ANDERSONSTOWN TIUDITIONAL & CONTIMPORARY MUSIC SCHOOL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR EI NDID 31ST MARCH 2024 Trustees, AnnuaI Report The Ti'iislees, wlio al'e also dii'ectors for the piirposes of compaiiy law, have pleasiiie in Pl'esenting tlieir annual I'eport togetliei. Nvith the fiiiancial statements of tlie chai'ity t'oi. tlie yeai elided 31 March 2024 which al'e also pi'epared to meet the i'eqLliI'ements for a dii'ectois, report aiid accounts foi. Companies Act 2006 puiyoses. Tlie Tiustees confii'm that the financial statements comply witli the i'equiremeiits of tlie Charities Act (Noittliein lieland) 2008 and Accoiinting and Reporting by Chtu'ities.. Statement of Recommended Practice which applies to chai'ities pi'eparing tlieir accouiits in accoi'daiice witli the Fiiiancial Reporting Standai'd applicable in the UIC aiid Repiiblic of Ireland (FRS I02) (effective l Januaiy 2015). Reference & Administrative Detqi ils Ret"ei'ence and adiniiiistiative details are shown in the scliedLile of members and pi'ofessional advisei's oil pa&Je l of the fiiiancial statenieiits. Directors and Trustees The directoi's of the cliaiitable company al'e its ti'ustees foi. tlie Pillpose of cliai'ity law. The Directors aiid ti'iistees who served the cliai'ity during the period were as follows.. Olive Benson (Cliaii'pei'son) V Qiiinii (Ti'easLiieL') Coiioi McIC<1y (Seci'etaiy) - appoiiited 10/03/2024 Peai'se Tohill Goldston Rajasingh Joseph Niainli O'Doiiiiell Di. D¢1ve Robyei's - i'esigned 0510912024 Structure, Governance & Management Governing Document Tlie cliai'ity is conti'olled by its govei'ning dociimeiit, a Memoi'andiiin aiid Aiticles of Associcltion, wliicli was last amendcd at <111 FGM in Octobei. 2009, and constitiites a limited coiiipaiiy, liinited by gui¢ I'antee, as detined by tlie Compaiiies ALt 2006. Eacli Iiieinbei. has agieed to conti'ibute £ l in the event of a compulsoiy winding LIP. It is registei'ed as a cliai'ity witli the Chaiities Commission (NI), Appointment of Trustees Tlie Boai'd of Ti'iistees is i'esponsible foi. the overall governance of the charity. Tiustees al'e elected at the Anniial General Meeting by the nieinbers pi'esent and tlie total number of TL'UStees shall not be less than 3. Ti'iistees shall hold office until the next Anniial Geiieral Meeting following hislher appointment. A ietiiing Trustce shall be eligible foi. I'e-election. The Tnistees shall have the power at any time and from time to time to appoint aiiy pei'son to be a Trustee, either to fill a casual vacancy oi. as an addition to the existing Trustees. Any Trustee so appointed shall hold office until the next following Annual General Meeting and shall then be eligible for election. During the year, I new Tiustee was appointed. With assistance and support from Arts & Business and Boards123, the Trustees continue to address Succession planning & Trustee
Recriiitment, pticularlY in areas wheie the CLlI'I'ent Ti'ustees feel tlie need foi paitiCLilai' skills that will eiihaiice the futiii'e developinent of tlie school. This pi'ocess is ongoing, Trustee Induction and TrainAng New TrLiStees iindeigo an induction to biief them on theii legal obligations undei. chai'ity and company law, tlie Chai'ities Commission guidance on piiblic benefit, content of the MemorandLiin tuid Ai'ticles of Association, the boai'd of tiiistees aiid decision-making processes, policies and piocedures, the biisiness plaii and iecent financial pei'foiinance of the cliai ity. Triistees al'e encoui'aged to atteiid appropi'iate exteinal tiaining events wliere tliese will facilitate tlie undertalcing of tlieir I'ole. Tiiistee Indiiction & ti'aining is pait of OLII. ongoing Siiccession planning & Tiustee I'eci'uitnient review. Organis4qtion The Board of TILlStees ineet montlily and delegates ceitain i'esponsibilities to tlie School Man£2ger. Tlie School Managei is i'espoiisible foi tlie day-to-day managyement of tlie affaii's of tlic cliai'ity and foi. impleiiientiiig tlie policies aiid operational plans as agieed by tlie Board of TrLlStees. Betweeii Ineetingys of the Boai'd of Ti'ustees, tlie School MaiiageL' I'eports to tlie Cliaii'pei'son. Tlie