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2022-08-31-accounts

Charity number: 1183651

Solutions Not Sides

Report and financial statements For the period ended 31 August 2022

Solutions Not Sides

Contents

For the year ended 31 August 2022

Reference and administrative information ...................................................................................... 1 Trustees’ annual report .................................................................................................................. 2 Independent examiner’s report .................................................................................................... 35 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ………………37 Balance sheet ............................................................................................................................... 38 Notes to the financial statements ................................................................................................. 39

Solutions Not Sides

Reference and administrative Information

For the period ended August 31 2022



Charity number
 1183651
Country of registration England & Wales
Registered office and Haskell House
operational address 152 West End Lane
LONDON
NW6 1SD

Independent Examiner		 Jonathan Orchard
Sayer Vincent LLP
Chartered Accountants
Invicta House
108-114 Golden Lane
LONDON
EC1Y 0TL

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Solutions Not Sides

Trustees' annual report

For the period ended August 31 2022

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the CIO for the year beginning 1 September 2021 and ending 31 August 2022

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Solutions Not Sides constitution, and 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 2015).

Structure, governance and management

Solutions Not Sides is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its Constitution dated 30 May 2019 and it is registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.

Appointment of trustees

There must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity trustees or appoint a new charity trustee.

There is no maximum number of Trustees that may be appointed to the CIO.

Current trustees are as follows: Rachel Lewis Gregory Rack Zahara Chowdhury William Grant-Brook Rich Grahame

Rafia Shaheen finished her term and stepped down in 2021 Mohammed Ali Amla stepped down in January 2021

As set out in the Constitution, apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.

In selecting individuals for appointment as appointed charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

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Activities Report

Objectives and activities

Our vision

To contribute towards a more compassionate, educated, fair and united society for all, reaching critical mass of one third of the next generation by the early 2030s.

Our mission

The Israel-Palestine conflict polarises British society. Our mission is to create safe spaces and provide life skills for British young people to make the difficult but vital conversations about Israel-Palestine not just possible but positive.

Our activities

Solutions Not Sides is an education programme that exists to provide humanising encounters, diverse narratives, and critical-thinking tools in order to empower young people with the knowledge, empathy and skills to promote dialogue and conflict resolution, and to challenge prejudice in the UK around Israel - Palestine. We focus on the voices and experiences of Palestinian & Israeli peace activists who come to the UK as speakers. Solutions not Sides (SNS) is an education programme that engages British youth at the opinion-forming stage of their development in secondary schools, ensuring that the students who most need this engagement receive it within the safe space of a structured educational environment. SNS also works in well-supported community youth group environments and supports teachers.

This is carried out through an innovative programme of training and workshops with the following resources:

The polarised narratives that we hear echoed in the UK are: "Free Palestine vs. Save Israel". There is a victim/attacker narrative that both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine feel that their ‘side’ is in the victim role, and the other is the attacker. There is very little space for listening

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and understanding, and young people here in Britain are usually just exposed to a singular perspective.

Palestinian and Israeli speakers address this in our programme and model breaking that cycle by both recognising simultaneously that Palestinians must be free, and Israelis must be safe. The values framework that all our speakers sign up to and within which classroom discussions take place is: 1) non-violence; 2) equality for all; 3) rejection of hatred.

A peaceful solution is not possible when one side wins and the other side loses. We therefore facilitate students in considering how conflict can be de-escalated by seeking the best solution for everyone. The personal stories of our speakers illustrate the losses on both sides and invite our students to imagine how the international community might respond to meet the needs of both populations to create a lasting end to conflict.

We work online, and face to face, using a variety of materials. These include face to face encounters with Israelis and Palestinians, videos, reading materials and group exercises to help students see below the surface of media reporting. This enables them to gain a much deeper understanding, to gain new perspectives on the conflict, and greater hope that a solution can be found.

People

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Trustees' annual report

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SNS undertook the following activities in 2021-22:

Overview of the year

Most of our school sessions were delivered with the facilitator in the classroom in person. Most of our adult training sessions were conducted online. The new, three-part structure of the education programme proved a great success. This format has been refined over 12 years and has proved impactful. However the summer of 2021 was challenging.

The summer term of 2021 was challenging but successful; challenging in that there was conflict in Israel and Palestine which spilled over to communities here, threatened and worried our Palestinian and Israeli speakers, lead to even greater polarisation of communities in the UK, and made the implementation of our model of dialogue even more complex. It was successful because we surpassed our targets for the term and the year and connected with new communities. We were able to really see the impact of our work from schools who had worked with us for several years. We used feedback from teachers, schools, and students to strategise, and to adapt our programme to their needs to create new resources, which are now available nationally.

