Company registration number: 05385880 Charity registration number: 1110956
ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
(A company limited by guarantee)
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Contents
| Reference and Administrative Details | 1 |
|---|---|
| Trustees' Report | 2 to 9 |
| Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities | 10 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 11 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 12 |
| Balance Sheet | 13 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 14 to 26 |
ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Reference and Administrative Details
Trustees at year end Nigel Hutchings Robert Bourns Geraldine Buckland Bethan Evans Ashley Daniells Secretary Victoria Gibbs Principal Office TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP Registered Office C/o Milsted Langdon LLP Freshford House Redcliffe Way Bristol BS1 6NL Company Registration Number 05385880 Charity Registration Number 1110956 Independent Examiner Anthony Robin Dicker FCA
Trustees at year end
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Trustees' Report
The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 August 2020.
Objectives and activities
Objects and aims
The aim of our charity is to continue to develop partnerships between business and education (originally pioneered by the Bristol Education Action Zone) for the benefit of young people in education.
The objectives of the charity, as laid down in its Memorandum and Articles of Association, are to tackle inequality of opportunity by raising the aspiration, achievement and attainment of young people in the West of England. We aim to enrich educational opportunities, improve access to education, create and develop sustained learning partnerships between the education, business and public sectors. We also work to advance the learning of professionals involved in these sectors to support the creation of communities where learning comes first, and opportunity is equal for all.
How the activities deliver public benefit
The overall aim of the Charity is to provide children and young people the opportunity to develop their skills, raise their attainment and widen aspirations through the assistance and interaction with volunteers from business.
Ablaze’s objective therefore provides children and young people the chance they may not otherwise have.
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
Achievements and performance
The impact of COVID-19 on our work has been significant. All programme activity ceased on 16 March 2020 and at the time of writing, 1 March 2021, is still largely on hold. The narrative section provides more detail on the effects of the pandemic and alternative activity undertaken during this period. The following information reflects the period from 1 September 2019 to 16 March 2020.
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Ablaze supported 361 Primary School pupils with 248 volunteer Reading Buddies and Number
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Partners.
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We managed a total of 27 partnerships between 19 businesses and 23 schools, some schools
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having more than one business partner.
• 80% of Primary School programme volunteers felt their pupils’ reading or maths skills had improved.
• All of the businesses that took part in our Primary School programmes felt that volunteering had been of benefit to their business.
• 91% of Secondary School students who participated in West of England Mentoring (WEM) programmes learned more about careers, 97% learned more about the skills needed for work and employability, 77% felt they had got better in taking part in discussions and 84% felt more confident in themselves.
• We trained a record number of mentors to take part in the fourth Airbus Flying Challenge. Year 9 students were able to take part in ten practical sessions that helped develop their teamwork and leadership skills.
• We continued our work managing student mentoring for the Future Quest programme. The mentoring aims to increase students’ confidence and motivation; encourage informed post-16 planning and increase positive continuation through to the end of KS5.
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Trustees' Report
• We launched our literacy campaign to help Bristol to be a city that reads to its children with the premier of our campaign video.
• Our fifth poetry competition, supported by Intellect Books and Bristol Water, had a record number of entries, with over 550 poems being sent from over 20 different schools in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. We launched our competition at College Green with poet Miles Chambers and Bristol Water mascot ‘Hydro Harry’.
The COVID pandemic has impacted Ablaze in all areas of operation, finance, strategy and business planning this year. We have had to adapt and change our activity, our business and our development plans due to the lengthy lockdown and school closures. At the end of this financial year, we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation:
• The cessation of all our programme activity since March means we’ve been unable to support the young people in the West of England,
• We’ve had to put our plans for growth on hold and instead use our designated reserve funds to keep the charity running,
• We’ve not been able to conduct our usual evaluation of impact,
• We’ve stepped up our fundraising to try and mitigate our loss of income.
Our team have worked incredibly hard during this time to develop online versions of our programmes so that we can continue to offer students support while the pandemic continues. Our virtual WEM is ready and 13 of our partnerships have signed up to deliver in 2021. Age and safeguarding issues have made it harder to find virtual solutions for our Primary programmes but we continue to try, despite the barriers we face.
