_‘Ministry of Stories has helped me have a huge, infinity-sized imagination.’_ - Nico, 10 **Ministry of Stories Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** Registered Company Number: 07317370 Charity Registration Number: 1138553 ## **My Ideal London** In my ideal London It won't be so grey I'll find a piece of happiness, Maybe a clear sunny day? London won't be too big A small town with sweet smelling figs An intertwining community without any hate people coming together to bake sweet treats In my ideal London It won't be so grey I'll find a piece of happiness, Maybe a clear sunny day? - Amelia, age 14 2 ## **MINISTRY OF STORIES TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** **________________________________________________________________** |**CONTENTS**|**Page**| |---|---| |**1. Trustee Board and Administrative Details**|**4**| |**2. Introductions**|**5**| |**A message from the Chair**|| |**A message from the Director**|| |**3. Trustees’ Report**|| |**About Ministry of Stories**|**7**| |**Our Reach**|**9**| |**Our Impact**|**9**| |**Our Neighbourhood**|**11**| |**Main Activities – Achievements and Performance**|**11**| |**Volunteers**|**16**| |**Future Strategy**|**19**| |**Risk**|**19**| |**Financial Review**|**20**| |**Reserves**|**23**| |**Going Concern**|**23**| |**Structure, Governance and Management**|**23**| |**Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees**|**24**| |**4. Independent Examiner’s Report**|**26**| |**5. Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating an income**|**27**| |**and expenditure account)**|| |**6. Balance Sheet**|**28**| |**7. Statement of Cash Flows**|**29**| |**8. Note to the Financial Statements**|**30**| 3 ## **MINISTRY OF STORIES SECTION 1: TRUSTEE BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **________________________________________________________________** ## **Trustees** Michaela Greene Chair (retired May 2025) Rebecca Hanna-Grindall Chair (appointed May 2025) Vidal Behar (Appointed Jul 2024) Inua Ellams Simon Mott-Cowan Vice-Chair / Treasurer (retired Feb 2025) Keji Okeowo Chantelle Stockley Treasurer (appointed Feb 2025, retired July 2025) Philip Watkins Company Secretary Indigo Williams (Retired Feb 2025) Anya Zhuravkina Vice Chair ## **Director (Chief Executive)** Rob Smith ## **Deputy Director** Kirsty Telford (resigned Jun 2024) Laura Perkins (appointed Sep 2024) ## **Registered Office** 159 Hoxton Street London N1 6PJ **Legal Advisors Accountants Bankers** Morgan, Lewis & Counterculture HSBC PLC Bockius UK LLP Partnership LLP Lion House Condor House Unit NH.204 25 Islington High Street 5-10 St. Paul’s E1 Studios London N1 6LJ Churchyard 7 Whitechapel Road London EC4M 8AL London E1 1DU ## **Independent Examiner** Anthony Epton BA FCA CTA FCIE Goldwins Limited 75 Maygrove Road West Hampstead London NW6 2EG Photo credits: Ministry of Stories, Rob Harris, Tom Oldham and Jonathan Perugia. Registered Charity Name: The Ministry of Stories Registered Charity Number (England and Wales): 1138553 Registered Company Number: 07317370 4 **MINISTRY OF STORIES SECTION 2: INTRODUCTIONS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **___________________________________________________________________** ## **A message from our Chair** It is a pleasure and a privilege to take up the Chair of Trustees role at Ministry of Stories - a charity close to my heart for the inspirational work it does championing children’s creativity and access to the arts. I am a firm believer in the power of cocuration, child-led learning, and in creating impact in local communities - principles that are very much at the core of the work Ministry of Stories does. My thanks go to Michaela Greene who stepped down from the chair role in May after nine years on the board. I know that Michaela guided the organisation with great leadership and humour, with both vision and pragmatism. She has built an exceptional board of trustees who it is my privilege to now lead, bringing their skill and commitment to continue making Ministry the best it can be for children, young people, their families and teachers across Hackney and East London. I join the organisation at an exciting time, as we begin our new 5-Year Strategic Plan - an ambitious plan that rises to meet the growing demand and need in our community, alongside the remarkable ambition and potential of the young writers that we serve. By 2030 we will be supporting over 200 young writers each week through our community programmes, and a further 5,000 each year through our schools work. We will continue to build progression routes for young people to move up through our programmes and into volunteering, training and employment, whilst remaining deeply rooted in our wonderfully diverse community. And for this to happen, we will need your support. We know how much pressure our families continue to be under, and the barriers and inequality that this can create - more than nine in ten of our community writing lab families live in the top 30% postcodes for income deprivation nationally, and almost three quarters of our young writers are people of colour. Our supporters are loyal, committed and recognise both the value and importance of our work - and we invite you to join them. We continue to seek new trusts, foundations, corporate partnerships, individuals and community groups to help us deliver our vision to champion the writer in every child. We hope you will be one of them. **Rebecca Hanna-Grindall Chair of Trustees** 5 ## **A message from our Director** It has been a remarkable year for Ministry of Stories, with our young writers given agency to unleash their ideas and imagination and show the world what they can do. Young people’s voices are powerful, and they matter - perhaps now more than ever in an increasingly unpredictable world. At Ministry of Stories, we place great value on amplifying young voices. The programme this year, co-designed with our young writers, has taken us to some incredible places! Through the wonderfully absurd reimagining of London in our audio project _London Can’t Make Up Its Mind_ , to the awe-inspiring speeches as part of our _Speak Up_ speech writing programme - the full multitude of young voices have shone. Thank you to each and every one of our writers for their courage to put pen to paper, stand up, tell their stories, and share their voices with the world. I want to extend my thanks for the amazing kindness, care and generosity of everyone in our extended Ministry orbit. Our families are remarkable and I adore celebrating our young writers’ achievements with you. Our donors for recognising the unstoppable potential in our young people. And our incredible teachers, working tirelessly to provide the best opportunities for the pupils in their classrooms, who are so open and willing to try new approaches with us, and who trust us to help bring excitement to writing, and passion to learning. And to our creative partners - who share the excitement of amplifying our young writers’ voices - be it through design, animation, performances, or production - taking great care to treat our writers’ work with the great respect it deserves. And of course to our incredible volunteer mentors - totalling 221 this year - who give their time to mentor our young people every week. You come with warmth, open hearts, and always a welcoming smile. To all of you, we wouldn’t be Ministry of Stories without you. Thank you. **Rob Smith Director** 6 **MINISTRY OF STORIES SECTION 3. TRUSTEES’ REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **‘Even the smallest of stories can contain the biggest adventure.’** - Olive, 9 ## **ABOUT US** Ministry of Stories (ministryofstories.org) champions the writer in every child. Cofounded by author Nick Hornby in 2010, we help young people discover their confidence, imagination and potential through the power of their writing and creativity. We develop communication and leadership skills through innovative writing programmes and small group mentoring for children living in under-resourced communities, working in schools and at our dedicated writing centre in east London. Since we were founded, we have supported more than 20,000 young people to harness their voice. In 2024/25 we provided creative writing opportunities for 1,376 children and young people. We can be found hidden behind the secret door in our fantastical shop Hoxton Street Monster Supplies. All the profits from the sale of goods in our shop support the work of the Ministry of Stories. ## **SECTION 3. TRUSTEES’ REPORT** The trustees, who are also directors under company law, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees confirm that the financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102. ## **CHARITABLE PURPOSES FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT** The trustees have given due consideration to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charities Commission (Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011) and believe that the activities undertaken during the year provide public benefit while fulfilling the objectives of the charity. The Ministry of Stories’ charitable purposes remain those specified in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. _1._ _**The Advancement of Education** –_ to advance education for the public benefit in writing and reading in all its forms. 