Literacy Volunteers (Registered charity, number 1167357) Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| 2 - 8 | Trustees’ annual report |
| 9 | Independent examiner’s report |
| 10 | Receipts & payments account |
| 11 | Statement of assets & liabilities |
| 12 - 14 | Notes to the accounts |
Literacy Volunteers Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023
Full name Literacy Volunteers
Organisation type Charitable incorporated organisation
Registered charity number 1167357
Principal address Woodthorpe Grange, Woodthorpe Drive, Nottingham, NG5 4HA
Trustees
Patricia Harman Paul Hughes Mike Collis, Chair, appointed 14 April 2023 Charli Stafford, Treasurer, appointed 5 June 2023 Melanie Cope, appointed 14 April 2023 Mary Steiner, appointed 14 April 2023 Graham Stamper, appointed 14 April 2023 Amita Rehal, appointed 14 April 2023 Cllr Bethan Eddy, appointed 05 June 2023 Lynda Shaw, appointed 5 June 2023 Mike Hoy, appointed 14 April 2023, resigned 25 June 2023 Carol Wilby, resigned 1 May 2023 Christine Wroe, resigned 14 April 2023 Tizzy Gill, resigned 25 March 2023 Gaynor Preston, resigned 25 March 2023 Angela Beere, resigned 25 March 2023 Julia Gunn, resigned 27 February 2023 Jo Gordon, resigned 27 February 2023 Alan Merrett, resigned 30 September 2022 Peter Furnell, resigned 30 September 2022
The new Chairperson Mike Collis is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has spent the past 22 years working in the private equity sector focussing on portfolio management and business performance improvement. Mike is also a Fellow of the Institute of Turnaround and an Honorary Fellow of Nottingham University.
The new Treasurer Charli Stafford is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has spent the past 8 years working in financial audit and plc finance teams with experience of compliance with statutory reporting and technical accounting.
The board of Trustees would like to thank the trustees that have resigned during and since the last financial year for their contribution to the development and success of the Charity.
Independent examiner
John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL
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Governance and management
The charity is operated under the rules of the CIO – Association constitution registered 25 May 2016.
New trustees are drawn from existing volunteers, member organisations and external candidates with an interest in the work and objectives of Literacy Volunteers. The Board of Trustees must have a minimum of five trustees and a maximum of twelve trustees at any one time.
Prospective trustees must preferably have a skill which will support the Charity. Once they have indicated their interest in the role of trustee a discussion is arranged with one of the team/trustees.
Following this discussion, they will be invited to attend a scheduled Board of Trustees meeting after which, if they are a suitable/eligible appointment they will be invited to join the Board but neither party is under any obligation at this stage. Induction and training for the role is provided. An enhanced DBS check is carried out and their eligibility is checked against Charity Commission guidance.
At the AGM one third of existing trustees must step down in rotation and the trustee who have been appointed for the longest period since their last appointment/reappointment must stand down. Following this the vacancies created on the Board of Trustees are then filled at the AGM. Trustees can stand for re- election and other members can be nominated and elected. We operate under the guidance of our constitution adopted on 25th May 2016 when we became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and also in the spirit of our original constitution adopted in May 1996 when we came into existence as Literacy Volunteers in Nottinghamshire Schools.
Strategic review
As a result of the Covid pandemic during 2020 and 2021, Literacy Volunteers was forced to suspend its activities in its schools and community centres. This had a profound impact on its operations with the loss of many of its volunteers and some of the schools deciding not to renew their engagement following the lifting of restrictions on social contact. This led to a reduction in income and forced the Charity to carefully control its overheads. Unfortunately, this precipitated a loss of confidence within the board regarding the long term financial viability of the Charity which in turn resulted in some of the trustees deciding to step down from their position on the board in early 2023.
In response to these challenges, the employees of the Charity commissioned a review of the Charity’s finances and what options existed regarding its future. The report found that the Charity had a robust financial state of affairs but recognised that improvements needed to be made in relation to its fund raising activities in order to secure the long term viability and success of the organisation. These conclusions were supported by new budgets and forecasts which showed that there was no significant risk in relation to the ability of the Charity to meet its financial obligations within the foreseeable future.
Following the year end, the Charity has made several new appointments to strengthen the board from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience. With a renewed sense
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of vigour and purpose, the board is confident that together with the staff, a capable team has been assembled to promote the growth and success of the Charity.
