Registered Charity Number 1105489
Registered Company Number 05189403
SABRE EDUCATION LIMITED
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND AUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
Sabre Education Limited Report and Accounts Contents
| **Page ** | |
|---|---|
| Charity Information | 3 |
| Trustees’ Report | 4-10 |
| Auditor's report | 11-13 |
| Group Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating a group income and expenditure account) |
14 |
| Group Balance sheet | 16 |
| Charity Balance sheet | 17 |
| Group Cash Flows from Operating Activities | 18 |
| Notes to the accounts | 19-30 |
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Sabre Education Limited Report and Accounts Legal and Administrative Information
Charity information
| Trustees: | Iain Walker (Chair) |
|---|---|
| Solomon Akwasi Addae-Boahene | |
| Erinna Dia (retired 24 October 2025) | |
| Bridget Konadu Gyamfi | |
| Lucy Heady | |
| Nathan Koblintz | |
| David Main | |
| Tom Vandenbosch | |
| Date of incorporation: | 26thJuly 2004 |
| Charity number: | 1105489 |
| Company registration number: | 05189403 |
| Registered Office | Ground Floor |
| 1-7 Station Road | |
| Crawley | |
| West Sussex | |
| RH10 1HT | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Principal Office | Plot No. 52A |
| Nii Sai Road | |
| East Legon | |
| Accra | |
| Ghana | |
| Bankers: | Barclays Bank UK PLC |
| 6 - 8 High Street | |
| Ringwood | |
| BH24 1BZ | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Auditor: | Richard Place Dobson Services Limited |
| Ground Floor | |
| 1-7 Station Road, | |
| Crawley | |
| West Sussex | |
| RH10 1HT | |
| United Kingdom |
Sabre Education Limited is a company limited by guarantee and has no shareholders. The liability of each member in the event of a winding up is £10.
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Sabre Education Limited Trustees’ Report For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
Introduction to Sabre Education
Sabre Education provides kindergarten children in Ghana with the best possible early childhood education (ECE) by partnering with government to implement play-based learning at scale. Sabre focuses on:
1. Influencing early childhood education policy & practice .
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Training teachers and school officials in quality early childhood education.
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Transforming learning environments to facilitate positive play-based learning.
90% of a child’s brain develops before age five (Theirworld, 2017), making it our biggest opportunity to influence life-long learning potential and success. Hands-on education through playful activities in bright and stimulating classrooms is how young minds are moulded and a lifelong love of learning is instilled. For this reason, “environments that promote play, exploration and hands-on learning are at the core of effective preprimary programmes.” (UNICEF, 2018).
Sabre’s mission is to support Ghana to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.2: universal access to quality ECE, as we work towards our vision of “a world where early learning supports every child to succeed”.
Achievements and Performance 2024-25
National Scaling: Early childhood education in Ghana is at a pivotal moment of transformation. Ghana provides two years of kindergarten (KG) in the public school system for 4 and 5 year old children and, since 2019, has had in place a standards-based curriculum that is designed to be taught through a play-based and child-centred approach. Most KG teachers in Ghana, however, have not yet been fully trained to deliver the new curriculum and pedagogy; but this is now changing.
Since the Ghana Education Service (GES) launched the kindergarten in-service teacher training (KG-INSET) manual and materials in 2023, co-developed by Sabre, Right To Play and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Sabre has continued to work in close collaboration with the government to advance its vision of nationally scaling play-based kindergarten teacher training to all 29,000 public school kindergarten teachers across the country.
This year, in partnership with the GES, the Ministry of Education and key partners, we have continued to support the development of a detailed project implementation plan, a budget for national scaling, and a robust monitoring and evaluation framework. This work helped to unlock critical investment from the Global Partnership for Education and a Swiss consortium of foundations and corporates to the Government of Ghana at the end of 2024. This funding will pave the way for the government’s four-year national rollout of the KG teacher training, beginning in early 2026.
Drawing on our 20 years of experience in play-based teacher training and district level-support, Sabre Education, alongside our partners, will provide critical ECE advice, technical assistance support and quality assurance to the government throughout the four-year scale-up. This includes our master trainers providing train-the-trainer workshops for district officials from all 261 districts across Ghana, training all headteachers and ECE Coordinators in effective coaching for play-based learning, and embedding technical assistance staff in every region of the country to support districts to monitor and sustain the transformation in teaching practice. This national roll-out provides a system-wide transformation of early childhood education in Ghana from a traditional rote-based approach to a play-based, positive and child-centred model. Our progress over the last year brings us one step closer towards providing engaging and stimulating learning environments that nurture the full potential of every Ghanaian kindergarten child.
Direct Implementation programmes: Alongside supporting government to plan for nationally scaling the play-based kindergarten teaching model, Sabre Education has continued to have significant impact through our district-wide direct implementation teacher training programmes. During this 2024-25 year, Sabre completed its teacher training in Assin South district in the Central Region, which has now trained 212 kindergarten teachers, 97 headteachers and 16 GES officials. The implementation model was designed to closely follow the national scaling model, including the use of the approved KG-INSET manual, the
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Trustees’ Report For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
monitoring, evaluation & learning framework, and coordination across national, regional, and district levels of GES, providing valuable learning as we prepare for the national scale up.
In addition to delivering the teacher training in Assin South, we also targeted the 10 most in-need schools in the district to make low-cost infrastructure improvements, allowing us also to monitor the effects of improved infrastructure on play-based instruction.
In 2024, an external end-of project difference-in-difference study, conducted by JMK Consulting, assessed child learning outcomes comparing results with a control group in the neighbouring Upper Denkyira East District. The study showed very strong learning gains:
79% of children achieved age-appropriate literacy skills in Assin South, compared to 19% of children in the control district.
80% of children achieved age-appropriate numeracy skills in Assin South, compared to 25% of children in the control district.
78% of children achieved age-appropriate psychosocial skills in Assin South, compared to 16% of children in the control district.