7 _2._ _**Young People** –_ to act as a resource for young people up to the age of 18 by providing advice and assistance, organising programmes of education and other activities as a means of: - a) Advancing in life and helping young people by developing their skills, capacities, and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals. - b) Advancing education - c) Relieving unemployment, and 3. _**Social inclusion** –_ to promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from being socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society. ## **AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF MINISTRY OF STORIES** ## **OUR STARTING POINT** We believe that children in our communities have their potential limited because society does not value, resource or represent them. ## **OUR AIM** For children and young people to have a voice to affect change, using the power of their ideas and imagination to write brighter futures for themselves. ## **OUR METHODOLOGY** Through a range of innovative writing programmes and small group mentoring, we help young people discover their own creative potential. Our methodology helps young people to gain confidence, grow in self-respect and learn new skills. We have six core pillars which underpin how we work: 1. Creating inspiring learning spaces 2. Providing individual support from volunteer mentors 3. Delivering effective writing programmes, led by professional writers 4. Amplifying our young writer’s work through publications and performances 5. Creating communities of writers 6. Engaging local communities Our young people drive our programme choices. The creative writing projects which form our community writing programme are planned 18 months in advance in close collaboration with our young writers. We take a co-creation approach, meaning that our programmes are relevant, exciting and engaging for our young people. At Ministry of Stories, they decide the focus of our future programme, input their ideas, and determine how best to celebrate their achievements through a final artform. Within a school’s context, we work with school leaders to identify the young people they seek to reach through a creative approach, and work with them to curate engaging and relevant programmes for their pupils. 8 ## **OUR REACH** This year, we are proud to have supported **1,376 children and young people to become writers** . Of these, **159 young people** (121 in 2023/24) attended our weekly community writing programme, which delivered **190 sessions** (179 in 2023/24) over the course of the year. We reached a **78% attendance rate** (76% in 2023/24). In addition, we supported **1,167 pupils** through the delivery of **29 primary and secondary school programmes** . As part of our schools partnerships, we worked with **365 teachers** (179 in classroom projects, and a further 186 through teacher CPD). Through outreach work, special events and community activities, we reached a further **50 children** outside of our regular programmes. During this period, **Ministry of Stories had a staff team of 13** (8.5 full time equivalent), including the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies retail team. We were proud to be supported by **221 individual volunteers** who **gave 3,078 hours** to support our organisation. We also worked with **28 freelancers** and commissioned projects with **17 additional artists** . ## **Our Home** Ministry of Stories operates out of a dedicated writing centre, hidden behind our magical shop Hoxton Street Monster Supplies. Located on Hoxton Street, in the heart of our community, our location is key to reaching families in our target ward. ## **OUR IMPACT** _‘We love the ethos of Ministry of Stories - how children can be relaxed, yet there is so much productive output.’_ - Avantika, Parent We use our **Theory of Change** as the basis for our evaluation framework, utilising surveys and interviews with young writers, teachers, writing facilitators, parents and volunteers to understand the impact of our work. The children and young people who attend our programmes: - Grow in confidence and courage - Become better writers - Become better speakers - Feel positive about themselves - Feel safe emotionally and physically - Have their creativity and imagination celebrated We also aim for adults - be they parents, carers, teachers or the wider public - to discover new talent and potential in the young people. 9 ## **Young writers’ perspective** Our end-of-term surveys with our young writers show continued progress towards our outcomes: - **92% said they felt safe at the Ministry of Stories** - **93% enjoyed taking part in Ministry of Stories writing programmes** - **65% said Ministry of Stories had helped them to feel good about themselves** - **75% said their writing had improved** - **87% said they had created something they felt proud of** _‘Ministry of Stories makes me feel capable of being the best I can be!’_ - Olamiposi, 9 ## **Parents’ perspective** Our annual survey of parents and carers show that overwhelmingly we have achieved the outcomes we aspire to: **100% said their child had enjoyed taking part in our writing programmes** - **93% felt their child’s confidence had increased as a result of taking part** - **81% said their child’s writing had improved** - **100% felt their child was safe at Ministry of Stories** _‘We really love what Ministry of Stories does and how Ministry of Stories creates a community around writing and creativity.’_ - Julia, Parent ## **Teachers’ perspective** Teacher surveys, completed after every school project, demonstrate the ways our work is impacting in schools: - **100% said their students’ writing had improved** - **80% reported their students’ confidence had increased** - **90% said students’ attitudes towards writing had improved** - **100% said the project had positively impacted on their student’s attainment** - **100% reported a positive impact on their own teaching practice** _‘I was impressed by the obvious enjoyment and enthusiastic participation of all children, but it was particularly lovely to see the less confident writers grow in confidence.’_ - Claire, Teacher, William Patten Primary School 10 ## **OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD** Our community writing programme (after-school and Saturdays) is provided for free and is accessible to children and young people aged between 6-15 who live within a 500m radius of our writing centre or who attend one of seven local schools in our catchment. These schools have levels of students in receipt of Pupil Premium (national education grant for disadvantaged pupils) which are significantly higher than average. This year we continued to reach the young people in greatest need of our support: **91% of our young writers live in areas in the top 30% of income deprivation nationally** (Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data). In addition to our community programme, Ministry of Stories works with schools in the London boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Islington; all prioritised for their high percentage of pupils receiving Pupil Premium, who often face the greatest barriers to the Arts. We are proud that our writing programme reflects the rich diversity in our community: 73% of our writing programme members are young people of colour. 