2023-12-31-accounts

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

The Uganda School Project - 2023 Annual Returns

Trustee’s Annual Report

The Uganda School Project – Charity Commission No. 1171011

1. Legal and Administrative Information

a. Name

The name of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“the Charity”) is The Uganda School Project. The Charity is registered with the UK Charity Commission, Registration No. 1171011

b. Principal Office

The principal office of the Charity is in Surrey, England

Four Seasons, Sandlands Grove Walton on the Hill, Surrey , KT20 7UZ

c. Trustees

Name

• Harold Bucknell

• Eleanor Smee

• Evelina Lindberg Nilsson

• Kinga Pecak

• ● Naminya Saleh

• Joao Magalhaes

(Dates acted if not for whole year )

d. Bankers

Charities Aid Foundation Bank

25 Kings Hill Ave, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4TA, United Kingdom

Wise Payments Limited 56 Shoreditch High Street , London, E1 6JJ, United Kingdom

e. Independent Examiners

Andy Hopkins

f. Website

www.theugandaschoolproject.com

2. Structure and Governance

The Uganda School Project was registered in 2017 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and remains as such.

Our governing document is a constitution, which is based on the CIO Model Constitution as published by the Charity Commission for England & Wales. We work in partnership with our subsidiary organisation in Uganda, which is responsible for programme delivery and impact evaluation. The UK arm is largely

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

responsible for strategy and fundraising activities. Our policy on working with our partner organisation is available here.

The Charity has a board of six (6) trustees, who were appointed as the founding trustees of the Charity and who have skills and now experience in governing the Charity. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits.

The Charity has entered into a consultancy agreement with Sean Richardson, who manages the day to day operations of the organisation as Director. He has been delegated authority with approval from trustees on all operational matters including finance, employment and design and delivery of programming. The Director does not have a vote at Trustee board meetings, but can make recommendations on decision making, including but not limited to the appointment of Trustees. He is remunerated for the hours he works, as well as certain expenses (e.g. travel, training) which are enacted in furtherance of the Charitable objectives of the organisation.

There is a Safeguarding Policy in place, to which all trustees, volunteers and anyone working on behalf of the charity are aware of and subscribe to. DBS checks are carried out prior to commencement of trusteeship or any volunteer work, and the checks are carried out again in line with statutory requirements.

3. Objectives

Vision:

To ensure every child in rural Uganda has access to quality Primary School education.

Mission:

Support primary school development in rural Uganda through building infrastructure and educational capacity in collaboration with local actors.

Activities

In furtherance of the above Vision and Mission, the organisation’s charitable activities focus on programming that improves access to quality primary school education in rural Uganda by constructing or redeveloping infrastructure such as classrooms, latrines, and clean drinking water, whilst also delivering educational programming to improve the standard of education at the schools with we work with.

This is achieved through programmes that augment the existing training of teaching staff in how to manage large classrooms of mixed abilities with limited resources available, providing catchup phonics and literacy programmes for children that may need them, and providing education around gender specific issues that may create barriers to education, i.e. sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on the operation of the public benefit requirement.

4. Performance, Activities & Achievements

The performance of the charity was strong in 2023 and continued the upward trajectory of the organisation, in terms of programming, impact, and our fundraising efforts. Below is a review of the prominent achievements of the past year.

Educational Infrastructure Programming

2023 saw major renovation works take place at Soono Primary School, Namisindwa District. As part of ‘Phase 1’ of the construction works, TUSP supported in the construction of four classrooms, a staff room, a storeroom, and a block of latrines at the school.

This project has provided access to an appropriate and effective learning environment to a total of four year groups at the school (approx. 200 pupils at current averages). We expect this improvement in

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

facilities at the school to have an impact in terms of educational attainment, as well as pupils’ wellbeing, although the impact in this sense will be gradual and dependent on multiple contributary factors. For now, both teachers and pupils are very excited by the improved facilities and the impact that has had on classroom overcrowding at the school.

Construction works began early in 2023 and were completed in July, on budget and with no major delays. We are particularly grateful to the Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission for their generous funding of the project.

