Partnering local churches, serving local communities.
Connect Mid-Devon Annual Report 2023-24
Charity Number: 1126303
CONNECT CHAIR’S REPORT
Work in Schools
Our work across the four schools continues to go well, with an Associate Worker in place in each of the areas, supported by a trainee in Crediton and a volunteer in Chulmleigh.
The last two years have seen significant changes in the school teams.
In the spring of 2024, Sherrin unexpectedly stepped down from her role as a Methodist youth worker, which meant we also lost her as an Associate at Chulmleigh. By the end of the summer term, the youth worker role had been filled by Chris Boyle; he has since been joined at Chulmleigh by Mim Cassell, who is serving as a volunteer.
At the end of the summer term, we said ‘Goodbye’ to both our trainees, Kyra and Immanuel. Kyra had spent four years in Okehampton, where she has made a significant impact on the school and young people; Immanuel was in Crediton for a year and has now taken up a youth work role in his home country of Germany. Both will be missed.
In September we took on Will Jago as a trainee in Crediton. This means our schools work team is currently:
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Chulmleigh : Chris Boyle (AW) and Mim Cassell (volunteer)
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Crediton : Dave Poulson (AW) and Will Jago (trainee)
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Holsworthy : Ruth Jones (AW)
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Okehampton : Stephen Waters (AW)
Across the four schools, we continue to offer a wide range of options. These include lesson support (in RS and other subjects), mentoring, prayer spaces, CU groups, lunch clubs, helping on trips, leading an Easter service, and whatever else serves the needs of the schools, staff and students.
Trustees and Leadership Team
Our Trustees have also seen significant change. Several trustees have stepped down – Terry Nott, Janet May, Clarissa Vanstone, Lizz Williams, Jane Skinner and Jerry Bird. This has left us in a difficult position, and we have struggled to find new trustees to rebuild the team. Recently, however, we have been able to appoint Chris Jackson and John King, who join James Gregory.
Three trustees remains the absolute minimum, and leaves us vulnerable to unavailability or retirement, so we continue to look for more trustees. We have placed emphasis on finding trustees who are able to make direct contributions to the running of Connect, either through existing skills and experience, or through a willingness to take on specific roles within the team.
Over the last two years, we have restructured the ways in which Connect is steered. The model that we were using at the start of 2023 had become unwieldy, with the Trustees and Exec groups overlapping and duplicating their efforts, leading to miscommunication and frustration. In the summer of 2023, we dissolved the Exec group, shifting the responsibility for running Connect (as a charity) to the Trustees, and allowing the LSGs to focus on their teams and schools.
Whilst this took a significant workload away from members of the Exec, it also left them feeling ‘out of the loop’, and as we moved into 2025 we have restructured again. We now have a single
leadership group, made up of the Trustees, Officers (secretary and treasurer) and the Chairs of the four LSGs. We feel that this will avoid the issues that arose from having things split between Trustees and the Exec, whilst also ensuring that all areas of Connect feel part of the leadership conversation.
Finances
Towards the end of 2024, our treasurer Brian passed away. His role was temporarily taken on by Ally Partridge and has now been permanently filled by Rachel Setchfield.
Our financial position is not strong. Our predicted income for the coming year is much lower than it has been; coupled with depleted reserves, we are now at a point where we must find new funding, or significantly increase our existing streams, in order to reach a place of financial stability.
Unfortunately, this leaves us unable to take on a trainee for the 25/26 academic year, with the possibility that it may take some time before we can make any decisions about 26/27.
Looking Ahead
As with many other voluntary and charitable organisations, we find ourselves in difficult times, with both volunteers and finances in short supply. I am hopeful, however, that we have now turned a corner in recruiting for our leadership group, with two new trustees and a new treasurer now in place. I am confident that the new energy and confidence that they will bring to their roles will help us to become a more effective organisation, able to reach new supporters and uncover new sources of income to better support the work we’re doing.
Our schools work teams continue to do excellent work across the four areas, and the relationships with the different schools remain strong. Our limitations are not ones of creativity, or of poor communication with schools and staff – instead, we’re only limited by the number of high-quality school workers we can put in place, and it feels that this is a limitation that can be overcome.
So this is our most important prayer: that our team of trustees, volunteers and school workers would hear God’s clear leading into the next season of growth for Connect, so that we might be ever better positioned to serve our schools, staff, students and ultimately, his kingdom.
