Registered number: 08165798 Charity number: 1152672
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and Administrative Details of the Company, its Trustees and Advisers | 1 |
| Introduction from the Chair | 2 |
| Trustees' Report | 3 - 12 |
| Trustees' Responsibilities Statement | 13 |
| Independent Auditors' Report on the Financial Statements | 14 - 17 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 18 |
| Balance Sheet | 19 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 20 - 34 |
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE COMPANY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| Trustees | E Morris (appointed 1 October 2024) |
|---|---|
| P J Hyman | |
| M C Jordan Keane, Interim Chair | |
| S J Kaiser, Chair of People Committee | |
| K Modasia, Chair of Finance Committee | |
| M J Sealy | |
| S P Coyle | |
| S C David (resigned 7 May 2024) | |
| Company registered number 08165798 Charity registered number 1152672 Registered office Voice 21, C/O X+Why 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens London England SW1W 0DH Company secretary S Mustoe (appointed 18 October 2024) Independent auditors Haslers Chartered Accountants Old Station Road Loughton Essex IG10 4PL |
Page 1
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
This has been an incredible year of change and achievement for Voice 21 and has marked the penultimate year of the five year strategy that we set out in 2020. In November 2023, our founding CEO, Beccy Earnshaw handed over to new CEO, Kate Paradine. In May, the founding Chair of the charity, Sarah David, ended her term of office, with interim chair and existing trustee, Miriam Jordan Keane handing over to Baroness Estelle Morris in October 2024. The staff leadership team has been significantly developed through recruitment of new skills in sales, fundraising, communications and technology. In the Summer of 2023 we left our office ‘home’ in School 360, Stratford to take up a footprint in the Fivefields space in Victoria, alongside other education charities.
We made strong progress on our goals - again expanding our scale to over 1100 schools, increasing our reach in target areas, strengthening our effectiveness through changes to our programme offer and staffing structure, improving our efficiency with new technology and crucially, making significant breakthroughs in impact. This includes growing our network of Oracy Centres of Excellence from 9 to 44; this has meant more schools delivering a high quality oracy education, multiplying the community of teachers confident in delivering oracy teaching and learning, and enabling over 11,000 children and young people to develop the oracy skills they need to thrive in school and life. Together we deepened understanding of the difference oracy education can make to opportunities and outcomes for individuals, schools and society, including our Voicing Vocabulary Report. With 1 in 20 schools now part of Voice 21’s national schools' network, we are seeing the transformative effects of oracy education every day in classrooms from Devon to Dundee.
Our annual Impact Report for 2023/34 will be published in Spring 2025. Voice 21’s long campaign for oracy to have the status it deserves at the heart of education also made significant progress during the past year, with long overdue political recognition of the need to value every young person’s voice and make oracy education an entitlement for all. Oracy is now a key pillar of education reform for the new government. We have made maximum use of this platform to further amplify the case for oracy education, by establishing the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, chaired by Geoff Barton. Independent from Voice 21, but with us providing the secretariat, the Commission’s seminal report was published in October 2024. Its recommendations will be a key pillar of our 2025-2030 strategy, which will be launched in March 2025.
As always, our achievements this year have been made possible by the talents and dedication of the Voice 21 team, the generosity of our funders and supporters, the commitment and expertise of the thousands of teachers we have the privilege to work with, and the inspiration of hundreds of thousands of children and young people they serve. It’s through leading in this oracy movement that we know we can deliver on our dream that oracy can be an ordinary part of every child’s education in every school, every day.
With thanks,
M C Jordan Keane - Interim Chair Date: 28th January 2025
Page 2
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The Trustees present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the Company for the year 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. The Annual Report serves the purposes of both a Trustees' report and a directors' report under company law. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019).
Since the Company qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic Report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted.
Objectives and Activities
Our Mission
Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We exist to empower every child to use their voice for success in school and life. Our work transforms learning and life chances through talk by increasing access to a high quality oracy education for those that need it most.
Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language and listening. In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them .
The Need
Spoken language skills are one of the strongest predictors of a child's future life chances but too many children are not given the opportunity to develop these crucial skills.
Despite the strong evidence that effective verbal communication improves academic outcomes, employment opportunities, civic engagement and confidence and wellbeing, the majority of state schools do not consistently or deliberately teach these vital skills. This impacts children’s learning in school and success in life beyond school.
It doesn’t need to be this way.
By transforming teaching and learning through talk, schools can develop children's confidence, articulacy and capacity to learn.
Through a high-quality oracy education, children and young people learn how to express themselves and communicate clearly. They become able to explain ideas and emotions to other people, not only in a school setting but in their lives outside the classroom too. They develop the skills to listen effectively, discuss and respond with meaning, and debate and disagree agreeably. They gain the confidence, self-belief, and courage to speak in public and share their thoughts, intellect and creativity with the world.
Who we support
We aim to work with schools with a high proportion of students who face economic disadvantage. Our measure for this is whether schools are in the top 40%, when ranked by proportion of students eligible for Free School Meals. We do work with schools falling outside this range, but in order to respond to the schools and students that need us most, we use this measure to inform planning and prioritisation to keep our mission at the heart of what we do.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
What We Do
To achieve our mission, Voice 21 makes a long-term impact on teaching and learning in schools serving students who face the highest levels of economic disadvantage. We do not provide one-day inset on pre packaged lesson plans or arrange student workshops and extra-curricular activities. Instead, we work in partnership with teachers and schools to build their expertise, confidence and motivation to provide a high quality oracy education in their schools every day, for every child and young person.
We achieve this by:
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Understanding and codifying what good oracy teaching and learning looks like and setting the standard for a high quality oracy education.
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Providing professional development and specialist school improvement support to empower schools to provide their students with a high-quality oracy education.
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Focusing our work on those that need us most by working with schools serving the least advantaged communities.
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Building awareness and convening cross sector support to raise the status of oracy in our education system.
Achievements and Performance
This is the final full year of our five-year strategy (Sept 2020 - Sept 2025.) We have achieved our aims of deepening our impact on outcomes for this generation of children and young people and those to come and have significantly increased the number of Voice 21 Oracy Schools in areas of high need and mobilised a movement of teachers and schools that enables all children and young people to benefit from a high quality oracy education. In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)’.
2023/24 was a year of consolidation and sustainable growth. As we approach the end of our 2020-25 strategy, we focused on refining and developing systems to ensure our schools make progress towards meeting the Oracy Benchmarks and becoming Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence. We also prioritised creating fertile conditions for oracy across the education system, launching an independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England in order to provide actionable recommendations for the government to drive a systemic shift in access to oracy education for all students in England. Internally, we focused on strengthening our collaborative and supportive culture to ensure our team is empowered and motivated to drive forward our mission.
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(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
These are our top 5 achievements:
1. Driving impact in Voice 21 Oracy Schools
In 2023/24 we supported 1037 Voice 21 Oracy Schools to provide their students with a high-quality oracy education. In our end of year surveys, 96% of teachers we worked with said that their students’ oracy skills had improved and 88% said that teaching and learning had improved at their school. Teachers in Voice 21 Oracy Schools became more skilled and confident practitioners of oracy with over 90% of teachers we worked with reporting that they had improved as teachers of oracy and that they were more confident in their ability to support all students to participate in, and benefit from, oracy in the classroom.
We also accredited a further 35 schools as Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence. These schools have shown a deep, ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality oracy education and have undergone a rigorous evaluation process, confirming that they meet the Voice 21 Oracy Benchmarks. We are proud of their achievement and the lasting impact this will have on current and future cohorts of students. You can read more about their journey in local press articles:
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St George’s Primary in Wallasey is named 'Oracy Centre of Excellence'
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School in Droitwich commended for helping students find their voice
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Newquay academy recognised nationally for its outstanding oracy practice
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Primary school children show off their public speaking skills
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How one Birmingham academy is transforming itself for success
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School strikes gold with prestigious accreditation
Finally, this year, the Great Oracy Exhibition also welcomed over 370 teachers and school leaders to Manchester for our annual event, which is dedicated to supporting educators - particularly those from Voice 21 Oracy Schools - in strengthening oracy provision within their schools. Ticket sales grew by 21% compared to the previous year, highlighting a growing commitment to oracy in the education sector.
2. Raising awareness and understanding of oracy in the wider sector
In March 2024, we launched the independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. The Commission was chaired by Geoff Barton, former General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and also included:
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Justine Andrew - Head of Education and Skills at KPMG
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Sally Apps - Education Director, Cabot Learning Federation
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Jeffrey Boakye - Educator, broadcaster, journalist and author of books including I Heard What You Said and Black, Listed
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Stephen Coleman - Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds and author of How People Talk About Politics: Brexit and Beyond
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Christine Counsell - Curriculum thinker, historian and author
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Rob Drummond - Professor of Sociolinguistics, Manchester Metropolitan University and author of You’re All Talk: Why We Are What We Speak
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Sarah Houghton - Director of Mental Health Workforce Development, Place2Be
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Rufus Norris - Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Theatre
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Sonia Thompson - Head Teacher, St Matthew’s CE Primary School and author of An Ethic of Excellence in Action
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The launch was covered in the education press, raising awareness and generating interest in oracy across the education sector. The digital launch had a total digital reach of 10 million, a 49% increase in mentions of oracy across social platforms in comparison to the previous week and a 2.8% engagement rate in social media posts against an industry standard of 1%.
Between April and September 2024, the Commission met five times, gathered 94 written submissions, and conducted 58 "Commission Conversations"—short interviews capturing diverse perspectives on both theoretical and practical aspects of oracy. The Commission also organised roundtable discussions on key topics, including the English Language GCSE, teacher training, assessment, the arts, and inclusion. A series of exploratory papers written for the Commission by experts in different fields of education was seralised in Schools Week from June to August, sustaining interest and strengthening understanding of oracy across the sector.