December 2023 also saw mobilisation and preparation for ‘Phase 2’ of the project at Soono Primary School begin. This will consist of constructing a final two classrooms, a drinking water system, a school kitchen, and a rainwater tank, as well as a series of Teacher Training workshops and the rollout of the School Feeding programme. This will be completed by Site Engineer, Emuron Sam and his team throughout 2024.

At Bumakenya Primary School, we began preparation and mobilisation of the materials required for a brand new on-site School Kitchen with fuel-efficient stove. This project has been made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Lady Ryder of Warsaw Memorial Trust, and we hope to complete the works by early-mid 2024. 100 brand new school desks were also commissioned with 75+ being constructed, furnished and placed in classrooms by year-end.

Educational Development Programming

Educational Development programming in 2023 focused on the continuing evaluation of the Teacher Training pilot programme. Whilst the workshops took place in November and December of 2022, the bulk of the work into reviewing its effectiveness has taken place in 2023, with lesson observations taking place and a comprehensive written report on our findings due to be published in early 2024.

The programme was designed by a specialist education consultant, Dr Andrea Mari, who has a wealth of experience in the Ugandan education sector, and implemented and supported by Nabugasha Doris, an education specialist based in eastern Uganda.

The findings from the Pilot will be used when starting our educational development work at Soono Primary School in 2024, when a series of teacher training workshops will be conducted, with learning and feedback taken into account for an effective workshop to take place. Teaching staff from Bumakenya Primary will be invited to refresh their existing knowledge of the training and share learning and peersupport for the improved experience of all participants.

Capacity building

Focus was given to developing the resource mobilisation capacity of our UK director in the form of a series of fundraising trainings.

Taking place over five ‘clusters’ online, the trainings took an in-depth look at how to analyse the accounts and annual returns of grant making organisations, how to write a compelling grant application, building relationships and donor planning strategies, and was found to be very productive. We hope to see the seeds of the training bear fruit in 2024 with increased grant funding.

Funding was received in late 2023 for developing the capacity of our two Ugandan staff also, who will enroll in formal training in 2024. Masambu Bridget and Nangekhe Malisa will take Post-Graduate Diplomas (PGDs) in ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’ and Project Planning and Management’, respectively, which will take place on weekends over the course of a full year starting in July 2024.

5.. Impact

Attendance

Bumakenya Attendance in 2023 has risen dramatically from that of 2022. In 2023, daily average attendance was 710 pupils (357 boys, 366 girls). This is a 71% increase on average attendance in 2022 (421 total, 219 boys, 206 girls). This is a positive development in that it indicates that parents in the communities we work in trust the school and the education their children receive, but also continues to

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

put pressure on the infrastructure we have constructed. Classroom:pupil ratios and teacher:pupil ratios are higher than desirable

TUSP began recording attendance at Soono Primary School in 2023. School averages across all three terms were 390 (200 boys, 190 girls). This is a 48% increase from our baseline sample collection in 2022 of 262 (143 boys, 119 girls) and is indicative of the trust the community around Soono Primary School has in TUSP’s projects.

MLA (English Literacy) Data

MLA (English Literacy) assessment data taken from Bumakenya Primary School shows an improved performance in each of the three year groups assessed. In Primary 5, the percentage of ‘at least moderately literate’ rose from 15% to 29%, in Primary 6 this figure rose from 44% to 74% and in Primary 7, there was an increase from 85% to 100% children. These figures are encouraging and hopefully demonstrate at least partial recovery from the damage to education caused by Covid-19 related school closures.

	MLA (English Literacy) Test-Bumakenya	MLA (English Literacy) Test-Bumakenya	MLA (English Literacy) Test-Bumakenya	MLA (English Literacy) Test-Bumakenya	MLA (English Literacy) Test-Bumakenya	Primary School-Year on Year Comparison	Primary School-Year on Year Comparison	Primary School-Year on Year Comparison	Primary School-Year on Year Comparison	Primary School-Year on Year Comparison
			P5			P6			P7
		2019	202 2	202 3		2019	2022	2023	2019	2022	202 3
Average Score					Average Score				Average Score
											100
Over 60%		30%	15%	29%	Over 60%	86%	44%	74%	Over 60%	85%	%
50-60%		15%	7%	9%	50-60%	10%	10%	13%	50-60%	12%	0%
Under 50%		55%	78%	62%	Under 50%	5%	46%	14%	Under 50%	3%	0%
Notes: 1) ‘Over 60% is considered at least moderately literate’. 2) Under 50% is considered ‘not functionally literate’. An increase in the percentage in the 'Under 50%' row would indicate a decrease inperformance, i.e. more children failingthe literacytest.

