Comp8tty r¢gisr(ation J)umbcr'. 07564773
Charity rystration numèer.. 1141690
The Ark Association
(A conJp#tsy limited by guaraDteel
An¢MwI R¢port and Financial Ststemcnts
for the Y¢ar Ended 31 March 21>24
Mr5 Sara P4&sey
AIMS Acco￿1t￿nts for Business
9 Church Street
Rutland
LE15 7JE

The Ark Asiooatloll
Referenee 4nd Administrative Detalls
C McOTOry
Mary Darlington Iresign¢d 4 DeL%mb¢r 20231
Nicola Co￿1ng
Mica-Cla2re Foort
Louis¢ TTevor{appointed l August 2023 and resi￿ 15 April 2024)
LYTM Starkey lapp)IDted 31 Juty 20231
Sarnh Sane Davi8 {appoifjted 12 Scptembet 2023}
PrlllelpAI Oftlce
clo Oakham C of E School
Burley Road
Oakham
Rutiand
LE156GY
Rfflstr*tlon Iyumber
07564773
Cbartty Regtstntion Nomb¢r
1141690
Solifito
Freeth Calm￿lSht LLP
Cumb¢rlaJd Court
80 Mourtt Stre¢t
Nottillgham
NGI 6HH
lttdeptndent Examlner
MT5 Sara Passey
AIMS Acrountants for BUSI￿55
9 Church Street
Langbam
Rutland
LE15 7JE
Pag¢ I

Tbe Ark Association
Trustees, Report
The ainjs of the Ark illcluth th¢ following..
- To offtr higb standayds of edut2ti(ry stirnulHtion and witbin a relaKed but strn¢tUTcd tnvironment in
partDership with paTellts.
ro provide a51 childr¢n with a broad a￿l bAlanced le4rning envÉronment that is ¢ommittcd to the Inte￿110￿ of
hildren with speGi41 neuis. The philosophy is that all rhil0￿n,WJth or wiihoul 5pccial ￿ds, should havG the
opportunity to develop to th¢iT full potential alongside other childT¢n in an educational environment.
ro work within guidelines for special educational n¢ed5 set out in the 2001 Code of Praciice ity)hr as they to
rdatc to pre-school settings.
The Cu￿leu}￿M is based on seven areas oFknowledge and ewuiry Ihat fonn the ba$1$ of educaiÉon at every Stsge.
The Foundation Stage IF4rfy Learning Qbalsl list these as..
- personal and social and emotional devewneni
- Math¢D￿ticS
phy5i¢al development
- expressive arts &nd design
- commwkieation and lan8ua8e d¢velopmenL
literacy
- WJd¢rSts]￿7￿g tbe world
A]though these play ao imporrant part ID plaDniD& they are not pr¢settted to th¢ ch￿Oren Is dA*rte nursery subj¢¢ts.
Teaching at th¢ Ark A&￿actatiOn does not take the fom) of instsijctton. RathcT the c]llldreA are presented with a range
of activiti￿ from whi¢h th¢y Catt make their OMI cknices lejrn through playing •nd ¢xploritig the ]n8ny
re50UT¢es we providr.
Tk Ark Aw¢iation wryll ahvays put the JEeeds of th¢ thldr¢n fith. striking a balance w¢, play alld
le2rnin8. OUT open41oor poli¢y and joint ¢ompiderised as8esTments Welcome parents. involvemtth wvej) their
persoa81 knowledge of their cbild.
Tk Boltd of Dirr¢tor51frustee% manag¢rs and aT¢ Committed to providrng the best setvite they can to the
hTgh¢st standar4 wth the safety and ￿l￿are of our children being yaraTnouni.
clwity operdt¢$ frotll two sites ill OakknL Olle si* owtt¢d by the charity (Ark il which is Iwatrd on Princess
wiique qualitie5 and facilities.
Strgt¢gkg for 2023121121
Overth¢ next ycar the organTsatiDn has thB following specific atms:
- To rettjain ¥ a Charitable organisation with tlwg¢s to the TT￿S roles.
- To continue to work within our Business pian aThl ittCTeasc cash flow.
- To ￿t¢ and operate 8 new gov¢rn8n¢t Exc¢utiYe board with S¢nior Memkrs of Staff to knv¢ fi￿1 re5ponsibi1ity
of governat)ce.
Pag¢ 3