Within a short period of time, the team has developed a new corporate identity and website which will be launched in the near future which will help to modernise the look and feel of Literacy Volunteers. Work is also being done on creating new presentations and marketing collateral to reach out to corporate sponsors which will shine a light on the amazing work the charity carries out in the communities it serves. A new fund raising sub-committee is also being established which will energise the Charity’s efforts to engage with its supporters and volunteers to improve our fund raising activities.
Literacy Volunteers aims initially to restore the same number of volunteers it had before the outbreak of the pandemic and reach out and reengage with the schools where contact was lost. The Charity also aims to grow and expand on its Early Years programs to provide vital early intervention support to younger children. From there, Literacy Volunteers aims to grow and help to meet the ever increasing need for our support and services in promoting literacy and the life opportunities of young children in our communities.
Objectives and activities
To advance the education of children, adults and families by helping those experiencing difficulties in acquiring literacy, communication and social skills.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit
Literacy Volunteers aims to develop and promote speech, language, communication, confidence, self-esteem, literacy, strategies for learning in the home and a genuine interest in reading for pleasure. We seek to advance the education of children in particular, by helping those experiencing difficulties in acquiring literacy skills. We do this in primary schools and early years’ settings and we use a number of evidence based programmes and projects.
In our primary schools’ volunteers programme, we recruit, train, vet and support volunteers to support the development of reading confidence of children. We also deliver our Learning to Love Books programme - our unique storytelling, songs and rhymes sessions - in libraries, schools and early years’ settings such as nurseries and children’s centres. This programme has grown considerably during the year with continued support from the Small Steps Big Changes, A Better Start Initiative.
Literacy Volunteers has continued to plan and deliver sessions, both in primary schools and the community, to help tackle the social disadvantage and lack of opportunities often caused by poor literacy skills.
The Schools Team
In primary schools throughout Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire we have engaged with children who may be at risk of disengaging with education, have found it difficult to stay fully involved in the classroom environment, may have English as a second language, may be lacking in confidence and communication skills, and
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be experiencing low levels of home support. Our aim is to deliver support in a creative and fun way to help all the children we work with to enjoy reading and learning from books whilst improving their confidence and self-esteem.
The Early Years Team
Our Early Years programme, Learning to Love Books, has moved into its sixth year of delivery. Early reading interventions have had consistently large impacts, as is clear from the results from the impact evaluations from 13 countries that have that accrued over the past ten years (World Bank).
Early literacy is the foundation for a successful education and a fulfilling life. Developing strong literacy skills in the early years has numerous benefits that can positively impact individuals and communities.
We have delivered our programme to over 80 families across Nottingham City, with weekly Storytelling sessions in St Ann’s and Hyson Green libraries every week. This project has helped to build the confidence of parents/carers so they can more fully support their child’s development at home. During the sessions they have learned more effective ways to communicate with others, developed new language and literacy skills and enjoyed lots of fun time too.
The project is funded primarily by Small Steps Big Changes, but we have also secured additional funds from St James Place, The Jones 1986 Trust and Winifred Eileen Kemp Trust to enable to extend the project and reach a wider range of families.
80% of the families who attend our Storytelling sessions do not attend any other group with their child/ren.
100% of the families attending rated the groups as ‘excellent’ for helping their children learn new words from stories and rhymes, and reported they now felt more confident and enjoyed sharing a story with their child/ren more (Autumn / Winter parent/carer survey 2022). Feedback has been terrific with comments such as “We really love these groups. I bring my daughter who has special needs, and the group has helped her a lot”, “I love the diversity of the group”, "My daughter is more confident” and “It really helps children’s speech and social skills”.
Summary
Literacy Volunteers is experiencing some exciting changes and the board with a new sense of direction and ambition is very confident regarding its future and ongoing development.
Here at Literacy Volunteers we are very grateful for generous support from many organisations and individuals. These include:
Nottinghamshire County Council Nottingham City Council Small Steps Big Changes Gonalston Open Gardens Sherwood Funeralcare Sir John Eastwood Foundation
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Winifred Eileen Kemp Trust GT Littlefair Trust Forman Hardy Charitable Trust St James Place Charitable Foundation Jones 1986 Charitable Trust The Bookcase at Lowdham Councillor Kate Foale Councillor Gordon Wheeler Councillor Mike Quigley The Renewal Trust Brian O’Neill Alison Fowler Ian Kilby Paul Marriott The Cumberland Trust Charles Littlewood Trust National Literacy Trust Penguin Books Nosy Crow Barrington Stoke Breeze Corporate Finance Ltd Clearwater International Literacy Capital Asset Management LLP Fullbrook Thorpe Investments LLP Bishopsgate Corporate Finance Browne Jacobson LLP Co-operative Funeral Care
Public benefit statement
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.
