COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER." N1008002 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 104852 Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statements 31 March 2023 Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Causeway Tower 9 James Street South Belfast BT2 8DN
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2023 Page Trustees, annual report (incorporating the director's report) Independent auditor's report to the members 10 Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) 15 Statement of financial position 16 Statement of cash flows 17 Notes to the financial statements 18
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) Year ended 31 March 2023 The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. Reference and administrative details Registered charity name Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Charity registration number 104852 Company registration number N1008002 Principal office and registered Beechill Business Park office 96 Beechill Road Belfast BT8 7QN The trustees A Aicken D Crawford M McKeown L Neilands R Craig B McDade (Chairperson) J Cubitt (Treasurer) R Hill H Marshall M Mason B Patterson (Resigned 15 November 2022} (Resigned 15 November 20221 (Resigned 15 November 2022) (Resigned 20 June 2023) (Resigned 15 November 2022) (Appointed 15 November 2022) Company secretary D Wharton Auditor Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Causeway Tower 9 James Street South Belfast BT2 8DN Bankers Ulster Bank Limited Arches Retail Park Belfast BT5 4AF Solicitors Hewitt and Gilpin Thomas House 14-16 James Street South Belfast BT2 7GA
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Structure, governance and management Governing Document Scripture Union Northern Ireland is a company limited by guarantee, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 16 January 1970. Appointment of Directors In line with the Articles of Association, the Directors have the power to appoint or co-opt a fit and proper person to serve for a period of time as a Director. Directors serve for three year terms and are eligible for re-election at the end of their term. Trustee induction and training On appointment, new directors receive a briefing on their legal obligations under charity and company law, the content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the strategic plan and recent financial performance of the Company. Arrangements for Setting Pay and Remuneration of Key Management Personnel The Directors consider the board of Directors, who are the charity's trustees, and the senior management team together comprise the Key Management Personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running, and operating the charity on a day to day basis. All directors give their time free and no director received remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually. Reference is made to inflation and the cost of living index. In view of the nature of the charity, the directors benchmark against pay levels in other similar size charities run on a voluntsry basis.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Structure, governance and management (Continued) Organisation structure and how the charity makes decisions The Company is governed by its Board of Directors (known as the SU Council} which operates as detailed in the Charity's governing document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Board meets nine times a year. A General Director (Damian Wharton who is not a director under company law) is appointed by the Board to administer the day to day operations of the Charity. To facilitate effective operations, the General Director has delegated authority approved by the Directors for operational matters including finance, employment and delivery of the charitsble objectives. Relationships with related parties There are no known related parties. Risk management The Directors have a risk management strategy which comprises.. An annual review of the risks the Charity may face The establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plans, and The implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the Charity should those risks materialise. The strategy has helped identify the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, assessed those risks and put in place systems to mitigate the risks. This has resulted in better emergency procedure and contingency plans and has also given an impetus towards better planning. Particular attention has been focused on non-financial risks arising from fire, health and safety of staff and volunteers, safety and security of the premises and child protection which is of paramount importance. A key element of the management of financial risks is the setting of reserves policy and its regular review by the Directors. Objectives and activities Working with the churches, Scripture Union aims.. 1. To make God's Good News known to children, young people and families and 2. To encourage people of all ages to meet God daily through Bible and prayer so that they may come to personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ grow in Christian maturity and become both committed church members and servants of a world in need To remain connected to our current context we have created a Strategy Document and Action plans for 2018-2023.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Objectives and activities (continued) In summary, this states.. 