Scliool MaiiagTei' is assisted by OLII. full tinie Pi'ograiiime Co-oi'diiiator aiid a pait tinie Adiiiiiiistiatoi. We ale LLirrently reLI'uiting t'oi. a iiew post of Pi'ogi'amnie Development M1c iiagei. with appoiiitnieiit diie in 24125. Related purties Noiie ot. tlie TrLlStees ieceive I'emiinei'atioii OL. othei beiiefit foi. theii. woi'lc as triistees with tlie Charity. Any coiinectioii betweeii a tiustee oi. senioi. managyer of the Lharity to ielated pai'ties niiist be disclosLd to the fLIII Board of TL'UStees in tlie saiiie way as any otlier contiactual I'elatioiisliip witli a tIiiL'd pai'ty. Tliei'e were no SLicli disclosLlI'es in tlie cui'i'ent yeai., Risli M4iniigement Tlie Ti'iistees liave a rislc managyement sti'ategy wliich compi'ises: An annLial review of tlie i'islcs tlie chai'ity niay face. The establishment of systems aiid pi'ocedui'es to mitigyate tliose i'islcs identified. and The iniplemeiitation of procedLlI'es desigyned to minimise aiiy potential impact on the charity slioiild those risks matei'ialise. Iii pi'oviding access aiid oppoitLinities to people aiid cliildi'eii, tlie Chai'ity recognises that tliere al'e potential L'islcs to cliildi'en and vuliiei'able adiilts. A l(ey eleineiit in tlie ml¢ nagenieiit of tliis risk is the estlc blishment and implemeiitation of a i'obiist chai't of policies aiid pt'ocediit'es incliidiiig Privacy Policy, Access NI Disclosure Checlc, Child Pi'otectioii Policy and the I'enewal and ti'ainiiig of staff and tLltors iii t11cse ai'ea. Oiiline Piotocols iiiti'odiiced iii 20/21 wlieie reviewed and maintained tlii'oughout tlie yeai... The Tiustees are satisfied that the Iiecessaiy policies ]d Pl'ocedui'es ale in place to safeguard staff and paiticipants, and ensui'e tliat the benefits provided oiitweigh any potential ha17n. The second maiii aiea of Risk Maiiagement has focused on the financial stability of the Cliai'ity id has L'esulted in the Ti'iistees investing in scenario planning in the event of possible futui'e fuiiding reductions. A key element in the nianagement of financial L'islc is via tlie reserves policy and tlie Cliarity's ability to increase iimesti'icted reserves. To this end, as pait of the Charity's Strategic Plan for the pei'iod 2021 2026, we will seek to secuL'e at least tkn'ee yeclr giant fiinding from alternative fiindei's in order to give us the iesources to establish and delivei. new commeiciallsales/marketiiig oppoittiinities and bLILld and blend on activities and styles of delivery.
Objectives and Activities Tlie purposes of the Cliai'ity al'e; (a) advancemeiit ot" the arts and ciiltiire, particUl'1Y bLIt not eYclLisively tlie ait of ts'aditional and contempoiary niiisic. (b) advancement of edLication; (c) piomotion of siicli otlier chal'itable puiyoses as may fi'oni tinie to time be deteimined. The main activities undertalien in relation to our purposes In planning the Chai'ities pi'ogl'aniine of activities foi. tlie yeai., the Trustees have considei'ed tlie Charity Coinmission's guid(Ince on PLiblic benefit iiicliiding fee chaiging. Affoi'dability and access to tlie piogi'amme is impoitaiit and in setting the level of class fees, tlie ti'iistees give caiefLII considei'ation to the accessibility of oiii. activities for those on low incomes. Tlie fociis of tlie Chai'ities progi'amnie is to pi'ovide affoidable and accessible opportLllllties for tliose liviiig within disadvaiitaged ai'eas of Bell'ast to engage aiid participate in music activities. This is achieved tlii'oiigh the pi'ovision of a i'olliiig pi'ogi'ainme of Irisli tL'aditional and COLltenipoi'ai'y iiiiisic classes, woi'ksliops, peifoi'inances aiid eYainin<2tions. Tlie niajoi'ity of ouL' class aLtivities wei'e delivered face-to-face and niaintained a ieduced level of oiiline class sei'vices, via Zooni, foi. oui. beneficiaiies. Durinu the year, our programme of activities involved - l. Musical Instrument Cliisses: PiirsLiiiig the Chaiity's PLlI'pose of 'Advancenient of tlie Ai'ts & CLIItLlI'e' we delivei'ed a total of 991 niiisic clc2SS activities dLlI'ingJ tlie yeai. (avei'1c byingy 3 3 classes pei weelc). Tlie Iiiajority of tliese wei'e delivei'ed faLe-to-tace in disadvaiitciged