3% of our young writers are registered by their parents as having SEND or additional needs, although we think the true figure to be closer to 25%. SEND within our groups currently include Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Blindness, Deafness, cognitive difficulties and unspecified learning difficulties and mental health conditions. ## **MAIN ACTIVITIES - ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** Our key charitable activities carried out in the financial year 2024-25 included: **1. Community Writing Programme** **2. Schools Programme** **3. Sector Support and Organisational Development** ## **1. COMMUNITY WRITING PROGRAMME** Our weekly community writing labs are free and take place after school. They include five regular groups, made up of: 6-8 year olds, 8-12 year olds and an older group for 11-15s. ## **Highlights of 2024-25 Community Writing Labs include:** ## _**Summer Term: London Can’t Make Up Its Mind**_ Our flagship project for 2024, _London Can’t Make Up Its Mind,_ was an audio project in which young writers set their sights on some of London’s most iconic landmarks. Across the term they wrote and edited amazing tales of London through poetry, stories and scripts - telling the story of their city. 11 **London is…** London is a noisy animal Loud as a lion’s roar. London is jollof rice and chicken, meatballs and spaghetti, Rice and red soup! - Extract from a group poem, 8-12’s Writing Lab The young writers’ work was recorded by professional voice actors under the production of a professional podcast producer, and sound engineered by paid student trainees from East London Arts and Music (ELAM). The project culminated in a listening party hosted at the Trampery in Old Street, attended by 145 of our young writers, their families and friends. With 98% of our young writers stating that they enjoyed taking part, we were incredibly proud of this term’s project. 92% of our young writers reported that they created something they were proud of, with 78% stating that their writing had improved as a result of the project. The project culminated in a series of audio pieces: 1. A Completely Accurate and Totally True London Tour 2. London Can’t Make Up Its Mind 3. A Better London: Welcome to Monster Town ## _**Autumn Term: Spy School**_ Spy School took a ‘mantle of the expert’ approach, putting our young writers into the role of secret agents, tasking them with ‘mission-based’ challenges each week. Each session began with an intercepted audio recording from an agent in the field, which over the course of 11 weeks revealed the story of how Ministry of Stories was under threat from the enigmatic QuizCorp. Along the way, our young writers explored spy missions, action scenes, creating villains, gadgets, and aliases. Each young 12 writer was given their own ‘spy passport’ and after every session passports were stamped with uniquely designed stamps. In the final session participants were given a special spy briefcase and a graduation pin to take with them, along with their final mission reports. _‘I am proud of my mission report story. I haven't done anything like this before and I realised I am really good at it. I love it!’_ - Zayah, 10 ## _**Summer Term: Time to Write**_ The trees! The trees! this is what they say: In winter, cover me in warmth. In spring cover me in green. In summer cover me in your finest silver dress. In autumn cover me in gold. I asked the trees, how should I be? And this is what they said… On bad days, stand as hard as iron. On good days, float like a silver leaf. - Beulah, 11 _Time to Write_ is our annual free-write project where our young writers create selfdirected mini projects according to their interests, leading them to explore different forms of writing such as poetry, non-fiction and prose. This project saw 113 of our young writers engage in a wide array of writing prompts and activities over the course of 58 sessions, where they also engaged in masterclasses from visiting poets. _Time to Write_ culminated in the ever-popular end-of-term Zine Fair, attracting an audience of 65 people, with our young writers hosting stalls to trade copies of their Zines with friends and family. 13 ## **2. SCHOOLS PROGRAMME** _‘There was a noticeable difference in the children's confidence for writing and their desire and motivation to do so. They were very excited about their sessions, even the reluctant writers.’_ - Mariam, Year 3 Teacher, Holmleigh Primary School Our aim this year was to maintain our schools portfolio, with an emphasis on growing our partnerships with Hackney Schools to bring parity with those from our neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets. We successfully supported **23 schools** across the year, 10 of which were from Hackney. We invested time and energy in rebuilding our strategic relationships with Hackney Education to ensure we are most effectively addressing need, whilst also laying the foundations for longer-term partnerships in the borough. _‘Ministry of Stories, with a focus on engaging, supportive writing practice alongside oracy, is well placed to support Hackney schools’ needs.’_ - _Director of Education, Hackney Council_ Our schools programme was delivered through three key strands: 1. Our Consortium Model, where we bring together groups of schools to work collaboratively, and share best practice. 2024/25 was the final year of the **Writing Brighter Futures** programme in Tower Hamlets, and the development phase of a new **Hackney Writing Partnership** - both generously supported by The Mercers’ Company. 2. Supporting individual schools through our one-off workshops and longer-term **bespoke projects** - inviting schools to identify a brief, priority or challenge, then working collaboratively to programme in response. 3. Providing **professional development for teachers** and school staff, to improve teacher skills and share our methodology and approaches. ## **Highlights of 2024-25 School Programme include:** _**Fragments from Utopia**_ (Oaklands School, Tower Hamlets). An original anthology created during a weekly lunchtime writing club, designed to excite and inspire students’ creativity and build writing confidence. _Fragments from Utopia_ uncovered the remains from an ancient society buried deep below Oaklands School. _‘This anthology is more than just a compilation of words: it is a testament to the creativity, wit, and boundless imagination of young minds envisioning a better world with a delightful twist of humour.’_ - Thahmina, English Teacher, Oaklands School 14 _**Writing Brighter Futures**_ (Poplar Partnership, Tower Hamlets) _._ In celebration of our three-year partnership with eight primary schools across Tower Hamlets, we welcomed 150 pupils and their teachers to take part in a full morning of creative writing activities, fun workshops and a finale of performances, readings and a showcase of inspirational writing projects from across the three years. _**Adventure Writing**_ (Holmleigh Primary School, Hackney). A term-long Year 3 programme for pupils with English as an additional language, designed to support longer-form writing through adventure stories. - _‘I felt so impressed with myself.’_ - Tabal, 6 _**Speak Up**_ (Bridge Academy, Hackney). Our long-running speech writing programme supporting young people to find their voice on topics important to them. Speeches this year covered women’s rights, access to education, genocide, mobile phone theft, propaganda, and more. Some participants shared powerful speeches about their own direct experience of racial discrimination, and of being victims of crime. - _‘I feel like people care about what I have to say now.’_ - Lucy, 14 15 ## **Teacher CPD** Alongside our work with children and young people, we have continued to deliver a range of professional development and training for teachers. Through this work we are aiming to share the Ministry of Stories methodology and approaches, broadening the reach and impact of our work. **121 teachers and support staff took part** in professional development sessions this year, with **100% reporting the sessions had a positive impact on their teaching practice** . _‘This was the most enjoyable workshop I have participated in, in my 20 years of teaching - thank you!’_ - Claire, William Patten Primary School Additionally, we worked with 179 teachers in the classroom alongside the delivery of our writer-led workshops and projects. ## **VOLUNTEERS** _‘Volunteering with Ministry of Stories has been a delight from day one. Mentoring the children reminds me of the joy to be found in writing, and I am constantly inspired by their creative ideas.’