2021-08-31-accounts

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders for the year 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Since the Charity qualifies as small under section 383, the strategic report required of medium and large companies under The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Director's Report) Regulations 2013 is not required.

Structure, governance and management

The Company was incorporated on 10 April 2001 and became a registered charity on 15 November 2004. It took over the assets and liabilities of the unincorporated association of the same name on 1 September 2004. The company is limited by guarantee and its management is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association at each Annual General Meeting, with the day-to-day responsibility delegated to the Management Team.

The AEC Board has elected to follow the principles and practices set out in the Charity Governance Code as published by the Charity Commission.

Safeguarding

Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders recognises the importance of its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people entrusted to its care (“the beneficiaries”).

The Charity is committed to on-going child protection training for all staff/coaches/volunteers and trustees to develop their understanding of the signs of abuse and how to respond to disclosures of abuse. Anyone in leadership who has contact with children/young people will complete an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any trustee appointment is subject to a DBS check; we believe this is sensible to mitigate risks to our beneficiaries and the charity.

AEC’s safeguarding policy, referred to as the Child And Adults At Risk Protection Policy (“CAARP Policy”), was reviewed and updated on 31 October 2020. As part of this process, which included a peer review, the roles of Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Safeguarding Trustee Lead were created and appointments have been made for each role, which were subject to Board approval. The latest version of our CAARP Policy is available for public view on AEC’s website.

All organisations working with children must have a designated individual who takes the lead on safeguarding, known as Nominated Child Protection Lead or Designated Safeguarding Officer. As part of AEC’s commitment to the protection of our young people and to best practice, two staff members completed Designated Safeguarding Officer training provided by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). In addition, one of our staff members became a trained mental health first aider and all of AEC’s trustees took part in online safeguarding training provided by the NSPCC.

Trustees

There were no changes to the Board of Trustees in the year 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021. Duncan Smith resigned as a trustee of AEC on 21 October 2021.

Our approach to trustee appointment and recruitment

We have a thorough and thoughtful approach to the selection and appointment of trustees. We advertise trustee vacancies on sites such as Reach Volunteering and Getting on Board; we participate in the BoardMatch events run by the East London Business Alliance (ELBA), and we share vacancies on social media, such as LinkedIn. For roles requiring technical skills we also approach membership organisations for specialist roles (eg ICAEW for financial skills and IPD for people skills).

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

We are mindful of the importance of increasing the diversity of our Board and that to achieve this, as trustee positions become available, we will aim to ‘cast the net’ widely and consider appointing younger trustees, placing value in candidates’ passion, not simply on their skills or professional experience.

All AEC trustee applicants are invited to complete an Expression of Interest form and submissions are shared with the Board. Suitable candidates are informally interviewed by at least two existing AEC trustees, then invited to attend an AEC event or to visit our gym to see what we do ‘at first hand’. We aim for the candidate to meet at least 75% of the trustees by this stage of the process. If the candidate is considered a potential appointee, they are invited to attend a Board meeting as an observer. If the candidate subsequently confirms that they still wish to proceed, the Board agrees in principle whether they wish to appoint the candidate. If they do, the potential new trustee receives an induction pack (in line with the Charity Commission’s recommendations), is subject to a DBS check and is asked to sign a declaration to confirm that they have not been disqualified from acting as a trustee and to declare any conflicts of interest. Assuming no issues arise from the DBS check or declarations, the trustee’s appointment is formally voted on by the AEC Board.

Board self-assessment

In 2021-22 we will conduct a Board self-assessment in which we explore opportunities to improve the Board’s effectiveness and ways in which it can add value to AEC. The self-assessment will answer the question “ As a Board, how could we do better ?” This review will give us the opportunity to reflect on whether the Board needs to change or evolve to be of most value to AEC (particularly in the post-pandemic world) - and, if so, how we will achieve that.

The data will be gathered via a questionnaire, comprising a combination of a numeric ratings and qualitative comments about the Board, its role, composition, culture, meetings etc and the performance of the Chair.

AEC’s objectives and activities

Our purpose, as stated in our Memorandum and Articles of Association, is to provide facilities for the recreation and leisure time occupation of young people under the age of 25 in the interest of social welfare.