ai'eas of Belt'ast, wliile 4 wei'e delivei'eLI oiiline via Zoom, 835 individii2c Is engyagyed iii oiir niLlSiC classes, woi'ksliops, pei'foi'inances aiid otliei. activities, dul'ing tlie yeai.. 2. Performances: We delivered 9 end ot. term live pei'fol'niance concerts in the venues where classes ale lield. These wel'e pei'toi'med by the class pai'ticipants, Olii main benetlciai'ies, aiid we also engyagyed in a fLlI'tliei' 40 pei'foi'mances dLlI'iiig coinmiiiiity festivals aiid events. In total, appi'oximately 140 paLticipaiits took pait in pei't'oi'niaiiLes tliat atti'acted iii tlie i'egyion of 18,000 audieiice niinibet's ovei'all aiid who seen tlie beiieticiai'ies sliowc<1se tlieir achievenieiit, s and talent. 3. xaminqé tions: Thioiigli tlie Clic21'ity' s pi'ograniine of activities, tlie 'Advancenieiit of Ediicatioii, Nvas addi'essed via tlie pi'ovision of miisic Llasses, wliicli al'e sti'iictUL'ed to follow tlie pi'ogyi'essive syllabLises ot. a vaiiety of exaniinatioii boards. In tliis pei'iod, 17 of OLii piipils engaged iii accl'edited exaininations, via tlie LCM and RGT Boai'ds (LCM f'oi ti'aditioiial insti'iimeiits and RGT foi. contemporaiy guitar), All passed, achieving marks between 79 to 94 eqiiatiiig to Mei'it and Distinction awai'ds for those entel'ed. 4. Worlishops: Dui'iiig the year, the Cliai'ity's pi'ogi'amnie entailed tlie delivery of 36 Imiisic workshops, which wei'e delivei'ed in varioLIS LOLnmLllllty venlies. aiid paiticipants wei'e pi'ovided witli tin wliistles and bodkn'ans, giving them tlie oppoitLinity to join in. These wei'e desigiied to inspii'e young people's interest in Aits and Cultui'e and to eiicoiirage participation. woi'kshops were provided 'free of chai'ge,. A total ot'259 individiials attended and benefited fi'om the woi'kshops. Achievements and Performance The ti'ustees meet monthly, f'ace-to-face and also via Zoom whichever is most convenient. Monthly Board Meetings provide the forum foi. planning, timely monitoring, evaluation and budgetaiy control. Our manager pi'ovides a montlily pioject update to the management committee and any variation from the pioposed timetable is highlighted. The Board also
review how tlie deliveiy of oui. progi'aninie is meeting oui. oiiginal tai'gets aiid the needs of the beneficiai'ies we serve. Thi'ough the Charity's 'Monitoiing and Evaluation Piocediiies, the Trustees iised iiifoiniation froin Registl'ation Foims, Atteiidance Recoi'ds, Questioiinaires and Activity Data, etc. which provided inforniation tliat allowed the monitoiing of class provision and pi'oject, progress, against the main taigets on a tei'm by teim basis. Recoi'ds of Examination Enti'ants, Gl'ades and Pass Rates were iipdated and I'eported upon to inform tlie Evaliiation Pi'ocedui'e. Pai'ticipant and Audience numbei's attending woi'lcsliops and peifoi'maiice events wei'e collected on a term by teim l event by event basis, Feedback fioni participaiits was reviewed thioligh 'qiiestioimaires, coininent foims, intei'views, etc. in accoidance witli tlie Cliai'ity's pi'ocediiies. Feedback was also SOLight fi'om a widei. beiieficiaiy gL'OLlP, e.g.: pai'eiits, coinniiinity woi'l<ers and scliools. tliis eiiabled the Trustees to identity the broader impact of the pi'oject on the conunLinity, Diii'ing ?3124, we made good pi'ogress iii re-establisliiiig noimal activities and hence, we iiici'eased tlie niiinbei of clqc sses aiid activities that we delivered. Class pi'ovisioii iiicieases by 18 % ¢lnd paiticipant / beiieficiary niinibei's iiici'eased by I l %, based 011 last year's (22123) figliies. We inci'eased tlie delivei'y of oui, WOL'lcsliops aiid maintaiiied exaiiiination eiitiy levels. Pei'foi'inaiice deliveiy was redLILed within tlie yeai and we ale explol'ing new oppoi'tiinities to iesolve tliis sitLlcltioii in tlie yeai aliead. We were siiccessfiil in terms of activities acliieving tlie desii'ed OLltcomes foi. the beiiefits to paiticipants. The tl'LlStees liave continlied to iinplement tlie Cliai ities Sti'ategic Plaii 2021-2026. The table below shows the groivth in Activities from 22123 to those achieved in 23124. Actual Achievements for 2022 12023 840 18 85 18 756 15,000 Actual