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2021-02-28-accounts

Company registration number: 06693843 Charity registration number: 1126928

The Signpost to Polish Success

(A company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

The Signpost to Polish Success

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 to 11
Independent Examiner's Report 12
Statement of Financial Activities 13 to 14
Balance Sheet 15
Notes to the Financial Statements 16 to 23

The Signpost to Polish Success

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees

Senior Management Team Principal Office

Company Registration Number Charity Registration Number Independent Examiner

Danuta Kantyka Monika Savage Edyta Wysocka Pawel Chrostowski Jerzy Ziemiewicz Philip Jackson David Jones Beata Polanowska, CEO

Unit B, Tennyson Hall, Forest Road West, Nottingham NG7 4EP 06693843 1126928

John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

Page 1

The Signpost to Polish Success

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 28 February 2021.

Trustees

Danuta Kantyka

Monika Savage

Edyta Wysocka

Pawel Chrostowski

Jerzy Ziemiewicz

Philip Jackson

David Jones (appointed 15 June 2020)

Structure, governance and management

Nature of governing document

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity. It is operated under the rules of its memorandum and articles of association dated 10 September 2008. It has no share capital and the liability of each member in the event of winding-up is limited to £10.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

We have a Memorandum and Articles of Association and our Directors/Trustees are selected at our AGM through the voting process.

The appointment of Directors

A prospective Director will have to present a CV or completed Committee Member Application Form and if new to the organisation a covering letter and two references. The candidacy will be discussed at the committee meeting by the existing members. All Directors will be appointed for a six month probationary period and if this is satisfactorily completed the appointment will be confirmed.

The charity may by ordinary resolution:

Appoint a person who is willing to act as a Director and determine the rotation in which any additional Directors are to retire.

No person other than a Director retiring by rotation may be appointed as a Director at any general meeting unless:

He or she is recommended for re-election by the Directors; or

Not less than fourteen nor more than thirty-five clear days before the date of the meeting, the charity is given a notice that:

(a) Is signed by a member entitled to vote at the meeting;

(b) States the member’s intention to propose the appointment of a person as a Director;

(c) Contains the details that, if the person were to be appointed, the charity would have to file at Companies House; and

(d) Is signed by the person who is to be proposed to show his or her willingness to be appointed.

All members who are entitled to receive notice of a general meeting must be given not less than seven nor more than twenty-eight clear days’ notice of any resolution to be put to the meeting to appoint a Director other than a Director who is to retire by rotation.

The Directors may appoint a person who is willing to act as a Director.

A Director appointed by a resolution of the other Directors must retire at the next annual general meeting and must not be considered in determining the Directors who are to retire by rotation.

The appointment of a Director, whether by the charity in a general meeting or by the other Directors, must not cause the number of Directors to exceed any number fixed as the maximum number of Directors.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Major risks and management of those risks

The major risk to our continued existence is the uncertainty inherent in the search to secure funding continuity, so we submit our grant applications well in advance of the current funding expiry dates.

Objectives and activities

Objects and aims

Any charitable purpose for the benefit of the public in Nottingham and in and around the East Midlands. In particular but not exclusively for Polish and other Eastern European migrants, in particular but not exclusively: The relief of financial hardship;

The advancement of education and training;

The provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure activities in the interest of social welfare with the object of improving their conditions of life.

Objectives, strategies and activities

• Providing regular English language courses. We hold ESOL classess at Entry 3 and beginner's levels;

• Offering Polish and other Eastern European migrants 1-2-1 information/signposting sessions. We support them with:

• Publishing “East Midlands po Polsku”, roughly translated as “The East Midlands in Polish”, in which we continue to inform our readership about issues relevant to the Polish community across the East Midlands. Our readership is now more than 10,000;

• Running www.empp.co.uk which provides our users with instant information. Running a Facebook page that has over 3,240 followers;

• Supporting EU Nationals in applying for Settled Status;

