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2022-03-31-accounts

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1158920

Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements

For The Year Ending 31[st] March 2022

Verdant Accountants Ltd 167 Clarence Avenue New Malden Surrey KT3 3TX

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

CONTENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

PAGE
Legal and Administrative Information 1
Trustees’ Report 2
Statement of Financial Activities 3
Balance Sheet 4
Notes to the Financial Statements 5 – 7
Appendix 1 8 – 13

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

Trustees Jeremy Glover
Chris Magennis
Sanju Pal
Charity registration number 1158920
Registered Office 225–229 Seven Sisters Road
London
N4 2DA
Accountants Verdant Accountants Ltd
167 Clarence Avenue
New Malden
Surrey
KT3 3TX
Bankers HSBC PLC
50–52 Kilburn High Road
Kilburn
London
NW6 4HJ

Page 1

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

APPENDIX 1

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

See Appendix 1

Page 2

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022 FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022 FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022 FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022
INCOMING RESOURCES
Incoming resources from
charitable activities
Total incoming resources
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Charitable expenses
Governance expenses
Total resources expended
NET INCOME/ (EXPENDITURE)
Net income / (expenditure)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Notes
2
3
4		 Unrestricted
Funds
2022
£
3,945
3,945
5,043
180
5,223
(1,278)
44,342
43,064		 Total
Funds
2022
£
3,945
3,945
5,043
180
5,223
(1,278)
44,342
43,064		 Total
Funds
2021
£
7,360
7,360
3,186
150
3,336
4,024
40,318
44,342

Page 3

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

BALANCE SHEET

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
Cash at bank
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Amounts falling due within 1 year:
Accruals
Net current assets (liabilities)
TOTAL NET ASSETS
RESERVES AND FUNDS
Unrestricted funds		 Notes
5
6		 2022
£
1,063
42,181
43,244
(180)
43,064
43,064
43,064
**43,064 **		 2021
£
1,063
43,629
44,692
(350)
44,342
44,342
44,342
44,342

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees On 16 January 2023 and signed on their behalf, by:

Ms Sanju Pal Trustee

Page 4

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 BASIS OF ACCOUNTING

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015); Financial Reporting Standard 102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Companies Act 2006.

1.2 FUND ACCOUNTING

Unrestricted funds are available for the use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Restricted funds are those funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.

All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be Quantified with reasonable accuracy.

1.3 EXPENDITURE

Expenditure has been recognised in the accounts on an accrual basis including post balance date liabilities.

All expenditure that includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Other costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the examination fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SOFA on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis as seen by the Trustees.

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RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued…)

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

2
INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Monthly donations
One-time donations
Individual donations
Fundraising
Corporate donations
Misc
Total Incoming Resources
3
CHARITABLE EXPENSES
Staff salary
Payroll liability costs
Office rent & interest
Recruitment
Staff training
Office miscellaneous
Marketing/social media & Telephone
Insurance
Staff travel
JustGiving charge
Website hosting
Bank charges
Total Resources Expended
4
OTHER COSTS
Accountancy & Independent Examination
Total Other Costs		 2022
£
1,384
839
1,500
0
0
222
3,945
2022
£
720
0
3,763
0
0
0
0
325
0
36
160
39
5,043
2022
£
180
180		 2021
£
588
3,364
3,408
0
0
0
7,360
2021
£
0
0
2,257
0
0
120
0
333
0
216
260
0
3,186
2021
£
150
150

Page 6

RURAL INDIA SCHOOL ENTERPRISE (RISE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued…)

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2022

5
GRANT DEBTORS
Eastbury Comprehensive
Platanos College
Total Grant Debtors
6
CREDITORS & ACCRUALS
Accountancy & Independent Examination
Total Creditors & Accruals		 2022
£
450
613
1,063
2022
£
180
180		 2021
£
450
613
1,063
2021
£
350
350

Page 7

Appendix 1

Trustee Report FY 2021 – 22 1[st] April 2021 – 31[st] March 2022

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a constitution for a Charitable Incorporated Organization, compliant with the Charities Act 2011.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

At 31 March 2022, the charity had 3 trustees. No trustees received any remuneration. The charity is grateful to all Trustees for the time they give to help move RISE forward.

This year in the UK there were no full-time staff. In India, team members Soma Hazra, Curriculum Officer, and Debu Sen, Operations Manager and Mahuya Garai, Curriculum Developer, continued in their roles on a full-time basis for the duration of the year.

Induction and training of new trustees

All new trustees are given, in the view of the Board, sufficient training, which, although of an informal nature provides adequate knowledge of their specific field to understand the nature of the charity and fully comply with its objectives and aims.

Organisational structure

RISE (referred to as 'the charity' in the remainder of this report) is registered with the Charity Commission as of 21[st] October 2014. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provides for a minimum of two trustees. The Board of Trustees is required to monitor the affairs and the general business of the charity and meets as required.

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@RISEprojects
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Registered Charity No. 1158920 www.rise-online.co.uk

Risk management

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

The trustees are aware of the risks faced by the charity and endeavour to deal with those risks appropriately. A major risk in this fiscal year continued to be the Covid-19 pandemic, with the RISE school premises closed for the majority of the year as per Government guidelines and the team in mandated lockdown. Whilst we were considering the recommencement of the ROAR Challenge programme, the continued pressures of the pandemic meant operations in the UK continued to be paused.

RISE unfortunately faced a serious issue with HSBC closing our bank account in error in August 2021 – this was a huge risk as we were unable to receive donations or make payments and we were informed that it could take 4 weeks to reinstate the account. The Trustees notified the Charities Commission and escalated this serious issue immediately to the CEO of HSBC, Noelle Quinn, and RISE’s bank account was reinstated within 5 days.

