## **The Literacy Hubs** ## **Annual Report 2021/22** The Omega Centre 2 Omega Street, Portsmouth Hampshire, PO5 4LP 07458307437 info@theliteracyhubs.co.uk **theliteracyhubs.co.uk** ## **Contents** ## **Letter from Jackie Rainford, Chair of Trustees** ## **Who We Are & Why We Exist** - **What we do** - **How we do it** - **Why we are needed** - **Our impact** ## **Covid-19 Response, Impact & Challenges** - **Impact** - **Response** - **Challenges** ## **Three Year Strategy** - Overarching aims - Overarching aims: The why - Three year strategy roadmap ## **Contribution Made by Volunteers** ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Financials** ## **Independent Auditor's Report** ## **Letter from Jackie Rainford, Chair of Trustees** The trustees are pleased to present their annual report, together with the financial statements of the charity for the period ending July 31, 2021. The financial statements comply with the charities Act 2011 and accounting and reporting by charities statements of recommended practice. These are applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the financial reporting standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (effective from January 2015). We are a Portsmouth based charity, formed in May 2020, to address the gaps in attainment relating to literacy skills for children in years 5 to 7. These years are crucial to children achieving the standards of literacy required for their future education and, importantly, their prospects in adult life. Initially, we focused on children in The Charles Dickens Ward, one of the most deprived areas of Portsmouth and we continue to focus on areas where literacy attainment is at its lowest. We built a fantastical learning space in the Omega Centre, Portsmouth. The bare functional rooms were converted into a pirate ship and cave. Pompey Pirates then became our first Literacy Hub. This creative learning space provided comfort, as well as the props to engage and motivate the children to imagine and write beautiful pirate stories. With the support of more than 100 trained and DBS checked volunteers, the children wrote a book of pirate stories, and then produced a recording for a radio show and finally a film of pirate stories, shown at the University of Portsmouth cinema. These projects were achieved in ‘a year like no other’ for the country and importantly children’s education. The charity was in its infancy when the Covid pandemic struck and we knew we had to respond creatively to the crisis to be able to continue with our activities. The CEO and operational team did an extraordinary job providing much needed support for children throughout three periods of lockdown. The sessions in the ship were converted to online support; this would have been a challenge for some children who: - didn’t have access to Wi-Fi at home missed the face to face focused support at the pirate ship. However, the team overcame these challenges by providing sessions through schools and the majority of volunteers continued online throughout the year. This was an exceptional achievement. Throughout the year, we have received excellent financial support from Portsmouth City Council and the University of Portsmouth, as well as individual donations and support from local businesses. Towards the end of the year, the Chief Executive, and the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer and trustees, set their sights on developing a second hub in the city. This was in line with our three year strategy, to have three literacy hubs in Portsmouth by 2023, helping over 300 children develop their literacy skills. At the same time, our CEO Becca Dean, was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list. This was given in recognition of her successful work co-founding and leading The Girls’ Network (a mentoring charity for teenage girls) and launching The Literacy Hubs in Portsmouth. This was a fantastic achievement and the whole team are incredibly proud of Becca. During this first year of operation, we have successfully supported 108 students and the results of the support have been phenomenal. All of the literacy educational measurements of success have been very positive, but two headlines really show the difference made: On average the children attending Pompey Pirates sessions have made progress 50% faster than age related expectations and 88% of students feel more confident in their reading; with 54% of these students feeling a lot more confident. In January 2022, a further 60 children will join us at our second hub, at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. This new hub will welcome Portsea sailors, students will use the venue to write creative stories and scripts for radio and film. Throughout 2020/21 the trustees have seen the ability to achieve sustained funding as a priority. We receive payments via pupil premium provision from schools, and our additional funding came from Portsmouth University and Portsmouth City Council. More recently the CEO has made large bids to other funders and has been very successful in achieving sizeable amounts. We have also obtained funding (and recruited volunteers) from local business and organisations. The CEO and operations team, have successfully fine tuned all of the structures and procedures required to run a compliant, successful and efficient charity. The trustees will review all of the policies and procedures, including the full risk assessment on an annual basis. The trustee team have worked incredibly hard to learn about their role, the running of the charity and how they can