## **The Rhythm Studio Foundation Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31st July 2021** **(August 1st 2020- July 31st 2021)** The Trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their annual report together with the financial statements of The Rhythm Studio Foundation for the year ended 31 July 2021. The Trustees confirm that the Annual report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in March 2005. ## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** ## **Registered Company number (England and Wales):** 7734732 **Registered Charity number:** 1145472 ## **Registered office:** St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LW **Trustees:** C N C Hodges Mrs C Carey O Fetiveau T Rodgers (resigned 6.9.21) M Horner S T Jenkins Ms C A Bishop (appointed 6.9.21) Ms S Ibrahim (appointed 6.9.21) J Kandunias (appointed 6.9.21) J R Lake (appointed 6.9.21) F G Martin (appointed 6.9.21) **Independent Examiner:** Blackwood Futcher & Co. Chartered Accountants 9 St George’s Yard Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LW ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** ## **Constitution** The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. ## **Method of appointment or election of Trustees** The management of the charity is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Trust deed. ## **Organisation and decision-making** The charity is run by a board of trustees. It employs a part-time project manager and fundraiser. ## **Related parties** As noted in the Report of the Trustees, Christopher Hodges is a Trustee of The Rhythm Studio Foundation. Christopher Hodges is also the sole director of The Rhythm Studio. During the period the Foundation paid the Company teaching fees totalling £14,068 (2020 £11,263). All fees charged by the Company to the Foundation are priced at or below the cost of providing the teaching. In accordance with the guidelines of the Charities Commission for England and Wales there is nothing preventing the Foundation from engaging the services of any other independent third party, should it believe that the third party provides a better alternative in fulfilling the charitable objectives of The Rhythm Studio Foundation. ## **Governance and management** Trustee meetings take place at least 4 times a year. Christopher Hodges liaises on a weekly basis with the Foundation’s part-time employee to discuss operations, objectives and strategy. ## **Risk management** The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to major risk. These include: - A monthly account reconciliation - Quarterly financial review at trustee meeting - Quarterly risk review at trustee meeting - Countersigning protocol for all payments from the charity’s bank account - Policy for safeguarding children - Employers Liability insurance - Public Liability insurance - Compliance with GDPR ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Policies and objectives** The Rhythm Studio Foundation (“RSF”) was founded in 2011 with the goal of transforming the lives of young people through music. _“We believe young people deserve the chance to transform or enrich their lives through music, whatever their background or their personal circumstances.”_ - Mission statement In association with The Rhythm Studio Academy of Music (“RSAM”), we work with schools, hospitals and community groups to provide opportunities to economically underprivileged and socially disadvantaged young people who have limited access to music-making. ## **ACTIVITIES FOR ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES** ## **School workshops** We deliver pop and rock music workshops that allow local primary school children to experience the excitement of collaborative music-making. The workshops include creative music technology sessions using computers and tablets, and pop choir and rock band sessions culminating in a live performance. Secondary school sessions focus on creative music technology, using Logic Pro software. ## **Hospital workshops** We carry out a program of weekly and fortnightly inspirational music workshops on the paediatric wards of local hospitals at St Mary’s, Paddington with the Imperial Health Charity and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital with the CW Plus Charity. Since Covid-19 restrictions have put our face-to-face visits on hold, we have moved to a virtual delivery programme providing interactive videos and live teaching via Zoom for young people forced to shield due to medical