1) Our Vision To see all children and young people transformed by God's Good News. 2) Our Mission That every child and young person in Northern Ireland would have the opportunity to.. Hear and respond to God's Good News Discover and explore the Bible Develop and grow in their faith journey 3) Our Values These values help us to stay grounded in the way we work, the way we relate to each other and the way we seek to bring glory and honour to God. Bible Engagement Prayer Partnership People Development Innovation Integrity 4) Our Strategic Priorities Beeen 2018-2023 our four strategic priorities will be- Effective Schools Ministry Outstanding Camps and Missions Inspiring Training and Resources Compelling Communication As a way of seeking to achieve these goals, each department and subsequently each member of the staff team, use an action plan to assist them in moving toward seeing our vision becoming a reality. These action plans are reviewed on an annual basis and adjusted accordingly. Our schools workers have continued to receive many invitstions to lead assemblies, lessons and SU Groups in a variety of primary, post primary and SEN schools. Camps and Missions are as popular as ever and along with the hundreds of volunteers who facilitate the summer programme, it is always encouraging to hear that the children and young people who participate have had such a good experience. We have seen continued growth across our schools work, camps and missions alongside an improving infrastructure. Together we are interacting with more than 58,000 children and young people and mobilising over 1,400 volunteers each year.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Achievements and performance The three core areas of our work remain: Schools Work This year has been the most 'normal' year we have experienced since the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic and it's been encouraging to see continued growth in our Schools Ministry. Since April 2022, SUNI staff have engaged with almost 53,000 pupils, some of them on multiple occasions throughout the year, across approximately 300 schools. This figure does not include children and young people engaged with via online means.. 21 online assemblies were produced and used by 13 schools who did not request an in-person visit. Our staff, collectively, visited 31 'new' schools this year, which continues to build on this encouraging figure over the last few years. Alongside RE lessons and SU Groups, 527 in-person assemblies were delivered by SUNI staff this year. 429 of these were in a Primary context, where opportunities are more readily available, and it is encouraging to note that invitations to speak in Post Primary and SEN assemblies are growing (35 Post-Primary assemblies were delivered this year and 63 assemblies in Special Schools). Our staff were accompanied into schools by 173 volunteers this year (this figure does not include volunteers or Church teams who visit schools independently using SU materials or to support SU Groups on behalf of their churches}- Our District Support Teams (DSTs} are made up of 80 individuals who support the Schools Workers in our ten districts. This year saw our inaugural DST Conference, where we had the opportunity to examine more closely the roles and responsibilities of a DST. All 10 E3 Districts delivered Inter-schools events this year (one was a Primary 'Connect' event and the rest gathered together Post Primary SU Groups). It has been encouraging to see these events grow again post-covid, with 40 schools represented across the areas. In terms of SU Groups, our staff visited 125 groups this year where they met with over 3000 pupils- it is encouraging to note that whilst there are challenges for SU Groups post-covid, membership of SU Groups is still strong. SUNI hosted 'Key To Life, and 'GSUS Live, this year (KTL visited Omagh and Enniskillen, and GSUS Live visited Antrim, North Belfast and Derry). In terms of training, 6 districts offered assemblies training for churches and church leaders, with 85 people present. Additionally, 270 people attended training specific to SEN provision across 5 events. Staff-wise, one staff member an E3 worker went on Maternity Leave at the start of 2023, and one staff member moved from her role in a district to take up the new Youth Ministry Co-ordinator role. Training, Resources and Mlnistry Development Due to a staff restructure in November 2022, the 'Training & Resources, department has been replaced by a new 'Ministry Development Team.. Made up of a Ministry Development Director and Coordinators for volunteering, special needs, children's and youth ministry, the aim of this team is strategically to deliver, advise and support ministry development across the organisation. primarily through training, resourcing and needs-based collaboration.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (contlnued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Whilst the longer-term implications of the restructure are still bedding in, the team have been building on the foundations already laid through the previous department. For example: Our'making Your Mark. senior pupil leadership training event took place as a one-off evening event in Belfast. We had 80 pupils in attendance, from around 20 schools across Northern Ireland. We have continued to connect with various colleges, training programmes and universities including.. the Church of Ireland Theological Institute (part-time and full-time Deacons}- Union College (Licentiate students),. Stranmillis University College (PGCE RE students, first year RE specialists and Christian Union). We have partnered with 'The Big House Ireland, to provide some further pastoral care training for the Team Leaders on our summer camps and mission teams. The 'Shine' and 'Shine Kids, online resources, for churches and SU groups at primary and post-primary level, continue to be popular. In partnership with Crown Jesus Ministries, Logos Ministries International and other UK and Ireland based SU movements, 'Shine' had over 400 registrations in total, across the UK, with around a quarter being Nl based. 