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← Ablaze A Business Learning Action Zone For Education

2024-08-31-accounts

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 2024

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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 to 10
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities 11
Independent Examiner's Report 12
Statement of Financial Activities 13
Balance Sheet 14
Notes to the Financial Statements 15 to 27

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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees at year end Ashley Daniells Shawnett Morgan Richard Stokes Julia Thomas Simon Wilks Martin Jones Secretary Victoria Gibbs Principal Office TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP Registered Office Ablaze c/o TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP Company Registration Number 05385880 Charity Registration Number 1110956 Independent Examiner Anthony Robin Dicker FCA

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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 and auditors' report of the charitable company for the year ended 31 August 2024.

Objectives and activities

Objects and aims

The aim of our charity is to continue to develop partnerships between business and young people in education and starting out on their careers (originally pioneered by the Bristol Education Action Zone) for the benefit of young people in our region.

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 work therefore provides children and young people with 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

This year has been a successful one for Ablaze, in terms of our programme delivery levels and our income generation. We have supported 543 young people through our programmes, a significant increase on the previous year.

Increased delivery has meant increased service income from our business and school partners. In 2023/24 our income was higher than we expected, as we were able to run more programmes than we had anticipated, and we were fortunate to receive a number of grants and donations in the year. However, our income was still less than our expenditure. We have therefore again had to use some of our reserves, as well as funds we had designated for growth, to continue providing our services. To ensure we can grow our reserves and grow as a charity, we are working with our Fundraising Consultant to increase our grants and donations. 2025 is our 20th anniversary and we have a target to take this income stream above £150,000. Our reserves remain lower than the figure stated in our reserves policy, however our financial situation is more secure than it has been in previous years.

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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education

Trustees' Report

• Across this financial year we have worked with 543 young people, trained 256 new volunteers, partnered with 31 businesses, delivered programmes in 47 schools and 2 community settings

• 11 Career Mentoring programmes were successfully delivered with 62 volunteers impacting 184 young people

• We successfully ran a Airbus Youth Programme at the Airbus site in Filton with twenty year 9 students from Abbeywood Community School.

• On our Reading and Number Partners programme we trained 181 volunteers who supported 259 young people across 15 schools

• Our Early Career Mentoring programme was delivered by 10 volunteers to 90 children in 3 schools.

• We successfully ran our second NatWest funded Career Sense programme in the Autumn of 2023. We used our learnings from this model to enhance our Employment & Skills programme and managed to win a contract with South Gloucestershire Council to deliver this to NEET young people from South Glos. 9 young people completed the workshops and 8 completed the work placements. A second round of this programme, called Engaging Potential, is running in the Autumn of 2024.

• We held our 8th poetry competition on the theme of ‘peace’.

• Our sitting Board of Trustees Chair, Beth Evans finished her term and retired from the Board. A new Chair, Ashley Daniells was voted in and started his tenure in July 2024.

• We continue to increase our social media profile and gaining more followers, raising our profile and helping us to get new business contacts.

Once again, we can report that our delivery levels rose, and we were able to support more young people as a result. Although we didn’t achieve our target of matching our income to our expenditure this year, we decreased the shortfall again and ended the year in a more secure position than for a few years.

Programmes are performing well; we are particularly pleased with the development of our Employment & Skills Programme and that we were able to win a contract from South Glos. Council to deliver this - it was very successful and feedback from SGC has been extremely positive. We are submitting a large-scale bid to the National Lottery to enable us to expand our offering for the next three years.

School budgets are still very stretched which means hardly any schools can pay for our programmes. Project Managers have worked hard to ensure that this income has not reduced through securing agreements with participating businesses to cover the school fees. This is now baked into SLAs.

• Issues facing young people are not changing or decreasing in challenge - in some areas they are getting worse. The need for our services is as great as ever:

• 16-year-olds from lower socio-economic backgrounds are 50% less likely than their peers to achieve grade 5 or above in their GCSEs

Evaluation shows that our programmes do make a difference, and our impact remains strong across the age ranges we support.