• Organising workshops, meetings, webinars, social gatherings, events, developing a sense of community and working towards community cohesion. Our workshops provide comprehensive and useful information on current, topical issues. Our family events/social activities contribute to the creation of a sense of community amongst the recently arrived migrants;

• Providing volunteering opportunities for members of New & Emerging Communities which benefit them as well as members of the wider local community.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Our activities address the following issues:

the prevention or relief of poverty;

the relief of those in need by reason of age, ethnicity, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;

the advancement of education (ESOL, but also education through delivering information sessions where people can learn more about rules and regulations prevailing in the UK and workshops, which have an educational value in regard to learning more about current, topical issues);

the advancement of community development - our social activities contribute to the creation of a sense of community amongst the recently arrived migrants. They have helped the newcomers develop a better understanding of the host society, assisted in their integration and encouraged positive interactions with the host population as well as nourishing friendships amongst the new arrivals, generated a sense of community spirit and, as a consequence, a more positive attitude towards the society in which they now live; the advancement of welfare.

Achievements and performance

The Signpost to Polish Success activities 01.03.2020-28.02.2021

This was a difficult and challenging year due to the restrictions and lockdowns brought on by the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. We stopped delivering our regular services at our office on the 23rd of March 2020, except for the food bank provision.

We moved our 1-2-1 Information Sessions into the online and telephone domain and continued working in this way until reopening our office on the 12th of August 2020. We started providing our ESOL courses online in May 2020 and continued working in this way until summer 2021. We stopped publishing our monthly newspaper East Midlands po Polsku in April, May and June, restarting in July 2020 and printing it regularly since. We stayed in touch with our community during the first lockdown, informing people of recent developments, mostly regarding the coronavirus pandemic, through our Facebook East Midlands po Polsku profile. Instead of community events and informative workshops, in autumn 2020 we started organising webinars through Facebook. They turned out to be a highly successful way of engaging with our community. We stayed in touch with other local and national organisations by taking part in Zoom meetings and training sessions.

This was the fourth year of our National Lottery Community Fund (formerly Big Lottery) project. We continued being a partner in the consortium led by Nottingham Law Centre which aimed to support EU citizens in applying for settled status, the immigration status European citizens require after Brexit. The consortium was supported by funding from the Home Office. We also delivered a ‘Positive Actions against Crime’ project for the Police & Crime Commissioner focused on developing positive relationships between the police and Polish community, and completed the project “Zaradna Polonia - Pomoc dla Polonii Nottingham”, supported by funding from the Polish Government.

We were successful in applying for small grants for our events and activities, receiving funding from Castle Cavendish Ltd (for online ESOL and Family and Wellbeing webinars), Polish Consulate in Manchester (Children’s special supplement in the East Midlands po Polsku), National Emergencies Trust administered by NCF and Defra (for SPS food bank) and New Art Exchange (family events).

We continued to be a member of Fareshare - a scheme where supermarkets such as Tesco donate unwanted food to charities. We regularly collect food from two Tesco Express Stores which enabled us to support vulnerable people throughout the entire year, including all lockdowns.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

We represented the interests and spoke on behalf of members of the Polish and other Eastern European communities at several key local Zoom groups/meetings. We became a member of the Nottingham Together Board, representing the voice of the Polish/other Eastern European communities. We took part in Area Partnership Zoom meetings, joining their Isolation/Mental Health and Welfare Advice/Benefits & Food Banks subgroups; briefed the Bank of England on the type of problems and difficulties SPS clients face; strengthened or developed partnership working with local organisations and foodbanks; and followed Brexit negotiations for SPS to understand its impact on the Polish and other Eastern European communities from January 2021. We also liaised with the Polish Consulate in Manchester regarding various issues, the main one being the obtaining of Polish identity documents for our clients in order to apply for settled status.

The manager of SPS maintained membership of the Advisory Committee to the Polish Consul in Manchester. SPS continued lending books to the local Polish community from our own library.

