JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED
31 August 2025
REGISTERED NUMBER - 1174080
Essell
ACCOUKTANTS.LTD
29 Howard Street
North Shiekls
Tyne and Wear
NE30 1AR
Tel - 0191 259 2743 Fax 0191257 2249
E-mail . info@essell.¢o.uk
Ret. ACRf2668

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 August 2025
CONTENTS
Legal and Administrakn've InfO￿nab.on
Page 1
Report of the Trustees
Pages2-4
Report of the Independent Examiner
Page 5
Statement of Financial Activits'es
Page 6
Balance Sheet
Page 7
Notes to the Financial Ststements
Pages8-11
29 Howard Street
North Shields NE30 1AR
Tel.. 0191259 2743 . Fax 0191257 2249
E-mail.. info@essell.co.uk
Ref: ACR12668

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 1
Legal and Administrative Information for the Year Ended 31 August 2025
Constitution
Joseph Cowen Lifelong Learning Centre CIO is a Body Corporate under Part 11 of the Charities Act 2011
and is governed by its Constitution. It is a Registered Charity no. 1174080
Trustees
The trustees seNing during the year and since the year end were as follows '.
Dr Dorothy Stainsby
Dr Louise Jennet Freeman
Mrs Joan Campion
Dr Malcolm Robert Grady
Prof Simon Pallett
Mrs Rita Prabhu
Mrs Anthea Lang
Miss Lesley Pringle
Prof Trevor Buck
Ms Kate Bridger
Mr Justin Pearce
Mrs Karen Gammack
(￿SIgned 4 October 2024)
(appointed 27 June 2025)
Re
istered Office
Essell Accountants Ltd, 29 Howard Street. North Shields. Tyne and Wear, NE30 1AR
Inde
endent Examiner
Alex Robinson, Essell Accountants Limited, 29 Howard Street, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE30 1 AR

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 2
Re
ort of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 Au
ust 2025
The Trustees are pleased to present their report together with the financial ststements of the charity
for the year ended 31 August 2025.
Legal and administrative information set out on page 1 fomis part of this report. The financial statements
comply with current statutory requirements, the constitution and the Statement of Recommended
Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
Ob'ects of the Chari
The objects of the CIO are to advance the education of adults in the north east of England (the area of benefiti
by the provision of short courses, seminars, study groups, lectures and other such activities.
Structure Governance & Mana
ement
The Board of Trustees met eight times during the year. In addib'on the Board held an away day to discuss
future strategy.
Financial Review
In 2024125 the Trustees planned to make a small deficrt, but in reality a mdest surplus has been made.
This is because of strict control of expenditure, the rna1ntenan￿ of membership levels and a slightly lower
level of expenditure on programming.
During the year the Trustees reviewed the CIO'S reseNes policy and detemiined that the minimum level of
free reserves should be 6 months running costs, the designated Gordon Brown Fund and a small sum to
cover winding up costs, if the organisation ever ceased to operarate. This means that on current spending
minimum reserves should be about £52,500 as compared to their actual level of £81,675. The Trustees
have therefore reduced the subscription rate for 2025126 from £285 to £250 in order gradually to run down
the free reserves held over a number of years. It is therefore hoped that this new reduced subscription level
can be maintained for at least two years and possibly longer.
The Trustees are always on the look-out for additional sources of funding, although the CIO is likely to remain
dependent largely on members, subscriptions. It would of course help to have a few more members, although
it looks as if the lower level of membership post Pandemic has become the new nomi.
The CIO has continued to expend the restricted grant from the Midgley Fund on additional philosophy tuition
and the funds are likely to be spent up in early 2025126
The CIO received a £300 grant from Northumberland Archives to support a palaeography course run in
conjunction with the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. It also received a £500 donation from
Jack Pennie to support activities in Season 4, held over the sumwEr of 2025. This has enabled some
trips and visits to be subsidised.
Reserves Polic
Unrestricted reserves includes a designated fund of £25,179 held for the purposes of organisational
development. The money for this purpose was received from an unrestricted legacy, which the Twstees have
designated for this purpose.
Otherwise it is the policy of the Trustees to hold unrestricted reserves equivalent to at least 6 months running
costs in order to protect the Charity against unexpected losses in income or unforeseen rises in expenditure.
As noted above the Trustees have decided to run down reserves over a number of years, as the level of
reserves was judged to be more than the organisation requires. by reducing the cost of an annual subscription.
The Truslees remain confident that the CIO remains a going concem for the foreseeable future, given the
substantial level of unrestricted reserves.