The charity provides training in cheerleading activities and performance opportunities, to develop young peoples’ fundamental capacities, so that:

They may grow to full maturity as individuals, so that they become effective and considerate members of their communities, and their conditions of life may be improved.

The lasting implications and effects of the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK have confirmed the value and significance of AEC’s role in the lives of the athletes and families with whom we work.

The pandemic particularly affected our local communities, with most of our families living in deprived areas which recorded some of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates in 2020.

Now, more than ever, we see how much of a transformative impact we can have on the lives of the young people and families we support.

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

AEC’s mission, vision and values


*Our Mission*	*Our Vision*	*Our Values*


Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders (AEC) strives to develop Britain's best cheerleaders while transforming and inspiring children and young people to reach their full potential.	Cheerleading is an effective way of helping children and young people to be healthy and gain confidence, while helping them to make a positive difference - both in their community and in the world.	Consistency Integrity Perseverance Persistence

Background and history

AEC began in 1996, as a grassroots outreach programme as part of the Ascension Church Centre, with the aim of keeping young people off the streets and out of trouble.

When AEC ranked bottom at their first National Championship in 1997, they were fed-up with negative stereotypes. They decided that coming bottom at Nationals was something they would not accept; instead, they combined efforts with the aspiration of achieving a different result in future competitions.

The following year, in 1998, they won their first National trophy, and, in doing so, proved to themselves that hard work can bring success. With sheer determination and teamwork, this group of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds committed themselves to being the best that they could be.

Over two decades later, AEC have firmly established themselves as the best of British Cheerleading, consistently coming top in the nation’s fastest growing sporting activity.

In 2019-20 - and into 2020-21 - the impact of the global Coronavirus pandemic severely impacted AEC’s ability to deliver its traditional services for young people. But the AEC and Talent Central teams showed their ability to adapt, moving their activities online as they continued to support and encourage the young athletes, many of whom were facing uncertainty and isolation during the national lockdown.

Our silver anniversary

2020-21 marked a particularly special year for AEC – our silver anniversary.

Unfortunately, the ongoing impact of the Coronavirus pandemic meant that our 25[th] year started with

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

disappointment and loss for everyone involved when the gym was again forced to close in line with government restrictions.

AEC’s activities moved back online and, once again, the focus for AEC and Talent Central was on ensuring that athletes and their families felt supported. Thankfully, the lifting of the government restrictions later in the year, meant that the young people were able to return to the sport they love and celebrate just being together.

While not without its challenges, our silver anniversary year ended on a high with all athletes competing at a National Championships, celebrating two years of hard work at our annual awards evening and with ambitions and aspirations for future success firmly in place.

Director’s 2020-21 Report

Angela Green, Programme Director – Ascension Eagles, writes:

When Ascension Eagles had to close its doors for the very first time in over two decades, due to the UK’s Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, there were many unknowns and challenges. Overnight, our members lost all routine: school, physical activity, seeing friends and family, and their ‘safe place’ – the Ascension Eagles’ gym at Talent Central.

However, our team rose to the challenge and adapted quickly, transferring our team activities online and creating a schedule which would keep the young people and their families engaged.

When sport was given the go-ahead to re-start in August 2020, our athletes and their families were excited to be returning to Talent Central, even with the tough restrictions that needed to be in place. Our classes resumed, with socially distanced practices becoming the ‘new normal’ for the teams.

Cheerleading is a physical activity encompassing several disciplines - such as gymnastics, dance and stunting - and which requires athletes to make physical contact. This meant that, although we were able to meet in person and train together, in order to keep the athletes and our coaches safe our classes didn’t resemble the ‘cheerleading’ that our athletes were used to.

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Sadly, this return was short lived, and the gym was forced to close once again at the beginning of November 2020 for the month and then again during December, without any indication of when we would be able to reopen.

These additional lockdowns hit our athletes and our families hard. Although such restrictions were not completely new, our young athletes had, yet again, lost everything; not just their safe space at Talent Central but also their chance to be with friends and family for festivities, such as Diwali and Christmas.

This time we found athletes were less enthusiastic about online classes. With attendance falling, it became more difficult to engage with our young people the way we had during the first lockdown. Despite this, our commitment to supporting our young people and their families remained our top priority. We cut back the online class schedule and focussed on checking-in with families by calling weekly to talk to parents; we also offered shorter check-in sessions online for athletes to take part in other activities, including conditioning classes, creating the opportunity for them to talk to their peers and coaches.