Volunteers

RISE has always engaged a large cohort of volunteers to help with the delivery of ROAR Challenge workshops in UK schools and to engage with Yearn to Learn students in India. This year we engaged volunteers to support with fundraising events to support students through the pandemic including with food camps, donations of books and online learning devices. We were grateful for the more regular volunteer support from Urvi Khaitan who helped extensively with our communications and Mourad Ameziane who worked on our digital strategy.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

RISE was set up to raise the aspirations of disadvantaged young people in the UK and rural India with our innovative model enabling students in both countries to connect and communicate - a life changing experience to broaden their horizons and inspire them to aim higher.

In the UK , RISE have devised a programme that empowers secondary school students by exposing them to the experience of setting up their own social enterprise and meeting the children they are helping in India over videocalls. The ROAR (Reach Out And Rise) Challenge , does this by developing key skills for employability and actively builds students’ understanding of the social sector and business world. The ROAR Challenge has been

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commended by Headteachers for the positive impact it has uniquely building keys skills – by connecting young people in the UK and rural India through a tangible student partnership.

In West Bengal, India, where 46% of 10-year-olds are at least 3 years behind their expected reading level, RISE runs a literacy intervention programme, Yearn to Learn , free of cost to first generation learners most at risk of dropping out of school. In addition to attending Yearn to Learn, our students in rural India have had the opportunity to meet and learn about students in the UK, who participate in our ROAR Challenge programme, over video-conference.

RISE is currently focussing on our work in India where we run Yearn to Learn. The purpose of our Yearn to Learn programme is:

  1. To improve literacy rates and increase school retention

  2. To empower students to develop skills and have higher aspirations

Using the literacy parameter framework that we have devised, we are able to assess and identify a child's literacy level through an initial baseline assessment and therefore pursue the appropriate intervention for them. The literacy curriculum has been written against our own criteria for innovation, ensuring activity-based learning that engages a child.

Our programme delivery model that we use to measure our impact normally includes:

  1. Fun and engaging literacy sessions with innovative activities increase student enjoyment and interest in learning

  2. Ratio of 10 students to 1 teacher gives children the support they need to develop away from class sizes of over 100 at school

  3. Sessions delivered by dynamic undergraduate students who undergo specific training;

  4. Session Coaches are responsible for monitoring the development of teachers;

  5. Parents are engaged through home visits and regular progress updates;

  6. Student trips to the State capital Kolkata, that children from rural communities have never been to, are organised to raise their aspirations

We work with children in rural communities who struggle to keep up in school because they are illiterate and are therefore likely to drop out. We believe that by understanding the impact of the changes that we are enabling, inspires our beneficiaries and stakeholders; we therefore invest our time this:

  1. Beneficiaries take regular tests against the literacy framework levels, the marks are shared with them so they understand the progress they have made and which areas require focus for improvement

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  1. We conduct quantitative surveys and qualitative discussions with our beneficiaries so that they can share their feedback in relation to the progress they are making on all aspects of the Yearn to Learn programme

  2. Our Teacher training centres around the impact they are making on their students’ literacy and we openly discuss what is working well and what challenges need to be overcome to make greater impact in the classroom

  3. We make regular visits to parents to update them on their child’s progress and we seek to hold more parents’ evenings

  4. We share end of year impact reports with donors

  5. We share information on our impact via email communications to supporters

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities

This year continued to be a challenging one for small charities, significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2021 India faced a devastating 2[nd] wave of Covid-19 and the country was in a state of crisis dealing with an unprecedented number of deaths from the virus. The RISE team did everything we could to continue to support the wellbeing and education of our students during this difficult time.

The Covid-19 crisis raised a lot of questions for RISE, both about the communities we serve, and about our internal survival and role as an organisation. We faced funding cuts and had staff in rural Krishnagar who were not able to access the technology to work from home during lockdown which presented challenges. However the Board of Trustees along with the team worked hard to make sure we adequately adapted our operating model so that we could impact our 350 students in rural West Bengal in their time of need, which includes:

In 2021, despite the challenges Covid-19 presented to our teaching and learning capability, 95% of our first-generation learner students in rural India passed their Higher Secondary exams (equivalent to A-Levels) and 58% passed their Madhyamik exams (equivalent to

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Registered Charity No. 1158920 www.rise-online.co.uk

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GCSEs). We were also delighted that 66% of students received high marks between 60-85%.

Despite the difficulties that the pandemic presented, RISE was able to make significant impact in 2021, as depicted by the infographic.

During and in the months after the 2[nd] wave we needed to be sensitive to the suffering and lives lost. We halted seeking donations for several months. However our target remained to re-open the RISE school and in November 2021 we began a fundraising campaign in earnest. We are grateful to everyone who supported the campaign and enabled us to re-open the RISE school for face to face learning on 14 March 2022, two years after we had been forced to close its doors due to Covid-19, with classes commencing with projector aided learning, thanks to the donation by Debashish Tarafdar.

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Registered Charity No. 1158920 www.rise-online.co.uk

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FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

ln 2022-23 RISE will focus on increasing capacity for face to face learning at the RISE school given that we have been able to open the school after 2 years. We will commence implementing our digital strategy which will help us in our mission to make the greatest impact in providing the most under-served children in rural West Bengal with the tools to learn.

Approved by order of the board of trustees and signed on its behalf by:

RISE Founder and Trustee

31[st] January 2023

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Registered Charity No. 1158920 www.rise-online.co.uk

@RISEprojects