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 3
Re
ort of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 Au
ust 2025
Achievements and Perfonnance
Following on from our tenth anniversary a group of Trustees and Tutors has drafted an article about the first 10
of the Explore programme, the reasons for its success as well as analysis of the challenges fa￿d. The research
included a comprehensive survey of members. views which was communicated to members at the AGM in May
2025. It is intended to secure publication of the article in an appropriate joumal or elsewhere.
The Trustees held an away day to plan for the future and a further one is being planned for autumn 2025.
The Trustees have also reviewed and revised the Reserves Policy, developed a Data Protection Policy and are
working on a review of existing policies. as V￿[1 as providing new policies in key areas.
I n 2024125 we have retained a mix of face-t(Fface. on-line and mixed mode sessions. Mixed mode sessions
present some challenges, but the Trustees have taken action to make this work as well as possible. Whilst
some members would prefer everything to be face to fa￿, others are only prepared to participate online. It also
makes sense for evening sessions, when getting to and from sessions on publiG transport would be more
challenging.
As with many other membership organisations, the CIO has experienced some loss of membership post
Pandemic with 139-145 members in 2024125 compared to about 200 before the Pandemic. The numbers are
much the same as in 2023124. We have continued to offer taster days to try and recruit new members
with some success, but much more remains to be done to grow aggregate numbers.
We continue to operate successfully from Brunswick Methodist Church and enjoy excellent support from the
staff there.The building offers an excellent City Centre location close to public transport links and a variety of
catering outlets.
The Explore programme continues to be member-run, supported by a part-time Administrator. Our Administrator
works larqely from home, but has some drop-in space in BrunSv￿ck Methodist Church.
The CIO benefits greatly from the wort( of volunteers who carry out a wide range of tssks from devising the
the proqramme to supporting speakers with the technology and providing refreshments for taster sessions. The
Trustees are very grateful for this support, without which the organisation could not function. The Trustees are
also qrateful for the support of the Friends of Explore, sometimes financial and in providing catering for
celebrations and laster days.
The Trustees, Annual Report will be presented to the members at the AGM.
Public Benefit
The Trustees confirm that they are aware of the Charity Commission guidan￿ on public benefit and take account
of it in running the CIO. There is substantial public benefit in the provision of a very wide curriculum choice,
principally to an older audience, and in the way the CIO operates in partnership wtth other bodies. The CIO also
offers some free events to the public, undertakes V￿rk in partnership with other organisations to make historical
documents available to the public by transcribing them and publishing the results on-line. It also provides valuable
opportunities for PhD students to present their work to a nOn-a￿deMiC audien￿. Again we offered our annual
Legacy Lecture to all comers on Zoom and attracted a big audience, extending well beyond current membership.
This lecture is funded by the Gordon Brown legacy which is shown in designated funds.
The CIO offers free taster sessions each year to allow interested individuals to sample sessions before they
have to commit to becoming members. In 2025126 it will be offering bursaries for those on benefits who cannot
afford the subscription.
Risk Ststement
The Board has reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and established systems for managing
these. Thanks to our experience during the Pandemic the Trustees have been able to enhance the organisation's
resilience by leaming how to operate online and in mixed mode, and some of our provision continues to be offered
in these modes.

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 4
Re
ort of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 Au
ust 2025
Statement of Trustees. Res
onsibilities
Charity law 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 surplus or deficit of the charity for that period. In preparing
those financial statements, the trustees are required to..
select suitable accounting policies and the apply them consistently;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent"
prepare financial statements on the going concem basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the
CIO will continue in business.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:
Trustee .
Prof Simon Pallett
Date .

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
Page 5
TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG LEARNING CENTRE
I report on the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 August 2025 which are set out on pages 6- 11.
Res
ctive Res
onsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner
The Charivs trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that
an audit is not required this year (under section 144 of the Charits'es Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an
independent examination is needed
It is my responsibility to -.
- examine the accounts (under section 145 of the 2011 Act).
- to foll¢)w the procedures laid down in the General Direction given by the Charity Commissioners
{under sects'on 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Inde
endent Examinerfs Re
ort
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity
Commission. That examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the trustee's and a
comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes considering any unusual items or disclosures
in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees Con￿MIng any such matters.
The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be ￿Uired in an audit. and
consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. The report is limited
to those matters set out in the statement below.
Inde
endent examiner's statement
I n connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention .
(11 Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
- to keep accounting records in accordan￿ with section 130 of the 2011 Act,. and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply
with the reqU1￿ments of the 2011 Act and the Regulations have not been met., or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding
of the accounts to be reached.
Mr Alex Robinson FCCA
Essell Accountants Limited
29 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1AR
Date .
11[I[ /Loll

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 6
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
Total
2024
Notes
Income and Endowments
Incoming Resources from
Generated Funds:
Donations and Legacies
Donations
Gift aid
Sundry sales
Grants
1,918
254
500
2,418
254
2,326
326
70
300
300
Income from Investments:
Bank Interest
1,819
1,819
871
3,991
800
4,791
3,593
Income from Charitable Actlvitles
41,584
41,584
41,029
Total Income and Endowments
45,575
800
46,375
44,622
Ex
enditure on .
Expenditure on Raising Funds
237
237
494
Expenditure on Governance
1.082
1,082
1,027
Expenditure on Charitable Activities
42,030
1,501
43,531
44,600
Total Ex
enditure:
43,349
1,501
44,850
46,121
Net Income I
Ex
enditure
before transfers
resources
2.226
(701)
1.525
(1,499}
Transfers between funds
Net Movement in Funds
2,226
(701)
1,525
(1,499)
Balance as at 1st Se
tember 2024
79,449
1,456
80,905
82,404
Balance as at 31st Au
ust 2025
81.675
755
82,430
80,905
The notes form part of the financial statements