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What is oracy? The four defining traits of classroom talk
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Why you should be thinking about disciplinary oracy
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What should be the role of oracy in English GCSE?
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Oracy must be inclusive by design for our children
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Three considerations for every teacher developing oracy
Our annual conference, the Speaking Summit, which aims to raise awareness and understanding of oracy within the education sector and beyond welcomed 274 attendees, marking a 17% increase in ticket sales from the previous year. Additionally, Oracy October - our annual awareness campaign themed ‘When Talk Gets Challenging’ - had a significant reach, with our student resources downloaded by 898 teachers who we do not currently work with and a series of webinars attended by 821 individuals.
3. Furthering understanding of oracy education
At Voice 21, we are dedicated to strengthening the research and evidence base for oracy education, ensuring that teachers and leaders in Voice 21 Oracy Schools - and beyond - have the knowledge and understanding necessary to effectively implement oracy in their unique contexts.
This year, we developed the Talk for Maths Benchmarks in partnership with Oxford University Press.The Benchmarks aim to define excellent practice for oracy in the maths classroom. They were developed as a practical framework with the aim of establishing a shared understanding for oracy and maths.
We also further developed understanding of ‘disciplinary oracy’, outlining why every teacher is responsible for teaching students the oracy skills they need in their subject domain and providing them with the opportunity to practise using them in a peer-reviewed article in English, the journal of the English Association.
Finally, we published the second edition of our annual journal, The Talking Point, which curates research and thinking on different aspects of oracy education. This year’s edition includes practical guidance on teaching ‘disciplinary oracy’ which involves inducting students into the unique ways of speaking (and therefore thinking) in different subject disciplines and recognising and celebrating linguistic diversity in the classroom.
4. Refining our programme and offer to Voice 21 Oracy Schools
In 2023/24, we invested in enhancing the support we provide to Voice 21 Oracy Schools. This involved refining the professional development offered to School Leads and Oracy Champions during our Development Days and strengthening our tools and resources for all teachers in Voice 21 Oracy Schools through the Voice 21 Exchange - our online learning platform - and our Open Learning programme, which provides ongoing, accessible learning opportunities.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
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We developed 8 new short courses, including:
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Science: Speaking Scientifically
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Introducing Oracy for Teaching Support Staff
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Oracy and Family Engagement
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Introducing Oracy for Early Career Teachers
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Understanding Linguistic Diversity
We also introduced 3 new, bitesize modules on the Voice 21 Exchange, including ‘How to Teach Oracy Explicitly ’ designed to reinforce busy teachers’ understanding of key oracy practices and engage teachers in using our extensive library of video content to develop their expertise.
Further, we prioritised improving the experience for teachers and school leaders on the Voice 21 Exchange and encouraging greater participation in online learning opportunities. This was achieved by introducing new functionality, such as:
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Access to Live Programme Content indefinitely (to support embedding Oracy beyond the timeframe of the programme)
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Blogs within the resource library (to support conversion to deeper learning opportunities)
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Developing 'Talk on Tuesday' (to support it as a key driver of traffic to the Voice 21 Exchange)
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Event bookings (to support data collection, attendance and communications)
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Wait lists
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Fast track registration at School Open Morning Events
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Automated communications
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Feedback capture
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As a result:
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98% of Voice 21 Oracy Schools had at least one an account on the platform
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50% of schools had 7 or more staff had an account on the platform
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73% of the Core Oracy Team in schools had an account on the platform
5. Building a stronger internal culture
In 2023, we welcomed our new CEO, Kate Paradine, who joined us in October. This leadership transition gave us a valuable opportunity to focus on enhancing our internal culture and strengthening communication across the organisation.
A key initiative this year was the launch of our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme in June. We are proud to now have seven fully trained and certified Mental Health First Aiders available to support our team’s well-being.
These efforts have contributed to improvements in employee satisfaction and engagement. Over 2023/24, our Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) increased to +35, and our overall employee engagement score also remained strong, reaching 4.21 out of 5.0.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Financial review
Income
| 2021/22 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2023/24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant income | 843k | 38% | 791k | 26% | 632k | 20% |
| School Programmes & Other Income |
1,400k |
62% | 2,242k | 74% | 2,556k | 80% |
| Total income | 2,243k | 3033k | 3,188k | |||
| Expenditure | 1,774k | 3,011k | 3325k | |||
| Surplus | 469k | 21k | (137k) |
Voice 21’s total income increased by £155k in 2023/24 to £3,188k. Of this, 80% was income from the provision of oracy programmes commissioned by teachers, schools, local authorities and multi academy trusts, and 20% was income from restricted and unrestricted grants.
The year-on-year increase in income was driven by growth in school membership subscriptions and the high demand for our Voice 21 Oracy Schools membership.
Fundraising
In 2023/24, Voice 21 received £632k in grant income from the following funders:
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Fidelity UK Foundation - Funding for technology to develop membership management functionality for the Oracy Schools Programme.
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Impetus - Core funding to support delivery of our strategy & a separate grant to support costs related to providing secretariat to the Oracy Education Commission.
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Allen & Overy Foundation - Grant for the provision of bursaries for Pupil Referral Units.
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Considered Ask - Funding for a dedicated drive to improve students’ oracy in ‘cold-spots’ in the North East, Yorkshire & Humber and the East Midlands.
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Minton Charitable Trust - Unrestricted funding to support programme delivery in the North West of England.
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Mohn Westlake Foundation - Core funding to support delivery of our strategy.
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APAX Foundation - Unrestricted funding to support programme delivery.
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Westminster Foundation - contribution to annual rent for office space.
Expenditure
Total staff costs were £2,340k (70% of our total expenditure), increasing from £2,281k in 2022/23. This was largely driven by the expansion of our programmes and engagement functions to meet demand for our work, as well as the establishment of a technology function within Voice 21.
In addition, Voice 21 continued to invest in the development of future systems to enhance member experience and internal collaboration, primarily the building and launch of the Zendesk.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Company 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.
Reserves policy
Our unrestricted free reserves are our general unrestricted funds excluding fixed assets. We hold these funds to:
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Provide a safeguard against the risk of downturn in support of our activities (which could lead to expenditure exceeding income);
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Provide working capital to finance our day-to-day operations;
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Provide a safeguard against failure to deliver against contractual obligations;
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Protect our solvency in the event of any curtailment of our income-generating activities.
Given our commitments, we review our reserves policy on an annual basis. Our aim is to hold between 3 months of operating expenditure as unrestricted reserves.
On 31 August 2024, our total reserves were £673k, of which £47k were restricted and £626k unrestricted.
We did not have any investments in financial instruments during the financial year, including those with a social investment focus.
Plans for 2024/5 and our new strategy for 2025-30
This period sees the final year of our 2020-2025 strategy and a year of preparation to start delivering our new 2025-30 strategy in September 2025.
To prepare the way for the new strategy during 2024/2025, we will increase the reach of the Voice 21 Oracy Schools Programme to over 1100 Voice 21 Oracy schools, reaching more than 200k students and 2,500 teachers. We will also build our network of Centres of Excellence substantially increasing the number of schools designated in 2024/25, enabling them to showcase the value and impact of a high quality oracy education, with a target of achieving 600 accredited Centres of Excellence by 2030.
We will continue to focus our work on those that need us most, aiming to achieve at least 80% of schools we work with by 2030 being in the top 40% of state-funded schools in England and Wales based on the percentage of students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). We will continue to expand our work in the areas of greatest need, including target areas we have identified for growth based on an analysis of economic deprivation and social mobility indicators, as well as early language levels.
We will further enhance our support to schools by increasing the provision of resources and events, enhancing our online platform, the Voice 21 Exchange, and strengthening the Voice 21 Oracy Schools network to build more school-to-school connections.
To help us further refine our model and strengthen our impact on students in Voice 21 Oracy Schools, particularly students in our target population, we will continue to use data gathered each year to better understand which elements of our intervention most effectively accelerate progress in schools. We will also continue working towards having a reliable measure of student oracy, building on our ‘Comparing Talk’ project, to ensure our intervention leads to improved oracy outcomes in students within our target population.
We will also continue to act as a convener, thought-leader and movement maker in the education sector, working to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Oracy Education.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
To achieve these outcomes we will invest in key areas of operational infrastructure including technology, finance, communications and public affairs, and the leadership and professional development of our growing team.
Risk Management
Effective risk management is critical to ensuring our success in meeting our vision and achieving our goals. All employees are able to identify and manage key risks within their areas and communicate and escalate these, as appropriate. This ensures that responsibility for risks is distributed across, and embedded in the operations of, the charity.
All identified key organisational risks are collated on a risk register which sets out the risks; assesses their likelihood and impact; tracks the internal controls in place and actions taken to reduce, eliminate or mitigate each risk; and sets future mitigating actions which would further reduce the likelihood and impact of the risk materialising. The Senior Leadership Team has responsibility and accountability for regularly reviewing and updating the risk register, while our board has ultimate accountability for risk management and the setting of the organisation’s risk appetite. The principal risks which we will manage during the upcoming year are:
Risk: Voice 21 suffers a significant data breach, data loss or hacking incident
Mitigation:
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All staff have completed basic information security training
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Advanced data protection training provided for key roles
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Process for managing data breaches and data breach register established
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Software procurement process developed
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Backup for V21 Exchange and Salesforce implemented
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Data Transformation Lead appointed to lead on data protection and information security overseen by Head of Tech appointed
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Data strategy launched
Risk: Our funding pipeline is insufficient, meaning that we are not able to sustain grant funding at a rate of 25-30% of turnover as we grow
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Sourced external fundraising support
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Increased capacity by recruiting a Head of Fundraising and Head of Communications, Campaigns & Public Affairs
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Access Impetus support via Investment Director
Risk: We fail to attract, retain and develop key talent in the organisation
Mitigation:
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Revised role design and recruitment processes to ensure that we are recruiting the right people for the right roles
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Revised remuneration, progression and promotion procedures
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Revised process for Development Review meetings; incl role and value descriptors introduced to provide a framework for development conversations to take place
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Ways of Working incl perks and benefits reviewed
Page 10
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Governance
Administrative details
Voice 21’s senior management team consists of:
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Kate Paradine - CEO
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Jim Riddiford – Director of Operations (to July 2024)
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Shirley Mustoe - Director of Operations (From July 2024)
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Amy Gaunt - Director of Learning, Impact & Influence
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Alice Stott – Director of Programmes
In 2023/24, Voice 21’s staff team grew slightly in size from 52 members of staff in August 2022, to a team of 56 staff in August 2024.
