Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden
Also known as: Polska Sobotnia Szkoła Przedmiotów Ojczystych
im. Mikołaja Kopernika w New Malden
Trustee’s Report and Financial Statements For the period started 1[st] September 2022 and ended 31[st] August 2023
Charity Registration Number: 1194930
Governing Document: CIO Foundation Registered 24[th] June 2021
Our Objectives
Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden opened in October 2012. It was established due to a huge demand by the Chair of Governors of the Polish School in Putney/Wimbledon with initiative from its Headteacher. Copernicus teaches Polish language, history, culture and heritage to children between the ages of 3 and 16.
On 24th June 2021 the School was formally registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as CIO Foundation. Copernicus is a member of the Polish Educational Society “Macierz Polska” (registered in England and Wales - Charity no 1159980) which supports Polish education in Great Britain.
Our aim is to advance the education of children and young people aged 3-19 primarily, but not exclusively, residing in the Royal Borough of Kingston and its environs through providing supplementary education consistent with primary and secondary level based on the Polish Ministry of Education and Science’s core curriculum concerning primarily the Polish language, history and geography of Poland, arts, culture, and Polish heritage. We prepare students to take GCSE and A level exams under the AQA examination board. Through cultural events and activities, we broaden the students’ knowledge of Poland and its heritage. We aim to create an ethos of being a community in which all students and their families feel at home, respected and involved.
Our objectives for the year 2022-23 were to reflect our academic aims in our work, as well as our ethos as stated by objectives of a charitable organisation. We aimed to:
∙ Offer a broad, relevant curriculum, helping our students to learn Polish language, history and traditions alongside achieving excellent end of year results and our first in person GCSE examinations results.
∙ Broaden the curriculum through well planned and prepared extracurricular activities such as school trips.
∙ Form good relationships and play a part in our community through organising charitable events such as Christmas cards for nursing homes.
∙ Design the curriculum for a new A-level class.
∙ Provide bursaries to families with financial difficulties to help with the payment of school fees.
∙ Strengthen our school community through events aimed to involve our parents in the life of our school, while fundraising for its needs such as the Easter Workshop and a Christmas cake sale.
Pupil numbers and fees during 2022-23
The number of pupils in the reporting period was 324 in 22 classes which can slightly fluctuate due to resignations and new enrolments. The sizes of classes varied between 12-20 children per class. We were able to offer places to all children and young people who applied.
Our fees in 2022-23 were as follows:
1st child £420 per academic year
2nd child £330 per academic year
3rd child £190 per academic year
4th and above child- exempt from fees
The GSCE and A-Level classes had £20 extra fee per year to cover additional cost of exams materials.
Finances
The Board of Trustees make every effort to ensure that the school finances are well managed, and the accounts maintain a good cash flow.
A school accountant regularly presents to the Board of Trustees financial reports and the budget forecasts which inform Trustees’ planning of budgets for the next academic year.
The school financial year starts on 1[st] September and ends on 31st of August. This report covers the period 1[st] September 2022 to 31st of August 2023.
The cash receipts during the year were £150,351 and the cash expenditures were £155,310. On an accruals basis the income and loss were as follows:
| 12 month period to 31 August 2023 |
14 month period to 31 August 2022 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Revenue for theperiod | £134,353 | £129,647 |
| Loss for theperiod | £20,421 | £9,730 |
| Reserves at 31 August | £25,568 | £45,989 |
Revenue
The School’s main source of income is school fees. Trustees every year look for opportunities to identify and secure additional funding to supplement revenue from school fees.
The Trustees were successful in applying for a grant from Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska (The Polish Community Association).
A small portion of school revenue comes from various fund-raising activities like fun fairs and cake sales organised by the PTA.
To support the school budget the Governing Body sourced free school textbooks for years 5-8 which we lend to students for the duration of the school year free of charge. They introduced a second hand book exchange scheme to help keep the costs down.
Expenditure
The main expenses of the School are teachers’ salaries and rent for using the premises of Richard Challoner RC School in New Malden. The School also paid for teachers’ training and membership of the Polish Educational Society.
Bursaries Scheme
The Governing Body aims to keep our fees competitive but at a lowest possible level.
To support families who require and qualify for financial support, we have in place a bursaries scheme which offers discounts or instalments. During 2022-23 we offered help to some families in financial need by reducing the fees or spreading the payment over the year.
To attract and retain high quality staff we offer a discount scheme for children of those employed by the School.
