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2024-03-31-accounts

The Trustees The Froebel Trust Clarence Lodge Clarence Lane Roehampton London SW15 5JW

3 October 2024

Our ref F0367/SB/RP

Dear Trustees

Post-Audit Report – Year ended 31 March 2024

The purpose of this letter is to bring to the attention of the Board as those charged with governance and management the findings from our recent audit of the financial statements of Froebel Trust, for the year ended 31 March 2024, for your consideration and to enable you to address matters arising where appropriate. Throughout this letter, “you” and “your” refer to the Board. However, in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs) we are communicating them to you formally.

1. Purpose of the audit

As auditor, we are responsible for performing the audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), which is directed towards forming and expressing an opinion on the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 that have been prepared by management with the oversight of those charged with governance, and other matters required by legislation.

Our work has been carried out in accordance with our audit planning letter dated 14 May 2024.

Our audit work included consideration of the internal controls relevant to the preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of your system of internal control.

The matters being reported are limited to those that were identified during the audit and that we conclude are of sufficient importance to merit being reported to those charged with governance.

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2. Audit progress

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those with whom we dealt during the audit for their assistance and co-operation, in particular Oksana Lissovets and Sacha Powell.

We are pleased to report that the majority of the audit work was undertaken as planned. As with previous years, the work around investments has taken more time than anticipated. Initial errors in the reconciliation prepared and presented to us for the audit meant that inaccurate figures had been included within the accounts. We also encountered difficulties preparing the cash reconciliation relating to the way the investment journals had been posted.

3. Annual report and financial statements’ format

The financial statements have been prepared, as last year, in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP FRS 102).

There are no significant changes to the format of the financial statements this year.

4. Auditor’s report

We do not propose any modifications to our audit opinion and, therefore, we intend to issue an unqualified opinion in our auditor’s report.

5. Adjustments made during the audit

A list of the adjustments which have been made to the figures presented to us for audit is attached as Appendix A. This will be discussed and agreed with Sacha Powell and Oksana Lissovets. .

6. Unadjusted misstatements

Other than clearly trivial misstatements, all the misstatements identified during the audit have been adjusted.

7. Accounting policies, accounting estimates and disclosures

The accounting policies used in preparing the financial statements are unchanged from the previous year.

Our work included a review of the adequacy of disclosures in the financial statements and consideration of the appropriateness of the accounting policies and estimation techniques adopted by the charity. We found the disclosed accounting policies, significant accounting estimates and the overall disclosure and presentation to be appropriate for the charity.

8. Letter of representation

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We enclose the draft letter of representation which we will request management and the trustees to approve and sign at the same time as the financial statements. This includes acknowledgement of the trustees’ responsibility for the design and implementation of internal controls to prevent and detect fraud.

As set out in our planning letter, we understand the following applied to the year ended 31 March 2024.

9. Segregation of duties

We recognise that the number of your accounting staff makes a complete system of internal control impracticable and that the trustees exercise close personal supervision, which we consider reasonable in the circumstances. We have taken this into account in conducting our audit and in preparing this letter.

10. Accounting and internal control systems

Our work during the audit included an examination of some of the charity’s transactions, procedures and controls with a view to expressing an opinion on the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.

This work was not directed primarily towards discovering weaknesses, other than those that would affect our audit opinion, or towards the detection of fraud. We have included in this report only matters that have come to our attention as a result of our normal audit procedures and consequently our comments should not be regarded as a comprehensive record of all weaknesses that may exist or of all improvements that might be made.

Investment accounting and accounts preparation

Priority rating: A (High)

In previous years, we have highlighted the need for additional attention to be given to the investments note, and while we have noted significant improvement, there were still a number of amendments which were required. We recommend that a final check is performed each quarter to ensure that the figures per the cash account reconciliations are consistent with the figures per the investment register. We also recommend that all elements of the financial statements are prepared prior to audit, as the preparation of areas such as the cash flow statement and the investments disclosure will not only help identify any inconsistencies in the investment

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recognition, but also helps to ensure appropriate segregation between our role as auditors and the role of accounts preparation, as required by ethical standards.

11. Prior year observation

There were no issues raised last year which required follow-up in the current year, with the exception of the investment accounting recommendation, which has been noted above.

12. Materiality

Materiality threshold £11,700

Reporting threshold: £585

Materiality refers to the relative significance of a particular matter in the context of the financial statements as a whole. An item would be considered material if its omission or its erroneous inclusion would reasonably influence the decisions of those using the financial statements.

We are required to report corrected audit misstatements, and uncorrected audit misstatements in excess of our reporting threshold which is set at 5% of overall materiality.

Our materiality threshold is based on 2% of grant expenditure, A lower level of materiality may be selected for specific areas of the financial statements and for some disclosure items e.g. transactions and other financial arrangements with trustees and their connected persons.

When considering the impact of misstatements discovered during the course of our audit and considering the implications for our report of such misstatements, we will refer to this level amongst other things. Whether a misstatement is ‘material’ or not is ultimately down to the auditor’s judgement.

13. Professional ethics

In accordance with our profession’s ethical guidance and further to our letter to you dated 14 May 2024 confirming audit planning arrangements there are no further matters to bring to your attention in relation to Integrity, Objectivity and Independence.

14. Current developments

We have also attached a summary of other recent and ongoing developments as Appendix C to this report. The matters included in this appendix may not all be directly relevant to the charity. However, we are aware that a lot of trustees are involved with more than one organisation, therefore we have included items for general information.

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15. Updates, insights and seminars

As part of our commitment to the charity sector, during the year the Charity Team issues occasional Updates and Insights on matters of relevance to the sector and also holds a number of seminars free of charge throughout the year. We would be delighted to welcome representatives of your charity to our seminars or to add trustees and management to our email distribution lists if this would be welcome. News and Insights are also available on our website at News and insights (buzzacott.co.uk), where there is also an opportunity to sign up to our mailing list should you wish.

Conclusion

This letter has been prepared for your private use only. It has been prepared on the understanding that it will not be shared with any third party without our prior written consent and we can therefore assume no responsibility to any other party. Any recommendations contained herein are based on the information you have provided and UK law and judicial and administrative interpretation as of the date of this letter. Should the facts provided to us be incorrect or incomplete, or should they change, our recommendations may be inappropriate. Buzzacott LLP accepts no liability for losses arising from changes in UK law, interpretation or practice or in public policy that are first published after the date of this letter.

If you require any further information or assistance, we shall be very pleased to help you.

We would be pleased to receive your comments and reaction to this letter.

Yours faithfully

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Appendix A: Adjusted misstatements

Adjusted misstatements

----- Start of picture text -----
Statement of Financial Activities Balance Sheet
Debit Credit Debit Credit
£ £ £ £
1 DR Gains/losses on investments 66,281
CR Investment income 66,281
Being investment adjustment to amend
split between realised/unrealised gains
2 Dr Investment properties 39,000
Cr Gains/losses on investment properties 39,000
Being the recognition of the investment
property uplift in the year
2 DR Net pension liability 31,000
DR Net interest expense 4,000
CR Actuarial gain
31,000
CR Staff costs
4,000
Being year-end pension adjustment.
----- End of picture text -----

The above adjustments had the effect of increasing net reserves by £70,000 in relation to the pension adjustment and the investment property uplift. Other adjustments were presentational in nature.

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Appendix B: Sector Developments

Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts

Changes to UK GAAP

In March 2024, the Financial Reporting Council published amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland .

The amendments encompass a number of changes including:

The amendments will be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 and can be read at: https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/Amendments_to_FRS_102_and_other_FRSs.pdf

Development of new Charity Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)

The new Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) had been expected to be published in August 2024 but a revised timeline for release is being considered. An update on this will be issued in due course.

Background on the 15 topics for change that have been considered by the SORP Committee are available at: https://charitysorp.org/engage-briefings-to-inform-the-engagement-process-in-developing-the-next-sorp

Company size thresholds

The Government intends to lay legislation this summer to increase the (financial) thresholds that determine whether a company is classified as small, medium or large:

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Any company above the upper medium threshold would be classified as large. If legislation is passed, the thresholds are set to come into effect from financial years starting on or after 1 October 2024.

Further detail can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/writtenstatements/detail/2024-03-19/hcws354

Changes to UK Company law

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023 meaning that Companies House will have more power to play a more significant role in tackling economic crime and supporting economic growth. Some of the changes introduced have a direct impact on how accounts are prepared and filed, whilst others impact how company information is collated, checked and stored. A summary of key changes are listed below:

Further details can be found at: https://changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk/

One of the biggest practical changes that will impact registered companies is the need to provide email addresses for Companies House with the aim to phase out paper correspondence in due course. Information on this change can be found here: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/companies-houseregistered-email-addresses

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HMRC have also confirmed that they plan to reduce the volume of phone calls received by its advisers by 30% by the end of 2024 in a bid to improve the quality of service provided and to encourage people to use its digital services.

Charities Act 2022

The phased implementation of the Charities Act 2022 is now complete with all changes now being applied. The key changes relate to how trusts and unincorporated associations make changes to governing documents, new rules around selling, leasing or disposing of land and new guidelines on how gifts to charities that are merging are treated.

Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charities-act-2022-guidance-forcharities

Update on ex-gratia payments

Typically, ex-gratia payments would breach trust law, as they divert funds from charitable purposes. However, section 106 of the Charities Act 2011 permitted the Charity Commission to authorise such transactions when trustees deemed the payments as a moral obligation. With the aforementioned changes in the Charities Act 2022, charities will gain increased authority to make ex-gratia payments of up to a certain threshold without obtaining prior consent from the Charity Commission.

The new thresholds are income based, and are:

The detailed legislation is at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/6/section/15/enacted

Sustainability and reporting

Whilst many companies and organisations are including sustainability and climate change-related information in their annual reports, only the largest private and listed companies are required to provide

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such information. This disclosed information is not yet subject to any independent ‘checking’ which has resulted in the ‘greenwashing’ claims about some unverified information contained in annual reports.

June 2023 saw the issue of the first two international sustainability reporting standards aimed at improving trust and confidence in company disclosures about sustainability and climate change. The two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards are internationally effective from 1 January 2024 although they have not yet been adopted by UK standard setters. However, it is likely that compliance will become mandatory in the near future. To begin with, the obligation may only be for large companies but, the ‘trickle down’ process is likely to require many organisations to ensure that they can provide adequate information to others in their supply chain who have the reporting obligation. As is usually the way, the reporting obligation will ultimately be extended to smaller and not-for-profit entities.

