REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1174481
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
FOR
PARALLEL HISTORIES
P B Syddall & Co Chartered Accountants Grafton House 81 Chorley Old Road Bolton Lancashire BL1 3AJ
PARALLEL HISTORIES
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 3 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 4 | ||
| Statement of Financial Activities | 5 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 6 | ||
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 7 | to | 10 |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 11 |
PARALLEL HISTORIES
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
To advance the education of young people in controversial history topics by means of researching and creating free educational materials including interactive videos and distributing these to teachers.
Significant activities
Parallel Histories is a UK educational charity, founded in 2017, to improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people through innovation in humanities teaching. We empower teachers to teach controversial history by providing training, educational resources, and online debating for young people. Through these three main activities, we work with over 275 secondary schools across the UK.
The charity is reliant on a network of teachers in secondary schools who use Parallel Histories materials and teaching methods in their classrooms.
Public benefit
The main activities undertaken for public benefit are the research, creation and distribution of free educational materials in the form of interactive videos, providing teacher training and running inter school debating.
The trustees take action to monitor and ensure that the charity acts to further these objectives in all its activities.
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable activities
This has been another challenging year for schools. While disruption from Covid is largely over, 10% inflation has put huge pressure on school budgets and limited discretionary expenditure. This has helped make our free online resources and our free debating programme more popular and we have continued to grow fast. At the end of this reporting year, we work with 650 schools which is up from 307 on April 1st, 2022.
We have received total income of £120,160 (2022: £131,802) made up again of donations, grants and the delivery of courses and conferences ("fees"). We have been trialling charging for some more of our products and services and fees now account for over 44% of our income. Expenditure in the year to March 2023 was £131,258 (2022: £93,591).
We have continued to build our public profile: we received press coverage in the Times Educational Supplement (TES), and The Jewish Chronicle, and TV coverage of our conference in Stormont on BBC Northern Ireland.
Given the fall off in demand for our after-school teacher training which peaked during school closures, the capacity constraints we faced in running our school debating programme, and the demand from schools for in-person events we focused our growth plan this year on launching new products and running fewer but larger in person conferences.
The main engine of growth this year has been new product development. We have added new programmes for Stalin, Thatcher, Castro, Cromwell, and Napoleon as part of our 'Great Leaders?' series. In response to the war in Ukraine we made a programme contrasting Russian and Ukrainian history. In response to unrest in Leicester we made a programme about Hindu Muslim relations after Partition. And in response to the restrictions on teaching about race in some US states we made a programme comparing African American and European American histories.
The USA has been our fastest growing geography in terms of school recruitment. We are now working with 82 schools in the USA versus 16 at the start of the year. We have recruited a team of volunteer teachers in the US led by our new American editor, Colin Baker.
We have run three major conferences in Paris, Stormont Belfast and Maynooth Ireland as well as smaller conferences in Huntington, Belfast. The Maynooth conference was of note involving over 200 students from eight countries and recruiting eight new Irish schools.
We were invited by Pearson Publishing to partner with them to rewrite their GCSE textbook using our dual narrative methodology. This has been positive in terms of income generation, and we are hopeful that the marketing support and publicity around the launch of the new materials.
The inter-school online debating launched during Covid has continued with many schools debating on multiple occasions. Given the time it takes to coordinate schools, run the debates and the ongoing demand from schools already in the programme we have been trying to focus on fewer larger events. We now have 86 schools in the debating programme which is up from 59 schools last year.
We began the year offering weekly CPD for teachers, but demand has fallen dramatically across the year so from January we ran these monthly. In total we trained 41 teachers in comparison to 300 last year and 155 the year before. The reason for the drop off in demand is that teachers have less free time than ever for untimetabled initiatives like personal training. We have continued to deliver CPD on PGCE courses at Manchester University and Edge Hill.
