 | 1,737 | |
| Communications and office costs | 1,739 | 1,443 | |
| 2,135 | 4,924 | ||
| Managementand administration ofthe charity | |||
| Bank charges | 500 | 263 | |
| Other management and administration costs | 6,300 | 4,794 | |
| 6,800 | 5,057 |
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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
| 2023 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| 5 | Staff costs and numbers | ||
| Staff costs | |||
| Salariesandwages | 110,133 | 93,094 |
The average weekly number of employees (including paid volunteers) during the year, calculated on the basis of full-time equivalents, was as follows:
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin staff | 3 | 3 | |||
| Project staff | 20 | 20 | |||
| Volunteers | 0 | ie) | |||
| 23 | 23 | ||||
| Tangible fixed assets | |||||
| Plant& | Furniture | Motor | Computer | Total | |
| machinery | &dfittings | vehicles | equipment | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Cost | |||||
| At 1 February 2022 | 18,836 | 3,156 | 61,883 | 18,354 | 102,229 |
| Additions | 0 | a) | ¢) | 0 | 0 |
| At 31January2023 | 18,836 | 3,156 | 61,883 | 18,354 | 102,229 |
| Depreciation | |||||
| At 1 February 2022 | 18,836 | 3,156 | 61,882 | 17,690 | 101,564 |
| Charge forthe year | (9) | 0 | 396 | 396 | |
| At 31January 2023 | 18,836 | 3,156 | 61,882 | 18,086 | 101,960 |
| Net book value | |||||
| At31January2023 | [¢) | [1] | i | 268 | 269 |
| At31January2022 | ie) | 0 | 1 | 664 | 665 |
6 Tangible fixed assets
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SOFTPOWER EDUCATION.COM Notes to the financial statements (continued)
| 7 | Debtors | 2023 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||||
| Gift Aid receivable | 7,241 | 7,430 | |||
| Other debtors | 1,730 | 16 | |||
| 8,971 | 7,446 | ||||
| 8 | Analysis ofnetassets between funds | ||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
| funds | funds | funds | funds | ||
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Fixed assets | 269 | 269 | 665 | ||
| Net current assets | 152,973 | QO | 152,973 | 182,943 | |
| 153,242 | QO | 153,242 | 183,608 |
8 Analysis of net assets between funds
The restricted fund related to funding received in respect of the Murchison Outreach DEFRA-IWTCF ((illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund) project.
9 Movement in funds
| Movement in funds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
| funds | funds | funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| As at 1 February 2022 | 183,608 | Q | 183,608 |
| Movement in the year | -30,366 | 0 | -30,366 |
| Transferbetween funds | i] | 0 | |
| Asat31January2023 | 153,242 | Q | 153,242 |
10 Related party transactions
Some of the expenses of the charity have been met as a donation in kind by certain of the trustees. The value of these expenses and services could not be quantified and therefore has not been included in these financial statements.
There were no other related party transactions.
No trustee received any remuneration in their capacity as trustee.
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