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Trustees' Report

Career Mentoring

“It's important to learn and take opportunities if we are to accomplish our dreams” - Student, Bridge Learning Campus

“I've learnt so much from this I want to come back!” -Student, Trinity Academy

“This is a fantastic programme that provides young people with an insight into the future and help them develop key skills they will need later on. It explores a variety of topics and allows students to build on their confidence.” -Volunteer mentor, AtkinsRealis

Early Career Mentoring

“It was an amazing experience because it gave me an idea what to do in the future!” - Pupil, St Mary Redcliffe Primary

“The day was ridiculously exciting for the pupils, they got to talk to people they didn’t know, do things they’ve not done before and share what they do know.” -Teacher, Merchant’s Academy

Reading and Number Partners

Of the pupils on the Reading Partners programme:

Of the pupils on the Number Partners programme:

Of all pupils supported:

“We love having reading volunteers in school! We target the support specifically on our younger children who have English as an additional language and they find it so beneficial, and the progress they’ve made is fantastic. The volunteers are also an absolute delight to work with.” -Teacher, Badock’s Wood

“Participating in this programme is very different from everything else I do and has given me a unique opportunity to develop new skills and give back to the next generation. It’s very rewarding.” -Volunteer, Airbu

Airbus Foundation Youth Programme

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Trustees' Report

“It’s a great experience and it has helped me especially to take in ideas for future jobs as I was unsure.” “ I would say that this programme is really fun, useful, and inspiring.” - Students, Abbeywood Community School

“I take joy in watching the students learn, challenge and develop. I also enjoy seeing them change personally over the 20 weeks. I have been inspired by some of the students' determination and transformation from a shy individual to a competent, confident young professional.” - Airbus Volunteer Mentor

Employment & Skills Programme

We supported 22 young people through the programme in this academic year.

“The programme honestly changed my life; I made new friends and my confidence has been boosted and my skills have been developed. I applied for a role at Southmead Hospital which honestly would make my life change forever. I could never do this if it weren’t for Ablaze and the NHS for making this possible”

“One of the best workshops ever, honestly gave me courage and confidence and made me believe in myself.” - Participating Young People

“We’ve hosted two wonderful participants from Ablaze. It’s been amazing for them and for our staff team. It’s really brought us together and changed our dynamics as it’s allowed some staff to manage people for the first time. Overall, amazing benefits and the impact is going to be long-lived so I would definitely recommend getting involved.” - Work placement Host, Healthwatch

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Trustees' Report

Financial review

The charity reported net income of £210,069. This was more than forecasted in our budget by £2,646, meaning our funds reduced by £22,612 by the end of the year.

Our charging income was still lower than pre-Covid levels in 2023/24 although up from the year before. Our income from grants, contracts and fundraising was higher than last year.

Once again, as predicted, our expenditure has been greater than our income in 2023/24. We continue to invest in fundraising and new ways to deliver our programmes in order to bring our income and expenditure back in line. Our 20th Anniversary campaign should help to boost our income, as well as some significant grant applications we are waiting for news on. We are hopeful we come closer to balancing the books in 2024/25.

Fundraising activities

We designated £2,210 during 2023/24 to spend on fundraising to try and recoup our current and expected losses. We spent £2,210 of these designated funds, so no funds are carried forward to 2024/25. The need for fundraising to support our activities continues, and we will be running a fundraising campaign in 2024/25 to celebrate our 20th anniversary, using the Fundraising Campaign restricted funds.

2023/24 saw a growth in programme delivery from the previous year. We increased the number of school and business partnerships, ran a full programme of the Airbus Foundation Youth Programme, and started a new Employment and Skills Programme run in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council thanks to funding from the West of England Combined Authority and the National Lottery.

The focus for fundraising is in part to support the schools’ programmes, due to the pressures on schools’ budgets, but mostly on funding our core costs, such as insurance, accountancy costs, administration and programme development.

We received grants and donations from the Burges Salmon Charitable Trust, The Woodward Charitable Trust, Rotary Club of Bath, Tesco Stronger Starts, the Quartet Community Foundation, Triodos Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wiltshire Community Foundation, the Medlock Charitable Trust, the Hargreaves Foundation, Fund Their Future, the Grace Trust, CMS Cameron McKenna Foundation, the DWF Foundation, the Denman Charitable Trust, Bristol Airport Diamond Fund, Postcode Local Trust, Society of Merchant Venturers, Action Funder and the Nisbet Trust. We also had our wonderful volunteers from Clarke Willmott and Unite Students fundraise for Ablaze.

Investment policy and objectives

The trustees have wide powers of investment. Surplus short-term funds are held in an interest-bearing deposit account.

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Trustees' Report

Policy on reserves

Unrestricted reserves at 31st August 2024 were £80,249.

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. £120,599 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 2024/25.

