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2025-03-31-accounts

91 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 4HT Email: info@culturallearningalliance.org.uk Website: www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk

Number: 1203017

Contents

Company information ............................................................................................................................. 2 Co- chairs’ Statement ............................................................................................................................... 3 Trustees’ Annual Report ......................................................................................................................... 4 Charitable objects ................................................................................................................................... 4 Vision ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Mission .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Values ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Activities - how the charity spends its money ........................................................................................ 5 Strategy & Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 5 Review of Achievements and Performance in 2024/25 ......................................................................... 7 Future plans .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Financial Review .................................................................................................................................... 18 Structure, Governance & Management................................................................................................ 19 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities ............................................................................................... 20 Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of The Cultural Learning Alliance ............................. 21 Statement of Financial Activities for the year to 31[st] March 2025 (Including income & expenditure account) ................................................................................................................................................ 22 Balance Sheet as at 31[st] March 2025 .................................................................................................... 23 Statement of Cash Flow for the year to 31[st] March 2025 ..................................................................... 24 Notes to the Financial Statements for the year to 31[st] March 2025 .................................................... 25

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Company information

Incorporation

This charitable company Cultural Learning Alliance was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 10[th] May 2023

Trustees

Sally Bacon OBE – Executive Co-chair

Derri Burdon – Co-chair

Lucy Butterfield (appointed 3[rd] June 2024)

Rob Elkington MBE (appointed 3[rd] June 2024)

Alice King-Farlow (appointed 3[rd] June 2024)

Amy McGann (appointed 3[rd] June 2024)

Steve Moffitt MBE

Tina Ramdeen

Ian Thomas (appointed 3[rd] June 2024)

Andria Zafirakou MBE (resigned 1[st] June 2025)

Independent Examiner

Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited. 3[rd] Floor, 44 Peter Streets Manchester M2 5GP

Bankers

Solicitors

Unity Trust Bank 4 Brindley Place Birmingham B1 2JB

Counterculture Partnership LLP Unit 115 Ducie House Ducie Street Manchester M1 2JW

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Co-chairs ’ Statement

This has been a defining year for the Cultural Learning Alliance. We have built momentum, deepened our evidence base and used the collective voice of the sector to influence change where it matters. As we completed our second full year as a registered charity, our focus remained clear: to champion every child’s right to an arts -rich education.

Our Strategy Map continues to serve as both compass and anchor. It holds us steady in a rapidly shifting policy landscape, defining CLA’s distinct role within the wider arts education ecology. It keeps us focused on four interconnected areas: gathering evidence, shaping narrative, sharing insight and influencing policy and practice. This clarity of purpose has been vital as we respond to national developments while keeping our sights fixed on long-term impact.

The publication of the 2025 Report Card came at a moment of real opportunity. It has already shaped thinking and strategy across schools, multi-academy trusts, cultural organisations and government. We’ve seen it cited in research, articles and consultatio n responses, and have received strong feedback from professionals using it to inform their own work. Together, the 2025 Report Card, the Blueprint for an Arts-Rich Education and the Capabilities Framework form a connected set of tools that underpin CLA’s s trategy and equip the sector to navigate change, make the case and plan with confidence. They are being used nationally to guide commissioning, policy development and everyday practice, and have helped establish a stronger shared language around the value of arts-rich learning. This shared language, and the resources that support it, continue to grow in reach and influence across education and culture. Through webinars, bulletins and consultation responses, we are sharing practical insight and advocacy tools that help professionals take action with clarity and purpose.

As our work expands, so too does our governance. In September 2025, we will be delighted to welcome three new Trustees to our Board, strengthening our links with the education sector at a pivotal moment.

Looking ahead, the coming year is likely to bring meaningful change for arts education in England. As new policy initiatives take shape, there is a growing opportunity to embed parity for arts subjects within the national curriculum and move closer to a true entitlement for all children. CLA will continue to lead with purpose and evidence, equipping our members and allies with the tools they need to advocate powerfully in their schools, communities and sectors. Together, we are building the conditions for every child to flourish through the arts.

Sally Bacon and Derri Burdon Co-chairs, Cultural Learning Alliance

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T rustees’ Annual Report

In preparing this report, Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘public benefit: running a charity (PB2)’.

Charitable objects

The objects of the CIO are, for the public benefit, to promote the advancement of education in arts and culture, in particular but not exclusively, by:

  1. gathering evidence and data on the value of arts and cultural education and participation for children and young people;

  2. using data to provide an evidence-based narrative demonstrating the ways in which an arts and cultural education provide children with skills for life;

  3. collaborating with relevant parties to promote a right to arts and culture for every child, and to encourage policy and practice work to increase the delivery of arts and cultural education; and

  4. gathering and sharing insight into the education, cultural, social policy and practice landscape to support the cultural learning workforce in active case-making and practice.

Vision

A world in which the value of an arts-rich education is widely recognised, & clearly visible in sustained & equitable practice across schools and other settings, & at national policy level.

Mission

The CLA champions a right to arts and culture for every child. It uses evidence to demonstrate the ways in which an arts-rich education provides skills for life & skills for work, enabling all children to fulfil their potential.

Values

We are evidence-based: We find & use robust evidence to support better understanding of the difference the arts can make in children’s lives .

We are narrative-led: We consistently make the evidence accessible in multi-modal ways, for all audiences, to influence change.

We are collaborative: We collaborate with others across the education, culture & youth sectors, including our members, & more widely.

We are inclusive: We are actively inclusive & view all our work through a social justice lens.

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Activities - how the charity spends its money

The CLA champions the right to arts and culture for every child. We use evidence to demonstrate the ways an arts-rich education provides skills for life and skills for work, enabling all children to fulfil their potential. We are the leading source of cultural education news, insight and opinion; leading the collective cross-arts agenda for arts/cultural learning policy change in England.