conditions. ## **Provision of Scholarships and Bursaries** The Rhythm Studio Foundation Scholarship is an annual award aimed at talented and passionate 11 to 18 year-old musicians in need of financial support to help reach their full potential. We fund weekly lessons on drums, guitar, bass, piano, vocals or music technology. Students also experience playing in bands, performing live and recording as well as mentoring from music industry professionals. ## **ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE** ## **Going concern** After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies. ## **REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES** ## **Schools** In 2020/21, RSF delivered a series of 10-week Primary Schools Rock & Pop workshop programmes to 3 local primary schools in the North Kensington area – St Peters CE Primary School, Bevington Primary School and St Mary’s RC Primary school. These workshops allowed pupils to learn drums, guitar, bass or vocals and come together to form bands, as well as creating music using GarageBand on iPads. They took place at RSAM’s music studios in North Kensington as well as at schools’ premises. RSF has longstanding partnerships with these schools, working together for at least a five-year period. These workshops were supported by John Lyon’s Charity, as part of a three-year programme. Due to the January 2021 Covid-19 lockdown, there were no workshops in the Spring term. Instead, we worked on delivering video resources to all our local school partners. In March 2020, we won the prestigious Music & Drama Education Awards Early Years/ Primary Music & Drama Award _“.... the judging panel was searching for outstanding practice in primary or early years music provision that can be held up as a model on a national scale. The judges thought that the winner had carried out really inspiring work with hard to reach participants. A project with heart which is removing barriers to access” -_ **Alexander Armstrong, Music & Drama Education Awards Presenter** Overall, 140 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils participated in our award-winning Primary Schools Rock & Pop Workshop programme. Under normal circumstances, we would expect to reach over 300 young people. In terms of secondary schools, RSF also worked with College Park School, a special school for pupils with autism and complex learning needs. A series of three music production workshops took place, starting with a visit to The Rhythm Studio for 18 students in the 15-19 age group. Students participated in music composition, lyric writing and recording, and had their work critiqued by a music industry professional. ## **Hospitals** Our weekly and fortnightly face-to-face hospital visits remained on hold during the period due to Covid-19 related restrictions on hospital visits. However, we continued to participate in the Virtual Arts Programme set up by CW Plus, making a series of videos based on “Eat, Sleep, Sing”, a singing for wellbeing book written by RSAM tutor Stacey DeLooze and published by Faber Music. We also continued to expand our shielding programme at St Mary’s, Paddington (Imperial Health Charity), with free one-to-one music tuition available to young patients forced to shield due to medical conditions. 7 young people received virtual weekly lessons as part of this programme. ## **Scholarships** The Rhythm Studio Foundation funded 24 students in 2020/21. The scholarships were awarded on a means-tested basis, contributing from 50%-100% of fees. 7 scholarships were at 50% and 17 were at 100%. Each student received weekly one-to-one lessons on their chosen instrument or a band class. Covid-19 restrictions had a limited impact on our scholarship programme as we were able to continue the majority of the lessons via Zoom until restrictions were relaxed. In September 2020, 4 of our scholarship holders took up offers to study music at Goldsmiths, Leeds Conservatoire, Oxford Brookes & Italia Conti. ## **Other Activities** RSF took part in Kensal Voices in collaboration with other local youth groups, including The Octavia Foundation, The Rugby Portobello Trust and Portobello Radio. RSF led on the music production side for this local multimedia project, creating a soundtrack centred around exploring the heritage and community of North Kensington. Working with muscular dystrophy charity The Muscle Help Foundation, RSF tutors led a virtual singing and beatboxing workshop for a group of young “Muscle Warriors”. _“There is something incredibly powerful