Fundraising

We carried forward £2,210 from 2022/23, to continue to recoup the anticipated shortfall between our expenditure and income. We spent all of these funds during the financial year. We have contracted a new fundraiser to work on the Trusts and Foundations fundraising and allocated a portion of our Project Coordinators time to support with this. Our CEO will continue to focus her time on securing financial support from business and winning new contract work. She was successful in winning the contract with South Glos. Council and then securing match funding from the National Lottery Awards for All to deliver the Employment & Skills Programme.

IT

We carried forward £1,000 of designated funds for IT, which could be used to upgrade our IT equipment as needed. These funds remained unspent in 2023/24; however, as much of our current IT equipment is aging, we are retaining these funds for future replacements.

The total unrestricted reserves less designated funds leaves us with a shortfall of £72,267 at the end of the 2023/24 financial year. The Trustees are looking to raise funds to cover this shortfall through our fundraising in 2024/25.

Office accommodation

TLT Solicitors provided Ablaze with office accommodation in 2023/24. This contribution is valued at £20,000 per annum.

However, due to taking on Government Contracts, TLT will no longer be able to provide us with pro-bono office space within their office floors from February 2025. They have offered us space on their public meeting floor for one day a week and storage for our equipment. We will be researching alternative pro-bono options and may need to fundraise to pay for space next year.

Pay policy for senior staff

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 8 to the accounts.

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Trustees' Report

Plans for future periods

Aims and key objectives for future periods

Successes to note against targets set in our 2023/24 business plan:

• Maintaining delivery levels of CM through the one-day programme

• The negotiation of funding for the Airbus programme with the British Early Careers Team to enable delivery to continue into 24/25

• Winning the contract with South Glos. to deliver the Engaging Potential programme, an iteration of our Employment & Skills package for NEET young people

• Securing match funding from National Lottery to top up the funding for this programme which enabled us to bring our Project Assistant Lucy Meadows back on board

Our 2024/25 business plan has the following key goals for Ablaze:

  1. Retain and strengthen our current partnerships across all our programmes and contracts to ensure retention and progression with businesses and schools

  2. Achieve the programme targets set out in Project Plan for Career Mentoring

  3. Create two new One Day CM partnerships

  4. Create two new ECM partnerships

  5. Achieve the targets set out in the Project Plan for RP/NP

  6. To ensure effective growth, all existing businesses and schools in 2024-25 will continue with RP/NP going into the following academic year.

  7. Of the new partnerships created, at least 2 of these programmes will be delivered outside Bristol, with an increasing interest from potential new partners.

  8. To have sourced funding from existing business partners and external funds to ensure RP/NP is free for all schools going forward.

  9. Achieve the targets set out in the Project Plan for Employment & Skills

  10. Secure repeat funding from South Glos. and other sources to continue the programme beyond March 25

  11. Produce 4 case studies.

  12. Secure one large business to fund and participate in an E&S programme by autumn 2025.

  13. Raise £60,000 through fundraising and business development activity

  14. Raise a further £50,000 through our 20th Anniversary campaign in 2025, our 20th year

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ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education Trustees' Report

Trustees and officers

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Trustees: Bethan Evans (resigned 9 July 2024) Ashley Daniells Shawnett Morgan Richard Stokes Julia Thomas Simon Wilks Martin Jones (appointed 15 October 2024)

Secretary: Victoria Gibbs

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. It is a registered charity with the Charity Commission.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

The Board undertook a fundamental review of the governance of the charity in 2020/21 to ensure that arrangements were robust and represented best practice. New Articles of Association were adopted on 26th February 2021. In addition, a New Governance Handbook was prepared.

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.

During this year we have appointed another new Trustee. He works at Unite Students and has been volunteering for Ablaze for several years. He brings an understanding of the challenges facing young people alongside a first hand perspective of being a volunteer.

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.

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Trustees' Report

Risk management

The Directors have carried out a thorough review of the risks facing the charity; the next review is scheduled for December 2024. The top risks are 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 risk remains that depleted reserves continue to put pressure on the charity to focus attention on raising funds and does not enable medium term strategy. Our budget is insufficient to enable key objectives and priorities to flourish. Funding our expenditure leads to our shortfall increasing. The shortfall in programme income is not raised through funding bids and expenditure continues to exceed income eventually leading to the charity running out of viable reserves. Clearly articulated mitigations are in place for these main risks.