add value to the organisation. We did a skills audit of trustees and as a result have recruited two additional trustees; to support with fundraising and learning and development. We have a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and dedicated board of trustees. The CEO and her team and the trustees are a cohesive team, with the needs of the children at its very heart. This coming financial year will be one of growth, as we increase the size of the operation – in line with our strategy – and welcome more children to the hubs. We currently have a waiting list of Portsmouth schools wanting to participate in our programmes and interest in the charity from outside of Portsmouth, which includes Government ministers and other local authorities. The future of The Literacy Hubs is an exciting one. ## **Who We Are & Why We Exist** ## **What we do** The Literacy Hubs works with young people from the least advantaged communities to improve their literacy skills and ignite a passion for reading and writing. We work with local communities to create hubs which are designed to best support its literacy needs. Our initial hubs focussed on areas across Portsmouth. Each hub will have a different approach because every community has different needs. We believe that by taking coordinated action at a local level to drive up literacy levels, we can support increased educational attainment and employability skills, leading to long term improvements in public health and economic engagement Our first hub, The Pompey Pirates, launched in the heart of the Charles Dickens Ward, Portsmouth in September 2020, and was swiftly followed by the opening of our second hub, The Portsea Sailors, in January 2022. Our hubs offer unique, magical and adventurous learning environments that inspire young people to pick up a book or pen and be more creative. ## **How we do it** We work within the local community to create a hub that best supports its literacy needs – this might involve young people or adults. In our Pompey Pirates hub, for example, we work with schools to identify children between the ages of nine and 13 who’ll benefit most from our support. They attend sessions once a week, after school, for a year. This transition phase – beginning the change from primary to secondary school – can often be a critical point for children when progress in reading and writing can really slow down. In our exciting and engaging learning environments, working one-to-one or in small groups, we help our learners to catch up. Our aim is simple: to grab the children’s imaginations, fire up their enthusiasm and draw them into a wonderful world full of adventure through the power of reading, while also developing their skills. In this way, they can achieve more, in life, in school or later on at work. In a programme devised and led by education professionals, with the help of volunteers from the community, we nurture and encourage learners to: - Improve their reading skills by focusing on the magic, escape and simple enjoyment that books offer Work on creative writing projects, eventually producing published projects such as books, films, podcasts and even radio shows ## **Why we are needed** Two in three children living in low-income households in the UK fall below the expected levels in reading and writing by the age of 11, compared to one in three of their wealthier peers. The attainment gap widens further as they transition from primary to secondary school. Children living in poverty start school with vocabularies up to 19 months behind their better-off peers and are twice as likely to leave secondary school without good GCSEs in English and Maths. One in three children, from lower socio-economic backgrounds, leave primary school without reaching expected levels of reading. Due to recent school closures, the work of The Literacy Hubs has become even more crucial as the literacy gap between those less advantaged children and their peers is becoming even wider. ## **The context of Portsmouth** On average, nine year-olds, from low income communities across Portsmouth, are 13 months behind and 11 year-olds are 28 months behind the reading and writing age they need in order to keep up with their peers. Nearly a quarter of the children in Portsmouth live in poverty and, in some parts of the city, the poverty levels are extremely high. In The Charles Dickens ward, 44.2% of children live in poverty and 45% of lowincome boys are not reading well by the age of 11. Across Portsmouth, children from low-income backgrounds are twice as likely as their wealthier peers to fall below expected levels of reading and writing by age 11. Therefore, they are already at least two years behind in reading ability when they start secondary school, putting them at a huge disadvantage. If a child does not learn to read well when young, their lifelong outcomes are severely limited. ## **Our impact** Our first hub, The Pompey Pirates, is making a transformative impact on the literacy, confidence and perseverance of children aged nine to 13, so that they can achieve both at school and in the world beyond. Impact measurement is at the heart of what we do. In order to monitor and evaluate our impact we use baseline and followup questionnaires asking teachers, pupils, and parents to rate statements describing confidence and perseverance; STAR reading tests using the Accelerated Reader programme and a writing assessment using the CLPE writing scale. During our first year, the children on our programme made progress, on average, at a rate 50% faster than age related expectations; improving their reading age by 14 months rather than the expected eight to nine months over an academic year. Over 80% of the children noted improved confidence in reading, writing, and sharing their opinions, while parents and teacher noted an improvement both in children's ability to persevere and in their overall confidence. ## **The Literacy Hubs Impact Report: 2020/21** **On average the Pompey Pirates made progress 50% faster than age related expectations.