We had staff changes and had to undertake recruitment procedures, employing our current Information Officer in August 2020 when we reopened SPS office after the lockdown. We also furloughed our staff at different times during the year.

This was a challenging year for SPS for one more reason. SPS lost its longstanding chairman, Peter Brown, who passed away in February 2020. Therefore, we needed to recruit a new trustee and make changes in its management structure and seek help from new volunteers.

SPS events/workshops/courses

In March 2020, before the first lockdown started, we delivered our Women’s Empowerment workshop, the only physical gathering in this financial year. The event was very successful, it focused on women’s wellbeing and building confidence, engaging in a variety of activities: make-up session, tips on completing and writing CVs, building confidence and learning relaxation techniques. For SPS this was a pilot event, showing us a new area of need and the types of activities to undertake.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, we suspended organising physical events, but delivered the following webinars, using our Facebook East Midlands po Polsku platform:

Poppy Day with Polish accent

This was our very first online workshop, livestreamed on East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page. Filmed with our phones, it was technically imperfect. However the feedback was overall positive. It was also a great learning experience for us.

This project was aimed at children in the run up to the Remembrance Day and Poland’s Independence Day (both celebrated on 11 November). Two workshops took place, on 22 and 29 October. We showed the young viewers how to create a simple poppy from tissue or crepe paper, one in traditional red and one in the colours of Polish flag (half white, half red). We reminded our viewers about the meaning of these two important holidays and how closely Polish and British history are connected. We encouraged creativity whilst being aware of the environment - which means trying to reuse and upcycle instead of throwing things away.

Webinars for women

On 24 and 25 November we organised two webinars for women, both livestreamed on East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page. Our presenter was Katarzyna Klimuszko-Dobrowolska, known from the Women’s Empowerment workshop which took place on 5 March 2020. These 2 sessions were again aimed at women from the Polish community, to help them feel better, and increase their self-esteem and confidence.

“Polonia czyta dzieciom” initiative.

In February 2021 we began a special “Polonia Czyta Dzieciom” (Poles Abroad Read To Children) initiative. Our volunteers of different ages, from pre-teen to adults, recorded short films where they read their favourite Polish language poems, fairy tales and short stories. This project is directed at those Polish children who might struggle in times of the pandemic. We thought that introducing them to the classics of Polish children’s literature might be good for their young minds. Anybody can record their own short video and post it on our East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page with the hashtag #poloniaczytadzieciom. This is an ongoing project, with new films being added.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Fat Thursday on a Saturday

On 13 February 2021 together with New Art Exchange we organised the sixth edition of “Fat Thursday on a Saturday”. This is an annual event showcasing the tradition of Fat Thursday (an equivalent to Shrove Tuesday) and allowing us to share Polish culture and customs with the diverse local community. Over the years it has become very popular, usually attracting between 100 to 200 attendees. Always conducted in Polish and English, it involves a variety of arts and crafts activities, presentations and free Polish doughnuts and refreshments.

Craft workshops with Iwona

These are a series of fun craft workshops presented in Polish by Iwona. In the first workshop on 17 February Iwona showed how to make traditional Polish tassels and how many things can be created with a simple crochet chain. The second session on 1 March involved pompoms and learning how and where they can be used. Part 3 on 11 March was all about upcycling, with the viewers learning how to turn empty tins into stylish organisers. Our goal for this project was to encourage our community to discover (or in many cases rediscover) the joy of creating, learning how to creatively use and reuse things we already have. All three videos (with more to come) can be watched on YouTube and East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page.

Wellbeing webinars

To celebrate Women’s Day we organised two special webinars - but not only for women. Subjects of loneliness, isolation and depression are very important within the Polish community, not only during the pandemic. The lockdown, followed by financial hardship and in many cases job loss, has had a big influence on mental health. We aimed to help Polish women, and men, learn how to deal with life difficulties, build their self-esteem and confidence and maintain their overall wellbeing.