Achievements for 2023 12024 991 36 49 17 835 18,000 MLISIC C11¢ sses Woi'lcshops Peifoimances Exainiiiation EntL'ies Pai'ticipants Audieiice Class deliveiy inci'eased witliiii tliis pei'iod with the opening of oiir Iceniiedy Centi'e uiiit. We also seciired funding for a full-time Pi'oject Development Managei and we ale coiifideiit tliat the foi'thcoming yeai. will eiiable us to achieve new tai'gets aiid eng¢lge witli many mol'e beneticiaries. We positively respoiided tkn'ougli tlie deliveiy and contillLied development of oui. programnie. the main benefits tliat dei'ive froin tlie Chai'ity, s woi'k and impact dii'ectly on the beneficiai'ies, are: Incre4ised Slulls and Personal D¢velopment- childl'en and young people living within disadvantaged aieas, have access and opportlinities to paiticipate in affoidable arts aiid cultuial activities, where such facilities and resourc¢s would not be available. develop practical musical slcills team-worlc, self-discipline, social skills, communication and respect 'C encouiaged and enhanced encourages creativity, raises ambition, improves confidence and self-esteem
OLII tutois ale SUPPOLtive, give pi'aise, reassure and encoui'agc tlie childi'en to piogi'ess at theii. own pace Increased Ei ducational and 14 mployability Opportunities - P£llticipants gain accredited music examinations young people can demonsti'ate theii. ability to apply themselves to a specific discipline sucli as mLlSiC and attailiing an acci'edited qiialifiLation stiengtliens tliis - coiits'ibuting to tlieiL' ediicational aiid employment oppoi'tiinities in their futui'e a positive outcoine of leai'niiig to play a mLisical instiiiment, 'in tlie futLlI'e', paiticipants al'e able to demonstiate that they have ability, discipline, confideiiLe and skills that will enhaiice oppoitiinities when seelcing employment oi. entry into Linivei'sity. some paiticipants pi'ogi'ess to mol'e advanced levels of playing and Inove oli to learii tlie slcills of teaching and shai'ing theii. knowledge with othei's. Improved Rel4qtionships with F4qmily) Friends and Others - ali oiitconie ot" tlie Chai'ity's 1( Ctivities, evideiiced on tlie expei'ience of oiir tutors, is tliat yoiiiig people aiid Lliildi'eii paitiLipatiiigy sliowed positive LliaiigTes I'elcitive to beiiig disi'LlPtive, iestless iii class, niixing bettei., intel'active, atleiition spaiis and mol'e attentive. confiimed by pai'ents, otliei's sliowed positive clian&yes witliiii aiid oiitside of tlie home mol'e eiigyagyeinent, less iiitiovei't, better relationsliips, mixing with othei's. the Cli¢11'ity's pi'ogi'anime of activities also impacts positively on yOLin& people, especially tliose who deinonstL'ate shyness; and as a I'esiilt they are mol'e COLIl'ident to expl'ess tlieinselves and show-off tlieii. abilities to othei's, botli at a peei. level, a family and Nvidei. public level. tlie Chai'ity's pi'ograiiiine assisted older people to sti'eiigytlien social netwoi'ks, leai'ii sometliiiig new, biiild confidence, iinpi'ove oppoi'tlinities to liave fLllI, iinpi'ove physical aiid mental well-beiiig. Testimonials from beneficiaries: l. My son Aidan has been leai'ning giiitai. with mintei. attending classes in all saints secondaiy school and has absoliitely loved tlie classes and liis pi'ogi'ess lias been fantastic. He has ieally eiijoyed the classes and iiow waiits to progiess fLlI'tliei by doing giiitai. exams. Thanlcs again to mintei. for his continued SUPPOLt aiid encoul'agement at evel'y class, 2. This has been tlie second gi'oup of lessons my boys paiticipated in. 9yr tin whistle and 12 yeai fiddle. Classes wei'e veiy welcoming and the tutoi. adapted to the level and need of each piipil in the class. Tlie iecap sessions weie very helpful and my two boys not oiily lealrit a lot but had great fun in the piocess. 3. Hi, hal'd to believe the year is over. I'm delighted with Aelwa's progress, fl'om only a teiins tuition befoie this calendai year, Aelwa's tutor Caoimhe is preparing her for grade 3 Flute in OctNov, amazing, Aelwa really enjoys hei. flute sessions and due to Caoimhe slcill and style of tutoring she has leamt and progi'essed so much. Thanlc yoii for your dedication.