Strategy & Methodology

As identified in our founding document, the objects of our charitable organisation are to promote the advancement of education in the Arts and culture for the public benefit, in particular but not exclusively by:

We continued to use our Strategy Map (see below) to communicate our vision, mission, impact areas, activity strands and values. It remains an important statement of intent for us and set the direction for all of our work within a shifting policy landscape and context.

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The Cultural Leaming Alliance strategy map cullurd leamlng alliance Why A world In which th valL ol an arts-fich education is 4Yid8ly fecognised. and cl•Jfly visble i S1151Ained ond equilablfr pracliro acr055 all schoo15 nd other settings. and at nahonal polry level. Th• CLA hèrTresses th• pow•r ol rts alliance to charn￿0￿ a righttoarts and cuhure lorevery child. It uses evidence io (JemonstraTe ihe ways in which an arts.nch education Provides skilk lor lil• ar￿ skilts lor work. enabling •ll thildren to 6Jthl their potentia. What Impart 1 Independtni evKlence and advocacy work leads to positSY• ghifts in •rts arKI ¢uliur•l harnin9 opportvnibe5 and expenence5 in 5thod5 & other stttings. Impact 2 It)dependeni evdence and advocw wofk leads to posit￿ susiain•d shifts in arts•nd ¢uliurnl learning In terTns of pdiry, infrastrurture aThd funding. How + WIK• Sod•lJ4th and Induslon Apply Social iuslice arid Inclusion l•n5 to all activty. 5UPPOrtm9. pladonnirs arKI empow•rin9 charse. GaTtrief fhQV4 d3Ta and 9hquilrty eMd¢rb to upptsrt btsmer w￿r$￿￿dIr￿j of ih• v•lw ol an •rt5.rKh educ•bw for 11 children and young Cray acco&sio1￿ now ewd¢nct.based value nwraiive •ThJ diwffll￿1• il thrDU9h a naiialiV& and Ilb1l9htto collaboratt Ih ￿￿¢al0￿$ rTrd polKy mJk•r8 on acfvotacy fDr irnwowd •nd mo InClu￿we prathce •nd p￿￿Y wo Sha￿ inAi9hi Into tducaiion. ¢ullutal. youth •nd socwl. poIKyand pradi¢• I￿sCap￿ to suppcrtc•sa. makin9 straiegyto Influenc• C•lknboMh Wè afe Inclusr•.' We art ittNèly inclusNe •Ddview •ll our ¥ffjrk thiou9h & sotsal rJ￿￿ •nd wKlusion Woaft colla￿3￿+•.. vMy& ky •ll•x4wnc•& CULTURAL LEARNING ALLIANCE culturallearningalliance.org.uk

Review of Achievements and Performance in 2024/25

This period covers our second full year of operation as a charity (a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, or CIO) following more than a decade operating as an informal alliance – and there have been several significant milestones over the period.

Governance, Associate roles and operations

During the year the six newly appointed Board members (who joined the founding board of four Trustees) were active contributors in bringing their wide experience to CLA. The Trustees were able to assess what skills and experience might also be needed across the Board. Plans were developed to recruit up to three new Trustees from the education sector, ideally across primary, secondary, SEND or FE, and bringing a diversity of lived experience, expertise and regional representation. These appointments will be made later in 2025.

Working with our new CLA Associates continued to bear fruit during the period. Early in 2025 Professor Pat Thomson, our Senior Evidence Associate, launched a new monthly ‘Research Spotlight’ section in the monthly CLA Newsletter, in which she summarises a recent piece of research that is relevant for our sector. This is a welcome addition to our Newsletter and continues to deepen and enrich our core evidence function. During this period Professor Thomson was able to support CLA contributions to a series of consultations and calls for evidence, including from the Curriculum and Assessment Review. It has been extremely helpful to have all of our submissions grounded in detailed evidence and Professor Thomson has been key in enabling CLA to this.

Meanwhile we continued to work with Baz Ramaiah, CLA Policy and Evidence Associate. During the period Baz authored our first CLA annual Report Card, published in May 2024, and worked on our 2025 Report Card which was published in early April 2025. Baz’s sk ill at taking government data sets and additional surveys and scrutinising them in relation to Expressive Arts subjects and experiences has been a valuable asset for the CLA.

CLA was pleased to appoint Jacqui O’Hanlon MBE (Deputy Executive Director and Direction of Learning and National Partnerships at the Royal Shakespeare Company) as CLA Evidence Associate in spring 2024. Jacqui played a key role in Chairing our Evidence and Value Narrative Working Group and steering our evidence work during the year, working alongside Professor Thomson, Sally Bacon, our Co- Chair, and Group member Anna Cutler. CLA was pleased to acknowledge Jacqui’s invaluable contribution to CLA’s evidence wo rk and to formalise the working partnership in this way.

Whilst CLA is a relatively new charity, it continues to remain true to its origins in still being a genuine ‘alliance’ of individuals and organisations working together to champion an Arts -rich education for every child. This means that board members are active contributors beyond their formal governance roles in a range of different ways. During the period some led ‘task and finish’ groups for particular tasks or CLA activities, and some contributed more practical support. There was discussion about one of the Co-Chairs taking on an Executive Co-Chair role for an interim period and this is likely in the coming year.

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CLA remains grateful to Curious Minds for providing important back office functions at cost during the period under review (spanning finance, communications and administration). This arrangement has been put in place until such time as CLA establishes what staffing requirements will be needed in the longer term. In its early years some of these services had been provided by the CLA’s funders (originally Clore Duffield Foundation and then Paul Hamlyn Foundation) as part of their ‘hosting’ role for CLA.

