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2021-08-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report

From 1[st] 31[st]

Charity name: Schools

for the period

September 2020 to August 2021

Book Clubs in

Charity registration number: 1185409

Charity’s principal address: 50 Ashen Grove, London, SW19 8BN

Summary of the purposes of the charity

Book Clubs in Schools (BCiS) exists to advance the education of pupils at schools in the UK for the public benefit, in particular those pupils who are affected by social and economic disadvantage, through the provision of book clubs run as a peer mentoring, extra curriculum programme.

BCiS began as a Community Interest Company in March 2014 and became a charity in September 2019. The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

BCiS aims to strengthen pupils’ engagement in reading and discussion skills, particularly for those who are at a socio-economic disadvantage. By encouraging young people to read for pleasure and discuss their thoughts on a book, BCiS helps them practise critical thinking, build interpersonal skills, and access volunteering opportunities by becoming a book club leader. BCiS prioritises schools with over 40% of pupils in receipt of free school meals.

The unique features of the programme are that it is inclusive – in that an entire year group (typically year 7) participates in book club – and that the clubs are led by older pupils.

The full BCiS book club programme is a year-long, interactive, weekly book club for Year 7s, facilitated by older secondary pupils. BCiS provides all resources, support and training for teachers and older pupils and free books to schools which qualify (with more than 40% Pupil Premium pupils). The clubs can be run virtually or in person. BCiS promotes diversity through its book choices for the book clubs so that young people can relate to the characters and stories they read.

Achievements and Performance

Since BCiS started in 2014 as a Community Interest Company, over 13,000 pupils have participated in Book Clubs in Schools from over 45 schools. Currently, BCiS delivers online and in person book clubs in 90 schools across London, the South Coast, the West Midlands and Manchester.

BCiS has been able to successfully transition from a directly managed model to a digital model. Our schools can now access all materials required to run the programme including project plans, training manuals, curated book list and Question and Activity guides, letters to send to parents and the young people are all found in a subscription area of the website. We continue to train Book Club Leaders and staff via live Zoom meetings and offer advice to schools.

The difference BCiS makes for these young people is to provide a safe, non-judgmental programme to read and discuss a book together with older pupils.

BCiS aims to improve pupils’ ability to:

The results of our self-evaluation surveys completed by all participants illustrate the achievements of the programme:

For Book Clubbers :

For Book Club Leaders

We have also created two 'taster projects’ to recruit schools to participate in the full programme:

Mini Book Club – Year 7 Transition

www.bookclubsinschools.org/minibookclub - is a summer holiday programme which provides Questions and Activities guide for teachers to share with pupils. These resources can be used in summer school or by pupils over the summer holidays as a transition activity to prepare for secondary school. Publishers provide discounted print copies (typically half-price) and e-books for 99p. There is a live author Q&A for pupils to join in at their new secondary schools in September. Over 150 schools signed up to take part.

National Teen Book Club - https://www.speakersforschools.org/nationalteen-book-club/ run with our partner Speakers for Schools, is an online programme for pupils age 14-19 which runs for four weeks – up to seven times per year. Pupils share a reading experience online, discuss a book in small break-our rooms, hear from creative industry professionals including authors, publishers, art directors, literary agents etc. and are encouraged to write a creative piece or illustration which is published in the Speakers for Schools, virtual library. It has run five times since June 2021 and over 2,500 young people have participated.

Findings from the self-evaluation surveys:

This aligns with Book Clubs in Schools’ mission to increase reading for pleasure and introduce participants to a wider world.

Pupil referral units (PRUs)

We also received funding from The People’s Postcode Lottery Trust for a pilot project to run book clubs in two PRUs. This work includes visits from the author, Alex Wheatle MBE, an animation project and a short film. The project is ongoing and we plan to rollout the pilot next year.

Fundraising objectives

BCiS financial year runs from 1 September to 31 August to align with the UK school year. BCiS delivers the programme by charging each school a fee. This ensures that schools are delivering the programme to its full potential as they are invested in the outcomes. BCiS has set fundraising objectives against a budget for the costs of the programme.

In the year ended 31 August 2020 BCiS raised money from school subscriptions and from foundations and trusts including: John Lyon’s Charity, Mercers’ Company Schroder Foundation, Siobhan Dowd Trust and

The People’s Postcode Lottery Trust. We also received books for our projects from Give a Book.

Financial Review

The funding model for BCiS includes fees from schools who utilise the model and from different funders which allows the charity to expand its outreach. BCiS has been in a start-up phase for a couple of years and has been improving its financial position since that period. In the year ended 31 August 2021 the charity had retained reserves of £3,687 as compared to £118 in the prior year and the financial position has continued to improve.

The improvement seen has been due to BCiS gaining traction with new funders and that new schools are now enrolling in the programme. A number of grants which were received in the year ended 31 August 2020 could not be spent and therefore were carried forward into the year ending 31 August 2021. As at 31 August 2021 the significant asset on the balance sheet was cash in the sum of £41,595 (31 August 2020: £13,285) which is includes amounts received in advance. In the year ended 31 August 2021, a specific reserves policy was put in place to ensure that three months of operating costs are retained as a reserve. The designation of reserves will be reviewed in the year ending 31 August 2022.