During this 2024-25 year we also completed our district-wide kindergarten play-based teacher training in the Bole district of the Savannah Region, reaching 203 kindergarten teachers, headteachers and GES officials. This marked Sabre’s first implementation in northern Ghana, offering us the opportunity to better understand how the national scale model needs to be adapted to a more rural and economically vulnerable context where educational disparities are stark. For instance, the pupil-to-teacher ratio in the Savannah Region stands at 78:1, compared to 28:1 in Greater Accra (Ministry of Education). Upon completion of the training programme, 97% of the assessed teachers across the district demonstrated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ competency in implementing play-based learning, as compared to just 4% at the start of the programme (Results from Sabre’s 2024 Endline Evaluation Report) .
The 2024-25 year also marked Sabre’s launch of a new teacher training programme in La NkwantanangMadina Municipal district, delivering play-based training to 91 kindergarten teachers, 37 headteachers, and 14 GES officials. Using the KG-INSET model, the training in Madina will provide insights into the training model’s effectiveness in an urban context, as well as creating a model district in Greater Accra that allows for greater visibility of quality play-based learning for government officials in the capital.
Leadership Communities of Practice: Following on from Sabre’s selection in late 2022 as a global finalist for Jacobs Foundation’s prestigious Best Practice Prize, in 2024-25 Sabre was the co-lead of an innovative pilot programme, together with partners VVOB, Right To Play and AfriKids, on developing early childhood ‘leadership communities of practice’ in Ghana. This programme established facilitated groups that brought together leaders from the district, school, and community level with the aim of strengthening their support for kindergarten in their local schools.
This programme has shown very positive impact. It was implemented in three geographic regions of Ghana (Ho West in Volta Region, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem in Central Region, and Binduri in Upper East Region), and continued through October 2024. Renovation efforts by the communities themselves have transformed kindergarten classrooms with new paint, furniture, playgrounds and repaired windows, creating vibrant and welcoming learning spaces. In addition, there has been improved KG teacher allocation to these schools by district officials, increased parental engagement, and rising enrolment (up 396% in Binduri). Building on this success, we hope to expand the programme, enabling more communities to lead the transformation of their local schools.
Low-fee private schools: Private kindergartens make up 44% of early childhood education providers in Ghana (EMIS, 2020/21), yet many operate with limited resources or oversight. Fewer than 10% of KG teachers in private schools are formally trained (EMIS, 2018/19), and Sabre is now working to support GES to reach these schools with play-based training.
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Having first tested our model with 34 private schools in the Winneba area in 2022, in 2024 we completed the implementation of a full-scale pilot programme with an adapted teacher training model in 26 low-fee private schools in the Cape Coast district. Teacher proficiency in play-based learning significantly improved – with 88% of teachers demonstrating ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ competency in implementing play-based learning by the end of the programme.
Due to the success of this training, in October 2024 we expanded our private school training to 48 schools across three districts in the Eastern Region. Early results show strong uptake of the training, with head teachers and proprietors actively supporting implementation of play-based teaching in the classrooms. This larger scale implementation is helping refine our training model and scaling strategy, building a stronger partnership with GES to address the needs of these under-resourced private schools, as well as strengthening our national advocacy efforts in this area.
Supporting Colleges of Education: Over the last year Sabre has created new on-campus ECE Resource Centres at four additional colleges of Education in Ghana offering the Bachelor of Education in Early Grades. These are model kindergarten spaces on college campuses where student teachers can practice their playbased teaching skills in a model classroom environment, and create innovative and engaging resources from no-cost and low-cost materials to support play-based learning. We also delivered knowledge-sharing workshops for lecturers at each of the four colleges, helping to enhance their understanding of how to effectively implement the KG play-based curriculum, equipping them to model these approaches in their own teaching.
Advocacy & Influencing: An important area of focus for Sabre in 2024–25 has been early childhood education advocacy, particularly the dissemination of evidence on the impact of play-based approaches in the early years. This work aims to influence policy prioritisation and support wider adoption of play-based learning in Ghana and beyond. Sabre has actively shared early childhood education best practices across both national and international platforms, including the “IT’S PLAY!” Conference in Zambia and the NEDIS Education Innovation Summit. Additionally, Sabre co-presented on a panel with Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Education, UNICEF and the World Bank at the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange Conference (FLEX), and also participated in regional dialogues including at the Ubuntu Hub Leading Education Conference. We are honoured that Sabre is increasingly being invited to contribute to a wide range of national and international dialogues. These opportunities are ensuring that our evidence, insights and best practice are able to contribute to influencing the future of early childhood education in Ghana and beyond.
20[th] Anniversary: Sabre was also very proud to celebrate our 20[th] anniversary this year, with memorable events marking the occasion in both Accra and London. These were opportunities to highlight key milestones in Sabre’s journey supporting quality early childhood education in Ghana over the years, and also to thank our many supporters, partners and staff who have made it all possible.
Please see Sabre’s recently released ‘Impact Report 2023-25’ for further details on our work and achievements.
Plans for the year ahead
In late 2025, we anticipate that the Ghana Ministry of Education will begin national scaling of play-based kindergarten teacher training across the country. As a technical assistance partner to government, supporting the successful roll out of this implementation is Sabre’s main priority in the 2025-26 year.
In addition, Sabre aims to continue refining, expanding, and preparing the private school training programme for scale. We are working with government and private school associations to support quality improvements in kindergarten classrooms, and to promote sustainable funding models - ensuring that low-fee private schools can deliver quality, play-based education to every KG child. From September 2025, we will expand our private school teacher training into 60 additional schools in the Central/Western Regions.
In the 2025-26 year, we will also expand our college partnerships and work with three new institutions to embed experiential, play-based learning in teacher training, enhance tutor capacity, and improve student teaching placements.
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There is great potential to share Ghana’s journey towards improved ECE delivery with countries outside of Ghana. Drawing on Ghana’s impressive journey, our long-term aim is to offer technical assistance support to other governments and NGO partners working to improve the ECE system across Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2025-26 we will work with our board to develop strategic parameters for our work outside of Ghana for our next 3-year plan (2026-28). We will also continue our strategic country and partner mapping of ECE in Africa, with support from Deloitte’s pro bono D2i consulting group, which will help us to narrow our geographic focus, define Sabre’s specific offering, and identify potential partners.