The outsourcing of our administrative and financial back-office functions to Curious Minds, as well as our vital communications work, enabled us to focus on our policy, evidence and insights work through the year. Having operated for many years without existing as a formal entity, it was good to – continue to grow and develop our work as a charity and to work with so many supportive colleagues and organisations who share our mission as we did so. We will continue to assess what public affairs support we need into the future, particularly around the launch of important pieces of work such as our Report Card.

As a small organisation, we continue to be mindful of cost efficiency, efficacy and impact – and are confident that we are balancing significant output with a careful approach to resourcing through active board support and our Associate roles.

Website and visual identity

Our new website and new visual identity were launched during the period under review to mark the shift in becoming a new charity after more than a decade as an informal alliance. Having a more active and image-based visual identity has worked extremely well for us, particularly across social media platforms, whilst we retain a visual link to the seminal Arts in Schools reports (funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and published in 1982 and 2023) in applying the same colour across all our resources. The use of speech marks in our new logo reflects that CLA has much to say, but more importantly that children and young people have lots to say through their Arts experiences, in whatever form. It makes their – and our – voice visual. We wanted our new look to demonstrate the ambition we have for young people’s voice and exciting Arts experiences, and for their futures.

Blueprint for an Arts-rich education

Just before the 2024 general election was called, CLA published its Blueprint for an Arts-rich education to set out the course correction necessary to halt and reverse the decline in Expressive Arts education that we have seen since 2010. This had been informed by consensus workshops held in person and online during the previous year and enabled CLA to present a clear picture of the foundational education policy changes needed from any incoming government during 2024.

The Blueprint informed CLA’s advocacy work throughout the period under review and continues to do so. The education policy changes set out span setting new purposes for schooling – with the Expressive Arts as one of the group of core and equal curriculum areas mapped onto the new purposes; the need for a minimum mandatory four-hour Arts entitlement beyond qualifications within the school week to the end of Key Stage 3 and an entitlement during KS4 and KS5; complete reform of the school accountability system to ensure it no longer adversely impacts expressive Arts – subjects scrapping the EBacc and reforming Progress 8; changes to student assessment in line with

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the recommendations of Rethinking Assessment; and an entitlement to teacher training and teacher development opportunities for Expressive Arts subjects.

The Blueprint also sets out three principles necessary to underpin these system changes: an emphasis on a rounded learning experience for the personal development and wellbeing of the ‘whole child’ – for the present as well as for the future; a focus on representation, breadth and relevance across the Arts curriculum, resources and practice; and a commitment to ensuring that the cultural sector can respond strategically and collaboratively to meet the needs of young people in schools and in their communities, and is resourced specifically to support this work. In order for children to fully engage with their education, they need to see themselves reflected in what they are learning. Representation in schools has to be considered across the diversity of genres, course materials and activities, and through partnerships with Arts organisations.

These published ambitions, created through a consensus-building approach, have enabled CLA to maintain clear objectives through a period of intense political change with a new government and therefore a new set of government policy objectives which includes the objective of breaking down barriers to opportunity.

When the government announced an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in 2024, the Blueprint meant that CLA was already clear in what changes it wanted to see through the Review. When the Review put out a call for evidence in September 2024 CLA was able to use its Blueprint as a cornerstone of its submission, together with 2024 Report Card and its emerging Capabilities Framework (see below). Together these set out the problem for Arts education (our Report Card); the reason equitable access to an Arts education matters (our Capabilities Framework); and the – solutions (our Blueprint for an Arts-rich education) or, as we occasionally summarise it, ‘the what; the so what; and the now what?’. These three things set the cornerstones of our work.

CLA annual Report Card

In May 2024 we published our first annual Report Card. CLA had regularly gathered data on Arts GCSE and A-Level take up, and on Arts teaching hours, but this was the first time that key Arts education data (2010-2023) was comprehensively gathered together in one place to present a full picture of provision. Working largely from government data sets we gathered together all the relevant information across five new key indicators to provide a detailed survey of children’s and young people’s access to the Arts through their schooling in England. The key indicators we identified were: GCSE entries for Arts subjects; A-Level entries and Higher Education progression; the number of Arts teachers and hours of Arts subjects taught; Arts teacher recruitment and attent ion; and an ‘enrichment gap,’ i.e. young people from wealthier backgrounds having much greater access to Arts provision and opportunities compared to their peers from lower-income backgrounds.

We wanted to be ready with a state-of-the-nation overview for our sector to enable policymakers in a new government to be clear-sighted in understanding the landscape as they began to consider education system change. And we particularly wanted to provide evidence of the decline of Arts

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subjects in schools to support the development of a new approach to valuing the expressive Arts within schooling.

By early 2025 we were ready with a new set of data analysis to inform our second Report Card, which was published in early April 2025. Late in 2024 we decided to extend our data gathering for – this new Report Card to include vocational and technical qualifications an important part of the – qualifications landscape and also to apply free school meal data and Office of National Statistics Index of Multiple deprivation data to Arts take-up data. We started to frame this new analysis as an Arts Entitlement Ga p. We don’t aim to stand still with our reporting: we want to broaden and extend our findings to provide the richest possible snapshot of what is happening in relation to Arts opportunities in schools and beyond, applying a social justice lens to all of our data collection work.

Because of this data gathering, the sector is now able to evidence that there is a clear relationship between the poverty of an area and pupils in that area not studying the Expressive Arts in school. Expressive Arts take up at GCSE and A Level is lowest in regions and local authorities with the highest level of free school meals and highest levels of deprivation. There is a clear socioeconomic disparity in young people’s study of the Arts at both GCSE and A Level: the ‘Arts entitlement gap’. Where a child grows up, and their family’s socioeconomic status, are significant social determinants in whether or not they will pursue Expressive Arts options from the age of 14.