Constitution
Voice 21 is a charitable company limited by guarantee and not having share capital. We operate in England and Wales (company number 08165798 and charity number 1152672). We are governed by our Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, which were last amended in December 2019 to amend the name of the charity from School 21 Foundation to Voice 21. Big Education Trust (charitable company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity, Companies House registration number 07648389) is the sole member of Voice 21 Ltd.
Our Memorandum of Association sets out our charitable purpose, which is to advance education for the public benefit, with a particular focus on preparing young people for success in the 21st century.
In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance 'Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'.
Organisational structure and decision making
Ultimate responsibility for governance of Voice 21 lies with the Board of Trustees, who meet each quarter to review the activities and financial position of the charity and to assess the risks affecting it, including operational, financial and regulatory risks.
The current Board of Trustees brings a wide mix of relevant skills, capabilities and experiences from the education, charity and business sectors.
The Board of Trustees delegate day-to-day operational management to the senior leadership team, and the delegation authority is outlined in a Delegation Framework.
Remuneration
Remuneration for the Chief Executive is decided by the Chair and the Trustee lead on People and reported to the Board of Trustees. Voice 21 has adopted a pay band and spine point approach, with limited incremental annual increases, based on organisational success. The salary scale has been benchmarked against similar organisations. Voice 21 is committed to paying all staff, including temporary staff, the London Living Wage.
Public benefit
The Trustees are mindful of their duty under the Charities Act 2011 to ensure that the Charity’s activities exist for the public benefit. They have considered Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that the performance and achievements of the Charity during the year have benefited the public.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Disclosure of information to auditors
Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees' Report is approved has confirmed that:
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so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and
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that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.
Auditors
The auditors, Haslers, have indicated their willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors at a meeting of the Trustees.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane Interim Chair
Page 12
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The Trustees (who are also the directors of the Company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year . Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
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make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane Interim Chair
Page 13
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Voice 21 Ltd (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 August 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. 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:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 August 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
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 Auditors' 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 United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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.
Page 14
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' Report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to 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.
Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
-
the information given in the Trustees' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.
-
the Trustees' Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of our 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 Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
-
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
-
certain disclosures of Trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
-
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
-
the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees' Report and from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report.
Page 15
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Trustees' Responsibilities Statement, 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.
Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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:
Based on our understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity we have considered those that have a direct and indirect material impact on the financial statements and operations of the charity. These include but are not limited to the Charities Act 2011, GDPR, and Employment and Health & Safety legislation.
We obtained an understanding of how the charity are complying with those legal and regulatory frameworks by making inquiries to the management. We corroborated our inquiries through our review of documentation generated and assessing the extent of compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.
We discussed among the audit engagement team regarding the opportunities and incentives, including management override of controls, that may exist within the organisation for fraud and how and where fraud might
occur in the financial statements.
As a result of performing the above, we identified the greatest potential for material misstatements due to fraud are in the following areas, and our specific procedures performed to address these are described below:
The risk of management override of controls is the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud.
Page 16
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Procedures performed to address these were as follows:
-
Identifying and assessing the design effectiveness of controls management has in place to prevent and detect fraud, including known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations, and fraud;
-
Understanding how those charged with governance considered and addressed the potential for override of controls or other inappropriate influence over the financial reporting process;
-
Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in its significant accounting estimates;
-
• Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any unusual journal entries posted around the yearend and journal entries posted by infrequent system users;
-
Ensuring that restricted and unrestricted reserves have been allocated correctly; and
-
Reviewing board minutes for any discussion of events or evidence which will have an impact on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
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 Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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 its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Matthew Wells ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of Haslers
Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor
Old Station Road
Loughton
Essex
IG10 4PL
28 January 2025
Page 17
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| Note Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Investments 4 Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net (expenditure)/income Transfers between funds 15 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 411,910 2,543,784 12,262 2,967,956 3,104,913 3,104,913 (136,957) (1,065) (138,022) 764,377 (138,022) 626,355 |
Restricted funds 2024 £ 219,634 - - 219,634 220,165 220,165 (531) 1,065 534 46,245 534 46,779 |
Total funds 2024 £ 631,544 2,543,784 12,262 3,187,590 3,325,078 3,325,078 (137,488) - (137,488) 810,622 (137,488) 673,134 |
Total funds 2023 £ 790,657 2,241,803 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,032,460 | ||||
| 3,011,104 | ||||
| 3,011,104 | ||||
| 21,356 - |
||||
| 21,356 | ||||
| 789,266 21,356 |
||||
| 810,622 |
The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The notes on pages 20 to 34 form part of these financial statements.
Page 18
VOICE 21 LTD (A Company Limited by Guarantee) REGISTERED NUMBER: 08165798
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2024
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | £ | £ | ||||
| Fixed assets | ||||||
| Intangible assets | 9 | 142,763 | 113,986 | |||
| Tangible assets | 10 | 39,897 | 44,696 | |||
| 182,660 | 158,682 | |||||
| Current assets | ||||||
| Debtors | 11 | 848,345 | 1,405,871 | |||
| Investments | 12 | 850,627 | - | |||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 1,187,096 | 1,081,659 | ||||
| 2,886,068 | 2,487,530 | |||||
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one | ||||||
| year | 13 | (2,395,594) | (1,835,590) | |||
| Net current assets | 490,474 | 651,940 | ||||
| Total net assets | 673,134 | 810,622 | ||||
| Charity funds | ||||||
| Restricted funds | 15 | 46,779 | 46,245 | |||
| Unrestricted funds | 15 | 626,355 | 764,377 | |||
| Total funds | 673,134 | 810,622 |
The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane
Interim Chair
The notes on pages 20 to 34 form part of these financial statements.
Page 19
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies
1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Voice 21 Ltd meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
Voice 21 has taken the reduced disclourse exemption and has not presented the statement of cashflow.
1.2 Company Status
The company is a company limited by guarantee. The member of the company is Big Education Trust. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the company.
1.3 Income
All income is recognised once the Company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.
1.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit 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. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the Company's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
Page 20
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies (continued)
1.5 Interest receivable
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Company; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.
1.6 Intangible assets and amortisation
Intangible assets costing £100 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.
Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.
Amortisation is provided on intangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life.
Amortisation is provided on the following basis:
Website
- 33 % straight line
1.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation
Tangible fixed assets costing £100 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.
Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, .
Depreciation is provided on the following basis:
Office equipment - 25% straight line Computer equipment - 33% straight line
1.8 Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
1.9 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
Page 21
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies (continued)
1.10 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities 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.
Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the Company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.
Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as a finance cost.
1.11 Financial instruments
The Company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
1.12 Pensions
The Company operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Company to the fund in respect of the year.
1.13 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Company and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.
Page 22
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
2. Income from donations and legacies
| Unrestricted funds 2024 Restricted funds 2024 £ £ Grants 411,910 219,634 Total 2023 403,048 387,609 3. Income from charitable activities Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Education 2,543,784 Total 2023 2,241,803 4. Investment income Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Investment income 12,262 |
Total funds 2024 £ 631,544 790,657 Total funds 2024 £ 2,543,784 2,241,803 Total funds 2024 £ 12,262 |
Total funds 2023 £ 790,657 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2023 £ 2,241,803 |
||
| Total funds 2023 £ - |
Page 23
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities
| Education Total 2023 Analysis of direct costs Staff costs Travel & accommodation Consulting Resource production Event costs Advertising & marketing Agency costs |
Activities undertaken directly 2024 £ 2,962,650 2,767,036 |
Support costs 2024 £ 362,428 244,068 |
Total funds 2024 £ 3,325,078 3,011,104 Total funds 2024 £ 2,340,030 175,608 67,462 36,835 189,741 1,104 151,870 2,962,650 |
Total funds 2023 £ 3,011,104 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2023 £ 2,280,919 159,536 167,425 76,745 80,923 1,488 - |
||||
| 2,767,036 |
Page 24
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)
Analysis of support costs
| Recruitment and development Sundry expenses Subscriptions Computer costs Telecommunications Professional fees Accountancy fees Depreciation and amortisation Rent & rates Insurance 6. Auditors' remuneration Fees payable to the Company's auditor for the audit of the Company's annual accounts 7. Staff costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Contribution to defined contribution pension schemes |
Total funds 2024 £ 76,082 8,812 95,538 13,654 20,760 21,718 9,924 73,113 34,635 8,192 362,428 2024 £ 9,924 2024 £ 2,026,876 213,370 99,784 2,340,030 |
Total funds 2023 £ 69,076 3,943 52,960 8,087 19,842 2,954 9,540 47,231 25,200 5,235 |
|---|---|---|
| 244,068 | ||
| 2023 £ 9,540 |
||
| 2023 £ 1,980,825 203,982 96,112 |
||
| 2,280,919 |
Page 25
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
7. Staff costs (continued)
The average number of persons employed by the Company during the year was as follows:
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| No. | No. | |
| Staff | 54 | 57 |
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | No. | ||
| In the band £60,001 | - £70,000 | 1 | 1 |
| In the band £70,001 | - £80,000 | 1 | - |
| In the band £80,001 | - £90,000 | 1 | - |
8. Trustees' remuneration and expenses
During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2023 - £NIL) .