During the first session on 3 March we discussed how to cope with stress, loneliness and isolation. The subject of the next session on 10 March were assertiveness, creating boundaries and taking care of one’s own needs. Each session ended with an interesting and lively discussion based on viewers’ questions and comments. Both sessions (in Polish) were livestreamed on our East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page.

ESOL

We delivered two courses funded by Castle Cavendish Ltd and one led by Nottingham University students, starting our online tuition in May 2020. After the summer we continued throughout the autumn and winter terms.

Our ESOL courses funded by Castle Cavendish Ltd were attended by 22 learners, 14 of them completed the questionnaire. All of them said they would recommend our course to somebody else. 50% of the participants said they liked learning online, 43% would prefer meeting face-to-face, and the remaining 7% said they enjoyed both. 64% said they would be happy to participate in other ESOL courses organised by the SPS, 14% said no and 22% were not sure.

Asked what they found most helpful during the course, the learners said: “Regular contact with native speaker / I mean teacher/” “Live English language.”

“Teacher can explain everything. Small group and you can learn at home”.

“High level of teaching”.

The course delivered by Nottingham University students was attended by 11 learners divided into three groups: basic beginners, beginners and low intermediate. We received positive feedback both from the learners and the student teachers.

Online ESOL lessons were challenging at times as our students had to share their screen time with children (during home schooling) or overall lack of access to a computer or smart phone. Some of our learners had problems with reliable internet, there were times when they were losing connection in the middle of the lesson. However, we had new attendees, not only from Nottingham but also from places such as Sutton-in-Ashfield, Loughborough, Alfreton and Stafford.

We already have a list of potential learners without technical access to online courses, who prefer to wait until the groups can meet in person. DWP advisers also took interest in ESOL courses organised by the SPS and refer their mostly Polish clients to us.

Volunteers

From the beginning of March 2020 the lockdown restrictions significantly limited any opportunities to engage our volunteers and recruit new ones.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Even under such challenging circumstances we managed to recruit 15 new volunteers, two of them juniors (with permission of their parents). 11 volunteers were involved in different stages of our East Midlands po Polsku newspaper such as researching information, writing articles, providing photographs and helping with proofreading. Most of them have become regular contributors to the EMpP, others get involved from time to time as their schedule allows. Two of the new volunteers were of great assistance with technical maintenance of the office and one of them, a native speaker, regularly gives us a hand with proofreading our English language texts.

We are extremely proud of our youngest volunteers. One of them helped us with preparing posters for Fat Thursday on a Saturday event in February. Another, at the age of 12, has become a regular contributor to the EMpP, preparing crossword puzzles and writing articles for the children’s section. She was also a great help during three craft webinars for children.

From our previously recruited volunteers we were able to engage six. Two of them are regular contributors to the EMpP, two prepared a series of fantastic online craft workshops for children and adults, one is our regular IT help and one read beautifully for our “Polonia Czyta Dzieciom” (Poles Abroad Read To Children) initiative. Currently we engage 21 volunteers, most of them involved in multiple activities and - for now - mostly remotely.

“For me being a volunteer is very satisfying. I usually take part in creative activities for children. Unfortunately this became difficult during the lockdown. But, as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. A friend suggested virtual creative activities for children and adults too. With the help of my husband, also a long-time volunteer, we recorded several videos showing a variety of arts and crafts projects which can be easily done at home, with materials people already have. They were posted on YouTube and East Midlands po Polsku Facebook page. This was a totally new experience for me, something I probably would not have tried if not for volunteering. I feel that all that time spent at home during the lockdown was not wasted. I experienced something new, I enjoyed it and at the same time did something for others.” (Iwona and Paweł)

Newspaper and webpage

Due to the pandemic, we published seven issues of East Midlands po Polsku and distributed it across the East Midlands (with main distribution points in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincoln). We delivered the most accurate government updates on coronavirus, Brexit, etc. making sure that the Polish community did not fall for false news. Our newspaper is also available on our website www.empp.co.uk, which was redesigned and got a fresh, modern look.

