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← Stirling School Of English

2021-12-31-accounts

Committee Members’ Annual Report and Accounts

for the year to 31 December 2021

1

Committee Members

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Chair Treasurer Secretary legal Consultant Fundraising Minute Secretary Policies (resigned in June 2021) Policies (appointed in June 2021) appointed June 2021 Student Representative Volunteer Representative Volunteer Manager (ex-officio position)

Contact address

Level One, 61-63 Murray Place, Stirling, FK8 1AP

Scottish Charities Number:

SC029640

Recruitment and appointment of committee members

Every volunteer tutor becomes a member of the committee upon signing the Volunteer Tutor agreement. Out of these members a Management Committee is formed. Other members can be elected or appointed as necessary

The Management Committee meets every 6 to 8 weeks to consider ongoing business and all committee members meet at least once each semester for review and feedback to the Management Committee. The ultimate aim is to continually improve the service offered to the students. The Annual General Meeting is held in June of each year. The Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary and any other Honorary Officers are elected or confirmed in their office at the Annual General Meeting.

2

Governing document

The Stirling School of English is a charitable unincorporated association and the purposes and administration arrangements are set out in the Association’s constitution.

Charitable purposes

The purpose of the Stirling School of English is to advance the education of persons whose first language is not English, regardless of ability, age, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or religious beliefs, by providing them with high quality small group or individual tuition.

It is also to provide support for the volunteer tutors in order to enhance the English tuition for Speakers of Other Languages.

3

Activities and Achievements during the year 2021

Our greatest achievement was running parallel online and some in-person classes from the end of August and developing more links with other organisations. We finished 2021 with being awarded the Provost’s Charity of the Year during the world marked International Migrants Day.

The number of students was higher than last year - with 81 and 79 in each semester (28% up on 2020).

In-person classes for low-level learners with the necessary Covid-19 mitigations and risk assessment attracted some of our elder tutors to return to volunteering in August. We were also able to provide one-to-one Digital Skills for Learning English tuition and creche for 5 children, which enabled their parents to attend our classes. In November, one of our classes tried a hybrid learning model with one student in late pregnancy joining the inperson class via Zoom. This mode of learning also enabled other students from that class to keep up with their classes when they had to self-isolate.

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Some of our classes

Our online summer school was very popular again with 41 students attending classes, including 11 refugees. Two families borrowed laptops from us to be able to participate. Both the students and tutors learnt a lot and appreciated the friendly atmosphere and the opportunity to socialise and keep up with their English.

Our classes helped foreign families and some of our volunteers to reduce isolation as well as provide continued integration of BAME people, and in particular, refugees who do not speak English at home and can feel cut off from the community and also lose the English they have learnt. We welcomed 4 newly arrived Afghan families in September which was mentioned on BBC News.

Connecting non-native English speakers, who are isolated at home, via our online classes in small tutor groups helped to combat isolation, deepen friendships, improve language skills, and provide a connection with the wider community, which is reflected in the student and tutor feedback:

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Student feedback

‘’I found a job doing great communicating with my colleagues I have more friends now.’’ Fadia

‘’It has made it easier for me to communicate at work (and in my social life too).’’ Sandra ‘’I gained more confidence in communicating in English and adapting in society.’’ Jurgita ‘’ The classes made me very motivated to study English and think about an experience abroad. I am happier studying English as it approaches my personal values related to knowledge being exercised. I have met more people in class, made friends and talked a lot about this experience with everyone around me. I also teach some things about English. I help my sister's stepson with English more easily. In general, English classes have been a unique experience in my life. I feel close to a different culture.’’ Elba

‘’ I have had an important impact in my confidence because I feel more confortable when I have to speak with someone who I don't meet before.’’ Cynthia

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Although 2021 was full of uncertainties around new Covid-19 variants, we feel that we coped well with the changes and introducing blended learning. It gave us the opportunity to reach students who felt anxious about attending in-person classes, remote learners such as refugees and asylum seekers from Glasgow (where people wait up to 2 years for ESOL classes) or Edinburgh, who would not have been able to come to face-to-face classes. The blended model also enabled non-digitally skilled tutors to return to in-person teaching, which helped them combat loneliness and isolation and gave them a sense of purpose.