that happened as a result of the Muscle Help Foundation charity’s ‘Music 1.0’ virtual session; it has given our son Bertie hope, confidence and he has recognised what he is capable of. “- Mother of Bertie, aged 9_ ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **Investment policy and performance** The Foundation currently holds no investments. ## **Reserves policy** The Foundation’s Reserves policy is to maintain 9 months of core fixed costs (i.e salary and administration). Projects will not be undertaken if they cannot be comfortably funded. ## **Surplus** The Foundation reported an accumulated surplus of £90,591 (2019/20: £52,598) for the year. Our income was boosted significantly due to a successful fundraising campaign, The RSF Music Marathon Challenge which raised approximately £40,000. The total income of £77,187 compares to the previous period of £46,751. Our expenditure was lower than normal at £38,867 (versus £53,249) due to reduced schools and hospitals activities. ## **PRINCIPAL FUNDING** ## **Fundraising** Unfortunately, we had to postpone our major fundraising RSF Bright Futures gala event for the second year in a row. In its place we launched our RSF Music Marathon Challenge, timed to coincide with the reschedule London Marathon in October 2020. We asked our supporters to choose an activity based around the number 2.6, 26, 260, 2600 and raise money for the foundation. This proved to be our most successful fundraising event ever, raising almost £40,000 including Gift Aid. ## **Funds and Trusts** We received funding from: The Ofenheim Trust (£6,500), The Nathan M Ohrbach Fund (£3,850), The Margaret Killbery Foundation (£15,000), The J Van Mars Foundation (£10,000) and The Worshipful Company of Glovers (£2,500). ## **Individual Giving** We received a combination of direct donations (£11,479), the Friends Scheme (£1,944) and Gift Aid (£3,669) from individuals and families. Individuals and local businesses also supported The RSF Scholarship Scheme (£3304). ## **Fees** Our partner primary schools normally contribute to the funding of workshops – typically 30%. We received £1378 in fees from schools, reflecting the substantially reduced school workshop activity due to Covid-19. ## **Future funding** Along with diversifying our income sources, we plan to build up our community fundraising capability, increase our support from Trusts and Foundations and boost our Friends regular-giving programme. ## **FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS** ## **Schools programme** We currently work with five local schools with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils and that brings us close to capacity at the studio. However, we are expanding our iPad workshops which can be carried out on individual schools’ premises and therefore we hope to reach more young people in the future. We also hope to increase our work with secondary schools in the local area, focusing on creative music technology. ## **Hospitals** We are planning to resume face-to-face hospital workshops when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. We also plan to continue our shielding programme where required and increase our range of in-hospital activities. ## **Scholarships** We aim to continue to fund 20 – 25 music tuition scholarships . ## **FUNDS HELD AS CUSTODIAN** The Foundation does not hold any funds as custodian. Approved by the order of the board of trustees on …………………………….. and signed on its 19th January 2022 behalf by: ………………………………………………. - Trustee CHRISTOPHER HODGES RÈportof the Trustees and Unaudlted FlnanGlal Statemènts for the Y￿r Ended 31 July 2021 for The Rhythm Studio Foundation BIHGkwood Futrher & Co. Chartered Accountanls 9 St GeoroÈ's Yard F8mham Surrey GU9 7LW The Rhythm Sludlo Foundatton ontents ofthe Flnancldl Statements forthe Yèar End￿ 31 July2021 Page Reportofthe Tw5tses Independent Examlt)eV$ Repcrt Statement of Flnancial Acllvlfjes Balance Sheet Notes to thÈ FlnanGlal Statemer¢ts 5 to 9 Doiailed Ststement of FlnanGial A¢t(vlU4S 10 The Rhythm S￿￿19 Foundauon Reportofthe Twstees for Ihe Year Ended 31 July 2021 Tho tru*e¢$ who arg al￿ dirg¢tor8 Df the charity for tho pJrpose8 of the Compani05 Act 2006, present their report v￿th the financial ststsm8nts of th& charity for ts year ended 31 July 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisons of Accounting and Reporknng by Charities Sl¥tement of Recommendgd Practice applicoble it> charibe5 preparing their acc4unts in aGcordance with the FivAnGial Repoibng Stsndard applir*bl¥ in the UK and R&pubJic ol 118knd IFRS 1021 1offectiv8 1 January 20191. STRUCTURE. GOVERNANCEAND PIANAGEMEMT Govèrnlng document The charity is controllttd by its goveming document. a deed of trust aNI (1)n¥i￿leS a limitsd company, liffit8d by guarants8, 28d8firtsd byth8 ConpaniesAct200e. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEYAILS Registered Company number 07734732 (England and Wales) Reglstered Charlty number 1145472 Reglstered office g st Georges Yard F•mham Surrey Gug 7LW TTUStees C N C Hodges Mrs C Carey O Fe￿.￿aU T Rodgers Iresgned 6.9.211 M HDmer S T Jenknns M8 C A Bishop IsptDinted 8.9.211 Ms S Ibrahini lappDinted e.9.211 J K8ndunias (appointèd 6.9.211 J R Lake lappointed 6.9.211 F G Marbn (appointed 6.9.211 Independent Examlner l R Futcher FCA Institute ofchartered Acwuntsnts n Eng13nd and Wales Bla¢kwood Fut¢her & ¢0. Chariered Accounlants 9 St Georg8's Yard Farnham Surrey GU97LW 261h OctrA)er 2021 Apwoved by order ofthè b￿rd oftwste&50￿............................................. a￿j ￿gned ￿ its behalf by." C N C Hodges- Trustee P8ge I Independent Examlner's Report to the TNstses of The Rhythm Stydlo Foundatlon Independent examlnels report to the trustees of The Rhythm Stydlo Foundation Ilhe Company) I reportto the ch2nty trustees on my &xaminatson of the accounts of the Corryany for the y&2r ended 31 July 2021. ResponslWlllle$ and basis of report As th8 charity'5 trustees of the Cornpany land also its dirÈdor5 for the purposes of ￿r￿panY lawl you are responsble for the preparation of th& aetounts in accordanc8 the requirements of tr.& Cotnpanies Act2oJe I'th& 21K￿ Acfl. Having sttsfied myself that Ihe acGourts of th& Company are not required to ￿ 3uditsd under Part 18 of the 2[￿ Act and are eligible for indeFendent 8Xa￿natiOn, I report in resp8ct of my examination of your charity's accounts as (3med out under $8Cton 145 of the Charit8s Att 2011 Ilhe 2011 Atf). In c8rrying out my exarninalion I have followÈd Ihe Direcbons given by the Chanty Commission undersection 145151 Ibl of Ihe 2011 Act. Independent èxamlner's ststemen¢ I have wmpleted my examination. I ￿nfi￿ Ihat no nTrtter8 have to my attention In wnnection ￿1th the oxamin3ton giving m& cause to bolieve.. 4(Lounting r8eordswere not kept in r8speGtofthe Company as rèwifftd by sfjct￿n $86 of the 21K￿ Art or the accounts do notaccord with thoÉ8 rethrds, or the a(Lounts do not wmply with th8 accounti￿g requirements of secbon 396 of th8 A¢t other than any qUIre￿￿rnt that thp acwunts giv8 a and fair view which ￿ not a matter ￿n￿de￿d as part of an independent oxamin2*on". or Ihe accounts have not b88n wepared In a(￿ordanCe the trEthods and principles of th8 St2tèment of Recommended Practic& for a(xx)unting and repo￿n9 by charities (applicable to tharities prèpanng their awounts in atLordance with the Financial Reporhng Standard applic8ble in Ihe UK 8nd R&public of Ireland IFRS 10211. I have no cortsms and have com8 2eross no other mattérs In wnnection with the ÈKatr￿nation to whith $Uents"on should be drawn in this report In orderto enable a properunderstanding of the accounts b) ￿ reathed. J B-frN) l R Futcher Insti￿te of Ch8rtered Accountants in England and Waks Blackwoud Futcher & Co. CharteEd Accountsnts 9 St George's Yard Famham Surray GU9 7LVV FCA Date". ¥1 Pag8 2 Thè Rhythm Stwllo Foundallon statement of Flnanclal A¢tlvltles for the Year Ended 31 July 2021 31.7.21 Total nds 31.7.20 Totsl funds Unre￿Gte{I fund Reth¢ted fund Notss INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and lega￿eS eg,469 7,711 77.180 48,668 Inveslrnent inwme Total 69,476 7,711 77,187 46,751 EXPENDITURE ON Chari18bl& activiti6s 20,500 34,703 Olher 18,3e7 18,367 18,546 Total 38,8e7 38,867 NET INCOMEIIEXPENDITUREI 30,609 7,711 38,320 18,4981 RECQNCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds broughtforn￿yd 40,578 12,02Ql 51598 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 71,187 19,781 9Q,918 The nDts5 fomi partcflhgsg fin8ncisl stateThnts Pagè 3 Thè Rhythm Studio Foundation Balance Sheet 31 July 2021 31.7.21 Totsl fund5 31.7.20 rotal Un[eStr￿ed )knr Re*ctsd fund FIXED ASSETS Tangible asEets 52 CURRENT AS8ET8 Cash at bank 71,622 19.731 91.353 53,299 CREDITORS Amountsfrdlling due wthin one year 17621 17621 NET CURRENT ASSEY8 70.860 19,731 9),591 52,546 TOTAL ASSEfs LESS CURRENT LIABIUTIES 70.8eO 19.n1 ,591 52,598 NET ASSETS 70.860 19,731 90,591 52.598 FUNDS LJnre5trictsd fund$ Rèslricted funds 70,880 19,731 40,578 12,020 TOTAL FUNDS 90,591 52,598 The charitable company 