Friends of CBS
Annual Trustees Report and Statement of Accounts
For the year to March 31[st] 2023
Annual report for the year ended March 31[st] 2023
The trustees of Friends of CBS (PTA) are pleased to submit their report and accounts for that period April 1[st] 2022 to March 31[st] 2023.
Meeting Programme
As a Parent Teacher Association we meet termly, so for the period covered by this report we had 3 meetings including our AGM. Membership comprises of parents past and present, past pupils and teachers both current and retired.
The aim of our association is to explore avenues to enhance the curriculum and provide our pupils and their families with a range of additional resources and opportunities that would not normally be available.
In this financial year, the Irish Youth Foundation continued its generous support to our beneficiaries seeking to the alleviate the pernicious effects of poverty and hardship. The Community Foundation NI supported the award of £1,936 through the Ann McGeeney Fund to support an accredited arts programme for a class of asylum seeking and refugee pupils who had previously been unable to access a school placement.
Community Access and Outreach Programmes
We have continued to organise and deliver a number of events both inside school hours and after school for both pupils and parents alike. We have utilised a number of voluntary providers though no cost to the organisation.
Membership
Our membership is composed of parents, past pupils, teachers and Governors of All Saints College. We have a core membership of our Chair, 2 Trustees, 2 Board of Governors’ members and 2 parents, although meetings and events are open to all.
1
Financial review
Financial performance
Our organisation continued to support the work of All Saints College in meeting the needs of the school’s pupils, parents and staff.
With the support the Irish Youth Foundation we completed work on new changing facility for pupils who are not in a position to purchase PE uniform. This now provides a discreet space wherein pupils may find uniform items to meet their needs. The grant aid also supported the establishment of a breakfast club and provided school uniform items for many of our pupils whose families a feeling the full brunt of the cost-ofliving crisis. We also received an award from the Ann McGeeney Foundation, administered through the Community Foundation NI. This grant sought to support a number of All Saints College pupils from our asylum seeking and refugee population who had been unable to access meaningful education in any mainstream setting prior to and outreach programme delivered by the school.
Through our own unrestricted funding we continued to finance environmental improvements to the school ground through various planting initiatives led by our pupils and staff. We also provided five WiFi enabled dongles to families with no access to WiFi at home, a significant barrier to fully engaging in school life. We supplemented the grant provision delivered by the Irish Youth Foundation in establishing a breakfast club for Key Stage 3 pupils. Finally, we supported the software license to All Saints College’s Language Department to provide Linguascope access to all pupils in Key Stage 3.
Income
Our income over the period covered by this report was £9916.00. Of this, £5,980 were donations to our unrestricted funds. The remainder was provided through in the form of grants. The Irish Youth Foundation deposited £2,000 whilst the Ann McGeeney Foundation, administered through the Community Foundation NI, donated £1936.00
We continue to seek possibilities to apply for additional grants to enhance the opportunities of our pupils and their families. Our opening balance was £9028.69.
Expenditure
Expenditure for the past year totalled £10,280.97.
The majority of the expenditure this year sought to alleviate the effects of economic hardship and poverty on our pupils and their wider families.
£4,316.12 was utilised to support to the Breakfast Club for Key Stage 3 in All Saints College. This was provided through a combination of our unrestricted funds and £2,000 of the grant provided by the Irish Youth Foundation.
Subscriptions to EE provided WiFi access to families without suitable online provision at home, to the cost of £1145.74.
2
The full completion of the programme of work for uniform provision, though the Irish Youth Foundation, required a further cost of £364.98.
£500 was provided to the Home Economics Department of All Saints College from the Irish Youth Foundation grant. This was to alleviate the cost of materials for those pupils who were not in a position to pay the annual subscription.
The charity provided uniforms to pupils at a value of £1914.37, though the Irish Youth Foundation grant.
The delivery of the Ann McGeeney Foundation’s programme, administered through the Community Foundation NI to support a number of All Saints College pupils from our asylum seeking and refugee population, saw expenditure totalling £745.53, the sum of which provided materials to the programme.
We also renewed our subscription to Parentkind UK at £145.00 and NICVA’s Grant Tracker programme, again at £145. Bank charges totalled £46.50. Independent audit cost the charity £150 through Bernard Tierney and Co.
A subscription renewal to Linguascope supported All Saints College’s Language Department to provide additional learning software access to all pupils in Key Stage 3 at the cost of £360.
Other miscellaneous spending accounted for the remainder of expenditure.
This leaves the charity with a closing balance of £8,177.22.
3
Reference and Administrative Details
Charity Name: Friends of CBS Charity Number: Registered with The Charity Commission NI - No 103372 Principal Address : c/o All Saints College, Glen Road, Belfast, BT11 8BW
Charity Trustees as of 31[st] March 2020
Mrs Bronagh Farrimond Chairperson Mr Damien Coyle Secretary Mr Martin McCaughan Treasurer
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document and Constitution
We are members of Parentkind UK and as such have adopted their constitution. Trustees are staff from the school and gain no financial benefit from their membership of the association.
Objectives and Activities
We are a charitable organization composed of parents and staff, both past and present. We are committed to the ethos of the school and we value the work and commitment of all stakeholders. We assist those at risk and those who may have missed out on educational and training opportunities through circumstances both in their own life and in the broader community. Our catchment area covers numerous super output areas within the top 10% of Multiple Deprivation Measures in Northern Ireland. As a charitable group, we endeavour to provide opportunities for all to achieve their full potential, whether through academic, vocational, social or cultural activities.
Approved and adopted by a meeting of the PTA on 30[th] March 2023 and signed on their behalf.
Mrs Bronagh Farrimond Chairperson
4