Strategically our goal for the next financial year will be to keep flexing our services in response to the continuing pandemic and maintain our relationships with schools and businesses in order to be able to reboot our face-to-face programmes once the situation eases. We anticipate this may not happen until summer 2021. In the meantime, we will continue with our stepped-up fundraising to mitigate our losses and attempt to preserve our level of reserves.
We were unable to collect evaluation data for our Primary programmes from schools or pupils this year due to school closures. We did gather evaluation and feedback from our business volunteers 80% of whom reported that their pupils had improved their reading and maths skills.
We did manage to arrange online meetings between some schools and their partner business, where school co-ordinators fed back on the great value that Reading Buddies and Number Partners bring to raising the confidence in children’s reading and number skills and how important Ablaze’s intervention is to their more disadvantaged children.
When we asked what other benefits pupils got from having a Reading Buddy, a National Friendly volunteer said, “Chattiness and confidence improves throughout the year.” A volunteer from BBC commented, “I think it helped her to focus more on the reading, which we achieved by doing fun comprehension tests together at the end of each reading session.” Likewise, when asked, Number Partners volunteers said, “Attention and respect from other adults”, “Being able to talk and think about numbers at their own pace and in a small group” and “Interaction with another adult, boost in selfesteem, friendships outside of classroom learning.”
Some of our business partners have been offering support to their schools during lockdown, for example, National Friendly helped their partner school buy books and resources to support pupils during lockdown. Speed Communications recorded book readings for their school to send home to pupils.
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This years’ poetry competition, sponsored by Bristol Water, saw the biggest number of entries ever. We increased the size of our book to enable us to publish 90 of the best poems. As we could not host our annual Poetry Celebration Event, we visited our competition winners on their doorsteps to present them with their prizes.
Despite a challenging year for WEM, with all activity paused from March 2020 due to the pandemic, we still completed a third of our partnerships and collated enough evaluation data to demonstrate the impact of the programme. Overall, 91% of students who participated learned more about careers, 97% learned more about the skills needed for work and employability, 77% felt they had got better in taking part in discussions while 84% felt more confident in themselves.
Particularly pleasing this year was the significant impact of the WEM programme in Norton Hill School whose Year 9 students were mentored by Bristol Water. The school reported that:
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100% of students said they felt more confident about themselves and their abilities
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93% of students said they were better at taking part in discussions
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100% said they had learned about skills needed for work
• 100% said they felt either a little (86%) or a lot better (14%) about school since taking part in the programme
When Covid-19 paused WEM, we reached out to our partner businesses to see how they could help our students locked down at home for the summer term. We created a series of ‘lockdown resources’ - video blogs filmed by mentors. The topics ranged from ‘How to Look After Yourself’, ‘Managing Your Time’, ‘How to be Professional Onscreen’ and ‘How to Use Lockdown to Build Your CV’, with corresponding activities and tasks devised by WEM to support each topic. These were emailed and tweeted out to all our schools and received very positively.
As the pandemic continued to impact on the delivery of the WEM programme, we contacted all our schools to discuss how WEM could be done virtually in their school. We created a virtual WEM (VWEM) model that many schools could support.
We renewed our contract, for a third year with Future Quest, part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme funded by the Office for Students (formally HEFCE), aiming to tackle the low percentage of university application and uptake of places in the region. Ablaze continued to manage student mentoring for the Future Quest programme.
Once again, 27 secondary schools in Bristol and the surrounding area were offered support, teacher training and resources to deliver mentoring to Y11 Future Quest students. Activity had to cease when schools closed due to COVID. We provided some online resources for schools to send home to students but were unable to collect any significant data for the remainder of the academic year.
The Airbus Foundation flagship youth development programme, Airbus Flying Challenge, began its fourth year very successfully. We recruited and trained a record number of mentors from Airbus staff. Students participated in the first 10 workshops, hosted at the Airbus Filton site during the Autumn. They learned about aviation history, the physics of flight, airplane design and testing and the work that takes place at the Filton site. They worked in teams on practical challenges that included using materials and building structures, design and making models to fit specifications and hydraulics. Alongside this, students practised and recorded a range of soft skills including teamwork, communication, problem solving, making decisions, planning and production, leadership.