In summary, SNS is in the strongest position it has ever been in terms of its demand from schools, its curriculum materials and resources, the resilience and strength of its Israeli and Palestinian speakers, its training sessions for teachers, and its follow-up opportunities for students. Over ten years of development and evolution have resulted in a strong and impactful organisation that is achieving consistent results of immediate attitude transformation in young people, and culture transformation in schools over the long-term. In order to attain the goal of critical mass (one third of the target population) in one generation by the early 2030s, it is vital that we continue with our expansion plan working on a macro level, to push back the racism and polarisation in interfaith relations in British society.

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Youth Educaton Programme

All students now experience a uniform programme with the complete SNS content over three sessions. The first two sessions are conducted by their teacher. The third session is led by an SNS facilitator and involves dialogue with an Israeli and Palestinian speaker. The average number of students in a session is between 40 and 50 and many schools have been bringing us in to work across a whole year group in a series of sessions during one or two days. There seems to have been a mixed reaction to the fallout in schools from the escalation in conflict last summer. Some schools have recognised the need to provide a safe space for learning on this topic. These schools see it as their duty to protect their students from the social polarisation that arises out of this conflict. Other schools seem to have been reluctant to ‘reopen’ the issue now that the topic is no longer in the media headlines. Consistent with our model of dialogue, we continue to engage with these schools in order to help them evaluate their own needs in assisting cohesion within their school community and greater preparedness for their students as UK citizens.

As part of our quality control process, we continue to evaluate our programme by seeking feedback from students and teachers; by using our leadership team to conduct observations of our school sessions and by annually submitting our programme to several individuals across three faith communities for feedback. Our evaluations demonstrate that the flexible model of using freelance facilitators across the country is working well and demonstrate how we remain responsive to the needs of the communities that we serve.

The new structure of the Youth Education Programme is as follows:

• PART 1: EXPLORATION 1-hour session run by a schoolteacher on the historical narratives using our film the Beginner's Guide

• PART 2: EMPATHY

1-hour session run by a schoolteacher introducing conflict resolution principles. The students are shown a film called Rage, Revenge & Repair, which showcases the some of the suffering on both sides and the human capacity to heal through reconciliation. They are then given learning materials which have been updated and modified to help them better understand the experiences and needs of Palestinians and Israelis. Finally, they introduced to two competing approaches to ending conflict: the one and two-state solutions.

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1-hour session run by an SNS facilitator, and the Palestinian and Israeli speakers. This session focuses on hearing the stories of the speakers, answering student questions, and having a solutions-focused discussion around the pros and cons of a one or two state solution. Students are also invited to collaborate with one another in order to produce other solutions. The facilitator leads a 10-minute debrief during the last section of the session.

Follow-up opportunities for students now include:

Teacher and community leader training sessions and resources

These are popular as CPD for school teachers, council employees, and community leaders. In addition, we continued our 30-minute teacher briefing monthly (we were holding these weekly during the crisis in the summer of 2021). A few teachers still signed up each month for these. Finally, our course “recognising and tackling antisemitism and Islamophobia” was specially adapted and piloted for 25 Christian ministers-in-training (ordinands).

Community sessions

Community sessions followed the same format as the school sessions, with a community leader present and responsible for the students in the sessions. This year we have decided to focus on our expertise in delivery as an educational charity for young people with wraparound training for their teachers and community leaders. We have, therefore, ceased to conduct adult discussion sessions.

Olive Branch Award

This is a new initiative launched in July at our Cambridge Conference for teachers. The Olive Branch Award supports schools to become safe and empowering spaces to talk and learn about tough issues through focusing on four key skills; active listening, empathy, critical thinking, and social and emotional learning. Schools can join and collect leaves for their Olive Branch by participating in SNS sessions and exclusive new programmes for teachers and students. It is a holistic approach for the school to embed a culture of learning, listening, and reflection on Israel - Palestine over a three year period, achieving full SNS accreditation at the end.

The target for 2022-23 for membership of the Olive Branch Award is 10 schools.

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Metrics and Evaluaton

Demand from schools for our youth and teacher educational programmes was very high this year and we exceeded our target of reaching 8000 participants. Unfortunately, due to funding issues earlier in the year, we decided not to run our Student Leadership Programme this year. However, we are happy to say that we secured funding for next year's Student Leadership activities. Instead of the SLP this year, we ran two events for our student alumni and our teachers' network.

Measuring student impact

Writen feedback

We routinely collect structured, written feedback from students after meeting the speakers from Israel and Palestine. The structure of our surveys enables us to ascertain whether and to what extent our aims and our learning goals have been achieved. That is whether the participants felt that the programme was a safe and apolitical space for discussion and whether learning about this topic took place.