The charity has ensured that it remains a going concern through retaining cash balances during its start-up phase. This will continue, however funding from different sources has been secured and therefore the going concern position will improve in future years.

The current climate is a risk to any charity and for BCiS it is difficult to engage with new schools and funders. Many of the funds for which BCiS was eligible closed to new applicants during 2021 as they looked after their current cohort to ensure they survived or were only providing emergency frontline services funding. This change in policy by funders led BCiS to struggle to secure funding from foundations and trusts. Despite this pressure BCiS secured its first three year grant from the Mercers’ Company and this has created some sustainability for the charity.

Structure, Governance and Management

The charity is a CIO with a constitution.

The Board of Trustees was selected to ensure a wide range of skills were included such as marketing, finance, experience of running a charity, fundraising and impact measurement as well as diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity. Trustees were selected from various sectors including private, public and charity and to provide the user experience viewpoint a teacher from one of the school in the programme was appointed to sit on the board. A number of board members were on the advisory board from when BCiS was a Community Interest Company so were familiar with the charity’s aims and programme.

Office Dates if not the whole

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Name Office year

Catherine Whelan Chair Victoria Gray Alison Lambert Treasurer Richard Parkin Caroline Reynolds Tony Smith

Beth Ginsburg and Alison Palmer are the directors who manage the charity on a day to day basis.

Declarations

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

on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Alison Lambert Full name(s) Catherine Whelan Position (eg Chair Treasurer Secretary, Chair, etc)

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Date
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Company Number:

CE018909

BOOK CLUBS IN SCHOOLS Charity Number 1185409 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2021

BOOK CLUBS IN SCHOOLS

Income And Expenditure Account For the Year Ended 31 August 2021

Income
Cost of Sales
Gross Profit / (Loss)
Less: Administrative Expenses
Surplus on ordinary activities before interest and
other income
Interest Receivable
Less: Interest Payable
Surplus on ordinary activities before tax
Tax
Surplus on ordinary activities after tax		 2021
£
42,389
(36,898)
5,491
(1,922)
3,569
-
-
3,569
-
3,569		 2020
£
20.514
(17,938)
2,576
(1,714)
862
-
-
862
-
862

BOOK CLUBS IN SCHOOLS

Balance Sheet As At 31 August 2021

Notes
Current Assets
Cash at Bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
2
Net Current assets / (liabilities)
Reserves
Retained Reserves		 £
41,595		 2021
£
3,687
3,687
3,687		 £
13,285		 2020
£
118
41,595
(37,908)		 13,285
(13,167)
118
118

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity provisions and have been delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

For the financial year ending 31st August 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006. No member of the company has deposited a notice, pursuant to section 476, requiring an audit of these financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its profit or loss for the financial period is in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to accounts, so far as applicable to the company.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on and signed on its behalf.

TRUSTEE

____TRUSTEE

The notes on page 4 form part of these financial statements.

BOOK CLUBS IN SCHOOLS

Notes To The Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 August 2021

1. Accounting policies

Basis of accounting

The financial statements are prepared on the historical cost basis of accounting and are prepared in accordance with the applicable Accounting Standards.

2. Creditors : amounts falling due within one year

2021 2020
£ £
Trade Creditors 210 517
Amounts received in advance 37,698 12,650
______ _____
37,908 13,167
______ _____

Independent examlnerfs rep￿ to the tru5ts•5 ol Book Club In Sdwls C￿lIty number 1185409. I report to the trustees on my examinatlon of the accounts of Book Clubs In Sclw)ols Ithe Chartyl for the year ending 31 August 2021. Responslbllltles and basts of re As the charlty trustees of the Char￿¥ vou are re¥K)nslble for the preparatlon of the accounts In accordance with the requirements of the Charities Art 20111.the ACYI I report in resFrt of my examination of the Charl￿S accounts carried under sectK)n 145 of the 2011 Act and In carryln8 Out my examination I have followed all the appllcable Dlrertlon$ glven by the Charlty Commls5ion under section 145151 Ibl of Art. Indewndent examlnerfs slatement I have completed my examlnatlon. l ttnfimi that no materSal matters have come to rny attentlon In connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect.. l. Accountlng records were rK)t kept in respert of the Charity as required by sectlon 130 of the Act.. or 2. The accounts do not accord with those records: or 3. The accounts do not comply with the applicable requlrements concernlng of the tomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 21x18 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair VIe￿ whlch Is not a matter consldered as part of an In*endent examlnatlon. I have no concerns and have come xross no other matter5 Sn connectlon with the eyamSnatlon to whlch attentlon should be drawn in this re￿rt in order to enable a proper understsndln8 of the ccounts to be reached. lan Tacklev Fellow of Chartered A550clatk)n ol Certlfied kcountants 34 Southdean Garden5 London SW19 6NU Il" Apr512022