Reserves
The Governing Body aims to keep a healthy surplus to be able to meet unforeseen financial obligations like force majeure. The financial reserves are there to provide additional funding in case of events such as the need to find new premises in case of being given a notice by the Landlord, staff redundancy payments if the school were to close.
Academic achievements
During 2022-23 academic year: 12 students took GCSE exams and achieved grades “9” and “8”. These are results we are immensely proud of.
Review of activities and achievements:
During 2022-23 we did the following:
-
We enhanced our students' experience of Polish culture through an organised trip to The Rural Life Museum in Milford where children were able to participate in a workshop about a Polish Resettlement Camp.
-
3 trips to a Polish Theatre in POSK London were organised in this period for our students. Two shows for younger pupils in year 1-6 and one for older students.
-
Our students participated in the “Wierszowisko” Poetry Competition organised by the Polish Educational Society, we had three individual contestants and a group performance. One of our performers received a trophy.
-
Our students participated in an international strategic game competition “Miś Wojtek” organised by IPN (INSTYTUT PAMIĘCI NARODOWEJ - Institute of National Remembrance)
They qualified to the final in Warsaw and 3 pupils accompanied by Wojtek Wilk, a teacher in our School, went to Poland for a 4 days final competition. Our students were the youngest among 120 participants from 15 countries.
-
Our School celebrated its 10th anniversary in October 2022. To mark the milestone the school purchased a special school banner and designed badges with the school logo. Several events and celebrations took place in autumn: a special Mass at the Polish Church in Putney, a celebration at school was attended among other guests by Mayor of Kingston Cllr Yogan Yoganathan, Polish Consul Tomasz Balcerowski and members of Macierz Polska. Pupils participated in the Copernicus Portrait competition, which resulted in a small art exhibition.
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The school’s founder and first headteacher, Violetta Ramnarace, received a Polish Educational Society’s Gold Pin recognising more than 10 years of service to the Polish Community.
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We opened the first A-level class for our students.
-
The school provides opportunities for staff continuous professional and personal development through the following training:
∙ A 2 day teacher training course organised by the Polish Educational Society at the University of Kent ∙ Webinars
∙ Courses and webinars preparing teachers at all levels to deliver curriculum including GCSE and A level teachers
∙ CPR and First Aid courses
- The Trustees and parents planned and coordinated several school-wide events to mark special occasions, international and local holidays and to cultivate Polish customs such as Christmas show, Easter Workshop and Performance, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and for inclusion extended to all Carer’s, Sports Day to name a few. All
these events were designed to bring the school community together, educate children and young people and keep our Polish traditions alive.
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We organise regular parent teacher meetings for all year groups where parents have the opportunity to review and discuss with a teacher student’s progress and support required.
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We are proud of being able to offer all our pupils and their families a library facility, well led and staffed by volunteers. The library prides itself in an impressive book collection for children and adults, continuously updated and restocked by the library team. The Library is funded from school donations and second hand book sale
The School Structure
The school is led by the Head Teacher, Mrs Minka Dyszyńska-Bonnage.
The Governors of the Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden are the charity trustees. New Trustees, apart from the first charity trustees, are appointed by the existing Board of Trustees. The governing document is the Constitution of the Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden.
The Governing Body consisted of 6 trustees. All Trustees have served throughout the year except where indicated:
| Trustee Name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magda Drossaert | Chair of Trustees | Appointed 25 September 2021 |
| 2 | Monika Minka Dyszyńska-Bonnage |
Head Teacher | Appointed 24 June 2021 |
| 3 | Beata Magdalena Frois |
Head of Parent Committee |
Appointed 24 June 2021 |
| 4 | Violetta Ramnarace | Business and Finance |
Appointed 25 September 2021 |
| 5 | Krzysztof Rafal Blasiak- Wal |
IT Coordinator | Appointed 24 June 2021 |
| 6 | Piotr Burczyk | Finance and Library | Appointed 14 January 2023 |
| 7 | Ula Wilson | Treasurer | Appointed 25 September 2021 - resigned 14 January 2023 |
Staffing
In the academic year 2022-2023 the Head Teacher led a team of 27 teachers and 14 teacher assistants. The school maintains a small bank of supply staff to provide cover for absent employees.
Apart from the teaching staff, the School also employs 2 administrative officers and 1 accountant. All Trustees except The Head Teacher are volunteers. The Head Teacher has been paid remuneration for the period of this report in the amount of £3946.66 before tax.
