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2023-05-30-accounts

DocuSign Envelope ID: 5D54F07B-2BBD-43F6-A853-38CD8DA2C238

Charity No. 1170215

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Annual Report and Financial Statements
Year ended: 30 May 2023
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Contents
Legal and administrative information 3
Report of the Trustees 4
Independent Examination 14
Receipts and Payments 15
Statement of Assets and Liabilities 16
Notes forming part of the financial statements 17

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Legal and Administrative Information

Charity number 1170215 13 Wynnstay Gardens Registered address LONDON W8 6UP Jetske van Dijk (Chair – appointed 21 January 2023) Trustees Madeeha Ansari (stepped down as Chair 21 January 2023 into CEO role) Nabeela Ijaz Khan (Treasurer – appointed for a three-year term on 21 January 2023) David Walker (term renewed for three years on 20 January 2021) Cleo Fatoorehchi (Appointed on 17th March 2018) Ali Nabi Nur (Appointed 16 March 2023) Bankers Barclays Bank UK PLC

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CITIES FOR CHILDREN (Reg. 1170215)

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 May 2023

The Trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 May 2023.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the receipts and payments basis in accordance with the Charity Commission guidance

Structure, governance and management

The charity is a CIO Foundation and governed by a constitution dated 02 July 2016. The charity registered with the Charities Commission on the 16 November 2016 (Charity reg no 1170215).

Trustees are responsible of setting strategies and policies and for ensuring these are implemented.

Risk management

The charity's trustees have considered the major risks to which the charity is exposed and have reviewed potential risks. Systems and procedures have been put in place to manage the risks and to mitigate any adverse outcomes, and a risk register is being updated. A Child Safeguarding Policy is in place and has been adapted for work in both Pakistan and the UK.

Objectives and activities

Drawing from the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Cities for Children seeks to protect what we frame as the “right to a childhood” – the right to read, the right to play and the right to feel safe - for children facing the challenges of urban poverty. These include children from refugee and migrant backgrounds who experience risks of neglect, abuse, exploitation and exclusion from basic services like education.

Our model is based on partnering with small, under-resourced organisations giving crucial education or protection services to under-served children. We have been set up to improve the quality of what our partners offer through three interwoven strands of work, creating holistic programmes for child development and wellbeing:

Achievements and Performance

During this financial year, we continued to cement our footprint in Pakistan, bringing more team members on board and formalising our relationship with the locally registered entity, (registered as

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Chotay Shehri Education Foundation, operating name Cities for Children Pakistan). We were able to respond to the devastating floods in Pakistan in July 2022, working to support two Temporary Learning Centres that offered a crucial space for over 250 children to learn, play and recover.

Highlights

In detail:

a) Flood response

Overall cost this financial year: £ 7731

For this, we raised £2660 from a grant from Heart Valve Bank, £630 from Oxford University under the international WHO Parenting for Lifelong Health (PFLH) initiative) and raised the remaining amount from an emergency online crowdfunding campaign.

In 2022, Pakistan experienced one of the most destructive floods in its history, displacing nearly 8 million people across the country. In the immediate aftermath, Cities for Children partnered with Charity Doings Foundation (CDF) to offer lifesaving relief packs in Sindh province, including food rations, water-purifying tablets and mosquito repellent to prevent disease, and mats and water coolers.

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In the medium term, we partnered with two local organisations, to set up Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) for children displaced by these devastating floods in Umerkot and Hyderabad, Pakistan. Both populations consist of families from minority Hindu communities and have experienced multiple forms of vulnerability. Amidst this crisis and the complete vacuum of services for children in these two districts, our TLCs provided the affected children with respite from the stress and trauma of displacement, as well as the opportunity to play, connect with their peers, make friends, and stay connected to education, in a safe environment.

The Umerkot TLC (with CDF) served nearly 200 children in a remote rural settlement of internally displaced children and families from neighbouring districts. As a result of the camp’s activities, our team witnessed the improvements in early literacy and language, numeracy, fine and gross motor skills and socioemotional learning. One parent revealed that "I used to be worried about my son but now he goes to school himself and studies. I know that he is going to make my name shine." Similarly, one child noted that “I want to be a doctor and that’s why I listen carefully to the teachers. I want to treat people for free...If we don’t study then how do we know what injections to give?” As these quotes demonstrate, the Umerkot TLCs were an invaluable solution to the flood crisis in Umerkot, that promoted lifelong learning and curiosity for children that would have otherwise had little access due to the flood crisis.