In anticipation of the above, it is advisable to start discussions around sustainability reporting and data early and more information can be found at: https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/ifrs-sustainability-standardsnavigator/.

Policy and Governance

Charity Commission 2024-2029 Strategy

The Charity Commission has published its new strategy with five key priorities:

The regulator is in the process of identifying a set of strategic impact measures which will be published in mid-2024. The Commission aims to report against those measures for the first time in the Annual Report for 2024-25, which will be published in July 2025.

The full strategy can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-commissionstrategy-2024-2029/charity-commission-strategy-2024-2029

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UK Corporate Governance Code 2024

The UK Corporate Governance Code was revised in January 2024 with the key focus being to enhance transparency and accountability of UK premium listed companies and help support the growth and competitiveness of the UK and its attractiveness as a place to invest. The Code does not set out a rigid set of rules; instead, it offers flexibility through ‘comply or explain’ reporting against the Provisions. The main change in the 2024 Code is a new requirement under Provision 29 for a declaration of effectiveness by the board in relation to material controls which will come into force on 1 January 2026. The other, less substantial, changes to the Code will take effect from 1 January 2025.

The full Code can be read at: https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/UK_Corporate_Governance_Code_2024_kRCm5ss.pdf

A summary of key changes since the 2018 Code, as published by the FRC, can be found at: https://media.frc.org.uk/documents/UK_Corporate_Governance_Code_2024_Key_Changes.pdf

Charity Governance Code

A review of the Charity Governance Code takes place roughly every three years to ensure it remains relevant. A consultation has been launched to gather feedback on potential enhancements to the Code, focusing on its content, structure, applicability to different charity sizes, language, and user-friendliness. The consultation runs to 11 August 2024 with a response being planned in Autumn 2024 with an updated Code expected in early 2025.

For further reading please see: https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/en/about-the-code-1/updatingthe-code

Recruitment challenges of Chairs’

New research by Bayes Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness highlights the need for charities to better understand the motivations of potential chairs, particularly younger generations, to address recruitment challenges. Surveying 61 chairs and 23 support representatives, the study found that the pipeline of future chairs is a significant concern, with barriers such as time pressures, responsibility level and a lack of diversity deterring potential candidates. The report emphasises the demanding nature of the chair role, recommending rigorous and inclusive recruitment processes promoting the role as aspirational, and providing future focussed support.

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Fundraising levy

The Fundraising Regulator has announced it will increase the voluntary levy it asks charities to pay by up to 50% over two years, following a consultation with the sector.

Its increases, the first in eight years, will mean the largest charities pay £22,500 a year, a £7,500 rise on current rates.

Further information on the revised rates can be seen at: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/registration/fees/changes-to-levy-registration-fee

Charity Commission guidance on accepting donations

The Charity Commission has published new guidance to help charities when deciding whether to accept, refuse or return a donation. The guidance is designed to help trustees have informed discussions when faced with a choice that has potentially significant consequences but accepts that the default position for trustees should be to accept donations. In making their decision, trustees should:

The regulator also warns trustees not to allow their personal views, or any external pressures that do not relate to their charity’s purposes, to influence them to act in a way that is not in their charity’s best interest.

The full guidance can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accepting-refusing-and-returningdonations-to-your-charity

Charity Commission guidance on investing charity money

The Charity Commission has recently streamlined its guidance on investing charity money making it more accessible to trustees. Amongst other things, it:

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The full guidance can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-investmentmatters-a-guide-for-trustees-cc14

Charity Commission renews calls for urgent action from UK banking sector

The Charity Commission’s annual sector survey has unveiled concerning findings with 42% of trustees reporting that their charities experienced poor service from banks in the last 12 months. The risks associated with inadequate banking services extends beyond inconveniences, potentially risking the provision of charitable activities and promoting unsafe financial practices, such as the use of personal accounts to ensure charitable activities continue. There have been instances where accounts have been frozen with minimal notice after identification requests further highlight the severity of the issues. It is important for the banking sector to address these challenges promptly to ensure the continuation operations of charitable organisations and safeguard their valuable contributions to society.

For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-data-suggests-nearly-half-ofcharities-experience-issues-when-banking

Charity Commission guidance on cost of living pressures

The Charity Commission has published guidance on managing financial difficulties as a result of the cost of living crisis covering key topics regarding trustee duty and decision-making, practical tips on what to do in situations where charities are in financial difficulty, what to do if the charity cannot continue to operate and a reminder on reporting serious incidents.

The detailed guidance can be seen at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-financial-difficulties-in-yourcharity-arising-from-cost-of-living-pressures

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Charity Fraud Report 2023

The Fraud Advisory Panel issued its 2023 Charity Fraud Report in January 2024 following a survey of 121 charities, of which 62% generated income of over £10m, within the UK. The below key findings were noted:

The report identifies that the most common frauds relate to misappropriation of cash or other assets, expenses, procurement, false beneficiaries or cyber matters with two-thirds of charities reporting that frauds were detected as a result of internal controls in place indicating the importance of designing a control environment with fraud risk at the centre.

Fraud prevention strategies include ensuring robust policies are in place (and are being followed) on cybersecurity, anti-fraud and conflicts of interest, whilst also ensuring adequate training is provided to those associated with the charity on a regular basis. A fraud response plan should also be devised and implement in case of any adverse event.

The full report, including the Panel’s top tips for preventing fraud (on page 22 and 23) can be read at: https://www.fraudadvisorypanel.org/document/2023-charity-fraud-report/

VAT fraud alert

VAT practitioners have been made aware of instances where taxpayers’ bank account details have been amended on the HMRC portal without their knowledge, resulting in VAT repayments being diverted to unknown third parties. This issue came to light when clients reported that expected repayments had not arrived, and it was discovered that forged director signatures were used to change the bank details. Taxpayers filing repayment claims should therefore regularly check that their bank details have not been altered.

Cyber-attacks

The British Library was subject to a cyber-attack in October 2023 and has published a “lessons learned” paper to help others in the sector who may experience similar. It covers the detail of the attack, and the

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impact it has had on operations, future infrastructure and risk assessments. The paper can be read at: https://www.bl.uk/home/british-library-cyber-incident-review-8-march-2024.pdf

Annual Return 2022 findings

The Charity Commission has recently released the Annual Return 2022, highlighting key trends across the sector for financial years ending in 2022. The key trends are as follows:

For further detail please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-commission-annualreturn-data/annual-return-data-january-to-december-2022

Additional questions on Charity Annual Returns

The questions posed in the Charity Commission’s Annual Return have been updated for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2023. The most significant changes relate to smaller charities where, depending on the level of income, the number of responses required may be reduced. Narrative changes to some questions have been made to improve clarity and improvements in the glossary and guidance have also been made to help charities answer questions quickly and accurately.

The detailed list of questions can be found at Appendix 8 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/charity-commission-revisions-to-the-annual-return-202325

Guidance on internal controls

The government has updated their guidance (CC8) on internal financial controls for charities. The revised guidance includes updates on digital payment systems, fraud and cybercrime. The Charity Commission's internal control checklist, a tool available for trustees and charity management to check controls against

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the latest legal requirements has also been updated to reflect the latest guidance. The Charity Commission recommends that internal financial controls should be reviewed at least once a year. The updated guidance and checklist can be found at Internal financial controls for charities at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/internal-financial-controls-for-charities-cc8

Trustee Quiz

The Charity Commission has released a new Trustee Quiz to enable trustees to test their knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. It is aimed to engage trustees with questions based on everyday scenarios in a bid to identify any knowledge gaps and to act as a refresher for all trustees. The quiz takes three minutes to complete with feedback provided for each question and a score out of 10.

The quiz can be found at: https://beingacharitytrustee.campaign.gov.uk/take-the-trustee-quiz/

UK employment law

A number of employment law regulatory changes have taken place in recent months including increases in statutory sick pay, updated redundancy pay calculations and national minimum wage increases which can impact organisations and their HR processes and documentation. The following insight provides detailed commentary on the changes and information on how Buzzacott can support: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/an-update-on-uk-employment-law-2023 A further development in 2024 was confirmed by the UK government who will be tripling the penalties for employing illegal workers from a minimum of £15,000 to £45,000 per worker: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/news/penalties-for-employing-illegal-workers-in-the-uk-are-set-to-triple

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Over the past year, the transformative potential of AI has become a major discussion point within the charity sector. The Charity Commission emphasise the importance of using AI responsibly to further charitable purposes. AI is increasingly being adopted by charities for resource-intensive tasks. The 2023 Charity Digital Skills report found that 35% of charities already use AI, with another 26% planning to adopt it. However, there are risks, such as data security, GDPR compliance, and the potential for AI to produce inaccurate or biased results. Charities should consider developing an internal AI policy, ensure human oversight and remain mindful of legal obligations to mitigate these risks. The Commission is actively learning about AI’s potential and risks, engaging with the sector and other regulators, but does not currently plan to issue specific new guidance.

For further reading please see: https://charitycommission.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/02/charities-and-artificialintelligence/

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Following on from the Charity Commission blog, other sector bodies have been heavily involved in supporting charities in gearing up for AI. A checklist, created by Zoe Amar Digital, has been developed which aims to help charities build AI understanding, make informed decisions, and track progress. Recognising the varied knowledge on technology, the checklist offers guidance for beginners and advanced users alike, encouraging a tailored approach to integrating AI and fostering strategic discussions at the board level. It can be found at: https://zoeamar.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-checklist-for-charity-trustees-and-leaders/

Charity tax returns – why are they so important?

Whilst it is not compulsory for charities to file a tax return, HMRC is able to perform random checks on charities to ensure exemptions are being claimed correctly. There is no blanket exemption on income generated by a charity because of their charitable status. If a charity receives income that does not fall under the available exemptions, then the profit element of the income will be subject to tax. The main forms of exempt charitable income are:

If there is non-charitable trading income that does not fall under the above exemptions, the small-scale taxable trades exemption can be applied whereby a tax liability will not be applied if the non-charitable trading income is less than 25% of the charity’s total income, subject to a cap of £80,000. If £80,000 is breached, the total non-charitable trading income will be taxable.