The COVID pandemic meant students were unable to do the second set of workshops we had planned. We were unable to collect our usual evaluation data. However, we asked our mentors for some qualitative feedback in April. It shows how much the students had benefited and developed during their time at Airbus.
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Trustees' Report
“On beginning the programme, some students were more reserved and found it harder to contribute to group tasks and conversations. However, by the end of the 10 weeks, these students were far more confidents, contributing significantly to tasks and conversations. This showed the increase in confidence both in general and in their abilities.”
“I believe a lot of the students are really enjoying the programme and will consider engineering as a future option, especially at Airbus. If they apply and are successful at Airbus, then they would be a great asset to the company.”
Ablaze continues to collaborate closely with West of England Combined Authority and the now established Careers Hub, managed by the LEP and WECA combined.
Ablaze is a partner on the Bristol Reading in Schools Consortium, BRISC. We work collaboratively with a range of organisations and individuals to improve Primary pupils reading through volunteers, like our Reading Buddies, and more formal reading support. In addition, Ablaze is also involved in Bristol City Council’s campaign, Bristol a Reading City. These initiatives are in line with the Mayor’s One City Plan pledge, that every Bristol pupil that needs it should have reading support.
Ablaze continues to benefit from pro-bono office space and IT support from TLT, for which we thank the firm.
Ablaze would like to thank the Garfield Weston Foundation for their continuing support, with a second pledged grant of £25,000 to be released in 2021.
Our partnership with Speed Communications continued through this year. Speed helped Ablaze work on our Literacy Campaign, working with local animation company Sun & Moon Studios to create our wonderful video. Speed have also worked with Ablaze on social media strategy and will be working on our 2021 fundraising campaign.
Speed said, “At Speed we believe in the power of communication to make positive change happen. Our partnership with Ablaze aligns perfectly with this belief and we have seen first-hand some of the great work they do with children in Bristol and the South West. We are very proud to support them and look forward to supporting them in their fundraising effort in 2021.”
We have now embedded our charging model with business and school partners. This year 100% of our businesses and schools committed to paying for our primary school services and for WEM. Overall, 17% of our income was forecast to come from our service charges. Most of these charges were collected between September and December 2019 and in the context of the impact of the COVID pandemic, a loss of £3,200, was relatively small. However, in 2020/21 we anticipate a much larger income loss, around £30,000 lower than the budgeted figure for 2019/20.
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Trustees' Report
Financial review
The charity reported net expenditure of £14,272. This was less than the net income forecasted in our budget by £23,361, meaning our funds reduced to £171,524 by the end of the year. This was due to the COVID pandemic.
In 2017/18 and 2018/19 we focused on growing our reserves in order that we could designate funds to expand our programmes and support more children in the South West.
We designated £50,227 to employ new members of staff. We employed an additional WEM Project Manager at the start of 2020 and planned to recruit an additional member of staff shortly afterwards. However, in March 2020 the previous WEM Project Manager left Ablaze and COVID caused the temporary cessation of our programmes. We are therefore deferring spending these designated reserves until we can run our programmes again as normal.
We expect our expenses to exceed our income in 2020/21. To minimise the impact on our reserves: we are adapting our programmes to be delivered online until face-to-face delivery can resume; we are looking at alternative funding streams and opportunities for contract work; we are investing in fundraising and raising awareness of Ablaze with funders, schools and businesses; and we have claimed the CJRS Grant (furlough) where our workload was reduced due to lockdown.
Policy on reserves
General reserves at 31 August 2020 were £159,446.
The charity’s aims require activities to be sustained for the foreseeable future and as such the charity aims to carry forward sufficient reserves to facilitate this. The Trustees have set Ablaze’s reserves policy at a level sufficient to fund working capital and any unexpected expenditure or shortfalls in income. £109,926 in unrestricted reserves, being equivalent to 6 months operating expenditure, including overheads, as well as redundancy and wind-up costs is ringfenced to satisfy this policy. These funds would enable Ablaze to continue in operations for six months should its funding cease or decrease to the point that Ablaze can no longer continue as a going concern.