Conclusion

I am incredibly proud of how Ablaze has adapted and evolved over the past year - my first as Chair of the board. Our programmes have grown in response to changing needs, ensuring that we continue to make a meaningful impact. We have embraced new ways of working, expanded our reach and strengthened existing partnershops, all while staying true to our mission of tackling inequality of opportunity. The changes have allowed us to support more young people in more effective ways, whether through early career mentoring, reading and number partners or our fantastic Employment and Skills programme.

This year is particularly special as we celebrate Ablaze’s 20th anniversary - a milestone that reflects two decades of dedication to empowering young people. I want to take the opportunity to reiterate how fantastic it is for a charity of Ablaze’s size to be celebrating its 20th anniversary. It is not just a chance for us to look back at what we achieved, but an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to closing education gaps, creating new partnerships and driving our programmes forward. The team have exciting plans ahead to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

Thank you to our dedicated team, who work tirelessly to make the charity the success it is. They make a huge difference to countless young people across the region.

Small companies provision statement

This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.

13 May 2025 The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:

......................................... Ashley Daniells Trustee

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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 applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can 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 governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

13 May 2025 Approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:

......................................... Ashley Daniells Trustee

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Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of ABLAZE A Business Learning Action Zone for Education ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (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 the Company 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:

  1. 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

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. 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

  4. 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

16 / 05 / 2025

Date:.............................

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Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 August 2024 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds 2024 2023
Note £ £ £ £
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies 3 61,423 110,221 171,644 119,089
Charitable activities 4 37,462 - 37,462 64,302
Investment income 5 963 - 963 634
Other income - - - 828
Total income 99,848 110,221 210,069 184,853
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 6 (128,790) (103,891) (232,681) (202,687)
Total expenditure (128,790) (103,891) (232,681) (202,687)
Net (expenditure)/income (28,942) 6,330 (22,612) (17,834)
Net movement in funds (28,942) 6,330 (22,612) (17,834)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 80,249 16,178 96,427 114,261
Total funds carried forward 18 51,307 22,508 73,815 96,427

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2024 is shown in note 18.

The notes on pages 15 to 27 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 13

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(Registration number: 05385880) Balance Sheet as at 31 August 2024

2024 2023
Note £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 12 568 1,570
Current assets
Debtors 13 12,931 20,496
Cash at bank and in hand 14 65,083 77,391
78,014 97,887
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 15 (4,767) (3,030)
Net current assets 73,247 94,857
Net assets 73,815 96,427
Funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
Restricted funds 18 24,483 16,178
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted funds 49,332 80,249
Total funds 18 73,815 96,427

For the financial year ending 31 August 2024 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements on pages 13 to 27 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on ....................13 May 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... Ashley Daniells Trustee

The notes on pages 15 to 27 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 14

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

1 Charity status

The charity is a private company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales, 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: Ablaze c/o TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP

The principal place of business is: TLT One Redcliff Street Bristol BS1 6TP

These financial statements were authorised for issue by the trustees on ...............

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 2019) - (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.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company, and rounded to the nearest £.

Going concern

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact upon the charity's trading activity during the year. The trustees consider the impact on the charity to not be material and are confident that the charity, through bank reserves, has adequate resources 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 2024

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.

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.

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.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

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 Depreciation method and rate Fixtures, fittings and equipment 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.

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.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

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 discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

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.

3 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted
funds Restricted Total Total
General funds 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Donations and legacies;
Donations from individuals 1,923 29,862 31,785 47,336
Grants, including capital grants;
Grants from companies 39,500 80,359 119,859 51,753
Donated services and facilities 20,000 - 20,000 20,000
61,423 110,221 171,644 119,089

For the year ended 31 August 2023 £69,218 of the income above was attributable to unrestricted funds and £49,871 attributable to restricted funds.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

4 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted
funds Total Total
General 2024 2023
£ £ £
Primary purpose trading 37,462 37,462 64,302

For the year ended 31 August 2023 £64,302 of the income above was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil attributable to restricted funds.

5 Investment income

Unrestricted
funds Total Total
General 2024 2023
£ £ £
Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits 963 963 634

For the year eneded 31 August 2023 £634 of the income above was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil attributable to restricted funds.

