Trustees. Annual Report for the period Period start date Day Month Year Period end date Day Month 01 2022 02 2024 From To Section A Reference and administration details Charity nam• Aspire2 Othor names charity is known by Reglstered charity number (rf any) 1200410 Charitys principal address clo Aspire2 Blagdon Nursery School Blagdon Road, Reading. Berkshire. RG2 7NT Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity Datès actèd if not for whole ar Trustee name QFfic¢ lif any) Name of person lor bodyl entitled toa oint trus ee Ifan Charlie Clare Chair David Shepherd Martin Salter Louise Harris Jacky Steele Janet Gavin Vice chair Funding Resigned Frances Lancaster Molli Cleaver Talia Hickey Amitava Mukherjee 10 ResTrgned Section B Structure, overnance and mana ement Description of the charitys trusts Type of goveming document How the charity is constituted We are a CIO. Charitable incorporated Organisation, oij changed on the 1st September 2022. We have maintai Partnership relationships and Trustee Management Bo from South Reading School goveming bodies. Head Te other local Education agencies and professionals work" area. status dour td elected chers and in the mber 2022
Trust e selection methods Elected annually at the AGM, or the first Management Meeting following the AGM. Additional ghvernance issues (Optional infornk*ion) Procedures for the induction and training of new trustees. You may choose lo include additional information, where relgvant. a policies a procedures adopl8d for the induction and training of Itrustees- the Ghari $ organisational structure gnd any wider network which the charity works.. relationsh parties,. trustees, major risk and pro them. All Trustees are DBS checked. We have a Safe guarding policy in place. vthich is reviewed annually and an induction pack for new trustees, our clerk undertakes a 1:2.'1 meeting with new trustees to provide an overview of the charity. our key aims and ethos. Provision of the Charity Commission ljooklet The Essential Trustee. is also handed over. with any related Asplre2 Organlsatlonal structure: sideration of nd the system res to manage Management committee - comprising of all Trustees. Partnership committee- formed of all Trustees and non- trustees (Partners). who wish to support the charity for specific programmeslevents. or who may not yet wish to become a full trustee. The charity through our manager works ck)s81y in partnership with the Whitley Excellence Cluster {WEC). The Treasurer. Chair and Vice Chair of Aspire2 have no links with WEC and any conflict of interest is declared at the beginning of each meeting and Trustees leave the meeting as appropriate. Relatsd parties: Whitle Excellence Cluster- collalx)ration of the schools based in Whitley Ward. South Reading, managed by a Partnet5hip of the head teachers and a project manager. Readin Borou h Council, Aspire2 works with offirS based in South Reading, to ensure a holistic programme of suprK)rt for our school holiday programme and links in to other communrty activities. Major risks: Any risk arising from a conflict of interest beeen Aspire2 and WEC is mitigated by our management procedures- i.e. two signatories needed for approval of any expenditure, from either the Chair, Treasurer or VI Chair. All bids submitted have to be agreed at a Partnershipltrustee meeting, trustees are our only mandated signatories. All of our Trustees and Partners are volunteers, and by linking with other organisations. such as WEC and the local authority, we are able to ensure that the rammes we su rt link in with other initiatives, Decernb8r 2022
thereby maximising benefrt for the comm than being 'standalone'. , ity, rather Our young people are our future, and bei from an area of high economic and social deprivatipn, it is essential that their life aspirations are raised, so that Ihey are able to secure employment and trwome good parents. We also woth closely with our community to ensure that their views infonn our fund-ra ing programme. We have financial and budgetary reports prepared and presented by our Treasurer at each bi-monthly meeting, these enable us to evaluate and lan future activiiies, whilst monitoring the cost of p rammes to budgets and the benefrts accrued. Beca se the funds secured are usually for specific projects, a ' d therefore restricted. we do not hold la e reserves. Section C Ob'ectives and activities In Partnership with local schools and organisations, we Und and facilitate the provision of enrichment activities and othel programs aimed at developing Ihe skills and capacity of membe of the community so that they aspire to having a greater stak in society through improved education. choi. opportunity and allenge. Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document mbtsr 2022