In addition to these reserves, and in accordance with our Business Plan, the Trustees have also designated the following funds from our unrestricted reserves for the year 2019/20.
Fundraising
We aim to spend £14,000, our designated funds for fundraising in 2020/21 to try and recoup the reserves we have had to spend on core activity during COVID. We will continue to use our contracted fundraiser to make applications to Trusts and Foundations. Alongside this, Speed Communications will support a fundraising campaign this year, aimed at raising money from the business sector.
Growth
Our plans for growth were put on hold due to the pandemic. We still believe we need to expand our team to increase our capacity once the pandemic is over. However, we will need to wait until towards the end of the 2020/21 financial year to assess whether we have the money to do this. We have ringfenced the £50,227 designated for growth, for now.
The total ringfenced reserves plus designated funds shown here leaves us with a shortfall of £14,707 at the end of the 2020/21 financial year. The Trustees are looking to raise funds to cover this shortfall through our fundraising in 2020/21.
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Trustees' Report
Principal funding sources
Following on from the creation of a fundraising strategy for Ablaze, we contracted two fundraising specialists; one to do a large number of small and medium applications to Charitable Trusts; one to work on larger bids and public funds. For the 2019/20 financial year we designated £6,000 from our capital towards this.
Despite the drop in our income due to COVID, we have designated £14,000 to spend on fundraising in 2020/21 to try and recoup our current and expected losses.
Investment policy and objectives
The trustees have wide powers of investment. Surplus short-term funds are held in an interest-bearing deposit account.
Plans for future periods
Aims and key objectives for future periods
Our business plan for 2019/20 was significantly affected by the COVID-19 crisis and this situation demands a different set of priorities for plans for 2020/21. Whilst it is very difficult to plan in this uncertain landscape where we cannot predict what our operations will look like, we know that we need to focus on our mission and how we can continue to deliver on that. We will need a flexible, responsive approach to do that.
We have built up enough reserve income to see us through the next academic year. However, we will need to focus our energy on further income generation to survive and thrive beyond this year.
Our current situation is unique, it is not possible to plan as we would normally do, or have control over the landscape that we operate in. Our 2020/21 business plan will need to be flexible and responsive to the situation we find ourselves in. Our current key goals for Ablaze for this coming year are:
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Respond proactively to the changing situation by having flexible and multiple delivery methods for our programmes
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Maintain our relationships with schools and businesses to ensure that partnerships survive and thrive
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Fundraise to mitigate the loss of income predicted for 20/21
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CEO to emphasize income generation
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Continue to work on diversity and inclusion policy and strategy for Ablaze
Structure, governance and management
Nature of governing document
The charity is constituted as a private company, limited by guarantee and therefore has no share capital. It is governed by a memorandum and Articles of Association, dated 8 March 2005, and amended by Written Resolution, dated 1 August 2005. A further amendment was made on 26 February 2021. It is a registered charity with the Charity Commission.
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Trustees' Report
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
The Directors constantly review the skill set and experiences required by the Board of Trustees to ensure that Board membership reflects the correct balance and skills required to maximise effectiveness. The Directors who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page1.
A clear plan exists to recruit new Trustees to provide additional expertise and further ensure the sustainability of the charity. One new Trustee has been recruited this year.
Induction and training of trustees
Trustees receive training and are regularly updated on changes in legislation and best practice guidance issued from time to time by the Charity Commission.
Arrangements for setting key management personnel remuneration
The directors consider that the board of directors, who are the Trustees, comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All directors give their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. Details of directors’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 9 to the accounts.
Risk management
The Directors have carried out a thorough review of the risks facing the charity; the next review is scheduled for December 2021. A special risk register was created in response to the COVID pandemic and reviewed regularly. The top risks and reviewed at every Board meeting. The risks are prioritised, and the CEO and Directors are tasked to formulate and implement plans to minimise risks.
Ablaze’s current main risks are significant project failure due to COVID restrictions; continuing uncertainty due to COVID - inability to future proof or plan ahead; reduction in income means reserves continue to be spent on core expenses; inability to renew existing and secure new contract work. Clearly articulated mitigations are in place for these main risks.