1$ entitted to exemption from au(It undÈr SBcknn 477 of the com￿nI¥S Act 2CQ6 for thg yèar ended 31 J￿Y 2￿21. The mèmbers have not r6quiEd the comp*y to obtain an audit of its fnancial statsmonts for Ihe y8ar onded 31 July 2021 In aoxrdanc& ￿lIh SBclton 476 of the CompanieSAct2￿6. Th& trusteesackntt￿ed9g Iheir¥e8p0￿b1lrtiesfOr lal ensuiing that thè GhaDtsble cornpany keeps a(￿Untr￿ re￿r{￿ tt¥ai ￿)n￿lY Section5 386 and 387 of tre Companies Act 21X)6 and prep¥ring financial staternents which give 3 true and lair view of th8 slats of &Yairs of Ihe charitabie ¢ompany as at the end of Èarh ffnanaal year and of surplus or defiat for each financial year in awordsn¢8 wth the reqU1￿[r*nts of Sections 394 and 395 and whid) oth&rwis8 ￿mPlY viith Ihe requirem8nts of the Compantes Act 2CQ6 r&latno kn finan￿81 slatenEnls, so laras appl￿ble tr) charitabk torrpany. Th8se financial statements have PT8pared in acy8es r£céived en￿lUments in ex￿55 of£60,(XID. COMPARATIVES FOR TH£ STA TEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES Unrèstri¢ted nd Re£tricted fvnd Total nds INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations8nd Ipgacies 44.648 2,If2D 46.668 Invesbn&ntlntome 83 Totsl 44.731 48,751 EXPENDITURE ON Charitatdè athvitios 34,703 Ott)er 18,54e 18.546 Totsl YJ.249 53,249 NET INCOMEIIEXPENDITURE 18,5181 2.020 16,4981 RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds broughtforward 10,OLK) TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 40,578 12.020 52,598 Page 6 ntinu8d... The Rhythm Sbjdlo Foundadon Notes to the Flnanclal Statements-contlnued forthe Year Ended 31 July 2021 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Comwter equipmgnt COST At 1 AugUSt ￿ and 31 JLIY 2021 DEPRECIATION At 1 August 2020 Charge for year 52 At31 July 2ff21 942 NET BOOKVALUE At 31 July 2021 At31 July 2U20 52 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 31.7.21 31.7.20 Social se¢wty and othertaxes Othar c¥8ditors Acuu8d exp8n8es 116 119 590 578 762 753 MOVEMENTIN FUNDS Net mov8ment In funds At 31.7.21 At1.8.20 Unre5trfcted fvnds General lund 40,878 30,282 70, Re$triGted funds ReslriGted 12,020 7,711 19.731 TOTAL FUNDS 52,598 37,993 ,59fj Net moverwnt n lunds, i￿￿[ded in the alxjve arE astollows.. Incomiro resour¢¢$ Resources ¢xp8nded Movement in funds Unrestrlcted furxls Gerteral fund 69,476 139.1941 30,282 Rostrlcted lunds R￿ctEd 7.711 7.711 TOTAL FUNDS Tl,187 139.1941 37,993 Page 7 OJntinL￿d... The Rhythm Siudlo Foundallon Notes to the Financlal 8talements-GontfiDue(I for thE Year Ended 31 July 2021 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS-contlnued Comparatlves for movement In fund$ Net movement in fund8 At 31.7.20 A11.8.19 Unrestrfcted funds Gernml fvnd 49,096 {8.5181 40,578 Restrlcted fund$ R&stiicted 1Q),DQKI 12020 TOTAL FUNDS 16,4981 52,598 Comparative nèt rTY)vem8nt in funds, induded in th8 above are a5follo Inwrning reSoU￿S Rewurces 8XP8nd8d Movèment funds Llnrestrl¢ied funds Gen8ral fund 44,n1 153,2491 18,5181 Restrlcted funds Restrictsd TOTAL FUNDS 46,751 IS2,2491 16,4981 A cwrontyear 12 months and pth)r year 12 monlhs (x)rnbined pO￿tiOn i$g$foJlc Net movement in lub¥ls At 31.7.21 At1,8.19 Unrestrfcted fund$ Gen&ral ftjnd 21.764 70.880 Restrt¢tsd funds Resthcted io.(NJo 9,731 19,731 TOTAL FUNDS 59,096 31. .591 A current year 12 monlhs and prior y&ar 12 months ￿mbIned net movement in thJnd& in¢luthd in tha above are as lollows.. Incoming resou￿$ Resourc8S exp¢nd$d Movern£nt nds unres￿eted funds General fvnd 114,207 192.4431 21,764 Restsicted funds Reslricted 9,731 9,731 TOTALFUNDS 123,938 1¥2.4431 31,495 Pag8 8 continued... The Rhythm sttldlo Foundation Notes to the Flnanclal Statements- Contlnued for the Year Ended 31 July 2021 10. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES As noted in tho Report of Ihe TrusteES, ¢ HodgEs is a Trustee uf The Rhythrn Sludlo Founthdtion Ith& Foundation'l. C Hodges is a180 the 8018 director of The Rhythm Studlo Limited Itha 'Comp8ny). During the nod the Foundation paid the Company tea¢ling fee$tolslling £14.(￿e12￿0-e<1.