The Hyderabad TLC (with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, SPARC) served as a drop-in space for over 100 children from an urban settlement who were affected by the floods and disruption to education, as schools were hosting displaced families. Here, communities faced the longterm challenges of urban poverty, made worse by the floods. The Hyderabad TLC is our evidence-based solution to this: through it, we have been able to bridge the education gap for these children to prevent them from missing out on early years learning opportunities. It provided a safe space that added both structure and routine to children’s lives, and connected them with the possibility of changing their lives. We shared and adapted some of our flagship Partners in Learning curriculum for the teaching staff, which helped to engage children in playful early learning and associate positive experiences with learning. This curriculum was relatable, engaging and tailored to meet the unique skills and experiences of the children affected; support their learning, and equip them with resilience and the skills to succeed in their academics and life. As one TLC teacher revealed, "Previously, they [the parents] did not value schooling and thought that their children would do the same jobs as them. However, after their children's engagement with the center, parents come to us ask us how to get their children enrolled in government schools."

We were able to send our Programmes Consultant to conduct a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation visit in February 2023, and also to deliver training of staff to support parents in positive caregiving techniques under the WHO Parenting for Lifelong Health (PFLH) initiative. Further details on impact of the TLCs can be found in the highlights documents on our website: https://www.citiesforchildren.co/blog/temporarylearningcentres2023/

b) Partners in Learning and Pakistan operations expansion

Overall cost this financial year: £15,300.

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The transfer to the Pakistan entity has included programme costs for Partners in Learning (Seekho Sikhao Saathi) and Happy Hoods (Hansti Basti) as well as staff, admin, governance and communication (website) costs). A separate financial update on this will be submitted by the Pakistan entity in September 2023.

Partners in Learning

Since its pilot in 2020, Cities for Children has implemented the Seekho Sikhao Saathi program with three different partners Our various iterations of the program have reached over 3379 children across Pakistan and have created champions of education among Pakistan’s urban slum communities. As of June 2023, the program has been offered 6 times, with each iteration providing unique and nuanced lessons that has helped to solidify the program’s foundational design. Through this engagement, we have learnt the impact of direct coaching on honing Baray Saathi's leadership skills as well as their confidence and ability to express themselves.

• Partners in Learning – Science Content – Sep-Dec 2022

We completed the layout of our Partners in Learning materials including science content, which we then piloted with Junior Jinnah Trust school located in Burma Town, Islamabad. This featured 13 sessions focusing on socioemotional learning, building literacy and numeracy skills, and inculcating a curiosity of science in Chotay Saathi and Baray Saathi that aimed to nurture their relationship with the world around them.

This was the fifth iteration of Partners in Learning as a model, and second iteration of the programme at this school. We reached 49 “Little Partners” via 11 “Big Partners.”

Big Partner Highlights

In this programme, a deliberate coaching element was added to support our 11 Baray Saathi in growing their socioemotional skills. Some key indicators of success were:

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Little Partner Highlights

For our 49 Little Partners, we looked at recall of key concepts e.g.

• Partners in Learning – Re-engaging Girls – May 2023 onwards

In May 2023, Cities for Children launched its sixth iteration of the Partners in Learning programme, with the Pehli Kiran School (Number 4). The Pehli Kiran School System (PKSS) is run by a local nonprofit organization that has been working in Islamabad to provide street-connected children with quality education free-of-cost. They establish flexible and mobile operations in urban slum communities that are excluded and marginalized. Their focus is on providing a unique holistic support to these communities where urban migrants reside and live in extremely challenging circumstances.

The core focus is to support female Big Partners from conservative Afghan refugee or Pakistani Pashtun backgrounds who have dropped out of school to re-enroll, and to develop socioemotional skills like agency and confidence. We are engaging alumni of previous Partners in Learning projects and particularly in this iteration, we have onboarded the Big Partners as "Teaching Assistants,” providing a small stipend to them as a means of incentivizing them to return to the school space.

Happy Hoods

For the first time after COVID-19, we restarted our Happy Hoods community volunteering project. This kicked off with the open-air Pehli Kiran School No. 3 in May 2023, involving 90 children from grades 2 and 3 and a cohort of 25 volunteers from Bahria University. Further details will be shared in the next financial report.

c) Expanding programmes to the UK

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With the unrestricted funds raised from Alpha FMC, we hired a part-time Programmes Officer in the UK and began a partnership with Newman Catholic College, a secondary School of Sanctuary in Brent. We began with running one workshop and funding another session run by Archimake for their Syria Summer Camp.