In September 2022 we introduced a position of Duty Officer. We offered this position to 4 people, which were added to the school payroll. The trial was very successful. Duty Officers increased security of the pupils and improved operation of the whole school.
Premises
The Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden rents its premises from Richard Challoner School in New Malden, London. Lessons take place during Saturday mornings, 30-32 Saturdays a year.
The lessons take place between 9:30-13:00. During the lessons and breaks designated parents’ volunteers who are appointed on rota bases and allocated specific duties, provide additional help along duty officers to ensure a secure environment for all the pupils and staff. All staff and volunteers of the School have undergone DBS checks.
Plans and aspirations
We were planning for the recruitment and training of new staff.
We have been working towards making our School paperless by moving all our records into Google Workspace.
We were planning to prepare A-Level students for taking this exam next year. We were planning to organise the first school trip to Poland for A-Level students.
Contact details:
Address:
RICHARD CHALLONER SECONDARY SCHOOL MANOR DRIVE NORTH NEW MALDEN KT3 5PE
Website address: www.polskaszkolanewmalden.org.uk
Professional advisors:
Bank : Bank: Lloyds Sort code: 30-84-68 Account number: 40501868
Insurers : Ansvar DA through Keegan & Pennykid Insurance Brokers
Independent examiner: Aleksandra Zakrzewska
| Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden | Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden | Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden | Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden | Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden | 1194930 | 1194930 | 1194930 | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and payments accounts | |||||||||
| For the period from |
9/1/2022 Period start date |
To | Period end date 8/31/2023 |
||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ |
Total funds to the nearest £ 105,902 10,309 212 - 18,733 15,195 - - 150,351 - - - 150,351 29,895 83,331 19,143 14,290 8,651 - - - - 155,310 - - - |
Last year to the nearest £ Restated |
||||
| School fees | 105,902 | - | - | 105,902 | 107,418 | ||||
| Education receivable | 10,309 | - | - | 10,309 | 3,409 | ||||
| Fundraising | 212 | - | - | 212 | 310 | ||||
| Help to Ukraine | - | - | - | 1,239 | |||||
| Grant and donations | - | 18,733 | - | 18,733 | 5,548 | ||||
| Othercharitable activities | 15,195 | - | 15,195 | 11,064 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 131,618 | 18,733 | - | 150,351 | 128,988 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | |||||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
|||||||||
| 128,988 | |||||||||
Rent |
29,895 | 29,144 | |||||||
| Salaries | **83,331 ** | 83,650 | |||||||
| Educational expenditure | 19,143 | **10,004 ** | |||||||
Other charitable activities |
14,290 | 7,986 | |||||||
| Administrative expenses | **8,651 ** | 9,371 | |||||||
Help for Ukraine |
1,239 | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| **Sub total ** | 155,310 | 141,394 | |||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases (see table) |
|||||||||
| , | - | ||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | |||||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
|||||||||
| 155,310 | 141,394 | ||||||||
| - 4,959 | |||||||||
| - 23,692 | - 4,959 | - 12,407 | |||||||
| 18,733 | - | - | |||||||
| 87,311 | 87,311 | 99,718 | |||||||
| 82,352 | 82,352 | 87,311 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
6/27/2024
1
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds |
Signature accounts payable advance fees other liabilities Details Details Reserves Details Details Accounts Receivable Cash at Bank Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 82,352 - - - - 82,352 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 840 - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - 25,568 - - - - - - ~~-~~ ~~-~~ ~~-~~ Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - 760 - - 56,182 - - 681 - - - Print Name MagdalenaDrossaert |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| ~~-~~ | |||
| ~~-~~ | |||
| ~~-~~ | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Date of approval |
|||
| MagdalenaDrossaert | 27/06/2024 | ||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
6/27/2024
2
Independent examinerfs report to the tru8te8s of Copernicus Pollsh Saturday School New Malden Icharity number 1194930) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Copernicus Polish Saturday School New Malden ffhe Trust) for the year ended 31 st August 2023. Responsibillties and bas13 of report As the charty trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirents of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trusfs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinats'on I have followed all the applicable Dlrections given by the Chatity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Indepondont examlnorfs statement I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention tn connection with the examinatM)n giving me cause to believe thal in any material respect.. 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do nol accord with Ihose records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention shoukj be drawn In this report In order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts lo be reached. Signe(I: Name.. Aleksandra ZakTzew8ka Qualification: FCA Address: 16 Avondale Avenue. Worcester Park. SuTTey KF47PD Date.. 26 June 2024