During the year ended 31 August 2024, expenses totalling £ 1,943 were reimbursed or paid directly to 2 Trustees (2023 - £2,954 to 4 Trustees) . Expenses related to trustees meeting held during the year.
Page 26
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| 9. Intangible assets Cost At 1 September 2023 Additions At 31 August 2024 Amortisation At 1 September 2023 Charge for the year At 31 August 2024 Net book value At 31 August 2024 At 31 August 2023 |
Website £ 167,625 76,411 |
|---|---|
| 244,036 | |
| 53,639 47,634 |
|
| 101,273 | |
| 142,763 | |
| 113,986 |
Page 27
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
10. Tangible fixed assets
| Cost or valuation At 1 September 2023 Additions At 31 August 2024 Depreciation At 1 September 2023 Charge for the year At 31 August 2024 Net book value At 31 August 2024 At 31 August 2023 11. Debtors Due within one year Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income 12. Current asset investments Unlisted investments |
Office equipment £ 6,819 8,289 15,108 4,286 1,621 5,907 9,201 2,533 |
Computer equipment £ 77,949 12,391 90,340 35,786 23,858 59,644 30,696 42,163 2024 £ 704,529 2,404 141,412 848,345 2024 £ 850,627 |
Total £ 84,768 20,680 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105,448 | ||||
| 40,072 25,479 |
||||
| 65,551 | ||||
| 39,897 | ||||
| 44,696 | ||||
| 2023 £ 1,372,204 - 33,667 1,405,871 2023 £ - |
Page 28
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
13. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
| Trade creditors Other taxation and social security Pension fund loan payable Other creditors Accruals and deferred income Deferred income at 1 September 2023 Resources deferred during the year Amounts released from previous periods |
2024 £ 16,563 170,398 17,190 - 2,191,443 2,395,594 2024 £ 1,739,934 2,176,545 (1,739,934) 2,176,545 |
2023 £ 8,183 51,902 15,806 3,625 1,756,074 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,835,590 | ||
| 2023 £ 1,354,566 1,739,934 (1,354,566) |
||
| 1,739,934 |
At the balance sheet date, the charity was holding funds received in advance for programmes starting after September 2024.
14. Financial instruments
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Financial assets | ||
| Financial assets measured at fair value through income and expenditure | 2,037,723 | 1,081,659 |
Financial assets measured at fair value through income and expenditure comprise cash at bank.
Page 29
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds
Statement of funds - current year
| Balance at 1 September 2023 £ Unrestricted funds General Funds - all funds 764,377 Restricted funds The Dulverton Trust 52 Allan & Overy - Allan and Gill Gray 951 The Considered Ask Foundation 45,242 Fidelidy - Westminster Foundation - Impetus - Minton Charitable Trust - 46,245 Total of funds 810,622 |
Income £ Expenditure £ 2,967,956 (3,104,913) - - 25,000 (25,464) - - 45,375 (45,584) 48,500 (47,757) 5,759 (5,759) 20,000 (20,024) 75,000 (75,577) 219,634 (220,165) 3,187,590 (3,325,078) |
Transfers in/out £ (1,065) - 464 - - - - 24 577 1,065 - |
Balance at 31 August 2024 £ 626,355 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 - 951 45,033 743 - - - |
|||
| 46,779 | |||
| 673,134 |
Page 30
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds (continued)
The Dulverton Trust - Funding for a two-year action research project (Voicing Vocabulary) to improve vocabulary in Key Stage 2 and 3 students through a cross-phase approach to oracy in secondary and primary feeder school clusters in Leicester, the Black Country and Pendle.
Allen & Overy - Grant for the provision of oracy programmes and support in schools in Tower Hamlets – Converted to core funding in response to Covid-19 pandemic.
Allan and Gill Gray - Funding for four i which are School portfolio management interface, Regional development of Hub Schools, The Voice 21 Oracy Institute and Student Outcomes Assessment Pilot.
Fidelity UK - Funding for Technology to develop membership management functionality for the Oracy Schools Programme.
The Isla Foundation - Funding towards growing the organisations impact by expanding their reach in the NE region of England, an area of high need and low penetration.
The Considered Ask Foundation (formerly The Big Ask Foundation) - Funding a dedicated drive to improve students' oracy in ‘cold-spots’ - North-East, Yorkshire & Humber and East Midlands - ensuring our support reaches an additional 138,779 students that need it most.
Minton Charitable Trust - Commits to support development work to deliver improved educational attainment for students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the North and North West of England.
Westminster Foundation - Funding received in respect for rental expenses.
Impetus - Funding provided in order to help reach milestones and develop capacity to scale successful outcomes for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The transfer between funds relates to the use of general funds on restricted projects.
Page 31
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds (continued)
Statement of funds - prior year
| Unrestricted funds General Funds - all funds Restricted funds The Dulverton Trust Allan & Overy Allan and Gill Gray FIL UK The Isla Foundation The Considered Ask Foundation Total of funds |
Balance at 1 September 2022 £ 716,677 - - - 1,339 30,000 41,250 72,589 789,266 |
Income £ 2,644,851 26,534 27,500 190,700 97,500 - 45,375 387,609 3,032,460 |
Expenditure £ (2,596,470) (26,482) (27,643) (189,749) (99,360) (30,017) (41,383) (414,634) (3,011,104) |
Transfers in/out £ (681) - 143 - 521 17 - 681 - |
Balance at 31 August 2023 £ 764,377 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 - 951 - - 45,242 |
|||||
| 46,245 | |||||
| 810,622 |
Page 32
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
16. Summary of funds
Summary of funds - current year
| Balance at 1 September 2023 £ General funds 764,377 Restricted funds 46,245 810,622 Summary of funds - prior year Balance at 1 September 2022 £ General funds 716,677 Restricted funds 72,589 789,266 |
Income £ Expenditure £ 2,967,956 (3,104,913) 219,634 (220,165) 3,187,590 (3,325,078) Income £ Expenditure £ 2,644,851 (2,596,470) 387,609 (414,634) 3,032,460 (3,011,104) |
Transfers in/out £ (1,065) 1,065 - Transfers in/out £ (681) 681 - |
Balance at 31 August 2024 £ 626,355 46,779 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 673,134 | |||
| Balance at 31 August 2023 £ 764,377 46,245 |
|||
| Summary of funds - prior year | |||
| General funds Restricted funds |
|||
| 810,622 |
17. Analysis of net assets between funds
Analysis of net assets between funds - current period
| Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Tangible fixed assets 39,897 Intangible fixed assets 142,763 Current assets 2,839,289 Creditors due within one year (2,395,594) Total 626,355 |
Restricted funds 2024 £ - - 46,779 - 46,779 |
Total funds 2024 £ 39,897 142,763 2,886,068 (2,395,594) |
|---|---|---|
| 673,134 |
Page 33
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
17. Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)
Analysis of net assets between funds - prior period
| Tangible fixed assets Intangible fixed assets Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
Unrestricted funds 2023 £ 44,696 113,986 2,441,285 (1,835,590) 764,377 |
Restricted funds 2023 £ - - 46,245 - 46,245 |
Total funds 2023 £ 44,696 113,986 2,487,530 (1,835,590) 810,622 |
|---|---|---|---|
18. Pension commitments
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the company to the fund and amounted to £99,784 (2023: £96,112). The balance outstanding at the balance sheet date was £17,190 (2023: £15,806).
19. Members' liability
Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he/she is a member, or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10 for the debts and liabilities contracted before he/she ceases to be a member.
20. Related party transactions
During the year payments were made to School 360 of £22,575 (2023: £42,350). At the balance sheet date the amount outstanding from School 360 was £NIL (2023: £2,450). School 360 is an academy within the Big Education Trust, which holds the Guarantee.
Page 34
Registered number: 08165798 Charity number: 1152672
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and Administrative Details of the Company, its Trustees and Advisers | 1 |
| Introduction from the Chair | 2 |
| Trustees' Report | 3 - 12 |
| Trustees' Responsibilities Statement | 13 |
| Independent Auditors' Report on the Financial Statements | 14 - 17 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 18 |
| Balance Sheet | 19 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 20 - 34 |
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE COMPANY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| Trustees | E Morris (appointed 1 October 2024) |
|---|---|
| P J Hyman | |
| M C Jordan Keane, Interim Chair | |
| S J Kaiser, Chair of People Committee | |
| K Modasia, Chair of Finance Committee | |
| M J Sealy | |
| S P Coyle | |
| S C David (resigned 7 May 2024) | |
| Company registered number 08165798 Charity registered number 1152672 Registered office Voice 21, C/O X+Why 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens London England SW1W 0DH Company secretary S Mustoe (appointed 18 October 2024) Independent auditors Haslers Chartered Accountants Old Station Road Loughton Essex IG10 4PL |
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
This has been an incredible year of change and achievement for Voice 21 and has marked the penultimate year of the five year strategy that we set out in 2020. In November 2023, our founding CEO, Beccy Earnshaw handed over to new CEO, Kate Paradine. In May, the founding Chair of the charity, Sarah David, ended her term of office, with interim chair and existing trustee, Miriam Jordan Keane handing over to Baroness Estelle Morris in October 2024. The staff leadership team has been significantly developed through recruitment of new skills in sales, fundraising, communications and technology. In the Summer of 2023 we left our office ‘home’ in School 360, Stratford to take up a footprint in the Fivefields space in Victoria, alongside other education charities.