** Their over **reading age improved by an average of 14 months** the course of 9 months, whilst they would otherwise have been expected to make less than 9 months progress. **88%** **of students feel more confident in their reading** abilities, with **54%** of these students **feeling a lot more confident** . 31% of students improved their reading age by more than a year, **with some making as much as three year's progress.** According to The Accelerated Reader Student Growth Percentile - which compares students with others of the same age and ability level nationally - **43% of Pompey Pirates are making progress at an above average rate with 21% being classed as making progress at an 'exceptional' rate** ## **The Literacy Hubs Impact Report: 2020/21** **Over 80%** of students reported feeling **more confident telling people their opinion** since attending Pompey Pirates with **50% saying they felt a lot more confident in this area.** Over **80%** feel **more confident in their writing abilities, with 48% feeling a lot more confident.** **74%** of students feel **better at persevering** , with **35%** of these students feeling **a lot more confident.** > Over **80%** of parents noticed an **improvement in their child's ability to persevere.** ## **Students felt they'd shown perserevance by:** - 'Trying over and over again' 'Always trying my best' 'Pushing through when my friend wasn't there' 'Working alone' 'Not giving up and working hard' 'Trying my best even when I don't want to' ## **The Literacy Hubs Impact Report: 2020/21 Parental Feedback** **A high proportion of parents specifically mentioned an improvement in confidence particularly in the work they produce, as well as an increased enthusiasm in learning.** "I have seen alot of positive changes in my daughter's willingness to read and write" "Amazing work by everyone. A short story being published and being on the radio were such big events for them and Isabelle was so proud of her achievements as were we." "My daughter loved every session. [...] It boosted her confidence." "I was skeptical at first but have seen a real improvement in Zach since attending Pompey Pirates." **88% of parents** felt their **child's confidence had improved.** 47% felt it had **improved by a lot.** **65% of parents** felt their child was **more willing and more interested in reading** at home after attending s. Pompey Pirates session **71% of parents** felt their child was **more willing or interested in writing** since attending Pompey Pirates sessions. ## **The Literacy Hubs Impact Report: 2020/21** ## **School Feedback** **72%**[of students who attended ] Pompey Pirates feel **more confident in** . **asking for help in lessons** "Mimi now puts up her hand in class without being asked and will speak out loud in front of everyone. She will even repeat what she has said if I think it's too quite. So much more confident." "Jake's enthusiasm for writing has grown, he has earnt his pen licence and clearly really enjoys writing lessons. He also has been writing his own stories at home." "Kim is more enthusiastic about English and does now ask for help." "Harley has made significant improvements in his word choices, tenses, handwriting and also the flow of his writing." "Confidence and belief in herself has improved. Written work and creative writing has improved drastically." "Niko will read out loud to the class with a clear and confident voice now." "Louis has gone from hating writing, to looking forward to writing lessons." "He seems more focused in lesson and certainly starting to put his eloquence into his writing..." ## **The Literacy Hubs Impact Report: 2020/21** ## **2020/21 Highlights** ## **Mark (Year 7)** Mark came to us with a reading age of 7 years and 5 months, 3 years and 7 months below where he should be for a year 7 student, Mark has made fantastic progress. During his time at Pompey Pirates he has improved his reading age by 2 years and 1 month, bringing it up to 9 years and 6 months. Mark's teachers noted he was more confident since joining Pompey Pirates and that he was starting to use a wider range of vocabulary in his writing. His parents felt he had improved in confidence and perseverance, as well as enjoying reading and writing more. "[It's helped] by giving new vocabulary that I can use" "I have lots of people to support me" "[My favourite part was] doing projects that something would actually happen with it not just stuck in a book" ## **Lola (Year 5)** Having joined us with a reading age of 6 years 8 months, 2 years and 4 months below the expected reading age for a year 5 student, Lola has made good progress. In the 11 months she has been attending The Pompey Pirates she has improved her reading age by 2yrs 2 months to 8yrs and 10 months. Lola is now only 2 months behind her age related expectations. Lola has shown a huge increase in her confidence and her willingness to engage with reading and writing tasks. She now frequently asks questions and will seek out help when she needs it. ## **Frederick (Year 6)** After improving his reading age by an impressive 3 years and 3 months, Frederick now has a