The Ark Association
Trustees, Report
n&n¢ial review
The ¢haiity reports 2 total slltp1*5 for the ￿ar of £8,749. This ss a drop on the Surplus of £19,751 reported I￿1 y¢ar
with pressures froTn incrtasing costs due to overall fimding. staffsrtg. staffing and eco]Jomic irnpacts. Th¢ thsrity has
also invested in new re50urc¢8 during the financial yegr forAII age 8roup$ including & laT8C Outdoor rnud kitchen 8nd
lots of new toys for each room.
Totsl incom¢ iTEcf¢a5ed by 59/0 to £437.731 ahhough wÈih denmttd tb￿ could have bctn tligher down tQ 5taffins
ch811eDg¢
As intilnated above, cosis ov¢rall. have incr¢a*d year on year by 8rovnd 8QA or £32,777. Staff costs make up ov¢T
80rA* of the OV¢Tall costs of the charity and higher rninimum wagc5 and the imp)rtanee of retaiThing good staff have
nxaDI that staff ¢o$ts havc Ene￿ased year on Y￿ by L25.983. The Trnstees ￿¢0￿]Se the wag¢ cost challenge
which is being closely mana8ed alongside fillther siaff cffiiisncy measures. Th¢ risk is losing term staff
(I￿lUding k¢y pemn ti5kl andr¢cruiliDg new staff remains o top prioriry for the Board ￿ 2024125.
Tbis year the ¢harity has treated all staff to a meal out to celebrate thcir efforts as well a5 r£co￿l]se the long service
{25 y¢arsl of one of its n]emb¢￿.
As mentioned above. iDve$tswit in tt¢w to￿ and equipm¢m during the yrar ￿5t around £2.5(K> more than the
prf*ViOUS year {£7,600 winsl £5.11>0I. The Ark bas b¢¢n knt by higher electricity pti¢¢5 Bfld there ￿ntInuEs to b¢
mor¢ T¢￿]r5 forwidetthkillg It the Pipll(￿ Avenue site.
Consultancy costs have in get*ral reduced. although dunng the lasi ye•t the charity has incuryEd high lesal fres
followin8 am¢ndrnents to its met)￿￿]n andArticles ofAsso¢ialioo allowing for Trustets lo be ettwloy¢¢s. Thi5
W&8 anecessary me&%ure &8 the¢h&ity WAS unable to fittd TTUSttC5 aThJ could ]M)t conlinue witknul b¢ing quorate.
A5 eX￿cted, due to hi8lw occupgncy levels alld hx8h iua4tioN spend on foLKI and nursery t)pAb has increased by
£1,764 ¢ompar¢d to last ye4r.
IheralL the Trustecs are happy to report a stnall surplus. The Charity will rrtd reserve$ tt> enable li to (kal with
iwgerr¢pair5 or inv¢stments such as the minsl)us. which remaiTh8 key to some of the servi¢¢s w¢ provÉde. The charity
now holds fr¢e T¢s￿Ve5 of £58,422 at the ￿￿￿¢¢ sheet date This would MO￿ than cover a month'$ wage5 &ttd
0srEAheads but sÈtoations caTJ change very quiekiy so ideauy ths ¢lwrity would Jike 10 hold JrouDd £IIXI,IM)O which
would coveraround 3 mot)Ihs vrdge5 and overheads or coYeroth¢T SEgnificattt f05ts arising.
reports that 1$ desi8[￿d to help idenlify tren4ts 3nd pinpoint issues qvi¢k]y. Bookk¢eping ha5 been tr2￿ferred to
Qui¢kbook5 wbere Tn]$re￿ are lookirjg for f4]rther Wdys to etsbance fin*Jciai reporting.
Page 5

The Ark Associ8tiDn
Trustees, Report
Rttrnltment *lld 4ppDintment of trustees
The directors of the company att also ¢harity tn￿¢8 for the purpose of charity law. The t￿teeS will be elect￿ at
the Annual G¢J]¢ral m￿ling and sha]1 retirebyrothiion one eiGb third year.
TheAGM for2023 lookplace on 28 November 2023.
The miTrin]urn nurnber of dire¢tor5 Utldei the Articles of Assrfiation 15 3 and there are cutt¢ndy S.
I￿￿￿ttl￿n tr4knthg oflrnstses
Any new 1Th2Stees and committee m¢mbvrs are given an overview of th¢ Ark As50ciatton including details of the
history attd bttkgrnund of the charity ro8eth¢r with the infoTttHiton of the firtan¢i81 position. In addition, new
ttIL8tees are provided wxih copies of the Charity CoJJ)mis$ion gUida]￿e brM)klet Th¢ Ess¢ntiai T￿￿tI*. A
Introduction. and The EÉsential Tr￿St¢e.. What YOU D¢¢d to know.
Org4￿1$at1O￿Ol $trndure
During 2023124. the directorsttrustees board meetin8s at le¥t once a tern).
M%Jor rlsks And manig¢n*ffjt of th•serlsk•
Tnjslets have a duty to identpfy and Teview the nsks to which the ch8rity 1$ ¢xpos¢d and Éo e[￿llre apptopriat¢
controls place to pro￿de r¢350uabl¢ a55ufaLCe against fra￿1 aTyJ error.
The Ark ts making St¢ps io ensure risk factort are regularly reTrryew&J. The ¢uTrent lltunedi8t¢ ri8k fa¢tOTS con&idered
in¢lud¢ r¢¢witm¢t>t and retention of staff as well as 8overnmtDt and local authority funding rates which hav¢ a
5ignificani impact on the settirtg's financial 5taths.
Further etthancement to Top & Emerging Risks are being developed in 2024125.
The annual report wa$ 4ppwv¢d by th¢ Irust¢¢5 of thc charity on.2sI.i.i.IIwand 5ignd on its behalf by..
Twstee
Pa8e 7