Further information can be found at: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/charity-tax-returns-why-arethey-so-important

Charity Commission tax guidance

The Charity Commission has published guidance on direct tax obligations of charities and reliefs available. It is designed to allow charities access to relevant resources in one place with the guidance being available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-detailed-guidance-notes

Reformed IR35 guidance

Off-payroll working legislation governs how organisations handle tax for workers providing services through intermediaries, such as personal service companies. The reformed rules, introduced in 2017 and expanded

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in 2021, shift the responsibility of determining employment status from the worker’s intermediary to the client engaging them. The reformed guidelines assist clients and deemed employers in applying these rules, ensuring correct tax and National Insurance contributions are paid. They also provide examples of best practices to minimise errors and potential penalties. Organisations should use these guidelines alongside existing resources to make informed decisions based on their specific circumstances.

Detailed guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-comply-with-thereformed-off-payroll-working-rules-ir35-gfc4

Navigating the Employment Allowance and Apprenticeship Levy

HMRC is warning certain clubs and associations that they may be liable to pay the Apprenticeship Levy (AL) and are also no longer eligible for Employment Allowance (EA) relief.

The complexity of understanding eligibility for both the EA and the AL is the requirement to look beyond the payroll of the immediate employer and add the value of total payroll or the secondary Class 1 NIC liability of any connected employers. These rules are applicable whether an organisation is assessing eligibility for EA or AL.

Many unincorporated associations such as clubs, societies, religious bodies, amateur sporting bodies, and political parties, should be aware of these rules.

Further information can be found at: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/navigating-the-employmentallowance-and-apprenticeship-levy

Working from home overseas – tax, social security, and payroll considerations

There are a number of tax, social security and compliance issues that both employees and employers should consider before allowing overseas working. Employers should seek professional advice as to whether they will have social security and workplace pension scheme obligations in the country in question. Consideration will also need to be given whether an employee working abroad would create a fixed permanent establishment, resulting in potential overseas tax liabilities.

For further information, please see: https://www.buzzacott.co.uk/insights/working-from-home-overseasthe-tax-social-security-and-payroll-considerations

Charity tax compliance consultation

HMRC are seeking views on several areas of concern (mainly in relation to abuse) in a consultation process which came to an end on 20 July 2023. The four areas that came under review were on charitable

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investments, non-charitable expenditure, tainted charity donations and filing obligations. HMRC do not intend to change the purpose of existing rules but want to ensure that they continue to be fit for purpose.

The results of the consultation have not yet been published but information on the process can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/charities-tax-compliance/consultation-charities-taxcompliance

Benefits in kind

On 16 January 2024 the government announced that it will mandate employers to report and collect Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions on employment benefits through payroll software from 6 April 2026. This means that the 2025 to 2026 tax year will be the last year that employers will be able to file P11Ds and P11D(b)s with HMRC in most cases. From this date, tax on employment benefits will be collected in real time and not through tax codes in arrears. Class 1A National Insurance contributions will also be collected in real time for each pay period rather than at the end of the year. These changes aim is to reduce the administrative burden for employers with draft legislation due to be published later this year.

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REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 March 2024

Company Limited by Guarantee Registra�on Number 07862112 (England and Wales)

Charity Registra�on Number 1145128

CONTENTS

TRUSTEES’ REPORT PAGE
1. Reference and Administra�ve Informa�on 3
2. Our Mission and History 4
3. Our Aims and Objec�ves 5
4. The Year in Summary 6
5. Detailed Ac�vity 7
5.i
Enabling		 7
5.ii
Informing		 8
5.iii
Connec�ng		 10
5.iv
Evidencing and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion		 10
5.v
Advoca�ng		 12
6. Achievements 13
6..i
Reach and Engagement		 13
6.ii
Benefts and Impact		 16
7. Structure, Governance and Management 18
7..i
Governance Review and Training		 19
8. Principal Risks and Uncertain�es 19
9. Looking Ahead – Plans for 2023-24 19
10. Financial Review 24
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 27
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Statement of fnancial ac�vi�es 31
Balance sheet 32
Principal accoun�ng policies 34
Notes to the fnancial statements 38

2

1. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

TRUSTEES AND DIRECTORS

Sharon COLILLES Mark NEALE (Chair) Fufy DEMISSIE Lucy PARKER Jean-No ë l EZINGEARD Michael PEARSON (Treasurer) Catriona GILL Paula LESTER (formerly PHILLIPS) Kate HOSKINS Holli WILLIAMS Abha HURRI Lilah WOODS

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Sacha Powell

REGISTERED OFFICE

Clarence Lodge, Clarence Lane, Roehampton, London, SW15 5JW; Telephone 0208 878 7546; E-mail: office@froebeltrust.org.uk; Website: www.froebel.org.uk.

REGISTRATION

Company Number 07862112 (England and Wales); Charity Number 1145128

AUDITOR

Buzzaco� LLP, 130 Wood Street, London EC2V 6DL

BANKERS

Barclays Bank, Wandsworth Group, PO Box 3847, London SW11 1TR

SOLICITORS

Moore Barlow LLP, 60 Cheapside, London EC2V 6AX

INVESTMENT MANAGERS

Waverton Investment Management Limited, 16 Babmaes Street, London SW1Y 6AH

PROPERTY ADVISORS

Knight Frank LLP, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8AN

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2. OUR MISSION AND HISTORY

The Froebel Trust (‘the Charity’ or ‘the Trust’) is a registered charity governed by its Ar�cles of Associa�on. Its registered number is 1145128. It is also a company limited by guarantee (with members’ liability £1) registered in London, No. 7862112.

The Trustees, who are also the directors of The Froebel Trust, a charitable company, submit their report and financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2024.

This report has been prepared in accordance with guidance & requirements of the Chari�es SORP FRS-102. The financial statements have been prepared using the accoun�ng policies set out in pages 34 to 36 and comply with the Charity’s Ar�cles, and Accoun�ng and Repor�ng by Chari�es: Statement of Recommended Prac�ce applicable to chari�es preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Repor�ng Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), effec�ve from accoun�ng periods commencing 1 January 2015 or later and Update Bulle�n 1.

The Froebel Trust’s Charitable Objects are to:

educa�on in learning within the UK and interna�onally.

educa�on; by promo�ng and funding training for early childhood teachers and prac��oners; by providing a range of other educa�onal resources; and by raising public awareness of the Froebelian principles and approach to educa�on.

The Trust has been working to advance Froebelian educa�on for well over a hundred years in its various forms since its forma�on in London in 1892 as IFEI. An account of major milestones in this ’ history is available on the Trust s website.

In preparing this report, the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Details of our achievements - in terms of reach and engagement, and impact and benefits – are summarised in sec�on 6.

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3. OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The Froebel Trust’s work is devoted to research and practice development in Early Years / Early Childhood Education and Care. Our strategic objectives are to:

  1. Advance knowledge and understanding of Froebelian education in the 21[st] century through research and practice development

  2. Increase and improve Early Years practice in accordance with Froebelian principles for education and learning

  3. Champion Froebelian principles and their application in contemporary research and practice.

  4. Assess progress against our objectives by gathering and reviewing evidence from different sources.

  5. Practise careful stewardship of our assets to preserve their inflation-adjusted value so we can continue to support future generations.

Our five strategic programmes for 2021-26 are designed to realise our objectives and priorities:

Throughout this report, we refer to Froebelian Principles , which underpin our work and the education and learning that we strive to promote and advance. The principles are:

UNITY & CONNECTEDNESS: Everything in the universe is connected. The more one is aware of this unity, the deeper the understanding of oneself, others, nature, and the wider world. Children are whole beings whose thoughts, feelings and ac�ons are interrelated. Young children learn in a holis�c way and learning should never be compartmentalised for everything links.

AUTONOMOUS LEARNERS: Each child is unique and what children can do rather than what they cannot, is the star�ng point for a child’s learning. Children learn best by doing things for themselves and from becoming more aware of their own learning. Froebelian educators respect children for who they are and value them for their efforts. Helping children to reflect is a key feature of a Froebelian educa�on.

THE VALUE OF CHILDHOOD IN ITS OWN RIGHT: Childhood is not merely a prepara�on for the next stage in learning. Learning begins at birth and con�nues throughout life.

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER: The rela�onships of every child with themselves, their parents, carers, family, and wider community are valued. Rela�onships are of central importance in a child's life.

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CREATIVITY & THE POWER OF SYMBOLS: Crea�vity is about children represen�ng their own ideas in their own way, supported by a nurturing environment and people. As children begin to use and make symbols, they express their inner thoughts and ideas and make meaning. Over �me, literal reflec�ons of everyday life, community and culture become more abstract and nuanced.

THE CENTRAL IMPORTANCE OF PLAY: Play is part of being human and helps children to relate their inner worlds of feelings, ideas and lived experiences taking them to new levels of thinking, feeling, imagining, and crea�ng and is a resource for the future. Children have ownership of their play. Froebelian educa�on values the contribu�on of adults offering ‘freedom with guidance’ to enrich play as a learning context.

ENGAGING WITH NATURE: Experience and understanding of nature and our place in it, is an essen�al aspect of Froebelian prac�ce. Through real life experiences, children learn about the interrela�onship of all living things. This helps them to think about the bigger ques�ons of the environment, sustainability, and climate change.

KNOWLEDGEABLE AND NURTURING EDUCATORS: Early childhood educators who engage in their own learning and believe in principled and reflec�ve prac�ce are a key aspect of a Froebelian approach. Froebelian educators facilitate and guide, rather than instruct. They provide rich real-life experiences and observe children carefully, suppor�ng and extending their interests through ‘freedom with guidance’.

4. THE YEAR IN SUMMARY

----- Start of picture text -----
Strategic Programmes in 2023-24
Enabling
Bursaries Fee subsidies for university courses at level 4, 6 and 7
Fee reductions for Froebel Trust CPD courses
Grants Froebelian ‘Hub and Spoke’ projects supported
Informing
Projects Froebel Trust Courses Project Commissioned
Digitalization Project - Archive Materials
Resources Pamphlets, Research Highlights, Films, Podcasts, Case Study Map
Events Webinars and representation at others’ events
Connecting
Networks Support for local and national Froebelian networks
Enabling attendance at International Froebel Society Conference
Evidencing
Evaluation Commissioned assessment of funded project
EDI Review Improving equality, diversity & inclusion through analysis, review, and training
Advocating
Lecture Live-streamed annual lecture
Loans Froebelian artefacts loaned to museums for special exhibitions
----- End of picture text -----

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5. DETAILED ACTIVITY

This section provides more detailed descriptions of the activities within each strategic programme: Enabling, Informing, Connecting, Evidencing and Advocating.