Conclusion
This has been an extraordinarily challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an overnight cessation of the charity’s activities which had been based on an operating model of face to face engagement between business volunteers and children/young people in a school setting. But prudent use of reserves and active budget management has ensured Ablaze remains viable and sustainable. We have reviewed how we can deliver our services through virtual means which will offer opportunities for new forms of support even when the current crisis ends. It is clear that the impact of the pandemic on inequalities and educational achievement will make Ablaze’s work even more vital for young people in the West of England, and we stand ready to respond to this.
The Trustees want to place on record their thanks to the CEO and her staff for their resilience, positivity and focus during this challenging year.
Small companies provision statement
This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.
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Trustees' Report
26/04/2021 The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:
......................................... Bethan Evans Trustee
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities
The trustees (who are also the directors of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. 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 charitable company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, 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 Charities SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
26/04/2021
Approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:
......................................... Bethan Evans Trustee
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2020 which are set out on pages 12 to 26.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the charity’s trustees of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
...................................... Anthony Robin Dicker FCA
27/04/2021 Date:.............................
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 August 2020 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Income and Endowments | from: | |||||||
| Donations and legacies | 3 | 31,330 | 78,799 | 110,129 | 175,552 | |||
| Charitable activities | 4 | 31,992 | - | 31,992 | 42,373 | |||
| Investment income | 5 | 72 | - | 72 | 31 | |||
| Other income | 857 | - | 857 | 656 | ||||
| Total income | 64,251 | 78,799 | 143,050 | 218,612 | ||||
| Expenditure on: | ||||||||
| Charitable activities | 6 | (69,963) | (87,359) | (157,322) | (160,261) | |||
| Total expenditure | (69,963) | (87,359) | (157,322) | (160,261) | ||||
| Net (expenditure)/income | (5,712) | (8,560) | (14,272) | 58,351 | ||||
| Transfers between funds | (2,320) | 2,320 | - | - | ||||
| Net movement in funds | (8,032) | (6,240) | (14,272) | 58,351 | ||||
| Reconciliation of funds | ||||||||
| Total funds brought forward | 167,478 | 18,318 | 185,796 | 127,445 | ||||
| Total funds carried forward | 17 | 159,446 | 12,078 | 171,524 | 185,796 |
All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2019 is shown in note 17.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
(Registration number: 05385880) Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2020
| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | £ | £ | ||
| Fixed assets | ||||
| Tangible assets | 12 | 737 | 133 | |
| Current assets | ||||
| Debtors | 13 | 3,585 | 9,661 | |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 14 | 170,883 | 184,771 | |
| 174,468 | 194,432 | |||
| Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year | 15 | (3,681) | (8,769) | |
| Net current assets | 170,787 | 185,663 | ||
| Net assets | 171,524 | 185,796 | ||
| Funds of the charity: | ||||
| Restricted income funds | ||||
| Restricted funds | 17 | 12,078 | 18,318 | |
| Unrestricted income funds | ||||
| Unrestricted funds | 159,446 | 167,478 | ||
| Total funds | 17 | 171,524 | 185,796 |
For the financial year ending 31 August 2020 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
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The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476; and
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The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act 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.
The financial statements on pages 12 to 26 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on .................... 26/04/2021 and signed on their behalf by:
......................................... Bethan Evans Trustee
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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
1 Charity status
The charity is limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.
The address of its registered office is: C/o Milsted Langdon LLP Freshford House Redcliffe Way Bristol BS1 6NL
The principal place of business is: TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP
These financial statements were authorised for issue by the trustees on 26 April 2021.
2 Accounting policies
Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
Statement of compliance
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Basis of preparation
Ablaze meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
Going concern
The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic and the Government shut-down has impacted upon the charity's trading activity post year end. The trustees consider the impact on the charity to not be material and are confident that the charity, through Government support packages and bank reserves, has adequate resources to survive the crisis and accordingly the charity has continued to prepare its financial statements on a going concern basis.
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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
Income and endowments
All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.
Donations and legacies
Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the charity before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.
Grants receivable
Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.