The learning goals are as follows:

  1. Understanding of diverse perspectives on the history of the conflict – showing they have understood more than one side/narrative

  2. A non-partisan, solutions-focused at ude (not supporting one side against the other)

  3. An acceptance of the shared humanity and equal human rights for all Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, Christians etc., including an awareness that both sides’ needs must be met

  4. Awareness that people from different backgrounds and perspectives, even those on opposing sides of a geo-political conflict, can treat each other and dialogue together respectfully without aggression – and the hope that that engenders

  5. A shift from enmity to empathy regarding the human suffering of those previously perceived to be the ‘bad guys’ in the conflict – indicating they were biased or partisan before and are no longer so

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  1. Awareness of and ability to make the distinction between the roles of political/violent actors (governmental and grassroots), and the majority of ordinary citizens of Israel and Palestine

  2. Awareness that violence will likely lead to continued conflict and suffering, not conflict resolution; and expressing concern about the severity of the situation for the people affected

  3. Awareness of and ability to critically assess bias about the conflict in mainstream and social media.

Methodology for measuring impact:

The learning outcomes listed above are assessed through the feedback form that students complete at the close of the session, which include the following questions:

Question 1: “What, if anything, did you like about the session?”

Question 2: “What, if anything, did you learn from the session?”

Question 3: “Any recommendations for us for future sessions or anything you disliked about the session?”

Question 4: “Do you agree or disagree with the statement: “I think that one side or group is most to blame” (if agree, please give details)

Question 5: “What impact, if any, has the session had on your views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?”

We conducted qualitative analysis of the participants’ answers to these questions. Beyond indicating on a numerical scale how much they agree or disagree with the statement in Q4, participants are not given guidance or options for their answers, nor are they asked to choose one of the responses or outcomes from our lists; all of the data provided by the participants comes from their unprompted written response that we then analyse and categorise to see how many times there is evidence of our response targets and learning goals in their answers. Many participants express more than one learning outcome.

Below are some more extensive examples of students’ comments that show they have achieved some of the learning and response outcomes.

Evidence of embracing diverse narratives/perspectives:

“It has made me realise that things are not as clear cut as it may seem or may be presented on social media”

‘I learnt the complex history between Palestine and Israel and that there are different solutions which could be possible.’

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“It gave me an insight into the history of the conflict as I was aware of the history, but I've now learnt a considerable amount more”

Evidence of humanising encounter and increased empathy:

“I can now empathise with the trauma they have faced and how lucky I am to not have had to go through any of that.”

“[I learned] Never to judge people without hearing their story.”

“I’ve also learnt that it’s important not to dehumanise the people involved and remember that they are just people who most likely want to achieve peace.”

Evidence of embracing a solutions-focused approach:

“[I learned] That many people misunderstand the issue and also misunderstand the effect that trying to underplay the suffering of a culture can have. We need to acknowledge where the blame lies, not to use against civilians from that community but in order to move forward in helping those in need and in solving the problems.”

While an extremely distressing topic, it is also very interesting and needs organisations such as SNS.”

Evidence of recognising the distinction between political power structures and ordinary citizens:

“It is not helpful to define the issue as 'sides' as not all citizens within both countries agree with the actions taken by their government.”

Evidence of awareness of dialogue and peace activism:

“It is not just that two sides are against each other, there are people that want compromise and peaceful solutions.”

Evidence of learning to think critically about the issue, including use of media sources:

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“It has made me realise that things are not as clear cut as it may seem or may be presented on social media and the importance of trying to understand both sides of the conflict.”

“[I learned] What Palestinians and Israelis actually think of the conflict - not just what the media says.”

“It has provided me with a more accurate understanding of what is happening instead of relying on media portrayal.”

“[I learned] To remain open-minded on anything. Listen to people with different point of views.”

“Some media sources give one sided opinion on the situation, so you often have to read multiple sources before coming to a judgement.”

Evidence of appreciating the safe space and non-biased approach:

“[I liked] Having real life interactions with people from both sides made the session more interactive and engaging.”

“[I liked] That both the speakers were honest about the hardships they had faced.”

“I enjoyed the non-biased information given about the crisis.”

“[I liked] The explanation beforehand and the member of SNS who visited. Also, the cooperation and respectfulness of the speakers.”

“It gives a more balanced view of each side.”

“[I liked] The open nature of the question portion. The structure of the session, hearing stories before asking questions.”

Evidence of feeling more comfortable/confident to discuss the topic:

“I felt that I was extremely uninformed about the conflict before and now I feel I am confident in my understanding .”

“I feel more comfortable with speaking about the issues the conflict has created without taking a particular side.”

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Quanttatve Analysis

This is a new, quantitative method of analysis that we are using to get a more precise, measurable response from students, introduced in the Spring term.