5.i ENABLING

Expenditure budget excluding staff costs £409,648

Hub & Spoke Programme

The Trust’s most ambitious “Hub and Spoke” programme saw continued investment in integrated research and practice development. Funding for three years (2021-2024) was channelled through two project teams whose objectives were: to support and promote exemplary Froebelian approaches to early childhood educa�on and care; to raise awareness, improve knowledge & understanding and extend the prac�ce of Froebelian educa�on, ideas and principles; to gather robust evidence about the dis�nc�ve characteris�cs of a Froebelian approach to early childhood educa�on and care, and the outcomes and impacts associated with this approach; and to persuade educators, carers, parents and policymakers of the evidence-based benefits of Froebelian approaches to the educa�on and care of young children. To this end:

Subsidised education and training

Developing educators’ knowledge and understanding of Froebelian education was a priority.

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Preparing our grants process for 2024-25

Guidance for applicants (for 2024-25 grants) was updated in 2023 and shared in February 2024. Invitations were offered for 1-1 meetings with the Grants Manager and proved very popular during March. Significant time and funds were invested to update the online application portal and enhance the application and scrutiny forms including additional questions about Sustainable Development Goals and intended involvement and project benefits for under-represented or minoritized groups.

5.ii INFORMING

Expenditure budget excluding staff costs £64,500

Special projects

Digital resources

The Froebel Trust’s publishes a range of digital resources (text, film and audio) all of which are open access, meaning they are freely available on our website. These encompass reports and other outputs from Trust-funded projects, which are housed within our online research and projects library - - (https://www.froebel.org.uk/our research/research library) and specially commissioned resources.

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Events

Awards

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5.iii CONNECTING

Expenditure budget excluding staff costs £20,000

As more educators become Froebel trained and are eager to connect with others, existing Froebelian networks have grown and new networks have formed locally (e.g. University of Erfurt), regionally (e.g. West of Scotland) and nationally (e.g. Ireland). Run by volunteers and driven by the interests and needs of the members of these largely informally constituted groupings of educators, each network has provided different means to encourage sharing, dialogue, reflection, and mutual assistance.

Small grants

Sector Support

5.iv EVIDENCING & EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Expenditure budget excluding staff costs £44,000

This strategic programme aims to provide evidence about the characteristics and benefits of a Froebelian approach in education; and to critically examine the Trust’s own infrastructure, systems, policies and processes in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion.

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Froebelian education

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

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5.v ADVOCATING

A cross-cu�ng theme

young children, their families, and Early Years educators. This includes advoca�ng for and about the value of play as an integra�ng mechanism in learning and development; the exper�se of educators who work with young children; posi�ve, asset-rich understandings of every person, including the parents of young children; and the interconnectedness of everything in the universe.

Advoca�ng work threads through and underpins all our strategic programmes. All our publica�ons, films, podcasts, projects, events and courses help us to advocate for a Froebelian approach to early childhood educa�on and care.

Froebel Trust Annual Lecture

aspects of an inclusive Froebelian worldview.

In 2023, our autumn lecture was given by world leading Froebelian expert, Professor Tina Bruce CBE. For the first �me, the event was held before a live audience in Cardiff while being streamed online simultaneously and recorded for later viewing.

The topic of the lecture was play and crea�vity. It was accompanied by the launch of a new Froebelian Approach pamphlet, which is available to download for free from the Trust’s website: h�ps://www.froebel.org.uk/uploads/documents/FT_Empowering_Learning_Pamphlet_INTERACTIVE .pdf

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6. ACHIEVEMENTS

OUR GOALS FOR 2023-24

The Trust’s strategic programmes remain key areas for our work with goals that include:

6.i REACH AND ENGAGEMENT

This section depicts our reach in numerical terms - quantity and geographical spread; and then describes engagement, e.g. document downloads, attendance at events, views of our films.

Reach

In Table 1 below, numbers reached through Enabling, Informing & Connecting programmes are compared with the previous year.

----- Start of picture text -----
TABLE 1 Programme Activities 2022-23 2023-24 Growth
Froebel Trust Course Places 1,200 1,595 33%
H&S [1] Workshops, learning circles, festivals & tours 245 303 24%
Enabling
H&S Practitioner Inquiry course places 73 82 12%
H&S Froebelian Leadership course places 48 58 21%
Newsletter subscribers on 31 March 4,394 5,487 25%
Social media followers on 31 March 12,039 14,822 23%
Informing Website users (12 months) 116,800 118,200 1.2%
FT Podcast downloads (1 [st] 12 months) 0 10,800 N/A
YouTube – FT channel views 19,600 32,700 67%
Networks supported 2 9 350%
Connecting
Conference bursaries provided N/A 15 N/A
----- End of picture text -----

Our equality, diversity and inclusion plan actions have included matching Froebel Trust course participants to geographical areas by postcode. In addition to highlighting under-represented areas that we need to target in the future to ensure more equitable access to training, sharing of our resource, and support for educators across the country, this mapping has also demonstrated that Froebel training is reaching many areas of the UK, especially in Wales, England and Scotland. To take part in the Froebel Trust’s courses, participants are not required to have any prior qualifications and so the courses are open to all those who are working with young children, regardless of education and professional experience. The map overleaf shows where training has happened in 2023-24.

1 Hub and Spoke Programme

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Froebel trust training participants - clustered pins (UK only). Online course participants are also based outside the UK, for example in Ethiopia, India, Australia, Turkey, Nigeria and USA.

Engagement

Newsletters:

One proxy measure that we use as an indicator of engagement is the open rate for our monthly newsletters, which is consistently more than 40%.

Data compiled by Mailchimp shows that the Trust’s engagement rate compares favourably with similar campaigns carried out by other organisations.

The two charts on the right show the open rate and the click rate respectively for the Trust’s September 2023 newsletter.

In the first, the Trust’s open rate was 15% higher than peers’ average performance; and in the second, the Trust’s click rate was 14% higher.

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Print Resources:

The number of downloads of our written resources, such as pamphlets, also performed well and the annual total was 12% higher than the previous year, as shown in Table 2 below.

There is a pattern to the downloads, which shows a tendency for higher numbers shortly before and after an event. This suggests that engagement in one Froebel Trust activity (e.g. a webinar) encourages further engagement (i.e. downloading resources) and perhaps vice versa.

----- Start of picture text -----
TABLE 2: Resource Downloads 2022-23 2023-24 Growth
April 2023 2711 1924 -29%
May 2023 2324 1869 -20%
June 2023 1661 1569 -6%
July 2023 1345 1474 10%
August 2023 1969 1436 -27%
September 2023 (event promoted) 4228 7211 71%
October 2023 (event took place 6 Oct) 2814 4589 63%
November 2023 2360 2853 21%
December 2023 2033 1588 -22%
January 2024 (event promoted) 3447 3045 -12%
February 2024 (event took place 27 Feb) 3590 3291 -8%
March 2024 (event took place on 21 March) 2897 4378 51%
TOTAL 31,379 35,227 12%
----- End of picture text -----

Audio and Video Resources:

The Trust’s online webinar and film library offers access to videos covering diverse topics and all are designed to support and inspire excellent practice in Early Years education. These films were viewed 29,653 times in the year to 31 March 2024.

In late February 2023, the Froebel Trust podcast series was launched. This new venture quickly gained popularity. Many educators reported to us that they enjoyed listening while they were travelling to or from work or out walking. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, the podcast episodes were downloaded 10,895 times.

Froebel Trust Events:

As in previous years, interest in Froebel Trust events remained high and approximately 60% of those who registered went on to attend the event with an even split of first-time and returning attendees.

We were delighted to invite Prof. Tina Bruce as the guest speaker for the Froebel Trust Autumn Lecture, which was held at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff in October 2023. This was a hybrid event with 2,630 people signing up to join online and 120 people attending in person. The recording was made available to view within 12 hours of the event, achieving over 2800 views in the first six weeks after its release and 3,477 from 7 October 2023 to 31 March 2024. This was by far the highest level of engagement in the Trust’s annual lectures, which began in 2018 and have been accessible online since 2020. For comparison, registrations in 2021 and 2022 were 1,969 and 702 respectively.

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In February 2024, we co-hosted a webinar with the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network. Nurture through Nature with Dr Alison Moore and Marcella Towler (University College Cork) was an opportunity to hear about their Trust-funded research. There were 310 participants.

In March 2024, Cooking with Young Children was presented in a webinar by Dr Lucy Parker and Helen Ackerman with 325 participants attending.

In all cases, there was lively discussion and debate throughout in the ‘chat’ facility within Zoom and multiple questions posed to the presenters through the Q&A function. Both show high levels of participant interest and engagement. Participants frequently offered suggestions to one another based on their own experiences in practice; or signposted others to additional resources or research that they had found helpful.

Froebel Trust Courses:

We have already reported the increase in Froebel Trust course participants. More than half of those attending face-to-face courses are ‘repeat customers’ who return to book further training with us. Those who register for the full online course stay with us for 10 months, completing 24 sessions, each lasting 2.5 hours. In most cases, they commit to this training after a full day at work in an Early Years setting. Retention is high and those who do not complete the course generally withdraw due to unavoidable changes in their circumstances.

6.ii BENEFITS AND IMPACT

The Froebel Trust aims to support and inspire early childhood educators who work with young children and their families; those who train the Early Years workforce and those who are studying to enter the profession. The Early Years sector is struggling with numerous challenges, which include underfunding and problems with recruitment and retention of well qualified educators. The Froebel Trust tries to address these problems by offering freely accessible, relevant and transformational resources and events, and subsidised courses that are open to all educators with diverse educational backgrounds and professional experience.

In 2023-24, our courses were a key medium for impact on knowledge, understanding and practice development. Based on the information we gather from course registration forms and extrapolating this to all course places offered, we know that on average educators work with at least 20 children in the working week. This means that any positive impact from their learning about a Froebelian approach will help to extend the learning and development of 30,000 young children.

Our course evaluation forms are consistently positive and provide examples of the differences the training makes. In many cases, the courses are subsidised and educators regularly comment that they would not have been able to afford to take part without this financial help. And that it was “the best training” they had experienced, enabling them to deepen their understandings of how children develop, and how to provide the right environments and support for children’s learning to flourish.