Finally, we will continue to innovate by further developing a new programme to support children as they transition from KG to Primary 1. Sabre piloted a two-day training in February 2023 for P1 teachers in two Central Region districts, followed by in-classroom coaching and monitoring. This pilot highlighted the need for deeper training in play-based learning and positive behaviour management at the P1 level and stronger support to GES and headteachers for this transition from kindergarten. In the year ahead, we will refine the programme to develop a more comprehensive model for further testing and implementation.
Together, these efforts offer a timely and strategic opportunity to drive lasting, system-wide impact for ECE in Ghana.
Structure, Governance and Management
Sabre Education is an international NGO made up of two registered non-profit organisations, Sabre Education Limited in the UK, and Sabre Education LBG in Ghana.
In the UK, Sabre Education Limited is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. In Ghana, Sabre Education is registered with the Department of Social Development as a Non-Governmental Organisation. The UK-based fundraising team raises income for educational programmes which are delivered by the project implementation team in Ghana. The Senior Leadership Team (5 members in Ghana and 2 in the UK) and the organisational support teams cover activities across both organisations.
Sabre Education Limited was incorporated in the UK by the Memorandum & Articles of Association dated 26[th] July 2004 as amended by special resolution on 1[st] May 2018. Sabre Education is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 05189403) and does not have a share capital. Sabre Education is also a registered charity (registered number 1105489). The liability of the members who constitute the charity is limited to £10 per member.
Sabre Education LBG (Ghana) was incorporated by the Regulations dated 3[rd] December 2007. Sabre in Ghana is a company limited by guarantee (registered number CG169932015) and does not have a share capital. Sabre in Ghana is also a registered local NGO (registered number D.S.W./4852). The liability of the members who constitute the NGO is limited to 100 Ghana Cedis per member (approx. £6.00).
The two Sabre entities (UK and Ghana) each have a Board of Trustees that provides guidance and oversight. The international Board of Trustees of Sabre Education Limited (UK) has ultimate responsibility for all activities undertaken by the UK and Ghana entities of Sabre. The Trustees have governance and compliance responsibilities in addition to oversight of strategy, programme delivery and financial performance. The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission on the operation of the Public Benefit requirement for charities.
The day-to-day running of the Charity is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer, who reports to the Board of Trustees. The Board reviews the remuneration level of the CEO on an annual basis. The remuneration levels for the rest of the organisation are set by the Chief Executive Officer in consultation with the Executive Director in Ghana and Human Resource Manager. As much as possible, these decisions are informed by benchmarks for sector surveys such as the Birches Salary Survey and through executive search firm expertise. Sabre has a commitment to be a fair payer, with salary and benefits in line with market standards, helping us to attract and retain talented and committed staff.
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Trustees’ Report For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
Financial Review
Sabre had another strong year operationally, with income of £1,172,076 (£1,002,109 in 2023-24), with particularly robust unrestricted income of £978,935 versus restricted income of £193,141. This is notable for a charity of Sabre’s size. Importantly, Sabre received uplifts in unrestricted donations from three of its major donors, contributing to this strong performance. Sabre ended the year in a strong position with an overall fund balance of £797,925, poised to implement its ambitious national scaling agenda in the 2025-26 financial year.
Sabre’s expenditure for the year was £1,007,107 (£1,090,025 in 2023-24), somewhat lower than expected due largely to the delayed start of the Ghana government’s national scaling roll out. This resulted in the increased year-end fund balance of £797,925 (£646,026 in 2023-24). Similarly, the cash position at year end is also higher at £451,379 (£273,098 in 2023-24). These stronger fund balance and cash positions are due to timing differences between projected and actual expenditure, and they allow Sabre to start to provide technical assistance support to government at the commencement of national scaling.
Please note that Sabre’s ‘fund balance’ is a combination of set aside reserves, as required by our official reserves policy, and other funds we have received to be used for planned programmatic and operational expenditure.
Having exceeded the £1million threshold for audit set by the Charity Commission for England and Wales in 2019, the Trustees continued with an audit of the charity’s accounts.
Financial Reserves
In accordance with Charity Commission guidelines, the trustees understand the need to have sufficient unrestricted reserves to allow for any unexpected drop in income. Our current Financial Reserves Policy (approved 14[th] June 2022) sets the level of unrestricted reserves (‘set-aside reserves’) as ‘three months of projected running costs of the organisation as projected in the approved annual budget’ (accordingly, during 2024-25 Sabre had set aside £231,652 as unrestricted reserves). Sabre met its minimum reserves requirement during this financial year, and in addition had other unrestricted funds to be used for strategic, operational and programmatic objectives throughout the year, as noted above.
Consolidated financials
These accounts are consolidated financial statements at the group level for Sabre Education covering both the UK and Ghana charitable entities (as per section 24 of the 2019 Charity SORP FRS 102). These accounts also present separate information for the UK charity (noted as “charity”). Financial statements for just the Ghana charity are audited in Ghana and submitted to the authorities there. Sabre Education Ghana’s financial results are disclosed under note 14 to the financial statements.
Fundraising
Grants from Trusts & Foundations continue to make up Sabre’s most significant funding streams, comprising both restricted and unrestricted grants.
Sabre is fully compliant with Section 13 of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and operate at a best practice level concerning the Code of Fundraising Practice. We ensure we are up to date and compliant with any changes to the Fundraising Code of Practice. Sabre’s Director of Fundraising is a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.
Sabre takes its responsibilities under the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) very seriously and we have an extensive Privacy Policy accessible through the home page of our website. To protect vulnerable people and others from unreasonable intrusion on their privacy, in the course of or in connection with fundraising for the charity, Sabre has an opt-in mechanism on all of its fundraising materials. We do not give or sell supporters' details to anyone else. Sabre does not conduct telephone, door-to-door or street fundraising to the general public and has not conducted any fundraising activities to cold audiences in 202425. We were not part of any voluntary regulatory fundraising schemes or standards, and therefore, there have been no instances of failure to comply with a scheme or standard. Sabre received no fundraising complaints in 2024-25, and we continue to strive to deliver the best standards of care to our supporters.