Methodology for measuring impact:

The learning outcomes are assessed through the feedback form that students complete at the close of the session. The form includes the following statements and students are asked indicate whether they agree or disagree on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). There is also a space where they can comment on the reason for their answer on each question:

Question 1: I found the SNS programme enjoyable

Question 2: I learned new things about Israel-Palestine that I didn’t know before Question 3: I feel more comfortable than I did before the programme to speak about my views on this issue

Question 4: I think the programme could be improved Question 5: I think one side or group is most to blame Question 6: I trust the media sources I read on this issue

Question 7 is an open question with no ‘scoring’ system: What effect, if any, has participating on this programme had on your views and understanding of conflict in general, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular?

Teacher Feedback

Teachers gave numerical scores, from 1(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree), on the following statements:

We also collected written feedback from teachers:

Impact on views:

“Thank you so much for this afternoon. The students are still in the common room discussing this”

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“It has created, for most, a more tolerant understanding rather than the polarised view that some had.”

“As one of the supervising teachers, I found the conversations on Monday both moving and humbling. There were good frameworks provided for open but safe discussion and exploration of this sensitive topic and the frank and knowledgeable responses from the speakers was an invaluable resource for our pupils. I was equally impressed by the ways our pupils engaged: they asked thoughtful, but searching, questions of the speakers and wanted to better understand what might be done to end the conflict and to preserve the dignity of life for all concerned.”

“Student feedback suggested that they gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the conflict and how it impacted on their lives. A week after the event, a student who I have never taught before, approached me in the corridor and said that it was the best Innovation Day we had ever had, and that she loved the experience of speaking live to an Israeli and a Palestinian. Thank you!”

Meeting the speakers:

“Students asked questions about the responsibilities of the international community; how the lives of the visitors had been affected by the upsurge in violence during the summer; whether the younger generations were more open-minded; the importance of Jerusalem, and how this issue might be resolved. They took this opportunity to listen to the speakers’ experiences and to learn more about the challenges they faced standing up for peace and dialogue in their own communities, in which people often held partisan views, as well as their hopes for future resolution through a solutions-focused approach. As Amal urged: ‘Only if we stand together can we actually live a peaceful life.’”

“Our students engaged with the speakers well and felt an authentic connection.”

“The film seemed to help most pupils be introduced to the reality of the conflict and the effect it can have on ordinary people. The fact that it was personal gave pupils something to relate to.”

“Excellent delivery with your facilitators and speakers. Students love to hear different voices from Israeli side and Palestinian side. We really hope next year the speakers can visit on site.”

Knowledge, critical thinking and the media:

“It was important for us and the partner organisation that our pupils should acquire more than a superficial understanding of a very complex situation and that they should go into the

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live workshops with some the knowledge and sensitivity to engage meaningfully with speakers and material that might raise emotionally and politically sensitive questions for them. To this end, all pupils in the 5th form had two teacher-led PSHE lessons to gain a detailed, non-partisan overview of the historical background and some of current issues shaping the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. They were asked to think about these in the wider context of Human Rights.”

“The feedback from students suggested that they had acquired a more nuanced sense of the conflict and the importance of attending to lived, first-hand experience.’

Session structure and delivery:

“The talks were so engaging and gave the students pointers for the discussion and questions.”

“Making the session relatable to students was important as this meant that students could remain focused.”

“The language and ideas were pitched well to the students who were year 10 and above. The ideas presented could be upsetting, although they were presented in a way that did not frighten the students, although it made them aware of the gravity of the situation.”

Autumn term

Participant numbers were still high this term, but closer to normal levels compared to the dramatic spike last term. Almost all sessions were conducted by a facilitator in person, with the Israeli and Palestinian speakers answering students’ questions via Zoom.

The autumn term 2021 represented a ‘settling down’ of our new programme structure and flagship film, ‘Rage, Revenge & Repair’. Arguably the greatest success of this term was the response to the ‘Rage, Revenge & Repair’ film that is shown by the teachers in the Part 2 session (Empathy session). Teachers reported that for many of their students, it is a turningpoint that brings a noticeable increase in positivity and engagement with the programme. Please see below some feedback on the film itself:

“Three schools have said to me how great the Part 2 and video are and answered a lot of questions for students who felt things were left missing from Part 1. Teachers said it was powerful and emotive and addressed the human core of this conflict, and really help them to understand the win-win/lose-lose.” (SNS facilitator)

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“The film was a turning point for students. Up till that point they had been negative and sceptical about approaches that involved any kind of dialogue or listening to both sides. After watching the film, one of the students who is most passionate about this issue said: ‘I get it, it makes sense now’. The whole class engaged very positively with the rest of the programme.” (Birmingham schoolteacher)

“The film deeply touched a group of parents at West London Synagogue. Several were wiping away tears and there was a profound silence at the end of it, after which the group expressed how important they felt it was that this film is widely seen by young people in the UK.” (SNS facilitator)

Youth (school) sessions

We conducted 71 sessions with schools in the autumn term, reaching 3,340 students.

