Altram
ort of the Trustee
for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
OBJEI CTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Public benefit
l The advancemeiit of Eiish-medium (IM) early years, care and eduLation in Northern Ireland througli
ellsuring access to the latler, and proin0ti1￿ aiid representing the early years, sector to relevant agencics and
autboiities. B¢ngfi¢iari¢s ar¢ childirn wlio attend IM early y¢ar8 settings, which prepares thein for siiccessful
transition to IM primary schools, bellefitting the child, the school alld ultimat¢ly the wider Irish language
coinmunily, Staff, professionals and cominittees gain hands-on ts'aining in siipport ot. their respective roles.
Parents and careis access a raiige of language i'esources whicli support positive play and le[￿nIng. Relevaiit
authoiities and sw)port agencies ar¢ better informed of the benefits, needs and challenges of the sector and
the value of bilingual education.
2 To proiiiote wid deliver quality IM early y￿.5, caiE and education services to meet coinmunity need and
demaiid. Benefits dejttonstrated through the year-on-y¢ar increase in demand for IM Early Years
Educatloll which now includes over 65 settings across the North. Childi'en benefit from a quality early years,
¢xperience wid the recognised benefits of bilLllguaEisJn. G0verll￿ent policies and stateinents (Belfast
AgreemellL Progranllne for Coli¢sion, Shaling 2Lnd Integration, NI Programmc for GovfflTinent, 2011-2015)
have identified the Itish language as a Sh￿ed expression of our cultural wealth and th¢refore of public
benefit. Increased numbthE of speakths makc a contribution to our intjngible heritage.
3 To involve families, p￿entS aiid cEllers in the early learning experieiices. Benefits are demonstrated
through the increased uptake of places at IM early Ye￿8, settings. the number of parents and families Opting
to ieceive advkce and support alld leaniing opportunities. the ¢nhallc￿ confidence and selc-esteem of
children and parents. the inciEa,ging engageinent of participants in government family suppoit initiatives.
4 To provide related training and support to the IM early yea￿, sector. Benefits are d¢monstrated tljrough
uptalc¢ and delivery of services in a gLven year (2023-2024).. ovei. 300 Early Years Specialists, on.site
support visits. attendance of over 300 at clusterlin-s¢rvi¢e training and curriculum and child protection
courses, positive outcomes from the Educatioii and Traiiiing Insp¢¢torate inspections. Young children and
families benefit from appropriately trained staff who, in tt1￿ &Te more confident and coinpetent as L result of
additional tsaining and siippoit. Children benefit from par¢nts who ai'c inore ¢ngag¢d and involved in their
early education. ConTr)itte¢s b¢nefit from trailling in support of their ioles.
5 Th¢ d¢velopm¢nt of Irisli-medium early yea￿, care and Cducational savices as th¢ foundation for IM
education, Irish-mediwn ediication is the inost e£fcctiYe way of produciiig tluent, confident Irish spealcers
who will contt'ibute to tlie Irisli languag¢ ¢ominiinity> lielping to maintalll and pieserve an import￿lt part of
our shared cultural heritage.
Th¢ direct benefits which flow from this pwpose are childrai who becoine fluent second language spealc¢rs'
schools which benefit trom the quality foundation experieiice of children and the wly engagfflnent of
p￿.entS in their children's educatioii. Benefits to the wider community include enlianced awareness of the
value of education and inci"eased Icnowledg¢ of a variety of asp(xts of our intangible culture such as
language, literature, <lrt, folklore ¢tc.
These benefils are d￿nOnStrated through the gtowiiig numbers of children attending all phases of IM
schooliiig; the increased involv¢m¢nt of p￿ents and carers. the increased numb¢TS of workers in the early
yeEWS sector who opt for further traiijing in lungiiage pedagogy alld immersion language methodology,
Private benefit Jnay arise from timc Lo time w11￿1 Altrnm secwes the services o'f workshop facilitators,
speakers oi. educationalists. Thes¢ benefits are incidental and are a necessary result oi by-product of our
purpoges. No identifiabl¢ publi¢ harrll atises.

Altr
ort of the Trustee
h Y rEin
31 March 2024
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The cOmp￿]Y had net outgoing ￿OurceS foi. the year of £3,070 (2023: Iiet incomiiig resouTces of £12,592),
which reflected the completion of a number of projects during the y¢ar. Unrestricted funds iLicreas¢d by
£4,081, wliile i'estriLted funds decreased by £7,151. The total f￿]d$ at the end of tlie year ￿nOUnt to
£116,549 (2023.. £1 I9,6L9).