Sabre has in place a robust Ethical Fundraising Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees.
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Trustees’ Report For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
Post-Year End
Since the year-end, there have been no material changes to the charity’s financial position. The trustees continue to monitor exchange rate fluctuations, cash flows, and reserve levels prudently to mitigate financial risk.
Risk Policy
The Trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the Charity faces and confirm that systems are in place with regular reporting to mitigate exposure to these risks. Sabre maintains a consolidated risk register covering both the UK and Ghanaian entities which is updated and reviewed at each quarterly board meeting as a standing agenda item.
At an organisational level we have grouped principal risks into the following five categories: Financial; Business Continuity; Relationships; Safeguarding; and Regulatory. Each identified risk is rated by ‘likelihood’ and ‘impact’ to give a combined risk rating, and against each risk is an identified mitigation strategy, both to reduce the likelihood and contain the risk were it to materialise. Risk ownership resides with the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director-Ghana, supported by the Senior Leadership Team.
In addition, we have a programmatic risk register associated with each of our implementation programmes. Sabre’s Director of Programmes is the risk owner for these, reporting to the Executive Director-Ghana.
Safeguarding
Sabre Education recognises that it must put in place all reasonable safeguarding measures to ensure, as far as possible, the safety and protection of children, young people and adults at risk in the communities where Sabre Education’s work is implemented. Sabre’s implementation projects directly benefit children, however, the charity’s employees do not work directly with the children themselves. All staff are provided with safeguarding training on Sabre’s safeguarding policies, and Sabre has continued to strengthen its safeguarding measures this year, including appointing a new Safeguarding Lead on our Board and providing refresher training to staff. No safeguarding incidents have been reported during the period under review.
Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements
The Trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charitable company and of the group’s charitable company’s net movement in funds, including the income and expenditure for that year. In preparing those financial statements which give a true and fair view, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP);
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charitable company will continue on that basis.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate group accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the group and charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the group and charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the group and the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The Trustees are also responsible for ensuring that the assets are properly applied in accordance with charity law.
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The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website.
Disclosure of Information to Auditors
The Trustees confirm that so far as they are aware at the time of approving the Annual Report, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company and the group’s auditor is unaware. They have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
12 December
This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on …………………………………… 2025.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees:
…………………………. aw allay Iain Walker Chair of Trustees
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Sabre Education Limited
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Sabre Education Limited For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Sabre Education Limited for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, Group Balance Sheet, Charity Balance Sheet, Group Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Sabre Education Limited For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
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the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
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the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
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the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
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the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s or the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.
In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of
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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Sabre Education Limited For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
material misstatements due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity’s operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.
In identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team made enquiries of management, and those charged with governance, regarding the procedures relating to identifying, evaluating and complying with;
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laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
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detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;
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the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;
As a result of these procedures, we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, General Data Protection Regulations, Companies Act, Charities Act 2011, Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act, Charities Statement of Recommended Practice and employment law and regulations. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliance, which may have a material impact on the financial statements. These included reviewing financial statement disclosures and evaluating advice received from external advisors. There were no significant laws and regulations we deemed as having an indirect impact on the financial statements.
The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls as the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments and evaluating the rationale in relation to any significant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside of the normal course of business.
As a large portion of income is received through grants, the audit engagement team has highlighted completeness of income as an area of significant risk. Audit procedures performed included, but were not limited to, proof in total testing of income recorded in the accounts compared to the grant awarded per the grant contract.
Other matters
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members and trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company, the charitable company’s members as a body,and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Darren Harding, Senior Statutory Auditor
For and on behalf of
Richard Place Dobson Services Limited Ground Floor 1-7 Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1HT
Date: 16 December 2025
13
Sabre Education Limited Group Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating a group income and expenditure account) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2025 £ |
Total 2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income from: | |||||
| Donations and Grants | 2 | 972,570 | 191,736 | 1,164,306 | 995,837 |
| Investment Income | 4,969 | - | 4,969 | 4,025 | |
| Other income | 1,396 | 1,405 | 2,801 | 2,247 | |
| Total Income | 978,935 | 193,141 | 1,172,076 | 1,002,109 | |
| Expenditure on: | |||||
| Costs of Raising Funds | 3 | 217,831 | - | 217,831 | 194,750 |
| Charitable Activities | 3 | 579,555 | 209,721 | 789,276 | 895,275 |
| Total Expenditure | (797,386) | (209,721) | (1,007,107) | (1,090,025) | |
| Net Income/(Expenditure) | 181,549 | (16,580) | 164,969 | (87,916) | |
| Other Gains/(Losses) | (11,126) | (1,944) | (13,070) | (21,455) | |
| Net movement in funds | 170,423 | (18,524) | 151,899 | (109,371) | |
| Reconciliation of funds: | |||||
| Total Funds Brought Forward | 405,779 | 240,247 | 646,026 | 755,397 | |
| Total Funds Carried Forward |
576,202 | 221,723 | 797,925 | 646,026 |
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
14
Sabre Education Limited Group Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating a group income and expenditure account) For the Year Ended 31st March 2024
Previous Year - Group:
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2024 £ |
Total 2023 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income from: | |||||
| Donations and Grants | 2 | 512,862 | 482,975 | 995,837 | 1,035,926 |
| Investment Income | 4,025 | - | 4,025 | 482 | |
| Other income | 2,247 | - | 2,247 | 543 | |
| Total Income | 519,134 | 482,975 | 1,002,109 | **1,036,951 ** | |