We were also able to share the data to indicate that recruitment into Expressive Arts subjects is in crisis and that we are seeing a significant trajectory of Arts decline in secondary education: a 42% decline in Arts GCSE take up since 2010, with more than 40% of schools no longer offering Drama or Music GCSE. This is all vital evidence for the Arts education sector and has been invaluable for our members and more widely.

Our annual Report Card is now a vital publication for the sector and we are glad to have found a way to communicate a clearly evidenced picture of what is happening in schools. There is more to do: the government does not collect any data for primary so we still do not know how many Arts specialist teachers there are or how many taught Arts hours there are in primary schools. And we are yet to widen our data collection to Scotland and to Wales. We are considering how our scope can be expanded if we can secure further funding.

CLA Evidence and Value Narrative Group

CLA’s new Evidence and Value Narrative Working Group (founded October 2023) was chaired by Jacqui O’Hanlon MBE, our Evidence Associate. The Group met throughout the year to advise on, oversee and develop CLA’s evidence gathering and analysis – on the value of an Arts-rich education for every child and young person, and with a particular focus on social impact.

The Group included representatives from several UK universities, together with leading Arts education organisations and specialists, considered a range of research approaches. In partnership with (and funding from) the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), and support from Midlands4Cities, it co-commissioned university-led subject-based Rapid Evidence Reviews (RERs) for Dance, Drama and Music and a refresh of the 2021 RER for Art and Design. These RERs have been overseen by Professor Pat Thomson, our Senior Evidence Associate, and will be published in autumn 2025.

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Working in consultation with sector colleagues through a consensus workshop approach, the Group also scoped the possibility of an Arts Education Evidence Hub through an RSC feasibility study supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. This was finalised in the autumn of 2024. CLA’s partnership working with the Royal Shakespeare Company was particularly important and productive throughout the year.

Importantly, the Evidence Group worked on an accessible evidence-based value narrative to make clear the value of studying Arts subjects. All of this work continued throughout 2024, with the group meeting in alternate months, and a smaller sub-group meeting more regularly to develop the detailed value narrative. CLA is extremely grateful to all those who gave their time for this important work.

CLA was able to start to publish this thinking towards the end of the year under review and now has much more detail on its website. There is much more work to do to mobilise this Framework, and to map it to the aggregated summary evidence gathered through the Rapid Evidence Reviews when they are available, but we are delighted to already have a set of the seven benefits of an Arts-rich education to build – for the first time – a valuable shared language for how we talk about the benefits of an Arts-rich education. This is a hugely significant step for CLA. We look forward to developing this work in the coming year.

– The Working Group always conceived as a ‘task and finish’ group – stood down in April 2025 having achieved its objectives, and a new Group will be formed in autumn 2025 to undertake the next stage of mapping RER evidence to the Framework and considering how it might be further developed and mobilised.

Insights during the year

In our ‘Latest News’ bulletins from spring 2024 we shared a call for evidence from the new Commission on the Future of Oracy Education; school accountability news regarding Progress 8; and news of yet more erosion of creative arts courses at England’s univ ersities. We also launched our – first annual Report Card and published our manifesto asks in advance of the July general election. We shared the winners of the Northern Cultural Education Awards; new reports on working class representation in the creative industries; why children’s social and emotional development – – supported by Expressive Arts subjects is important in countering violence; the loss of teaching assistant posts and why this matters for Arts subjects; an update on Music Hubs – and criticism of – the changes and a new report on enrichment through youth provision.

When the new government was elected we shared news of key new government education appointments, including the important announcement about the curriculum and assessment review; news about the alarming increase in child poverty and details of the new government taskforce to tackle it; the challenges in children’s lives revealed by DfE census data; warnings about the lack of specialist teachers; parental concerns about school funding and the lack of specialist teaching; and the link between mental health and school absences.

In the summer we reported on GCSE and A Level entries and grades, and that students were selecting a narrower range of subjects, with Arts and humanities subjects suffering; and DCMS

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announcements about the importance of opportunities for all children to engage with the Arts and sport. We also reported that Bridget Philipson had called for young people to develop critical thinking through a renewed curriculum.

In the autumn we shared news about CLA’s presence at the Labour Party Conference; details of a major new report on curriculum and assessment in secondary education; details of Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund; news of a series of new Ofste d advisory groups and about government investment in a music pilot scheme for disadvantaged pupils; the first report from Skills England; information about university application figures; and details of a Children’s Commissioner Report on the number of children missing from education.

We shared important information on evidence to use in responding to the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review; the launch of the important new report from the Education Oracy Commission; a new report on the role that parental education and wealth plays in the acquisition of ‘assumed knowledge’ from the Social Market Foundation; and news that Russell Group university admission metrics would no longer be used in grading England’s schools.

In the winter we shared news of the demise of the National Citizenship Service and a new national youth strategy; news that private and state school GCSE results were now the same (when results are adjusted for socioeconomic background), with only creative subjects performing worse at state schools; research that revealed stark class inequalities in access to the creative industries; a summary of the autumn budget implications for children, schools and families; and new data that revealed one in five disadvantaged pupils are suspended.

