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2025-03-31-accounts

ACCESSART 2025

Annual report and Financial Statements of AccessArt (A company limited by guarantee) Company number 05110197 Charity Number 1105049

For the year ending 31 March 2025

Trustees’ Annual Report

Report prepared by: The Trustees of AccessArt for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity Name: AccessArt

Charity Registration Number: 1105049

Company Registration Number: 5110197

Principal Address: 6 West Street, Cambridge, CB23 7DS

Trustees during the year:

Independent Examiner:

Missieki Martin Limited,

Chartered Management Accountants, 10 Parkway Crosby Liverpool L23 0ST

Bankers:

The Co-operative Bank, 75 Burleigh Street, Cambridge, CB1 1DF

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Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31st March 2025

The Trustees of AccessArt present their Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2025.

The directors of AccessArt Limited (“the charitable company”) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as its trustees. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Statement of Recommended Practice 2005 “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” and the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees have pleasure in presenting the charitable company’s report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Structure, Governance and Management

AccessArt is a registered charity governed by its constitution adopted on 30 March 2004. The charity is managed by a board of trustees who meet regularly to oversee strategy, compliance, and delivery of charitable objectives. Trustees are recruited through open calls and are inducted through a structured process including review of governance documents and safeguarding policies.

Objectives and Activities Charitable Objectives

AccessArt’s charitable purpose, as set out in its governing document, is to advance education in the visual arts for the benefit of the public. Our mission is to inspire and enable high-quality, inclusive visual arts education for all.

Aims and Strategy

We aim to ensure that children, young people and lifelong learners, have access to meaningful and creative experiences in visual arts. We support educators by providing high-quality resources, professional learning opportunities, and advocacy for the importance of visual arts in education and wider society.

Public Benefit

The trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty under section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

AccessArt’s activities are designed to advance education and increase access to high-quality visual arts learning. While much of our content is delivered through a low-cost membership model, we ensure affordability by keeping subscription fees as low as possible and by offering significant free resources to support broad access.

We aim to reduce barriers to participation by making free sample resources, guidance materials, and advocacy content publicly available, and by supporting schools and educators across a wide range of socio-economic contexts. Our model ensures sustainability while continuing to deliver genuine public benefit through inclusive and practical support for visual arts education.

Achievements and Performance Overview

AccessArt is a UK charity, founded in 1999, dedicated to championing high-quality, inclusive visual arts education for all. In 2024, we proudly celebrated our 25th anniversary - a milestone that reflects our long-standing commitment to expanding access to high-quality, inclusive arts education,

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empowering learners and educators to realise their creative potential, and championing the value of visual arts across education and society.

This mission is fulfilled primarily through the creation and sharing of resources on www.accessart.org.uk, alongside the delivery of online and in-person CPD events and support for educators, learners, and creative practitioners. We also prioritise the development of a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse creative community.

Key Achievements (April 2024 - March 2025)

Resource Development and Innovation

We continue to develop and maintain an extensive library of visual arts teaching resources, accessible to members through our online platform. These resources are designed to be inclusive, practical, and adaptable across a range of educational contexts and learner needs. We published 64 new resources during the year, extending our rich library of materials designed to support highquality visual arts teaching and learning across settings. 22 of these resources came from external contributors. In addition to working with existing contributors, we collaborated with 6 new artists/artist educators on resources. We also expanded our Talking Points selection by 18 to continue encouraging diversity among the artists and disciplines explored in educational contexts.

Building on last year’s success, we expanded our Primary Art Curriculum offer with 3 new pathways, offering teachers even more choice and flexibility. In response to wider cultural moments, we created the AccessArt Olympics initiative, enabling learners across diverse settings to engage creatively with current global themes. We created 16 new pathways that schools could choose from, exploring themes of Olympic Values, History, Athletics and Ceremony.

AccessArt Lab Studio Space.

Another major development this year was the launch of our first physical studio space - AccessArt Lab - based at Stapleford Granary in Cambridge. Led by Paula Briggs, our Creative Director and CEO, the Lab is a dynamic, creative hub designed to foster collaboration between artists and educators from diverse settings. As well as hosting a half-term 4-day workshop with a group of young people, we also ran a series of morning workshops for practitioners and educators.

The studio enabled us to make progress shaping our KS3 offer, providing us with the space and freedom to explore ideas as they occurred. Activities and pedagogies weave in and out of each other, and we are deliberately giving ourselves permission to stay in an emergent space – a space of “notknowing” – rather than rush to an outcome which is defined too soon.

