Annual Trustees Report for The Marie Sklodowska- Curie Polish Saturday School Wimbledon Putney Registration number 1179554 Governing Document: CIO Association Registered 14 August 2018 ## **Report of Trustees for the year ending 31.08.2021** The Governors of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School WimbledonPutney present their annual report for the year ended 31.08.2021 ## **Our Aims** The School operates since 1960, teaching Polish language, history, culture and heritage to children between the ages of 3 and 18. On 18th August 2018 the School was formally registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as Association. We are members of the Polish Educational Society (registered in England and Wales - charity no 1159980) which supports Polish education in Great Britain. In February 2019 we received confirmation of registration with HMRC, which allows us to receive Gift Aid donations, with effect from 14.08.2018. We are a relatively new charity; however, we have a 60-year history as a supplementary school. We promote and teach Polish language, culture, and traditions through a specially designed curriculum for Polish schools outside of Poland, preparing our students to take GCSE and A level exams under the AQA examination board. Through cultural events and activities, we broaden the students’ knowledge of Poland and its heritage. We aim to create an ethos of being a community in which all students and their families feel at home, respected and involved. Many extracurricular activities are designed to bring Polish history, culture and heritage closer to our students so that, when they leave our school, they feel truly enriched. ## **Our objectives** Our objectives for the year 2020-21 were to reflect our academic aims in our work, as well as our ethos as stated by objectives of a charitable organisation. We aimed to: - Offer a broad, relevant curriculum, helping our students to learn Polish language, history and traditions alongside achieving excellent end of year, GCSE and A level results - Broaden the curriculum through well planned and prepared extracurricular activities - - Form good relationships and play a part in our community through organising charitable events aimed to help both local and national charities - Provide bursaries to families with financial difficulties to help with the payment of school fees • Provide relevant training for our staff - Strengthen our school community through events aimed to involve our parents in the life of our school, while fundraising for its needs. - The Summer Fair and cake sales are some examples of these events, and they very strongly rely on parental involvement and turn out. ## **Pupil numbers** During 2020-21 our school had 568 pupils in 26 classes(forms). The number of pupils per class varied between 20-24 (excluding reception where it was 31). All our forms were full. In 2020-21 we observed a record number of students in the examination classes: - GSCE year 1 – 17 and 16 students - GSCE year 2 – 23 and 20 students - A1 – 23 and 23 students - A2 – 14 and 16 students We believe that the change of examination rules during the pandemic (where a grade was based on the classroom work rather than the final exams) had a significant impact on the decision of many students to join a formal course. There was several children on a waiting list. Unfortunately, due to restrictions posed by our premises and our aim to keep class sizes at the above level, we were not able to offer places to these candidates. 35 teachers and 10 teacher assistants were working in the school. This included a history teacher and RE teachers. ## **Fees** Our fees in 2020-21 were as follows: 1st child £280 per academic year 2nd child £240 per academic year 3rd child £ 120 per academic year 4th and above child- exempt from fees During 2020-21 we offered help in the form of bursaries to the amount of £2,030. ## **Finances** The accounts are presented to parents at the Annual General Meeting which normally takes place in November. The budget for the next academic year is also presented and discussed giving the parents and carers a chance to have their voice on such matters. The school’s main income comes from school fees (nearly £140,000). We also received support from Stowarzyszenie Wspolnota Polska (The Polish Community Association in Warsaw) to the value of £7,300. The cake sales organised by the PTA brought in over £1668 net funding. The main expenses of the School are teachers’ salaries and rent for using the premises of Ursuline High School in Wimbledon. The School also provided school books for the students and paid for teachers training. To emphasise the value we place on continuity for families, we offer discounts where parents have more than one child in our school. To attract and retain high quality staff we offer a discount scheme for children of those employed by the School. 3The Governing Body aims to keep the accounts with a healthy surplus to provide additional funding in case of unexpected events such as the need to find new premises and redundancy payments if the school were to close down. More detailed information on the accounts are available in the Accounts Report. ## **Academic achievements** During 2020-21 academic year: Due to pandemic formal GSCE and A-level exams were cancelled. Instead, the teachers were asked to provide predicted grades that were used as the formal exam results. Our students gained the following results: A-levels - A* - 12 students - A - 13 students - B - 2 students Therefore, our A*-B result was 100%. ## GCSE - “9” - 29 students - “8” - 9 students - “7” - 3 students - “6” - 1 student - “5” – 3 students These are results we are immensely proud of. ## **Review of activities and achievements:** In the school year 2020-21 we were working under very strict Covid rules. We came back to the classrooms at the beginning of September however due to increased numbers of Covid infections, had to return to online teaching. The school was closed for face-to-face lessons from 9[th] January to 6[th] March 2021.We returned again to face to face teaching on 13[th] March – again under strict Covid regulations (i.e. face masks, distancing etc.) Due to pandemic majority of our annual fundraising events could not take place. However, the new circumstances opened up new