Partnerships with other Organisations

The Stirling School of English is a member of the ESOL Stakeholder Group. During the year, the partnership meetings were less frequent due to the reduced ESOL provision by the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils and work overload in other organisations. Council ESOL learners were encouraged to join our online and in-person classes in our school. The school’s manager was in regular contact with the Learning and Employability Officer at Stirling Council to provide additional support for existing and newly arrived refugees.

Our collaboration with Forth Valley Welcome (FVW) and Friends of Scottish Settlers (FOSS) has also strengthened as we applied for a joined grant from the Scottish Government to provide additional support for disengaged refugees. The application was unsuccessful however we decided to pilot the project in 2022.

The school’s manager continued her work as a member of the Scottish Association for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (SATEFL) committee and was elected vice-chair. Some of our tutors joined their online training webinars for CPD sessions (Avoiding Burnout, Zooming Around, Using Short Films and Videos to Raise Awareness of Social Issues). The school is also a member of NATECLA and supports the Scottish branch of the organisation which also provides training for tutors.

The manager also participated in the Volunteer Network Group coordinated by SVE.

As in previous years, the School provided student placements for the University of Stirling ‘Work Experience’ module and for the first time placements for 4 psychology students were included, who looked in particular at the difficulties faced by refugees. We also accepted 2 students on the MSc TEFL programme to gain teaching experience. One of them gained employment in the UK and the other one in Japan.

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Classes

In the first semester, we ran 28 online classes and in the second semester 19 online and 11 in-person classes. We scheduled classes based on learners’ preferences and continued to provide regular conversation classes, social and vocational English classes at 6 levels, individual writing and reading support and citizenship classes. Many of our students were looking for specific exam courses or English support for specific professions such as English in Medicine, Advanced and Proficiency Cambridge Certificate classes, advanced IELTS classes and academic English. In 2021 we supported 2 high school students.

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We also ran a weekly online book club, Digital Literacy for Learning English, as well as two CV and Cover Letter Writing Workshops, which were attended by 10 students. Two Online Safety workshops were attended by 12 learners.

Certificates of Completion for Digital Literacy for Learning English

Our learners came from 33 different countries and we welcomed 3 Afghani families. The refugees attended classes for free and we also waived the enrolment fees for 16 students due to their difficult financial situation. Altogether, we supported 22 refugees, who preferred our in-person teaching to online classes offered by the Council. The table below shows the student data.

January -June 2021

August-December 2021

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Volunteering

We need at least 30 tutors at any one time to cover all the classes. Some volunteers want to gain valuable work experience, some want to observe and assist teachers to see if teaching would be an appropriate career for them, others are retired or in employment, wanting to help foreigners and give back to their community. Due to COVID-19 only IT-trained tutors and volunteers in administration continued to work remotely.

The new volunteers and students were mentored by the volunteer manager and experienced tutors. Three volunteers received Saltire Awards this year. During Lockdown. the volunteer manager supported the volunteers individually as needed, and also during bi-monthly catch ups via zoom and professional developments sessions.

The Volunteer Manager supervised 5 students from Stirling University on their work placements. Four Psychology students did some research on the impact of Covid-19 on ethnic minorities represented in our school. Their recommendation was to add well-being sessions to the curriculum, which were prepared to be included from the start of 2022.

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Three of our volunteers received Saltire Awards which are the Scottish Government's way

of celebrating, recognising and rewarding the commitment, contribution and achievements of young volunteers in Scotland, aged between 12 and 25.

At the end of 2021 the school had 61 volunteers:

left

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Social Activities

All our social events had to take place online due to Covid-19 restrictions. The Burns Supper in January was attended by 98 people. The haggis was piped in and addressed and then enjoyed at home. One of the tutors recited

the Immortal Memory. Learning ceilidh dancing on-line was great fun and everybody participated. Here is a short video footage:

https://www.facebook.com/thestirlingschoolofenglish/videos/434116841121007

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We also hosted monthly quizzes: Food Around the World in February, Earth’s Day in April, an international Quiz and Ceilidh in June, Halloween in October, St. Andrew’s Day in November and a Christmas party in December.

The only event that took place in-person was the International Day of Languages on 26[th] September with a special guest - the Provost of Stirling, Christine Simpson. At the Stirling School of English, we believe that learning other languages is a way of helping us all understand each other better. Through learning English, our students are not only able to live and work in Scotland, but also feel part of the local community.