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 7
BALANCE SHEET AS AT
31 August 2025
2025
2024
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets (Note 7)
597
917
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors (note 8)
Cash at Bank and in Hand
499
104,010
104.509
109,928
109,928
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE
WITHIN ONE YEAR (Note 9)
22.676
29,940
NET CURRENT ASSETS
81.833
79,988
NET ASSETS
82,430
80,905
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Unrestricted Funds (Note 10)
Restricted Funds (Note 10)
81,675
755
79,449
1,456
82,430
80,905
These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on ? KI 70
and were signed on their behalf by .
J £.ILL
Prof Simon Pallett
Charlty regSstered number . 1174080

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 8
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Accounting Convention
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance
with the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015)
and the Charities Act 2011. The principal accounts'ng policies adopted in the preparation of the financial
statements are as follothE:
Incoming Resources
Incoming Resources represents grants, sales and other work done during the year. It is prepared on an
accruals basis.
Tangible Flxed Assets
Depreciation is provided at the following rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful
life.
Computer
Straight line over five years
Fixtures and Fittings stra￿ht line over five years
Fund Ac¢ounting
Funds held by the charity are erther '.
Unrestricted general funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable
objects at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds - these funds are grants or donations received that require the funds to be used in a
specific way or for a specific purpose.
Designated funds - these are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for
specific future purposes or projects.

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 9
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
2 INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
Total
2024
Subscriptions
Income from events
41,584
41,584
41,029
41,584
41,584
41,029
3 EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
Total
2024
Member development
237
237
494
237
237
494
4 EXPENDITURE ON GOVERNANCE
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
Total
2024
Payroll and independent examination
1,082
1,082
1,027
1,082
1.082
1,027
5 EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total
2025
Total
2024
Tutors
Room Hire
Palaeography materials
Season 4 costs
General Insurances
Annual IT Support
Office Rent
Salary Costs
Stationery and Office Supplies
Bank charges
Sundry Expenses
Depreciation
18.428
7,232
945
435
100
21
19,373
7,667
100
21
838
534
312
14,116
75
68
107
320
20,953
7,500
838
534
312
14,116
75
68
107
320
823
583
832
13,242
78
93
155
341
42,030
1,501
43,531
44,600
6 STAFF COSTS
Total
2025
Total
2024
Wages and Salaries
Employer's Nl
Pension Contributions
13,316
12,482
800
760
14,116
13,242

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page 10
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025
6 STAFF COSTS (continued)
2025
2024
The average weekly number of employees during the year was .
No employee received remuneration amounb'ng to more than £60,000 in either year.
No Trustee was paid for their work as Twstees, but some Trustees were paid for tutoring.
Trustees were paid £267 to reimburse them for expenditure incurred on the CIO'S behalf
(2024 £2391
7 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Other
Equipment Equipment
Total
COST
As at 1 September 2024
Additions in the Year
Disposals in the Year
As at 31 August 2025
1,728
126
1,854
1,728
126
1,854
DEPRECIATION
As at 1 September 2024
Disposals in the Year
Charge for the Year
As at 31 August 2025
811
126
937
320
1,131
320
1,257
126
NET BOOK VALUE
As at 31 August 2025
597
597
As at 31 August 2024
917
917
8 DEBTORS
2025
2024
Prepayments
499
9 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE
WITHIN ONE YEAR
2025
2024
Deferred Income
Accruals
21.015
1.661
28,471
1,469
22.676
29,940

JOSEPH COWEN LIFELONG
LEARNING CENTRE CIO
Page11
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED
10 MOVEMENTS OF FUNDS
Balance at Transfer Incoming Resources
Balance at
1 Sept 2024 Between Resources expended 31 August 2025
Funds
General Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
54,220
25,229
45,575
43.299
50
56,496
25,179
Total General Funds
79,449
45.575
43,349
81,675
Restricted Funds
Midgley Fund
Palaeography Fund
Season 4 Fund
1,456
1,245
235
21
211
65
479
300
500
Total Restricted Funds
1,456
800
1,501
755
Total Funds
80,905
46,375
44,850
82,430
The Designated Funds rèpresent an unrestricted legacy which the Trustees have
chosen to use for organisational development It fomis part of Unrestricted Funds.
The Restricted Funds represent:
a grant from from the Midgley Fund to fvnd additK)nal tuth'on and activities in Philosophy.
a grant from Northumberfand Archives for a palaeograpy course and materials
donation from Jack Pennie to support Season 4 activities