opportunities – our students took part in a number of competitions: - John Paul the Second portrait competition in December - XII edition of “Byc Polakiem” - Recitation Contest “Slowem Polska” under the patronage of the Polish Consulate in London - Qualifying event for the X edition of the Polish Poetry Festival “Wierszowisko”. The final of the festival took place in September 2021. Our school, headed by our former Head Teacher Mrs Malgorzata Lasocka, was the initiator and first organiser of this competition. To celebrate the 10[th] edition of the contest, we were asked to coorganise the event with the Polish Educational Society. We have very close links with the Polish Scouts association. Many of our pupils are able to join the Polish Rainbows/Brownies and Scouts. Their activities normally take place immediately after school hours. We invite the leaders at the beginning of the school year to encourage new members to join. Close links with the Polish Scout movement in the UK reflects our ethos of cultivating our Polish heritage and Christian values. We are also supported and have close links with St John Evangelist Polish Catholic Church in Putney. The priests and nuns are employed by our School to provide RE lessons for our pupils, which form part of the curriculum. The School year starts and ends with a Holy Mass dedicated to our school community. ## **The School Structure** The school is led by the Head Teacher, Mrs Maja Brodzinska. The Head Teacher led a team of 35 teachers and 10 teaching assistants in the academic year 2020-21. The Governing Body consisted of 10 trustees, among them was the Head Teacher. ## **The names of the Trustees in 2020-21 were as follows:** Maria Brodzinska- Head Teacher Brygida Wimbush- Chair of Governors Renata Puzio- Secretary Monika Zasadzinska - tresury Dorota Zaborowska-Wawrzyniak Katarzyna Stelmach-Postigo Lucyna Rogowska Radoslaw Gotkowicz Kinga Grabkiewicz – Elliott Joanna Wiktorek Apart from the teaching staff the school also employs an administrator and 3 duty officers. All but one trustee (Head Teacher) are volunteers. We give employment opportunities to our A level graduates, who are able to work as teacher’s assistants in our lower school. This is on a yearly contract basis. The Marie Sklodowska- Curie Polish Saturday School rents its premises from Ursuline High School in Wimbledon, London. Lessons take place during Saturday mornings, 35 Saturdays a year. The School year is divided into 3 terms. The lessons take place between 9:30-12:30. During breaks parents on duty help to provide a secure environment for the pupils. All staff and volunteers of the School have undergone DBS checks. ## **Charitable actions** Our school prides itself in offering support to charitable organisations. During 2020-21 our charitable events were limited by the continued Covid 19 restrictions. In total £1246.86 was donated to good causes. ## **Governors’ recruitment** The Governors/Trustees are elected by the parents during the Annual General Meeting or by the Body of Governors if a vacancy arises later in the academic year. The Governors/Trustees hold their position for 3 years and can be re-elected if they wish to stand again, in accordance with our Constitution. The positions are advertised to the School community and any parent can apply. Each applicant has to be endorsed by 2 current Governors/Trustees. The Governors work for the school wholly on a voluntary basis. The Headteacher, appointed by the Body of Governors is remunerated. ## **Plans and aspirations** Our School celebrates its 60th anniversary in the autumn 2020. During 2019-2020 we planned to mark this milestone with events designed to illustrate our School’s history, achievements and show our talents. The preparations were sadly cut short by the Coronavirus pandemic, however with the easing of the lockdown we are hoping to reinstate the efforts and hold the celebrations in the Spring of 2021. We were only able to hold very restricted celebration event in October 2020. ## **Professional advisors:** Bank : : Lloyds Bank: Sort code 30-94-77. Account 04231031 Insurers : Ansvar DA through Keegan & Pennykid Insurance Brokers Auditors: Olena Zakrzewska Contact details: Address: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Polish Saturday School Wimbledon-Putney Ursuline High School Crescent Road Wimbledon SW20 8HA Website www.polishschoolputney.com CHARITY COMMISSIO FOR ENGLAND AND WALE Marle Sklodowskalurie Polish Saturday School Wimbleon-Putney 1179554 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the perlod from 01109r2020 3110812021 To Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted Restricted funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ Endowment funds to the nearest £ Total funds Last yeaf to the nearest£ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Sthool fees receivable Fundraising Grants and donatsons Olher charitable adivities Interest received 139.085 436 7.492 1,397 11 139.110 105 10.578 1.120 42 139.085 7.492 1.397 11 ross income 148.421 150,955 AR) 140.929 7.492 sse an {see table). Investmen sa es. Total receipts 148.421 A3Pa Rent Sa13ries Educabonal expenditure other charitsble acbvities Administrative exrenses ments 16.543 115,500 12,814 3.277 4,173 14.167 100,977 10.739 1,899 4.014 16,543 115.500 12.814 4.173 152,307 131,796 Sub total 152.307 A4 Asset and investment urcha Sub total 152,307 Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end 7,492 2710612022 CCXX R1 accounts ISS) Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted funds to nearest £ Restricted funds to nearest£ Endowment funds to nearest £ Categories Details B1 Cash funds Balan￿ of bank acA))unts 133,001 Total cash funds 133.001 (s)) Unrestrlcted funds to nearest £ Restricted funds to near•st £ Endowment funds to nearest £ Details B2 Other monetary assets Fund to which asset belon Current value tional Details Cost (oplionall Fund to which asset belon -55211 Details Cost (optionall Current value tional B4 Assets retained for the charity's own use Fund to whlch relates -77790 Amount due tional When due tional Details 2021122 fees B5 Liabilities Date of roval Signed by one or Iwo trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name Monika Zasadzinska CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 2710612022