￿31. The Trust888 acknovAadge the potential Confi￿1 of interest and have rwrewed Ihe relgtionshlp between Ihe two entities. As all f8es charged by the Conyany b) the Foundation are below the ￿st Df providing th£ teachin9 and at an appropriate market rate, the Trustees $9ti6fied th•t tt)ere is no detrimant to th8 Foundation. aewrdan¢è wth the guidelin8s of th* Charitiès Commi88ion for England and Walos thore is nothing preventing tha Foundation from ¢waging th8 S8rvic8s of any other indep8ndent thi￿ party. should it believe that thp third paty provides 8 b8ttar alt8mative in fiJlfillin9 the charitable obj$otiwe5 of The Rhythm 81udio Foundation. Page 9 The Rhythm Sthdio Foundalon Detalled Statementof Financlal A¢t1vI￿9$ foT the Year Ended 31 July 2021 31.7_21 31.7.20 INCOME AND ENDOWPIJENTS Donallons and legacles Raffie & otherticketsales Oonations & spons)rship Grfta 677 43,484 2,507 73,511 77.180 48.688 InvesknenlKncomÈ B2nk interest Total Incoming resources 77,187 46,751 EXPENDITURE Charltable a¢UVI￿es Eventf8es TÈaching fee5 467 20,033 920 33,783 34,703 Other Oepn ofu)mputer eqU1pw￿nt 52 314 8upportcosts Manauemtnt W4ges P8nsion5 Insur8nc8 Pos12go artd slation8ry Adverti￿ThJ 8undri6S Accounta rraining 15,819 289 15,945 293 317 327 1e4 233 71 1.313 70 18.561 18.172 Finance Bankcharye5 81 Totsl rw&ourTr5 expended 39,194 53.249 Netlneomellexpendltsjrel 37,993 16,4981 Thi5 page (be$ notforrn partof ts ststtrtory IInar￿￿1 stAtem¢nts Paoe 10 ## **The Rhythm Studio Foundation Report of the Trustees For the Year Ended 31st July 2021** **(August 1st 2020- July 31st 2021)** The Trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their annual report together with the financial statements of The Rhythm Studio Foundation for the year ended 31 July 2021. The Trustees confirm that the Annual report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in March 2005. ## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** ## **Registered Company number (England and Wales):** 7734732 **Registered Charity number:** 1145472 ## **Registered office:** St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LW **Trustees:** C N C Hodges Mrs C Carey O Fetiveau T Rodgers (resigned 6.9.21) M Horner S T Jenkins Ms C A Bishop (appointed 6.9.21) Ms S Ibrahim (appointed 6.9.21) J Kandunias (appointed 6.9.21) J R Lake (appointed 6.9.21) F G Martin (appointed 6.9.21) **Independent Examiner:** Blackwood Futcher & Co. Chartered Accountants 9 St George’s Yard Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LW ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** ## **Constitution** The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. ## **Method of appointment or election of Trustees** The management of the charity is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Trust deed. ## **Organisation and decision-making** The charity is run by a board of trustees. It employs a part-time project manager and fundraiser. ## **Related parties** As noted in the Report of the Trustees, Christopher Hodges is a Trustee of The Rhythm Studio Foundation. Christopher Hodges is also the sole director of The Rhythm Studio. During the period the Foundation paid the Company teaching fees totalling £14,068 (2020 £11,263). All fees charged by the Company to the Foundation are priced at or below the cost of providing the teaching. In accordance with the guidelines of the Charities Commission for England and Wales there is nothing preventing the Foundation from engaging the services of any other independent third party, should it believe that the third party provides a better alternative in fulfilling the charitable objectives of The Rhythm Studio Foundation. ## **Governance and management** Trustee meetings take place at least 4 times a year. Christopher Hodges liaises on a weekly basis with the Foundation’s part-time employee to discuss operations, objectives and strategy. ## **Risk management** The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to major risk. These include: - A monthly account reconciliation - Quarterly financial review at trustee meeting - Quarterly risk review at trustee meeting - Countersigning protocol for all payments from the charity’s bank account - Policy for safeguarding children - Employers Liability insurance - Public Liability insurance - Compliance with GDPR ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Policies and objectives** The Rhythm Studio Foundation (“RSF”) was founded in 2011 with the goal of transforming the lives of young people through music. _“We believe young people deserve the chance to transform or enrich their lives through music, whatever their background or their personal circumstances.”