Supporting the AEC family

One of the most important things about AEC is that it acts as a community for so many of our families who, multiple times a week - either in practice or as a parent - spend time with other parents, for example while waiting for their children to finish classes.

We wanted to make sure that the parents and our athletes felt connected to each other and knew that we were still there for them, even if it couldn’t be in person.

The pandemic lockdowns also created opportunities. For example:

Two of our staff team studied for and achieved a Sports Psychology Diploma online. One of them also received an Anxiety Management Diploma, enabling us to further support our athletes and their families
We used AEC's private Facebook group to signpost our athletes to a stress and anxiety workshop being led by an external group
We also encouraged the athletes to sign-up to join the nationwide ‘Kindness by Post’ initiative run by the Mental Health Collective, through which people were inspired to send letters, pictures and messages of goodwill to others - and received the same in return.

As we looked to prepare for when we might reopen Talent Central, we knew that our role in supporting the mental wellbeing of our members and their families was going to be even more important than ever, due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on their lives.

As soon as we were able to reopen the gym in April 2021, we delivered a face-to-face mental health workshop for the athletes. This was led by our newly trained member of staff and included insights into how the human brain works, advice on managing fears and guidance on working through the brain’s natural processes to overcome any feeling of anxiety. This was well-attended and received positive feedback - for example:

“I thought that yesterday’s session was good because it made me realise that I was in control of more things than I thought. I can use what I learnt in my real-life experiences, and I think I would like to do more classes like that.” Athlete feedback

“I thought the session was very relaxing and calm. I found it useful as we got to learn about our brains and about different ways we could control our thoughts and feelings.” Athlete feedback

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

We also arranged for qualified therapist Deborah Fields to deliver a 90-minute online presentation on body image, including a question-and-answer session, for all our athletes and families. Deborah has been a clinical supervisor and training director at a Harley Street clinic for eating disorders. She has over 50,000 hours of experience in her specialism, including many forms of mental health and wellbeing.

Junior Leadership Team (JLT)

Our Junior Leadership Team faced a really challenging year, given that their JLT journey began between the Covid-19 lockdowns.

In a normal year each JLT member works closely with their mentor and lead coach, to ensure that each young leader receives as much support as necessary to develop their leadership and coaching skills. However, as a result of the enforced closure of Talent Central in November, the in-person interactions - which are such an important part of this programme – couldn’t take place. Many of our lead coaches were doing their regular day-job from home while supporting their own children with online learning, in addition to the sessions they were delivering for our athletes - so the coaches had very little capacity to support our JLT members.

We therefore created a special online group where we could communicate with them as a specific community and we used this to set them challenges, encourage them to ask questions and to support them through their JLT journey, aware, of course, that they were also managing their own personal challenges brought on by the further lockdowns.

Our junior leaders were encouraged to lead sessions alongside their coaches online for our AEC athletes and they were also given the opportunity to prepare sessions for the full programme in conditioning, dance, crafts, cooking - or anything at all in which they felt they would lead well and which would benefit the AEC community.

It was important to us that our JLT members had a chance to lead and develop their coaching delivery, even if it meant them delivering something that wasn’t cheerleading. This worked well, and it was a refreshing change for our AEC athletes to hear from others outside of their regular coaching staff, giving them experience of different leadership and coaching styles.

When the gym reopened in April 2021 and we were once again able to run classes face-to-face, it was encouraging to see our JLT members going straight into their new coaching roles with confidence, despite not having led inperson in the previous five months.

As a result of our support, four of our junior leaders achieved their coaching qualifications, despite the challenging circumstances. All ten junior leaders went through safeguarding training and UK Coaching Sudden Cardiac Arrest certification in the few short months before the end of the season.

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Our young heroes

UK Coaching Hero Award

Coach Louise Horide received a UK Coaching Hero Award for her online coaching sessions with our Special Educational Needs (SEN) team, Serenity.

From January 2021 Louise led 24 sessions specifically for our SEN athletes both online and then in-person at the gym.