Social media

We remain very active on East Midlands po Polsku Facebook profile, informing our followers not only about our services, but also the ever-changing lockdown rules and guidelines issued by the government. We also inform them about advantageous projects, such as vacancies with local employers.

Moreover, together with multiple organisations we organised 12 livestreams with unique content: four with Nottinghamshire Police (“Police Recruitment”, “Hate crime”, “Cybercrime”, “Domestic Violence”), one with Juno Women’s Aid (“Domestic violence”). We organised three live webinars during which we were answering questions about the EU Settlement Scheme, reaching 11,600 people in October and 6600 in November. We mentioned already the following initiatives: organising a webinar with New Art Exchange (“Fat Thursday on a Saturday”). Our two wellbeing streams for women reached over 1000 people each. Our three arts and crafts webinars for children reached over 2000 viewers each. With the help of our volunteers, we started a Facebook activity aiming to promote reading books for children in the Polish language. We created a YouTube account and published two films (“Craft Workshop with Iwona”) that attracted over 130 visitors in a week.

We share all our posts with thousands of members of different Polish Facebook groups, such as ‘Polonia Nottingham’, ‘Polacy w Mansfield i okolicach’ and ‘Polacy w Derby’. On Facebook, we do not pay for the distribution of our post, therefore our reach is organic only: the most successful livestream about domestic violence reached over 10,000 people, mainly Poles living all over the UK. On average, our posts reach 2500 people.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Settled status

The three settled status webinars (mentioned above and delivered through our Facebook profile) were highly popular throughout the Polish community (total organic reach of 18,200). By answering many questions about the scheme’s requirements, deadlines and the process itself, SPS empowered people to either apply on their own or seek free help of specialists, including, but not limited to SPS. Viewers’ feedback was positive and encouraging, with 114 likes. The information and skills presented during our live broadcasts reached people across the UK. Those who watched the streams for only a short time were reminded of the urgent need to regulate their immigration status.

We published articles about the EU Settlement Scheme in six out of seven issues of East Midlands po Polsku. We supported 126 people during 175 sessions through the Home Office funding granted via Nottingham Law Centre: for some it was applying for settled status, for others pre-settled status. Many have English language barriers, no modern mobile telephones which are needed to apply, and no IT skills. Thanks to SPS support they did not have to pay for the services of private offices. Many of them come back to us to check whether they obtained the status or not, unable to access their e-mail or online Home Office profile. The feedback we received from this project has been positive. The vast majority of our clients said they wouldn’t have been able to apply for the status on their own. SPS advisers’ professionalism and efficiency have been praised. All service users said they would definitely recommend our sessions to others.

We supported clients by liaising with the Polish Consulate for them to obtain Polish ID documents for themselves or for their children in order to apply for Settled Status.

1-2-1 Information Services

We helped a large number of people in difficult life situations, preventing them from becoming more vulnerable. However, some of our service users are still highly vulnerable, unable to use other help systems due to language barriers, fear and distrust. These people are often constantly abused and are in desperate need of our attention and advice.

We help people with various problems such as translating a letter from British institutions, helping to deal with debts, applying for Universal Credit or communicating with the DWP.

We continue to work with several organisations and government agencies, such as Nottingham Law Centre, St Ann’s Advice Centre, CAB, Welfare Rights Advisors at Nottingham City Council, DUWC, Nottinghamshire Police, Action Fraud, HMRC, DWP, ACAS and many more.

Information sessions

In the period from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021 we held 560 sessions for 147 people, approx. 70 sessions per month (not including Settled Status sessions). We consider this a good outcome, especially since the SPS office was closed during the first lockdown, and help was provided remotely. The office reopened in mid-August 2021 and operated in limited capacity in accordance with government guidance.

