Registered Charity Number: 1100231
All our Children Trustee Report and Financial Statements for year ended 31st December 2023
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the Trustess of All our Children Registered Charity Number: 1100231
Respective responsibilities of the trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act")
The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the 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 applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act) and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of independent examiner's statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with 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 intems or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the 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 examiners statement
In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
3rd August 2024 Elaine Ward
13 Howard Road, Westbury Park, Bristol BS6 7US
All our Children
| All our Children | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement of Financial Activities | for the | year | ended | ||||
| 31st December 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Notes | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |||
| Income | |||||||
| Voluntary Income | 1 | (£ | 54,226) | (£ | -) | (£ 54,226) | (£ 98,515) |
| Total Income | (£ | 54,226) | (£ | -) | (£ 54,226) | (£ 98,515) | |
| Expenditure on: | |||||||
| Charitable activities | (£ | 58,067) | (£ | -) | (£ 58,067) | (£ 53,694) | |
| Total Expenditure | (£ | 58,067) | (£ | -) | (£ 58,067) | (£ 53,694) | |
| Net income / (expenditure) | (£ | (3,842) | (£ | -) | (£ (3,842) | (£ 44,821) | |
| Total funds brought forward | (£ | 78,999) | (£ | -) | (£ 78,999) | (£ 34,178) | |
| Total funds carried forward | (£ | 75,158) | (£ | -) | (£ 75,158) | (£ 78,999) |
| All our Children | ||
|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet as at | ||
| 31st December 2023 | ||
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| Current Assets | ||
| Cash at bank | -£ 75,158- | -£ 78,999- |
| Net Assets | -£ 75,158- | -£ 78,999- |
| Funds | ||
| Unrestricted funds | -£ 75,158- | -£ 78,999- |
| Total charity funds | -£ 75,158- | -£ 78,999- |
All our Children
Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st December 2023
| 1 Voluntary income received during the year is made up of: Donations Gift aid on donations Legacies Total Voluntary Income |
2023 -£ 45,281- -£ 8,945- -£ - - -£ 54,226- |
2022 -£ 56,280- -£ 7,235- -£ 35,000- |
|---|---|---|
| -£ 98,515- |
All Our Children (Reg. Charity No: 1100231)
10 Green Avenue
London W13 9RW
Trustees’ Annual Report 2023 (covering our financial year 1.1.23 to 31.12.23)
List of trustees during the period covered by the report
Liz Walton (Chair of Trustees), Tony Ward (Treasurer), Thomas Kelly, Zena Bentley and Richard Vokes.
Public Benefit Statement
We confirm that as trustees we have had regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and that we ensure the activities undertaken by All Our Children are in line with our charitable objects and aims.
There were no serious incidents in 2023.
Objectives and Activities
The main objective of All Our Children is the sponsorship of very poor children in Kabale, Uganda to attend school and to continue to further or higher education as appropriate. A visit is made each year to monitor progress. Led by trustee Zena Bentley we also support the development of a primary school in a remote location near Kygegwa. The funds raised for this project supplement the low school fees charged by the school, kept low to encourage school attendance by children from very poor families. A previously sponsored student, Turiohabwe Jack, now a university lecturer in IT, is supporting the school to develop its administrative procedures. He regularly provides information on its progress to us.
In 2023 Liz Walton, Chair of Trustees, and Lindsey Blake, an active supporter of AOC and volunteer, visited Kabale for two weeks in February. We visited all our sponsored students at school and met with teachers and school leaders to discuss their progress and identify any support needs. We invited the students to our hotel to choose items of clothing, shoes and school equipment from donations brought from the UK. We also bought other items locally which we thought to be essential for the students’ progress at school or their wellbeing. Nearly all the students board at school where they receive three meals per day and have supervised study periods in the early morning and evening. If they were day students and living at home, food would often be in short supply and studying without electricity very difficult. The students are aware of how lucky they are to be sponsored and all of them accept their responsibility to work hard and behave well. There is generally positive feedback on their progress. Any issues which arise are dealt with by our partner in Kabale, Tushabomwe Patrick. He also ensures anyone who is ill receives medical treatment.
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With our partner and adviser in Kampala, Atukunda Gertrude, who joined us for several days, we did our usual thorough examination of the spending on school fees, school equipment and holiday food. Patrick receives money from All Our Children each term from which he pays the school fees into the relevant bank for each school, purchases and distributes the additional school requirements, and does the same for the food we provide for each holiday to ensure that the students remain fed and in good health while not at school. Patrick produces detailed accounts each term and keeps all receipts for our inspection when we visit. Throughout the year we are in regular contact with him and never have any difficulty in keeping in touch. He responds promptly to any communications from us.
Achievements and Performance of All Our Children in 2022:
Sponsorships
Our sponsorship programme guarantees full support for students throughout their education until the point at which it is appropriate for them to leave formal education. This could be after the O level year for students for whom an apprenticeship would be a good next step or after a vocational diploma or university degree. This means that sponsorship for some students can last for 2 or 3 years at nursery school, 7 years at primary school, 6 years at secondary school and 3 years for a degree.
In 2023 we celebrated the progression to Kigezi High School (a prestigious secondary school in Kabale) of five students whom we first met at a street children centre and sponsored to attend a nursery school. They had all achieved the top division in the 2022 Primary Leaving Examination. Without sponsorship, they would never have been able to attend school. The teachers at the nursery school were amazed and overjoyed when told of their successful completion of primary school and acceptance at Kigezi High School.
Another great joy of our visit was meeting up with our twelve students who are at various stages of their courses at vocational college or university, having achieved well at O or A levels at school. All of them come from very poor families without the means to pay school fees and most were attending the centre for street children when we first met them. They are impressive, confident and ambitious young people.
Because our students are fully sponsored and their fees paid on time, they do not have the threat hanging over them, as so many Ugandan families do, of being “chased away” from school because of unpaid fees. This security clearly helps them do well in their education. It also makes them determined to support their siblings to attend school once they are earning and able to contribute to the family finances.
School Partnerships
During the 2023 visit, we contributed to the evaluation of a project we have been working on for several years. This project involved supporting teachers in schools in Kabale to develop active teaching and learning methods and behaviour management strategies to replace harsh punishments including corporal punishment. All our sponsored students attend schools participating in the project which
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meant that we could see the benefit to them of much more engaging lessons and better relationships with teachers. Most importantly, we were able to bring any issues the students raised with us concerning discipline and general welfare to the attention of the headteachers. The project represented a huge culture change for many teachers but has been successful in raising standards and awareness of the negative impact on learning and wellbeing of some of the traditional disciplinary methods. Our sponsored students were overwhelmingly positive about the changes. The Ugandan government is in the process of rolling out a teacher training programme and a new curriculum. Teachers in Kabale are ahead of the game!
Financial statement
Submitted separately.
Liz Walton (Chair of Trustees)
18.10.2024
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