She was one of 25 ‘lockdown coaching heroes’ were voted for by the public for their innovations and achievements in keeping people moving during the Coronavirus lockdowns.

AEC coach Louise Horide is congratulated by a member of our SEN team

Over 500 coaches across the UK were nominated by the public and over 65,000 votes were cast. Each winner received a memento from UK Coaching’s Royal Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, to mark the significant difference they made to people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Louise was also interviewed on BBC radio about her role in coaching as a young person and why working with people with disabilities is so important to her.

Year of the Young Person 2021

Newham Council designated 2021 the ‘ Year of the Young Person ’ to showcase the talents of the borough’s children and young people.

As part of this initiative, AEC coach and senior athlete Simone Wetherell was recognised as one of Newham’s 21 exceptional young people.

Simone was interviewed about her achievements at AEC and why our programme is so important to her.

Exceptional Young Person Simone Wetherell (left) with Programme Director Angela Green

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders in 2020-21

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The Coronavirus pandemic meant that cheerleading competitions were cancelled and our athletes were unable to train to their usual elite level. The UK Government’s pandemic measures also impacted our ability to deliver our schools outreach programme and our recreational classes.

2020-21 AEC competition results

The cancellation of competitive cheerleading events as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic meant that Ascension Eagles were only able to participate in one competition event during the 2020-21 season.

----- Start of picture text -----
Prophecy Junior Level 2
Prodigy Mini Level 1 Prep (aged 5-8) Symphony Youth Level 1 (aged 9-11)
(aged 10-14)
1 [st] 1 [st] 6 [th]
Royalty Senior Level 1 Majesty Senior Level 2 Trinity Senior Coed Level 3
(aged 10+) (aged 11+) (aged 11+)
2 [nd] 3 [rd] 1 [st]
----- End of picture text -----

Symphony on the beach before the Prodigy were awarded 1[st] place at Future Our athletes were excited to be able to Bournemouth competition Cheer in Bournemouth spend time together again

“Getting to compete at Bournemouth made my daughter really happy. It felt like a bit of normality which helped with the anxiety and stress that she was feeling as a result of the lockdown. She was so glad to be getting back to something that she really enjoys.”

Parent of an AEC athlete

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Talent Central in 2020-21

Talent Central is London’s first “cheer gym”, based on the well-respected principles, values and training ethos of AEC Cheerleaders. The centre is used by many athletes, from beginners all the way through to other competitive cheer programmes. AEC delivers its outreach work through the Talent Central brand.

Our schools’ outreach programme

The coronavirus pandemic meant that we could not operate our Talent Central outreach programme. When the government restrictions were eased, we resumed our work with two schools.

Our focus will now be on rebuilding the schools programme and we aim to re-introduce our highly successful schools’ showcase events in 2021-22.

Talent Central recreational classes

The pandemic lockdowns also had a huge impact on our programme of weekly recreational classes at Talent Central.

During the 2021 lockdowns we transferred these weekly classes online – something we had not done in 2020. The feedback was incredibly positive, with parents and our young people expressing their gratitude for these classes.

“My daughter really enjoyed today’s Zoom session and was excited to be star of the day! She has “My daughter is so happy to be joining in Zoom been practicing like mad and I can’t believe she classes with you. She hasn’t stopped talking about actually got her back walkover today. I’m so proud it since I told her. She has been really down recently of her. Thank you guys so much for persevering and this has really perked her spirits.” with her to get this skill.” Parent feedback Parent feedback “I just wanted to say what a great idea this was “Thank you for running Zoom classes through and thank you to the whole TC team for making the lockdown, it was lovely for my daughter to have experience of learning over Zoom fun.” something to look forward to each week.” Parent feedback Parent feedback

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Chair’s review

The 2020-21 season marked AEC’s silver anniversary, but it was not a year of celebration. The continued impact of the UK’s Covid-19 pandemic meant that the team had to work hard to keep AEC’s athletes engaged and motivated through another round of lockdown restrictions. Even when athletes were able to return to the gym, they were not able to immediately return to stunting and close-contact activities because of the need to maintain social distancing.

In keeping with AEC’s values of perseverance and persistence, the AEC team remained positive, focused and determined, creating opportunities where they could, to ensure that our support for our young people and the wider ‘AEC family’ never waivered.