Teacher and community leader training sessions and resources

We ran three teacher/community leader training sessions with 45 participants

Creaton of flms

Four more personal story films have been created this term, bringing us to a total of 14 films, with two more planned next term.

Community sessions

This term, SNS undertook two community sessions, with a total of 54 participants. Our CPD training on recognising and tackling antisemitism and Islamophobia continued to be very successful this term, with an excellent pilot session for Christian ordinands and a steady flow of bookings for the teacher training sessions and monthly teacher briefings.

Outreach meetngs

A series of outreach meetings aimed at building trust in our work through dialogue and transparency were conducted in-person with teachers and community leaders in Bradford/Leeds and Blackburn reaching, around 20 people.

Impact on students

Over the term, we collected structured feedback from 93 students across six different schools after they had met the speakers from Israel and Palestine.

Exploration:

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----- Start of picture text -----
Exploration Outcomes
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Understanding of Becoming more open- Distinction between Critically assessing of
diverse perspectives minded about the political structures bias in mainstream
issues and ordinary citizens and social media
----- End of picture text -----

Empathy:

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----- Start of picture text -----
60 Empathy Outcomes
50
40
30
20
10
0
Accepting the A shift from enmity to Rejecting violence Appreciation of the
humanity of both empathy Palestinian and Israeli
sides speakers
----- End of picture text -----

Empowerment:

----- Start of picture text -----
Empowerment Outcomes
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A non-partisan, solutions- Inspired to further Awareness of dialogue being
focused at ude involvement/action conducted and efforts towards
peace
----- End of picture text -----

Spring term

Youth sessions

We conducted 72 sessions with schools in the spring term, reaching 3,672 students

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Teacher and community leader training sessions and resources

We ran eight teacher/community leader training sessions with 284 participants, taking us above our target for participant numbers this academic year. These were mostly for groups of teachers in schools, but we ran some sessions for local council leaders in London, and some community leader training sessions with members of Christian and Jewish communities. These sessions are designed to train adults teachers and leaders in how to recognise and tackle antisemitism and Islamophobia around the issue of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. The aim is to enable them to further support the deep learning of the young people with whom we work and to have a long-term impact on the culture of institutions and how they deal with polarisation around this topic.

Creaton of flms

Two final personal story films were completed, making a total of 16 personal story films for our Part 3 sessions, plus the two educational films that are used in our Part 1 and Part 2 sessions.

Youth community sessions

This term, SNS undertook three youth community sessions, with a total of 65 participants

Recruitment process

Four new trustees were recruited and began their duties this term, bringing the total number of trustees for the organisation to six. We also appointed a new staff member at the end of this term to replace an outgoing member of staff.

Impact on students

Over the term, we collected structured feedback from 109 students across six different schools after they had met the speakers from Israel and Palestine.

Quantitative analysis

The graph below shows participants’ scores for questions 1-6. These questions are outlined in the Methodology section, earlier in this report.

The results give us a clear indication that the majority of students are achieving our learning goals. We also conduct qualitative analysis of the participants’ feedback in order to find evidence that our learning goals are being reached. The qualitative and quantitative findings strongly support one another and add further weight to evidence of our efficacy.

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The numerical responses of the participants are represented in the graph below. learning outcomes.

Agree/disagree statement outcomes

----- Start of picture text -----
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Liked the Learned new Feel more More critical of Disagree with Suggest
programme things about comfortable to media sources blaming one side improvements
Israel-Palestine discuss topic than above the other
before the
programme
----- End of picture text -----

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21 Written feedback Exploration:

----- Start of picture text -----
%
Exploration
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Understanding of Becoming more open- Distinction between Critically assessing of Appreciation of the safe
diverse perspectives minded about the political structures and bias in mainstream and space and non-partisan
issues ordinary citizens social media programme
----- End of picture text -----

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Empathy:

----- Start of picture text -----
% Empathy
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Accepting the humanity of A shift from enmity to Rejecting violence Appreciation of the
both sides empathy Palestinian and Israeli
speakers
----- End of picture text -----

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Empowerment:

----- Start of picture text -----
% Empowerment
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A non-partisan, solutions- Inspired to further Awareness of dialogue being More comforable and
focused at ude involvement/action conducted and efforts confident to discuss topic
towards peace
----- End of picture text -----

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Teacher feedback

We gathered feedback from 19 teachers this term:

----- Start of picture text -----
% Teacher Feedback
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
Good Good number of Clear message of Appropriate content Session helpful for
format/structure speakers and conflict resolution and level for age students experiencing
presentation style tensions
----- End of picture text -----

Summer term

Youth sessions

We ran 38 school sessions, bringing our total number of students participating to 8651. One student alumni reunion event took place in London with partner organisation 'Jerusalem Peace Builders' (2 days, 19 participants).