RESERVES POLICY
The ¢h£ority's policy is to ret1£ in a level of frce res¢rves, which inatches the needs of the organisatioll both at
the current time and in the foreseeable future. The charity has developed a plan to establish and maintain
this agreed level of free reserves. Tlie cli&Tity will continue to moiiitor coinpliance witli this policy on a
regular basis and the COt￿nIttee will review the appropriateness of the policy annually.
Scope
This policy applies to all anpkoyees, volunte￿￿ or board inembers of Altram.
Context
Altram aims to Iceep inoney aside as a reserve to protect the charity against drops in incoiiie or to allow it tr)
take advantage of new opportunities. Altram's reseryes can be spent oll any of its aims.
Monitoring and revieiving the Reserves Policy
Altram will review the ReseLves Policy t)n an annual basis at die tiiiie of the annual accounts beillg prepared.
Beneficiaries
Altrain is a cliarlty which receives tullding from govaliinent departmfflits and trusts. This fundiiig allows
Altrain to deliv¢r servic¢s regionally to the Irish-medium early years care and ediication sectoi..
Rationale behind the reserves policy
Altrain einploys seven staff to deliver ils progranune of activity. Altr￿ll requires a reserves policy to
maintsin a sufficient level of r¢seives to enabl¢ normal operating activities to continu¢ over a period of up to
three nioiiths should & shortfall in incoin¢ occur and to t&lc¢ a¢¢ouJt of polential risl(s and contingencies that
may arise from timc to time. Tkns might occur due to:
a) The risk of tui unfor¢s¢¢n einergoncy or otlia unexpected need for fiThd8, e.g. an ￿]eXpected large bill
b) Covering unfor&g¢en day-to-day operational costs, e.g. employing tcmpoi'ary staff to oover a long tern]
siclc abqence
c) A source of inwine, e,g, a grant, not being renewed. Funds might be needed to give th¢ trustees tllne to
take actloll if ill¢ome falls below expectations
d) Plkll]ned coiillnitments, or designations, that cannot be inet by futur¢ income alon¢, e.g, plans for a major
asset purchase or to & SI￿71f1c￿nl project th£it requires the Charity to provide match funding
e) The n¢¢d to fL￿d short-tern] d¢ficits in a cash budget, e,g. money may iieed to bc spent before a funding
gM]t is re¢¢ived.
Excluded from the Reservcs Policy 18.,
Restt'ict¢d Funds

trAm
ort of the Trustees
f r th Year Lnded 31 Mydrch 2024
Therefore, in oidei to demonstrate tranSp￿enCY, accoiintability and sound tinallcial managciiient Alt￿ll has
set oiit below the l¢v¢ls of reserve required.
Level of Teserve requried by Altram: salary costs x three months, and core iunning costs x 3 montlis
FUTURE PLANS
Altram faces a challeiiging year ahead but we plan to meet the&¢ challenges and Continue to provide our
advice, support and guidance to tlie Irish-niedium early years care and education sector using a variety of
platforms a11d support the sector througli this continued fiiiancially pressured period. Altrain is confident that
present fuiiders Thill continue to support the organisation,
In the financial year 2024-2025, we will provide and extend the full range of support, training, r¢8owce,
advocacy and representation services including.,
I. D¢liver a compr¢hensive early years, suppolt service to Irisli-tn¢diiim ¢arly years settings
It. Deliver recommendations froin die State of the Sector report and conduct a refresh of this to reflect
current Sector￿ needs
III. Support tl)e respoiise to recoinittendations arising from IM ￿'e8ChOOl research (2016)
tv, Delivei a regional event to r￿se aware1￿55 about relevant issues within the sector
V. Develop resources to support practitioners, childreii and parents iii the Irish-lnediuin early years sector
VI. Develop a ptwtllership to delivei a scoping exeicise on the needs of imtllersion education in Ireland and
Scotland
VII. Develop accredit¢d trainiiig to support practitioiieis delivering early years Irish-mediutll illllnersion
education progr￿lIMe
VIII. Deliv￿ a piactitioner training PTogrdll]me aimed at developing exp¢Ttise witliin the sector
IX. Deliver nwiagement siipport aimed &t building the capacity of COLniiiittees within the Irish-n)¢diwn early
years sector
X. Re￿¢s¢￿t the Irish-medium sector on relev¢int bodi¢s
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AJYD MANAGEMENT
Governing docunlent
Thc ch&rity is controlled by its governing docum￿1( a dccd of trust ￿]d collstittites an unincorporated
charity.

