## Trustees Annual Report for Calendar Year 2023
## Annual Accounts
The accounts for the calendar year 2023 show a closing balance of £30,734 compared with £32,218 twelve months ago. Income of £57,360 and spending of £58,844 shows an overall deficit of £1,484 in the year
Again this year the accounts will need to be independently examined.
All the money raised is through donations and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters for their kindness and generosity.
Also thank you to all the volunteers who give their time, money and physical help with school visits, collection of supplies, shipping and admin. All are self-funded.
In addition to monies held in bank accounts, the Trustees would like to record details of assets held in Sierra Leone. The Trust owns a plot of land, donated by tribal elders in 2012, and registered with the Ministry of Lands(Ref MLS 625/2012). This is of low quality, unsuitable for farming and measures 10 acres, including a swamp. Sale value is difficult to assess but very low.
Also the buildings on the land and all equipment and fittings are the property of the Trust and again of low saleable value.
## **Review**
What was launched as a small local primary school in 2008 is now the major educating force in the area. A massive achievement by a host of people.
All education for Primary and Junior Secondary pupils remains free, plus in addition, pupils are supplied with uniforms, shoes, school equipment and hygiene products. They also receive limited food and medical provision and all receive a multivitamin pill on schooldays.
The Trustees are proud of this record and have no plans to instigate any changes.
The major concern is the poor state of the economy in the country and with the associated additional hardships experienced by our already impoverished community. The implications of increased costs are a common theme throughout this report.
In 2023 there were two trips, the first in March with a small group reviewing the situation and identifying needs, followed by a team visit in October/November to undertake the work. Each visit was for two weeks. A total of 140 person days.
All our volunteers are self-funded. They donate money to the charity to cover all the costs of group visits which is a magnificent gesture on their part. Each visit costs in excess of £1600 per person.
During the visits our Trustees and volunteers organise, manage and supervise many activities. They found that lots of maintenance was needed, painting, roof repairs, replacing floor tiling on the veranda, furniture mending and chair replacement.
They were also involved in teaching, reading, staff training, meeting parents, identifying future priorities and much more. Considerable stocks of boys and girls uniforms, soap and toothpaste, girls’ underwear and sanitary products were all distributed.
Teaching staff were also asking for more training updates including medical/first aid, computer use and classroom management issues.
During the year three shipments of uniform, equipment and goods were sent via Marie Sinneh Shipping direct to Freetown where they were collected and taken to school. These shipments are essential in the functioning of the school and in supporting volunteers during visits.
Inflation and the daily revaluation of the Leone make planning and financial reporting accurately sometimes difficult. In January 2022 one GBP was equivalent to 15 New Leones, at time of writing it is worth 27 New Leones. The Leone has been revalued at one thousandth of its former currency with now two currencies in circulation.
Cost of materials have increased significantly since the pandemic and continue to do so as all goods are imported and the value of the local currency continues to fall. Money also needed to be spent in improving security at the school as increasing levels of poverty were making our resources more attractive to possible thieves.
Our fuel costs are also high. The Government increased the price by 40% early in the year creating a major issue in the country as public transport is very limited and almost impossible for our community members to afford. Many more miles are walked as a result. It is a major problem for our student teachers who travel to college three times each week. Travel costs exceed their income which we need to supplement. The school is a three hour drive from the airport and our daily trips from accommodation to the school take around 30 minutes each way.
Additional funding has been allocated to provide food and medical assistance for our children. All treatment has to be funded, but our local doctor David Koroma does an outstanding job in keeping costs as low as possible yet providing excellent support. Food for all our pupils costs around £100 per day to satisfy their hunger.
Throughout and after the November visit the group looked to plan priorities, especially with the next two years in mind.
The introduction of Internet access is seen as a massive move forward for the school in terms of learning opportunities and improved communication. Initial tests showed that it will be possible via a modem and plans were made to provide a limited networked system during early 2024. Funding has been promised for at least the first year.
Exam results are good in most subjects but lack of skills in the use of English is a concern. Plans to improve this, include a more co-ordinated whole school approach from year one, more training for primary teachers and support for an existing member of staff to undertake a degree course in English.
In November the volunteers worked with one class of girls in the Junior Secondary range, aged 13-15, to introduce a pilot project in the use of re-usable sanitary ware. The three female teachers will monitor the innovation and report in March. If successful the plan will be to extend the development to other classes.
Other issues which Trustees feel are key to developments are the introduction and development of small agricultural projects initiated by senior pupils and the provision of improved guidance for pupils to make them aware of possible career routes after school.
The Ministry continues to pay some of our teachers, although their system seems to contain many anomalies. These are proving difficult to resolve and causing unease amongst our staff. The Trustees have
agreed to undertake a review of salaries and consider levels of payments with equity according to qualifications and fairness.