Welfare Benefits

We supported 71 people during 234 sessions. We mainly help with Universal Credit claims by assisting our service users to make UC claims mainly online, notifying DWP of change of personal circumstances, requesting advance payments, helping our clients to add notes to a journal, completing Work Capability Assessments forms, requesting Mandatory Reconsiderations, lodging appeals to the Tribunal Service against DWP decisions. SPS also provided information and helped with applying for Child Benefit.

We held 37 sessions regarding Personal Independence Payments. We mainly help with initiating PIP claims, organising professional assistance in completing PIP forms, assisting the clients with every stage of the claim in progress, making enquires for updates with current claims, arranging telephone health assessments for the clients and making complaints against official decisions.

Debts

Last year we supported nine clients with debt during 16 sessions. Three people were referred to organisations specialising in legislated debt help. We help with making an initial contact with debt collection agencies in order to set up a plan for paying off arrears. We respond to liability orders, help our clients to collect, organise and scrutinise all relevant documents, assist when an offer of repayment plan is introduced, follow court procedures if the case has been filed to court and arrange for interpreters to be present when the court case takes place. “Service user was told there was a financial arrest warrant in place for her as she failed to clear a balance of £362.20. In order to stop a search for her, SPS officer had to book a court date so SU could voluntarily surrender. SU eventually agreed to attend the court. Court services were contacted to ensure the presence of a Polish interpreter.”

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Housing issues

We supported 33 people during 106 sessions focused on housing issues. Most of the interventions required sending applications for council housing when a SU is at the risk of becoming homeless, ensuring all relevant documents are delivered to Housing Aid so the client meets the homelessness criteria and providing all relevant translations. We provide service users on the verge of homelessness with food bank vouchers and food parcels. We also work closely with the Emmanuel House and Framework outreach teams. Other cases concern contacting landlords in order to request repairs, referring cases to the Environmental Health Team, applying for Warm Home Discount or Big Difference schemes, and more.

Health issues

Last year we helped 19 clients with health-related matters during 47 sessions: for example, claiming for help with paying for health and travel costs; booking appointments at the hospital or GP - including vaccination appointments; translating medical documents; requesting medical certificates; making referrals to available health services; EHIC card questions etc.

Employment issues

We held 54 sessions for 33 people with employment issues, which include: writing CVs; solving problems with NINo appointments during the pandemic; contacting unfair employers; obtaining documents such as SSP1 forms, P45s and payslips. We referred some service users to ACAS and supported them along the way with making claims against their employers by assisting, for example, with translation. We also helped people setting up new self-employment. We referred our service users to organisations offering employment progress courses. We also informed our service users about the Job Retention Scheme and their rights during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other

SPS held 76 sessions for 48 people which helped with secure banking and cybersecurity in general, TV licence, pensions, setting up personal tax accounts, applying for transportation cards, registering children for schools, personal and family insurance issues, parking penalties, searching for accredited childcare, referring to AA groups and psychologists. We also provided information about the Polish Consulate’s rules for getting passports.

Moreover, SPS contacted broadband providers, landline and mobile phone companies to set up or cancel services or explain invoices and letters. We contacted gas and electricity suppliers to book smart meter installations, discuss arrears, energy tariffs and more.

Hate Crime

SPS is a hate crime reporting centre. We help victims of hate and report whatever happens to them to the police. We also work on raising people’s awareness about hate crime.

Foodbank

SPS issued 115 food bank vouchers for 47 people to the Trussel Trust food bank network. People can be given three vouchers over a six month period, but that is not sufficient to meet most of our service users’ needs. That is why we also provide them with food parcels, mainly bakery products that we acquired from local Tesco stores thanks to the FareShare scheme. In the last year we dispensed approx. 630 food parcels to at least 75 people. We also started cooperating with Himmah food bank and issued 86 referrals for 309 people.