| Expenditure on: | |||||
| Costs of RaisingFunds | 3 | 194,750 | - | 194,750 | 177,517 |
| Charitable Activities | 3 | 310,959 | 584,316 | 895,275 | 767,576 |
| Total Expenditure | (505,709) | (584,316) | (1,090,025) | (945,093) | |
| Net Income/(Expenditure) | 13,425 | (101,341) | (87,916) | 91,858 | |
| Other Gains/(Losses) | (18,720) | (2,735) | (21,455) | (18,555) | |
| Net movement in funds | (5,295) | (104,076) | (109,371) | 73,303 | |
| Reconciliation of funds: | |||||
| Total Funds Brought Forward | 411,074 | 344,323 | 755,397 | 682,094 | |
| Total Funds Carried Forward |
405,779 | 240,247 | 646,026 | 755,397 |
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006
15
Sabre Education Limited Group Balance Sheet For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
| Notes | 2025 £ |
2025 £ |
2024 £ |
2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed assets | |||||
| Tangible assets | 8 | 13,419 | 10,678 | ||
| Current assets | |||||
| Debtors | 9 | 380,656 | 414,416 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 451,379 | 273,098 | |||
| Total current assets | 832,035 | 687,514 | |||
| Creditors | |||||
| amounts due within oneyear | 10 | (47,529) | (52,166) | ||
| Net current assets | 784,506 | 635,348 | |||
| Total assets less current liabilities | 797,925 | 646,026 | |||
| Income Funds | |||||
| Restricted funds | 11 | 221,723 | 240,247 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 12 | 576,202 | 405,779 | ||
| Total charity funds | 797,925 | 646,026 |
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The accounts were approved by the Board of Trustees on 12 Dec 2025 and signed and authorised for issue on their behalf by:
………………………… ……………………………… Iain Walker David Main Chair of Trustees Trustee
Registered Company Number: 05189403
16
Sabre Education Limited Charity Balance Sheet For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
UK Charity:
| Notes | 2025 £ |
2025 £ |
2024 £ |
2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed assets | |||||
| Tangible assets | 8 | - | - | ||
| Current assets | |||||
| Debtors | 9 | 430,152 | 483,955 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 363,677 | 239,196 | |||
| Total current assets | 793,829 | 723,151 | |||
| Creditors | |||||
| Amounts due within oneyear | 10 | (108,234) | (112,145) | ||
| Net current assets | 685,595 | 611,006 | |||
| Total assets less current liabilities | 685,595 | 611,006 | |||
| Income Funds | |||||
| Restricted funds | 11 | 169,238 | 210,693 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 12 | 516,357 | 400,313 | ||
| Total charity funds | 685,595 | 611,006 |
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account for the charity has not been presented because the charity has taken advantage of the exemption afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.
Net income for the UK Charity only for the year was £74,588 (2024: £13,204)
The accounts were approved by the Board of Trustees on 12 Dec 2025 and signed and authorised for issue on their behalf by:
…………………………
Iain Walker Chair of Trustees
……………………………. David Main Trustee
Registered Company Number: 05189403
17
Sabre Education Limited Group Cash Flows from Operating Activities For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
| Notes | 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash flows from operating activities: | ||||
| Net cash(used in)/provided byoperatingactivities | A | 182,343 | (170,097) | |
| Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||
| Investment income | 4,969 | 4,025 | ||
| Purchase of tangible fixed assets | (9,031) | (2,450) | ||
| Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities | (4,062) | 1,575 | ||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents in theyear | 178,281 | (168,522) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2024 | 273,098 | 441,620 | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2025 | B | 451,379 | 273,098 |
| Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2025 A. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities |
Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2025 A. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities |
Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2025 A. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| Net movement in funds(asper the statement of financial activities) | 151,899 | (109,371) |
| Adjustments for: | ||
| Depreciation charge | 4,525 | 5,085 |
| Exchange losses on fixed assets | 1,765 | 2,226 |
| Investment income | (4,969) | (4,025) |
| (Increase)/decrease in debtors | 33,760 | (52,270) |
| Increase/(decrease)in creditors | (4,637) | (11,742) |
| Net cashprovided by/(used in) operating activities | 182,343 | (170,097) |
| B. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents | ||
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| Cash at bank and in hand | 451,379 | 273,098 |
| Total cash and cash equivalents | 451,379 | 273,098 |
18
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
1. Accounting policies
i) Charity Information
Sabre Education Limited has prepared these consolidated accounts as a private charitable company limited by guarantee and has no share capital, incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address is Ground Floor, 1-7 Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1HT.
ii) Basis of preparation of the accounts
Advantage has been taken of Section 396(5) of The Companies Act 2006 to allow the format of the financial statements to be adapted to reflect the special nature of the charity's operation and in order to comply with the requirements of the SORP.
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts.
The accounts 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP FRS 102) issued October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006, and the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.
The particular accounting policies adopted are set out below.
iii) Group financial statements
The financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its subsidiary Sabre Education Ghana on a line by line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account for the charity has not been presented because the charity has taken advantage of the exemption afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.
iv) Taxation
Sabre Education Ltd is a registered charity and is thus exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or s256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the Charity.
v) Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement
Preparation of the accounts requires the trustees to make significant judgements and estimates.
The items in the accounts where these judgements and estimates have been made include:
- estimating the useful economic life of tangible fixed assets
19
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
vi) Assessment of going concern
The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these accounts. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these accounts.
The Trustees receive management accounts on a quarterly basis and also review an 18 month forward looking cashflow for the charity. In assessing the forward looking cashflow, the Trustees assess management’s programme and resource commitment to raise the funding, the pipeline of new funding proposals and opportunities, the likely mix of restricted and unrestricted funding, the historic repeat funding rates of our funder base, the new funding opportunities arising and the cost mitigation initiatives that could be undertaken given a delay or reduction in funding realisations. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
vii) Income
Donations are included in full in the statement of financial activities in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income and the amount of income can be measured reliably and it is probable the income will be received.
Grants are recognised in full in the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are receivable, and conditions for receipt have been met. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil certain conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.
viii) Expenditure
Expenditures are included in the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered.
The cost of generating funds includes the direct costs associated with generating voluntary income.
The cost of charitable activities comprises expenditures related to the costs of projects in Ghana. Such costs are recognised when an invoice is received or when a payment is made, whichever is sooner. Also included are the salaries and national insurance costs of staff working on overseas projects.
Governance costs include costs associated with Trustee meetings, accountancy fees and a proportion of the Chief Executive Officer. Costs are recognised when an invoice is received or when a payment is made, whichever is sooner.
The methods and principles for the allocation and apportionment of all costs between the different activity categories of resources set out above are:
-
All directly attributable costs are allocated straight to a charitable activity or fundraising activity.