The Ark Associatlon
Independent Examlner's Report to Ihe trustees of The Ark Assotiatlon
I report on the Jccounis of rhe tharily for the year ended 31 March 2024 which areset out on pages I I to ?1 .
Respettlve responsibilttles Of tru$tee$ and examin¢r
The trustett {who ur¢ also the directors ofthe conwaDy fw the purposes of eoryany lawl aTe responsible for th¢
ptepardtioll of the acco￿1%. The trustees consider that an a￿lt is Lol required for this ye2r. und¢T serfiott 144(21 of
th¢ ChaTities Act 2011 Ith¢ 201 J Act) 8nd that an independent examinat2on is needvd. The charity's gT055 incom¢
exceeded £250.000 aDd l am qualified to UDdenoke rh¢ exanynatiox by being a qualificd member of Chartered
rnstitute of Mar￿gerneDt Ac¢ountaiiis.
Havin8 %Iti5fi¢d myKlf that th¢ ¢lwi'ty 15 not subject to audit under cornpany law and is eligible for ind¢p¢ndent
¢xalmtio￿ it is my ￿SpO￿$]bl]ity to..
Tn1￿ the aecounts under section 145 of the 2011 Ac(
to follow the prorEduTe5 latd down in the general Directions giveD by tk Ch￿ty ConDDission U[￿er section
145(51(b) of the 2011 A¢t.' and
to slat¢ whdher paTttcuiAr matter5 have come to my att¢ThtioD.
$15 of independertt ex¥rnlner's report
My exaniination was c8rried out in accordance with th¢ gtneral Direa10￿ given by the Cbarity Commission. An
exaJnination in¢lud¢s a review of the B¢¢tsunting recoT(ts kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts
presented ivi¢h those records. Jt also include5 consideratio* of any unusual items or dis¢losur¢5 sn the accothits, and
s¢cking explanatiQU5 froffi you as tnJst¢es concerniiLg any such Tnatters. The proc¢dures und¢rtak¢n th) not provide
all th¢ ¢wid¢nce that WO¥tld be requiTed in an audit and consequently no opiThÈon is 8ivett as to whether the acEouThts
prcsent a'true atsd f#ir view. al￿ the rep(irt is limitcd io tho8¢ matt¢rs sct out irt the siatcm¢tsl bEIow.
l￿dePendent ei#mlTrer'3 stAtement
In connection with my examination. iio mgtt¢r has eome to my aiiention..
111 whi¢h gives me reasonable cau5¢ to believe thtt I￿ 4ny materi21 resped the rquirenmts..
to kttp ae¢ounting records in atcordancc with section 386 of the Companies Aet 21A)6.' and
tts prepare accotjnts wbi¢h accord with the a¢¢Oun1ll￿ record& ¢on4>ly ￿7th the ¥countiDg reqtsiremcnt5 of
section 396 of the Companies Act 2(K16 and wtlh the metho(is and principles of th¢ Ststemenl of
Recomtnended Practi¢e.. Accounting and Repot(ing by Charities
have o()t bc¢Tr met- or
12lto which. in my opinion. atteThtion should be drawn in OTd¢r ro ¢nable a Pmper￿dema1jdtll8 of tk accourts to
be re&¢h¢d.
Page 9