15

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Our volunteer tutors continued to meet monthly until June 2021 to share the ups and downs of lockdown, improve their online teaching and learning techniques, discuss progress and how to best meet the needs of our students. The main CPD sessions focused on using Google Jamboard, Zoom and Google Classroom.

Free online webinars and courses ran by SATEFL. Cambridge University Press and Future Learn were also very popular among tutors.

The Volunteer Manager completed a Managing Difficult Situations course and continued her parttime blended MBA in Educational Leadership at Tampere University in Finland. She also

attended webinars delivered by SVE, NATECLA (Accessibility in teaching ESOL, Remote Teaching for Low Levels), and participated in ESOL leads and ESOL practitioners’ webinars organised by Education Scotland.

16

Summer School

This year’s summer school took place online from 5[th] to 30[th] July on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings and evenings with additional, optional activities on Thursday evenings. Many students preferred the online option due to the uncertainties connected with the pandemic and felt safer online than face-to-face. The school received positive feedback with many students wanting the classes to take place all summer. We had 41 registered students (including 17 refugees), 31 of whom attended classes (22 females (71%) and 9 males (29%)), 11 of whom were refugees. The grants from the Souter Trust and Stirlingshire Educational Trust covered the fees for the 17 registered refugees, however since only 11 of them were able to attend, we offered places to 6 students who could not afford the fees due to unemployment. All of those students had attended our classes in the 2020/21 academic year. Two students borrowed laptops from the school, as they struggled to study on their mobile phones.

This year’s Summer School teaching programme was shaped by our students. In March, the school manager carried out interviews with the students about the content of the summer school. The classes focused on pronunciation, grammar review, everyday and transactional conversations and writing skills. Most learners said in the feedback survey that attending summer school helped them not to forget their English, and gave them focus for the week. Additionally, talking to friends online reduced their anxiety associated with Covid-19. They also commented on the small class sizes and teachers:

‘’… for me it has been very useful to be less people in the class as I feel more comfortable speaking’’ and ‘’The teachers were very interesting and came extremely well prepared. Thus, the lessons were quite interesting.’’

‘’The tutor created a pleasant, motivating atmosphere for communication. Invites to talk about everyday, current and useful situations and gives feedback and confidence to speak. The class is very well prepared, organized with a beginning and summary at the end and also in the next class. He sends us class materials to work at home and corrects assignments that are sent to him.’

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Funding

Similar to last year, the Board members and the Finance Committee met online more often than usual to hear the updates about the school, make decisions in line with government advice, and particularly to plan for the financial sustainability of the school.

In January 2021, the school received £800.00 from BEMIS Scotland for the Virtual Burns Night, which was very well attended.

In February, we received a £5000 grant from Foundation Scotland for a Digital Literacy for learning English project.

In March, the government ESOL grant of £7647.23 was paid by Stirling Council.

We also received £5440.00 from The Souter Charitable Trust and Stirlingshire Educational Trust to deliver summer school.

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Forth Valley Welcome also contributed towards the costs of the Summer School by donating £250 in September.

The Board of Trustees decided to spend the £5000 grant we received in September 2020 from the Robertson Trust on the rent and the manager’s salary. The final instalment of the grant (£5000) was paid in October.

In December we received £1300 from BEMIS Scotland for an in-person Burns Night in January 2022 .

Friends of the school donated a total of £670 through accounts like amazon smile, Just Giving, Easy Fundraising und CAF.

Due to coronavirus and online teaching, the summer school costs for our regular students were reduced to £40 for 4 weeks and the enrolment fee to £50 per week, and those who were in financial difficulties had their fees waived.

Duty of Candour

The Duty of Candour is a legal requirement for health, care service and social work organisations to inform people (and their families) when they have been harmed (either physically or psychologically) as a result of the care or treatment they have received. The Duty of Candour (Scotland) Regulations 2018 came into force on 1 April 2018. We have included Duty of Candour in our Child Protection Policy as it promotes accountability for safer systems, better engages volunteers in improvement efforts, and engenders greater trust in our service users.

In 2021 no of incidents fell under the regulations.