-
Staffing costs are allocated based on approximate time spent working in each respective area.
Support costs of the charity relate to the central costs of supporting the charitable activities of the organisation and comprise a proportion of the Chief Executive Officer and support staff salaries, and office running costs.
ix) Tangible fixed assets
Expenditures on fixtures and equipment of less than £1,000 per item is expensed in the year of purchase. Items over £1,000 are capitalised and are stated at cost less depreciation. Assets are retired at the end of their useful economic life.
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:
-
Computer Equipment – 33.3% straight line
-
Motor Vehicles – 25% straight line
-
Plant & Equipment – 20% straight line
-
Furniture, Fixtures & Fittings – 20% straight line
x) Debtors
20
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of expected future cash receipts where such discounting is material.
xi) Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.
xiii) Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of expected future cash payments where such discounting is material.
xiv) Fund accounting
Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.
Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.
xv) Foreign Currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling on the date of the transaction. Exchange gains and losses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
21
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
2. Donations and Grants
The following funders are included in Donations & Grants income:
| Funder | 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Echidna Giving | 254,024 | 119,161 | |
| Foundation RequestingAnonymity | 161,514 | 157,474 | |
| Foundation RequestingAnonymity | 350,000 | 175,000 | |
| Dovetail Impact Foundation | 116,661 | ||
| Co-Impact Foundation | 119,251 | ||
| mc2h Foundation | 80,033 | ||
| Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust | 25,000 | ||
| Fonthill Foundation | 26,000 | ||
| IDP Foundation | 19,889 | ||
| Conexus Medstaff LLC | 1,595 | ||
| Marr MunningTrust | - | 50,000 | |
| Medicor Foundation | - | 100,000 | |
| Jacobs Foundation | - | 2,071 | |
| Chance for Childhood | - | 8,360 | |
| ShanleyCharitable Trust | - | 342,000 | |
| Educational OpportunityFoundation(formerlyBFSS) | - | 30,000 | |
| Other donations andgifts in kind | 10,339 | 11,771 | |
| Total donations andgrants | 1,164,306 | 995,837 |
3. Expenditure
| Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2025 £ |
Total 2024 £ |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of Raising funds | |||||
| Staff Costs | 211,925 | - | 211,925 | 188,463 | |
| Direct Costs | 5,906 | - | 5,906 | 6,287 | |
| Total Costs of Raising Funds | 217,831 | 194,750 | |||
| Charitable Activities | |||||
| Staff Costs | 317,861 | 82,705 | 400,566 | 369,231 | |
| Direct Costs | 231,034 | 127,016 | 358,050 | 497,790 | |
| Total Costs of Charitable Activities |
758,616 | 867,021 | |||
| Governance Costs | |||||
| Staff Costs | 12,902 | - | 12,902 | 11,929 | |
| Direct Costs | - | - | - | - | |
| Other Costs | 17,758 | - | 17,758 | 16,325 | |
| Total Governance Costs | 30,660 | 28,254 | |||
| Total Resources Expended | 1,007,107 | 1,090,025 |
22
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
4. Support Costs
| Raising Funds £ |
Charitable Activities £ |
Governance Costs £ |
Total £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff cost | 19,353 | 32,255 | 12,902 | 64,511 |
| Office Costs | - | - | 2,758 | 2,758 |
| Auditors’ Fees | - | - | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| 19,353 | 32,255 | 30,660 | 82,269 | |
| Governance Cost | 11,497 | 19,163 | (30,660) | |
| Total Support Costs Year Ended 31 March 2025 |
30,851 | 51,418 | - | 82,269 |
| Total Support Costs Year Ended 31 March 2024 |
28,488 | 47,481 | - | 75,969 |
5. Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
| 5. Net movement in funds This is stated after charging: |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| Depreciation | 4,525 | 5,085 |
| Foreign exchange loss/(gain) | 13,059 | 21,455 |
| Auditors' fees | ||
| UK | 15,000 | 15,840 |
| Ghana | 4,800 | 4,140 |
6. Trustees
No remuneration was paid to trustees in 2025 (2024: £nil). Travel cost of £308.94 was reimbursed to two trustees for journeys made to attend meetings on Sabre’s behalf (2024: £nil).
7. Employees
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | ||
| The average number of employees over theyear was: | ||
| Fundraising,finance and administration | 9 | 9 |
| Communications | 1 | 1 |
| Overseas Programme Management | 20 | 21 |
| Total | 30 | 31 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of UK employees | ||
| The average number of employees over theyear was: | ||
| Fundraisingand administration | 4 | 5 |
| Communications | 1 | 1 |
| Overseas Programme Management | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 6 |
23
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Employment Costs | ||
| Wages and salaries | 248,122 | 220,092 |
| Social Security | 29,064 | 25,982 |
| Pensions | 3,822 | 4,329 |
| 281,008 | 250,403 | |
| Ghana Staff Costs | ||
| Wages and salaries | 298,561 | 319,220 |
| Total | 579,569 | 569,623 |
7. Employees (continued)
There were two employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more (2024: two).
The key management personnel of the group comprise the Senior Leadership Team (Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director Ghana, Director of Fundraising & Communications, Director of Finance & Administration, Director of Programmes, Senior Learning Manager and the Senior Advocacy Manager). Total employment benefit for key management personnel was £350,680 (2024: £317,403).
In FTE terms, at 31 March 2025, the organisational headcount was 30.17 Full Time Equivalents (2024: 31), of which 4.83 (2024:5.50) are reflected in UK Employment Costs and the remaining 25.34 (2024: 25) are Ghana Staff Costs.
