Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Charity number: 1194309
Friends of Columbia Primary School
Unaudited Trustees' report and financial statements
for the year ended 31 August 2025
1
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Contents
| Reference and administrative details of the charity, its Trustees and advisers |
3 |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 4 – 5 |
| Statement of Trustees responsibilities | 6 |
| Independent examiner's report | 7 |
| Statement of financial activities | 8 |
| Balance sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 10 - 14 |
2
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Reference and Administrative details
Registered charity number: 1194309 Principal address: Columbia Primary School 49 - 53 Columbia Road London E2 7RG
The names of the trustees who manage the charity are: Federica Lucivero (appointed 25th October 2024) Ian Porter – Treasurer Janice Macaulay (resigned 21st March 2026) Dr Jessica Mears - co-Chair (resigned 27th February 2026) Lucy Winter (appointed 7th November 2025) Sarah-Lee Palmer-Hogan - Chair Morwenna Johnson (appointed 7th November 2025)
Bankers:
NatWest Bank
3
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
Structure governance and management
The charity is governed by its constitution dated 22[nd] October 2020. Trustees are appointed annually at the annual general meeting, at which all parents and carers of Columbia Primary school are entitled to attend and vote. The day to day running of the charity is carried out by the management committee comprising Trustees.The Trustees are grateful to the parent volunteers who support the organising and running of the many events held during the year.
Objectives and activities
The object of the association (the objects) laid out in its governing documents is to advance the education of pupils in the Columbia Primary School in particular by:
2.1 developing effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the school.
2.2 engaging in activities or providing facilities or equipment which support the school and advance the education of the pupils.
The activities undertaken in relation to these objectives was the payment for activities and the purchase of equipment to enhance the education of pupils attending Columbia Primary school. The Trustees have had full regard to the guidance issued by the Charities Commission on public benefit, when granting their approval of these charitable payments.
Achievements and Performance
The key achievement of the year was directly funding over £34,000 of additional extra curricular activities supporting the education and development of the children at Columbia Road Primary School. This included things such as:
-
Funding professional musicians and artists to deliver classes
-
Covering the cost of the coach hire for a class educational visit trip for each year group
-
Paying for agency staff to cover subject leaders allowing them time to develop the curriculum
-
purchasing books for the Early Years Unit and year 1
-
Purchasing resources to support the delivery of mathematics
-
funding a silent disco to celebrate the end of the academic year together with providing each year 6 leaver their own pocket dictionary
-
Supporting the school celebrate world book day
-
continuing to fund the now much anticipated arrival of an ice-cream van driving into the school playground offering a free ice-cream to all pupils and staff to celebrate the end of the summer term
In addition we organised regular coffee mornings, an annual book swap to mark World Book Day and a Winter, Summer and Eid fair - all of which helped sustain the
4
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued)
feeling of community between parents and carers, staff and children. We also for the first time organised a Day of the Dead event which was also a big success.
Impact
Key highlights of the impact our funding has made include:
-
All children from year 3 onwards have been able to learn an instrument in class or small group settings.
-
All children in years 5 and 6 have been given the opportunity to specialise in an instrument in small group lessons and ensembles once a week, in addition to their curriculum music lessons. Children were able to choose to learn the keyboard, drums, trumpet, trombone, french horn, recorder, guitar or ukulele.
-
Providing up-to-date specialist art knowledge and running extracurricular art clubs with children in years 3 to 6 by funding two ‘artists in residence’. This allowed children who might not otherwise have access to extracurricular art provision the opportunity to deepen and broaden their skills, as well as providing a space where they expressed themselves artistically
Financial Review
The charity ended the year with unrestricted funds of £27,807 (2024: £19,857). The reserves policy is set at a level of funds sufficient to fund activities in the autumn term immediately following the year end. The reserves at the end of the year were higher than anticipated. Trustees had allocated funding to cover the cost of the parttime librarian. However, the school was able to cover this expense from its existing resources and did not require the Friends to cover the cost. The Friends have allocated these unanticipated additional reserves to its spending plans for 2025/26.
2024/25 saw our first sponsorship agreement enacted with Easthaus, a respected local firm of estate agents. The partnership has been equally beneficial for both parties and we are hopeful that it will be renewed in future years.
Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
This report was approved by the Trustees on 5th May 2026 and signed on their behalf,
Sarah-Lee Palmer-Hogan Chair of Trustees
5
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Statement of Trustees Responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
•select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
•observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
•make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
•state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
•prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008; and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
6
Friends of Columbia
Year ended 31 August 2025
Report to the trustees of Friends of Columbia Primary School (charity number: 1194309) on the accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 set out on the pages 8 to 14
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 August 2025.