_ - Georgia, Volunteer Writing Mentor Volunteers are fundamental to Ministry of Stories, mentoring our young people. This year we engaged **221 volunteers** who **donated 3,078 hours** to support our work. 42% of our volunteers live in our home boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and 29% are people of colour - positively reflecting our community. 16 ## **3. SECTOR SUPPORT AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT** ## **Equality, diversity and inclusion** _‘Ministry of Stories has helped me learn to be more comfortable with myself.’_ - Ethan, 11 We aim to run welcoming and open-access programmes and encourage young people aged 6+ from all backgrounds and experiences to be part of Ministry of Stories. Our work champions the underrepresented voices of young people in our community and creates a space for young people to explore and celebrate their diversity and life experience. We successfully delivered our 2023-25 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, before renewing our commitment to diversity and inclusion with an ambitious new three-year plan. We remain committed to increasing the proportion of people from underrepresented groups across our trustee, staff team and volunteer bases. Currently: - 73% of our young writers are people of colour, and 91% live in top 30% IMD deprivation postcodes - 93% of our staff team hold one or more protected characteristics We will prioritise our support for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) - an estimated 25% of our cohort - improving our registration and referral processes for families, and delivering training, resources and support to better equip the staff team and volunteers to support our young writers with SEND. ## **Environmental responsibility** Ministry of Stories is committed to environmental responsibility: a commitment that runs across our culture, practice, programmes and training. We begin a new 3-year Environmental Action Plan which lays out the practical steps we will take to create a culture of environmental responsibility in and through our work. This sits under our overarching Environmental Policy. Our progress is monitored by the Board and we have a nominated Board Champion. We are proud that our overall environmental impact remains low, enabling our focus to be on culture and behaviours more widely. We continue to make opportunities for our young people to explore themes around environmental responsibility, including within both Speak Up, and in our Time to Write terms. ## **Our Planet** The ice in the arctic is starting to melt, we must stand up, we must tighten our belts. - Malachai, 11 17 ## **Our wider sector support work included:** - Training and development of our pool of **freelance writing facilitators** : 18 professional writers who deliver our schools programmes. - The second cohort of our **Trainee Writing Facilitator** programme - a 12month paid training programme for early career writing facilitators from underrepresented groups. - Continuation of our work with a network of Arts Council England funded **Children’s Story Venues,** sharing learning and practice around programming, evaluation and impact - together commissioning Culture Change Works to draw together our collective pedagogies and impact. - Delivery of our annual lecture for **Goldsmith's MA Creative Writing in Education** students. - Continuation of our work with our research partners at the **Open University, exploring Reading and Writing for Pleasure** , contributing to their forthcoming Routledge publication. - Becoming a chosen charity partner taking part in _**The Fundamentals**_ - an Open University research project understanding the value of ‘fun’ within arts, learning and third sector fundraising. 18 ## **FUTURE STRATEGY** Over the last 12 months the executive team, in close collaboration with our board of trustees and in consultation with the wider staff team, have created our next 5-Year Strategic Plan. Throughout this process we have taken stock of where we are as an organisation, our achievements over the last 15 years, and the opportunities and challenges ahead. We completed a contextual analysis, timeline and undertook financial modelling. Overwhelmingly, the need and demand in our community continues to grow, and with that comes a responsibility to meet this need. To this end, we have identified three strategic priorities: By 2030 Ministry of Stories will: 1. **Support over 200 children and young people each week** through creatively ambitious, co-created Community Writing Labs. All of our young writers, aged 4-18, will have the **opportunity to progress** through our programmes if they choose to. 2. **Support over 50% of Hackney and Tower Hamlets Schools** through writerled programmes - reaching over 5,000 children, young people and their teachers each year 3. **Have a long-term home -** a dedicated, iconic writing centre that offers a world of learning environments to suit the different needs and moods of our young writers. We will be pioneering in understanding the relationship between space, learning and creativity. ## **RISK** Trustees are responsible for the oversight of the Ministry of Stories Risk Register. This is used as a management tool and is reviewed in detail quarterly by each sub committee with key risks summarised to the full Board. Any risks scored 10+ lead to immediate action by senior management and the Chair and Officers are notified. All trustees and staff share responsibility to identify new risks that should be added as the climate and/or sector changes. The risk register continues to be an important and active tool for the organisation. At the time of writing, the main risks to the Ministry of Stories were identified as: 1. The challenges of continuing to realise the goals in our fundraising strategy. 2. Managing a period of board change, with a new Chair of Trustees, and new trustees joining the board, alongside a change of treasurer. This process is being well supported by the management team alongside our longer-serving trustees - including a thorough handover, induction and onboarding process. 19 3. Maintaining and developing the schools portfolio in the context of a challenging education climate - financially and in terms of the pressure schools are facing. _‘Ministry of Stories is a great environment for children to grow and use their imagination. In this funding climate for charities and the arts and education, this place is a gem. There is so much care to keep things whimsical yet rigorous.’_ - Avantika, Parent ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** Our financial activities of the year are set out in detail in the following pages. Total income received was £474,374 (2024: £524,382). This was £423,255 excluding donations in kind and shop recharge income (part of other income in Note 5 of the accounts). This represents 97% of the cash target we set for the year (£433,280). £207,117 of income was restricted (2024: £146,917), of which £37,356 will be carried forward to support future years’ activity. £267,257 of income was unrestricted (2024: £377,465). Total expenditure this year was £510,122 (2024: £574,783). 53% of our expenditure supported our Community Programme, 39% supported our Schools Programme and the remaining 8% of expenditure contributed to raising funds. This year we report a deficit of £35,748, represented by net unrestricted expenditure of £41,754 (of which £16,190 was from designated funds and £25,564 general funds) and a £6,006 restricted funds surplus. This was a planned and managed deficit, approved by Trustees at the start of the year to enable us to invest in our capacity as an organisation whilst also maintaining our general fund reserves within our reserves policy. Our largest sources of funding remained Public funds (37% of total income) including Arts Council England and Mayor’s Office - Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and Trust and Foundation funders (36% of total income) including The Mercers’ Company and City Bridge Foundation. Income also included donations from Individuals (12% of total income), Companies (7% of total income), and we generated income from our Schools Programme (5% of total income). The majority of the income secured from Public funders and Trusts and Foundations is restricted and deliver key objectives of our charity. A summary of each restricted fund is provided in Note 17 of the accounts. Donated goods and services were received during the year totalling £20,260. This included services such as website development, design, photography and coaching services all provided pro bono. We also received book donations and we benefitted from free venue hire for some of our external events. 