Summary of the main achievements during the period
Planned and started to deliver a more creative promotional strategy to attract and recruit more volunteers to deliver sessions in schools.
The Schools Team supported Literacy Volunteers to return to face to face sessions with children in primary schools (70 volunteers by March 2022).
The Early Years Team resumed face to face Learning to Love Books storytelling and craft sessions for 50 families living in the communities of Hyson Green and St Anns. The project has delivered over 1,000 book boxes to 150 children and their families.
Secured additional funding from Nottinghamshire County Council to deliver face to face workshops for new and existing Literacy Volunteers to strengthen the volunteer experience.
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Identified new educational projects and partnerships including Nottingham Trent University.
Financial review
Following the improvement post-pandemic in the prior financial year, a number of challenges were experienced during the year ended 31 March 2023. School subscriptions increased to £38,779 but a significant reduction in grants and donations was incurred. Overall costs were down year on year as cost reductions related to the restructuring of the staff team at the start of the year crystallised. Cash assets at the end of the year totalled £98,035.
Following the challenges noted in the strategic report, a full financial review was carried out and new budgets and forecasts put in place to support the charity’s objectives and grow in the next financial year.
The charity’s policy on reserves
The Board recognises its responsibility in maintaining its reserves to include the required redundancy payments due to staff in the event of the closure of the Charity and to cover the costs incurred in any closure period likely to amount to a quarter’s running costs in addition to a sum held for one term’s salary expenditure and small amount to finance expenditure during a closure period. This is good practice for any charity.
Following the review for this financial year, the trustees have designated the sum of £34,500 as a reserve to cover our liabilities should closure become necessary. The trustees will always strike a balance between trying to retain some level of reserves and the need to invest in the delivery of our objectives i.e. the promotion of reading for pleasure and the benefit this has in raising literacy levels in children. To address this, the trustees intend to focus on increasing fundraising receipts as part of their strategic goals for the current financial year.
Finally, it is important to note that the trustees review their reserves annually (following a review of the charity's position and the external environment) in order to account for changes in either area.
Financial risks
We have decided that the following risks are worth noting:
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Small Steps Big Changes 3-year funding comes to an end in July 2023 for Early Years. The 2023/23 budget has income from SSBC, The Provincial Grand Lodge of Nottinghamshire, The Jones 1986 Charitable Trust and the Coop in Sherwood to fund this project. The costs for this project are salaries to run the story sessions and support families, and books and materials for the Storyboxes that are mailed out. Our focus for the coming year is to secure unrestricted funding of £25,000 which will enable us to continue to run the project from September 2024 – July 2025.
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We have previously concluded that we cannot pass on the full costs of recruiting and training volunteers to the schools we support. The evidence we have shows that
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although schools tolerate some small increases in the subscriptions they pay, school budgets will not cover the charge we would have to make to fully recover our costs, even though the service is highly valued. We have secured funding from Nottingham County Council for the next 3 years. As such we have, for the last twenty years, worked to keep our overheads as low as we possibly can. Focus on fundraising will be key in order to continue to bridge this shortfall although over the last couple of years, it has become increasingly difficult to raise this via traditional routes used by the charity previously.
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Nottingham County Council provide us with grace and favour offices and facilities at Woodthorpe Grange. If they were in future unable to continue with this arrangement, we would have to find alternative premises and source our own facilities. This could significantly add to our cost base.
