## LUSSo **FO** NR **IA** SK Oficinas de Portugués 

## Lusofonias — Oficinas de Portugués 

Annual Report and Financial Statements from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025 

Scottish Charity no - SC046096 

The charity has an income below £250,000 and as such is eligible to prepare its accounts on a Receipts and Payments Basis. The governing document does not require the charity to prepare fully accrued accounts and neither does it require an audit. 

## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Trustees' Annual Report** 

For the financial year to 31 July 2025, the trustees are pleased to present their report and financial statements. 

## **Reference and Administrative Information** 

**Charity name** Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português **Charity no** SC046096 **Address** 35 Hillside Crescent, Edinburgh, EH7 5EF 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português (Lusofonias-OP) is a registered Scottish charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland, which advocates bilingualism. We endeavour to promote the language and culture of Portuguese speaking countries. 

Lusofonias-OP is a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) and is governed by its Constitution, as established on the 1[st] March 2015. Lusofonias-OP’s constitution defines its aims, objectives and the rules by which its trustees must operate. 

Lusofonias-OP is regulated by Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I.P., Portugal (henceforth Camões, I.P.) in terms of its educational and pedagogical project. Camões, I.P. is a public institute of the Portuguese State, with administrative and financial autonomy and its own assets, reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lusofonias-OP has a Cooperation Agreement with the Brazilian Government, Instituto Guimarães Rosa (henceforth IGR) through the Consulate General of Brazil in Edinburgh. Camões, I.P. and IGR are our main external funders. 

The trustees who served during the year (2024-25) were: 


New trustees can be recruited and appointed by invitation from the community engaged in our language classes or from elsewhere, according to their expertise. Training is provided to them by the trustees. 

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## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Trustees' Annual Report (continued)** 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

To promote Portuguese language and Lusophone culture to those of Lusophone background and other interested people in Scotland. This is done by organising and delivering weekly Portuguese classes to bilingual children. During the academic year 2024/25, these activities took place every Saturday morning, from 11am to 1pm, at James Gillespie’s High School, 120 Warrender Park Rd, Edinburgh EH9 1DD. 

## **Achievements and performance** 

## **Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the financial year** 

## **1) School Growth/Challenges** 

This academic year marked a new cycle for Lusofonias-OP, as Camões, I.P. started its own teaching activities in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This had a direct impact on the number of students registered with Lusofonias-OP, which went from 70 in 23/24 to 45 students enrolled 24/25 (table 1). 

The students were divided into the following language proficiency groups: 

|**Class**|**No. Students**|
|---|---|
|Pre-school|15|
|A1|24|
|A2|6|
|**Total**|**45**|



Table 1: Pupil distribution per level 2024/25. A1 and A2 refer to the levels of language proficiency as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CERF). 

In September 2024 the playgroup, a dynamic, drop-in group managed by parents, was relaunched. LusofoniasOP supports this group by paying the hourly rental fee for the use of this additional classroom. 

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## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Trustees' Annual Report (continued)** 

## **Achievements and performance (continued)** 

## **2) Extracurricular, Cultural and Outreach Activities 2024/25** 

Lusofonias-OP supports and encourages students to participate in extracurricular activities, allowing them to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures. During this academic year, Lusofonias-OP was involved in the following activities: 

- Digital library – launched in 2018/19, our library now has around 400 titles in Portuguese. Users make their requests online and collect/return the books at the school on given dates. 

- New collaboration with “Rafael de Moraes Lima” State School from São Paulo, Brazil, and ongoing Collaboration with the Portuguese language school “Escolinha de Língua Portuguesa” of Northern Ireland: exchange of written and video-messages. 

- Black History Month celebration - October 2024: in-class activities organised by teachers according to the different age groups, such as: reading stories from Portuguese-speaking African countries (highlighting words of African origin used in the Portuguese language), staging a mini-theatrical play, and creating an interactive musical playlist followed by analysis of the lyrics. 

- Christmas Party, 14[th] December 2024 - Lusofonias-OP organised a Christmas party for students, teachers and families, with a musical performance by the students, and a visit from Santa Claus, who offered a symbolic gift to all students and teachers. 

- Celebration of World Portuguese Language Day, 3[rd] May 2025: the students did a research project entitled “ _Países lusófonos”,_ that culminated with a reading, poster production and an oral presentation to the class and to the Consul General of Brazil in Edinburgh, Ambassador João Pedro Corrêa Costa. 

- Award Ceremony, 29[th] March 2025: Official certificates were presented to students who completed their exams in June 2024, by the Consul General of Portugal in Manchester. On the same occasion, the Consul held a brief information session for the families of students from Lusofonias-OP and Camões I.P. 

- Capoeira Workshop, 1[st] March 2025: Capoeira workshop led by _Mestre Baiano._ 

- Bilingualism Seminar, 24[th] May 2025: information session organised by Lusofonias-OP for parents and guardians entitled “Successful Bilingualism in Childhood” with Professor Antonella Sorace from Bilingualism Matters, University of Edinburgh. 

- Writing workshop, 24[th] May 2025: led by Teresa Dangerfield, a Portuguese author based in the United Kingdom. The session was organised by the Camões I.P. and extended to Lusofonias-OP. 