“A�er Froebel training, the feedback I had from some of my most experienced teachers was, ‘This was life-changing for me in terms of professional understanding and professional prac�ce.’ It’s been by far the best training they’ve ever been on…” Sam Jones, Headteacher, Tremorfa Nursery School.

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For example, a network grant that was provided directly to a group of fewer than ten pedagogical leaders enabled them to offer a series of free webinars. At the first of these, more than 160 educators joined and became de facto members of a burgeoning community of reflec�ve prac�ce in the West of Scotland.

The Trust has also enabled the growth of new networks of leaders, many of whom completed the Froebelian Leadership course that was funded through the Froebelian Futures Hub and have gone on to lead local or regional networks of Froebelian educators. The leadership course aims to equip leaders at any level with a new vision for their work: “to democra�se, resource and connect a new wave of Froebelian leadership – spearheaded by prac��oners – in order to cul�vate the systems change required by an ambi�ous and rapidly growing focus on children’s rights in the law and early years curriculum”. h�ps://www.froebel.ed.ac.uk/course/froebelian-leadership/

Poppies, a nursery in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, undertook a Prac�ce Development Grant project reflec�ng and examining the ways in which gender and race are integrated in the nursery environment. This was a whole team approach which included modern appren�ces, domes�c staff and prac��oners with varying degrees of experience in early years educa�on.

amongst staff who commented:

value of being honest and talking openly about diversity and inclusion. We found our training and professional discussions with others really helped us, especially with language and terminology”.

“I feel like I have a truer understanding of racism and its impact on people. I want to be more open with children in conversa�ons and not shy away from any tricky conversa�ons.”

especially gender which I hadn’t considered before.”

“I am feeling inspired to learn more about discrimination and bias and the effects this can have on others.”

Poppies was praised by the Sco�sh inspectorate for its outstanding Early Learning and Childcare provision and the inspectors recognised the significance of their Froebelian approach in providing high quality experiences for the children. h�ps://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/educa�on/5801623/inspectors-hail-laurencekirk-nurserywhere-the-kids-take-the-lead/

nurturing approach to rela�onships that is central to Froebelian principles. A Froebelian approach recognises that rela�onships are of central importance in a child's life. Camborne and Truro nursery schools in Cornwall, were awarded a Prac�ce Development Grant to work together to build stronger rela�onships with parents and carers post-COVID. They reported that 74 local families took part in workshops and developed a stronger sense of connectedness in their rela�onships with their children and valued the bank of resources shared with them, to support their home learning environment. For example, 91% of families commented that the workshops had encouraged them to play with blocks at home. A member of the teaching staff noted that, "The parents clearly had confidence working with their children but have enjoyed understanding why and how types of play are benefi�ng their children."

17

Scotland, and parents with refugee and asylum-seeking status were specifically invited. Emerging research findings demonstrated how this was helping the families to develop a greater sense of belonging in the community and to connect with other families with children of similar ages. h�ps://www.froebel.ed.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Newhaven-Play-Cafe-DSC01099-1scaled.jpeg

7. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Froebel Trust is governed by its Memorandum and Ar�cles of Associa�on and is cons�tuted as a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales.

The Trust’s Council of twelve Trustees set the charity's strategic direc�on. They are appointed through open recruitment and compe��ve selec�on of volunteers with characteris�cs, knowledge and skills needed for the Trust to func�on legally, efficiently and effec�vely with a�en�on to inclusion and diversity. Induc�on for trustees and commi�ee members is provided as a ma�er of course and training is provided according to individual needs. In 2022, newly appointed Council members took part in courses about the du�es of a trustee.

The Council is responsible for all governance ma�ers and provides advice and challenge to the Execu�ve Team. Council delegates some decisions to commi�ees.

The Execu�ve Team manage the day-to-day opera�ons of the Froebel Trust. Led by the Chief Execu�ve Officer (CEO), they develop and deliver the strategy, projects and ac�vi�es, which are determined and agreed by the Council and commi�ees.

cons�tuted by volunteers who bring specialist knowledge and insights in:

From �me to �me, short-life working groups are convened to carry out tasks that require immediate a�en�on and swi� comple�on; for example, planning the structure and content of a conference. All report and are accountable to Council.

is accountable to the Trustees. She leads the Trust’s Execu�ve Team, who work together to turn strategic plans into prac�ce. The Execu�ve Team comprises 4 full-�me and 1 part-�me employee including the CEO with a total full-�me equivalent staffing resource of 4.4.

policies, personnel ma�ers, data security and privacy, grants cycles, monitoring and evalua�on, inclusion and diversity, news and other communica�ons, Council and commi�ee func�ons, contracts, repor�ng requirements, publishing through the web and social media including design and print, training and events, resources development, servicing commi�ees, general administra�on and communica�ng with trustees, volunteers, applicants, partners, tenants, asset managers and other advisors.

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The Chair of Trustees, Treasurer and commi�ee chairs are in regular contact with the Execu�ve team to oversee and support their work. Specialist advice (e.g. legal) is sought as needed.

Trustees, volunteers, tutors, partners and other interested par�es receive newsle�ers three �mes a year and more regular communica�ons to keep them up-to-date with the latest work. News items are published frequently via the website and social media.

7.i Governance Review and Training

Internal performance reviews take place annually. In 2023-24, Council con�nued to undertake the recommenda�ons of an independent governance review (March 2023) as a ma�er of good prac�ce. By 31 March 2024, of the 47 recommenda�ons, 30 had been completed, 13 were well underway and 4 were to be ac�oned.

followed with training for all members of the Trust’s team.

The training days, which took place in March, were a�ended by three quarters of all trustees, commi�ee members, staff and tutors, were recorded for those who had been unable to a�end and the recordings were integrated to the Trust’s induc�on pack. The training also covered finance and an�-discriminatory prac�ce.

8. PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The trustees are responsible for the risk and control framework within which the Trust operates. To this end, the Risk Register is ini�ally examined in full annually by the Finance and Governance Commi�ee. Subsequently, high level risks are presented to Council for discussion. This process helps to ensure that the principal risks to the delivery of the Trust’s’ objec�ves are iden�fied and appropriate strategies are in place to manage those risks. The trustees delegate to the CEO the day-to-day exercise of the controls which mi�gate the risks faced by the Trust. The CEO reviews the risk register and members of the Execu�ve Team are invited to contribute to risk iden�fica�on, management and review for their areas of responsibility.

The Trust’s key risks and controls can be found in Appendix 1 (page 21).

9. LOOKING AHEAD – FUTURE PLANS

We con�nue to assess and improve all our systems and prac�ces and do so with par�cular a�en�on to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The growth in demand for the Froebel Trust’s courses prompted a commissioned project (February to June 2024) to assess the efficiency of administra�ve processes, the poten�al for development of addi�onal training, and the crea�on of an alumni network. The project’s findings and recommenda�ons will be reviewed and lead to ac�ons for improvement during 2024-25.

The biennial grants compe��on opened for applica�ons from February. The Trust has developed a rigorous assessment process, which culminates with the announcement of awards in summer 2024 and new projects (Open Call Research, Prac�ce Development and Ac�on Research) will begin. In addi�on, six small grants for Froebelian networks have been awarded for ac�vity taking place before 31 March 2025.

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The Hub and Spoke programme will reach the end of its three-year funded period. Mul�ple outputs from the project will be shared to disseminate evidence and learning from the Froebel Partnership and Froebelian Futures projects. Trustees will evaluate the effec�veness and impact of the programme in comparison with the Trust’s more tradi�onal funded programmes of research and prac�ce development.

Several events are planned for the coming year. These include a webinar in July with Dr Stella Louis and Hannah Be�eridge who will present their new book en�tled, Let’s talk About Race in the Early Years . In November, Professor Alison Clark will give the Trust’s 2024 annual lecture, accompanied by the launch of a new Froebelian Approach pamphlet on Slow Pedagogy (Alison Clark and Donna Green), following the intense interest in this topic – as demonstrated by the consistently high numbers of visits to Trust’s informa�on about Professor Clark’s work; and the development of a Slow Pedagogy module at the University of Edinburgh.

A number of pamphlets are in produc�on. These popular resources will con�nue to be freely available to download from the Trust’s website, where further new films and podcasts will also be accessible.

Through our partnership with the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network we will assess the impact of Froebel training for lecturers and their degree students.

and digital resources and develop plans and projec�ons for maximum reach and engagement on the basis of varied amounts of resource alloca�on.

Trustees will meet for their annual strategy away day to ensure that programmes, priori�es, and resources con�nue to be marshalled to the best effect for public benefit.

The Trust’s property in Holland Park, which is no longer rented, will be marketed for sale with proceeds reinvested.

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Appendix 1: Principal Risks and Controls