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If there was a resurgence of Covid-19, or other public health emergency, were to force the shutdown or closure of primary schools, we would be seriously impacted. Without significant intervention, e.g. through government funding, we would be unable to cover our central costs following a loss of subscription income.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signed ______ Date _ Mike Collis, Trustee
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Literacy Volunteers for the year ended 31 March 2023
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Literacy Volunteers (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed ____ Date _______ 04/08/2023 John O’Brien MSc, FCCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus
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Literacy Volunteers Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 March 2023
| 2022 Total Unrestricted Funds Funds £ Note £ Receipts 90134 Grants & donations 2 15688 27625 Subscriptions 38779 - Fundraising 4914 117759 Total receipts 59381 Payments 18734 Activities & materials 543 - Advertising 33 - DBS fees 54 - Equipment, repairs & renewals 150 678 Independent examination fee 696 1641 Insurance 1385 997 Payroll services 720 37 Prizes - 827 Professional fees 354 787 Publications & subscriptions 343 76508 Salaries, NI & pension 35839 549 Staff training 17 102 Stationery & office supplies 192 50 Sundry payments - 943 Telephone, internet & postage 67 420 Training & support 171 1188 Travel & subsistence 3308 567 Volunteer resources 8 104028 Total payments 43880 13731 Net receipts/(payments) 15501 78040 Cash funds at start of this period 69942 91771 Cash funds at end of this period 85443 |
Restricted Funds £ 24288 - - 24288 14131 52 - - - - - - - - 17962 100 193 - 334 - 104 649 33525 (9237) 21829 12592 |
2023 Total Funds £ 39976 38779 4914 |
|---|---|---|
| 83669 | ||
| 14674 85 54 150 696 1385 720 - 354 343 53801 117 385 - 401 171 3412 657 |
||
| 77405 | ||
| 6264 91771 |
||
| 98035 |
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Literacy Volunteers Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 March 2023
----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2023
£ Cash assets Note £
91708 Bank accounts 97972
63 Cash in hand 63
91771 98035
Other monetary assets
133 Prepayment - Insurance 115
133 115
Liabilities
(696) Creditors 3 (1040)
(696) (1040)
----- End of picture text -----
These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:
Signed _____ Dated _____ 03/08/2023 Charli Stafford, Trustee
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Literacy Volunteers Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023
1. Receipts & payments accounts
Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.
2. Grants & donations
| Cllr Foyle, Divisional Fund (NCC) Co-operative Funeral Care G T Littlefair Trust Fund Local Giving Mr Brian Clarke O'Neill Nottinghamshire County Council Payroll Giving Sir John Eastwood Foundation SSBC St James Place Sundry donations The Forman Hardy Charitable Trust The Jones 1986 Charitable Trust The Renewal Trust Winifred Eileen Kemp Trust |
Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ 200 - 200 - 100 100 480 - 480 159 - 159 600 - 600 10900 - 10900 204 - 204 1000 - 1000 - 13188 13188 - 2500 2500 145 - 145 - 1000 1000 - 7000 7000 - 500 500 2000 - 2000 15688 24288 39976 |
|---|---|
3. Creditors
| Independent examination fee Salaries, NI & pension (HMRC) Salaries, NI & pension (NEST) |
£ 732 179 129 |
|---|---|
| 1040 |
4. Trustees’ remuneration
- Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.
5. Related party transactions
- There were no related party transactions in this period.
6. Premises
The premises are provided by the local authority.
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7. Funds analysis
| Opening balance £ Restricted funds Learning to Love Books (SSBC6) 10380 Learning to Love Books (Boots) 4404 Learning to Love Books (Capital One) 1385 Let's Meet and Learn Together 5000 Warsop Book Boxes 660 Learning to Love Books (SSBC7) - Black Lives Matter Books - Schools (The Jones 1986 Trust) Schools (Forman Hardy Trust) - Early Years (Forman Hardy Trust) - Early Years (St James Place) - Early Years (The Jones 1986 Trust) - Early Years (Renewal Trust) - 21829 Unrestricted funds General fund 69942 Designated funds Reserves - 69942 |
Receipts (Payments) £ £ - (10380) - (4279) - - - (5000) - (451) 13188 (12433) 100 (80) 4000 500 - 500 (500) 2500 - 3000 - 500 (402) 24288 (33525) 59381 (43880) - - 59381 (43880) |
Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - (34500) 34500 - |
Closing balance £ - 125 1385 - 209 755 20 4000 500 - 2500 3000 98 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12592 | |||
| 50943 34500 |
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| 85443 |
The transfer from the General fund to the Reserves fund represents a sum the trustees have designated as a reserve to cover liabilities should closure become necessary.
The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows: Early Years Programme - Learning to Love Books (SSBC6, SSBC7, Boots Charitable Trust, Capital One, Forman Hardy Trust, St James Place, The Jones 1986 Trust & Renewal Trust) - to run our early years (0-4) storytelling sessions and Story Box project. Each Story Box contained a book, flash card for learning new words and a selection of fun resources for parents to support the home learning environment.
Let’s Meet and Learn Together (Nottinghamshire County Council Covid Partnership Social Recovery) - to plan and deliver a series of meetings to recruit new volunteers and for existing volunteers to meet together face-to-face and share learnings.
Warsop Book Boxes (Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor’s Discretionary Fund, Councillor Bethan Eddy) - to deliver Story Boxes to years 2 and 6 in a local primary school.
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Schools (Forman Hardy Trust & The Jones 1986 Trust) - to deliver support in a creative and fun way to help all the children we work with to enjoy reading and learning from books whilst improving their confidence and self-esteem.
8. Glossary of terms
Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.
Prepayments: These are services that the charity has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period.
Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.
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