Teacher and community leader training sessions and resources

We ran 7 teacher/community leader training sessions (including two with youth leaders of Jewish youth movements)

We hosted one teacher/educator networking event in Cambridge with partner organisation 'Jerusalem Peacebuilders' (1 day, 31 participants)

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We completed planning and preparation for the launch of our new 'Olive Branch Schools Award'

We conducted five pilot sessions for Christian leaders' training and reached an agreement with a partner organisation, FODIP (The Forum for Discussion on Israel – Palestine) to collaborate on any further delivery

We completed a new draft of our teachers' handbook

Impact on school students from our youth sessions

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Teacher feedback

Conclusions

6.a Weaknesses and improvements

Feedback indicated that the hour-long Part 3 sessions are not long enough. There was also a repeat of feedback from students that watching so many films within the time given is not interactive enough. In addition, there is not enough time allocated to the solutions-focused exercise in Part 2. As per the conclusions of the autumn term report, the summer term’s review needed to incorporate another restructuring of the programme format with greater time for interaction, Q & A and solution focused exercises.

Our teacher briefing materials also need to be reviewed, as some sections are too detailed, and teachers may need more support options. We, therefore, need to make more teachers aware of the online briefing that we offer before session delivery. Deeper learning options for students plus opportunities to get more involved in peace activism are also initiatives that we are planning for the new academic year.

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Another issue we were dealing with in the autumn term is an unprecedented level of polarisation within the communities that we work. Our senior leadership team spent time working with these communities in order to ensure that SNS remains able to work within secondary schools.

Other weaknesses and improvements for the next year include:

6.b Strengths and successes

The introduction of deeper critical thinking around the role of the media was highly successful and we exceeded our metrics targets in this area. Our metrics score is also very high against many other targets, particularly for the teacher training sessions. We are not having to spend large resources on outreach to achieve this, meaning that our reputation among schools and local councils is now well-established and we are being invited back to work annually in schools on a more long-term basis. We have developed our Olive Branch Award, an initiative to encourage long-term school engagement, and this will be ready to launch in the autumn term.

The new structure of our education programme worked excellently. We are benefitting from the model of freelance facilitators around the country combined with Q&A with speakers via video conferencing. This has proven much more flexible for schools and is bringing down the cost of running the programme by around £8 per student compared to the previous tours model. The Youth Education Programme is now very well adapted for a combination of teacher and facilitator-led sessions, with the Palestinian and Israeli speakers being brought in for a Q&A with the students via Zoom. Freelance facilitators located in various parts of England bring flexibility enabling us to offer sessions for schools at any time of the year, and we still have some speakers who are resident in the UK who can do live sessions for schools who would benefit most from face-to-face encounters with our speakers.

29

Solutions Not Sides

Trustees' annual report

For the period ended August 31 2022

Understanding of diverse narratives and a willingness to embrace complexity rather than feeling threatened by it is coming out as the strongest outcome from the new programme format – as the use of films and extended discussion sections during the pre-sessions is allowing the students to explore the subject in more depth before meeting the speakers.

Other successes include:

Plans for 2022-2023

The ideal model in the future once Covid no longer restricts travel is that we offer face to face encounters with our speakers top priority schools. That is schools experiencing high amounts of inter group tension and who are in greater need of our programme. This would represent around half the number that we used to offer face-to-face encounters to. The programme would be delivered to all other schools, via our hybrid model of freelance facilitators and video conferencing . This will help to keep our costs lower than pre-Covid but means that the neediest schools will have the double advantage of the personal story films AND the speakers from the films walking into the classroom in person for a live Q&A with the students.

In addition, in 2022-2023, we will be expanding our in-person Youth Education Programme work, offering the Olive Branch Award to pilot schools, running our first ever Model United Nations programme, and ensuring continued support for schools and teachers through the development of new resources and training materials.

Tours

Next academic year, we will run at least two in-person tours, returning to our pre-covid model. Whilst we recognise the opportunity afforded by using video conferencing, that is, the ability to work with schools all over the country, without concerns over logistics and ill health, we also recognise that the humanisation and empathy aspect and impact of our work is best carried out in person. We will therefore run a tour in London and Bradford, which are two of our focus areas. Outside of these tours, we will continue to offer sessions to schools in our target areas and around the country, with a goal of reaching just over 9000 students.

Solutions Not Sides

33

Trustees' annual report

For the period ended August 31 2022

In the summer of 2022, after receiving expert advice and training in Communications and Public Relations, we created a new communication strategy document. This is a thorough overview of who we communicate with, how, when, for what purpose, and with what medium. It allows us to finesse the content we put out and ensure that the time spent on creating content for social media is consistent with ours aims, mission, and vision. We have prepared new teachers’ guides prepared and new skills-based guides for students which, include a focus on empathy, public speaking, and critical thinking. We will follow this strategy in 20222023.