Financial review

Policy on reserves

The money which we still have on our account is allocated to different activities, according to the funding application forms we submitted. We have some general income which we will use for the activities for which we have not obtained funding. We also have enough money in our accounts to make sure that SPS can provide its services for 3 months in case we fail to obtain any future funding. Our financial situation is reasonably stable at the moment because we still have 1 more year of our National Lottery Community Fund project to run. We will still need to fundraise to cover all our costs, however, we feel relieved because most of our costs for the next year is covered.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Trustees' Report

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of The Signpost to Polish Success 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:

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

......................................... Edyta Wysocka Trustee

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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The Signpost to Polish Success

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of The Signpost to Polish Success

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Signpost to Polish Success ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 28 February 2021.

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 that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company 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 [applicable to 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.

......................................

John O'Brien MSc, FCCA, FCIE, employee of Community Accounting Plus Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners

Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL

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

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 28 February 2021 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Investment income
4
Total Income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
5
Total Expenditure
Net income
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
13		 Unrestricted
funds
£
8,052
7,741
527
16,320
(6,393)
(6,393)
9,927
9,927
127,224
137,151		 Restricted
funds
£
-
116,563
-
116,563
(94,019)
(94,019)
22,544
22,544
46,286
68,830		 Total
2021
£
8,052
124,304
527
132,883
(100,412)
(100,412)
32,471
32,471
173,510
205,981		 Total
2020
£
-
137,946
263
138,209
(103,416)
(103,416)
34,793
34,793
138,717
173,510

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2018 is shown in note 13.

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The Signpost to Polish Success

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 28 February 2021 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

These are the figures for the previous accounting period and are included for comparative purposes

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Charitable activities
3
Investment income
4
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
5
Total expenditure
Net income
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
13		 Unrestricted
funds
£
15,362
263
15,625
(397)
(397)
15,228
15,228
111,996
127,224		 Restricted
funds
£
122,584
-
122,584
(103,019)
(103,019)
19,565
19,565
26,721
46,286		 Total
2020
£
137,946
263
138,209
(103,416)
(103,416)
34,793
34,793
138,717
173,510

Page 14

The Signpost to Polish Success

(Registration number: 06693843) Balance Sheet as at 28 February 2021

Note
Current assets
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
11
Net assets
Funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
Restricted funds
13
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds
13		 2021
£
877
211,346
212,223
(6,242)
205,981
68,830
137,151
205,981		 2020
£
872
179,373
180,245
(6,735)
173,510
46,286
127,224
173,510

For the financial year ending 28 February 2021 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

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

The financial statements on pages 13 to 23 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on .................... and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... Pawel Chrostowski Trustee

Page 15

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

1 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). They also comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011.

Basis of preparation

The Signpost to Polish Success 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 financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The charity opted to adopt Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and have therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.

Income and endowments

Voluntary income including donations, gifts, legacies and grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

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.

Page 16

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. 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.

Government grants

Government grants are recognised based on the accrual model and are measured at the fair value of the asset received or receivable. Grants are classified as relating either to revenue or to assets. Grants relating to revenue are recognised in income over the period in which the related costs are recognised. Grants relating to assets are recognised over the expected useful life of the asset. Where part of a grant relating to an asset is deferred, it is recognised as deferred income.

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.

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.

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 grants for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.

Page 17

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

Pensions and other post retirement obligations

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity. Pension costs charges in the Statement of Financial Activities represent the contributions payable by the charity during the year.

2 Income from donations and legacies

Donations and legacies;
Donations from companies, trusts and similar proceeds
Grants, including capital grants;
Government grants		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
460
7,592
8,052		 Total
2021
£
460
7,592
8,052

3 Income from charitable activities

Grants & donations
Activities
Advertising
Fundraising
Interpretation		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
-
2,305
5,316
20
100
7,741		 Restricted
funds
£
116,563
-
-
-
-
116,563		 Total
2021
£
116,563
2,305
5,316
20
100
124,304		 Total
2020
£
122,584
5,629
7,655
2,078
-
137,946

4 Investment income

Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
527		 Total
2021
£
527		 Total
2020
£
263