reading age of 13 years and 3 months - well above his age-related expectation. Having started the year as a very shy and quiet student, Frederick reported feeling a lot more confident in his written work as well as feeling more confident expressing his opinion and asking for help. This was demonstrated in his enthusiastic participation in our final film project. "It has helped a lot with my spelling and writing" "We learn whilst having fun!" "It has given me more confidence" ## **Covid-19 Response, Impact & Challenges** ## **Impact:** COVID-19 is set to have a disastrous impact on the literacy of the 4.6 million children living in poverty in the UK. Due to school closures, our work has become even more crucial as the literacy gap between those less advantaged children and their peers has become even wider. Analysis of government data by the Education Policy Institute (2020) suggests that the learning gap between rich and poor primary age pupils in England has widened for the first time since 2007. Disadvantaged secondary pupils are more than 18 months behind their better-off classmates by the time they take their GCSEs. The study also highlights several strong indications that the overall gap has started to widen, including: disadvantaged primary pupils more than nine months behind, with the gap widening for the first time since 2007 disadvantaged reception pupils nearly five months behind, the same as in 2013 Research by Teach First also found the poorest pupils in England and Wales are suffering disproportionately, as many schools don’t have the resources to ensure they can keep learning during lockdowns. Without adequate catch up support, we risk the Covid-19 generation experiencing worse outcomes in the future. Timely support given to a child who is falling behind with their literacy skills can stop them from falling further behind, catch them up with their peers and transform their life, giving them an equal chance to achieve their potential. ## **Response:** The Pompey Pirates opened its doors to sixty children from four schools, across the city of Portsmouth, in September 2020. Until November (2020) we were operating our programme in person at the ‘Ship’ based at The Omega Centre in Portsmouth . The safety of our children, volunteers and staff is paramount so we operated very strict Covid policies to ensure everyone's safety. However, in line with government requirements, we had to close the ship in November. We moved the programme to an online format, on our ‘Virtual Ship’. The sessions continued to be a success, we continued to experience high levels of attendance. Despite being virtual we were still able to complete the children's first published project, a collection of short stories. We created learning packs for all the children so they could continue to engage in the online sessions; these packs included a copy of their published book. For those children without technology we worked with the council to provide them with the equipment they needed to participate in the virtual ship. Inline with government guidelines returned to in person sessions from (insert exact date) ## **In the words of our community:** “Thanks for keeping the sessions going virtually. It has made a huge difference to our children and ensured they don’t fall further behind. We can see the difference in their work already and they are also having a lot of fun! (Headteacher) “I still love coming to the sessions even though they are online because I get to read to my crewmate (volunteer) and get help with my writing. The sessions are so fun and I look forward to them all the time.. It has made lockdown a lot better for me and my twin because he loves Pompey Pirates too!” (Young Pirate, year 5) "Volunteering for The Literacy Hubs during the lockdowns has saved my mental health. I am a single, retiree and supporting on the virtual sessions has been incredibly rewarding and gave me purpose in such a difficult time. The children have made such good progress and it's such a pleasure to be a small part of their day." (Volunteer Crewmate) ## **Safeguarding:** A virtual programme and any kind of online communication with young people brings with it additional and different challenges related to child protection. Our existing safeguarding policy provided a solid foundation to create an additional virtual safeguarding policy, which we continuously adapted for the first few months of the pandemic based on learnings and feedback. Ensuring that all our volunteers were familiar and comfortable with our virtual safeguarding policy was a priority. ## **Challenges:** ## **Logistics** We are a charity premised on the power of in-person connection, so when the initial restrictions were put in place, we had to re-think how we operated and engaged with our schools and families. While the solution of switching to a virtual programme was a natural one, we had to consider how this was actually going to take place: on what virtual platforms, how would schools be communicating with families regarding sessions and how would we ensure that the impact of our programme was not affected. ## **Income Streams** The biggest challenge is the uncertainty for the future. While we have weathered this period of time, we can't know for sure how an ongoing pandemic and associated recession will affect income streams longer term. We will continue to proactively take action and we will continue to deliver our programme, with regular tracking and careful evaluation. ## **Staff Wellbeing and Retention** Many agree that the global healthcare crisis brought with it a mental