All staff continue to receive a verbal message from the Trustees on a monthly basis and are encouraged to respond by WhatsApp, text or email. This improved level of communication has proved very useful in advising, motivating and congratulating staff members. This has led to an increase in self- confidence resulting in them showing more initiative and development ideas. We are pleased to report that the children enjoy the benefits of a very stable group of staff with no teacher leaving the school for more than three years. The Trustees would like to recognise their workload and commitment to the young people in their charge.
Our newly appointed Trustee is Sylvia M Abblitt
She has replaced Kjell Hoydal who has served for many years and the Trustees would like to thank him for his efforts both in Sierra Leone and in Norway
The Trustees are able to report that there have been no serious incidents at the school.
More information on the structure and operation of the school is available via the website www.thedavidschool.co.uk which we try to update on a regular basis. We also produce a newsletter ‘The David School Messenger’ which is available on the website but can be delivered directly to interested parties by email. Please register your interest at wallwork26@btinternet.com
Original Signed in March 2024 by the Trustees as a true record.
David Wallwork
Janet B Wallwork
Catherine S Thomas
K Høydal
M G Horrell
## **THE DAVID SCHOOL TRUST Charity Number 1129314 HMRC Reference XT19571**
Year Ended 31 December 2023
|**INCOME**|||**2022**|||**2023**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Gift Aid Donations**|||||||||
|Lump Sum and Small Donations Scheme||£|9,813
||£|25,949
|||
|Direct Debits||£|6,319
||£|5,806
|||
||||£|16,132
|||£|31,775
|
|Other Donations and Contributions||£|13,073
||£|17,555
|||
|Gift Aid Reclaim||£|4,033
||£|7,854
|||
|Bank Interest||£|4
||£|176
|||
||||£|17,110
|£|25,585
|£|25,585
|
|Sierra Leone non UK Recipts|||£|10,000
|||||
||||£|43,242
|||£|57,360
|
|**EXPENDITURE**|||||||||
|Teachers Salaries/Wages||£|8,543
||£|5,745
|||
|Pension Provision NASSIT||£|668
||£|601
|||
|Teacher Training Fees||£|2,159
||£|3,750
|||
|Shipping Costs and Transportation||£|2,400
||£|3,365
|||
|School Repairs and Maintenance||£|3,728
||£|12,533
|||
|School Furniture and Equipment||£|3,133
||£|5,037
|||
|Supported Studets/Welfare||£|5,100
||£|3,704
|||
|Food and Medical|||||£|5,574
|||
|Volunteer Costs||£|8,927
||£|17,304
|||
|Website||£|137
||£|279
|||
|Bank Charges SL||£|62
||£|210
|||
|Miscellaneous- Printing, Exam Fees, Unifor||£|2
||£|742
|||
||||£|34,858
|£|58,844
|£|58,844
|
|Excess/Deficit Expenditure|over Income||**£**|**8,384**
|||**-£**|**1,484**
|
|Balance brought forward 1 January|||£|23,834
|||£|32,218
|
|Balance carried forward 31|December||£|32,218
|||£|30,734
|
|Balance at Bank UK|||£|17,903
|||£|21,351
|
|Balance at Bank SL|||£|2,612
|||£|1,529
|
||||£|20,515
|||£|22,880
|
||**Balance Sheet**|**at**|**31 December 2023**||||||
||||**2022**|||**2023**|||
|**CURRENT ASSETS**|||||||||
|Sundry Debtors||£|11,703
||£|7,854
|||
|Balance at Bank UK||£|17,903
||£|21,351
|||
|Balance at Bank SL||£|2,612
||£|1,529
|||
|||**£**|**32,218**
||**£**|**30,734**
|||
Th&Dcu/i£bSch(yoL Tr
The David School
Email.. info@theda¥ids¢hool.co.uk . Website.. vnvw.thedavidschool.co.uk
Education Changes Live5
Independent Examinerfs Report to the Trusteos of The David School Trust
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of The David School
Trust for the year ended 31 December 2023.
As the Charity Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in
accordan with the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act").
The Charity's Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under
section 144(2) of the Act and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to=
examine accounts under section 145 of the Act.
follow the proCedUS laid down by the applicable Directions given by the
Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
An examination indudes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a
comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes
consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking
explanations from you as Trustees conceming any such matters.
I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to
my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that
in, any material respect the:
. accounting records were not kept in accordance wth section 130 of the Act" or
. accounts did not accx)rd with the accounting records: or
accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fom 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 concems and have come across no other matters in nnectIOn 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.
Name.. Michael John Houlden
Signed..
Address.. Forest Lodge, 4 Stocken Hall Mews,
Stretton, Oakham LE15 7RL
Date:
91412oa
Rwstered Chanry 1129314