We made strong progress on our goals - again expanding our scale to over 1100 schools, increasing our reach in target areas, strengthening our effectiveness through changes to our programme offer and staffing structure, improving our efficiency with new technology and crucially, making significant breakthroughs in impact. This includes growing our network of Oracy Centres of Excellence from 9 to 44; this has meant more schools delivering a high quality oracy education, multiplying the community of teachers confident in delivering oracy teaching and learning, and enabling over 11,000 children and young people to develop the oracy skills they need to thrive in school and life. Together we deepened understanding of the difference oracy education can make to opportunities and outcomes for individuals, schools and society, including our Voicing Vocabulary Report. With 1 in 20 schools now part of Voice 21’s national schools' network, we are seeing the transformative effects of oracy education every day in classrooms from Devon to Dundee.
Our annual Impact Report for 2023/34 will be published in Spring 2025. Voice 21’s long campaign for oracy to have the status it deserves at the heart of education also made significant progress during the past year, with long overdue political recognition of the need to value every young person’s voice and make oracy education an entitlement for all. Oracy is now a key pillar of education reform for the new government. We have made maximum use of this platform to further amplify the case for oracy education, by establishing the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, chaired by Geoff Barton. Independent from Voice 21, but with us providing the secretariat, the Commission’s seminal report was published in October 2024. Its recommendations will be a key pillar of our 2025-2030 strategy, which will be launched in March 2025.
As always, our achievements this year have been made possible by the talents and dedication of the Voice 21 team, the generosity of our funders and supporters, the commitment and expertise of the thousands of teachers we have the privilege to work with, and the inspiration of hundreds of thousands of children and young people they serve. It’s through leading in this oracy movement that we know we can deliver on our dream that oracy can be an ordinary part of every child’s education in every school, every day.
With thanks,
M C Jordan Keane - Interim Chair Date: 28th January 2025
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The Trustees present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the Company for the year 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. The Annual Report serves the purposes of both a Trustees' report and a directors' report under company law. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019).
Since the Company qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic Report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted.
Objectives and Activities
Our Mission
Voice 21 is the national oracy education charity. We exist to empower every child to use their voice for success in school and life. Our work transforms learning and life chances through talk by increasing access to a high quality oracy education for those that need it most.
Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language and listening. In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them .
The Need
Spoken language skills are one of the strongest predictors of a child's future life chances but too many children are not given the opportunity to develop these crucial skills.
Despite the strong evidence that effective verbal communication improves academic outcomes, employment opportunities, civic engagement and confidence and wellbeing, the majority of state schools do not consistently or deliberately teach these vital skills. This impacts children’s learning in school and success in life beyond school.
It doesn’t need to be this way.
By transforming teaching and learning through talk, schools can develop children's confidence, articulacy and capacity to learn.
Through a high-quality oracy education, children and young people learn how to express themselves and communicate clearly. They become able to explain ideas and emotions to other people, not only in a school setting but in their lives outside the classroom too. They develop the skills to listen effectively, discuss and respond with meaning, and debate and disagree agreeably. They gain the confidence, self-belief, and courage to speak in public and share their thoughts, intellect and creativity with the world.
Who we support
We aim to work with schools with a high proportion of students who face economic disadvantage. Our measure for this is whether schools are in the top 40%, when ranked by proportion of students eligible for Free School Meals. We do work with schools falling outside this range, but in order to respond to the schools and students that need us most, we use this measure to inform planning and prioritisation to keep our mission at the heart of what we do.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
What We Do
To achieve our mission, Voice 21 makes a long-term impact on teaching and learning in schools serving students who face the highest levels of economic disadvantage. We do not provide one-day inset on pre packaged lesson plans or arrange student workshops and extra-curricular activities. Instead, we work in partnership with teachers and schools to build their expertise, confidence and motivation to provide a high quality oracy education in their schools every day, for every child and young person.
We achieve this by:
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Understanding and codifying what good oracy teaching and learning looks like and setting the standard for a high quality oracy education.
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Providing professional development and specialist school improvement support to empower schools to provide their students with a high-quality oracy education.
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Focusing our work on those that need us most by working with schools serving the least advantaged communities.
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Building awareness and convening cross sector support to raise the status of oracy in our education system.
Achievements and Performance
This is the final full year of our five-year strategy (Sept 2020 - Sept 2025.) We have achieved our aims of deepening our impact on outcomes for this generation of children and young people and those to come and have significantly increased the number of Voice 21 Oracy Schools in areas of high need and mobilised a movement of teachers and schools that enables all children and young people to benefit from a high quality oracy education. In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)’.
2023/24 was a year of consolidation and sustainable growth. As we approach the end of our 2020-25 strategy, we focused on refining and developing systems to ensure our schools make progress towards meeting the Oracy Benchmarks and becoming Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence. We also prioritised creating fertile conditions for oracy across the education system, launching an independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England in order to provide actionable recommendations for the government to drive a systemic shift in access to oracy education for all students in England. Internally, we focused on strengthening our collaborative and supportive culture to ensure our team is empowered and motivated to drive forward our mission.
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(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
These are our top 5 achievements:
1. Driving impact in Voice 21 Oracy Schools
In 2023/24 we supported 1037 Voice 21 Oracy Schools to provide their students with a high-quality oracy education. In our end of year surveys, 96% of teachers we worked with said that their students’ oracy skills had improved and 88% said that teaching and learning had improved at their school. Teachers in Voice 21 Oracy Schools became more skilled and confident practitioners of oracy with over 90% of teachers we worked with reporting that they had improved as teachers of oracy and that they were more confident in their ability to support all students to participate in, and benefit from, oracy in the classroom.
We also accredited a further 35 schools as Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence. These schools have shown a deep, ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality oracy education and have undergone a rigorous evaluation process, confirming that they meet the Voice 21 Oracy Benchmarks. We are proud of their achievement and the lasting impact this will have on current and future cohorts of students. You can read more about their journey in local press articles:
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St George’s Primary in Wallasey is named 'Oracy Centre of Excellence'
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School in Droitwich commended for helping students find their voice
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Newquay academy recognised nationally for its outstanding oracy practice
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Primary school children show off their public speaking skills
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How one Birmingham academy is transforming itself for success
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School strikes gold with prestigious accreditation
Finally, this year, the Great Oracy Exhibition also welcomed over 370 teachers and school leaders to Manchester for our annual event, which is dedicated to supporting educators - particularly those from Voice 21 Oracy Schools - in strengthening oracy provision within their schools. Ticket sales grew by 21% compared to the previous year, highlighting a growing commitment to oracy in the education sector.
2. Raising awareness and understanding of oracy in the wider sector
In March 2024, we launched the independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. The Commission was chaired by Geoff Barton, former General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and also included:
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Justine Andrew - Head of Education and Skills at KPMG
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Sally Apps - Education Director, Cabot Learning Federation
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Jeffrey Boakye - Educator, broadcaster, journalist and author of books including I Heard What You Said and Black, Listed
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Stephen Coleman - Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds and author of How People Talk About Politics: Brexit and Beyond
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Christine Counsell - Curriculum thinker, historian and author
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Rob Drummond - Professor of Sociolinguistics, Manchester Metropolitan University and author of You’re All Talk: Why We Are What We Speak
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Sarah Houghton - Director of Mental Health Workforce Development, Place2Be
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Rufus Norris - Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Theatre
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Sonia Thompson - Head Teacher, St Matthew’s CE Primary School and author of An Ethic of Excellence in Action
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The launch was covered in the education press, raising awareness and generating interest in oracy across the education sector. The digital launch had a total digital reach of 10 million, a 49% increase in mentions of oracy across social platforms in comparison to the previous week and a 2.8% engagement rate in social media posts against an industry standard of 1%.
Between April and September 2024, the Commission met five times, gathered 94 written submissions, and conducted 58 "Commission Conversations"—short interviews capturing diverse perspectives on both theoretical and practical aspects of oracy. The Commission also organised roundtable discussions on key topics, including the English Language GCSE, teacher training, assessment, the arts, and inclusion. A series of exploratory papers written for the Commission by experts in different fields of education was seralised in Schools Week from June to August, sustaining interest and strengthening understanding of oracy across the sector.
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What is oracy? The four defining traits of classroom talk
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Why you should be thinking about disciplinary oracy
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What should be the role of oracy in English GCSE?
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Oracy must be inclusive by design for our children
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Three considerations for every teacher developing oracy
Our annual conference, the Speaking Summit, which aims to raise awareness and understanding of oracy within the education sector and beyond welcomed 274 attendees, marking a 17% increase in ticket sales from the previous year. Additionally, Oracy October - our annual awareness campaign themed ‘When Talk Gets Challenging’ - had a significant reach, with our student resources downloaded by 898 teachers who we do not currently work with and a series of webinars attended by 821 individuals.
3. Furthering understanding of oracy education
At Voice 21, we are dedicated to strengthening the research and evidence base for oracy education, ensuring that teachers and leaders in Voice 21 Oracy Schools - and beyond - have the knowledge and understanding necessary to effectively implement oracy in their unique contexts.
This year, we developed the Talk for Maths Benchmarks in partnership with Oxford University Press.The Benchmarks aim to define excellent practice for oracy in the maths classroom. They were developed as a practical framework with the aim of establishing a shared understanding for oracy and maths.
We also further developed understanding of ‘disciplinary oracy’, outlining why every teacher is responsible for teaching students the oracy skills they need in their subject domain and providing them with the opportunity to practise using them in a peer-reviewed article in English, the journal of the English Association.
Finally, we published the second edition of our annual journal, The Talking Point, which curates research and thinking on different aspects of oracy education. This year’s edition includes practical guidance on teaching ‘disciplinary oracy’ which involves inducting students into the unique ways of speaking (and therefore thinking) in different subject disciplines and recognising and celebrating linguistic diversity in the classroom.