Aspire2 was established in 2007. in order to support activities for families whose children attend the Whttley cluster of schools and for those living in the South Reading community. In planning our activities year on year, we keep in mind the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, and this underpins the decisions taken at Partnership meetings regarding which activities we will support. This is ourfirsl year as a CIO. Charitable Incorporated Organisation converting on the 151 September 2022 and as a result our first year has run for 18th months to the end of February 2024. Our focus is unchanged and remains on the development of the personal skills and aspirations of the children, young people and the wder community of SoLrth Reading. We continue to lease our 2,17-seater minibuses and the 5 year period whilst very successful helping support our stakeholder schools. we are approaching the final year and decisions will need to be made whether we renew the lease or start a new lease and gain financially support from financial sponsor, The John Sykes Foundation. Summary activities u public bene these obje this section declaration had regard issued by t Cornmissio benefil) he main ertaken for the IP in relation to {include within e statutory hat trustees have the guidance Charity on public The minibuses have allowed us to offer free use of the buses and this has given the schools opportunities to make more frequent visits to local Berkshire events and educationallfun centres, so this lease is very important to us and we wtll do all we can to renew. We have been able to offer a variety of exlra-curricular enrichment activities including weekly early years music lessons, podcast recording sessions, competttions at Reading university for all Key Stage pupils (KS1 and above), a visit for all year 5 pupils to Reading university. workshops at an animal reservation, days at an outdoor education ntre. and work with a selection of Reading's arts groups in preparation for our Camival'23 We have no barriers to age, fatth. gender or personal circumstances. our programmes are open to all - the only proviso being saf4uarding, so the requirement for DBS clearance (for those helping) and the preparation of full risk assessments are built into all of our programmes. Aspire2 Partnerships Daily use of the Aspire2 minibuses University of Reading where we hold a Year 5 pupils Open day and our Poetry and Public Speaking competitions. Beale Park where we have funded workshops Berkshire Maestros who we've funded to provide an Early Years music ecl. December 2022
The Rock Academy Foundation who we've fun "lock-down- podcasts Beautrful Creatures Theatre who weve funded t direction to our Camival .23 David Jones Co to make provide The Earley Charity We remain extremely grateful to the ongoing financial the Eadey Charity and the grants they award. which a instrumental in helping us to delivery enrichment activi children in Whitley. Their continued involvement is mu appreciated. , pport of sfor John Sykes Foundation Aspire2's partnership with the John Sykes Foundation has opened up Ihe widerworld for Whitley children. Th funding towards our minibus leases has enabled us to providing transport for all Whttley schools for a total of We have already seen a huge demand for the minibuse children can go on trips ar)d adventures that othernise financially unachievable. ally ir generous mmitto e years. meaning uld be This project has already made a fundamental differen Whitley children and we are very grateful for the freedo offers them. The National Foundation - Youth Music Aspire2 is delighted to be a funded partner of Youth Mu supported by the Arts Council and the National Lottery. funding is key to our Early Years Music project, and h us to launch this 2-year project across all nursery settin the MmunIty. Embedding music at an earty age will deliver long temi benefils in many areas of learning for in Whitley. enabled sandin 11 children BCF Funding from the Berf(shire Community Foundation has towards our Early Years Music project and has enable this project to support more children. We are looking forward to building on our relationship future years. contributed ius to grow h8CFin Reading Borough Council Over the last year Aspire2 has built relationships with 4 different departments in the council, and has benefitedl funding towards project and core costs. We are continuin to stren then and build on this relat veral rom council shi and trmber 2022
are grateful for the ongoing support we re1ve from across the council. Reading Voluntary Action RVA continue to offer Aspire2 advi and support in many aspects of running the charity, and their help is very much appreciated. WCDA We work closely with the Whitley Community Development Association to deliver our projects with the people of Whitley, and in association wtth the local community. By working in and wtth the community, rather than delivering to or for them, we are able to ensure that our projects are well received and deliver strong impact for our beneficiaries. The CEP The Reading Cultural Education Partnership supports Aspire2 by providing links to arts organisations, enrichment opportunities and tal advice and support. We are grateful to the CEP for inviting Aspire2 into their community. Leighton Park School We have developed a strong relationship with Leighton Park, and very much appreciate their support in offering sporting, cultural and artistic opportunities to pupils in our Whilley schools. Wellington College We were delighled to have a gained support in this period from Wellin on Colle December 2022