----- Start of picture text -----
Strategic Risks Current Controls
A) Inability to sustain 1. Clear reserves policy linked to long-term financial viability
long-term financial 2. Mixed income sources
viability 3. Expenditure driven by strategy with spending limits monitored &
Risks due to e.g. poor jus�fied
investment returns, 4. Regular liaison with investment managers (IM)
crystalliza�on of 5. Advice sought from IMs about op�mal �me / amounts for cash
pension liability, excess withdrawals
expenditure, poor 6. IM contract reviewed every 5 years
financial controls, the� / 7. Review of investment por�olio & risk levels at least once a year
fraud, rental property 8. Investments in mixed por�olio
problems including fall 9. Rental property review & valua�on every 2 years
in valua�ons, li�ga�on, 10.Scope alterna�ve to property rental as back-up
and fines arising from 11.Robust financial procedures reviewed annually
failure to comply with 12.Pension liabili�es managed and reviewed annually
regula�ons (NB some 13.Public liability insurance in place & reviewed annually
controls iden�fied in 14.Compliance with charity regula�ons monitored through audit
sec�on A also apply to E process & advice from auditors
below but have not 15.Projects’ progress & expenditure monitored closely, issues reported
been repeated) to FTC
16.Liquidity and cash-flow monitored closely & reported to FGC / FTC
17.Annual audit & advice from auditors ensure good prac�ce
Suitably qualified staff, trustees & sub-contractors manage and monitor
financial ma�ers & review procedures
B) Ineffec�ve impact of 1. Grant-making linked to charitable aims & plan for outcomes &
charitable ac�vi�es benefits
Risks due to e.g. 2. Compliance with Charity Commission requirements and use of
charitable ac�vi�es fail guidance
to deliver desired 3. Support given / collabora�on used to extend impact
outcomes such as 4. All charitable ac�vi�es monitored and outcomes data collected
influencing ECE policy, 5. MEL framework developed and implemented to iden�fy benefits /
increased number of impact of charitable ac�vity
Froebel trained staff / 6. MEL framework aligned with strategic goals, reviewed annually
se�ngs, lack of posi�ve 7. Evalua�on embedded in organisa�onal strategic plans, reviewed
change for children & annually
families 8. Expecta�ons for grant-holders outlined in applica�on and repor�ng
documents
9. Close liaison with partners
10.Changes or issues arising in projects / programmes iden�fied early,
mi�ga�ng ac�vity proposed, reviewed and approved
11.Impact iden�fied and published annually in Trustees’ report for
Charity Commission and FT Annual Review
Staff, trustees & sub-contractors are suitably qualified to manage,
review and disseminate impact evalua�on ac�vity
C) Reputa�onal damage 1. Charitable objects clearly stated, shared and espoused by all
Risks arising from e.g. involved in FT charitable ac�vi�es
failure to uphold 2. Induc�on packs & conversa�ons for new staff, trustees & volunteers
charitable objects; poor 3. Projects and ac�vi�es monitored for match with charitable objects
representa�ons of 4. Public-facing statements and images ve�ed before release
Froebelian educa�on or 5. Social media policy shared with staff, trustees, volunteers & partners
associa�ons with 6. Social media posts avoid engaging in antagonis�c poli�cal debate
----- End of picture text -----

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----- Start of picture text -----
Strategic Risks Current Controls
nega�ve outcomes, bad 7. Froebelian principles / prac�ce exemplified in accessible documents
reviews of training or 8. Training monitored and evaluated by independent Froebelian
partners’ courses / expert(s); course feedback from students reviewed regularly and
projects or educa�onal nega�ve comments followed up
provision, nega�ve 9. CPD for course tutors, endorsement process for travelling tutors
press coverage, inability 10.Project reports peer reviewed prior to publica�on
to fulfil contractual 11.Liquidity ensures fulfilment of contracts
responsibili�es, poor or 12.Froebelian network provides informal role in monitoring, modera�ng
irresponsible prac�ce by & suppor�ng external environment (e.g. EY se�ngs) and FT
staff, trustees and other publica�ons
volunteers, failure to 13.Staff 1-1 mee�ngs, team mee�ngs, training ensure mission and
comply with legisla�on; objec�ves are shared
14.Trustees, staff maintain awareness / training rela�ng to legisla�on
failure to follow conflicts 15.Strict adherence to conflicts of interest or loyalty policy (with
of interest or loyalty biennial review of policy)
policy and procedures; 16. All are clear about the Trust’s communica�ons and social media
inappropriate or risky policy and do not engage in lobbying in the Trust’s name
lobbying ac�vity; 17.EDI Working Group monitors progress & reports to FTC
18.EDI data collected and analysed regularly
failure to / perceived 19.EDI ques�ons added to grants applica�ons, scru�ny and interviews
failure to follow good 20.Equality Impact assessment ques�ons included in applica�on forms
EDI prac�ce 21.EDI standing item on commi�ee agendas
22.Transparency in publishing informa�on about EDI efforts and results
D) Capacity overload 1. CEO and FTC monitor workload
Risks due to small 2. All staff have clear objec�ves and workload expecta�ons with
management team, regular reviews
management stretch, 3. Team mee�ngs to monitor work pa�erns and workloads with
busy trustees and prac�ce of mutual support and sharing burden in busy �mes
volunteers, heavy 4. Agendas and papers for trustee mee�ngs kept to a manageable size
reliance on small and mee�ngs are effec�vely chaired
number of individuals to 5. Number of Council and commi�ee mee�ngs are monitored for
carry out FT ac�vi�es, manageability
aspira�ons exceed 6. New ini�a�ves are counter-balanced with reduc�ons in other
human resource ac�vi�es and / or provision of addi�onal resource
7. Small teams (staff, trustees and volunteers) allow for excellent
communica�on and knowledge of one another’s roles and
responsibili�es
8. Council and Commi�ee annual self-evalua�ons iden�fy any
problema�c areas to address
9. All Trustees take part in commi�ees to share the responsibili�es &
burden across the Council as a whole
10.Members of Froebel Networks and commi�ee volunteers provide
addi�onal capacity and support
11.Staff en�tled to TOIL for necessary (pre-approved) evening/weekend
work; reasons for over�me are reviewed in 1-1 discussion
12.Annual appraisals ensure suitable workloads & iden�fy issues
13.Manage Short Course bookings carefully in line with tutor capacity
E) Compliance breaches See addi�onal controls under A, B and C above and:
Risks associated with 1. Annual review / reminder of Charity Commission regula�ons and
non-compliance with governance guidance at Strategy Away Day
regula�ons & 2. Charity Commission updates shared with Trustees
requirements from e.g. 3. Annual review of all FT policies and associated procedures
----- End of picture text -----

22

Strategic Risks Current Controls
Chari�es Acts of 2011,
2016 & 2017 Charity
Governance Code, Data
Protec�on laws etc.
leading to prosecu�on,
fnes, reputa�onal
damage etc.		 4. Staf GDPR training updated every 2 years or more frequently if
changes necessitate this
5. Monthly cyber security checks by staf
6. ‘Deep dive’ cyber security checks undertaken once a year by UofR IT
staf
7. Data protec�on processes reviewed quarterly in team mee�ngs and
password protected folders used for sensi�ve informa�on
8. Staf, trustees, volunteers, tutors refrain from poli�cal lobbying in
the Trust’s name.
F). Loss or damage
resul�ng from poor
internal systemsfrom
risks such as cyber-
a�acks, breaches or
breakdown of fnancial
procedures		 1. Financial Procedures annual review (incl mul�-layer approvals
process for all payments with 3-step approval for payments
exceeding £40k) Limits on payments authorised by CEO
2. Internal systems reviewed in annual audit
3. Waverton Investment Management policy adopted for all fnancial
transac�ons and decision-making
4. Bank and investment accounts limited to named individuals with
MFA / password protected access
5. Payments to new accounts double checked before transfer of any
funds
6. Named Business Advisor at Barclays provides advice and guidance on
good banking prac�ces
7. Ongoing training and CPD for Finance Manager
8. Suitably qualifed staf / trustees oversee fnance
9. IT consultants provide advice, check systems
10. GDPR & cyber securityaudits annually (internal)

23

10. FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Trust’s total gross assets on 31 March 2024, including investments, property, debtors and cash, was £23,816,878 (2023 - £21,278,128). The total liabilities of the Trust on 31 March 2024 of £508,178 (2023 - £453,660) include grants payable of £221,139 (2023 - £307,706) of which £80,000 (2023 - £129,360) is due outside of one year and £141,139 (2023 - £178,346) is due within one year. The net assets of the Trust at the balance sheet date were £23,617,545 (2023 - £21,451,956).

The charity derived an income from investments in the year ended 31 March 2024 of £568,198 (2023 - £539,237) and income from other sources of £107,003 (2023 - £79,718).

Total expenditure for year was £1,112,067 (2023 - £1,199,826).

The Trust also recognised net gains on revaluation of investments of £2,513,613 (2023 – losses of £634,579) and actuarial gains of £31,000 (2023 – £334,000) with respect to the valuation of the net pension scheme liability of the Trust.

The overall net increase in funds during the year was £2,126,589 (2023 – decrease in funds of £820,305).

Investment Powers and Policy

Under its Articles of Association, The Trust has the power to invest in any way the Council directs. Cash balances are deposited with a view to maximising interest income while minimising risk of capital loss.

Waverton Investment Management is the discretionary fund manager responsible for day to day management of the Froebel Trust’s investment funds on behalf of the charity with a long term objective of the consumer price inflation (CPI) + 3.5% over a rolling seven year period. The Trust's investment policy is designed to target above inflation returns over the medium term (multiple years averaged out) but is not designed to remove the risk and volatility of returns in respect of any single financial year.

Furthermore, Waverton manages the portfolio with specific ethical restrictions in place, which restricts investments in companies with involvement in tobacco production, pornography, oil and gas, gambling and armaments. This is in addition to the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the security selection process.

Reserves policy and position

At 31 March 2024, the Froebel Trust held total funds of £23,617,545 (2023 - £21,451,956), all of which was unrestricted. The Trust has adopted a policy of deploying funds annually in support of its strategy such that the long-term inflation protected value of its assets are maintained. This is a medium term (multi-year) target and in any given year there may well be under or overspend based on a) the above or below medium-term trend returns achieved on the investment portfolio and/or b) the Trust's decisions to invest higher or lower levels of charitable expenditure over a short period to take based on specific opportunities and priorities for charitable activity. Annually the Trust reviews its medium-term performance against these targets and reassess the appropriate medium term expenditure targets that should be met to be consistent with this medium-term reserves’ strategy. The level of reserves desired by the trustees is very much linked to this strategy. Management accounts are presented to each ordinary meeting of the Council, to demonstrate current available funds, liquidity, and investment performance, after all known commitments have been taken into account.

The Trust aims to ensure that at least 6 months of expected commitments are held in cash and other liquid assets.

24

In accordance with the Trust’s approved Financial Procedures, a sum of liquidity equivalent to six months’ projected expenditure for grants and core operational costs, less expected rental and investment portfolio income, is held within a separate bank deposit account. On 31 March 2024, the liquidity position was secure, with the balance of cash held (net of overdraft facilities) of £297,423, which is greater than forecast expenditure and grant payments to 30 September 2024.

Trustees

The following trustees were in office at the date of approval of the financial statements and served throughout the year.

Sharon COLILLES Mark NEALE (Chair)
Fufy DEMISSIE Lucy PARKER
Jean-Noel EZINGEARD Michael PEARSON (Treasurer)
Catriona GILL Paula LESTER (Previously PHILLIPS)
Kate HOSKINS Holli WILLIAMS
Abha HURRI Lilah WOODS

The trustees are appointed for a term of four years and are eligible for re-election. The Trust has agreed a recruitment and induction policy for the appointment of Trustees. This policy sets out the skills and experience that are needed on the Council so that the Trust’s objectives are taken forward effectively. These skills and experience include knowledge and understanding of Froebelian principles gained through teaching and research and disciplines such as finance, law and public administration essential to the orderly running of the Trust.