As the charity's 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 Trust’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 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
-
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
-
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Name: Abdul Salekh FCCA Date: 5th May 2026 Address: 55 Hazeldene Road Goodmayes IG3 9RA
7
Friends of Columbia Primary School
Year ending 31 August 2025
Statement of Financial Activities
| Incoming resources (Note 3) Income from: |
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted funds funds funds funds 2025 2025 2024 2024 £ £ £ Total funds 2025 |
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted funds funds funds funds 2025 2025 2024 2024 £ £ £ Total funds 2025 |
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted funds funds funds funds 2025 2025 2024 2024 £ £ £ Total funds 2025 |
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted funds funds funds funds 2025 2025 2024 2024 £ £ £ Total funds 2025 |
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted funds funds funds funds 2025 2025 2024 2024 £ £ £ Total funds 2025 |
Total funds 2024 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donations Charitable activities Fund raising events and sponsorship Interest received Raising funds and and related costs Charitable activities Resources expended (Note 4) Expenditure on: Net income / (deficit) Total Total |
||||||
| 14,919 ( ) |
10,000 ( ) |
24,919 - - |
( ) 17,763 |
0 | - - 17,763 |
|
| 382 - - |
0 | 382 - - |
713 | 0 | - - 713 |
|
| 19,742 ( ) |
0 | 19,742 - - |
( ) 18,168 |
0 | - - 18,168 |
|
| 876 | 0 | 876 - - |
929 | 0 | - - 929 |
|
| 35,919 ( ) |
10,000 ( ) |
45,919 - - |
( ) 37,573 |
0 | - - 37,573 |
|
| 3,619 ( ) |
0 | 3,619 - - |
( ) 5,124 |
( ) - |
- - 5,124 |
|
| 24,350 ( ) |
10,000 ( ) |
34,350 - - |
( ) 27,770 |
( ) 20,000 |
- - 47,770 |
|
| 27,969 ( ) |
10,000 ( ) |
37,969 - - |
( ) 32,894 |
( ) 20,000 |
- - 52,894 |
|
| 7,950 ( ) |
0 | 7,950 ( ) |
( ) 4,679 |
( (20,000) |
(15,321) |
The notes on pages 10 to 14 form part of these accounts
8
Friends of Columbia Primary School
Balance Sheet
As at 31 August 2025
| As at 31 August 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current assets | 2025 £ 2024 £ |
|
| Debtors Cash at bank Total Assets Liabilities: (Note 5) Creditors falling due within one year Total net assets Restricted funds Unrestricted funds (Note 6) Total funds Represented by: |
||
| - - 811 |
- - - |
|
| - - 41,085 |
- - 43,087 |
|
| - - 41,896 |
- - 43,087 |
|
| - - 14,089 |
23,230 | |
| - - 27,807 |
- - 19,857 |
|
| - - - |
- | |
| ( ) 27,807 |
- - 19,857 |
|
| - - 27,807 |
- - 19,857 |
The Financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 5th May 2026 and signed on their behalf by:
Sarah-Lee Palmer-Hogan
Ian Porter
9
Friends of Columbia Year ended 31 August 2025
Notes to the financial statements
1. General information
The charity is a public benefit entity which is incorporated in England and Wales. The address of its registered and principal office is Columbia Primary School, 49 - 53 Columbia Road, London. E2 7RG .
2. Accounting policies
2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), 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 the Charities SORP (FRS 102) published on 16 July 2014.
The Friends of Columbia Primary School meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
2.2 Income
Income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
2.3 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
10
Friends of Columbia Year ended 31 August 2025
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
2. Accounting policies (continued)
2.4 Interest receivable Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
2.5 Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
2.6 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of 31 days or less from the date of opening of the deposit or similar account.
2.7 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.
2.9 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.
2.10 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Designated funds are earmarked formally by the trustees for a particular purpose and can be formally undesignated and go back into the general fund. Restricted funds are any donations made and earmarked for a specific purpose by the donor.
11
Friends of Columbia Year ended 31 August 2025
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
3 Analysis of Income
| Notes to the financial statements (continued) 3 Analysis of Income |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Donations: | ||
| Grant received | 10,000 | 5,500 |
| Corporate donation | 3,500 | - |
| World Book Daydonations | 3,526 | 4,507 |
| Other donations | 7,533 | 7,335 |
| EasyFundraising | 360 | 421 |
| Total | 24,919 | 17,763 |
| Charitable Activities: | ||
| Sales of bread donated by local baker: Braed & coffee mornings |
382 | 533 |
| Other activities | - | 180 |
| Total | 382 | 713 |
| Fund raisingevents and sponsorship | ||
| Sponsored events | 4,164 | 1,716 |
| Fairs,raffle and late night Christmas shopping | 15,578 | 16,452 |
| Total | 19,742 | 18,168 |
12
Friends of Columbia Year ended 31 August 2025
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
4 Resources Expended
| 4 Resources Expended |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 £ |
2024 £ |
|
| RaisingFunds: | ||
| Friends of Columbia PrimarySchool costs | 348 | 248 |
| On-line transactions commission and fees | 966 | 930 |
| Sponsored event entryfees reimbursed | 276 | 842 |
| Winter and Summer Fair and World Book Daycosts | 995 | 1,529 |
| Christmas marketprovisions for resale | 1,034 | 1,575 |
| Total | 3,619 | 5,124 |
| Charitable Activities: | ||
| Donations to Columbia PrimarySchool | 33,400 | 46,107 |
| Other directlyfunded activities | 950 | 1,663 |
| Total | 34,350 | 47,770 |
| 5 Creditors |
||
|---|---|---|
| Amount falling due within one year: | ||
| Amounts due to Columbia Road Primary School: | 13,439 | 23,230 |
| Sundry creditors | 650 | - |
| Accruals and deferred income | 7,527 | - |
| Total | 21,616 | 23,230 |
6 Reconciliation of funds
| 1 September 2023 |
Transfers in | Transfers out |
31 August 2024 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted reserves | 15,178 | 20,000 | (15,321) | 19,857 |
| Restricted reserves | 20,000 | - | (20,000) | - |
| Total | 35,178 | 20,000 | (35,321) | 19,857 |
| 1 September 2024 |
Transfers in | Transfers out |
31 August 2025 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted reserves | 19,857 | 7,950 | - | 27,807 |
| Restricted reserves | - | 10,000 | (10,000) | - |
| Total | 19,857 | 17,950 | (10,000) | 27,807 |
13
Friends of Columbia Year ended 31 August 2025
Notes to the financial statements (continued) Note 6 continued
£10,000 of restricted funding was received from a private foundation to continue arts and music education that would otherwise have been cut. It was fully spent during the 2024/5 academic year.
14