At Soono Primary School, data collected showed a decrease in English literacy rates from 2022 in Primary 5 (from 37% to 21%), but these figures recovered in Primary 6 and Primary 7. It is too early to draw significant conclusions from this data given that our intervention only began in 2023.

MLA (English Literacy) Test - Soono PirimarySchool - Year on Year Comparison
	P5		P6		P7
	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Over 60%
	37%	21%	75%	80%	88%	100%
50-60%
	7%	9%	4%	4%	6%	0%
Under 50%
	56%	71%	21%	16%	6%	0%
Notes: 1) ‘Over 60% is considered at least moderately literate’. 2) Under 50% is considered ‘not functionally literate’. An increase in the percentage in the 'Under 50%' row would indicate a decrease inperformance, i.e. more children failingthe literacytest.

Primary Leaving Exam (PLE) Results

PLE Results for 2023 improved at Bumakenya Primary School. The table below shows that there was an increase in both the both total number of candidates passing (2022; 18, 2023; 28) and the rate of passes as a percentage of total candidates (2022; 47%, 2023; 60%). This is highly encouraging - the data demonstrates both that more children are completing the prescribed 7 years of primary school, and

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

successfully as well, but also an increase in the percentage of pass rates would indicate an improved quality education.

	Bumakemya Primary School	Bumakemya Primary School	-Year	on Year PLE Analysis	on Year PLE Analysis	on Year PLE Analysis
		2018	2019	2020	2022	2023
Div 1		0	0	0	0	0
Div 2		0	1	4	2	2
Div 3		2	4	11	10	19
Div 4		2	0	2	6	7
Total Pass
		4	5	17	18	28
Total Candidates
		7	6	24	38	47
Pass Rate
		57%	83%	71%	47%	60%
Failure Rate
		43%	17%	29%	53%	40%

At Soono Primary School, there was also an improved performance in Primary Leaving Exam Results. The total amount of candidates that passed rose from 12 to 23 (almost a 100% increase), and the percentage pass rate of all candidates rose from 48% to 77%. Again this is particularly encouraging, and something that both schools will look to build on moving forward.

Soono PrimarySchool PLE Results - 2020-2023
	2022	2023
Div 1	0
		0
Div 2	2
		3
Div 3	4
		13
Div 4	6
		7
Total Pass
	12	23
Total Candidates
	25	30
Pass Rate
	48%	77%
Failure Rate
	52%	23%

5. Financial Review

Fundraising

Total income for 2023 was £108,677, which was our most successful fundraising year to date, and a significant increase on 2022’s figure of £41,226.

Of this total income, £52,889 was awarded across four grants from three separate organisations, with £19,152 being raised across two challenge fundraising events (the ‘Hackney Half Marathon’ and the ‘Royal Parks Half Marathon’). It should also be noted that £46,101 was awarded in grant income in 2023 but not included in the accounts as it will be remitted in 2024.

Individual Giving raised £5,518 throughout 2023, with £1,979 of that figure coming through recurring donations.

£4,603 was also raised through a match funding campaign organised by the Big Give. This was an encouraging first attempt, although unfortunately, we did not receive 'Champion' Funding as we had expected which would have furthered our fundraising efforts. Lessons have been learned from the campaign and we hope to improve our performance in 2024.

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

The trustees judge fundraising increases to have come about as a result of improved performance of our fundraising team, with Sean Richardson’s fundraising efforts a key part of his consultancy work, and support coming from a volunteer grant fundraiser. Sean gained valuable experience and further formal training in 2023 which will improve fundraising income in subsequent years. However, it is important to note that overheads and fundraising costs will have risen as a result of this, and in 2024 we will hope to see this upward trajectory continue as we increase his responsibilities to the organisation.

Expenses

Total expenditure in 2023 was £93,720 (2022: £46,472). This comprises Programme Costs totalling £73,213, with Overheads at £20,507

Payments made to Sean Richardson were split into three categories to delineate the type of work undertaken as part of his consultancy: 40% is directly related to to Programme Management (2023: £7,661), 40% is designated as Fundraising expenses (£7,661), and 20% is allocated to administrative expenses (£3,801).

