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The Leeds Menorah School Trust
Charity number 517679
Trustees' Annual Report Financial year 01 September 2022 - 31 August 2023
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS
The name of the charity: The Leeds Menorah School Trust
Charity Number: 517679
Address: 24 Falkland Rise Leeds LS17 6JQ
The names of trustees who served during the year are:
Mrs Ethel Refson Rabbi Reuven Zanvill Cohen Rabbi Eliyohu Pink
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The charity was formed and is governed by a Declaration of Trust dated 28 January 1986 for the purpose of promoting the Orthodox Jewish Religion, religious education and education in general, and in particular through the running of the Leeds Menorah School.
All funds are used in the educational activities of the school and in furtherance and promotion of the Orthodox Jewish religion. The School aims to produce educated and well-adjusted observant Jews who will become an integral part of and contributors to modern society. This result is achieved by providing a standard of secular education to allow pupils to go on to secondary schools integrated with an intense religious study as to give the pupils a deep understanding of the moral and ethical richness of their Jewish heritage and traditions, and to provide them with a solid foundation for their lives.
Day-to-day governance of the charity is managed by the trustees They are assisted by a managing committee, a Board of Governors, Head Teacher and staff. The trustees have regard to the views of parents and teachers, where and to the extent appropriate, in their decision making.
New Trustees are appointed by the trustees for the time being and are expected to understand and support the needs and the ethos of the School, its pupils, parents and staff.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
Charity Bank: Yorkshire Bank Branch: Moortown Address: 370 Harrogate Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS17 6QA.
Independent financial examiner: David Scott FCCA Chartered (certified accountant) 21 Willow Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 2JP.
Financial Performance
Income received was £139,025.14 (£154,691.66 in 2021-22) and expenditure was £170,026.61 (£174,139.47 in 2021-22), resulting in a deficit of £31,001.47 compared to the deficit last year of £19,447.81 Funds brought forward were £67,212.32. The “Building Improvements” figure refers to improvements to the leasehold property housing the School. This figure is being depreciated over the remaining seven years of the lease from 2023 to 2029.
The income of the School comes from fees, and charitable donations. Full fees are currently £5,500.00 a year, but provision is made from charitable donations for those parents who cannot pay the fees in full or at all. The School is unlike most private schools, in that it is not a luxury for parents of means. The school is the only Orthodox Jewish school in Yorkshire which provides the education required by Haredi (Orthodox) parents and children, in which category most Jewish men of the cloth in Leeds belong, along with a number of lay people.
The School had needed to draw on the reserves from the 2021 Charidy campaign. Several factors were contributing to this:
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High costs of maintenance and repairs (some a result of OFSTED requirements, others just wear and tear).
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Increased insurance costs
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Reduced pupil numbers leading to reduced fees income and reduced council funding.
This was addressed by the following strategies:
Fees were increased by 10% for this year.
We successfully submitted a Gift Aid claim amounting to £10858.27. The funds were received very quickly. It was decided to run another Charidy campaign which generated £36,000 of income.
We clamed Gift Aid on the Charidy campaign for £2305. We can yet submit another claim for about £2500.
We changed Guarding provider as G&K were not up to scratch. Golden Crown seem better and are cheaper.
We received a kind donation to purchase “wish-list” items for the school. To date half of this has been spent, but it is specifically earmarked solely for the requested items.
An Early Years area was created by the gardener at the back of school.
Average expenditure is about £10,000 per month. Average income is about £6000 per month. A suggestion was made to implement an email fundraising campaign to promote monthly standing orders from those (around 300) who have supported the Charidy campaigns, to be sent out before the next school year.
The insurance came up for renewal. This had risen dramatically last year owing to our OFSTED report. Unfortunately, the improved rating recently obtained has not impacted to reduce the premium yet. Hopefully in the future we will see a reduction. We are paying this by monthly direct debit.
Discussions have been held with Achisomoch charity group. They support London schools, and as an initial token of good will they donated £1000.
Swimming expenditure has been reduced by providing just girls’ swimming i.e. every other week.
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The low monthly income is exacerbated by reduced pupil numbers, and several families having asked for reduction in fees owing to their personal circumstances. That is, however, how we operate – no child is excluded for financial reasons.
Policy on reserves
The charity’s funds are used for the day-to-day running of the School and any funds accrued throughout the year are reserved to meet these and additional needs as they present themselves. To the extent that surplus funds are received, these will be applied to meet medium and longer-term strategic goals and plans.
Public benefit statement
The trustee(s) confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties and are satisfied that the charity provides such a benefit.
Achievements and performance
We began the new school year still waiting for the Ofsted report from the visit on 19-21 July 2022 when the school underwent a full Ofsted inspection. We were extremely surprised when we underwent a further inspection on 29 September to gather more information which increased the stress on our staff. The report was finally received in November 2022 upgrading the school from Inadequate to Requires Improvement, with Good for Behaviour and Attitudes. While we are happy that the efforts that we have been putting in have been bearing fruit, we were disappointed not to be graded Good. It was explained to us that it is rare for a school to jump two ratings.