Financial Review The charity acliieved a net income deficit of £27,830 fiom a total income of £99,157, (Foi 2023.. Net income suiylLiS was £19,182 frorn a total income of £135,792). OLII pi'incipal fLinding souices were giants fiom the ACNI, Screen NI, A&B along with self- genei'ated incoine fioni Class Fees and fundi'aising. Tlie SLlPPOI't of OUL. funders contiiiiies to be essential to maintaining oui. varied progiamme of activities. Pricing Policy Oui. pi'icing policy i'eflects our stl'ategy of enabliiig people in Belfast, especially childien and young people living Nvitliiii disadvantaged ai'eas, to Iiave access and opportunities to participate in ai'ts and cultLlI'al activities, at ali affoi'dable pi'ice offering value for nioney. Class Fees remaiii at £40 pei. tei'ni foi. botli 'face to face, and onliiie classes. Attendaiice at concei'ts, worlcsliops and peifoimances ale geneially foi ti'ee, As pai't of tlie Chai'ity's Sti'ategic Plan foi tlie pei'iod 2021 2026, OLII pi'icing policy will be i'eviewed to investigyate scaled piicing and otliei. commercial nietrics. Reserves Policy Uiii'esti'icted fLiiids ale needed to pi'ovide fLiiids wliicli ean be applied to specific pi'ojects to enable tliese pi'ojects to be uiideltaken at shoi't notice, to cover the I'iinniiig costs of tlie Chaiity foi. a limited period slioiild thei'e be a significaiit slioi'tfall iii pi'ojected incoine and to allow foi. iiivestnieiit iii Cliaiig7elSti'ategTiC Developiiient initiatives. The ailloiint ot" uiii'esti'icted funds Iield ¢1t 31 st Mai'cli 2024 Wcls £26,50 I (Foi, 2023.. £35,736). Auditors A I'esoliitioii to I'e-appoint tlie auditors, O'Hara Sheai'ei., will be proposed at tlie Annlial Genei'al Meetiii&. Small Company Exemption Tliis repoit lias been pi'epared in accol'dance witli the special PL'ovisions for small comp1( nies Iindei. Pai't 15 of tlie Companies Act 2006. Rcsponsibilitics of thc Trustees I"lie cliai'ity ti'ustees (wlio al'e also the diicctoi's of Andei'sonstown Ti'aditional & Coiiteinpoi'aiy MLISIC Scliool foi, tlie PLlI'poses of compaiiy law) al'e I'Lspoiisible foi pi'epaL'inLy tlie Ti'LlStees RepoL't ld the tiiiaiiLial stateinents in aLcoidaiice with applicable law aiid i'egiilalions. Company law requii'es the trustees to piepai'e financial statemeiits for eacli financial yeai, The Ti'LlStees Pl'esent tlieii. report alid the financial statenients of the chai'ity foi tlie year ended 31 st Mch 2024. The Ti'ustees contii'm that they comply with tlie i'equii'ements of the Chai'ities Act (Northein Iielaiid) 2008 and Accoiinting and Reporting by Chai'ities: Statement of Recommeiided Piactice wliicli applies to cliarities pi'eparing tlieir accounts in accoidance witli tlie Financial Repoiting Standard applicable in UK and Repliblic of Il'eland (FRS 102) (effective 1st January 2015). Under company law the Trustees must not appi'ove the financial statements unless they are satisfied that tliey give a ts'Lie and t.air view of the state of affaii's of the company and of tlie sui'plus or deficit of the compaiiy foi that period. In prepai'ing those finaiicial statenients, the triistees ale iequired to.. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently, observe tlie metliods and pi'inciples in the Charities Sorp (FRS 102). make j udgements and estimates that al'e reasonable and prudent.
prepare the financial stateinents on tlie going concei'n basis unless it is inappiopi'iate to presLiine that tlie company will continiie in business. The TILlStees are iesponsible foi Iceeping adequate accolinting i'ecords that ale sufficient to show and explaiii the company's transactions and disclose witli L'easonable acciii'acy at any time tlie financial position of tlie coinpaiiy and enable theni to ensiire that the finaiicial statemeiits comply witli tlie Companies Act 2006. They are also iesponsible foi safeguai'ding the assets of tlie compaiiy and lience for talcing ieasonable steps foi tlie prevention and detectioii of fiaud aiid otliei iri'egiilal'ities. By order of the Trustees: Valerie Quinn (Ti'easui'ei) Date: 31110124