Page 18

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

5 Expenditure on charitable activities

Telephone & communications
Equipment, repairs & renewals
Events & activities
Hospitality
Legal & professional
Wages, NI & pension
Insurance
Office supplies
Rent & room hire
Training & conference
Travel & networking
Tutor fees
Sundry expenditure
Bank charges		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
120
-
-
-
-
6,153
-
-
120
-
-
-
-
-
6,393		 Restricted
funds
£
1,944
272
110
-
1,620
67,385
952
4,168
9,936
1,385
3,971
2,276
-
-
94,019		 Total
2021
£
2,064
272
110
-
1,620
73,538
952
4,168
10,056
1,385
3,971
2,276
-
-
100,412		 Total
2020
£
1,311
150
800
833
1,550
76,303
956
6,691
9,503
630
3,205
1,084
397
3
103,416

6 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.

Page 19

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

7 Fees payable to independent examiner

During the period, the fees payable (excluding VAT) to the charity’s independent examiner Community Accounting Plus are analysed as follows:

Accounting Plus are analysed as follows:
Independent examination
Other financial services		 2021
£
700
620
1,320		 2020
£
700
580
1,280

8 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2021
£
71,028
1,123
1,387
73,538		 2020
£
71,937
3,005
1,361
76,303

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

The average number of employees during the year was

2021 2020
No No
5 6

5 (2020 - 5) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes.

Contributions to the employee pension schemes for the year totalled £1,387 (2020 - £1,361).

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year.

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £31,538 (2020 - £31,056).

Page 20

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

9 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.

10 Debtors

Prepayments
11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other creditors		 2021
£
877
2021
£
6,242		 2020
£
872
2020
£
6,735

12 Charity status

The charity is a charity 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.

13 Funds

Unrestricted funds
General
General fund
Restricted funds
The National Lottery Community
Fund
Training & skills
Communities of Identity
Salaries
Health engagement
Events
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at 1
March 2020
£
127,224
34,060
2,577
720
5,622
1,585
1,722
46,286
173,510		 Incoming
resources
£
16,320
89,253
8,440
-
10,000
7,020
1,850
116,563
132,883		 Resources
expended
£
(6,393)
(73,795)
(6,816)
-
(5,490)
(7,020)
(898)
(94,019)
(100,412)		 Balance at 28
February
2021
£
137,151
49,518
4,201
720
10,132
1,585
2,674
68,830
205,981

Page 21

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

Unrestricted funds
General
General fund
Restricted funds
The National Lottery Community
Fund
Money sorted
Training & skills
Communities of Identity
Salaries
Health engagement
Events
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at 1
March 2019
£
111,996
24,595
-
-
720
1,406
-
-
26,721
138,717		 Incoming
resources
£
15,625
91,845
5,809
6,830
-
10,000
1,688
6,412
122,584
138,209		 Resources
expended
£
(397)
(82,380)
(5,809)
(4,253)
-
(5,784)
(103)
(4,690)
(103,019)
(103,416)		 Balance at 29
February
2020
£
127,224
34,060
-
2,577
720
5,622
1,585
1,722
46,286
173,510

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

The National Lottery Community Fund contributes towards the running costs and salaries. The Training and skills fund contributes to the costs of courses and skills developement for our users. Communities of Identity is to support additional cultural awareness to the wider community.

Salaries contributes towards the salary costs of staff working on the settled status applications and support. Health engagement supports health education & awareness of hate crime and its impact .

Events provide important cultural and awareness sessions, thanks to the New Art Exchange & The Polish Consulate.

14 Analysis of net assets between funds

14 Analysis of net assets between funds
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
137,151
-
137,151		 Restricted
funds
£
75,072
(6,242)
68,830		 Total funds
£
212,223
(6,242)
205,981

Page 22

The Signpost to Polish Success

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 28 February 2021

Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
127,224
-
127,224		 Restricted
funds
£
53,021
(6,735)
46,286		 Total funds at
29 February
2020
£
180,245
(6,735)
173,510

15 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year.

Page 23