4. Refining our programme and offer to Voice 21 Oracy Schools
In 2023/24, we invested in enhancing the support we provide to Voice 21 Oracy Schools. This involved refining the professional development offered to School Leads and Oracy Champions during our Development Days and strengthening our tools and resources for all teachers in Voice 21 Oracy Schools through the Voice 21 Exchange - our online learning platform - and our Open Learning programme, which provides ongoing, accessible learning opportunities.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
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We developed 8 new short courses, including:
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Science: Speaking Scientifically
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Introducing Oracy for Teaching Support Staff
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Oracy and Family Engagement
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Introducing Oracy for Early Career Teachers
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Understanding Linguistic Diversity
We also introduced 3 new, bitesize modules on the Voice 21 Exchange, including ‘How to Teach Oracy Explicitly ’ designed to reinforce busy teachers’ understanding of key oracy practices and engage teachers in using our extensive library of video content to develop their expertise.
Further, we prioritised improving the experience for teachers and school leaders on the Voice 21 Exchange and encouraging greater participation in online learning opportunities. This was achieved by introducing new functionality, such as:
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Access to Live Programme Content indefinitely (to support embedding Oracy beyond the timeframe of the programme)
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Blogs within the resource library (to support conversion to deeper learning opportunities)
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Developing 'Talk on Tuesday' (to support it as a key driver of traffic to the Voice 21 Exchange)
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Event bookings (to support data collection, attendance and communications)
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Wait lists
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Fast track registration at School Open Morning Events
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Automated communications
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Feedback capture
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As a result:
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98% of Voice 21 Oracy Schools had at least one an account on the platform
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50% of schools had 7 or more staff had an account on the platform
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73% of the Core Oracy Team in schools had an account on the platform
5. Building a stronger internal culture
In 2023, we welcomed our new CEO, Kate Paradine, who joined us in October. This leadership transition gave us a valuable opportunity to focus on enhancing our internal culture and strengthening communication across the organisation.
A key initiative this year was the launch of our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme in June. We are proud to now have seven fully trained and certified Mental Health First Aiders available to support our team’s well-being.
These efforts have contributed to improvements in employee satisfaction and engagement. Over 2023/24, our Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) increased to +35, and our overall employee engagement score also remained strong, reaching 4.21 out of 5.0.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Financial review
Income
| 2021/22 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2023/24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant income | 843k | 38% | 791k | 26% | 632k | 20% |
| School Programmes & Other Income |
1,400k |
62% | 2,242k | 74% | 2,556k | 80% |
| Total income | 2,243k | 3033k | 3,188k | |||
| Expenditure | 1,774k | 3,011k | 3325k | |||
| Surplus | 469k | 21k | (137k) |
Voice 21’s total income increased by £155k in 2023/24 to £3,188k. Of this, 80% was income from the provision of oracy programmes commissioned by teachers, schools, local authorities and multi academy trusts, and 20% was income from restricted and unrestricted grants.
The year-on-year increase in income was driven by growth in school membership subscriptions and the high demand for our Voice 21 Oracy Schools membership.
Fundraising
In 2023/24, Voice 21 received £632k in grant income from the following funders:
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Fidelity UK Foundation - Funding for technology to develop membership management functionality for the Oracy Schools Programme.
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Impetus - Core funding to support delivery of our strategy & a separate grant to support costs related to providing secretariat to the Oracy Education Commission.
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Allen & Overy Foundation - Grant for the provision of bursaries for Pupil Referral Units.
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Considered Ask - Funding for a dedicated drive to improve students’ oracy in ‘cold-spots’ in the North East, Yorkshire & Humber and the East Midlands.
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Minton Charitable Trust - Unrestricted funding to support programme delivery in the North West of England.
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Mohn Westlake Foundation - Core funding to support delivery of our strategy.
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APAX Foundation - Unrestricted funding to support programme delivery.
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Westminster Foundation - contribution to annual rent for office space.
Expenditure
Total staff costs were £2,340k (70% of our total expenditure), increasing from £2,281k in 2022/23. This was largely driven by the expansion of our programmes and engagement functions to meet demand for our work, as well as the establishment of a technology function within Voice 21.
In addition, Voice 21 continued to invest in the development of future systems to enhance member experience and internal collaboration, primarily the building and launch of the Zendesk.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Company 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.
Reserves policy
Our unrestricted free reserves are our general unrestricted funds excluding fixed assets. We hold these funds to:
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Provide a safeguard against the risk of downturn in support of our activities (which could lead to expenditure exceeding income);
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Provide working capital to finance our day-to-day operations;
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Provide a safeguard against failure to deliver against contractual obligations;
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Protect our solvency in the event of any curtailment of our income-generating activities.
Given our commitments, we review our reserves policy on an annual basis. Our aim is to hold between 3 months of operating expenditure as unrestricted reserves.
On 31 August 2024, our total reserves were £673k, of which £47k were restricted and £626k unrestricted.
We did not have any investments in financial instruments during the financial year, including those with a social investment focus.
Plans for 2024/5 and our new strategy for 2025-30
This period sees the final year of our 2020-2025 strategy and a year of preparation to start delivering our new 2025-30 strategy in September 2025.
To prepare the way for the new strategy during 2024/2025, we will increase the reach of the Voice 21 Oracy Schools Programme to over 1100 Voice 21 Oracy schools, reaching more than 200k students and 2,500 teachers. We will also build our network of Centres of Excellence substantially increasing the number of schools designated in 2024/25, enabling them to showcase the value and impact of a high quality oracy education, with a target of achieving 600 accredited Centres of Excellence by 2030.
We will continue to focus our work on those that need us most, aiming to achieve at least 80% of schools we work with by 2030 being in the top 40% of state-funded schools in England and Wales based on the percentage of students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). We will continue to expand our work in the areas of greatest need, including target areas we have identified for growth based on an analysis of economic deprivation and social mobility indicators, as well as early language levels.
We will further enhance our support to schools by increasing the provision of resources and events, enhancing our online platform, the Voice 21 Exchange, and strengthening the Voice 21 Oracy Schools network to build more school-to-school connections.
To help us further refine our model and strengthen our impact on students in Voice 21 Oracy Schools, particularly students in our target population, we will continue to use data gathered each year to better understand which elements of our intervention most effectively accelerate progress in schools. We will also continue working towards having a reliable measure of student oracy, building on our ‘Comparing Talk’ project, to ensure our intervention leads to improved oracy outcomes in students within our target population.
We will also continue to act as a convener, thought-leader and movement maker in the education sector, working to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Oracy Education.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
To achieve these outcomes we will invest in key areas of operational infrastructure including technology, finance, communications and public affairs, and the leadership and professional development of our growing team.
Risk Management
Effective risk management is critical to ensuring our success in meeting our vision and achieving our goals. All employees are able to identify and manage key risks within their areas and communicate and escalate these, as appropriate. This ensures that responsibility for risks is distributed across, and embedded in the operations of, the charity.
All identified key organisational risks are collated on a risk register which sets out the risks; assesses their likelihood and impact; tracks the internal controls in place and actions taken to reduce, eliminate or mitigate each risk; and sets future mitigating actions which would further reduce the likelihood and impact of the risk materialising. The Senior Leadership Team has responsibility and accountability for regularly reviewing and updating the risk register, while our board has ultimate accountability for risk management and the setting of the organisation’s risk appetite. The principal risks which we will manage during the upcoming year are:
Risk: Voice 21 suffers a significant data breach, data loss or hacking incident
Mitigation:
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All staff have completed basic information security training
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Advanced data protection training provided for key roles
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Process for managing data breaches and data breach register established
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Software procurement process developed
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Backup for V21 Exchange and Salesforce implemented
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Data Transformation Lead appointed to lead on data protection and information security overseen by Head of Tech appointed
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Data strategy launched
Risk: Our funding pipeline is insufficient, meaning that we are not able to sustain grant funding at a rate of 25-30% of turnover as we grow
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Sourced external fundraising support
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Increased capacity by recruiting a Head of Fundraising and Head of Communications, Campaigns & Public Affairs
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Access Impetus support via Investment Director
Risk: We fail to attract, retain and develop key talent in the organisation
Mitigation:
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Revised role design and recruitment processes to ensure that we are recruiting the right people for the right roles
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Revised remuneration, progression and promotion procedures
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Revised process for Development Review meetings; incl role and value descriptors introduced to provide a framework for development conversations to take place
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Ways of Working incl perks and benefits reviewed
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Governance
Administrative details
Voice 21’s senior management team consists of:
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Kate Paradine - CEO
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Jim Riddiford – Director of Operations (to July 2024)
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Shirley Mustoe - Director of Operations (From July 2024)
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Amy Gaunt - Director of Learning, Impact & Influence
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Alice Stott – Director of Programmes
In 2023/24, Voice 21’s staff team grew slightly in size from 52 members of staff in August 2022, to a team of 56 staff in August 2024.
Constitution
Voice 21 is a charitable company limited by guarantee and not having share capital. We operate in England and Wales (company number 08165798 and charity number 1152672). We are governed by our Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, which were last amended in December 2019 to amend the name of the charity from School 21 Foundation to Voice 21. Big Education Trust (charitable company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity, Companies House registration number 07648389) is the sole member of Voice 21 Ltd.
Our Memorandum of Association sets out our charitable purpose, which is to advance education for the public benefit, with a particular focus on preparing young people for success in the 21st century.
In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance 'Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'.
Organisational structure and decision making
Ultimate responsibility for governance of Voice 21 lies with the Board of Trustees, who meet each quarter to review the activities and financial position of the charity and to assess the risks affecting it, including operational, financial and regulatory risks.
The current Board of Trustees brings a wide mix of relevant skills, capabilities and experiences from the education, charity and business sectors.
The Board of Trustees delegate day-to-day operational management to the senior leadership team, and the delegation authority is outlined in a Delegation Framework.
Remuneration
Remuneration for the Chief Executive is decided by the Chair and the Trustee lead on People and reported to the Board of Trustees. Voice 21 has adopted a pay band and spine point approach, with limited incremental annual increases, based on organisational success. The salary scale has been benchmarked against similar organisations. Voice 21 is committed to paying all staff, including temporary staff, the London Living Wage.