Section D Achievements and performance Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year We remain focused on fundraising, bLrt the economic climate is stil very difficult. This year has proved more so as we lost our prima and manager. roving ndraiser Minibuses Our minibuses have proven to be extremely )pUlar, thanks to ou with the John Sykes Foundation. the minibuses are available for al schools to book throughout the year, to use for school trips, event activities that will open up new opportunities to pupils. artnership hitley Both vehicles have been tM)oked out most days during tem time -1 grateful to The Ridgeway Primary School and their caretaker for th support in hosting and maintaining the minibuses. eare help and Podcast project Local charity. The Rock Academy has extended our podcast proje primary schools in Whitley. Originally designed for Year 6 children pandemic lockdown, this project has evolved to encapsulate a wide children's reflections of the past and hopes for the future and gives own voices to express their hopes. dreams and ambitions. to all uring the sense of em their The use of podcast technology to record their stories helps to make this project relevanl and exciting to this age group. and offers them a modern alternative to a school radio station or newspaper. The pupils have been very intsrested in the technology used and are keen to leam how they can create théi own podcasls in the future. Year 5 University Day We continued to hold our annual Year 5 University Day- hosting al lofYear5 pupils from our primary schools. They enjoyed a lecture from an academic in one of the universty's impressive lecture theatres. The children theth embarked on a tour of the universty campus wtth their teachers, and had the pportunty to ask current students questions alx)ut university life. CeMr 2022
University Public Speaking Competition We continued to hold our Public Speaking Competition with entries from each age group from KS1 onwards with pupils having the opportuntty to deliver speeches on topics about which they are passionate on one of the major Universiws lecture stages- with their parents and carers as an audience. University Poetry Competition We also held our annual school's poetry competition. again hosted by the University of Reading. The standard as usual was extremely high, with significant contributions written and perfomied by pupils from Nursery right up to Year 10. We are grateful to the Whitley schools for holding their own intemal competitions to make our shortlist, and to all the children who wrote and perfomied with Confiden and poise. Beale Park Trips Our new partnership viith Beale Park continues to flourish, this year has allowed every child in Year 2 across Whitley to experience a day out seeing the animals. countryside and (most importantly for some!) the train at Beale Parf(. With their entry prowded at no cost by Beale Park and the Aspire2 minibuses available for transport, this was a trip that schools were able to provide completely free of charge to their Year 2 pupils. Early Years Music Our Early Years Music project. which began in September '21 has been running in all our early years settings since. This has proved to be a extremely successful. Ufton Adventure Our 10 year agreement for WEC pupils to have free access to Ufton Adventure ended in 2020 but our minibuses have still been used to transport pupils to Ufton for a variety of experiences. WhStley Carnival The inaugural Whitley Camival took pla on Salurday 11th June 2023 bringing together over 3500 people to walk through the streets of Whitley to celebrate the past. present and future of this diverse and complex suburban community. In the run up to the camival event this project successfully galvanised over 35 local arts and community organisations, working together for first time on this scale to en e the widest ran eof le across Whitle throu h a massive December 2022
programme of costume. arts. music, dance and music w0shopS and community spas. schools Local people between the ages of 1 & 100 participated in Whitley coming together to create this unique and participatory camival. It transformative and memorable place making event. mival lywasa Producer Helen Bligh our manager at Aspire2. engaged experien outdoor arts producer Danielle Corbishley to oversee the design o event management and artistic curation. Together with support fro Manager Sarah Stuffins, they coordinated with schools and comm and a dynamic team of local freelancers to deliver a highly sUcS local e project, Project ity groups l event. cember 2022
Section E Financial review Brief state charity's po Jnt of the ky on reserves We budget and bid for specific funding grants on identified eventslprojects and expenditures spent relatively within any one financial year are on those eventslprojecls and as such our funding is and has been mostly restricted. We do not hold any land. buildings or assets. but do hold some financial investments. managed by The Chades Stanley Group. Over the 18 years that Aspire2 has been active. we have generated and received significant sums of over £1 m. We show our 18 month budget and actuals. IJ E919J oio 76MS $25 4T.75T •S 4Q2JQ *110 21.M5 2tr17 1ffi• 2W1 ItyIJ 2014 IQIS 7016 IOf7 2011 2024 20?1 1011 2923 IQI 10 Dècember 2022