All initial appointments to the Trust Council are made on the basis of open competition by a panel of serving trustees.

None of the trustees received any remuneration from the Trust in respect of their services during the year ended 31 March 2024 (2023 – none).

The trustees determine the remuneration of the Chief Executive annually on the advice of the Chair and Treasurer in the light of information about market rates for similar roles within charities of similar size and complexity as the Froebel Trust. Details of remuneration of key management personnel are set out in note 4 to the financial statements.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees, (who are also the directors of The Froebel Trust for the purposes of company law), are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

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 Charity and of the income and expenditure of the Charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

25

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity 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 Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Each of the trustees confirm that:

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charity’s websites. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Mark Neale Chair of Trustees Date: 30th September 2024

26

Independent auditor’s report

11. Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Froebel Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Froebel Trust (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, including the trustees’ report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

27

Independent auditor’s report

Other information (continued)

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 25, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

28

Independent auditor’s report

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

29

Independent auditor’s report

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of noncompliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

3 October 2024

Shachi Blakemore, Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street

London EC2V 6DL

30

Statement of financial activities

(incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) Year ended 31 March 2024

Notes 2024
£		 2023
£
Income from:
Investments
1
Other sources
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
. Investment management costs
Charitable activities
. Enabling, Informing, Connecting, Evidencing, Advocating
2
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure) for the year before other investment gains
and losses
Net gains on revaluation of investment property
Net gains/ (losses) on revaluation and disposal of listed
investments
8
Realised gains/ (losses) on foreign exchange movements
Net income/ (expenditure)
3
Other recognised gains
Actuarial gain on the defined benefits pension scheme
12
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances brought forward at 1 April
Fund balances carried forward at 31 March		 568,198
107,003		 539,237
79,718
675,201 618,955
98,238
1,013,829		 91,303
1,108,523
1,112,067 1,199,826
(436,866)
39,000
2,513,613
18,842		 (580,871)
96,000
(634,579)
(34,855)
2,134,589
31,000		 (1,154,305)
334,000
2,126,589
21,451,956		 (820,305)
22,272,261
23,617,545 21,451,956

All of the Charity’s activities derived from continuing operations during the above two financial periods.

All recognised gains and losses are included in the above statement of financial activities.

All income, expenditure and other recognised gains and losses in both financial periods were unrestricted.

31

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2024 2023 2023
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 6 - -
Tangible assets 7 145,120 145,868
Investments 8 23,671,758 21,132,260
23,816,878 21,278,128
Current assets
Debtors 9 19,308 37,381
Cash at bank and in hand 352,537 684,107
371,845 721,488
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year 10 (428,178) (324,300)
Net current (liabilities)/ assets (56,333) 397,188
Creditors: amounts falling due after
more than one year 11 (80,000) (129,360)
Net assets excluding
Pension liability 23,680,545 21,545,956
Defined benefit pension scheme
liability 12 (63,000) (94,000)
Total net assets 23,617,545 21,451,956
The funds of the charity:
Funds and reserves
Unrestricted funds
. General funds 23,617,545 21,451,956
23,617,545 21,451,956
----- End of picture text -----

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by

Mark Neale Chair of Trustees

Date: 30 September 2024

The Froebel Trust, Company Registration No. 07862112 (England and Wales)

32

Statement of cash flows 31 March 2024

Notes 2024
£		 2023
£
Cash inflow from operating activities:
Net cash used in operating activities
A
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Acquisition of tangible fixed assets
Proceeds from the disposal of investments
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the period
B
Cash and cash equivalents at end of theperiod
B		 (924,127) (981,966)
568,048
(3,600)
3,020,954
(3,595,842)		 539,237
—
5,105,142
(4,121,593)
(10,440) 1,522,786
(934,567)
1,447,590		 540,820
993,169
513,023 1,447,590

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the period

A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash used in operating activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Net income (expenditure) (as per the statement of financial
activities) 2,165,589 (1,154,305)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge 4,348 6,528
(Gains)/ losses on investments (2,532,455) 634,579
Gains on revaluation of investment property (39,000) (96,000)
Dividends, interest and rents from investments (568,198) (539,237)
Defined benefit pension scheme cost less contributions payable (31,000) (29,000)
Defined benefit pension scheme finance cost 4,000 11,000
Decrease in debtors 18,071 9,316
Increase in creditors 54,518 88,752
Net cash used in operating activities (924,127) (981,966)
----- End of picture text -----

B Analysis of cash and cash equivalents, and net debt

Analysis of cash and cash equivalents, and net debt
2024
£
352,537
(55,114)
215,600
513,023		 2023
£
684,107
—
763,481
1,447,588
Cash at bank and in hand
Reconciling cash items within other creditors
Cash held by investment managers (note 8)
Total cash and cash equivalents and net debt

33

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared for the year ended 31 March 2024.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these financial statements.

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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the financial statements requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Assessment of going concern

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.

The trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due and therefore that there are no concerns regarding the Trust’s ability to continue as a going concern.

34

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Assessment of going concern (continued)

The most significant areas of judgement that affect items in the financial statements are detailed above. With regard to the next accounting period, the year ending 31 March 2025, the most significant areas that affect the carrying value of the assets held by the charity are the level of investment return and the performance of the investment markets.

Income recognition

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Expenditure recognition

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT and accounted for on an accruals basis.

The majority of expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and any apportionment between headings is negligible. The classification between expenditure headings is as follows:

It also includes the governance costs of the charity which comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Intangible fixed assets

Amortisation is provided at the following rates in order to write the cost of each asset off over its estimated useful life, amortisation is charged from the date the asset comes in to use:

33⅓ %

Tangible fixed assets

All fixed assets costing more than £1,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised. Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets, less their estimated residual values, on a straight line basis at the following rates:

35

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Fund accounting

The unrestricted funds, comprise those monies which may be used towards meeting the charitable objectives of the charity at the discretion of the trustees.

The restricted funds comprise monies received which may only be applied in line with the conditions imposed by the donor.

Investments

Investments, both listed and investment properties, are valued at market value at the balance sheet date. Realised gains and losses on investments are calculated by comparing the sale proceeds with the market at the end of the previous financial year. Unrealised gains and losses represent the difference between the market value of investments held at the end of the financial year with their value at the beginning of the year or with their cost if purchased subsequently.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment. Bank overdrafts are shown within current liabilities.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Pension schemes

Defined benefit pension scheme

The Froebel Trust contributes to a defined benefit scheme with the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA). The defined benefit pension scheme current service costs and the net finance cost for the year are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities within pension costs. Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately within other recognised gains and losses.

The defined benefit scheme assets are measured at fair value at the balance sheet date. Liabilities are measured on an actual basis at the balance sheet date using the projected unit method and discounted at a rate equivalent to the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent term to the scheme liabilities. The resulting defined benefit asset or liability is presented separately after other net assets on the face of the balance sheet.

This scheme is closed to new employees.

36

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2024

Pension schemes (continued)

Defined contribution pension scheme

New employees are all eligible to join the charity’s defined contribution pension scheme.

Contributions in connection with the charity’s defined contribution scheme are charged to the statement of financial activities in the period in which they become payable to the scheme.

37

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

1 Income from investments and interest receivable

Income from investments and interest receivable
Unrestricted funds
2024
£
2023
£
123,678
122,549
5,992
1,856
438,528
414,832
568,198
539,237
2023
£
Rental income from investment properties
Interest on cash balances
Investment income		 122,549
1,856
414,832
539,237

2 Expenditure on charitable activities: information, guidance and advice

Staff costs (note 4)
Property expenses
Grants payable (see below)
Depreciation & Amortisation (notes 6,7)
Pension finance costs (note 12)
Bad debt expense
Governance costs
Other expenses
Total funds		 Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds
2024
£
266,988
11,625
586,106
4,348
4,000
59,818
56,365
24,579
1,013,829		 2023
£
257,851
11,925
721,914
6,528
11,000
52,876
30,455
15,974
1,108,523

38

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds
2024 2023
£ £
Project work:
Hub and spoke project 299,920 259,502
Froebel Trainers - FT short training course 134,094 122,198
Informing Programme 59,418 47,989
Evidencing Programme 27,431 42,761
Advocating Programme 10,856 6,562
Connecting Programme 20,746 10,691
552,465 489,703
Grants:
Practitioner Support & PLR grants - 28,289
Research grants
University of Western Cape, South Africa - 5,000
University of Stirling, Scotland - 4,904
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece - 4,630
Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales - 24,399
Middlesex University - 23,434
CCCU - 49,946
43,243
University of Roehampton bursaries 5,000 31,000
Total grants payable to institutions 5,000 214,845
Total grants awarded (c/f to next page) 557,465 704,548
----- End of picture text -----

39

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

2 Expenditure on charitable activities: information, guidance and advice (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds
2024 2023
£ £
Total grants awarded (b/f from previous page) 557,465 704,548
PhD, MSc and MA bursaries paid to individuals
. PhDs and MA bursaries 65,000 35,309
Total grants payable 622,465 739,857
Grants and projects previously committed to but no longer required
.- - Research grants (2019-20) (13,209) (13,661)
- Research grants (2022) (540) -
. Practitioner Support & PLR grants (2021) (22,610) (4,282)
(36,359) (17,943)
Expenditure for the period 586,106 721,914
3 Net income (expenditure) for the period
This is stated after charging: 2024 2023
£ £
Staff costs (note 4) 266,988 257,851
Auditor’s remuneration (including VAT)
Audit services 9,756 12,000
Depreciation & Amortisation (note 6,7) 4,348 6,528
4 Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel
2024 2023
£ £
Staff costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries 218,723 204,567
Social security costs 23,768 22,722
Pension costs 24,497 30,514
Recruitment costs - 48
266,988 257,851
----- End of picture text -----

One employee earned £60,000 per annum or more (including taxable benefits but excluding employer pension contributions in the banding £70,001 to £80,000) during the period (2023: one employee in the banding £70,001 to £80,000).

The average number of employees during the year on a full time equivalent basis was 5 (2023: 5).