From April 2023, we have been tailoring and adapting our Partners in Learning programme to engage 13 boys from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds at NCC to deliver playful learning sessions to about 40 children at the Reception level at a local school, Harlesden Primary School. The project began with 4 sessions focused on the older boys, building their confidence and skills to become Big Partners and role models. They are now in the process of delivering 6 science and SEL sessions with the younger partners. We will be conducting impact evaluation activities in July 2023.

d) Advocacy and Thought Leadership

As part of our ‘Maar Nahi Pyaar’ (Care Don’t Scare) series, we released our animation to address the culture of violence in schools and spaces of learning on April 30 2023, International Day to End Corporal Punishment. This was officially endorsed by the Child Rights Caucus and Mehnaz Akber Aziz, the Member of the National Assembly responsible for bringing in anti-corporal punishment legislation for schools in Islamabad Capital Territory. The boosted animation got over 29,000 views and 560 “likes” on Instagram, raising awareness of the impact of corporal punishment on children’s mental health, academic performance and school retention as well as alternative teaching and behaviour management methodologies. This animation is to be accompanied by a written resource and practical training module, which are being developed.

Publications
Title and theme Publication
Partners in Learning – Impact on Girls Report Organisational
Temporary Learning Centre – Highlights documents Organisational
Junior Jinnah Trust – Science and SEL Pilot report Organisational
Maar Nahi Pyaar Video (organisational)

Key External Engagements and Media Coverage

Event Date Detail
British Council Pakistan ext Gen
Pakistan report UK roundtable		 14 March
2023		 Roundtable featuring key diaspora leaders,
chaired by the Special Advisor to the Prime
Minister of Pakistan on Youth Affairs

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BAICE Media Hub
23 February
2023		 “Combatting a poverty of play: revisiting the
global landscape of post-pandemic play and
learning” – blog by Sabilah Eboo Alwani
featuring our work and our participation in the
Global Symposium on Post-Pandemic Play
https://baice.ac.uk/hub/combatting-a-poverty-of-
play-revisiting-the-global-landscape-of-post-
pandemic-play-and-learning/

Progress against strategic objectives

Cities for Children was set up to plug identified gaps in awareness as well as service provision for children in urban poverty, including but not limited to street-connected children from refugee and migrant backgrounds.

There was progress against each of the strategic objectives set out for the period 2020-23 and upon review we found that many of our KPIs had been achieved.

1. Developing and expanding signature
programmes that promote learning,
play and wellbeing.
1.1 Developing a model for program selection
based on impact vs effort (measured as
time, effort, power, resources.)
1.2 Expanding our work under the Right to
Read, particularly through playful learning
in early childhood.
1.3 Conducting evidence-based advocacy
around the importance of the Right to
Play and carving a thought leadership
role.
1.4 Expanding our work under the “Right to
Feel Safe” strand, particularly with regard
to protection from violence.		 We substantially expanded our playful programming
under the Right to Read strand, refining our
implementation of what is now our signature early
childhood programme.
We were able to build our niche in terms of creating
resources to counter the practice of corporal
punishment and ensure safety for children.
We also developed ways of responding to humanitarian
emergencies and urgent concerns for children to which
Zakat funds can be directed in future.
2. Capturing evidence
2.1 Laying the grounds for gathering evidence
of impact from the very beginning, in order to
demonstrate credibility to our partners as
well as future donors.		 We have an evaluation framework for Partners in
Learning and have developed further observation tools.
We now have ways of presenting our impact particularly
in the domain of socioemotional learning (SEL).