Public benefit
The Trustees are mindful of their duty under the Charities Act 2011 to ensure that the Charity’s activities exist for the public benefit. They have considered Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that the performance and achievements of the Charity during the year have benefited the public.
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VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
Disclosure of information to auditors
Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees' Report is approved has confirmed that:
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so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and
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that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.
Auditors
The auditors, Haslers, have indicated their willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors at a meeting of the Trustees.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane Interim Chair
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(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
The Trustees (who are also the directors of the Company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year . Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
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make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane Interim Chair
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(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Voice 21 Ltd (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 August 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. 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:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 August 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
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 Auditors' 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 United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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.
Page 14
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' Report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to 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.
Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
-
the information given in the Trustees' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.
-
the Trustees' Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of our 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 Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
-
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
-
certain disclosures of Trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
-
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
-
the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees' Report and from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report.
Page 15
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Trustees' Responsibilities Statement, 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.
Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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:
Based on our understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity we have considered those that have a direct and indirect material impact on the financial statements and operations of the charity. These include but are not limited to the Charities Act 2011, GDPR, and Employment and Health & Safety legislation.
We obtained an understanding of how the charity are complying with those legal and regulatory frameworks by making inquiries to the management. We corroborated our inquiries through our review of documentation generated and assessing the extent of compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.
We discussed among the audit engagement team regarding the opportunities and incentives, including management override of controls, that may exist within the organisation for fraud and how and where fraud might
occur in the financial statements.
As a result of performing the above, we identified the greatest potential for material misstatements due to fraud are in the following areas, and our specific procedures performed to address these are described below:
The risk of management override of controls is the area where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud.
Page 16
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOICE 21 LTD (CONTINUED)
Procedures performed to address these were as follows:
-
Identifying and assessing the design effectiveness of controls management has in place to prevent and detect fraud, including known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations, and fraud;
-
Understanding how those charged with governance considered and addressed the potential for override of controls or other inappropriate influence over the financial reporting process;
-
Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in its significant accounting estimates;
-
• Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any unusual journal entries posted around the yearend and journal entries posted by infrequent system users;
-
Ensuring that restricted and unrestricted reserves have been allocated correctly; and
-
Reviewing board minutes for any discussion of events or evidence which will have an impact on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
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 Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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 its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Matthew Wells ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of Haslers
Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor
Old Station Road
Loughton
Essex
IG10 4PL
28 January 2025
Page 17
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| Note Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Investments 4 Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net (expenditure)/income Transfers between funds 15 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 411,910 2,543,784 12,262 2,967,956 3,104,913 3,104,913 (136,957) (1,065) (138,022) 764,377 (138,022) 626,355 |
Restricted funds 2024 £ 219,634 - - 219,634 220,165 220,165 (531) 1,065 534 46,245 534 46,779 |
Total funds 2024 £ 631,544 2,543,784 12,262 3,187,590 3,325,078 3,325,078 (137,488) - (137,488) 810,622 (137,488) 673,134 |
Total funds 2023 £ 790,657 2,241,803 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,032,460 | ||||
| 3,011,104 | ||||
| 3,011,104 | ||||
| 21,356 - |
||||
| 21,356 | ||||
| 789,266 21,356 |
||||
| 810,622 |
The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The notes on pages 20 to 34 form part of these financial statements.
Page 18
VOICE 21 LTD (A Company Limited by Guarantee) REGISTERED NUMBER: 08165798
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2024
| 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | £ | £ | ||||
| Fixed assets | ||||||
| Intangible assets | 9 | 142,763 | 113,986 | |||
| Tangible assets | 10 | 39,897 | 44,696 | |||
| 182,660 | 158,682 | |||||
| Current assets | ||||||
| Debtors | 11 | 848,345 | 1,405,871 | |||
| Investments | 12 | 850,627 | - | |||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 1,187,096 | 1,081,659 | ||||
| 2,886,068 | 2,487,530 | |||||
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one | ||||||
| year | 13 | (2,395,594) | (1,835,590) | |||
| Net current assets | 490,474 | 651,940 | ||||
| Total net assets | 673,134 | 810,622 | ||||
| Charity funds | ||||||
| Restricted funds | 15 | 46,779 | 46,245 | |||
| Unrestricted funds | 15 | 626,355 | 764,377 | |||
| Total funds | 673,134 | 810,622 |
The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 28 January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
M C Jordan Keane
Interim Chair
The notes on pages 20 to 34 form part of these financial statements.
Page 19
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies
1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Voice 21 Ltd meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
Voice 21 has taken the reduced disclourse exemption and has not presented the statement of cashflow.
1.2 Company Status
The company is a company limited by guarantee. The member of the company is Big Education Trust. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the company.
1.3 Income
All income is recognised once the Company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.
1.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit 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. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the Company's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
Page 20
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies (continued)
1.5 Interest receivable
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Company; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.
1.6 Intangible assets and amortisation
Intangible assets costing £100 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.
Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.
Amortisation is provided on intangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life.
Amortisation is provided on the following basis:
Website
- 33 % straight line
1.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation
Tangible fixed assets costing £100 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.
Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, .
Depreciation is provided on the following basis:
Office equipment - 25% straight line Computer equipment - 33% straight line
1.8 Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
1.9 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
Page 21
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
1. Accounting policies (continued)
1.10 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities 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.
Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the Company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.
Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as a finance cost.
1.11 Financial instruments
The Company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
1.12 Pensions
The Company operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Company to the fund in respect of the year.
1.13 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Company and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.
Page 22
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
2. Income from donations and legacies
| Unrestricted funds 2024 Restricted funds 2024 £ £ Grants 411,910 219,634 Total 2023 403,048 387,609 3. Income from charitable activities Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Education 2,543,784 Total 2023 2,241,803 4. Investment income Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Investment income 12,262 |
Total funds 2024 £ 631,544 790,657 Total funds 2024 £ 2,543,784 2,241,803 Total funds 2024 £ 12,262 |
Total funds 2023 £ 790,657 |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2023 £ 2,241,803 |
||
| Total funds 2023 £ - |
Page 23
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities
| Education Total 2023 Analysis of direct costs Staff costs Travel & accommodation Consulting Resource production Event costs Advertising & marketing Agency costs |
Activities undertaken directly 2024 £ 2,962,650 2,767,036 |
Support costs 2024 £ 362,428 244,068 |
Total funds 2024 £ 3,325,078 3,011,104 Total funds 2024 £ 2,340,030 175,608 67,462 36,835 189,741 1,104 151,870 2,962,650 |
Total funds 2023 £ 3,011,104 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total funds 2023 £ 2,280,919 159,536 167,425 76,745 80,923 1,488 - |
||||
| 2,767,036 |
Page 24
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)
Analysis of support costs
| Recruitment and development Sundry expenses Subscriptions Computer costs Telecommunications Professional fees Accountancy fees Depreciation and amortisation Rent & rates Insurance 6. Auditors' remuneration Fees payable to the Company's auditor for the audit of the Company's annual accounts 7. Staff costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Contribution to defined contribution pension schemes |
Total funds 2024 £ 76,082 8,812 95,538 13,654 20,760 21,718 9,924 73,113 34,635 8,192 362,428 2024 £ 9,924 2024 £ 2,026,876 213,370 99,784 2,340,030 |
Total funds 2023 £ 69,076 3,943 52,960 8,087 19,842 2,954 9,540 47,231 25,200 5,235 |
|---|---|---|
| 244,068 | ||
| 2023 £ 9,540 |
||
| 2023 £ 1,980,825 203,982 96,112 |
||
| 2,280,919 |
Page 25
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
7. Staff costs (continued)
The average number of persons employed by the Company during the year was as follows:
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| No. | No. | |
| Staff | 54 | 57 |
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | No. | ||
| In the band £60,001 | - £70,000 | 1 | 1 |
| In the band £70,001 | - £80,000 | 1 | - |
| In the band £80,001 | - £90,000 | 1 | - |
8. Trustees' remuneration and expenses
During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2023 - £NIL) .
During the year ended 31 August 2024, expenses totalling £ 1,943 were reimbursed or paid directly to 2 Trustees (2023 - £2,954 to 4 Trustees) . Expenses related to trustees meeting held during the year.
Page 26
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
| 9. Intangible assets Cost At 1 September 2023 Additions At 31 August 2024 Amortisation At 1 September 2023 Charge for the year At 31 August 2024 Net book value At 31 August 2024 At 31 August 2023 |
Website £ 167,625 76,411 |
|---|---|
| 244,036 | |
| 53,639 47,634 |
|
| 101,273 | |
| 142,763 | |
| 113,986 |
Page 27
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
10. Tangible fixed assets
| Cost or valuation At 1 September 2023 Additions At 31 August 2024 Depreciation At 1 September 2023 Charge for the year At 31 August 2024 Net book value At 31 August 2024 At 31 August 2023 11. Debtors Due within one year Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income 12. Current asset investments Unlisted investments |
Office equipment £ 6,819 8,289 15,108 4,286 1,621 5,907 9,201 2,533 |
Computer equipment £ 77,949 12,391 90,340 35,786 23,858 59,644 30,696 42,163 2024 £ 704,529 2,404 141,412 848,345 2024 £ 850,627 |
Total £ 84,768 20,680 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105,448 | ||||
| 40,072 25,479 |
||||
| 65,551 | ||||
| 39,897 | ||||
| 44,696 | ||||
| 2023 £ 1,372,204 - 33,667 1,405,871 2023 £ - |
Page 28
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
13. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
| Trade creditors Other taxation and social security Pension fund loan payable Other creditors Accruals and deferred income Deferred income at 1 September 2023 Resources deferred during the year Amounts released from previous periods |
2024 £ 16,563 170,398 17,190 - 2,191,443 2,395,594 2024 £ 1,739,934 2,176,545 (1,739,934) 2,176,545 |
2023 £ 8,183 51,902 15,806 3,625 1,756,074 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,835,590 | ||
| 2023 £ 1,354,566 1,739,934 (1,354,566) |
||
| 1,739,934 |
At the balance sheet date, the charity was holding funds received in advance for programmes starting after September 2024.