At the start of the year we reported on warnings of school budget challenges for 2025; Ed Sheeran using CLA data to inform his work in setting up a new music education foundation; the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill; details of the new Creative Industries Taskforce (without education expertise); news about the first state school in the country to be set up in conjunction with a professional symphony orchestra; news from the head of Ofsted that SEND was the biggest issue facing schools; why the impact of the pandemic on children was not sufficiently analysed and researched; how Arts and creative subjects were being impacted through Higher Education cuts, including at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; and our regular look back to what we did in 2024. This was followed by news of an important new consultation from Ofsted; the launch of a new Arts – education campaign from the National Education Union Arts and Minds; how Arts teacher shortages are particularly affecting deprived schools; DfE cuts to cultural education; a DEMOS report on the National Music Plan; issues for dance education; and continuing cuts to Arts university courses and staff. In cultural sector news we covered the new government funding announcements for Arts and culture and the review of Arts Council England; and creative industries news.

In March we reported on the publication of the interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review and covered the important announcement of the creation of a National Centre for Arts and Music Education and that Arts Council England would no longer be the fundholder for Music Hubs from 2026 as they would transfer to the new Centre. We reported on an NFER report on challenges in teacher recruitment; new research on the link between enrichment and attendance; the launch of an inquiry into a ‘love of learning’ by the Education All Party Parliamentary Group; the new ‘Child of

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the North’ report; news about music learning hub hotspots for the North of England; and the news that the number of NEETs has hit an 11-year high. We also covered the important news from Arts Council England that it was delaying its next funding round for a further year.

In ‘Latest Thinking’ from April 2024 onwards Baz Ramaiah reflected on the rapid expansion in the impact of AI and what that means for the Arts in Schools and Rachael Woodhead (then Curator: Families, Schools, and Young People at Tate St Ives) reflected on how the cultural sector needed to think differently to better support schools and learning colleagues in delivering an Arts-rich education for every child. In May, the focus was on sharing our Report Card and Blueprint for an Arts-rich education. In June Saphena Aziz, Director of Inclusion and Workforce Development at Curious Minds, reflected on the value of Arts education in countering hate, and Paul Reeve, former CEO of Into Film, wrote about the potential role of film and digital media in the curriculum in response to CLA’s manifesto asks – which proposed the inclusion of film within the Expressive Arts curriculum area. We also covered the party manifestos in relation to Arts, education, and skills.

– In July we invited two music subject association heads Bridget Whyte from Music Mark and Deborah Annetts from ISM – to reflect on what was happening with Music Hubs following the announcement of a reduction in the number of Hubs, and to address some of the concerns. We thought it would be worth sharing a full update on the Music Hubs given the complexities of changes and also given the level of investment music had received since 2010. In the autumn we focused on youth provision with perspectives from Tina Ramdeen, Associate Director of Young People at the Roundhouse in London (and CLA Trustee) on what can happen when youth work is fully embedded within an Arts organisation; and from Manchester-based artist and creative practitioner, Kirsty Gbasai, on her experience as creative practitioner and community artist in a youth centre in Bolton.

In the winter we shared guidance on how to respond to the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review by sharing the evidence we were using for our own submission, and Professor Pat Thomson set out why Arts and cultural learning matter and the importance of responding to the Review.

We started 2025 with an international perspective from one of the authors of a British Council report highlighting practice that is responding to global agendas on young people’s creative rights and futures. In February, marking the publication of a major study into Arts-rich primary schools, Professor Pat Thomson, the report’s co -author, presented its key findings, and reflected on what is needed to build an Arts-rich school system. And in March we introduced our new Capabilities Framework in a piece by th e Evidence Working Group’s Chair, Jacqui O’Hanlon and CLA Co -Chair Sally Bacon. They both reflected on a step change in building a shared language around the evidenced value of Arts and cultural learning.

We also shared our thoughts on seeing the Review’s interim report, giving our headline takeaways, – covering what we found, what we liked and how it aligned perfectly with our own data and recommendations – and a couple of points we would question or challenge.

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We would like to thank all those valued colleagues, both old and new, that shared their thinking and their articles with us through the year. We hugely value their generosity and commitment to sharing their perspectives and expertise with our members.

Consultations, calls for evidence and public presentations

Given that a new government was elected during the period under review, it was not surprising that there were many calls for evidence and consultations launched. CLA worked on putting together detailed responses to many of these. The most significant was undoubtedly the Curriculum and Assessment Review call for evidence which closed in November 2024. This was a significant piece of work for CLA and we prepared the ground early so that we could share detailed guidance in our Newsletter to support the submissions of others. Our Report Card and Capabilities Framework, as well as our Blueprint, were invaluable for all of these submissions.

When the Review’s Interim Report was published in March, CLA swiftly pulled together a detailed response to share with the sector in our Newsletter so that colleagues could see the extent to which our submission – and those of many Arts education sector colleagues – had fed into the Review’s thinking.

Beyond the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we worked closely with our CLA Senior Evidence Associate to spend time preparing detailed evidence for the Arts Council England Review; the Education All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) consultation on loss of a love of learning; the Ofsted Review; and a call for evidence on Inclusive Practice in Schools. Many of these were submitted in April/May 2025. In all of these consultations CLA has worked to turn up the volume of the importance of Expressive Arts subjects and Arts education on behalf of the sector.

CLA also contributed evidence to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology’s POST note on Children’s wellbeing in schools and was pleased to have its evidence included.

During the year CLA presented at several conferences and events including for the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), the PTI, the FED at their annual conference in Manchester – all to teachers and school leaders – Bath Spa University, the Group for Education in Museums (GEM – at their annual conference in Bristol), the British Educational Research Association conference in Manchester, Goldsmith’s, National Drama, and One Dance UK. CLA also had a presence at the Labour Party Conference in September in conjunction with Curious Minds.