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3. Communicating effectively
3.1 Building a niche and brand awareness in
the sector by engaging with relevant
networks and participating in events and
conferences.
3.2 Documenting our work and
communicating stories of impact.
3.3 Conducting advocacy through our
research and our existing communication
platforms, creating a case for supporting our
priorities especially in terms of play and
wellbeing.		 We began work on a new website to improve the way
our brand is communicated. We also began gathering
compelling case studies from our work in the flood
response and other programmes.
We have surpassed our targets for audience on social
media channels like Instagram, particularly due to the
positive response to the “Maar Nahi Pyaar” animation.
We have built a niche as an organisation promoting
playful learning as well as wellbeing and safety for
children.
4. Fundraising for sustainability
4.1 Raising adequate resources through
grants, community philanthropy and events.
4.2 Exploring channels for income generation.		 We had large input in terms of voluntary support from
the Founder and Trustees, but less in-kind and more
material fundraising this year from diverse sources:
• Over £30,000 raised through corporate
partnership with Alpha FMC (Charity of the Year
Award). This was done through a range of events
organised in-house by Alpha FMC, including runs,
an auction, art workshops etc. They were
supported by CfC staff, and we kept staff
members engaged through the year through a
series of Lunch and Learn events and online
engagement.
• We obtained a £4660 in grants from trusts and
foundations.
• Community philanthropy –
o Over £5,000 raised by a team of runners
in the Asics 10k run
o Over £5,000 of Zakat raised for flood
response.
5. Organisation building
5.1 Setting up policies and systems to ensure
smooth functioning, including recognition of
risks.
5.2 identifying resources and recruiting
personnel (for programmes, administration,
finance, communications).		 We invested in systems for the Pakistan entity, and had
one part-time Programmes Officer for the UK and two
for Pakistan. We also set up a finance function for each
entity.

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Public Benefit Statement

The section of this report below entitled 'Objectives and activities' sets out the objects and aims of the charity. The trustees have considered this, in conjunction with the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, and have concluded that:

Volunteers

The growth during this time can be attributed almost entirely to voluntary contributions in terms of time from our trustees, particularly the Chair during this year, and the following:

Financial review

During the period, the Charity received total income of £48k (2022: £19.2k) which includes £0 of in-kind donations (2022: £750). The charity incurred expenditure of £40.6k (2022: £13.6k). The carried forward cash fund balance is £47.7k (2022: £40.3k).

Reserves Policy

The trustees believe that the fund-raising plans in place are sufficiently robust to cover the next 12 months costs.

Trustees' responsibilities statement

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

The law applicable to charities requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

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The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations, and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

07 July 2023

This report was approved by the trustees on…………………….and signed on their behalf by:

…………………………………….

Jetske Van Dijk

Chair

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CITIES FOR CHILDREN

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of CITIES FOR CHILDREN

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 30 May 2023 which are set out on pages 15 to 17.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity’s trustees of CITIES FOR CHILDREN 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 CITIES FOR CHILDREN '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 material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of CITIES FOR CHILDREN as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

...................................... Nasir Rafiq ICAEW

Dua Governance 123-131 Bradford Street Bradford Court Birmingham B12 0NS 07 July 2023 Date:.............................

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CITIES FOR CHILDREN (Reg. 1170215) Receipts and Payments Accounts

From 1 June 2022 to 30 May 2023

Receipts
Donations
In-kind donations
Grant
Gift Aid
Consultancies
Zakat
Sub total
Assets and Investment sales
Total receipts
Payments
Fundraising/Events
Project costs
Support costs
Governance costs
In-kind spend
Evaluation Framework
Subtotal
Assets and Investment purchases
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
Transfers between funds
Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
£
£
37,335
37,335
6,716
0
750
5,290
5,290
10,000
0
1,415
0
300
5,361
5,361
0
37,335
10,651
47,986
19,182
0
0
37,335
10,651
47,986
19,182
214
214
454
26,533
10,651
37,184
10,366
2,032
2,032
1,599
1,200
1,200
426
0
750
29,979
10,651
40,630
13,595
29,979
10,651
40,630
13,595
7,356
0
7,356
5,587
28,898
11,442
40,341
26,988
36,254
11,442
47,697
34,754

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CITIES FOR CHILDREN (Reg. 1170215) Statement of Assets and Liabilities

As at 30 May 2023

Cash Funds
Cash at Bank
Total Cash funds
Assets Retained for the Charity's Own Use
Freehold Land & Building
Total
Liabilities		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
47,697
47,697
0
0
360		 Total
2023
£
47,697
47,697
0
0
360		 Total
2022
£
40,341
40,341
0
0
360

07 July 2023

Approved by the Board on ………………………………. And signed on its behalf by:

…………………………………….

Jetske van Dijk

Chair

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 30 May 2023

1. Accounting policies

(a) Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the receipts and payments basis in accordance with the Charity Commission guidance.

(b) Charity status

Cities for Children is a CIO foundation and is a registered with the Charity Commission under the reference of 1170215.

(c) 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 charity 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 charity for particular purposes. The cost 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.

(d) Receipts

All incoming resources are included in the Receipt & payment Accounts when the charity actually receives legally entitled income.

(e) Payments

All expenditure is accounted for on payments basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

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