Of the Programme Expenses, £54,410 was spent on Educational Infrastructure programming, namely the construction of educational facilities at Soono Primary School. £9,377 was spent on Educational Development programming, the majority of which was spent on recurring programme expenses at both Bumakenya and Soono Primary Schools, for example on school feeding programmes, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) workshops etc.

Cash Reserves

At the end of 2023, we were left with cash reserves of £39,801, which accounts for the fact that significant restricted grant income had been received but not yet distributed to the relevant programmes. Unrestricted cash reserves totalled £17,730 which the Trustees deemed a healthy financial position.

The charity’s reserves policy states that we aim to keep 3 months’ worth of running costs. Our budget for 2024 estimated 3 months of running costs to be £11,630, meaning we were within our target reserves policy. Therefore, the trustees deem that the charity has adequate resources to raise necessary funds and therefore continue to operate and fulfil its charitable objectives for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements

6. Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed:

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.......................................... Harry Bucknell (Chair of Trustees)

10/31/2024 Date:

Signed:

..........................................

Evelina Lindberg Nilsson (Trustee)

Date: 10/30/2024

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The Uganda School Project Registered Charity No. 1171011 [e-mail]

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report	Section A Independent Examiner’s Report	Section A Independent Examiner’s Report	Section A Independent Examiner’s Report	Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages Responsibilities and basis of report Independent examiner's statement Signed: Name: Address:
	Charity Name The Uganda School Project
	31st December 2023	Charity no (if any)		1171011
	(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
	I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023. As the charity trustees of the Trust, 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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: ● accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or ● the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Date: 30/10/2024
				30/10/2024
	Andrew Hopkins
	27 Hawker Close

1

October 2018

IER

Bimiingham. B312GU IER October 2018

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

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----- Start of picture text -----
The Uganda School Project 1171011
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period Period start date To Period end date
from 01/01/2023 31/12/2023
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Endowment
Restricted funds Total funds Last year
funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations 36,416 - - 36,416 7,561
Fundraising Events 19,152 - - 19,152 7,228
Grant Funding - 52,889 - 52,889 26,143
Restricted Donations - 115 - 115 120
Administrative Income (interest etc) 106 - - 106 174
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
55,673 53,004 - 108,677 41,226
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 55,673 53,004 - 108,677 41,226
A3 Payments
Administration/Website/Other 5,110 - - 5,110 5,081
Fundraising Expenses 14,328 - - 14,328 9,481
Uganda Educational Infrastructure 0 54,410 - 54,410 16,593
Educational Development 8,745 631 - 9,377 8,361
Seminars 883 - - 883 265
Uganda Programme Management 9,426 - - 9,426 6,674
Other Expenditure 186 - - 186 16
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total 38,679 55,041 - 93,720 46,472
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 38,679 55,041 - 93,720 46,472
Net of receipts/(payments) 16,994 - 2,038 - 14,956 - 5,246
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 736 24,109 - 24,845 30,091
Cash funds this year end 17,730 22,071 - 39,801 24,845
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories	Details		Unrestricted funds		Restricted funds		Endowment funds
			to nearest £		to nearest £		to nearest £
B1 Cash funds	Paypal		- 1,013-		- --		- --
	Wise		- 15,467-		- --		- --

Docusign Envelope ID: 6792CAA4-70C3-4D6C-8C7B-A6AFE2372E2D

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----- Start of picture text -----
CAF 1,250 22,071 -
- 22,071 Total cash funds 17,730 22,071 -
(agree balances with receipts and payments account
23803.35 (s)) OK OK OK
Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment
funds funds
Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets MF Loans - -
Unclassified Asset - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
Fund to which asset Current value
Cost (optional)
Details belongs (optional)
B3 Investment assets - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which asset Current value
Cost (optional)
Details belongs (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the - -
charity’s own use - -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which Amount due When due
Details liability relates (optional) (optional)
B5 Liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of
all the trustees Signature Print Name Date of approval
Harry Bucknell 10/31/2024
Evelina Lindberg Nilsson 10/30/2024
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