Partnership working

During the year under review CLA continued to develop its relationship with policy makers, elected government representatives, Arts subject associations and colleagues across the sector. CLA also joined the National Education Union’s Arts and Minds campaig n coalition, along with several Arts subject associations, due to the alignment of the campaign’s central objectives with CLA’s own, and its use of CLA data and evidence. One example of partnership working is the role CLA now plays on a small Arts education task force which meets weekly and which reports to a group of 40+ performing Arts sector CEOs. This collegiate work is important in ensuring that the Arts and education sectors convene around a clear set of policy at a time when curriculum, assessment and accountability

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measures are under review, and when many new national initiatives are being announced, such as a National Youth Strategy and an Enrichment Framework. CLA looks forward to further supporting this collegiate working in the coming year.

CLA webinars and Advisory Panel

During the year CLA moved away from running gatherings for its large Advisory Panel in order to work to a principle of equitable access and enabling anyone to join us when we have excellent speakers and topics to share. Traditionally CLA has held occasional online Advisory Panel gatherings to which only CLA Advisory Panel members were invited but we have long felt that these should be more widely available.

The first CLA webinar was held in February 2025 to launch Professor Thomson’s important Researching the Arts in Primary Schools (RAPS) report, with additional speakers being co-authors Professor Christine Hall and Liam Maloy. A panel discussion including school leaders was chaired by Jacqui O’Hanlon. Given the paucity of primary school data about Arts teaching, the RAPS report is an important piece of evidence for CLA to share.

This new series of webinars was a significant new step for CLA and we subsequently created a CLA YouTube channel to further extend access. The event was followed by a 2025 Report Card launch in April and CLA looks forward to hosting more webinars on important topics in autumn 2025.

CLA is currently reviewing its Advisory Panel structure and composition to consider how best to ensure that it has representative specialist expert advice and guidance on all aspects of its work: from subject disciplines to SEND; from primary to secondary; from FE to HE; from the cultural sector to creative careers. It is likely that new Expert Panel plans will be announced in autumn 2025.

National Centre for Arts and Music Education

In March 2025 the government announced there was to be a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, to be launched in 2026. CLA was immediately able to launch a consensus workshop roadshow in different parts of England (in person and online) having established this process through its ‘Blueprint for an Arts - rich education’ work in the run -up to the 2024 election, and to develop plans for an Evidence Hub. These workshops took place during June and July 2025 and will inform a blueprint for the National Centre which will be shared with DfE and published on the CLA – website. All plans for the Centre will be mapped against this blueprint which will represent the sector’s collective ambition for the new entity. It is CLA’s intention to back any high -quality bid for the Centre which matches the values, principles, purposes and ambition for the Centre which is reflected in this blueprint.

CLA shared its view that the sector now needed to come together around this new ambition and support the DfE as it worked to develop its plans for the Centre – which will succeed if it is a collective endeavour built on foundation stones of ambition, leadership, equity, experience and – expertise on behalf of all children and young people.

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Our funders

We remain extremely grateful to our two core funders, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, for their continued support. They enable us to continue to champion the value of Arts subjects and cultural learning on behalf of all children and young people and have supported us in applying a social justice lens to our work by connecting us to important organisations with which CLA is aligned, such as the Fair Education Alliance. Their funding has been invaluable for CLA to continue its work to c hampion every child’s right to an Arts -rich education at a time when positive policy developments might be possible for the first time in a decade and a half. Fundraising to build a sustainable future for CLA will be an important strand of our work for 2025/6.

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Future plans

Over the coming year we will continue to gather and use evidence to inform our value narrative and to champion an Arts-rich education for every child. We will work to grow our representation across our team and governance structures and continue to apply a social justice and inclusion lens to all activity, supporting, platforming and empowering change.

– We will continue to develop our team across Associate roles, back office and possibly permanent staff roles – now that we are an established charity. We will appoint three new Board members from the education sector and launch a new Expert Panel to advise the Board.

We will continue to navigate through a complex period of policy development with changes imminent for the curriculum, accountability measures and assessment processes in England. We remain committed to preparing detailed responses to all consultations and calls for evidence. We will develop our 2026 Report Card and continue to expand the range of data we survey; mobilise our Capabilities Framework; co-publish four new Rapid Evidence Reviews; work towards the creation of an Arts Education Evidence Hub; and curate a useful programme of webinars for our members and more widely. We will support the development of the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education and work in support of all enrichment funds directed at children and young people where the Arts can add value.

We will review our Newsletter format and continue to improve our communication channels for our members and more widely, and we will continue to support our members and to keep them informed about all relevant policy developments in our sector.

And finally we will fundraise for CLA to put it on a sustainable footing into the future and will continue to collaborate with existing and new partners far and wide, across England and other nations, including internationally.

In conclusion …

The period under review has been busy and fruitful for CLA. Its evidence work, the clarity of its theory of change focused on equity, and the development of its Capabilities Framework to underpin these have all served to position CLA as a vital sector support organisation. Its partnership working has developed significantly through dialogue with a number of subject associations and with DfE, and there has been a significant step change in its research outputs. It has important new assets and these are widely used by its members and beyond to inform policy, practice, case-making and planning. An energetic board, a new visual identity and website, a new webinar series, vital Associate roles, a Blueprint for change, our first annual Report Cards, and important new evidence and value narrative work have all proved invaluable for the sector during 2024/5. We look forward to these continuing to bear fruit into 2025/6 when the outcome of the Curriculum and Assessment Review will be known.

Most significantly, CLA’s work during the year evidenced the direct link between poverty and low Arts take up and this served to set the vital context for all government policy making in relation to Arts education for the future.

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Financial Review

Financial Results

The Trustees were pleased to receive funding towards their activities from the Esmee Fairbairn and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation during the period and have utilised funding in accordance with the plans outlined under these agreements. At the period end, there was a surplus of £1 (2024: £11,980) remaining, with further funding due as detailed below and which will enable continuance of our work in the next financial period.