We supported teachers, school leaders and artist educators across the UK through in-person workshops, online webinars, email support, and guidance documents - helping them to embed creative, confident visual arts education in their schools and other settings.

Teacher Support and CPD

This year also saw 27 online CPD sessions and events delivered, attracting 2,603 attendees, strengthening our support for teachers and schools. The majority of our online CPD is recorded and made available to members after the live event ensuring we make them as accessible as possible. Our total membership grew by 3.8%, reaching 23,500 by the end of March 2025. We also engaged our wider community through 18 mailouts to a mailing list of 44,000 subscribers.

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Collaboration remained central to our CPD programme, with 21 speakers contributing to sessions throughout the year. We also utilised our audience reach to support external projects. We created an online event with Alice Kettle to share her callout for portraits for an exhibiting piece, Hear my Voice: Portraits , giving pupils the opportunity to be a part of a major artwork.

A key development was the launch of the Tiny Art School Movement, which supports artisteducators in recognising their impact and exploring new models for working with their local communities. To further this work, we began gathering case studies in a variety of settings, recognising the power of grassroots art education.

Community Engagement

Alongside our ongoing support for educators, we looked outward to engage learners and schools directly through large-scale creative events. To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we organised our firstever AccessArt Draw-Along event, an online live webinar in which we demonstrated drawing activities to be shown across schools and other educational spaces. An AccessArt record-breaking 1,150 participants took part, drawing along with us, with each participant joined by a cohort of pupils-estimating a total of 22,500 participants. Then in September, we welcomed 167 participants to our Primary Art Curriculum Celebration , featuring CPD by Sarah Mackenzie, demonstrating the far reaching impact and enthusiasm for these resources.

By March 2025, our Facebook community had grown to over 6,000 members — a vibrant and supportive space where educators and artists connect, exchange ideas, and share their practice. Our Instagram presence also saw significant growth, engaging a community of 4,100 followers by yearend. Over the year, we posted nearly 600 pieces of content, resulting in a 552% increase in reach and a 100% increase in audience interactions, highlighting the platform’s importance in extending our visibility and fostering meaningful engagement.

Members of the team visited two schools in London to explore how AccessArt is being used in practice. These visits helped us understand both the impact of our resources and the areas where educators might benefit from further support.

We introduced an option for artist educators to join the AccessArt Map - helping them raise their profile while enabling teachers to connect with local creatives.

Equity and Inclusion

We have been committed to growing and expanding our audience range to support as many educational settings as possible, in and outside of mainstream education. We expanded our offering to hospital education and a free membership option to hospices to acknowledge the benefits of art and wellbeing in vulnerable settings. We also created offering pages for home educators and SEND, as well as Trusts and trainee teachers in ITT (Initial Teacher Training), ensuring that we give new teachers the best opportunities to build their understanding of art, and its place in the National Curriculum. Alongside this, we collated a page of Art and Wellbeing resources to highlight the importance of art as a tool to express and process, which will be an area of focus for the future.

We continued to develop and highlight our core values, working with illustrators to bring them to life.

Advocacy and Partnerships

AccessArt continued working as an active member of the Council for Subject Associations as one of the two Subject Associations for Art. We promoted the value of visual arts in education and society

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through advocacy campaigns, partnerships with cultural and educational organisations, and our continued presence in national conversations about arts education. Our CEO was active in responding to a change in government and the impact this may have on art education. We built a space on the website Art Educaton: Moving Forward with Confdence and Vision to share our vision for the future with our audience and demonstrate how, as a subject association, we are advocating for the arts. Our CEO was immediately instrumental in coming forward with recommendatons advocating for our members.

AccessArt joined forces with the National Education Union in May 2024, acting as a leading coalition organisation in the NEU Arts Apocalypse , which later became the Arts & Minds Campaign. Members of the AccessArt team attended the launch of the Arts and Minds Campaign in February 2025. We worked with NEU to provide feedback surrounding the launch to ensure that the aims of the group are met, including greater collaboration, enabling ideas and greater inclusivity.

AccessArt contributed a thoughtful response the DfE Curriculum and Assessments Review. You can find our response to the Interim Report here (link to htps://www.accessart.org.uk/accessartresponse-curriculum-review-interim-report/).