Despite the significant challenges, AEC’s membership levels remained healthy. We are nonetheless acutely aware that the pandemic will leave a legacy for AEC; we will need to rebuild our teams, rejuvenate our schools programme and reenergise the aspirations and ambitions of our young athletes.

The Board is extremely proud that AEC’s Programme Director, Angela Green, was one of the four members of a group of experts who created the cheerleading industry’s “ Return to Play ” protocol, outlining how the sport could safely resume in October 2020, following an easing of the Government’s pandemic measures. This protocol was approved by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), thus enabling cheerleading teams across the country to safely reintroduce stunting and personal contact into their classes at the end of the lockdown.

Impact measurement

In 2019-20, before the Coronavirus pandemic, we finalised our theory of change, setting out the desired outcomes from AEC’s activities and the indicators we would use to measure them:

We believe that our impact measurement work has several benefits for AEC: it helps us to benchmark how our athletes are feeling so that we can offer them the support and pastoral care they need, and it helps us to show our funders the difference that their investment is making - but it also highlights areas in which we could improve our services and how we deliver them.

In February 2021 we surveyed our athletes, using an online questionnaire to help us understand how the pandemic was impacting them, in terms of their confidence, stress and sense of wellbeing.

Unsurprisingly, given the Government measures in place at the time and the disruption they had already endured, the athletes reported increased stress levels. However, it was also clear that AEC’s online activities and pastoral support programme had helped to mitigate the stress that they were feeling:

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Strategic priorities for 2021-22

A potentially difficult economic environment in the UK and continued uncertainty about the Coronavirus pandemic will impact our operations in 2021-22 and potentially beyond. It will take us more than one season to get AEC back to its pre-pandemic position.

The Board and management team have agreed the following priorities for 2021-22;

1. Make a transformational difference

We will focus on rebuilding our membership levels
We want to ensure our programmes remain accessible and meet the needs of our local young people.

2. Grow Talent Central

We aim to re-establish tumble and gym hire
We are focused on rebuilding our schools’ programme.

3. Ensure sustainability – a permanent home for AEC

In 2021, we signed a new three-year lease for our current premises; however the lease can be broken by either party, at any time, with three-months’ notice.
AEC’s Board is in discussion with the landlord regarding their plans for Gallions Reach. In the Board’s view it is likely that this retail park will be redeveloped at some point in the short to medium term, which means that AEC will need to find a new ‘home’ from which to operate, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.
While our preferred option is to find a way in which we could remain at Gallions Reach, AEC’s Property Strategy team are continuing to explore alternative locations which could be temporary or permanent options for AEC. Any change in AEC’s current arrangements will incur additional costs (ie both in terms of set-up and ongoing operational costs). The Board has therefore determined that AEC’s reserves should be maintained to contribute to those, as yet unknown, costs, which could be significant.

Outlook for 2021-22 and beyond

While our operations in 2020-21 continued to be severely impacted by the Government measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Board remains confident in the long-term outlook for AEC. The imperatives of young people

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

wishing to participate in team sport, together with society’s growing need to manage the risks of childhood obesity and a focus on the importance of youth mental wellbeing, remain as compelling as ever. AEC’s offering has an even more relevant role in a post-pandemic world, helping young people to recover and maintain their fitness, self-confidence and resilience, after almost two years of upheaval and isolation.

In the short to medium term we are mindful of the increasing economic pressures on our families – such as rising fuel prices, increasing inflation and parental fears about employment prospects. We will focus on ensuring our services remain as accessible and affordable as possible to help our families weather these potential pressures, so that our athletes can continue to do the sport they love.

Our priority for the next year will be to rebuild AEC by, for example, encouraging new members to join us and by rejuvenating our previously successful schools’ programme. We will continue to look for operational efficiencies and ways to reduce our costs. We will also look for ways to generate more revenue by diversifying our income stream to mitigate any impact of reduced external funding.

With regard to the longer term , we are encouraged by the news in July 2020 that the International Olympic Committee have granted full recognition to the International Cheer Union, making cheerleading eligible to apply to be in the Olympic programme. While there is no certainty that this will happen and it would not be before the 2028 Olympics at the earliest, we believe that this recognition will help to raise awareness of our sport and will provide an aspirational pathway for our young people.