Core Funding

Grant funding from Esmée Fairbairn and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation is awarded to cover core running costs of the Charity.

– Esmée Fairbairn awarded £80,000 for the period 2024 2026, with £40,000 received in November 2023 and £40,000 received in November 2024.

– Paul Hamlyn awarded £100,000 for 2024 2026, with £50,000 received February 2024 and £50,000 due in 2025.

Financial Risk Management

The Board of Trustees monitors and assesses financial risks to which The Cultural Learning Alliance may be exposed and assesses their potential impact on the Charity.

Reserves Policy

The level of unrestricted reserves has been set to meet the costs of retaining sufficient capacity and cover overhead costs for six months in order to pursue our charitable objectives as a newly independent charity. The current target reserves level we are working towards is £50,000. At the end of this reporting period free reserves stood at £1 (2024: 11,980). Trustees review this policy annually.

Financial Control and Audit

The or ganisation’s finances are overseen by Curious Minds ’ Finance and Operations Team under a Service Level Agreement.

Curious Minds’ Finance Manager maintains financial records and bank accounts, preparing management accounts for each meeting of the Board of Trustees, including use of funds and available balances. All payments made from the bank accounts are approved by trustees and authorised in line with the bank mandate.

Curious Minds follows robust financial control policies which are applied to any outsourced support agreements, in compliance with statutory requirements, risk management and financial planning.

The Board appoints Independent External Examiners to report on and verify the financial statements.

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Structure, Governance & Management

Governing Document

The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is governed by its constitution dated 2[nd] November 2022 and registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

Trustee Recruitment

Transparent procedures are an important element of good governance. All new Trustees to the Board are appointed through a transparent open recruitment process when skills and knowledge gaps in the Board are identified. A Trustee Induction and Development Framework has been designed and implemented this year to ensure all new and existing Trustees are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to undertake the role to the highest standard.

Related Parties and Links with other Organisations

– Trustees are required to declare any interest when considering what interests to declare, the principal rule is that if members of the general public could reasonably conclude that the interests might have an influence on an approach taken by The Cultural Learning Alliance to an application or contract award, to funding received by The Cultural Learning Alliance, or general organisational decisions taken by The Cultural Learning Alliance, then they must declare them.

In December 2024, the board proposed creating an interim executive role which was offered to CoChair Sally Bacon, requiring Sally to take on a more public role and represent the organisation in external contexts. This resulted in a consultancy contract and payment to Sally for the period January to March 2025. Sally was not part of the board discussion or decision, but willing to undertake the role and report to the board at each board meeting in this capacity.

No other Trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from the work with the charity.

Decision Making

CLA Trustees have delegated the day-to-day management and decision making to the Executive Chair working alongside a small team of trusted Associates. Significant decisions that impact on, for example, staffing, recruitment, business planning, financial stability and the sustainability of the charity are brought to the Board for approval prior to action taking place.

Risk Management

The Trustees have a duty to identify and review risks to which The Cultural Learning Alliance is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The Cultural Learning Alliance has a thorough risk management procedure wherein risks to which the organisation may be exposed are monitored and assessed as to their potential impact and likelihood. Appropriate controls are then identified and put in place to provide reasonable assurance against their occurrence.

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Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period.

In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees:

Sally Bacon Sally Bacon (Oct 10, 2025 13:57:57 GMT+1)

Derri Burdon (Oct 7, 2025 17:21:30 GMT+1)

Sally Bacon Co-chair of the Board of Trustees

Derri Burdon

Co-chair of the Board of Trustees

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Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of The Cultural Learning Alliance

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Cultural Learning Alliance (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements car ried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2022 (the 2012 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2022 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

  3. the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act 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; or

  4. the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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 financial statements to be reached.

Jamielee Johnston (Oct 6, 2025 10:58:21 GMT+1)

06/10/2025

Jamielee Johnston CA For and behalf of Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited 3rd Floor, 44 Peter Street Manchester M2 5GP

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Statement of Financial Activities for the year to 31[st] March 2025 (Including income & expenditure account)

Note
INCOME
Voluntary Income - Transfer of Funds
2
Incoming resources from charitable activities
2
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on charitable activities
3
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET INCOMING / (OUTGOING) RESOURCES
FOR THE YEAR
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
7
BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD
BALANCE CARRIED FORWARD		 2024/25
Unrestricted
Total
Funds
Funds
£
£
-
-
40,000
40,000
2024/25		 2024/25
Unrestricted
Total
Funds
Funds
£
£
-
-
40,000
40,000
2024/25		 2023/24
Unrestricted
Total
Funds
Funds
£
£
1,379
1,379
90,000
90,000
2023/24
40,000 40,000 91,379
91,379
51,979 51,979 79,399
79,399
51,979
(11,979)
11,980		 51,979
(11,979)
11,980		 79,399
79,399
11,980
11,980
-
-
1 1 11,980
11,980

The notes on pages 25 to 29 form part of these accounts.

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Balance Sheet as at 31[st] March 2025

Note
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash at bank and in hand
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due in one year
5
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL NET ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted
7
TOTAL FUNDS		 2025
£
10,145
10,145
10,144		 2025
2024
2024
£
£
£
22,540
22,540
10,560
1
11,980
1
11,980
1
11,980
1
11,980

The notes on pages 25 to 29 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 24[th] September 2025.