We initiated an open leter to Bridget Phillipson, Lisa Nandy, and Keir Starmer, which gathered over 1,400 signatures from our supporters and members. To strengthen our advocacy with data, we launched a national survey to better understand school arts budgets. Our CEO attended key sector events, including the All Party Parliamentary Group for Art , Craft and Design Education and the Council for Subject Associations Conference in June. In December, we presented our vision at the APPG for Art, Craft & Design Education . That presentation - When We Hold Art Education in Our Hands - can be viewed here.

We are committed to sharing our advocacy with our audience in real time, helping them to understand how we are representing them through the evidence brought to light from campaigning and providing our solutons.

AccessArt looks forward to continuing to work in partnership with arts and cultural organisations and umbrella bodies, recognising that we have a wealth of experience and vision to offer, and that we are stronger together.

Plans for Future Periods In 2025-2026

In 2025-2026, AccessArt will focus on four key strategic priorities: advocacy and representation, curriculum development, audience engagement, and digital infrastructure. These priorities build on our 25-year legacy and respond to the urgent needs of educators, artists, and learners in a shifting educational and cultural landscape.

Advocacy and Representation. We will continue to be a strong voice for the value of visual arts in education and society by:

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Curriculum and Resource Development. Developing inclusive, high-quality creative learning resources remains central to our mission. In 2025–2026, we will continue to strengthen and expand our curriculum and resource offer by:

Audience Growth and Engagement. To ensure our work reaches and supports the broadest possible range of learners and educators, we will:

Financial Review Reserve Policy and Risks

At 31 March 2025, the charity held total unrestricted reserves of £403,323 (2024: £331,576). These reserves represent the total unrestricted funds available to the charity to meet its objectives.

Of this total, £383,898 was held in cash at bank and in hand, and £28,123 was owed to the charity through outstanding debtors. The trustees recognise that a portion of debtor balances may not be received in full and therefore monitor actual cash reserves closely when making financial decisions.

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The charity holds reserves to provide financial stability, manage cash flow, and ensure resilience in the face of potential income fluctuations or unexpected expenditure.

The trustees undertook a full review of their reserve policy in 2024 and the policy is subsequently reviewed annually. The level of target free reserves can be broken down into four components:

The charity remains financially stable, with careful budgeting and monitoring throughout the year. No significant risks to financial sustainability were identified. As of 31 March 2025, the charity held cash reserves approximately £83,000 above the current target reserve of £300,000. While these additional funds have not been formally designated, the trustees recognise that this surplus presents an opportunity to reinvest in the organisation’s long-term development. Over the coming years, this may include strategic investments such as the implementation of a new CRM system and other infrastructure improvements that support the charity’s operational effectiveness and sustainability.

Trustees and Team

Trustees

A very special thanks to all our trustees who worked hard to support the organisation: Susan Coles, Chris Owen and Anne Morten. We were pleased to welcome new trustee Kate Williams in July 2024.

Team

In the Year 2024/25 AccessArt was directed and supported by Paula Briggs, CEO and Creative Director. Paula is the only member of the team who works full time, directing and managing the organisation, as well as working directly on projects, resources and CPD.

The average head count of employees during this period was 7.

Legal

London based solicitors, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP (Formally Olswang), continue to advise AccessArt on a pro-bono basis on contracts, IPR, GDPR and permissions.

Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6AF, United Kingdom.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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The law applicable to charities in England and Wales 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 its incoming resources and application of resources for that period.

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

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper 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 Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Status

The company is registered as a charity in the UK, Charity Number 1105049.

Small company provisions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies.

This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.

Approval

This report was approved by the board of trustees on 7 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Chris Owen Trustee

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Independent Examiners report

Report to the Trustees/Directors of AccessArt on accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

Charity Number: 1105049 Company Number: 05110197

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025 set out on pages 9 to 13.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company ( who are also the directors of AccessArt for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the 2011 Act").

In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act).

Independent examiner's statement

The company's gross income exceeded £250,000, but did not exceed £1 million. It's gross assets (fixed assets plus current assets) did not exceed £3.26m. I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that :

I have no concerns and have come across no other matter 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.