6 Expenditure on charitable activities

Activity Activity
undertaken support
directly costs 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Travel and subsistence 687 - 687 894
Direct costs 11,572 - 11,572 15,114
Subcontract costs 1,488 - 1,488 2,311
Employment costs 172,792 - 172,792 148,651
Website development and
improvements to IT
infrastructure - 747 747 2,027
Rent - 20,000 20,000 20,000
Sundry and other costs - 92 92 385
Printing, postage and stationery - 138 138 423
Accountancy fees 3,027 - 3,027 3,020
Independent examiner's fee 360 - 360 470
Legal and professional fees 1,701 - 1,701 1,612

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

Activity Activity
undertaken support
directly costs 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Depreciation of tangible fixed
assets - 1,002 1,002 1,230
Contract expenses 19,075 - 19,075 6,550
210,702 21,979 232,681 202,687

£128,790 (2023 - £157,319) of the expenditure above was attributable to unrestricted funds and £103,891 (2023 - £45,368) attributable to restricted funds.

In addition to the expenditure analysed above, there are also governance costs of £5,088 (2023 - £5,102) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 7 for further details.

7 Analysis of governance and support costs

Support costs allocated to charitable activities

Other
Information Premises support Total Total
Basis of technology costs costs 2024 2023
allocation £ £ £ £ £
Primary purpose
trading A 747 20,000 1,232 21,979 24,065

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 2024 2023
£ £ £
Accountancy fees 3,027 3,027 3,020
Independent examiner's fees 360 360 470
Legal and professional fees 1,701 1,701 1,612
5,088 5,088 5,102

For the year ended 31 August 2023 £5,102 of the above expenditure was attributable to unrestricted funds and £nil to restricted funds.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

8 Net incoming/outgoing resources

Net outgoing resources for the year include:

Net outgoing resources for the year include:
2024 2023
£ £
Depreciation of fixed assets 1,002 1,230
Independent Examiner's remuneration 360 470

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.

10 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:
2024 2023
£ £
Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries 159,334 138,505
Social security costs 9,815 6,955
Pension costs 3,643 3,191
172,792 148,651

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management / leadership team) employed by the charity during the year was as follows:

2024 2023
No No
Charitable activities 4 4

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.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

12 Tangible fixed assets

12 Tangible fixed assets
Fixtures,
fittings and
equipment Total
£ £
Cost
At 1 September 2023 4,373 4,373
At 31 August 2024 4,373 4,373
Depreciation
At 1 September 2023 2,803 2,803
Charge for the year 1,002 1,002
At 31 August 2024 3,805 3,805
Net book value
At 31 August 2024 568 568
At 31 August 2023 1,570 1,570
13 Debtors
2024 2023
£ £
Trade debtors 3,525 18,795
Prepayments 1,562 1,701
Accrued income 7,844 -
12,931 20,496
14 Cash and cash equivalents
2024 2023
£ £
Cash on hand 24 -
Cash at bank 65,059 77,391
65,083 77,391

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2024 2023
£ £
Trade creditors 2,033 252
Other creditors - 49
Accruals 2,734 2,729
4,767 3,030

16 Pension and other schemes

Defined contribution pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the charity to the scheme and amounted to £Nil (2023 - £Nil).

17 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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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

18 Funds
Balance at 1
September Incoming Resources Balance at 31
2023 resources expended August 2024
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General
Unrestricted income fund 77,039 99,848 (128,555) 48,332
Designated
Fundraising 2,210 - (2,210) -
IT 1,000 - - 1,000
3,210 - (2,210) 1,000
Total unrestricted funds 80,249 99,848 (130,765) 49,332
Restricted funds
Airbus fund - 23,450 (23,450) -
Fundraising campaign 3,500 - - 3,500
Primary programmes 4,548 11,800 (13,348) 3,000
The Herman Miller Cares 3,930 - (3,930) -
Bristol Airport Community
Fund 3,000 - (3,000) -
Quartet donation - 6,000 (1,000) 5,000
The Siobhan Dowd Trust 1,200 - (1,200) -
Wiltshire Community
Foundation - 5,000 (5,000) -
National Grid - 19,000 (19,000) -
We are Futures - 15,000 (15,000) -
WECA Grant - Engaging
Potential - 10,581 (10,581) -
National Lottery - 19,390 (6,407) 12,983
Total restricted funds 16,178 110,221 (101,916) 24,483
Total funds 96,427 210,069 (232,681) 73,815