_ - Mission statement In association with The Rhythm Studio Academy of Music (“RSAM”), we work with schools, hospitals and community groups to provide opportunities to economically underprivileged and socially disadvantaged young people who have limited access to music-making. ## **ACTIVITIES FOR ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES** ## **School workshops** We deliver pop and rock music workshops that allow local primary school children to experience the excitement of collaborative music-making. The workshops include creative music technology sessions using computers and tablets, and pop choir and rock band sessions culminating in a live performance. Secondary school sessions focus on creative music technology, using Logic Pro software. ## **Hospital workshops** We carry out a program of weekly and fortnightly inspirational music workshops on the paediatric wards of local hospitals at St Mary’s, Paddington with the Imperial Health Charity and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital with the CW Plus Charity. Since Covid-19 restrictions have put our face-to-face visits on hold, we have moved to a virtual delivery programme providing interactive videos and live teaching via Zoom for young people forced to shield due to medical conditions. ## **Provision of Scholarships and Bursaries** The Rhythm Studio Foundation Scholarship is an annual award aimed at talented and passionate 11 to 18 year-old musicians in need of financial support to help reach their full potential. We fund weekly lessons on drums, guitar, bass, piano, vocals or music technology. Students also experience playing in bands, performing live and recording as well as mentoring from music industry professionals. ## **ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE** ## **Going concern** After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies. ## **REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES** ## **Schools** In 2020/21, RSF delivered a series of 10-week Primary Schools Rock & Pop workshop programmes to 3 local primary schools in the North Kensington area – St Peters CE Primary School, Bevington Primary School and St Mary’s RC Primary school. These workshops allowed pupils to learn drums, guitar, bass or vocals and come together to form bands, as well as creating music using GarageBand on iPads. They took place at RSAM’s music studios in North Kensington as well as at schools’ premises. RSF has longstanding partnerships with these schools, working together for at least a five-year period. These workshops were supported by John Lyon’s Charity, as part of a three-year programme. Due to the January 2021 Covid-19 lockdown, there were no workshops in the Spring term. Instead, we worked on delivering video resources to all our local school partners. In March 2020, we won the prestigious Music & Drama Education Awards Early Years/ Primary Music & Drama Award _“.... the judging panel was searching for outstanding practice in primary or early years music provision that can be held up as a model on a national scale. The judges thought that the winner had carried out really inspiring work with hard to reach participants. A project with heart which is removing barriers to access” -_ **Alexander Armstrong, Music & Drama Education Awards Presenter** Overall, 140 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils participated in our award-winning Primary Schools Rock & Pop Workshop programme. Under normal circumstances, we would expect to reach over 300 young people. In terms of secondary schools, RSF also worked with College Park School, a special school for pupils with autism and complex learning needs. A series of three music production workshops took place, starting with a visit to The Rhythm Studio for 18 students in the 15-19 age group. Students participated in music composition, lyric writing and recording, and had their work critiqued by a music industry professional. ## **Hospitals** Our weekly and fortnightly face-to-face hospital visits remained on hold during the period due to Covid-19 related restrictions on hospital visits. However, we continued to participate in the Virtual Arts Programme set up by CW Plus, making a series of videos based on “Eat, Sleep, Sing”, a singing for wellbeing book written by RSAM tutor Stacey DeLooze and published by Faber Music. We also continued to expand our shielding programme at St Mary’s, Paddington (Imperial Health Charity), with free one-to-one music tuition available to young patients forced to shield due to medical conditions. 