Lydia Kilner ACMA CGMA

Missieki Martin Limited Chartered Management Accountants 10 Parkway Crosby Liverpool L23 0ST

Dated 7 August 2025

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Incoming Resources
Incoming Resources from generated funds:
- Voluntary Income
2
- Investment income
2
Incoming resources from Charitable Activities
3
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
Resources expended
Cost of charitable activities
4
Governance costs
5
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
Net incoming/(outgoing)resources before
transfers
Total transfers
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Fund Balances brought forward
Fund balances carried forward		 Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
2025 Total
Funds
2024 Total
Funds
193
0
193
13
1,788
0
1,788
1,261
340,327
0
340,327
339,610
342,308
0
342,308
340,884
259,095
0
259,095
233,026
11,466
0
11,466
10,031
270,561
0
270,561
243,057
71,747
0
71,747
97,826
0
0
0
0
71,747
0
71,747
97,826
331,576
0
331,576
233,750
403,323
0
403,323
331,576

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BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2025

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2025
Notes
Current Assets
Debtors
6
Cash at bank and in hand
1
NET CURRENT ASSETS
Creditors
7
Net current assets
TOTAL NET ASSETS
THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Designated funds
Restricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS
Average number of employees		 2025
2024
£
£
28,123
46,667
383,898
291,498
412,021
338,165
(8,698)
(6,588)
403,323
331,577
403,323
331,577
403,323
331,576
0
0
0
0
403,323
331,576
7
8

Registered Company number 05110197

For the year ended 31 March 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Responsibilities of directors/trustees:

(a) The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006, however, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 the financial statements have been examined by an independent examiner whose report appears on page 7.

(b) The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The notes on pages 11 to 13 form part of these financial statements.

Approved by the Trustees on 7 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Chris Owen Trustee

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Status of the company

The charitable company is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital.

The liability of members is limited to £10 per member

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” issued in March 2005 (SORP 2005).

Cash flow statement

The trustees have taken advantage of the exemption in Financial Reporting Standard No 1 (revised) from including a cash flow statement on the grounds that the charity is small.

Funds

General accumulated funds are unrestricted funds available for general purposes and include funds designated for a particular purpose; the use of such funds remains at the discretion of the trustees.

Incoming resources and charitable expenditure

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charitable company has entitlement, there is certainty of receipt and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Liabilities are recognised as resources expended as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charitable company to the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.

Interest receivable

Bank interest is shown on the basis of amounts received in the year

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at a rate calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

Recording and office equipment - 4 years

Computer equipment - 3 years

Fixed assets are capitalised depending on their value at the discretion of the trustees.

Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is allocated to the expense heading to which it relates in accordance with standard accounting practice.

Taxation

As a registered charity no provision is considered necessary for taxation.

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2 INCOMING RESOURCES - Voluntary Income

Other income
Donation
Investment income
TOTAL		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Funds
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
£
£
0
0
0
193
193
13
1,788
1,788
1,261
1,981
0
1,981
1,274

3 INCOMING RESOURCES - Charitable Activities

Monthly Revenue
Online CPD
Annual Subscriptions
Inset & CPD
Student Membership
Workshop
TOTAL
4 CHARITABLE ACTIVITY COSTS
Artists, Educators and consultants fees
Cost of materials
Salaries
Event costs
Software and internet costs
Marketing
Travel Expenses
Insurance, office and studio costs
Legal fees
Miscellaneous		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Funds
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
£
£
76,950
76,950
80,304
4,084
4,084
9,940
257,767
257,767
248,413
648
648
0
782
782
888
96
96
65
340,327
0
340,327
339,610
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Funds
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
£
£
13,143
13,143
22,355
475
475
200
215,643
215,643
182,274
172
172
0
9,201
9,201
14,717
2,555
2,555
2,866
2,107
2,107
3,194
9,746
9,746
1,136
47
47
824
6,006
6,006
5,461
259,095
0
259,095
233,026

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5 GOVERNANCE COSTS

Accountancy fees
Independent examiners fee
Book-keeping fees
TOTAL
6 Debtors
Income receivable
TOTAL
7 Creditors
Trade creditors
TOTAL		 Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
1,384
1,216
150
150
9,932
8,665
11,466
10,031
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
28,123
46,667
28,123
46,667
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
8,698
6,588
8,698
6,588

8 Controlling Interests

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is controlled by the Trustees, who are also directors of AccessArt for the purposes of company law. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £10.

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Signed By

Chris Owen

Date Signed 2025-08-20 16:14:08 Email chris.owen@aru.ac.uk Printed Name Chris Owen IP Address 90.214.128.79 Browser User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:141.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/141.0 Name of signatory Christopher Owen