The ChartWs status changed to a Charitable Incorpor Organisation (CIO) on the 1.9.22 so our financial resu detailed here are for the 18 months 1.9.22 to 29.2.24 Charity Commission. Our new charity number is 120 first financial year concluded on the 29.2.24 and tables per the 10andour We started the year viith an opening surplus reseNe during the period we received income of £92,939 and £115,423 and as such am adverse deficrt of (£22.484 we finish with a closing reserve of £61,682 184,165 xpensed herefore Details of any funds materially in deficit None to report. no issues reported under our audtt report. Further financial review details (Optional infomiation) You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about.. the charity's principal sour$ of funds (including any fundraising).. how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity. investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment Frf)licy adopted. Income in the 18 months to 29.2.24: Receipts Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total Grants & Donations Voluntary Recei Fundraising Activities Event Income ts Total Recei 2.100 87.122 89,222 1.962 1,962 105 1.650 1,755 4,167 88.772 92,939 Significant expenditures for the year: Pa ments Fundraising Costs Charttable Activities Event Ex ndlture Governance Total Payments Total 396 396 31.851 33,714 67.949 68.437 12.333 112.133 3.291 115,424 Exc8ss of receipts over ments Transfer between Funds Cash Funds last ear end Cash Funds this oar end 876 -23.361 -22,485 10,485 73,681 84.165 14.827 61,681 11 ber 2022
Investments Our investments managed by Chades Stanley al the start of the year was £44.798 and we finished the year 29th February 2024 £34.518 During the year V drew down a further funding Iranche for the minibus lease and insurance of £15,000. Section F Other optional information Section G Declaration Pclare that they have approved the trustees, report above. If of the charity's trustees The trustees Signed on be Signature{s} Full name{s) Secretary. G4klrtuE & LtsuE CtskntE Position { Chair, etc Treasurer Chair ate 12 December 2022
CC Recelpts & Payments Report Cbarity naitv. Aspire2 CEO Cbarity nunA)er: 12WIO For the ptriod from 0110912022 to 2910Zry024 Re£ Is and UnrestyiLxeA Restri¢te&l fjjnds End0ent Totsi funds Jear fid5 Rtt¢ipls VoluntaryRtteipts FundraisiDgA¢tivitses Charirable Activilies Event In¢om¢ Recapts IDvttstment5 Orher Receiptj 4.062 87.122 91,184 ios 1,650 1.755 4.167 88.772 92.939 Asxt and InNYJtment sale8 rf¢ Totsl ree¢ipr8 4.167 88.772 92.939 Pallent5 volthry IncLxne Costs Futsdraisin¥C0515 Chariiable Activitia Cwts Event Costs Oowern8nce Ce4ty 396 1.863 488 396 33,714 68.437 31.851 67,949 12.333 112.lJ3 3.291 115.424 Asset$ And inv¢slrnellts 8aiD&ILws Total PAyJnen Ex¢ess of reLeipts pleniS 3.291 876 112.133 -23.361 Transfers Eetween Fwids Cash Fun& L4st YLzr End Cash fiJndsthis end 10,485 14.827 73.682 46.855 84,167 61.682 Traasurer . David W. Shepherd Chair of Trustess ." Charles Clare ,1 IE(
CHARITY COMMISSION Independent Examiner's Repoit on the Accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to Ehe trustees/tnembers ol ilyt&¥r On aicounts foF the year ended (harity no (Il any) IIDEIEItIllEY dI1[lSh¢£I%} Set out on pages Respective iesponsibilities of trustees and examiner The chaiity's tIU5tees ale fespoTrsible lot the preparation ol ihe aiioun iiustees consida that an audit 15 not requTred lor this year undei sectio Charilies Art 2011 {the Chaiilies A(tl an¢J that an independent examina It is tTry iesponsibility to: exaffline the accounts vftde( sec"on 145 ol the Charilies Act. to follow ihe pioteduies laid down in the general Directions given Commission {undei se(lyon 145{5}Ib} of the Charitie5 Act>, èftd to state whethu PaTtiCsJlar mailers have come to my attention. The charity's 44 of the n is needed. the Charity Basis of independent exarninÈrfs statement My exatnination was carried out in accoidance with general Diieition Charity Cornmission. An exatnination includes a review ol ihe accounti kept by the chaiity and a cornpaii50fi of the accounts presented wilh th It also irlUdeS ionsideration of any unusual iieffls 01 disclosures in th seekir¥J exptaTrations from the tIUStees concerning atry such matters. undeiiaken do not plovide all the eviden that would be required ITr consequently no opinion is given as to wheiher the accounts presenl I view and the iepott 15 limiled to those fftatters set out in the staieme ven by the record5 se records. ciounts, and procedure5 udit, and Irue and laii, below. Independent examinel's ststernent In ionneition wilh my examination. no matter has come to my attefit tNit dis(losed below-)= (11 which gives me reasonable cause to believe thai irn any material requirernents.. to keep accounting re(otds in aCCOFdan(e with secbon 130 01 t Charities ACI- 10 prepare aciounts which a((d th the accounting iecoids with the accounting iequiiements ol the Chaiitie5 Act have no (2) io whicty ITr tny opinion, attentloll should be dfawn %n ordeT to en understanding ol the account5 to be reached. "Pleose delete ihe WOKds in the brketS iliheydo not opply. (other than pect, the d (omply een met.. OF e a propel Signed Date 27 /go2 Name Relevant piole5sional qualih"(ationls) body (if any) MAA. Addiess IER March 2012
Section B Disclosure Only complete il the examinei needs to highlight material piobletns Give here b I details ol any iteffls that the examiner wishes to disclose IER March 2012