7 young people received virtual weekly lessons as part of this programme. ## **Scholarships** The Rhythm Studio Foundation funded 24 students in 2020/21. The scholarships were awarded on a means-tested basis, contributing from 50%-100% of fees. 7 scholarships were at 50% and 17 were at 100%. Each student received weekly one-to-one lessons on their chosen instrument or a band class. Covid-19 restrictions had a limited impact on our scholarship programme as we were able to continue the majority of the lessons via Zoom until restrictions were relaxed. In September 2020, 4 of our scholarship holders took up offers to study music at Goldsmiths, Leeds Conservatoire, Oxford Brookes & Italia Conti. ## **Other Activities** RSF took part in Kensal Voices in collaboration with other local youth groups, including The Octavia Foundation, The Rugby Portobello Trust and Portobello Radio. RSF led on the music production side for this local multimedia project, creating a soundtrack centred around exploring the heritage and community of North Kensington. Working with muscular dystrophy charity The Muscle Help Foundation, RSF tutors led a virtual singing and beatboxing workshop for a group of young “Muscle Warriors”. _“There is something incredibly powerful that happened as a result of the Muscle Help Foundation charity’s ‘Music 1.0’ virtual session; it has given our son Bertie hope, confidence and he has recognised what he is capable of. “- Mother of Bertie, aged 9_ ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **Investment policy and performance** The Foundation currently holds no investments. ## **Reserves policy** The Foundation’s Reserves policy is to maintain 9 months of core fixed costs (i.e salary and administration). Projects will not be undertaken if they cannot be comfortably funded. ## **Surplus** The Foundation reported an accumulated surplus of £90,591 (2019/20: £52,598) for the year. Our income was boosted significantly due to a successful fundraising campaign, The RSF Music Marathon Challenge which raised approximately £40,000. The total income of £77,187 compares to the previous period of £46,751. Our expenditure was lower than normal at £38,867 (versus £53,249) due to reduced schools and hospitals activities. ## **PRINCIPAL FUNDING** ## **Fundraising** Unfortunately, we had to postpone our major fundraising RSF Bright Futures gala event for the second year in a row. In its place we launched our RSF Music Marathon Challenge, timed to coincide with the reschedule London Marathon in October 2020. We asked our supporters to choose an activity based around the number 2.6, 26, 260, 2600 and raise money for the foundation. This proved to be our most successful fundraising event ever, raising almost £40,000 including Gift Aid. ## **Funds and Trusts** We received funding from: The Ofenheim Trust (£6,500), The Nathan M Ohrbach Fund (£3,850), The Margaret Killbery Foundation (£15,000), The J Van Mars Foundation (£10,000) and The Worshipful Company of Glovers (£2,500). ## **Individual Giving** We received a combination of direct donations (£11,479), the Friends Scheme (£1,944) and Gift Aid (£3,669) from individuals and families. Individuals and local businesses also supported The RSF Scholarship Scheme (£3304). ## **Fees** Our partner primary schools normally contribute to the funding of workshops – typically 30%. We received £1378 in fees from schools, reflecting the substantially reduced school workshop activity due to Covid-19. ## **Future funding** Along with diversifying our income sources, we plan to build up our community fundraising capability, increase our support from Trusts and Foundations and boost our Friends regular-giving programme. ## **FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS** ## **Schools programme** We currently work with five local schools with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils and that brings us close to capacity at the studio. However, we are expanding our iPad workshops which can be carried out on individual schools’ premises and therefore we hope to reach more young people in the future. We also hope to increase our work with secondary schools in the local area, focusing on creative music technology. ## **Hospitals** We are planning to resume face-to-face hospital workshops when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. We also plan to continue our shielding programme where required and increase our range of in-hospital activities. ## **Scholarships** We aim to continue to fund 20 – 25 music tuition scholarships . ## **FUNDS HELD AS CUSTODIAN** The Foundation does not hold any funds as custodian. Approved by the order of the board of trustees on …………………………….. and signed on its 19th January 2022 behalf by: ………………………………………………. - Trustee CHRISTOPHER HODGES