40

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

4 Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel (continued)

The average number of employees analysed by function was:

2024
£		 2023
£
5
5
Enabling, Informing, Connecting, Evidencing & Advocating 5
5

The trustees consider that they, together with the Chief Executive comprise the key management personnel of the charity. The total remuneration of the charity’s key management personnel (including employer’s national insurance and pension contributions) for the year was £95,913 (2023 - £91,769).

No trustee received any remuneration in respect of their services as a trustee during the period (2023 – no remuneration). A total of £523 was reimbursed to trustees during the period, in connection with travel expenses. (2023 – no expenses paid).

5 Taxation

The Froebel Trust is a registered charity and, therefore is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

6 Intangible fixed assets

Grants
management
software
£
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Additions
At 31 March 2024
Amortisation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for year
At 31 March 2024
Net book values
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 62,549
-
62,549
62,549
-
62,549
—
-

41

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

7 Tangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Land Fixtures
and and Office
buildings fittings equipment Total
£ £ £ £
Cost
At 1 April 2023 187,410 72,787 4,821 265,018
Additions — — 3,600 3,600
At 31 March 2024 187,410 72,787 8,421 268,618
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 41,542 72,787 4,821 119,150
Charge for year 3,748 — 600 4,348
At 31 March 2024 45,290 72,787 4,821 123,498
Net book values
At 31 March 2024 142,120 — 3,000 145,120
At 31 March 2023 145,868 — — 145,868
----- End of picture text -----

At 31 March 2024, the charity’s freehold property was subject to a legal charge in favour of the London Pensions Fund Authority. Further details are provided in note 12 to the financial statements.

8 Investments

At 31 March fixed asset investments comprised:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Freehold investment properties (see below) 3,315,000 3,276,000
Listed investments and cash held for re-investment 20,356,758 17,856,260
23,671,758 21,132,260
2024 2023
£ £
Freehold investment properties
Balance brought forward 3,276,000 3,180,000
Gain on revaluation 39,000 96,000
Market value at 31 March 3,315,000 3,276,000
----- End of picture text -----

The historical cost of the investment properties is £1,530,000.

Full valuations of the investment properties were last carried out on 31 March 2024 for the freehold interest in, Grove Lodge (valued at £525,000) and the freehold interest of the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) (valued at £190,000). The valuations were performed by Knight Frank LLP, Chartered Surveyors, based on Market Rent in accordance with guidelines set by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for accounts purposes in accordance with the RICS Valuation – Global Standards, incorporating the International Valuations Standards and RICS Professional Standards UK. Knight Frank also carried out a full valuation of 32 St Ann’s Villas, W11 4RS (£2,600,000) at 31 March 2023. The Trustees have assessed whether there have been any material movements since this date and have concluded that there have not been any.

42

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

At 31 March 2024, part of the charity’s freehold investment properties was subject to a legal charge in favour of the London Pension Fund Authority. Further details are provided in note 12 to the financial statements.

2024
£		 2023
£
Listed investments
Market value at 1 April
Additions at cost
Disposals at book value (proceeds £3,020,954 and realised gains of
£66,282)
Unrealised gains/ (losses) on revaluation
Market value at 31 March
Cash held by investment managers
Total investments
Cost of listed investments at 31 March (inclusive of cash)		 17,092,779
3,595,842

(2,954,672)
2,407,209		 18,710,907
4,121,593
(5,652,031)
(87,690)
20,141,158
215,600		 17,092,779
763,481
20,356,758 17,856,260
16,819,961 16,245,491

At 31 March, the investment portfolio included no holdings which represented a material proportion of the total value of the fixed asset investment portfolio at that date.

Listed investments held at 31 March comprised the following:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
UK fixed interest 2,415,388 1,609,717
UK equities 782,120 1,155,135
Overseas fixed interest 729,878 886,245
Overseas equities 14,686,218 11,894,683
Alternative investments 1,527,554 1,546,998
20,141,158 17,092,779
2024 2023
Unrealised accumulated gains included above: £ £
On listed investments 3,536,797 1,610,769
On investment properties 1,785,000 1,746,000
Total unrealised accumulated gains at 31 March 5,321,797 3,356,769
----- End of picture text -----

8 Debtors

2024
£		 2023
£
Trade debtors
Less: provision for doubtful debts
Prepayments
Other debtors		 116,657
(112,694)
15,145
200		 80,173
(52,876)
9,884
200
19,308 37,381

43

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2024
£		 2023
£
Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
Accruals - Grants payable (note 11)
Accruals - Other
Deferred income
Other creditors		 128,670
9,072
141,139
54,986
35,873
58,438		 14,874
11,068
178,346
78,290
39,270
2,452
428,178 324,300

10 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year
2024
£		 2023
£
Grants payable
. Within one year (note 10)
Due after one year
. Between one and two years
. Between two and five years
Total grants payable		 141,139 178,346
80,000
—		 129,360
—
80,000 129,360
221,139 307,706

11 Pension commitments

London Pensions Fund Authority

The Froebel Trust contributes to the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), part of the Local Government Pension Scheme, a defined benefit statutory scheme. This Scheme is closed to new employees. The Fund is administered by LPFA in accordance with the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997 as amended.

The scheme is a multi-employer Defined Benefit Scheme which is contracted out of the State Second Pension. The Scheme is subject to triennial actuarial valuations. The assets of the defined benefit scheme are held separately from those of the Charity, in separate LPFA administered funds. Contributions to the scheme are determined by a qualified actuary on the basis of triennial valuations, using the current unit method with a 20 year control period.

The following information is based upon the most recent full actuarial valuation of the fund, which was carried out at 31 March 2022, and has been updated to 31 March 2024 by a qualified independent actuary. The major assumptions used by the actuary were:

2024
%		 2023
%
Rate of increase in salaries
3.95
Rate of increase in pension payments
2.95
Discount rate
4.85
Inflation assumptions
. RPI increase
3.40
. CPI increase
2.95		 3.90
2.90
4.80
3.90
2.90

44

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

12 Pension commitments (continued)

London Pension Fund Authority (continued)

The breakdown of the Scheme assets is as follows:

2024
£		 2023
£
Equities
Target return portfolio
Infrastructure
Property
Cash
Present value of scheme assets		 351,000
100,000
67,000
53,000
9,000		 327,000
103,000
70,000
55,000
1,000
580,000 556,000

The current mortality assumptions include sufficient allowance for the future improvements in mortality rates. The assumed life expectations on retirement age 65 are:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

£ £
Retiring today / current pensioners
Males 21.9 22.2
Females 23.8 24.1
Retiring in 20 years / future pensioners
Males 23.2 23.4
Females 24.7 25.0

The actuaries have advised the trustees that the value of the scheme’s liabilities (and resulting deficit) disclosed above should not be taken as an indication of the results of a valuation which would normally be carried out for funding purposes. The valuation assumptions made for the purposes of FRS 102 (28) are not necessarily appropriate for the purposes of a long term funding valuation.

The total pension contributions in respect of the defined benefit scheme for the period were £17,000 (2023 - £48,000), of which employer’s contributions totalled £14,000 (2023 - £46,000) and employees’ contributions totalled £3,000 (2023 - £2,000).

The agreed contribution rates for future years are 20.5% for employers and 6.5% for employees. An additional deficit funding agreement of £37,901 per annum came into effect from 1 April 2022.

Analysis of the amount charged to statement of financial activities:

2024
£		 2023
£
Past service cost
Current service cost
Total operating charge		 —
(10,000)
(10,000)		 —
(17,000)
(17,000)

45

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

12 Pension commitments (continued)

London Pension Fund Authority (continued)

London Pension Fund Authority(continued)
2024
£		 2023
£
Interest on pension liabilities
Interest on assets
Net pension finance cost		 (30,000)
26,000
(4,000)		 (25,000)
14,000
(11,000)

Amounts recognised as other gains and losses:

Amounts recognised as other gains and losses:
2024
£		 2023
£
Return on assets less interest
Changes in financial and demographic assumptions underlying the
scheme liabilities
Net actuarial gain (loss) recognised		 25,000
6,000
31,000		 (7,000)
341,000
324,000

The actuarial gains and losses for the current period are recognised in the statement of financial activities. The cumulative amount of actuarial gains and losses recognised in the statement of financial activities since the adoption of FRS 17 is a gain of £355,000 (2023 - £334,000).

Movement in net deficit during the period:

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Deficit at the beginning of the period (94,000) (446,000)
Current service cost (10,000) (17,000)
Employer contributions 14,000 46,000
Net pension finance cost (4,000) (11,000)
Net actuarial gain 31,000 324,000
Deficit at end of the period (63,000) (94,000)
----- End of picture text -----

The estimated value of the employer contributions for the period ending 31 March 2024 is £14,000 (2023 - £46,000).

The LPFA have a fixed legal charge over the charity’s freehold properties at Clarence Lodge and Grove Lodge on Clarence Lane as a means of security over the charity’s obligations in relation to the above defined benefit pension scheme.

13 Related parties

Professor Jean-Noel Ezingeard, - a trustee of the Froebel Trust, is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Roehampton. During the year ended 31 March 2024, the Froebel Trust had various transactions with the University all of which took place on an arm’s length basis. Research and bursary grants were made to the University during the year ended 31 March 2024 totalling £5,000 (2023 - £41,460). Michael Pearson – a trustee of the Froebel Trust, has been appointed to the University of Roehampton Board since the year ended 31 March 2023.

Kate Hoskins – a trustee of the Froebel Trust and Reader in Education Brunel University. Research grant payment was made to the Brunel University during the year ended 31 March 2024 totalling £34,594.

46

Notes to the financial statements Year ended 31 March 2024

13 Related parties (continued)

Three trustees who are also Froebel Trust Endorsed Travelling Tutors received payment for teaching Froebel Trust Courses during the year:

Paula Lester (Philips) – a trustee of the Froebel Trust and FT Travelling tutor. The total amount paid to Paula Lester was £13,750.

Holli Williams – a trustee of the Froebel Trust, FT Travelling Tutor and Head of schools at Linden Tree Nursery Schools. The total amount paid to Holli Williams was £1,000.

Lucy Parker – a trustee of the Froebel Trust, FT Travelling tutor and Deputy Head of Ludwick Nursery School. The total amount paid to Lucy Parker was £1,000.

14 Liability of directors

The Froebel Trust is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of the company being wound up the liability of the Trustees (who are the members of the company) is limited to £1 each.

47