Deferred income
Deferred income represents amounts received for future periods and is released to incoming resources in the period for which, it has been received. Such income is only deferred when:
- The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or - The donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.
Donated services and facilities
Where services are provided to the charity as a donation that would normally be purchased from our suppliers, this contribution is included in the financial statements at an estimate based on the value of the contributions to the charity whenever the value exceeds £1,000. A corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
Investment income
Interest on funds held on deposits is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
Expenditure
All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, when it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.
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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
Charitable activities
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Support costs
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.
Governance costs
These include the costs attributable to the charity's compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustee's meetings and reimbursed expenses.
Taxation
The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
Tangible fixed assets
Individual fixed assets costing £200 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.
Depreciation and amortisation
Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:
Asset class
Fixtures, fittings and equipment
Depreciation method and rate 33% straight line basis
Trade debtors
Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.
Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.
Trade creditors
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.
Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Fund structure
Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees's discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.
Pensions and other post retirement obligations
A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the charity has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods.
Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as employee benefit expense when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
3 Income from donations and legacies
| Unrestricted | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Restricted | Total | Total | ||||
| General | funds | 2020 | 2019 | ||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Donations and legacies; | |||||||
| Donations from individuals | 5,936 | 22,500 | 28,436 | 42,947 | |||
| Grants, including capital grants; | |||||||
| Government grants | 5,394 | 32,499 | 37,893 | 62,095 | |||
| Grants from companies | - | 23,800 | 23,800 | 50,510 | |||
| Donated services and facilities | 20,000 | - | 20,000 | 20,000 | |||
| 31,330 | 78,799 | 110,129 | 175,552 | ||||
For the year ended 31 August 2019 £54,951 of the above income was attributable to unrestricted funds and £120,601 to restricted funds.
4 Income from charitable activities
| Unrestricted | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Total | Total | |||||
| General | 2020 | 2019 | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Primary | purpose | trading | 31,992 | 31,992 | 42,373 |
For the year ended 31 August 2019 £42,373 of the above income was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil to restricted funds.
5 Investment income
| Unrestricted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Total | Total | |
| General | 2020 | 2019 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Interest receivable and similar income; | |||
| Interest receivable on bank deposits | 72 | 72 | 31 |
For the year ended 31 August 2019 £31 of the above income was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil to restricted funds.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
6 Expenditure on charitable activities
| Activity | Activity | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| undertaken | support | Total | Total | ||||
| directly | costs | 2020 | 2019 | ||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Celebration event | 63 | - | 63 | 82 | |||
| Travel and subsistence | 1,491 | - | 1,491 | - | |||
| Direct costs | 19,912 | - | 19,912 | 11,073 | |||
| Consultancy - Future Quest | 5,750 | - | 5,750 | 21,625 | |||
| Consultancy - WEM | 17,570 | - | 17,570 | 27,040 | |||
| Subcontract costs | 11,412 | - | 11,412 | 8,925 | |||
| Employment costs | 71,154 | - | 71,154 | 60,403 | |||
| Website development and | |||||||
| improvements to IT infrastructure | - | 1,349 | 1,349 | 622 | |||
| Rent | - | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | |||
| Core activities | - | 180 | 180 | 180 | |||
| Sundry and other costs | - | 926 | 926 | 3,782 | |||
| Printing, postage and stationery | - | 2,929 | 2,929 | 1,084 | |||
| Accountancy fees | 2,705 | - | 2,705 | 3,631 | |||
| Independent examiner's fee | 300 | - | 300 | 300 | |||
| Legal and professional fees | 1,406 | - | 1,406 | 1,381 | |||
| Depreciation of tangible fixed | |||||||
| assets | - | 175 | 175 | 133 | |||
| 131,763 | 25,559 | 157,322 | 160,261 | ||||
£69,963 (2019 - £57,836) of the above expenditure was attributable to unrestricted funds and £87,359 (2019 - £102,425) to restricted funds.