We have also been successful in applying for funding to run two Student Leadership Programmes; one which will focus on a Model United Nations programme, and another which will be called the Bridge Builders Programme and will replicate the very successful summer student programmes we have run over the past twelve years. Alumni from our previous programmes have gone on to work with us, facilitate our workshops, fundraise for us, to do several different careers and many stay in touch with us and attend annual reunions. Finally, we are excited to pilot our Olive Branch Award to up to ten schools across the country.

The model and impact of the Solutions Not Sides Youth Education Programme has evolved significantly in the last twelve years. SNS is no longer a single intervention programme, but today provides multiple interventions to the target audience of British youth and has also started working more closely with the teachers themselves. We have observed a need for additional support for schools & teachers, and we understand that the unit of change is not just the individual student, but the wider school community and school culture. In response to this, SNS has designed and implemented additional components including resources and teacher training. The Olive Branch Schools Initiative formalises these components for schools, providing schools with a systematic method of strengthening the school’s culture against racism related to Israel and Palestine, whilst contributing to SNS’ organisational and strategic goals. It also strengthens the four areas of ‘life skills’ that SNS is already providing within the curriculum: critical thinking, active listening, social and emotional learning, and empathy. Schools are enthusiastic to implement this, and we are excited to provide this for them.

Financial commentary

For the year to 31 August 2022, Solutions Not Sides secured income of £261,000, £202,000 of which came from grants and donations. Expenditure in the year was £311,000 resulting in an unrestricted deficit for the year of £50,000. The charity started the year with reserves of £60,000 over the desired reserves policy - so the deficit In the year Is consistent with a spend down of those reserves.

31

Solutions Not Sides

Trustees' annual report

For the period ended August 31 2022

£30,000 of restricted grants and donations for the Youth Education and Student Leadership projects were received late In the year and are shown as carried forward for spending In 2022/23.

This leaves accumulated unrestricted reserves of £71,000, providing a financial base to secure the future operations of the charity

Sustainability and future funding

SNS begins its new financial year in a robust position enabling us to carry forward programming.

SNS is anticipating that some of its longest-running supporters will still be in a position to support the organisation in the coming financial year. This means that we anticipate receiving almost the full amount for funds budgeted for 2022-23. Combined with the expected income from charitable activities, the organisation looks likely to remain in a strong financial position for the coming twelve months.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The charity trustees must comply with the requirements of the Charities Act with regard to the keeping of accounting records, to the preparation and scrutiny of statements of account, and to the preparation of annual reports and returns.

The statements of account, reports and returns must be sent to the Commission, regardless of the income of the CIO, within 10 months of the financial year end.

The charity trustees must comply with their obligation to inform the Commission within 28 days of any change in the particulars of the CIO entered on the Central Register of Charities.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 30th June and signed on their behalf by

32

R Lewis

Chairperson Independent examiner's report

To the members of

Solutions Not Sides

S olutions Not Sides for the year ended 31 August 2022.

This report is made solely to the trustees as a body, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. My examination has been undertaken so that I might state to the trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the trustees as a body, for my examination, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees 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 charity’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 Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

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:

33

Independent examiner's report

To the members of

Solutions Not Sides

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.

Name: Jonathan Orchard

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Address: Sayer Vincent LLP, Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL Date:

34

Solutions Not Sides

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ~~For the year ended 31 August 2022~~

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) and expenditure account) and expenditure account) and expenditure account) and expenditure account)
~~For the year ended 31 August 2022~~ ~~2022~~
~~2021~~
Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total Note £ £ £ £ £ £
161,691
40,650
202,341 254,706 100,000 354,706
56,242 - 56,242 30,727 - 30,727 2,858 - 2,858 4,263 - 4,263
220,791
40,650
261,441
289,696
100,000
389,696
451 -
451
7
-
7
295,925
10,650
306,575
225,590
100,000
325,590
4,249
-
4,249
3,097
-
3,097
300,625
10,650
311,275
228,694
100,000
328,694
(79,833)
30,000
(49,833) 61,002
-
61,002 (79,833)
30,000
(49,833) 61,002
-
61,002
151,158
-
71,325
151,158
90,156
-
90,156
30,000
101,325
151,158
-
151,158

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities Session
fees
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on: Raising
funds
Charitable activities Governance
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) for year
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward Total
funds carried forward 15 months
2
3
3
220,791 40,650 261,441 289,696 100,000
451
295,925
4,249		 -
451
10,650
-		 7
306,575
4,249		 -
7
225,590
3,097		 100,000
-
300,625 10,650 311,275 228,694 100,000
(79,833)
30,000 101,325 151,158 -
151,158
71,325		 -