The school has continued to engage Dr Rabbi Y Yodaiken M.A. B.A.I (Hons) P.G.C.E. PhD (Education) L.L.E. CEO Executive Headteacher of MAT. We are continuing to implement our three-year Self Improvement plan covering all areas the school’s development. Mr Chaim Bell, our Acting Headteacher and Curriculum Governor has been working closely with Ms. Rebecca Dresner, our new Head of EYFS to ensure that there is continuity in teaching and assessment all the way through the school. They have also been implementing changes in the curriculum so that the Jewish and Secular studies are integrated, and they are reinforcing each other. Curriculum was an important focus for us this year and we are going to continue developing our curriculum as well as a robust assessment regime for staff and pupils during the coming year.
We have had a few personnel changes. At the start of the year, Rabbi Aaron Stroh stood down as Buildings and Health and Safety Governor as he was moving away from Leeds. He has been replaced by Mr. Michael Eaton who is a previous Synagogue President and has decades of experience. Dr. Michael Zar also stood down as Safeguarding and SENCO Governor, and he has been replaced by Mrs. Dobra Baila Kohn. Mrs Rachel Levy is now employed as our new HR and Compliance Manager and Mental Health Lead.
A further two teachers gained their QTLS in May 2023. This means that the school now has four more qualified teachers than we did in 2021 and the results are being seen across the school. All our teachers have taken subject specific training and CPD.
The school’s PTA held another successful online matched fundraising campaign. This has become an annual source of funding and moral support for the school with hundreds of donations and messages of support from the local community and alumni around the world.
Unfortunately, the school’s roll has continued to decrease as more young families have moved away. This is not unusual for the school as the school generally caters for the more religious families in Leeds, often clergy who move onto other roles in the UK or abroad. We are confident that the roll will pick up in the future as new families move into Leeds.
All in all, it’s been a very positive year, probably helped by the fact that we didn’t have the concern of an imminent Ofsted visit for most of the year!
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Looking ahead, the governing body and trustees are committed to continuing their efforts to support the teachers and staff and improve the standards of the school across all departments and are confident that we can continue to improve our Ofsted rating. We are continuing to engage Dr Rabbi Y Yodaiken M.A. B.A.I (Hons) P.G.C.E. PhD (Education) L.L.E. CEO Executive Headteacher of MAT and are quietly confident that our next Ofsted inspection will show further improvement.
Signature and declaration:
I declare, in my capacity of charity trustee that the trustees have approved the report above and have authorised me to sign it on their behalf
Mrs Ethel Refson Trustee 21[st] June 2024
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examlner's Report Report to the trustees On accounts for the year ended Charity no 111 any) 31 hv&trsf 20%? 5116 Set out on pages I report lo tho trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity I'lhe Trust,) lor the year ended Responsibilities and basls of report As the charity's Iruslees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Tequiremenls of the Chari118s Act 2011 I"Ihe Act"). I rèport in respect of my ex8minalion of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my 8xaminalion, I have followed all the applicable Oireolions given by the Charity Commission under se¢lion 145{51(bl of the Act. Independent examlner's statemenl Delete I l if not applicable. I have oompleted my examination. I confirm that no malèfial matters have come lo my allenlion in connection with the 8xaminalion {8lhep s610 which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect.. the accounting records were not kept In accordance with section 130 of thè Charities Act., or the accounls did not accord with the accounting records; or tho accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts sel out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'lrue and fair, view which is not a mallèr onsidered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination lo which attention should be drawn in this report in order lo enable a Pfopef understanding of the accounts to be reached. Ple8s8 delete the words in the brackgts if they do not apply. Signed: Date: 2> MAY 202 Name.. Relevant professSonal qualificatlon{sl or body (F<A) IER Oct 2018
(if any): Address: 21 wAx< K/6& Section B Disclosure Only corr,plele Il Ine oxaminor needs lo liighlighl matorial mallers ol concern {see CC32. lrndependenl examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brlef detalls of any Ilems that the Oxaminer wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018
LEEDS MENORAH SCHOOL - REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 517679
YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023
INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
| INCOME Fees received Donations received Grant Expenditure Wages and Pension Self employed Rent & rates Light & heat Insurance / security Telephone Repairs & renewals Books, stationery & equipment Miscellaneous & swimming fees Legal and Professional Sundry Garden/Cleaning Depreciation Surplus/Deficit for the year |
2023 33,247.77 68,587.62 37,189.75 139,025.14 50,524.65 38,787.92 7,369.20 10,129.18 25,970.67 659.51 7,443.75 5,386.20 1,904.14 1,443.60 2,519.03 2,317.00 15,571.76 170,026.61 31,001.47 - |
2022 47,956.47 61,929.57 44,805.62 154,691.66 41,839.69 41,858.67 7,362.08 7,282.18 27,369.24 741.44 8,371.32 4,164.15 4,776.30 5,046.62 6,266.59 3,489.43 15,571.76 174,139.47 19,447.81 - |
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Mrs E Refson Headteacher and Trustee 30th May 2024