Included in the expenditure analysed above, are also governance costs of £4,411 (2019 - £5,312) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 7 for further details.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
7 Analysis of governance and support costs
Support costs allocated to charitable activities
| Premises | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| costs | Other | |||||||||||
| Information | including | support | Total | Total | ||||||||
| Basis of | technology | depreciation | costs | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| allocation | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||||
| Primary purpose | ||||||||||||
| trading | A | 1,349 | 20,000 | 4,210 | 25,559 | 25,801 |
Basis of allocation
Reference Method of allocation
Support costs are apportioned across the main activities of the charity on the basis A of total staff time spent on each of these during the year.
Governance costs
| Governance costs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Total | Total | |||
| funds | 2020 | 2019 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | |||
| Accountancy fees | 2,705 | 2,705 | 3,631 | ||
| Independent examiner's fees | 300 | 300 | 300 | ||
| Legal and professional fees | 1,406 | 1,406 | 1,381 | ||
| 4,411 | 4,411 | 5,312 | |||
For the year ended 31 August 2019 £5,312 of the above expenditure was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil to restricted funds.
8 Net incoming/outgoing resources
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources for the year include:
| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |||
| Depreciation | of fixed assets | 175 | 133 | |
| Independent | Examiner's remuneration | 300 | 300 |
9 Trustees remuneration and expenses
No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.
No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
10 Staff costs
The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:
| The aggregate payroll costs were as follows: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Staff costs during the year were: | |||
| Wages and salaries | 69,868 | 59,759 | |
| Pension costs | 1,286 | 644 | |
| 71,154 | 60,403 | ||
The monthly average number of persons (including senior management team) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:
| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | No | |||
| Charitable | activities | 2 | 2 | |
No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year.
11 Taxation
The charity is a registered charity and is therefore potentially exempt from taxation. No tax liabilities have arisen during the year.
12 Tangible fixed assets
| 12 Tangible fixed assets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixtures, | ||||
| fittings and | ||||
| equipment | Total | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Cost | ||||
| At 1 September 2019 | 1,083 | 1,083 | ||
| Additions | 779 | 779 | ||
| At 31 August 2020 | 1,862 | 1,862 | ||
| Depreciation | ||||
| At 1 September 2019 | 950 | 950 | ||
| Charge for the year | 175 | 175 | ||
| At 31 August 2020 | 1,125 | 1,125 | ||
| Net book value | ||||
| At 31 August 2020 | 737 | 737 | ||
| At 31 August 2019 | 133 | 133 |
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
13 Debtors
| 13 Debtors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Trade debtors | 400 | 4,345 | |
| Prepayments | - | 1,406 | |
| Accrued income | 3,185 | 3,910 | |
| 3,585 | 9,661 | ||
14 Cash and cash equivalents
| 14 Cash and cash equivalents | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Cash at bank | 170,883 | 184,771 | |
| 15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | |||
| 2020 | 2019 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Trade creditors | 456 | 3,084 | |
| Accruals | 1,550 | 5,685 | |
| Deferred income | 1,675 | - | |
| 3,681 | 8,769 | ||
16 Contingent liabilities
The charity has previously received a donation with the condition that it could become repayable at some point in the future although this is considered unlikely. If any part of this donation becomes repayable to the donor, the maximum amount the charity would have to repay is £10,330.