14. Financial instruments
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Financial assets | ||
| Financial assets measured at fair value through income and expenditure | 2,037,723 | 1,081,659 |
Financial assets measured at fair value through income and expenditure comprise cash at bank.
Page 29
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds
Statement of funds - current year
| Balance at 1 September 2023 £ Unrestricted funds General Funds - all funds 764,377 Restricted funds The Dulverton Trust 52 Allan & Overy - Allan and Gill Gray 951 The Considered Ask Foundation 45,242 Fidelidy - Westminster Foundation - Impetus - Minton Charitable Trust - 46,245 Total of funds 810,622 |
Income £ Expenditure £ 2,967,956 (3,104,913) - - 25,000 (25,464) - - 45,375 (45,584) 48,500 (47,757) 5,759 (5,759) 20,000 (20,024) 75,000 (75,577) 219,634 (220,165) 3,187,590 (3,325,078) |
Transfers in/out £ (1,065) - 464 - - - - 24 577 1,065 - |
Balance at 31 August 2024 £ 626,355 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 - 951 45,033 743 - - - |
|||
| 46,779 | |||
| 673,134 |
Page 30
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds (continued)
The Dulverton Trust - Funding for a two-year action research project (Voicing Vocabulary) to improve vocabulary in Key Stage 2 and 3 students through a cross-phase approach to oracy in secondary and primary feeder school clusters in Leicester, the Black Country and Pendle.
Allen & Overy - Grant for the provision of oracy programmes and support in schools in Tower Hamlets – Converted to core funding in response to Covid-19 pandemic.
Allan and Gill Gray - Funding for four i which are School portfolio management interface, Regional development of Hub Schools, The Voice 21 Oracy Institute and Student Outcomes Assessment Pilot.
Fidelity UK - Funding for Technology to develop membership management functionality for the Oracy Schools Programme.
The Isla Foundation - Funding towards growing the organisations impact by expanding their reach in the NE region of England, an area of high need and low penetration.
The Considered Ask Foundation (formerly The Big Ask Foundation) - Funding a dedicated drive to improve students' oracy in ‘cold-spots’ - North-East, Yorkshire & Humber and East Midlands - ensuring our support reaches an additional 138,779 students that need it most.
Minton Charitable Trust - Commits to support development work to deliver improved educational attainment for students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the North and North West of England.
Westminster Foundation - Funding received in respect for rental expenses.
Impetus - Funding provided in order to help reach milestones and develop capacity to scale successful outcomes for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The transfer between funds relates to the use of general funds on restricted projects.
Page 31
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
15. Statement of funds (continued)
Statement of funds - prior year
| Unrestricted funds General Funds - all funds Restricted funds The Dulverton Trust Allan & Overy Allan and Gill Gray FIL UK The Isla Foundation The Considered Ask Foundation Total of funds |
Balance at 1 September 2022 £ 716,677 - - - 1,339 30,000 41,250 72,589 789,266 |
Income £ 2,644,851 26,534 27,500 190,700 97,500 - 45,375 387,609 3,032,460 |
Expenditure £ (2,596,470) (26,482) (27,643) (189,749) (99,360) (30,017) (41,383) (414,634) (3,011,104) |
Transfers in/out £ (681) - 143 - 521 17 - 681 - |
Balance at 31 August 2023 £ 764,377 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 - 951 - - 45,242 |
|||||
| 46,245 | |||||
| 810,622 |
Page 32
VOICE 21 LTD
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
16. Summary of funds
Summary of funds - current year
| Balance at 1 September 2023 £ General funds 764,377 Restricted funds 46,245 810,622 Summary of funds - prior year Balance at 1 September 2022 £ General funds 716,677 Restricted funds 72,589 789,266 |
Income £ Expenditure £ 2,967,956 (3,104,913) 219,634 (220,165) 3,187,590 (3,325,078) Income £ Expenditure £ 2,644,851 (2,596,470) 387,609 (414,634) 3,032,460 (3,011,104) |
Transfers in/out £ (1,065) 1,065 - Transfers in/out £ (681) 681 - |
Balance at 31 August 2024 £ 626,355 46,779 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 673,134 | |||
| Balance at 31 August 2023 £ 764,377 46,245 |
|||
| Summary of funds - prior year | |||
| General funds Restricted funds |
|||
| 810,622 |
17. Analysis of net assets between funds
Analysis of net assets between funds - current period
| Unrestricted funds 2024 £ Tangible fixed assets 39,897 Intangible fixed assets 142,763 Current assets 2,839,289 Creditors due within one year (2,395,594) Total 626,355 |
Restricted funds 2024 £ - - 46,779 - 46,779 |
Total funds 2024 £ 39,897 142,763 2,886,068 (2,395,594) |
|---|---|---|
| 673,134 |
Page 33
(A Company Limited by Guarantee)
VOICE 21 LTD
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
17. Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)
Analysis of net assets between funds - prior period
| Tangible fixed assets Intangible fixed assets Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
Unrestricted funds 2023 £ 44,696 113,986 2,441,285 (1,835,590) 764,377 |
Restricted funds 2023 £ - - 46,245 - 46,245 |
Total funds 2023 £ 44,696 113,986 2,487,530 (1,835,590) 810,622 |
|---|---|---|---|
18. Pension commitments
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the company to the fund and amounted to £99,784 (2023: £96,112). The balance outstanding at the balance sheet date was £17,190 (2023: £15,806).
19. Members' liability
Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he/she is a member, or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10 for the debts and liabilities contracted before he/she ceases to be a member.
20. Related party transactions
During the year payments were made to School 360 of £22,575 (2023: £42,350). At the balance sheet date the amount outstanding from School 360 was £NIL (2023: £2,450). School 360 is an academy within the Big Education Trust, which holds the Guarantee.
Page 34
Voice 21 C/O X+Why 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens London. England SW1W 0DH Charity No: 1152672 (England and Wales)
Dear Sirs,
- The following representations are made on the basis of enquiries of management and staff with relevant knowledge and experience such as we consider necessary in connection with your audit of the company’s financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2024. These enquiries have included inspection of supporting documentation where appropriate and are sufficient to satisfy ourselves that we can make each of the following representations. All representations are made to the best of our knowledge and belief.
General
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1 We have fulfilled our responsibilities as trustees, as set out in the terms of your engagement letter under the Companies Act 2006, for preparing financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view and for making accurate representations to you.
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2 All the transactions undertaken by the company have been properly reflected and recorded in the accounting records.
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3 All the accounting records have been made available to you for the purpose of your audit. We have provided you with unrestricted access to all appropriate persons within the [company*], and with all other records and related information requested, including minutes of all management and trustees meetings and correspondence with The Charity Commission.
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4 The financial statements are free of material misstatements, including omissions.
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5 The effects of uncorrected misstatements are immaterial both individually and in total.
Internal control and fraud
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6 We acknowledge our responsibility for the design, implementation and maintenance of internal control to prevent and detect fraud and error, and we believe that we have appropriately fulfilled these responsibilities. We have disclosed to you the results of our risk assessment that the financial statements may be misstated as a result of fraud.
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7 We have disclosed to you all instances of known or suspected fraud affecting the entity involving management, employees who have a significant role in internal control or others where fraud could have a material effect on the financial statements.
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8 We have also disclosed to you all information in relation to allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the entity’s financial statements communicated by current or former employees, analysts, regulators or others.
Assets and liabilities
- 9 The company has satisfactory title to all assets and there are no liens or encumbrances on the
company’s assets, except for those that are disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.
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10 All actual liabilities, contingent liabilities and guarantees given to third parties have been recorded or disclosed as appropriate.
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11 We have no plans or intentions that may materially alter the carrying value and, where relevant, the fair value measurements or classification of assets and liabilities reflected in the financial statements.
Accounting estimates
- 12 The methods, data and significant assumptions used by us in making accounting estimates, and their related disclosures, are appropriate to achieve recognition, measurement and disclosure that is reasonable in the context of the applicable financial reporting framework.
Legal claims
- 13 We have disclosed to you all claims in connection with litigation that have been, or are expected to be, received and such matters, as appropriate, have been properly accounted for and disclosed in the financial statements.
Laws and regulations
- 14 We have disclosed to you all known instances of non-compliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations whose effects should be considered when preparing the financial statements.
Related parties
- 15 Related party relationships and transactions have been appropriately accounted for and disclosed in the financial statements. We have disclosed to you all relevant information concerning such relationships and transactions and are not aware of any other matters which require disclosure in order to comply with legislative and accounting standards requirements.
Subsequent events
- 16 All events subsequent to the date of the financial statements which require adjustment or disclosure have been properly accounted for and disclosed.
Going concern
- 17 We believe that the company's financial statements should be prepared on a going concern basis on the grounds that current and future sources of funding or support will be more than adequate for the company's needs. We also confirm our plans for future action(s) required to enable the company to continue as a going concern are feasible. We have considered a period of twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. We believe that no further disclosures relating to the company's ability to continue as a going concern need to be made in the financial statements.
Grants and donations
- 18 All grants, donations and other income, the receipt of which is subject to specific terms or conditions, have been notified to you. There have been no breaches of terms or conditions in the application of such income.
Other Matters
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19 We confirm the authorisation of the transfers between funds noted in the accounts.
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20 We confirm that restricted expenditure and income has been correctly classified.
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21 We confirm that there are no capital commitments at the year end.
Yours faithfully,
Signed on behalf of the Board of Trustees
…………………………………………… Trustee : M C Jordan Keane Dated: 28[th] January 2025