20 ## **Fundraising** This year represented the third year of our Fundraising Strategy (2022-2026), with four workstrands: 1. Replace multi-year funders 2. Grow trusts, foundations and corporate support 3. Consolidate relationships with individual and high value donors 4. Learn and innovate across all areas We have made good progress towards our strategic workstrands, reaching 97% of our target in 2024/5. Our fundraising activities are led by our Deputy Director and Development Manager. This year we have continued our commitment to membership with the Fundraising Regulator and we have committed to uphold the standards of the Code of Fundraising Practice which we are compliant against. We have not received any complaints about our fundraising activities. ## **Highlights of 2024/25 fundraising include:** - Launching a new funding partnership with **The Mercer’s Company** for three years to support our work with eight primary schools in our home borough of Hackney. - Securing a new funding relationship with **Garfield Weston Foundation** for two years 2024-2027. - Successfully raising £12,850 from individuals through our **Big Give Arts for Impact campaign.** - Building a new three year funding relationship with a local philanthropist to support us through their **London Leg Up Fund.** - **Continued our strong relationships with existing funders and individuals** , including Amazon Literary Partnership, A&O Shearman Foundation, UBS, Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust and Fagus Anstruther Memorial Trust. We'd like to thank our co-founder and First Minister, Nick Hornby, for his continued advocacy, advice and friendship, alongside Lucy Macnab and Ben Payne. We also wish to acknowledge our co-founder Alistair Hall (Art Director for Hoxton Street Monster Supplies) for all his hard work and skill this year. 21 In addition to our many valued regular donors and community supporters, during 2024/25 we were also proud to be supported by: A&O Shearman Foundation Old Street District Partnership Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Plastic People Amazon Literary Partnership Raconteur Arts Council England Rethink Audio Charles S French Charitable Trust Sherbourne in the Community City Bridge Foundation Speaker of Hackney Garfield Weston Foundation Tesco Jack Petchey Foundation The Fagus Anstruther Memorial Trust James and Miriam Douglas The Mercers’ Company John and Mary Winch The Trampery London Leg Up Fund Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust Mara Alperin Worshipful Company of Scrivener's Martin Schoernig UBS Max Catterall Our work is only possible due to our dedicated supporters and the companies, charitable trusts, foundations and public funders who fund us, as well as our ambassadors and advocates. To everyone involved, thank you for funding the imaginations of our young writers. View our full list of current supporters here. ## **Investment powers and policy - Hoxton Street Monster Supplies** The Trust Deed authorises the trustees to make and hold investments using the general funds of the charity. The trustees have the power to invest in any way they deem appropriate in order to further the charitable objects of the charity. All of the charity’s investment income arises from interest payable on a loan to the trading subsidiary, Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Ltd (company number 08472232) (‘HSMS’) which runs the charity’s retail operations. HSMS, which is incorporated in the United Kingdom, pays all of its distributable profits to the charity, Ministry of Stories, under the gift aid scheme. The charity owns the entire share capital of 10 ordinary shares of £1 each in HSMS. A robust governance structure (which includes observation of HSMS's Board meetings by the charity's chair) is in place to ensure that HSMS's Board gives due consideration to the gift aiding of profits to the charity and explores how HSMS's shop can support the charity in meeting its charitable objectives beyond funding. Hoxton Street Monster Supplies continues to be an important part of the charity, providing a warm welcome to children from our community and local schools, and their families. A fifth of young people who join our programme and 15% of volunteers heard about Ministry of Stories through the shop. It supports one of the key pillars of our methodology, to create inspiring learning spaces and demonstrates how seriously we take imagination. HSMS is a core part of our charity’s identity, garnering attention for the work we do and as a public face for the charity. 22 ## **RESERVES** The trustees have adopted a reserves policy through which we aim to maintain a level of unrestricted reserves equivalent to between 4-6 months’ running costs. At 31 March 2025 the total funds stood at £281,871 (2024: £317,619). The reserves comprise: - Restricted Funds of £37,356 (2024: £31,350) - Total Unrestricted Funds of £244,515 (2024: £286,269), comprising; - Designated Funds of £50,000 (2024: £66,190) - General Funds of £194,515 (2024: £220,079); equivalent to 4.7 months’ running costs (2024: 5.4 months’ costs) In early 2020, the Board designated funds from an unrestricted corporate donation to create a Development Fund to be utilised over five years to support our organisational growth ambitions, plus a contribution to core running costs. Through careful management of these designated funds, we have extended the spending plan to eight years to support us through to the end of 2026/27. ## **GOING CONCERN** The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The Ministry of Stories is registered as a company limited by guarantee and not having share capital, its operations are governed by its Articles of Association. The company was incorporated on 16 July 2010 and registered as a charity on 25 October 2010. The charity registration number is 1138558 and the company registration number is 07317370. ## **Appointment of Trustees** As set out in the Articles of Association, the Chair of the Trustees is nominated by the Ministry of Stories. The directors of the organisation are also the charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. The Board of Trustees has the power to appoint additional trustees as it considers fit to do so. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the company other than as members. The trustees are also directors of the company. Trustees continue to be recruited by identifying skills gaps at Board level through an annual skills audit and peer review. 23 Two new trustees were appointed during the year: Finance Director Chantelle Stockley took on the role of Treasurer; and Chief Operating Officer Vidal Behar as trustee. Over the course of the year two trustees retired: Simon Mott-Cowan, our longstanding Vice Chair and Treasurer, at the end of his third term; and Indigo Williams during her first term. We also prepared for the retirement of our long-stand trustee and chair, Michaela Greene - to take place in May 2025. ## **Organisational structure** The company is organised so that trustees meet regularly to manage its affairs. The trustees meet as a full Board every quarter, in addition to quarterly meetings of the Finance and Fundraising Sub Committee (chaired by Simon Mott-Cowan, passing to new Treasurer Chantelle Stockley from February 2025) and Business and Programme Sub Committee (chaired by Anya Zhuravkina). Rob Smith (Director) is the person to whom the charity trustees delegated day-to-day management of the charity during the reporting period. In addition to the core staff team, in 2024-25 we benefited from the skills of 28 freelancers. The majority of these roles are in place to deliver our schools programme. ## **STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES** The trustees (who are also directors of charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which 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 the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: - Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently - Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP - Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent - State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements - Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that 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. 24 The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2025 was £70 (2024: £70). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. Statement as to disclosure to our independent examiners in so far as the trustees are aware: - There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and - The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the independent examiners are aware of that information. ## **Independent Examiners** Following a competitive tender process, Goldwins Limited were appointed as the independent examiners of the charitable company in 2020. The Board supported the renewal for 2022-25. The Trustees Report was approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on 4th November 2025 and signed on their behalf by: Rebecca Hanna-Grindall Chair of Trustees Date: 4th November 2025 25 **MINISTRY OF STORIES SECTION 4. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Ministry of Stories for the year ended 31 March 2025. ## **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 the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or (2) the accounts do not accord with those accounting 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. A Wn ony Epton Anthony Epton BA FCA CTA FCIE Goldwins Limited Chartered accountants 75 Maygrove Road West Hampstead London NW6 2EG Date: 7 November 2025 26 ## **The Ministry of Stories Statement of financial activities** (incorporating an income and expenditure account) **For the year ended 31 March 2025** |**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Note**
**£**
**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
211,859
Charitable activities
**4**
22,647
Other trading activities
**5**
32,304
Investments
**6**
447
**Total income**
**267,257**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
**7**
21,751
_Charitable activities:_
**7**
Community programme
165,796
Schools programme
121,464
**Total expenditure**
**309,011**
(41,754)
Transfers between funds
-
**Net movement in funds**
(41,754)
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward
286,269
**Total funds carried forward**
**17**
**244,515**
**Net income / (expenditure)**
**before net gains / (losses) on**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Note**
**£**
**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
211,859
Charitable activities
**4**
22,647
Other trading activities
**5**
32,304
Investments
**6**
447
**Total income**
**267,257**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
**7**
21,751
_Charitable activities:_
**7**
Community programme
165,796
Schools programme
121,464
**Total expenditure**
**309,011**
(41,754)
Transfers between funds
-
**Net movement in funds**
(41,754)
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward
286,269
**Total funds carried forward**
**17**
**244,515**
**Net income / (expenditure)**
**before net gains / (losses) on**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
207,117
-
-
-|**2025**
2024
**Total**
Total
**Funds**
Funds
**£**
£
**418,976**
419,294
**22,647**
43,399
**32,304**
61,689
**447**
-
**474,374**
524,382
**35,906**
39,378
**273,700**
274,114
**200,516**
261,291
**510,122**
574,783
**(35,748)**
(50,401)
**-**
-
**(35,748)**
(50,401)
**317,619**
368,020
**281,871**
317,619| |---|---|---|---| ||**267,257**|**207,117**|| ||21,751
165,796
121,464|14,155
-
107,904
79,052|| ||**309,011**|**201,111**|| ||(41,754)
-|6,006
-|| ||(41,754)
286,269|6,006
31,350|| ||**244,515**|**37,356**|| All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. The attached notes form part of these financial statements. 27 ## **The Ministry of Stories Balance sheet As at 31 March 2025** |||**2025**|**2025**|2024|2024| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Note**|**£**|**£**|£|£| |**Fixed assets:**|||||| |Tangible assets|**11**||**1,908**||3,270| |Investments|**12**||**10**||10| ||||**1,918**||3,280| |**Long Term assets:**|||||| |**Current assets:**|||||| |Debtors|**13**|**28,836**||41,706|| |Cash at bank and in hand||**288,414**||313,120|| |||**317,250**||354,826|| |**Liabilities:**|||||| |Creditors: amounts falling due within one|||||| |year|**14**|**(37,297)**||(40,487)|| |**Net current assets**|||**279,953**||314,339| |**Total net assets**|||**281,871**||317,619| |**Funds**|**16,17**||||| |Restricted funds|||**37,356**||31,350| |Unrestricted funds:|||||| |Designated funds||**50,000**||66,190|| |General funds||**194,515**||220,079|| |Total unrestricted funds|||**244,515**||286,269| |**Total funds**|||**281,871**||317,619| The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part15 of the Companies Act 2006. For the year ending 31 March 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476.The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime. Approved by the trustees on 4 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by: ## **Rebecca Hanna-Grindall Chair** ## **Company registration no. 07317370** The attached notes form part of the financial statements. 28 ## **The Ministry of Stories Statement of cash flows For the year ended 31 March 2025** |**Note**
**Cash flows from operating activities:**
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
**18**
**Cash flows from investing activities:**
Sale/ (purchase) of fixed assets
**Cash provided by / (used in) investing activities**
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
**19**
**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year**|**2025**
**2025**
2024
2024
**£**
**£**
£
£
(24,706)
(28,535)
-
(1,159)
-
(1,159)
(24,706)
(29,694)
313,120
342,814
288,414
313,120|**2025**
**2025**
2024
2024
**£**
**£**
£
£
(24,706)
(28,535)
-
(1,159)
-
(1,159)
(24,706)
(29,694)
313,120
342,814
288,414
313,120|**2025**
**2025**
2024
2024
**£**
**£**
£
£
(24,706)
(28,535)
-
(1,159)
-
(1,159)
(24,706)
(29,694)
313,120
342,814
288,414
313,120|**2025**
**2025**
2024
2024
**£**
**£**
£
£
(24,706)
(28,535)
-
(1,159)
-
(1,159)
(24,706)
(29,694)
313,120
342,814
288,414
313,120| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||| |||(24,706)
313,120||(29,694)
342,814| |||288,414||313,120| 29 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **a) Basis of preparation** 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) and the Companies Act 2006. The charitable company 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 or note. The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. ## **b) Going concern** The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. The Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity can continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. ## **c) Income** Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably. Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred. Income received in advance for the provision of specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met. ## **d) Donations of gifts, services and facilities** Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution. On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt. 30 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **1 Accounting policies (continued)** ## **e) Interest receivable** - Interest on funds held on deposit 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. ## **f) Fund accounting** Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity. ## **g) Expenditure** Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings: - Costs of raising funds include the direct cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose. - Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs incurred by the Charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs which can be directly allocated to activies and those of an indirect nature necessary to support them. - Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading. Costs are allocated between expenditure categories based on usage of the resource. Where costs cannot be directly allocated they are apportioned on an appropriate basis and recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities. As the Charity is not VAT registered, expenses are incurred on a gross basis inclusive of any VAT. ## **h) Allocation of support costs** Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity and its and activities. These costs have been allocated between expenditure on charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 7. ## **i) Tangible fixed assets** Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows: - ˜ Equipment 25% straight line 31 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **1 Accounting policies (continued)** ## **j) Investments** The cost of ordinary shares in the wholly owned trading subsidiary, HSMS Ltd (company number 07317370), are accounted for as fixed asset investments on the Charity's balance sheet. ## **k) Debtors** Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. ## **l) Cash at bank and in hand** Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. ## **m) Creditors** Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due. ## **n) Financial instruments** The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. ## **o) Pensions** The Charity participates in the NEST pension scheme, a defined contribution scheme. Contributions are recognised at cost. ## **p) Taxation** No provision is made in these accounts for corporation tax as the charity is exempt from such taxes, with income and gains applied to charitable purposes in line with relevant requirements including Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. 32 ## **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** |**2**