Funding and Support

We are immensely grateful to our supporters for their financial donations. Without their continued support we would not be able to make such a difference to so many young lives. In 2020-21 we were fortunate to receive support from:

The Tuixen Foundation; the Charities Aid Foundation; Gallions Reach Shopping Park; The Jack Petchey Foundation; The Royal Docks Trust (London); abrdn.

We also received a donation from the employer of trustee Duncan Smith in recognition of his voluntary work as a trustee of AEC.

In addition to funding and gift-in-kind support we receive from the above organisations, we are also grateful for the support and commitment of our trustees, our members and their families, who volunteer so many hours annually to help us achieve incredible results.

Friends Of Ascension

The ‘Friends of Ascension’ (FOA) Committee was established in 2019 as a supporter association and fundraising group for Ascension Eagles. Unfortunately the Coronavirus pandemic restrictions curtailed FOA’s activities in 2020-21, but FOA are aiming to resume their events programme in 2021-22. We would like to thank FOA for giving their time to support and fundraise for AEC. FOA’s work brings an even greater sense of community to AEC and this support is greatly appreciated.

Arrangements for setting pay and remuneration of Key Management Personnel

Key Management Personnel comprise the Trustees and the Management Team. Trustees are not remunerated in their capacity as a Trustee. The remuneration of the Management Team is determined by the Trustees’ annually in a Performance Management Meeting which also considers sector parameters and benchmarks.

Public benefit

The Trustees have complied with their duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 and have paid due regard to public benefit when preparing this report. There are no unreasonable restrictions, which would prevent young people in

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

London benefiting from Ascension Eagles’ services and support offered. The benefit provided to the public is consistent with the aims of the charity. All activities have been undertaken for the furtherance of public benefit and for the furtherance of AEC’s aims and objectives as per our Memorandum and Articles of Association. Further detail and public impact of our actions in 2020-21 are included elsewhere in this report.

Financial review

The reserves as at the beginning of the year were £534,469. AEC recorded an increase in the year in unrestricted funds from £478,250 to £524,163.

Restricted funds were unchanged at £56,219.

Reserves policy

The Board believes that the minimum level of the unrestricted general fund should be the equivalent of six months' usual salaries and other operating costs. However, the last couple of years results have been significantly affected by the pandemic so pre-pandemic costs have been used for the calculation. This currently equates to approximately £145,000 based on 2018-19 results.

The general fund at year end was £155,871. Any significant excess operating surplus at each year end is transferred to the Gym Development Project designated fund, set up to find a permanent home and gym facility for Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders.

Total unrestricted reserves including designated funds and investment revaluation reserve at year end was £524,163.

Preparation of this report

This report has been prepared taking advantage of the small companies’ exemption of section 415A of the Companies Act 2006.This report was approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 1 7 January 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Sue Winston

Chair of Board of Trustees, Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders

Date: 17 January 2022

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ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Structure, governance and management

Safeguarding

Trustees

Our approach to trustee appointment and recruitment

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Board self-assessment

AEC’s objectives and activities

They may grow to full maturity as individuals, so that they become effective and considerate members of their communities, and their conditions of life may be improved.

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

AEC’s mission, vision and values

Background and history

Our silver anniversary

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Director’s 2020-21 Report

Angela Green, Programme Director – Ascension Eagles, writes:

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Supporting the AEC family

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Junior Leadership Team (JLT)

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Our young heroes

UK Coaching Hero Award

Year of the Young Person 2021

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders in 2020-21

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

2020-21 AEC competition results

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Talent Central in 2020-21

Our schools’ outreach programme

Talent Central recreational classes

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Chair’s review

Impact measurement

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Strategic priorities for 2021-22

1. Make a transformational difference

2. Grow Talent Central

3. Ensure sustainability – a permanent home for AEC

Outlook for 2021-22 and beyond

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Funding and Support

The Tuixen Foundation; the Charities Aid Foundation; Gallions Reach Shopping Park; The Jack Petchey Foundation; The Royal Docks Trust (London); abrdn.

Friends Of Ascension

Arrangements for setting pay and remuneration of Key Management Personnel

Public benefit

ASCENSION EAGLES CHEERLEADERS (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

Financial review

Reserves policy

Preparation of this report

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