In terms of partnerships with other organisations, based on the success of the PWC pilot last year, we were asked to run a larger programme. This programme brings together their staff volunteers to act as mentors to school students. We also partnered with military charity Forward Assist to run a programme for former service women who were mentored in debating skills by sixth form girls. This culminated in a conference in the UK Parliament in the summer.
In August we launched our new website. This allows us to collect much more data on users and we now require teachers to register before they can download materials. The website redesign was very good value and cost less than £10,000 versus an industry average of > £40,000 for a charity our size.
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Reserves policy
The trustees are satisfied with the performance of the charity in its formative years and with the position of the reserves at the end of March 2022.
It is the policy of the charity to maintain unrestricted funds at a level which the trustees believe appropriate after considering the future commitments of the charity and the likely administrative costs of the charity in the coming year.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document and constitutes at Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This is not a company incorporated under the Companies Acts and it is therefore not subject to company regulation. Neither its existence nor any charges it creates have to be registered at Companies House.
Decision making
Decision making is carried out by the board of trustees who meet regularly throughout the year. Michael Davies and Joshua Hillis who carry out much of the administration for the charity on behalf of the trustees are invited to those trustee meetings.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number
1174481
Principal address
8/3 Annandale Street Edinburgh EH7 4AN
Trustees
H J Castle (resigned 19.4.23) P J H Taylor (resigned 19.4.23) Dr A Zawawi (resigned 19.4.23) Ms C O'Sullivan Ms S Webster (resigned 19.4.23) T Ramsey (appointed 19.4.23) P Franek (appointed 18.1.23) Ms S Tariq (appointed 19.4.23) H Edmondson (appointed 19.4.23)
Independent Examiner
Adam J Syddall M.A., A.C.A. P B Syddall & Co Chartered Accountants Grafton House 81 Chorley Old Road Bolton Lancashire BL1 3AJ
Approved by order of the board of trustees on 12 December 2023 and signed on its behalf by:
T Ramsey - Trustee
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF PARALLEL HISTORIES
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Parallel Histories
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Parallel Histories (the Trust) for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Responsibilities and basis of report
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 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all 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:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by Section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts do not comply with the applicable 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.
Adam J Syddall M.A., A.C.A.
P B Syddall & Co Chartered Accountants Grafton House 81 Chorley Old Road Bolton Lancashire BL1 3AJ
12 December 2023
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| Unrestricted fund Notes £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 2,194 Charitable activities Digital Debating 30,491 Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers - Other trading activities 2 53,112 Total 85,797 EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Digital Debating 83,443 Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers - Other 1,378 Total 84,821 NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 976 RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 54,017 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 54,993 |
Restricted funds £ - 34,363 - - 34,363 28,394 7,025 11,018 46,437 (12,074) 29,748 17,674 |
31.3.23 Total funds £ 2,194 64,854 - 53,112 120,160 111,837 7,025 12,396 131,258 (11,098) 83,765 72,667 |
31.3.22 Total funds £ 26,888 21,835 60,833 22,246 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 131,802 | |||
| 42,419 44,801 6,371 |
|||
| 93,591 | |||
| 38,211 45,554 |
|||
| 83,765 |
The notes form part of these financial statements
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2023
| 31.3.23 | 31.3.22 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |||
| fund | funds | funds | funds | |||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||
| Debtors | 5 | 5,950 | - | 5,950 | 10,250 | |
| Cash at bank | 56,395 | 17,674 | 74,069 | 75,841 | ||
| 62,345 | 17,674 | 80,019 | 86,091 | |||
| CREDITORS | ||||||
| Amounts falling due within one year | 6 | (7,352) | - | (7,352) | (2,326) | |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 54,993 | 17,674 | 72,667 | 83,765 | ||
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT | ||||||
| LIABILITIES | 54,993 | 17,674 | 72,667 | 83,765 | ||
| NET ASSETS | 54,993 | 17,674 | 72,667 | 83,765 | ||
| FUNDS | 7 | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | 54,993 | 54,017 | ||||
| Restricted funds | 17,674 | 29,748 | ||||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 72,667 | 83,765 |
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 12 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:
T Ramsey - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
2. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
| OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31.3.23 | 31.3.22 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Fees | 53,112 | 22,246 |
continued...