**Detailed comparatives for the statement of financial activities**
2024
£
**Income from:**
Donations and legacies
272,377
Charitable activities
43,399
Other trading activities
61,689
**Total income**
377,465
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
39,378
Charitable activities:
Community programme
226,702
Schools programme
216,098
**Total expenditure**
482,178
**Net income / expenditure**
(104,713)
Transfers between funds
48,895
**Net movement in funds**
(55,818)
Total funds brought forward
342,087
**Total funds carried forward**
286,269
Unrestricted|
2024
2024
Total
£
£
146,917
419,294
-
43,399
-
61,689
146,917
524,382
-
39,378
47,412
274,114
45,193
261,291
92,605
574,783
54,312
(50,401)
(48,895)
-
5,417
(50,401)
25,933
368,020
31,350
317,619
Restricted| |---|---| 33 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **3 Income from donations and legacies** ||||**2025**|2024| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total| ||£|£|**£**|£| |Grants|130,153|177,618|**307,771**|264,470| |Corporate Donations|8,453|25,000|**33,453**|27,414| |Donations from individuals|46,954|4,499|**51,453**|46,534| |Donations in kind|20,260|-|**20,260**|79,637| |Community fundraising|6,039|-|**6,039**|1,239| ||211,859|207,117|**418,976**|419,294| |**Income from charitable activities**||||| ||||**2025**|2024| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total| ||£|£|**£**|£| |Venue hire and consultancy|1,675|-|**1,675**|4,505| |Schools income|20,972|-|**20,972**|36,889| |Other income|-|-|**-**|2,005| |**Total income from charitable**
**activities**|22,647|-|**22,647**|43,399| |**Income from other trading activities**||||| ||||**2025**|2024| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total| ||£|£|**£**|£| |Trading Subsidiary income|142|-|**142**|9,405| |Other income|32,162|-|**32,162**|52,284| ||32,304|-|**32,304**|61,689| |**Income from investments**||||| ||||**2025**|2024| ||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total| ||£|£|**£**|£| |Investment in trading subsidiary|447|-|**447**|-| ||447|-|**447**|-| ## **4 Income from charitable activities** ## **5 Income from other trading activities** ## **6 Income from investments** All of the charity’s investment income arises from interest payable on a loan to the wholly owned trading subsidiary, HSMS Ltd which is incorporated in the United Kingdom (company number 07317370) and pays all of its distributable profits to the charity under the gift aid scheme. The charity owns the entire share capital of 10 ordinary shares of £1 each. 34 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** **7a** Analysis of expenditure (current year) |Basis of allocation
Staff costs
Direct/Staff Time
Direct Charitable Expenses
Direct/Usage Estimate
Premises
Direct
Communications
Direct
Professional Expenses
Direct
Comms Freelance Costs
Direct
Expenditure In Kind
Direct
Information Technology
Direct
Insurance
Direct
Bank Charges
Direct
Depreciation
Direct
Sundry Expenses
Direct/Usage Estimate
Net total
Support costs
Based on the total cost
of each activity
Governance costs
Based on the total cost
of each activity
**Total expenditure 2025**
Total expenditure 2024|£
33,352
-
-
498
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,056
Cost of
raising
funds|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|Support
costs
£
93,863
-
61,170
8,106
22,162
16,450
20,260
6,519
3,008
659
1,362
7,721|£
-
-
-
-
1,440
-
-
-
-
-
-
507
Governance
costs|**2025 Total**
**£**
**304,577**
**45,465**
**61,170**
**8,604**
**23,602**
**16,450**
**20,260**
**6,519**
**3,008**
**659**
**1,362**
**18,446**|2024 Total
£
316,183
56,731
51,485
9,203
24,220
10,397
79,637
5,169
4,256
511
1,314
15,677| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||Community
programme
£
107,960
21,277
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,081|Schools
programme
£
69,402
24,188
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,081||||| ||35,906
-
-|133,318
139,258
1,124|97,671
102,022
823|241,280
(241,280)
-|1,947
(1,947)|**510,122**
**-**
**-**|574,783
-
-| ||**35,906**|**273,700**|**200,516**|**-**|**-**|**510,122**|| ||39,378|274,114|261,291|-|-||574,783| Of the total expenditure, £309.011 was unrestricted (2024: £482,178) and £201,111 was restricted (2024: £92,605). 35 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** **7b** Analysis of expenditure (prior year) |Basis of allocation
Staff costs
Direct/Staff Time
Direct Charitable Expenses
Direct/Usage Estimate
Premises
Direct
Communications
Direct
Professional Expenses
Direct
Comms Freelance Costs
Direct
Expenditure In Kind
Direct
Information Technology
Direct
Insurance
Direct
Bank Charges
Direct
Depreciation
Direct
Sundry Expenses
Direct/Usage Estimate
Net Total
Support costs
Based on the total
cost of each activity
Governance costs
Based on the total
cost of each activity
**Total expenditure 2024**|£
39,378
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost of
raising
funds|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|Support
costs
£
116,096
-
51,485
9,203
22,780
10,397
79,637
5,169
4,256
511
1,314
8,246|£
-
-
-
-
1,440
-
-
-
-
-
-
567
Governance
costs|2024 Total
£
316,183
56,731
51,485
9,203
24,220
10,397
79,637
5,169
4,256
511
1,314
15,677| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||Community
programme
£
98,447
12,959
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,432|Schools
programme
£
62,262
43,772
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,432|||| ||39,378
-
-|114,838
158,248
1,028|109,466
150,846
979|309,094
(309,094)
-|2,007
(2,007)|574,783
**-**
**-**| ||39,378|274,114|261,291|-|-|574,783| Of the total expenditure, £482,178 was unrestricted and £92,605 was restricted. 36 ## **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **8 Net income / (expenditure) for the year** |This is stated after charging / (crediting):|**2025**|2024| |---|---|---| ||**£**|£| |Depreciation|**1,362**|1,314| |Independent examination fee|**1,200**|1,200| ## **9 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel** |Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes|**2025**
2024
**£**
£
**273,965**
284,095
**23,112**
24,293
**7,500**
7,795| |---|---| ||**304,577**
316,183| There were no employees (2024: 0) who received emoluments of more than £60,000. The key management personnel of the Charity, comprise the trustees, the Director and Deputy Director. The total employee benefits including employer's national insurance and employer's pension contributions of the key management personnel of the charity were £103,064 (2024: £115,034). The Charity trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the Charity or its subsidiary in the year (2024: £nil) neither were they reimbursed expenses during the year (2024: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2024: £nil). ## **Staff numbers** The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed, including parttime Shop staff) during the year was 13 (2024: 14). ## **10 Taxation** The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains applied to charitable purposes, in line with relevant requirements including Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. 37 ## **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **11 Tangible fixed assets** |**Tangible fixed assets**|| |---|---| |**Cost**
At the start of the year
Disposals in year
At the end of the year
**Depreciation**
At the start of the year
Charge for the year
At the end of the year
**Net book value**
**At the end of the year**
At the start of the year
All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.
