The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) Trustees, Report The trustees present the annual report touether with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2022. Objectives and activities Objec15 and aim5 To support Careers Education in Schools and Regional Colleges. Public benefit NISCA has operated for a number of years providing a professional support network for careers teachers and guidance professionals across Schools and Colleges in Northern Ireland. Operating primarily through a committee comprising current and fornier Careers teachers with c(Fopted input from business and industry as required, NISCA runs two major conferences each year and in addilion disseminates relevant up to date inforn]ation relating to Careers matters and currenl issues through its website. The aim of the association is to empower and enable Careers professionals to support pupils I students and their parents as they make infornied career decisions at key points of transition. provide a professional Careers Education. Inforniation. Advice and Guidance service within their Schools and Colleges to meet the statutory requirement placed on Schools and Colleges by Deparirnent for Education and regularly assessed through its ETI Inspection process The trustees confirni that they have complied with the requirements of section 4 of the Charities Act 201 I to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Achievements and performance During this period NISCA continued to adapt its activities to the emerging Government changes as the counlry moved through the various changes in the pandemic. In all matters consideration was given to safety of members and the wider public so committee meetings continued to be held on Zoom until early 2022. Page 2
The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) Trustees, Report Events As the two annual conference5 were a priority lor the Committee and its member5, a small 'in person, conference was held in Nov 2021 with a small number olteachers and organi5ations attending, in keeping with government restrictions. with sponsorship from Liverpool Hope University. Receiving posilive feedback from all participants: it was a very successful 'fir5t Step, back into a tneasure of norniality. Thi5 was followed up by a further conference in May 2022 which moved closer to the pre-pandemic model. Sponsorship was provided by the Scottish Universities Tour of Nl with a most encouraging response from teachers and exhibiting organisations. Following on from this the Committee focused its attention on planning for the Nov 2022 conference. Membership Membership remained steady during this period and as the country moved towards post pandemic nonnality. the Committee sought the membership fee for this year. Commillee During this period three new members. all serving teachers with strong Careers background and experience, came onto the NISCA committee ivhich has proved invaluable in temis of adding renewed focus. Website Work continued to develop the website and associated communications to members. Summary In conclusion the period I Sept ?0? I to ) l Aug ?0?? is best characterised as a transition period from the pre pandemic to a slitlY different post pandemic period. The NISCA Committee was mindful of moving Slowly taking account of the various adjustments occurring in Schoo15 and the itnpact of these on membership and teachers availability to participate in professional support activities. Page i
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The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) Trustees, Report Structurej governance and management Nulure ofgoverning documen¢ The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) is an unincorporated charity and is govenred by a constitution. Reeruilmenl and appoinlmenl oflruslees The charity shall be managed by a committee of Trustees who shall be appointed by election at the Annual General Meeting of the charity. The charity. must have a minimum of six Trustees. The charity must appoint otTicers by election at the Annual General Meeting. The charity must have a minimum of the folloiying oificers . A Chairperson A Vice Chairperson A Secretary A Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer. A Conference Chairperson Officer5 shall remain in post for two years and shall be eligible lor re-election at the AGM. A minimum of 500/0 of the Trustees must be current CEIAG practitioners. All Trustee posts shall be elected on an annual basis at the AGM. They must retire at the next AGM but may stand for re-election. All Trustees must be either '. A Full Member of the charity A person who has been cfropted by the Full Member Trustees. A Trustee may not appoint anyone to act on histher behalf at a Trustee meeting. A Trustee must cease to hold oifice if he or she: is disqualified from acting as a trustee by virtue of section 86 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (or any statutory re- enactment or modification of that provision)- ceases to be a member of the charity. in the written opinion: given to other Trustees, of a registered medical practitioner treating that person, has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a charity trustee and may remain so for more than three months. resigns as a Trustee by notice to the charity. Is absent without the permission of other Trustees from all their meeting5 held within a period of 6 consecutive months and the other Trustees resolve that his or her ofFice be vacated. In order to enable them to effectively cary out the work of the charity, the Trustees may co-opt persons, not exceeding four in number, io aci as Trustees for one year. A Trustee mid-temi vacancy can be filled by a c(Foption.
The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) Trustees, Report Financial instruments Objeclives andpolicies The charity's activities expose it to a number of financial risks including credit risk. cash flow risk and liquidity risk. The use of financial derivatives is governed by the charity"s policies approved by the board of trustees, which provide IIllen principles on the use of financial derivatives to manage these risks. The charity does not use derivative financial instruments lor Speculative purpose5. Cashflow risk The charity's activities expose it primarily to the flnancial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. The charity uses foreign exchange forward contracts and interest Tate Swap contracts to hedge these exposures. Interest bearing assets and liabilitie5 are held at fed rate to ensure certainty of cash flows. Credit risk The charity's principal financial assets are bank balances and cash. trade and other receivables, and investments. The charity's credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade receivable5. The amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowance5 for doubtful receivable5. An alloivance for impairment is vnade where there is an identified 1055 event which, based on previous experience. is evidence of a reduction in the recoverability of the cash flow5. The credit risk on liquid funds and derivative financial instrutnents is limited because the counterparties are banks with high credit-ratings assigned by intemaiional credit-rating agencies. The charity has no significani concentrntion of credil risk. with exposure spread over a large number of counterparties and customers. Liquidity risk In order to maintain liquidity to ensure that suificient funds are available for ongoing operations and future developments, the charity uses a mixture of long-tem) and short-ierni debt finance. Further details regarding liquidity risk can be found in the Statement of accounting policies in the financial statements. The annual report was approved by the trnstees of the charity on 15 June 202J and signed on its behalf by: Mr Pat Jami50n Trustee Mrs Julie Rlchardson Trustee Page 7
The Northern Ireland Schools and Colleges Careers Association (NISCA) Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees. report and the financial statement5 in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generdlly Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations. The lalv applicable to charities requires the trustees to prepare fmancial 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 accounling policies and then apply them consistently- observe the methods and principles in the Charitie5 SORP- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent- state wheiher applicable accouniing standards have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial $teMentS- and 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 proper accounling 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 Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the 2008 Act). the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations. and the provisions of the constitution. 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. Approved by the trustees of the charity on 15 June 2023 and signed on its behalf by.. Mr Pat Jamison Trustee Mrs Julie Richardson Trustee