8. Tangible Fixed assets
| Group | Fixtures & Fittings £ |
Equipment £ |
Vehicles £ |
Computers £ |
2025 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | |||||
| At 1 April 2024 | 6,601 | 13,184 | 81,151 | 17,635 | 118,571 |
| Additions | - | 3,618 | - | 5,413 | 9,031 |
| Exchange rate adjustment | (1,091) | (2,179) | - | (2,915) | (6,185) |
| At 31 March 2025 | 5,510 | 14,623 | 81,151 | 20,134 | 121,417 |
| Depreciation | |||||
| At 1 April 2024 | 5,973 | 8,327 | 81,151 | 12,442 | 107,893 |
| Depreciation foryear | 391 | 1,403 | - | 2,731 | 4,525 |
| Exchange rate adjustment | (987) | (1,377) | (2,056) | (4,420) | |
| At 31 March 2025 | 5,377 | 8,353 | 81,151 | 13,117 | 107,998 |
| Net book value at 31 March 2025 |
133 | 6,270 | - | 7,016 | 13,419 |
| Net book value at 31 March 2024 |
628 | 4,857 | - | 5,193 | 10,678 |
The UK charity does not hold any fixed assets
24
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
9. Debtors
| Group | Group | Charity | Charity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| Trade Debtors | 2,416 | 3,127 | - | - |
| Prepayments | 13,240 | 11,289 | - | - |
| Sabre Education Ghana | - | - | 65,152 | 83,955 |
| Accrued Income | 365,000 | 400,000 | 365,000 | 400,000 |
| Total | 380,656 | 414,416 | 430,152 | 483,955 |
10. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| Group | Group | Charity | Charity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| Trade creditors | 6,658 | 14,530 | 3,338 | 120 |
| Taxes and social securitycosts | 19,985 | 13,641 | 9,348 | 7,698 |
| Pension | 951 | 1,109 | 951 | 1,109 |
| Auditors' fees | 19,495 | 14,100 | 15,000 | 14,100 |
| Other creditors | 440 | 8,786 | 440 | 3,939 |
| Sabre Education Ghana | - | - | 79,157 | 85,179 |
| Total | 47,529 | 52,166 | 108,234 | 112,145 |
25
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
11. Restricted funds
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes
| Group – Current Period | Balance at 1 April 2024 £ |
Incoming Resources £ |
Resources Expended £ |
Gains/ (Losses) £ |
Balance at 31 March 2025 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghanaprojects | |||||
| FPMU | 24,975 | - | - | - | 24,975 |
| Centre of Excellence – Pre-Service Shanley | 55,470 | - | (37,239) | - | 18,231 |
| Centre of Excellence – Pre-Service Fonthill | - | 26,000 | (990) | - | 25,010 |
| Chance for Childhood(inclusion) | 126 | - | (126) | - | - |
| Private School Implementation | 4,179 | - | (4,179) | - | - |
| Jacobs Foundation(leadership) | 8,871 | - | (7,462) | (1,409) | - |
| Assin South Implementation | 43,526 | - | (43,526) | - | - |
| Savannah Implementation | 38,100 | - | (38,100) | - | - |
| Madina Implementation - Shanley | 65,000 | - | (48,687) | - | 16,313 |
| Madina Implementation - Allan & Nesta Ferguson | - | 25,000 | (14.750) | - | 10.250 |
| Madina Implementation – Conexus Medstaff | - | 1,595 | (1,595) | - | - |
| Private School Scaling (PSS)- IDP Foundation | - | 21,295 | (13,067) | (535) | 7,693 |
| Co-Impact Systems Strengthening | - | 119,251 | - | 119,251 | |
| Total Restricted Funds | 240,247 | 193,141 | (209,721) | (1,944) | 221,723 |
| Group – Previous Period | Balance at 1 April 2023 £ |
Incoming Resources £ |
Resources Expended £ |
Gains/ (Losses) £ |
Balance at 31 March 2024 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghanaprojects | |||||
| FTTT Winneba | - | 100,000 | (100,000) | - | - |
| FPMU | 24,986 | - | (11) | - | 24,975 |
| Communication Support | 24,653 | - | (24,653) | - | - |
| Centre of Excellence | 30,790 | 50,000 | (25,320) | - | 55,470 |
| National Scaling- Waterloo | 26,513 | - | (26,513) | - | - |
| National Scaling- Marr Munning | 53,800 | - | (53,800) | - | - |
| ShanleyTeacher Training | 21,250 | - | (19,901) | (1,349) | - |
| Chance for Childhood(inclusion) | 6,683 | 8,360 | (14,917) | 126 | |
| Private School Implementation | 67,442 | 544 | (64,367) | 560 | 4,179 |
| Jacobs Foundation(leadership) | 88,206 | 2,071 | (79,460) | (1,946) | 8,871 |
| Assin South Implementation | - | 167,000 | (123,474) | 43,526 | |
| Savannah Implementation | - | 90,000 | (51,900) | 38,100 | |
| Madina Implementation | - | 65,000 | - | 65,000 | |
| Total Restricted Funds | 344,323 | 482,975 | (584,316) | (2,735) | 240,247 |
26
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
11. Restricted funds (continued)
| Charity – Current Period | Balance at 1 April 2024 £ |
Incoming Resources £ |
Resources Expended £ |
Balance at 31 March 2025 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghanaprojects | ||||
| FPMU | 24,986 | - | - | 24,986 |
| Communications Support | - | - | - | - |
| Centre of Excellence – Pre-Service Shanley | 50,000 | - | (50,000) | - |
| Centre of Excellence – Pre-Service Fonthill | - | 26,000 | (1,000) | 25,000 |
| Assin South Implementation | 35,707 | - | (35,707) | - |
| Savannah Implementation | 35,000 | - | (35,000) | - |
| Madina Implementation - Shanley | 65,000 | - | (65,000) | - |
| Madina Implementation-Allan&Nesta Ferguson | - | 25,000 | (25.000) | - |
| Madina Implementation- Conexus Medstaff | - | 1,595 | (1,595) | - |
| Private School Scaling (PSS)- IDP Foundation | - | 19,889 | (19,889) | - |
| Co-Impact Systems Strengthening | - | 119,251 | - | 119,251 |
| Total Restricted Funds | 210,693 | 191,735 | (233,191) | 169,238 |
| Charity – Previous Period | Balance at 1 April 2023 £ |
Incoming Resources £ |
Resources Expended £ |
Balance at 31 March 2024 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghanaprojects | ||||
| FTTT Winneba | - | 100,000 | (100,000) | - |
| FPMU | 24,986 | - | - | 24,986 |
| Communications Support | 24,700 | - | (24,700) | - |
| Centre of Excellence(COE) | 24,500 | 50,000 | (24,500) | 50,000 |
| National Scaling- Waterloo | 26,513 | - | (26,513) | - |
| National Scaling- Marr Munning | 53,800 | - | (53,800) | - |
| ShanleyTeacher Training | - | - | - | - |
| Global Schools Forum(PSE) | 67,442 | - | (67,442) | - |
| Jacobs Foundation(leadership) | 88,206 | 2,071 | (90,277) | - |
| Assin South Implementation | 167,000 | (131,293) | 35,707 | |
| Savannah Implementation | 90,000 | (55,000) | 35,000 | |
| Madina Implementation | 65,000 | 65,000 | ||
| Total Restricted Funds | 310,146 | 474,071 | (573,525) | 210,693 |
Description of restricted funds:
-
FPMU: Technical collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s Funds & Procurement Management Unit to develop a model template for new kindergarten school construction in Ghana. Ongoing activities include architectural consultant engagement and construction design work.