Disposals in year|**Total**
£
**£**
6,414
**6,414**
(1,934)
**(1,934)**
Equipment| ||4,480
**4,480**| ||3,144
**3,144**
1,362
**1,362**
(1,934)
**(1,934)**| ||2,572
**2,572**| ||1,908
**1,908**| ||3,270
3,270| ||| |**12**
**Fixed asset investment**
As at 1 April 2024
**Charity**
**Cost or valuation**
At the end of the year|**2025**
2024
**£**
_£_
**10**
_10_| |---|---| ||**10**
_10_| ## **Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Ltd** |||**Current and**|**Prior Year**|**2025**|**2024**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Equity held**||**Turnover**|| |||**No.**|**%**|**£**|**£**| |Main trading activity:|Retail|**10**|**100**|**76,937**|138,657| ||||||**Profit for**| ||||||**the year**| |||||**£**|**£**| |Hoxton Street Monster Sup|plies Ltd|||**10**|**-**| Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Ltd Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Ltd is exempt from audit under s479A of Companies Act 2006. The charity has an investment of £10 in the share capital of its wholly owned, trading subsidiary: Hoxton Street Monster Supplies. The shares are not listed. 38 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** |**13**
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
**Debtors**
Amounts due from subsidiary
Amounts due from subsidiary
_Debtors falling due after one year:_
_Debtors falling due within one year:_|**2025**
2024
**£**
£
**2,857**
-
**-**
4,038
**17,656**
22,111
**5,714**
-
**-**
3,000
**2,609**
12,557| |---|---| ||**28,836**
41,706| Trustees approved a loan to Hoxton Street Monster Supplies of £10,000 in July 2024. The rate of interest is set at 1% above the Bank of England base rate. ## **14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year** |**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|| |---|---| |Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income|**2025**
2024
**£**
£
**15**
14,968
**5,626**
4,732
**545**
545
**7,449**
14,440
**23,662**
5,802| ||**37,297**
40,487| |**15**
**Deferred income**
Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount released to income in the year
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of the year|**2025**
2024
**£**
£
**5,802**
13,480
**(5,802)**
(13,480)
**23,662**
5,802| |---|---| ||**23,662**
5,802| Deferred income comprises amounts invoiced to Schools relating to the next financial year. ## **16 Analysis of net assets between funds** |Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Net current assets
**Net assets at the end of the year**|General
unrestricted
Designated
Restricted
**Total**
**funds**
£
£
£
**£**
1,908
-
-
**1,908**
10
-
-
**10**
192,597
50,000
37,356
**279,953**| |---|---| ||**194,515**
**50,000**
**37,356**
**281,871**| 39 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **17 Movements in funds** |**Movements in funds**|| |---|---| |**Restricted funds:**
The Mercers' Company
UBS Speak Up
VRU
City Bridge Foundation
Other Restricted Funds
**Total restricted funds**
**Unrestricted funds:**
Development Fund
General Funds
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Total funds**|Transfers
£
£
£
£
**£**
6,786
54,842
46,503
-
**15,125**
1,773
-
1,773
-
**-**
1,312
65,447
63,691
-
**3,068**
9,980
48,180
46,297
-
**11,863**
11,499
38,648
42,847
**7,300**
**At the end**
**of the year**
At the start
of the year
Income &
gains
Expenditure
& losses| ||**31,350**
**207,117**
**201,111**
**-**
**37,356**| ||66,190
-
-
(16,190)
**50,000**
220,079
267,257
309,011
16,190
**194,515**| ||**286,269**
**267,257**
**309,011**
**-**
**244,515**| ||| ||**317,619**
**474,374**
**510,122**
**-**
**281,871**| 40 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **17 Movements in funds Purposes of restricted funds** **The Mercers' Company** Bridging Grant' for the extension year of 'Writing Brighter Futures', a programme of works with a consortium of schools in Tower Hamlets completed in July 2024. A subsequent new grant for a 4-year programme called the 'Hackney Writing Partnership' - a new Hackney schools programme. The development phase commenced from October 2024. **UBS Speak Up** Funding from UBS for Speak Up programme delivery with Bridge Academy for three years. **VRU** Greater London Authority (GLA) Stronger Futures grant for London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Programme for Your Story Starts Here (age 10+). **City Bridge Foundation** Grant award over three financial years to deliver creative & leadership focused-programmes for disadvantaged young people and early-career writers, and associated costs, as part of our Your Story Starts Here community programme. Funding from the CBF Voice and Leadership funding strand. **Other Restricted Funds** These include grants from the A&O Shearman Foundation, Jack Petchey Foundation and Amazon. ## **Development Fund** Funds designated by the board, the remaining amount relating to a balance from an anonymous corporate donation received in 2019/20 which is planned to be spent by the end of 2026/27. 41 **The Ministry of Stories Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025** ## **18 Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities** |**18**|**Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure)**|**to net**|**cash f**|**low from ope**|**rating activi**|**ties**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||**2025**|2024| ||||||**£**|£| ||**Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting**|**period**|||**(35,748)**|(50,401)| ||**(as per the statement of financial activities)**|||||| ||Depreciation||||**1,362**|1,314| ||(Increase)/ decrease in debtors||||**12,870**|5,414| ||Increase/ (decrease) in creditors||||**(3,190)**|15,138| ||**Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities**||||**(24,706)**|(28,535)| |**19**|**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**|||||**At 31**| |||At 1|April||Other|**March**| ||||2024|Cash flows|changes|**2025**| ||||£|£|£|**£**| ||Cash at bank and in hand|313,120||(24,706)|-|**288,414**| ||**Total cash and cash equivalents**|313,120||(24,706)|**-**|**288,414**| ## **20 Legal status of the charity** The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. ## **21 Related party transactions** Aggregate unrestricted donations from Trustees during the year were £1,380 (2024: £2,520). There were no payments to Trustees in year (2024: £0). Income from the trading subsidiary disclosed in Note 5 includes £1,010 (2024: £8,907) in relation to the surplus to be gift aided to the Charity and £30,868 (2024: £51,980) in management fee income in respect of salary costs. Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, the Charity's trading subsidiary, took a loan from the charity of £10,000 in July 2024, repayable over two years. The balance due at year-end was £8,571. 42