2023-12-31-annual-report

Kids4school

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

The directors present their report and the audited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2013, The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, Companies Act 2006 and 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 SORP 2015 (FRS 102) .

TRUSTEES OF THE CHARITY

The trustees who have served during the year were as follows:

Rev Tom Robinson Mrs Margaret Robinson Mr Nathan Montgomery Mrs Jackie Bamber Mr John McCullough Mrs Grace McCullough Mr Colin Higgins Mrs Jacqueline Higgins Mr David Lister Mr Max Burns Mrs Joanne McFarlane

Charity reference and administrative details

Charity registration number: NIC 100163 Registered office: NCM House, 218 York Street, Belfast BT13 1GY Independent Examiner MCG Accountancy Ltd 3a 8 Kilroot Business Centre, Carrickfergus BT38 7PR Solicitor: MacAllister Kennan & Co, 20 High Street, Lame, BT40 Bankers: Ulster Bank, 218 York Street, Belfast, BTl5 1GY

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Kids4school purchase and finance the necessary requirements to enable children in the Dodoma region of Tanzania to attend school. We work in financially deprived areas where purchasing these schooling requirements is not always possible due to extreme poverty. Although government schooling is free in Tanzania, you must have certain essentials in order to attend. These include a school uniform, a small school registration fee and a contribution towards stationery and equipment.

Kids4school

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

PUBLIC BENEFITS

The benefit, which flows from the purpose of kids4school, is that disadvantaged children in the Dodoma region of Tanzania are then able to attend school.

Kids4school supply the necessary funding to these children to enable them to purchase a school uniform and afford the registration fee. Kids4school also ensure that the children they sponsor to attend school have the necessary equipment and stationery so that they have the required tools to further their education, the means to better equip themselves and the ability to study more effectively. Kids4school also supplies a meal each day at school (and school holidays) since no ‘school meals’ are available.

No private benefit is gained and no harm arises from this purpose. The beneficiaries are the disadvantaged children of the Dodoma region of Tanzania.

The benefits are demonstrated through the increased numbers in school attendance records in the area, better grades being achieved at the schools and positive feedback from the teachers.

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

The Board of Kids4school confirm that they have had due regard for the guidance produced on public benefit by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and are pleased to report that during the year the charity has continued to provide public benefits through the programmes and services we offer. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set out.

VOLUNTEERS

The charity is grateful for the unstinting efforts of its volunteers who are involved in promoting the work and Mission Trips.

STRATEGIC REPORT

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The fund, which was established in 2009, is governed by the trustees, and is registered as a charity with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland from 18[th ] April 2014.

Recruitment, appointment, induction and training

All trustees must step down from their position and be re-elected if agreeable. New trustees can be elected onto the panel at this stage also. This is done once per year at the Annual General Meeting.

The recruitment procedure for staff is clear and transparent. Once the short listing is done from the application forms, an impartial panel will be formed as the interview panel. Upon completion of a good interview and if the criteria are met as set out in the job description, a person will be selected for a job offer.

Organisational structure and related parties

There are 11 trustees, details of which can be found on page 1.

The Chief Executive carries out the day-to-day management of the charity and has delegated authority for operational matters including finance and staffing. The trustees manage all other business decisions and meet three times per annum unless otherwise needed.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT (continued)

Kids4school

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

Organisational structure and related parties (continued)

Risk management

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate an exposure to major risks. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of officers, volunteers and applicants. These procedures are periodically reviewed at least annually to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the charity.

The trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has in place an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise, to provide reasonable assurance that;

• the charity is operating efficiently and effectively;

• its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition;

• proper records are maintained and financial information used within the charity or for publication is reliable;

• the charity complies with relevant laws and regulations; and

• the charity's systems of financial control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

In 2023, there were 3000 children on our database that were being supported. These children are supported financially by Kids4school and are provided with the practical items required to attend school.

We have financed the building of 2 dormitory extensions at one of the ‘special’ schools that we support. Also installed new septic tank and electricity supply to the school.

We received the funding for 9 rain water storage tanks and had them built within the year of 2023.

We have financed the fitting out of accommodation units at our Academy site, which will facilitate - training for children choosing a non academic career. We trained 24 sewing students and 10 carpentry students each year.

Water tanks were repaired at our Academy site. This water will facilitate the building work and also provide drinking water to the workers and young people who will attend vocational training courses.

We financed the feeding stations, which we provide at the schools, to ensure that each child on our sponsorship program receives a hot meal every day while at school and on school holidays. Each feeding station has a full time cook who makes and serves the food to the children daily.

We continue to finance a renovation program of school classrooms. As they are in very bad state of repair, painting and repairing is of the utmost importance. In 2023, all classrooms were fully renovated.

We have financed the construction of 16 houses for families whose children are on our program.

We have financed the construction of 300 new desks to the schools we support.

We have shipped out water filters to be used by the supported families at their homes.

We support staff and pupils in any medical needs that arise during the year particularly at Hombolo Special school where there are a lot of medical needs.

Kids4school

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

Fund raising

Due to post Covid effects, a some of our fund-raising projects have had to be put on hold

• sponsored walk that was held annually for supporters and staff.

• Street collections which were normally held twice a year.

• Fund raising.

• Our annual carol service is held in December each year. This generates money for our Academy building work

• Our deputation meetings across the whole of Northern Ireland to raise awareness and ·

• support for the charity.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The charity's income in 2023 was £518,438 mainly resulting from income from corporate sponsorship, HMRC gift aid, Uniform-Feeding, Work and Witness, and Focus on the Family and donations. Principal sources of funding are from restricted and unrestricted funds, corporate sponsorship, HMRC Gift Aid claims and Grants.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of the charity to maintain free reserves, which matches the needs of the trust, both at the current time and in the foreseeable future. This provides sufficient funds to cover running costs, which include management, administration and support costs. Free reserves are those unrestricted reserves not designated nor invested in fixed assets, which are available for general use.

Funding

The principal funding is from donations and HMRC Gift Aid claims.

Taxation

As a charity, it is able to recover most tax deducted at source from its investment income and is not liable for corporation tax on its other income or on capital gains. Recovery is therefore made of tax credits and tax deducted from income received under deed of covenant or gift aid.

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

We have plans expand the vocational training units so that we can offer a wider range of skills for the young people, continue to support the children on our sponsorship program and also expand on the numbers that we can have on our program as and when finances permit. We aim to also continue with the water storage tanks and secure funding for many more tanks. These tanks are what provide safe, clean drinking water to the children in the schools. We plan to sink deep borehole water wells in the villages where we work to provide free, clean and safe water for entire villages. We will continue with our house building project to provide basic but stable and safe living conditions.

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

Kids4school

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The charity's trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

To facilitate the ongoing work and to fulfil its responsibilities, the Trustees have established subgroups to look after different areas. These are responsible to the Trustees :

• Resource

• Finance

• Missions

• Tanzania

• Fundraising

The law applicable to charities in Northern Ireland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 (FRS l 02);

• make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the charity’s legislation for Northern Ireland and the provisions of the trust deed. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

• There is no relevant audit information of which charity's auditors are unaware; and

• The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Registered office NCM House 218 York Street Belfast BTl5 lGY

Date:

Signed on behalf of the trustees

Rev T Robinson Trustee