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

Balance at 1
September Incoming Resources Balance at 31
2022 resources expended August 2023
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General
Unrestricted income fund 97,166 134,982 (155,109) 77,039
Designated
Fundraising 4,420 - (2,210) 2,210
IT 1,000 - - 1,000
5,420 - (2,210) 3,210
Total unrestricted funds 102,586 134,982 (157,319) 80,249
Restricted
Airbus fund - 18,200 (18,200) -
Fundraising campaign 5,000 - (1,500) 3,500
Future Quest 1,425 - (1,425) -
Poetry competition donations 1,750 - (1,750) -
Early career mentoring 2,500 400 (2,900) -
Primary programmes 1,000 8,448 (4,900) 4,548
The Herman Miller Cares - 6,496 (2,566) 3,930
Bristol Airport Community
Fund - 3,000 - 3,000
Fund Their Future donation - 1,827 (1,827) -
Quartet donation - 5,000 (5,000) -
The Siobhan Dowd Trust - 1,500 (300) 1,200
Wiltshire Community
Foundation - 5,000 (5,000) -
Total restricted funds 11,675 49,871 (45,368) 16,178
Total funds 114,261 184,853 (202,687) 96,427

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

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.

Fundraising campaign funds was money donated to Ablaze from National Friendly to assist with the costs of running a fundraising campaign.

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.

Early career mentoring funds are to develop and implement an Early Career Mentoring programme designed to intrduce Year 6 pupils to the skills needed to work, raise their aspirations and prepare them for the transition to secondary school.

Primary programmes funds are for the management of the programme logistics for the Reading Buddies and Number Partners Primary School programmes.

The Herman Miller Cares funds are to support the Career Mentoring programme.

Bristol Airport Community Fund provided a donation from Bristol Airport's Environmental Improvement Fund to support programmes taking place in the fund's core are of support.

Fund Their Future provided a grant for purchasing new technology for running our programmes.

Quartet provided a grant to support programmes in the Quartet area of work (Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset).

The Siobhan Dowd Trust donated money to purchase books for children taking part in the ABLAZE Reading Partners programme.

The Wiltshire Community Foundation provided a grant to support Career Mentoring programmes in Wiltshire.

The National Grid Community Grant was to support the provision of programmes in the fund’s core area of support.

We Are Futures funds were a grant to provide an employability support programme to young people, supported by NatWest CareerSense.

WECA Engaging Potential was a grant from the West of England Combined Authority, paid to Ablaze by South Gloucestershire Council, to provide an employment and skills programme to NEET young people ages 16-25 living in South Gloucestershire.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 August 2024

The National Lottery Community Fund grant was to provide extra support to young people taking part in the Engaging Potential employability programme, as well as to further develop the programme so that we can support more young people in the West of England region.

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

19 Analysis of net assets between funds
Unrestricted
funds Restricted Total funds
at 31 August funds at 31 at 31 August
2023 August 2023 2024
£ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 568 - 568
Current assets 53,531 24,483 78,014
Current liabilities (4,767) - (4,767)
Total net assets 49,332 24,483 73,815
Unrestricted
funds Restricted Total funds
at 31 August funds at 31 at 31 August
2022 August 2022 2023
£ £ £
Tangible fixed assets 1,570 - 1,570
Current assets 81,709 16,178 97,887
Current liabilities (3,030) - (3,030)
Total net assets 80,249 16,178 96,427

20 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year.

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Audit trail Audit trail

9 Dropbox Sign Sign

Ablaze final accounts for signature Title Title File name File name Ablaze_final_accounts_2023-24.pdf Document ID Document ID 21080c099ce59d5c6f2eb66718626ee16ea86fb6 Audit trail date format Audit trail date format DD / MM / YYYY Status Status ° Signed

15 / 05 / 2025 Sent for signature to Anthony Robin Dicker FCA 11:43:06 UTC (ard@tonydicker.co.uk) and Ashley Daniells (ash.daniells@kennedyslaw.com) from victoria.gibbs@ablazebristol.org IP: 2.219.16.86 15 / 05 / 2025 Viewed by Ashley Daniells (ash.daniells@kennedyslaw.com) 11:45:50 UTC IP: 110.239.211.200 15 / 05 / 2025 Signed by Ashley Daniells (ash.daniells@kennedyslaw.com) 11:46:23 UTC IP: 85.115.54.201 16 / 05 / 2025 Viewed by Anthony Robin Dicker FCA (ard@tonydicker.co.uk) 09:55:09 UTC IP: 92.233.117.240 16 / 05 / 2025 Signed by Anthony Robin Dicker FCA (ard@tonydicker.co.uk) 09:57:30 UTC IP: 92.233.117.240 16 / 05 / 2025 The document has been completed. 09:57:30 UTC

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