health crisis of equal scale. Like other employers we have tried to be very mindful of staff wellbeing, provide support wherever possible, and show the same adaptability and flexibility that the new situation demands of our team. As a relatively small charity with limited resources we continue to put time and energy into supporting everyone on the team (with provisions for home office arrangements, for example, or childcare needs). ## **Three Year Strategy** ## **Overarching Aims** ## **1.Deepen Impact in Portsmouth** Establish two additional hubs to serve ten more schools in key areas of Portsmouth and increase numbers attending The Pompey Pirates (hub 1). ## **2. Prepare for National Scale** Identify the next region(s) for The Literacy Hubs and acquire the funds required to expand there. ## **Overarching Aims: The Why** ## **1.Deepen Impact in Portsmouth** - Close existing relationship with funders who are keen to fund more work Large unmet demand from other schools and age groups - Existing infrastructure will allow for easy collaboration between hub - Brand established within volunteering and school markets - Large volunteer base can be shared between hubs located in the same city ## **2. Prepare for National Scale** - Brighton council have approached the charity about launching a hub in the city. They would like to explore this possibility from early next year after we have experience and impact behind us - Large national funding pots exist for national education charities - Low literacy affects communities across the UK and with our experience we can help millions of children - Taking time to prepare will allow us to be thoughtful in our choice of pilot location and give us time to scale up our central team **----- Start of picture text -----**
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## **Contribution Made by Volunteers** Our work would not be possible without the support of our volunteers. We are so grateful to our wonderful team of volunteer crew mates who give so generously of their time and expertise. Our crewmates are a variety of ages and come from all walks of life, from students to retirees. Our volunteers are committed to the aims of The Literacy Hubs and have the potential to make a real difference to the lives of the young people we support. The pirates love the fact that they have enthusiastic, adult support throughout each session, which they may not receive at school. Our volunteers provide invaluable 1:1 support for the pirates during our weekly reading sessions, which considerably impacts their progress. When working on projects, or writing tasks, our volunteers work closely with the pirates in small groups, enabling them to support the pirates or sailors where needed. They are also able to facilitate positive group work and help each pirate feel more confident. Often volunteers choose to attend the same sessions each week, which really helps to cement pirate/crewmate relationships. All our volunteers complete an application form and, if successful, attend an online assessment and training session. Before becoming a fully fledged crewmate, our volunteers undergo shadow shifts - where they observe a more experienced volunteer crewmate. ## **A word from one of our volunteers** As I looked at my session schedule for this coming 2022 spring term my mind returned to my first meeting at the Omega Centre, Somerstown, back in September 2020. I had walked into a pirate fantasy world, complete with a galleon bridge, fishing nets and floats, pirate murals on the walls and shelves full of colourful reading books. My first impression was: I’m going to enjoy this experience; and I have certainly not been disappointed. As I commence my fifth school term as a crewmate, my enjoyment and sense of accomplishment have not diminished either. **Dave Allport MBE Vessel Traffic Service** Being a Pompey Pirate Crewmate, for me, has been one of the most rewarding **Officer Portsmouth** and satisfying projects I have ever experienced, and from a long career as a **Historic Dockyard** serviceman, that’s saying something. The sense of achievement and satisfaction is immeasurable for both the youngsters and the volunteers. For the youngsters they have a great opportunity to enjoy the personal attention of a crewmate as they navigate through their reading and writing projects. I use the term ‘navigate’ deliberately in reference to the galleon we all crew during a Pirate session. Also, not only have I witnessed a marked improvement in both the youngster’s ability with reading and writing over the terms, but I have also seen the results of the personal attention that I, and my fellow crewmates, have been able to give the youngsters to help them build their confidence and selfesteem. Strongly guided by a crew of professional teachers, we crewmates have also developed our own style of working alongside the youngsters as we’ve faced the challenging projects set for them together. Being a crewmate for me ticks all the boxes. It has not only given me a great chance to help a youngster to achieve his or her aspirations and build a love for reading and writing, but also has given me a personal sense of achievement and wellbeing, too. Nothing can be better than when a youngster looks back as he or she leaves after a session and waves saying, “Bye Dave! See you next week!” That’s really special. ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Charity object:** To advance the education of the public in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas in the subject of literacy skills by providing and assisting in the provision of facilities (or ‘hubs’) so as to improve reading ability in communities in which literacy levels are low. ## **Public benefit:** All of our activities are undertaken to further our purposes for the public benefit, and are overseen by the Trustees to ensure that this is the case. ## **Name of the charity:** The Literacy Hubs ## **Charity registration number:** 1189791 ## **Address of the principal office of the charity:** The Omega Centre, 2 Omega Street, PO54LP ## **Charity Trustees (see Trustee and Leadership Bios below):** Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows: Jackie Rainford (Chair) Michael Cripps (Treasurer) Claire Tunnicliffe Terence Carvalho Charlotte Harding Andrea Spreafico Pete Davison ## **Key Management Personnel:** CEO and founder: Becca Dean MBE COO: Natasha Turner ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Structure Governance and Management** The Literacy Hubs is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, whose only voting members are its charity trustees. The charity has a board of six trustees and one CEO. The charity has a payroll of 5 full time staff, including the CEO. Trustees are recruited through existing networks of professionals, volunteers and partner organisations. Advertisements are also posted on national news websites and charity sector websites Trustee roles are outlined following an audit of the existing skills and resources on the board, and an examination of the key needs of the charity. Trustees are 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 charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. ## **Decision Making and Governance** Charity trustees make decisions about spends over £5,000 that are not part of the agreed budget for the charity. Trustees make decisions about partnerships or associations that could be deemed a risk to reputation or quality of delivery of the programme, as identified by the CEO. Trustees delegate the day-to-day running, recruitment and staff management, growth planning and spending decisions that are part of the core business of the charity to the CEO of the charity. ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Trustee and Leadership Team Bios** ## **Rebecca Dean MBE - CEO and Founder** Becca is a former English teacher and also the Co-founder of the award winning charity The Girls’ Network. In June 2021 Becca was awarded an MBE in The Queen’s birthday honours list for both her work with The Literacy Hubs and The Girls’ Network. In 2017 Becca was listed as one of Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneurs. She is also the winner of the Stylist Magazine 'Women With Heart' Awards 2017, been featured in The Independents 'Happy List', a recipient of a Shaping Portsmouth Award and was awarded The Teach First Innovation award in 2012. Becca is Portsmouth born and bred and passionate about putting local female voices on the air. Each week she presents 'In Conversation' on Express FM where she welcomes a woman who has achieved incredible things both professionally and personally in order to share their story, wisdom and of course their favourite tracks. Becca believes that coordinated, local, action to raise literacy levels, will lead to increased educational attainment, employment and economic engagement across the city. ## **Natasha Turner - COO** Natasha is a former History and Politics teacher, and academic mentor, who has worked with children to develop the skills they need to improve their attainment. After moving out of a school setting she spent time working in cultural heritage, including with the Education Team at the award winning Weald & Downland Living Museum, and training to deliver high quality learning experience in out of classroom settings. Trained as a Beach School practitioner, Natasha believes strongly in the importance of using learning environments to enhance student engagement, change mindset, and deepen their learning. ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Trustee and Leadership Team Bios** ## **Jackie Rainford - Chair** Jackie Rainford has lived in Portsmouth for 26 years. Jackie worked as a manager and training manager for John Lewis before moving into consultancy training which has included running her own business for 20 years. She has her own Learning and Development company and carries out Leadership training and coaching in companies, as well as running personal development sessions with private clients. Jackie is also a Trustee for the YMCA Fairthorne Group, which covers the whole of Hampshire, and enjoys being involved in events and fundraising. ## **Claire Tunniclife - Vice Chair** Claire is currently an Assistant Principal at an all-through school in Chichester where she leads on teaching and learning. She has been teaching for fifteen years across the primary age range, working mainly in schools in disadvantaged areas such as Leigh Park and Wecock Farm in Waterlooville. Claire is passionate about supporting Pupil Premium children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds both in the classroom and in their wider lives. Claire, as a child, was in receipt of free school meals herself and so feels personally invested in inspiring children from disadvantaged backgrounds to meet and then exceed national expectations. ## **Michael Cripps - Treasurer** Michael is an CGMA accountant with over 25 years experience in retail, construction and property service support industries. Michael recently completed an MBA at the University of Portsmouth. He was born and raised in Portsmouth, returning to the