The Ark Assrfiation
Statemtnl of Fingncial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
(Ineluding Income and Expenditure Account and staten￿￿t of Total Reeognised Gains and
Losses)
UnrestrItte
fllnd5
Restrlct¢d
fiDd5
Ti*t41
2024
Total
21)23
Note
Inc•me and Endowmeot$ froJD:
Ch8rit#ble a¢tivitics
Oih¢r tradin8 activities
Inves¢m¢nt illeoyne
Other i1￿Orne
436.887
230
613
21
436.887
230
613
413.574
1.822
35
545
Total ItJ¢omc
437.751
437 751
415,976
Expendknre on:
Charitable activities
428.912
90
429,002
396225
Total Expendiftre
428,912
90
429,002
396225
N¢1 ittcomel{expendjtt￿e￿
Nel JhOV¢E)7ent in fiJtM15
8.839
1SX>I
8.749
19,751
8.839
190}
,749
19,751
Rec•)nclllation of fuDds
Total fuThls brought fornird
T4*al fijtxls cgrried fonvard
228.574
597
229,171
209,419
16
237.413
507
237 920
229,170
All of th¢ chrity'5 8Ctivttits dtrive from wntinuing oFrations thtriDg th¢ abovehvo periods.
The knds breakdown foT2023 is ill notc 16.
Pt8e 11

The Ark A￿(￿￿tion
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 M¥rch 2024
I Charlty st4tu$
The charity 18 a charity IiEnited by 8uaratslee atsd to]J5equeThily does I￿¢ have Share capital. E8¢h of the trustees is
liable io wntnbut¢ amollTht not exceeding £Nil towards tk orth¢ charity in tht evtht of tiqUEdation.
2 Accountlng policies
Summary of sigDitlcanl Attownting policies and key actouttting fstimates
Tkne prineipal accounting rrf)licie$ appli¢d in thc preparation of these financial sta¢mentS WT¢ set out below. The8e
policies hÈv¢ b¢¢rJ ￿T￿lStent]Y applied to all the years pr¢5CDted. unltss otl>eThvise stated.
St#temenl of tompllattte
Th¢ financial slalements have b¢en pT¢Par￿ in accordance with Accounting 8nd RepO￿.￿g by Ch2riti¢s.. Stat¢wEnt
of R¢¢omm¢ndcd Practice applicable to chaTittes prepariL8 their #¢counts in accordance with the Finhhcial
R¢porting Stalldsrd aPpI￿able in th¢ UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 (effective l January 20151 . (ThdTities
SORP {FRS 1021). the FIna￿la1 Reporriiig S¢ahdard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 102) and
tb¢ Companies A¢t 2006.
B&sl$ of preparatio
The Ark A5S0CLation meets the def]nition of a public bette6t entity under FRS 102. Asset$ and Itabiiities ar¢ inLti8IIy
recognised at hi$ioric81 ¢ost OT transaction v8lue unlesB oiherwi5e Stated in th¢ Tel¢v4nt accountirt8 policy ]wt¢5.
Golng
The ¢ttJsiees ¢on5ideT tfrat there are t)0 m8t¢ri#l uncerlainties about the charitys al>ility to Conti￿lle as a Boing
¢on¢ern nor any si8nifJcait area5 of wicertainty that affect the Cafty￿ value of assets beld by the charity.
EKemption frorn preparfng a tash flDW ststemeDt
The Charity opted to early adopt Bulletin I publE5tKd on 2 Febnjary 2016 and hav¢ tbeT¢fore not inc1￿jed a cash
flow ststement in these fuwicial statements.
All expenditure is reCo￿ls¢d onGe therc 15 a legal or COtt8Wive obli8ation to that expendittLre, it is probable
s¢ttl¢ment is required 3Dd the amount can be me&sur&l r¢liably. The ha5 t&k¢D advantage of th¢ ¢xetr4)tiOD
ov&il8ble to smaller Chan￿e$ to report all ¢xpEnditure und¢r totsl exp¢ndilure and this is broken down ffimh¢i in the
Taxatlon
The charity 1$ ¢onsid¢red to pass the test$ 8¢t out io Paragrdph I Schedule 6 of the FU￿￿Ce Aet 2010 and th¢refore it
meets the definition of a charitsble conJp4ny for UK cotporation tax pwpose5. A¢eordill8ly. the rharity is potentially
ex¢mpt from taxation in Teswt of in¢ome or capital gains re¢¢5ved within ealegorie5 covered by Chapt¢r 3 Part 11
of the Co]wrdtioTJ Tax Act 2010 or SedioD 256 of the T&xation of Ckngeable Gains Ad 1992. to the extent that
such incomc or 8ain5 applied ¢xclusiwcty to charitable puttx)s
Page 13