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
17 Funds
| 17 Funds | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at | |||||||||
| 1 | Balance at | ||||||||
| September | Incoming | Resources | 31 August | ||||||
| 2019 | resources | expended | Transfers | 2020 | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | |||||||||
| Unrestricted general funds | |||||||||
| Unrestricted income fund | 105,251 | 64,251 | (63,963) | (10,320) | 95,219 | ||||
| Designated | |||||||||
| Fundraising | 12,000 | - | (6,000) | 8,000 | 14,000 | ||||
| Growth | 50,227 | - | - | - | 50,227 | ||||
| 62,227 | - | (6,000) | 8,000 | 64,227 | |||||
| Total unrestricted funds | 167,478 | 64,251 | (69,963) | (2,320) | 159,446 | ||||
| Restricted funds | |||||||||
| Airbus fund | 142 | 15,799 | (15,800) | - | 141 | ||||
| West of England Mentoring | |||||||||
| (WEM) | 7,930 | 17,500 | (25,431) | 1 | - | ||||
| West of England Mentoring | |||||||||
| (WEM) COVID IT project | - | 2,000 | (200) | - | 1,800 | ||||
| Future Quest | 10,246 | 32,500 | (35,169) | - | 7,577 | ||||
| Poetry competition | |||||||||
| donations | - | 2,500 | (2,440) | - | 60 | ||||
| Primary programmes | - | 8,500 | (6,000) | - | 2,500 | ||||
| Herman Miller Cares | - | - | (2,319) | 2,319 | - | ||||
| Total restricted funds | 18,318 | 78,799 | (87,359) | 2,320 | 12,078 | ||||
| Total funds | 185,796 | 143,050 | (157,322) | - | 171,524 |
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
| Balance at | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balance at | ||||||||
| September | Incoming | Resources | 31 August | ||||||
| 2018 | resources | expended | Transfers | 2019 | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | |||||||||
| Unrestricted income fund | |||||||||
| Unrestricted income fund | 127,303 | 98,011 | (57,836) | (62,227) | 105,251 | ||||
| Designated | |||||||||
| Fundraising | - | - | - | 12,000 | 12,000 | ||||
| Growth | - | - | - | 50,227 | 50,227 | ||||
| - | - | - | 62,227 | 62,227 | |||||
| Total unrestricted funds | 127,303 | 98,011 | (57,836) | - | 167,478 | ||||
| Restricted funds | |||||||||
| Airbus fund | 142 | 19,510 | (19,510) | - | 142 | ||||
| West of England Mentoring | |||||||||
| (WEM) | - | 32,408 | (24,478) | - | 7,930 | ||||
| Future Quest | - | 54,883 | (44,637) | - | 10,246 | ||||
| Poetry competition | |||||||||
| donations | - | 1,600 | (1,600) | - | - | ||||
| Primary programmes | - | 11,000 | (11,000) | - | - | ||||
| Herman Miller Cares | - | 1,200 | (1,200) | - | - | ||||
| Total restricted funds | 142 | 120,601 | (102,425) | - | 18,318 | ||||
| Total funds | 127,445 | 218,612 | (160,261) | - | 185,796 |
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:
Unrestricted funds are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the objectives of the charity. Such funds are held in order to finance both working capital and capital investment.
Restricted funds are expendable in accordance with the agreement with donors as follows: Airbus funds are for the management of the programme logistics and to pay for the cost of the coaches used to transport the students to and from Airbus.
The Herman Miller Cares funds are to support the West of England Mentoring programme with The John Bentley School, Calne.
West of England Mentoring funds are for the management of the programme logistics for the West of England Mentoring Secondary School programmes.
West of England Mentoring COVID IT project funds are grants received from The Frankham Foundation and the Society of Merchant Venturers to develop the West of England Mentoring website and create a membership area with resources for virtual programme delivery.
Future Quest funds are for the management of the programme, supporting delivery of Year 11 Mentoring in the 27 cohort schools on the Future Quest Secondary School programme.
Poetry Competition funds are for running poetry workshops in selected local Primary schools, as well as for the costs involved in running the poetry competition.
Primary programmes funds are for the management of the programme logistics for the Reading Buddies and Number Partners Primary School programmes.
18 Analysis of net assets between funds
| 18 Analysis of net assets between funds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | |||||
| funds | Restricted | Total funds | |||
| General at 31 | funds at 31 | at 31 August | |||
| August 2020 | August 2020 | 2020 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | |||
| Tangible fixed assets | 737 | - | 737 | ||
| Current assets | 162,390 | 12,078 | 174,468 | ||
| Current liabilities | (3,681) | - | (3,681) | ||
| Total net assets | 159,446 | 12,078 | 171,524 | ||
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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2020
| Unrestricted | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Restricted | Total funds | |||
| General at 31 | funds at 31 | at 31 August | |||
| August 2019 | August 2019 | 2019 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | |||
| Tangible fixed assets | 133 | - | 133 | ||
| Current assets | 176,114 | 18,318 | 194,432 | ||
| Current liabilities | (8,769) | - | (8,769) | ||
| Total net assets | 167,478 | 18,318 | 185,796 | ||
19 Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions in the year.
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