-
Centre of Excellence (COE): Sabre’s support to Colleges of Education that offer a Bachelor of Education in Early Years degree, to create model early childhood learning centres on their campuses, and provide workshops for tutors and students.
-
National Scaling: The collaboration with other sector organisations to support government in the national scaling of quality play-based kindergarten teacher training across Ghana
-
Shanley Teacher Training: Support from the Shanley Charitable Trust for Sabre's teacher training programmes
-
Chance for Childhood: A 1-year in-service teacher training project focusing on inclusive education in collaboration with Chance for Childhood
27
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
-
Global Schools Forum: Developing Sabre’s kindergarten teacher training model for the private school sector.
-
Jacobs Foundation: A partnership project focusing on developing Leadership Communities of Practice in support of quality early childhood education.
-
Assin South Implementation: A one-year in-service teacher training and school infrastructure improvement project to enable the implementation of play based kindergarten in the Assin South district in the Central Region of Ghana
-
Savannah Implementation: A one-year in-service teacher training project to enable the implementation of play based kindergarten in the Bole district in the Savannah Region of Ghana
-
Madina Implementation: A one-year in-service teacher training project to enable the implementation of play based kindergarten in the La Nkwantanang Madina district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana
-
Private School Scaling (PSS) - IDP Foundation: Support towards Sabre’s one-year in-service teacher training project for private schools in three Eastern Regions districts of Ghana
-
Co-Impact Systems Strengthening: Design grant to Sabre Education to refine its ECE systems strengthening vision, strategy, outcomes, and learning approaches.
12. Unrestricted Funds
| Balance at 1 April 2024 £ |
Incoming Resources £ |
Resources Expended £ |
Gains/ (Losses) £ |
Balance at 31 March 2025 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | |||||
| - currentyear | 405,779 | 978,935 | (797,386) | (11,126) | 576,202 |
| -previousyear | 411,074 | 519,134 | (505,709) | (18,720) | 405,779 |
| Charity | |||||
| - currentyear | 400,313 | 978,327 | (855,830) | (6,453) | 516,357 |
| -previousyear | 314,065 | 517,344 | (423,824) | (7,272) | 400,313 |
13. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds
| Group - Current Period | Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2025 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund balances at 31 March 2025 are represented by: | |||
| Fixed assets | 11,024 | 2,395 | 13,419 |
| Current assets | 606,049 | 225,986 | 832,035 |
| Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear | (40,871) | (6,658) | (47,529) |
| Total Fund Balances at 31 March 2025 | 576,202 | 221,723 | 797,925 |
| Group - Previous Period Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by: Fixed assets Current assets Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear |
Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2024 £ 10,678 687,514 (52,166) 646,026 |
| 8,717 | 1,961 | ||
| 434,818 | 252,696 | ||
| (37,756) | (14,410) | ||
| Total Fund Balances at 31 March 2024 | 405,779 | 240,247 |
28
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
13. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds (continued)
| Charity - Current Period | Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2025 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund balances at 31 March 2025 are represented by: | |||
| Fixed assets | - | - | - |
| Current assets | 621,252 | 172,577 | 793,829 |
| Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear | (104,895) | (3,339) | (108,234) |
| Total Fund Balances at 31 March 2025 | 516,357 | 169,238 685,595 |
|
| Charity - Previous Period | Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted Funds £ |
Total 2024 £ |
| Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by: | |||
| Fixed assets | - | - | - |
| Current assets | 512,458 | 210,693 | 723,151 |
| Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear | (112,145) | - | (112,145) |
| Total Fund Balances at 31 March 2024 | 400,313 | 210,693 | 611,006 |
14. Sabre Education (Ghana)
Sabre Education (Ghana) is a registered company in Ghana, registration number CG169932015 with a Ghana Board of Directors. The trustees of Sabre Education (UK) ultimately oversee both the UK and Ghana companies. As such, the accounts have been prepared that include both companies.
As at balance sheet date Sabre Education (UK) owed Sabre Education (Ghana) £13,750 (2024: £1,224).
The registered office of Sabre Education (Ghana) is P.O. Box CT 6700, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana
The financial year end of Sabre Education (Ghana) is the same as Sabre Education (UK) namely 31 March and the results of Sabre Education (Ghana) are:
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 583,822 | 551,579 |
| Project expenditure | (274,113) | (626,139) |
| Gross(Loss)/ profit | 309,709 | (74,560) |
| Other income | 78,475 | 86,930 |
| Operatingexpenses | (307,556) | (109,187) |
| **Operating gain/(loss) ** | 80,628 | (96,817) |
| Represented by: | ||
| Total assets | 195,934 | 144,176 |
| Total liabilities | (83,603) | (109,156) |
| Total reserves | 112,331 | 35,020 |
29
Sabre Education Limited Notes to the Accounts (continued) For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
14. Sabre Education (Ghana) (continued)
Related Party Transactions
During the year, Sabre Education Limited transferred project funds totalling £582,416 (2024: £546,355) to Sabre Education (Ghana).
There were no other related party transactions in the year.
15. Liability of Members
The UK charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the UK charity being wound up, the members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £10.
30