Key tasks for 2022

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Approved by the Committee members and signed on their behalf by

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Treasurer

Dated 27th May 2022

20

Independent Examiner’s Report

For the Year Ended 31st December 2021

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Stirling School of English.

I report on the financial statement of the charity for the year ended 31st December 2021, which are set out on pages 22 to 23.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (“the 2005Act”) and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) (“the 2006 Regulations”). The charity’s trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the 2006 Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 449(1) (c) of the 2005 Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention;

  1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect, the requirements: -

  2. To keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Regulations, and

  3. To prepare Accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Regulations (as amended)

Have not been met

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  1. I would however recommend that the charity continue to maintain all accounting documents and records in accordance with the 2005 Act, and the accounts should comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations (as amended).

BWC - CA Suite 4.6, 4th Floor Standard Buildings 94 Hope Street Glasgow, G2 6PH

Relevant professional qualifications and body

CPA – Qualified Accountant ACCA – Part Qualified Accountant MBA – University of Glasgow MSc IT (Management) – University of West of Scotland Dip. in Performance Auditing – Netherland Court of Audit ADCA – Mzumbe University ACIE – Affiliate Member

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Stirling School of English Committee Members' Accounts Receipts and Payments For the Year Ended 31st December 2021

For the Year Ended 31st December 2021
RECEIPTS
Grants
Receipts from fundraising activity
Registration fee
Summer School Project
Books
Donations
Creche fee
Café
Parties/Events
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Fundraising expenses:
Gifts
Food & Drinks
Total payments for Fundraising:
Charitable activities:
Salary Costs
Rent
Projects
Tutor Recruitment & training
Insurance
Books & CDs
Volunteer expenses
Waived fee
Café
Office Costs
Payroll preparations costs
IT Running Costs
Subscription and Membership Fee
Summer School
Teaching Support
Bank charge
Advertisement
Total payments for charitable activities:
Governance Costs:
Legal and Professional
Independent Examiner
Total payment for Governance
Purchase of Fixed Assets
Purchase of Investments
Total Payment for Assets
Total Payments
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year
Transfer between funds - Adjustment
Surplus/ (Deficit) for the year		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
Fund
Fund
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
19,747
-
19,747
39,389
-
-
-
66
7,600
-
7,600
6,223
9,120
-
9,120
5,037
521
-
521
507
668
-
668
332
70
-
70
105
43
-
43
36
-
-
-
486
37,770
-
37,770
52,181
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
424
-
-
-
424
24,104
-
24,104
21,613
1,206
-
1,206
1,039
522
-
522
-
660
-
660
570
384
-
384
634
1,377
-
1,377
349
91
-
91
148
2,860
-
2,860
4,350
50
-
50
37
390
-
390
162
564
-
564
576
1,380
-
1,380
841
199
-
199
120
2,800
-
2,800
660
2,019
-
2,019
3,142
97
-
97
72
29
-
29
35
38,732
-
38,732
34,348
-
-
-
-
250
-
250
350
250
-
250
350
1,150
-
1,150
3,900
-
-
-
-
1,150
-
1,150
3,900
40,132
-
40,132
39,022
- 2,362 - - 2,362 13,159
48 -
48
-
- 2,314 - - 2,314 13,159

The Notes on Pages 12 to 16 form an integral part of these accounts

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Stirling School of English Committee Members' Accounts Statement of Balances

As at 31st December 2021

Fixed Assets
Computer Equipment
Total Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Bank
Cash
Credit Card
Total Current Assets
Less: Current Liabilities
Net Current Asset
Total Assets
FUNDED BY:
Reserves:
Opening balances
Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year
General Reserve
Total Funds		 Unrestricted Restricted
Total
Total
Fund
Fund
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
5,050
-
5,050
3,900
5,050
-
5,050
3,900
28,323
-
28,323
31,384
545
-
545
190
174
-
-
174
-
467
-
28,694
-
28,694
31,107
251
-
251
350
28,443
-
28,443
30,757
33,493
-
33,493
34,657
34,657
-
34,657
17,598
2,314
-
-
2,314
-
13,159
1,150
1,150
3,900
33,493
-
33,493

34,657

Notes:

  1. All funds are unrestricted

Approved by the Committee Members and signed on their behalf

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Treasurer

27[th] May 2022

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