city after a spell working in London. He is currently the Finance Director for a Building Services company based in Southampton, as well as Treasurer for Havant Cricket Club. Michael served as a Governor at Havant and South Downs College, supporting two mergers, serving as Chair of The Finance Committee. ## **Charlotte Harding - Trustee** Charlotte has been a journalist for nearly ten years training at Highbury College in Portsmouth. She spent two years working in local newspapers in Horsham and Haywards Heath before becoming a feature writer at etc Magazine, based in Sussex. Charlotte has been a mentor through The Girls Network and is the cofounder of Generation Tribe, a website aimed at empowering teenage girls and young women. Charlotte has lived in Portsmouth her whole life. ## **Governance & Accountability** ## **Trustee and Leadership Team Bios** ## **Terrance Carvalho - Trustee** Portsmouth born and bred Award-Winning Hospitality Manager, Terence Carvalho joined Becketts Southsea in 2019, having previously served as House Manager & Corporate Manager for The King’s Theatre in Southsea for 5 years. In addition to his role at Becketts, Carvalho, currently serves as a Portsmouth Ambassador for Shaping Portsmouth and Member of The Leaders Council for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. His appointment as House Manager at The Kings Theatre in Southsea in 2014 made him the youngest Theatre House Manager in the UK and was the base of the 5 of the most successful years in The Kings Theatre 110+ year history. ## **Andrea Spreafico -Trustee** With over 15 years’ experience in Learning and Development, Andrea started her career teaching English as a foreign language in Italy. A chartered member of the CIPD, Andrea is passionate about supporting others to find and develop their strengths and build their confidence. Andrea has worked in the private and public sectors in the UK and Italy, designing and delivering training programmes for a wide variety of international clients and supporting staff with all aspects of their personal development. In her spare time, Andrea has provided tutoring support to dyslexic students and been a volunteer helper with Rainbows (5-7 year olds in Girlguiding). ## **Pete Davison - Trustee** Pete was born and educated in Portsmouth and has worked in the Creative Industries, particularly in talent development, for over fifteen years. Pete has worked for Arts Council England since 2016 where he is the Relationship Manager for Creative Media in the South East. During the pandemic, Pete took a year-long secondment as Head of Development and Programmes at Portsmouth Creates CIC, fundraising for and partprogramming the first We Shine Festival; delivering the Thriving Communities social prescribing activity; and commissioning audio trails of the city by diverse, hidden voices. Pete’s work has been published by Firewords Quarterly and Bath Flash Fiction Anthology (AdHock Press). ## **Financials** At the time of approving the accounts, the Trustees believe the Charity has adequate financial resources and is well placed to manage its business risks. The Trustees believe there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt the Charity's ability to continue. The accounts therefore have been prepared on the basis that the Charity is a going concern. Please see below for the Statement of Financial Activity. ## **Financials** ## **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 2015)', 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. ## **Going concern** At the time of approving the accounts, the Trustees believe the Charity has adequate financial resources and is well placed to manage its business risks. The Trustees believe there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt the Charity's ability to continue. The accounts therefore have been prepared on the basis that the Charity is a going concern. ## **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. ## **Financials** ## **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. ## **Tangible Fixed Assets** Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life. Computer equipment 25% straight line Fixtures and fittings 20% straight line Office equipment 20% straight line ## **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. ## **2. TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS** There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 July 2021. ## **Trustees' expenses** ## **3. STAFF COSTS** The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: ## **Financials** ## **4. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** ## **5. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR** ## **6. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR** ## **7. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS** ## **8. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES** There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 July 2021. ## **Independent Examiners Report** ## **Independent examiner’s report to the PCC of St Boniface, Bonchurch** I report on the accounts of the The Literacy Hubs, Portsmouth for the year ended 31 July 2021, which are set out on the accompanying pages. ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: - examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act - to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act - to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s report** My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Fiona Leonard Date: 13/5/2022 ACMA CGMA Langdale House, Long Copse Lane, Emsworth, Hampshire