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
3. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.
4. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted fund £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 26,888 Charitable activities Digital Debating - Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers - Other trading activities 22,246 Total 49,134 EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Digital Debating 22,379 Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers 11,307 Other 3,767 Total 37,453 NET INCOME 11,681 RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward 42,336 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 54,017 |
Restricted funds £ - 21,835 60,833 - 82,668 20,040 33,494 2,604 56,138 26,530 3,218 29,748 |
Total funds £ 26,888 21,835 60,833 22,246 |
|---|---|---|
| 131,802 | ||
| 42,419 44,801 6,371 |
||
| 93,591 | ||
| 38,211 45,554 |
||
| 83,765 |
continued...
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| 5. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Trade debtors 6. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Other creditors 7. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS At 1.4.22 £ Unrestricted funds General fund 54,017 Restricted funds Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers 17,110 Digital debating 12,638 29,748 TOTAL FUNDS 83,765 Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoming resources £ Unrestricted funds General fund 85,797 Restricted funds Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers - Digital debating 34,363 34,363 TOTAL FUNDS 120,160 |
31.3.23 31.3.22 £ £ 5,950 10,250 31.3.23 31.3.22 £ £ 7,352 2,326 Net movement At in funds 31.3.23 £ £ 976 54,993 (17,110) - 5,036 17,674 (12,074) 17,674 (11,098) 72,667 Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (84,821) 976 (17,110) (17,110) (29,327) 5,036 (46,437) (12,074) (131,258) (11,098) |
|---|---|
continued...
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
7. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Comparatives for movement in funds
| At 1.4.21 £ Unrestricted funds General fund 42,336 Restricted funds Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers - Digital debating 3,218 3,218 TOTAL FUNDS 45,554 Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoming resources £ Unrestricted funds General fund 49,134 Restricted funds Enhancing the digital capabilities of teachers 53,208 Digital debating 21,835 Employment and training of an intern 7,625 82,668 TOTAL FUNDS 131,802 |
Net movement At in funds 31.3.22 £ £ 11,681 54,017 17,110 17,110 9,420 12,638 26,530 29,748 38,211 83,765 Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (37,453) 11,681 (36,098) 17,110 (12,415) 9,420 (7,625) - (56,138) 26,530 (93,591) 38,211 |
|---|---|
8. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2023.
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PARALLEL HISTORIES
DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| 31.3.23 | 31.3.22 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS | ||
| Donations and legacies | ||
| Donations | 2,194 | 26,888 |
| Other trading activities | ||
| Fees | 53,112 | 22,246 |
| Charitable activities | ||
| Grants | 64,854 | 82,668 |
| Total incoming resources | 120,160 | 131,802 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Charitable activities | ||
| Wages | 105,673 | 65,602 |
| Pensions | 2,646 | 1,793 |
| Telephone | 32 | - |
| Sundries | 125 | 38 |
| Teacher fellowship | 4,125 | 5,450 |
| IT and software | 1,471 | 1,674 |
| Consultancy | 3,643 | 12,663 |
| 117,715 | 87,220 | |
| Other | ||
| IT and software | - | 159 |
| Books and research | 355 | 480 |
| Conferences and travel | 11,991 | 947 |
| Website development | - | 3,664 |
| Subscriptions | 50 | 46 |
| 12,396 | 5,296 | |
| Support costs | ||
| Management | ||
| Insurance | 327 | 317 |
| Postage and stationery | 75 | 36 |
| 402 | 353 | |
| Finance | ||
| Bank charges | 265 | 142 |
| Governance costs | ||
| Auditors' remuneration | 480 | 580 |
| Total resources expended | 131,258 | 93,591 |
| Net (expenditure)/income | (11,098) | 38,211 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
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