The Ark Associatl¢Jn
Notes to the ￿lanCi111 Statements for the Year Ended 31 Martb 2024
3 Iacome fro￿ charlthble ¥e¢ivltie
Ullrutri¢ted
fuRds
Tot*l
2024
Totsl
2023
GeDeTAi
Fees- Burley Road
Milk
434,595
2.292
434.595
412.188
lJ86
436,887
436,887
413.574
4 Inc(trmt frojh otther tradlng &ttrviti
Unre$trleted
funds
To¢*1
2024
Tot
2023
Gener•1
Fundraising cvcnls
230
230
1,822
230
230
1.822
S IAvestmtDt in£om¢
Unrestrl¢ted
Total
2014
Total
2023
Central
Inte￿$1 ttccivablc on bat)k dewsits
613
613
35
Pa8e IS

The Ark Association
Notes to the Finan¢i21 Ststements for the Year Ended 31 Mareh 2024
8 TTU51ees remuneratlon and expenses
DuTib¥ the y¢8r the charity made the followin8 ti8]Is#ttions with tru51ees'
C McGrory
C M¢Gmry receiv￿ r¢Tnunerdti(m of£l22012023.. £5.2501 during the year.
The remurmtion paid to C McGrory is payment for providing financial and business support.
As the majority of TnL￿eeg r¢ct?ved r¢mun¢Talion durittg the y￿r authority was request￿ from th¢ Charity
Commission and thccharitys articlcs of8sswiaiioD have been updated attd approvedon 28 Sept¢mb¢r 2023.
Nicol* Cowllng
Nicola Cowling re¢eiv¢d TernunerAtion of £21.12012023: £18.974) during the year.
The r¢TnuTr¢ration pwdto N Cowling is salary forher etnpltsynKnt.
Etnployer pension cotstriblltious of £633.59 w¢r¢ a150 paad by the ¢harity on b¢ha]f of NCowling12023- £569.30).
As the rnajoTity of Tn2slee5 received remunerktion dwing the year authority was Tequested from th¢ Chlrity
Commi5Ston and the charitys )rticles tsf a550Giation have been updated and approved on 28 Sepiembei 2023.
Ml¢8-C121tY Foort
Mica-claire Foort receiv¢d rtmuneration of £26.475 (2023.. £23.4931 duriog the year.
The remuneration paidto M Foort is salary for her eN4)loym¢ni.
EDwloy¢r pension conthbutiorLS of £79417 were also paid by the charity onbthalf of M Foort (2023- £704.88).
Page 17

The Ark Assoclatlon
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
11 TAxatlo
The charity is a rewsteyed clwily and 1$ ther¢foTe cxcmpt frojn taxatio
12 TaDgible fixed assets
L*nd ind
bllildthv
Furniture and
equlpmellt
Motor
wehiek$
Toys &
Equlpmeijt
Totsj
Cost
At l April 2023
Additions
182,914
30.919
499
11,994
26,765
IJ02
252,592
1.801
At 31 March 2024
182,914
31,418
11,994
28,067
254.393
Depred&tlo
At l April 2023
Charge for the year
17,136
2,858
22.077
11,320
18.008
1,508
68J41
6.353
At 3 1 Mareh 2024
19,994
23.896
11.488
19.516
74894
Net book vAlne
At 31 March 2024
162,920
7.522
506
8,551
179,499
At 31 March 2023
165 778
8,842
674
184.051
Included within the nei book value of lond ar￿ buildings above is £1 17,508 (2023 £119,570) iji Tespect of
l¢as¢hold land and buildings and £45.412 (2023- £462091 in respectof improveiments to property.
13 Debtors
2024
2023
3.710
3J13
3.710
3,587
Page 19

The Ark AssoclAifion
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
17 A•8tys1s of llet tgjtts between fvnds
Ullrestricted
funds
Rejtrieted
runds
CeD¢ral
TotaI fuTtd8
Tangible fixed assets
Current Isseis
CutY¢nt liabilitics
178.991
80.485
122.063}
508
179.499
80,485
122,063
Total oet ass¢ts
237,413
508
237,921
18 RelAted party IrgmsActloJ
Dllrirtg the year the charity the followng Teiated party trans8Ctions.'
PA PAID*r
(Father of Mica Foortl
£3.940 was paid to Mr Palrncr for the ¢re¢tion of som¢ frncing at thc PritK￿S Avenue sit¢. 3 qutst¢$ weTe obtained
for the work and M FLN)rt abstsined frorn any involvement in th¢ detision. (2023 - £500 was paid lo Mr P8ltJJer for
fencing work al Burley Road). At the balance sheet date the aT￿u￿t du¢tdfrom P A Pa]mer was £NÈl12023- £Ns11.
Page21