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

35

Solutions Not Sides

Balance sheet

~~As at 31 August 2022~~

~~As at 31 August 2022~~ ~~As at 31 August 2022~~ ~~As at 31 August 2022~~
Current assets:
Note
£
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
8
11,300
98,001
Liabilities:
109,301
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
9
(7,976)
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Total net assets / (liabilities)
The funds of the charity:
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Total charity funds		 2022
£
101,325		 £
-
163,767		 2021
£
151,158
151,158
151,158
151,158
151,158
109,301
(7,976)		 163,767
(12,609)
101,325
101,325
71,325
30,000
101,325

The opinion of the directors is that the company is entitled to the exemptions conferred by Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The directors acknowledge the following responsibilities:

Approved by the trustees on 30 June 2023 and signed on their behalf by

R Lewis

Chairperson

Solutions Not Sides

Notes to the financial statements

~~For the year to 31 August 2022~~

a) Statutory information

Solutions Not Sides is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

The registered office address is The Vineyards, 36 Gloucester Avenue, London, NW1 7BB. b)

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

c) Public benefit entity

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. d)

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. e)

Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

f) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes. g)

Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred. h)

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Solutions Not Sides

Notes to the financial statements

~~For the year to 31 August 2022 1~~

Accounting policies

(continued)

i) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. j) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 2 Income from donations and legacies

me from donations and legacies
Grants
Donations
Donated services		 Unrestricted
£
120,155
41,536
-		 Restricted
£
40,650
-
-		 2022
Total
£
160,805
41,536
-		 Unrestricted
£
237,831
16,875
-		 Restricted
£
100,000
-
-		 15 months
2021
Total
£
337,831
16,875
-
354,706
161,691 40,650 202,341 254,706 100,000

Solutions Not Sides

Notes to the financial statements

~~For the 15 month period to 31 August 2022~~

3 Analysis of expenditure

Analysis of expenditure
Staff costs
Other direct project costs
Legal and Governance
Overheads
Fundraising
Other staff costs
Sundry
Total expenditure 2022		 Raising
funds
£
-
-
-
-
451
-
-		 ~~Charitable~~
Charitable
activity
£
212,853
78,239
-
7,129
-
8,354
-
306,575
Governance
costs
£
-
-
4,249
-
-
-
-
4,249		 2022 Total
£
212,853
78,239
4,249
7,129
451
8,354
311,275
Raising
funds
-
-
-
-
7
-
-
7		 Charitable
activity
192,521
117,905
-
10,957
-
4,207
325,590
Governance
costs
-
-
3,097
-
-
-
-
15 months
2021
Total
£
192,521
117,905
3,097
10,957
7
4,207
328,694
41
3,097
451
7

Solutions Not Sides

Notes to the financial statements

~~For the 15 month period to 31 August 2022~~

4 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:
Net salary
Tax and social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes		 2022
£
140,165
61,169
11,519
212,853		 15 months
2021
£
128,628
54,608
9,285
192,521

No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year (2021: nil)

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2021: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity. Trustees claimed expenses of £22 in the year (2021: £nil).

5 Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions to disclose for this financial year (2021: £nil).

6 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

7 Net income resources for year

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
2022 2021
£ £
Independent examination fees 2,000 2,000
Depreciation - -

42

Solutions Not Sides

Notes to the financial statements

~~For the 15 month period to 31 August 2022~~

8 Debtors

8
Debtors
Trade debtors
9
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
Taxation and social security
Accruals
Other creditors
10
Movements in funds
Restricted funds:
Youth Education Project
Student Leadership Project
Total restricted funds
40,650
Unrestricted funds: General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 year
At 1
September
2021
£
-
-
151,158
151,158
151,158		 2022
£
2022
£
5,562
2,400
14
Income & Expenditure gains
& losses
£
£
25,650
(10,650)
15,000
-
Transfers
£
-
30,000
11,300
11,300
(10,650)
-
220,791
(300,625)
-
220,791
(300,625)
-
261,441
(311,275)
-		 2021
£
2021
£
10,209
2,400
7,976
At 31
August
2022
£
15,000
15,000
-
-
-
12,609
71,325
71,325
101,325
(10,650) -
-
151,158 220,791 (300,625) -
151,158 261,441 (311,275) -

11 Transfer of activities and net assets

Prior to September 2019, the activities of Solutions Not Sides were undertaken within OneVoice Europe - a registered charity and company limited by guarantee.

Solutions Not Sides was registered as a separate charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) in May 2019. Under the terms of a transfer deed, the activities and net assets of Solutions Not Sides were transferred from OneVoice Europe to the new Solutions Not Sides CIO on 31 August 2019.