REGISTERED CHARITY NO.1126303
CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Charity Information | 2 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 3 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 4 |
| Balance Sheet | 5 |
| Notes (forming part of the financial statements) | 6 |
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CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
CHARITY INFORMATION
Trustees Terence Nott Rev. Christopher Jackson (appointed 31 March 2025) Dr John King (appointed 31 March 2025) James Gregory Registered Charity No. 1126303 Contact Address Crediton Congregational Church High Street Crediton Devon EX17 3LF Accountant Terry Bridle FMAAT 123 Greystone Walk Cullompton Devon EX15 1GZ
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CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Independent Examiner's Report on the Financial Statements of Connect Mid-Devon
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 August 2024.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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he accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.
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.
……………………………………………….
Terry Bridle FMAAT 123 Greystone Walk Cullompton Devon EX15 1GZ
Dated: 25 May 2025
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CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Receipts and Payments Account
| Receipts: Personal gifts Personal gifts (Gift Aid) Church gifts Grants and awards Fundraising events Interest received Sundry income Total receipts Payments: Youthwork expenses Associate workers Training fees (SWYN) Host allowance Vehicle and travelling expenses Insurance Publicity and website Fundraising expenses Accountancy and bookkeeping fees Bank charges and commercial card fees General administrative expenses Sundry expenses Total payments Net income / (loss) for the period Notes |
Unrestricted Funds £ 5,409.03 493.75 3,933.90 16,960.00 2,546.30 104.12 - 29,447.10 174.94 12,300.00 8,100.00 7,900.00 681.26 350.00 66.00 - - 253.50 - 466.43 30,292.13 (845.03) |
Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
2024 £ 5,409.03 493.75 3,933.90 16,960.00 2,546.30 104.12 - 29,447.10 174.94 12,300.00 8,100.00 7,900.00 681.26 350.00 66.00 - - 253.50 - 466.43 30,292.13 (845.03) |
2023 £ 5,564.06 1,770.92 5,025.00 5,000.00 4,265.34 - 200.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21,825.32 | ||||
| 752.31 16,400.00 3,100.00 3,300.00 963.07 350.00 - 30.41 1,123.20 (304.38) 409.50 403.88 |
||||
| 26,527.99 | ||||
| (4,702.67) |
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CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Balance Sheet
| Current assets: Debtors 2 Bank current account Bank savings account Current liabilities: Creditors 3 Reserves: Brought forward at 31 August 2023 Net income / (loss) for the period Carried forward at 31 August 2024 Notes |
Unrestricted Funds £ 350.00 16,091.87 15,104.12 31,545.99 6,150.00 6,150.00 25,395.99 26,241.02 (845.03) 25,395.99 |
Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - |
2024 £ 350.00 16,091.87 15,104.12 31,545.99 6,150.00 6,150.00 25,395.99 26,241.02 (845.03) 25,395.99 |
2023 £ 56.88 26,184.14 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26,241.02 | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| 26,241.02 | ||||
| 30,943.69 (4,702.67) |
||||
| 26,241.02 |
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CONNECT MID-DEVON
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Notes to the Financial Statements
1 Charitable objectives
The advancement for the public benefit of religious or other education and the promotion and advancement of the Christian religion the workshop of God and the spreading of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and without prejudice of the generality of the foregoing the promotion fostering and facilitating of the knowledge and practice of the Christian faith amongst young people of school age and both within and without schools colleges and other educational establishments (and thereby assist in ensuring that due attention is given to the spiritual social and moral education and development of young people as well as to the development and occupation of their minds and bodies) and with a view to furthering this object the Trustees shall also have the power to provide or assist in the provision of school assemblies lessons Christian based clubs camps house parties and activities
To provide or assist in the provision of courses lectures publications materials and equipment for the purpose of training employees and voluntary workers of the Charity school and college teachers and youth workers.
To provide or assist in the provision of facilities and training in drama sport art and music.
To provide or assist in the provision of events projects missions and trips whether in the United Kingdom or abroad to support and assist (whether financial or otherwise) any other Charities, voluntary bodies and statutory authorities operating in any part of the world in furtherance of the object.
2 Debtors and prepayments
| Refund due from trainee's hosts (Okehampton) 3 Creditors and accruals 2nd Yearly Payment to local churches |
2024 £ 350.00 350.00 2024 £ 6,150.00 6,150.00 |
2023 £ 56.88 |
|---|---|---|
| 56.88 | ||
| 2023 £ - |
||
| - |
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