And signed on their behalf by

Sally Bacon Sally Bacon (Oct 10, 2025 13:57:57 GMT+1)

Sally Bacon

Derri Burdon (Oct 7, 2025 17:21:30 GMT+1)

Derri Burdon

Co-chair of the Board of Trustees

Co-chair of the Board of Trustees

Charity registration number 1203017

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Statement of Cash Flow for the year to 31[st] March 2025

Cash used in operating activities
Net movement in funds
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash flow from / (to) operating activities
Increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		 2025
2024
£
£
(11,979)
11,980
(416)
10,560
(12,395)
22,540
(12,395)
22,540
22,540
-
10,145
22,540

Analysis of changes in net debt

The charity did not hold any overdraft or loan facilities nor finance lease obligations at the start or during the period covered by these accounts.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the year to 31[st] March 2025

1. Accounting Policies

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 Cultural Learning Alliance 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 note(s). The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

Going concern

These accounts are prepared on the going concern basis. At the time of approving the financial statements the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. The Charity has confirmed grant funding to 31st March 2026 and has sufficient cashflow to meet its liabilities as they fall due.

Incoming resources

Income is recognised in the accounting period in which it is receivable, except in the following circumstances, when the income is deferred and included in creditors:

Income includes grants in respect of revenue and capital items.

Resources expended

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.

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Allocation and apportionment of costs

Support costs have been allocated between the cost centres: board meeting costs, trustee expenses and sundry support costs.

Taxation

The Charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

The Charity is not registered for VAT and therefore all its input VAT is irrecoverable. Expenditure is analysed inclusive of VAT where this has been incurred.

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. No restricted funds have been received during the period of these accounts.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

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Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method. Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

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2. INCOME

Voluntary Income:
Transfer of funds from prior entity Cultural Learning Alliance
Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities:
Unrestricted Grant Income
Esmée Fairbairn
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Total Income		 2025
£
-		 2024
£
1,379
- 1,379
40,000
-		 40,000
50,000
40,000 90,000
40,000 90,000

3. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

a. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Delivery costs
Governance costs		 Direct
costs
Support
costs
£
£
41,551
8,668
-
1,760
2025		 Total
£
50,219
1,760
51,979		 Direct
costs
Support
costs
Total
£
£
£
75,334
1,444
76,778
-
2,621
2,621
2024
41,551
10,428		 75,334
4,065
79,399

4. Analysis of governance and support costs

Governance Costs
Independent examination fee
Support costs
Total Governance costs
Delivery
Gover-
nance
Support Costs
£
£
Board meeting costs
-
200
Sundry support costs
8,668
-
Total Support costs
8,668
200
2025		 Governance Costs
Independent examination fee
Support costs
Total Governance costs
Delivery
Gover-
nance
Support Costs
£
£
Board meeting costs
-
200
Sundry support costs
8,668
-
Total Support costs
8,668
200
2025		 2025
£
1,560
200		 2024
£
1,560
1,061
2,621
Project
Delivery
Gover-
nance
Total
£
£
£
-
1,061
1,061
3,004
-
3,004
2024
1,760
Total
£
200
8,668
8,668
200		 8,868 3,004
1,061
4,065

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5. Creditors falling due within one year

Creditors falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals		 2025
2024
£
£
-
6,600
10,144
3,960
10,144
10,560

Cultural Learning Alliance pays all suppliers within 30 days of receipt of invoices due for payment.

**6. ** Statement of funds Balance Balance Balance
1/4/2023 Income Expend- 31/3/2024 **Income ** Expend- 31/3/2025
iture & 1/4/2024 iture
Unrestricted Funds £ £ £ £ £ £ £
General Fund - 91,379 (79,399) 11,980 40,000 (51,979) 1
Total Funds - 91,379 (79,399) 11,980 40,000 (51,979) 1

Notes on Statement of funds

The balance of unrestricted funds represents the balance of grant funding received for general running costs.

7. Analysis of net assets between funds

Net current assets General
Funds
£
1
1
2025		 2025
£
1
1
Total		 2024
General
Funds
£
£
11,980
11,980
11,980
11,980
2024
Total

8. Operating lease commitments

The charity has no commitments under operation leases for premises.

9. Corporation tax

The company is a registered charity and is entitled to claim annual exemption from UK corporation tax.

10. Related Party Transactions

Sally Bacon, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA), was contracted in January 2025 to provide an Executive Director role on a part time basis for which she was paid £5,000.

Derri Burdon, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA), is also Chief Executive Officer of Curious Minds. Curious Minds provided the CLA with back office support from December 2023, for which fees of £6,000 were paid in 2024/25 (£1,100 - 2023/24).

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CLA Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024-25

Final Audit Report

2025-10-10

Created: 2025-10-02 By: Sue Langfeld (sue.langfeld@curiousminds.org.uk) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAI6NY3Umb3RfkSEU9CvIXtRpu1psOajKZ

"CLA Trustees Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024-25 " History

Document created by Sue Langfeld (sue.langfeld@curiousminds.org.uk) 2025-10-02 - 4:09:44 PM GMT

Document emailed to Derri Burdon (derri.burdon@curiousminds.org.uk) for signature 2025-10-02 - 4:09:50 PM GMT

Document emailed to sallyb.eliza@gmail.com for signature

2025-10-02 - 4:09:50 PM GMT

Document emailed to jamielee.johnston@mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk for signature 2025-10-02 - 4:09:50 PM GMT

Email viewed by sallyb.eliza@gmail.com

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Email viewed by jamielee.johnston@mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk 2025-10-02 - 4:18:37 PM GMT

Email viewed by Derri Burdon (derri.burdon@curiousminds.org.uk) 2025-10-03 - 1:46:13 AM GMT

Signer jamielee.johnston@mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk entered name at signing as Jamielee Johnston 2025-10-06 - 9:58:19 AM GMT

Document e-signed by Jamielee Johnston (jamielee.johnston@mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk) Signature Date: 2025-10-06 - 9:58:21 AM GMT - Time Source: server

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Agreement completed.

2025-10-10 - 12:57:57 PM GMT