'Shine Kids,, in partnership with Crown Jesus Ministries, is also slowly growing, with 45 registrations this year. However, we discovered that many primary SU groups have still not started up again post- covid. Last year, 90 churches signed up to use our'Back to School with God, resources. Our 'Kids Quest, RE frameworks for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are now complete and we are considering how to further promote, train and support RE teachers with such resources. During 202212023 SUNI has also continued to provide Bible Notes, along with a limited amount of Sunday School Light Material. We have 57 annual subscriptions for Bible Notes (33 individual orders and 24 church orders) bringing in gross sales of £8756. There are approximately 400 Bible Notes going out every quarter. The majority of these are posted out and around 20 orders are collected at the office. There continues to be very encouraging feedback from our customers on the quality of the content of the Bible Notes and of the service they have received from SUNI. Camps and Missions We were delighted to return to a summer of residential activities for the first time since 2019. In July and August 2022, we ran 14 residential camps for children in school years Primary 5 - Year 14. Together with 20 missions (for children aged 3 - 18 years) all our programmes returned to a familiar format of morning, afternoon and evening activities. We were also able to provide residential accommodation to the teams of volunteers who ran our programmes, enabling us to facilitate larger teams than the previous year. These teams consisted of volunteers aged 17+ from all over Northern Ireland, the UK, and even a few from Spain. We were grateful for everyone who served to help children and young people engage meaningfully with God's Word. However, the demand from families to attend our missions was unprecedented and we continued to implement a booking system to ensure adequate supervision of these events despite having no public health restrictions on capacities. Throughout the year we continued to strengthen our systems and processes which served to reduce the administrative workload of those leading our camps and missions. We took time to consider how we can pastorally care well for all involved in our activities. After recognising a need for training and
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 further experience for young leaders we have worked towards a leadership development camp (Base Camp) for June 2023.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Financial review At the Board meetings, the Trustees are furnished with an updated set of management accounts. These accounts are presented to the Board by the Treasurer who attends all Board meetings in his capacity as a Trustee. Budgets and forecasts for the year ahead are prepared by the Treasurer, General Director and Senior Management Team. These are scrutinised in order to ensure that income and expenditure is analysed on trend and to forecast. The Board are provided with a detailed analysis of income and expenditure detailing the performance of each income and expenditure stream against budget. The Charity's Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2023 and Balance Sheet as at that date are shown in the attached financial statements. Income for the year to 31 March 2023 was £894,748 compared to £1,878,193 on the previous year. Expenditure for the year was £982,812 compared to £786,007 in the previous year. These figures led to a deficit for the year of £88,064 compared to a profit of £1,092,186 in the prior year. The large surplus in the prior year was due to Scripture Union receiving a valuation on Devenish Island & Lands which was part of a legacy. At 31 March 2023, Unrestricted Funds stood at £1,591,900 {of which £1,194,196 was invested in Fixed Assets leaving net current assets of £397,704) and Restricted Funds were £257,677. The Directors are committed to ensuring the financial position of the charity is adequate to support the ongoing work of the organisation in schools, camps, missions and through resources across Northern Ireland. The Directors are fully aware of the effect of the current economic climate and the impact that has had on the funds available to SU particularly in relation to voluntary donations and sales of resource material. The raising of funds and potential new sources of income is a regular item on the agenda of the Board while the current financial position is continually under review. Reserves Policy and Going Concern The Board of Directors has established a policy whereby the Unrestricted Funds not committed or invested in tangible Fixed Assets {"the free reserves") held by the Charity should be 3-6 months of the expenditure, which equates to beeen £245.703 and £491,406 in general funds. At this level, the Directors feel that they would be able to continue in the current activities of the Charity in the event of a significant drop in funding when it would obviously be necessary to consider how the funding would be replaced or activities changed. The Directors are committed to raising funds to stay within this target level in future periods. Plans for future periods Looking ahead to 23-24 we are preparing a new strategy that builds on the success of the past five years. We will continue to seek to serve schools across Northern Ireland, develop our summer camps and missions, and provide effective training and resources for a variety of stakeholders. Specifically-. We will create a fundraising strategy that seeks to strengthen positive relationships with our supporters and donors. We will develop appropriate resources that help to further the work of SUNI, reviewing these on an ongoing basis. We will continue to improve the operational infrastructure to enhance the front facing aspects of the work we engage in.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 Trustees. responsibllities statement The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitsble company and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, 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 applicable Charities SORP., make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent., prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and 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 Companies Act 2006. They 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. Auditor Each of the persons who is a trustee at the date of approval of this report confirms that- so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit inft)rmation of which the charity's auditor is unaware" and they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditor is aware of that information. Small company provisions This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
Scripture Union (Northern Ireland) Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued) Year ended 31 March 2023 The trustees, annual report was approved on 14 November 2023 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by: R Craig Trustee 10