tY%ull
ort of the Trustees
or the Y ￿ Ended
l March 2024
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Risk manydgemeiit
Tlie priJi¢iples of good governance are einbedded within all aspects of Altraiii's operations witli manageinent
d staff beiiig k¢enly aware of the Board's responsibility of ¢n￿wIllg that the organisatioll protects itself
from financial exposiire and ieputational daniage, A close working relationship is maintained between the
Board and management to ensiue tliat operationally staff are aware of the standards required of them by the
Boai"d and tlic Board are always in a position to provide guidance and support to managem¢nt in tl)e
discliarge of their duties. 11]is two way relationship is the key featL￿t of Altr￿ll,8 governance aTrangeinents
and is a key strength ill the cojnpany.
A corL%cientiou8 approach to ensuring tbat Colltractual project r¢qullements are achieved has been maiiitained
at all times both in th¢ accounting period bein8 Itported on and since Altszni was established. Very tight
financial controls on expenditure and all fIn￿]CiaL coiiJLnittiients are maintained at all times and proj¢¢t staff
ave b¢¢n tiEined and have beconie cxp¢ri¢nc¢d in budgetary controls.In both thcs¢ ￿"eaS ie project delivery
and fijwicial controls marAagement all staff have establislied close woi'ktiig relatio1￿h1ps with filliding
organisations to ensure all mandatory standards are consistently achieved. Board representatives a180
actively engage witli funding bodies,
The Board, Inanageinent and staff are fully aware that tlie nature of the WOTk in which Altr￿n is involved c&]
bring witb it a high level of scrutilly to ensure that all activities are filly compliant with fwiding
requllrments alld,theTefore, beyond repi"oach.The Board of Altitun is, therefore, greatly r¢as8ured of the
oinpany's coinpliance with the highest of standards of governallc¢ on the basis that all moiiitoring and
evaluation of project delivery deinonsts'ates achiev￿lIent of all fundcrs objectives and that funders, audits and
vouching ot financial expenditure and tlie independent examiners report confirni compliance with both
probity and regul￿[tY in th¢ use of Jllonies received.
EVENTS SINCE THE END OF THE YEAR
Iiiforniatioii relating to events 8illLe the end of tlie year is given in the notes to the fithqllcial statetnents.

Altram
Re
of the Trustees
for the Year E d
24
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES, RESPONSIBILITIES
The ￿￿5teeS are i'espollsible for preparing tlie Report of tlie Trustees and tlie financial statements in
awordanc¢ with applicable law and United Kingdom Accountmg Standards (United Kingdom Gen￿'allY
Auepted A¢cowiting Pi'actice).
The law appIl￿ble to charities in Northern Ireland requiiEs the ttustees to prepare financial statenients for
eacli fiiiancial ye￿. which give a ￿1¢ and fair view of tlie state of affairs of the chaiity and of the incoming
resources and application of resoiw¢es, including the mcoiiie and Cxpenditure, of the charity for tbat period.
In pr$p￿ing those fmancial statements, the trustees are required to
- select suitable ac¢ountin8 policies and then apply thein consistently
- observe the iiietliods and principles in tlie Clwity SORP
- Inake judgements and e8tinYdtes tlwt are reasonable and pludent
state whether applicable accouiiting stalldards Iiave been followed, siibject to any tnaterial dei)artures
disclosed aiid explained in the fiivdncial statthnents
prepare th¢ financial stateinents on the goiiig concern basis iinless it is inappropriate to presume that the
charity will continiie in operation.
The trustees are responsible for Iceepiiig proper accoiinting records that disclose widi reasonable accuracy at
any tim¢ the financial position of the clwAty and enable theLll to ensure that the financial statements comply
with the Charities Act (Northern lieland) 2008, the Charities (Accoiints and Reports) R¢gulations (North￿T(
Iieland) 2015, ￿ld the provisions of the trust deed. Thcy are also responsible for safeguarding the &ssets of
the Ch￿￿ty and hence foi. taking reasonable step8 for the pievention and detection of fraud and othei.
irregularities
Approved by order of the boai"d of trLlStees 011 3 Septeinber 2024 and si￿]ed on its behalf by..
t40LL
Aine Andrews (ChaiipeiEon) - Trustee