- Celebration of _Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas_ , 10[th] June 2025: in class activities led by the teachers. 

- Native Scientist workshop, 15[th] June 2025: science related activities for pupils aged 8-12 years old. 

- Academic end-of-year celebration, 21[st] June 2025: with recreational activities and the participation of singer-songwriter Giulia Drummond. 

In summary, in the 2024/25 school year, Lusofonias-OP consolidated its relationship with the local community, maintaining high teaching standards, with the best interest of pupils at heart. 

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## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Trustees' Annual Report (continued)** 

## **Future Plans** 

## **2025/26** 

**For the academic year 2025/26, Lusofonias-OP intends to:** 

1. Continue to acquire and provide students with all textbooks free of charge. 

2. Keep the tuition fees as low as possible to give the wider Lusophone community the opportunity for their children to learn Portuguese, regardless of financial circumstances. 

3. Celebrate the Black History Month (October 2025) and continue to promote inclusiveness and diversity. 

4. Continue to organise workshops for parents and carers on the importance of fostering bilingualism (January – April 2026). 

5. Participate in and support Iberodocs - Ibero-American Documentary Film Festival in Scotland, a partnership started in the school year 2017/18 (September – October 2025). 

6. Celebration of the World Portuguese Language Day (May 2025). 

7. Continue to support the playgroup – a dynamic, drop-in group managed by parents. Lusofonias-OP supports this group by paying the hourly rental fee for the use of this additional room. 

8. Develop partnerships and occasional collaborations with local organisations in order to promote the Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures in Scotland. 

9. Promote exchange programmes with similar organisations to ours throughout the UK and abroad. 

10. Continue to provide Portuguese Language Proficiency exams for our students in collaboration with Instituto Camões, I.P. and the University of Edinburgh's Portuguese Language Centre. 

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## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Trustees' Annual Report (continued)** 

## **Financial review** 

We are pleased to report a surplus at year-end of £1,173.05, compared to a deficit in the previous academic year of £2,738. This resulted in cash reserves at the year-end of £7,515.77 (2024: £6,343) 

The surplus was due mainly to: 

- Decrease in the expenses from hiring teaching subcontractor: 

   - Only 3 teachers subcontracted 

   - Only 1 Support for Learning teacher was subcontracted till April 2025 

- Decrease of rent costs due to less classrooms 

- Cost decrease in teaching materials and resources due to less pupils 

- A more austere fund management due to the uncertainty regarding funding. 

The trustees aim to hold one month of general funds of normal expenditure in reserves at any time. This is appropriate given the nature and length of our contractual obligations. The reserves policy was met at the yearend. 

## **Independent Examiner** 

of Cornerstone Accounting Limited was appointed as Independent Examiner for the year ended 31 July 2025. 

This report was approved by the trustees on 17 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by: 


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## **Lusofonias – Oficinas de Português Report of the Independent Examiner to the Trustees for the year ended 31 July 2025** 

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 July 2025, which are set out on pages 7 to 8. 

## **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 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).  The Charity’s Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply.  It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the 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 Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).  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 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 the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention 

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

   - to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations (as amended), and 

   - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations (as amended) 

have not been met, or 

2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 


18 September 2025 

Cornerstone Accounting Ltd Chartered Accountants 11 Erngath Road Bo’ness EH51 9DP 

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## Lusofonias — Oficinas de Portugués Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 July 2025 

|Receipts||||2024/25|||2023/24|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|.<br>Funding||General<br>fund|Restricted<br>fund|Total|General<br>fund|Restricted<br>fund|Total|
|Caméoes, I.P.||£4,255|£0|£4,255|£4,429|£0|£4 429|
|Instituto Guimaraes Rosa||£3,000|£0|£3,000|£3,000|£0|£3,000|
|School Fees||£9,049|£0|£9,049|£13,984|£0|£13,984|
|Fundraising/Donations||£0|£0|£0|£59|£0|£59|
|‘TotalReceipts:<br>=|£46,304||££€0|£16,304|£21,472|#&«©$§€0|£21,472|
|Payments||||||||
|Administrative Overheads||||||||
|Subcontractors:||||||||
|Teachers||£6,150|£0|£6,150|£10,590|£0|£10,590|
|Academic Coordinator||£2,265|£0|£2,265|£2,340|£0|£2,340|
|Support for Learning teachers||£540|£0|£540|£1,140|£0|£1,140|
|Rent||£2,177|£0|£2,177|£3,252|£0|£3,252|
|Materials||£660|£0|£660|£1,835|£0|£1,835|
|Independent Examiner||£240|£0|£240|£200|£0|£200|
|Expenses||||||||
|Disclosures||£0|£0|£0|£118|£0|£118|
|Events (Christmasand end ofyear party)||£611|£0|£611|£74|£0|£74|
|Insurance||£101|£0|£101|£96|£0|£96|
|Website||£2,044|£0|£2,044|£1,034|£0|£1,034|
|Library||£48|£0|£48|£49|£0|£49|
|Online tools||£208|£0|£208|£193|£0|£193|
|Sundryexpenses||£87|£0|£87|£302|£0|£302|
|Xmas 2023 Project funded by<br>DGACCPFunding||£0|£0|£0|£0|£2,987|£2,987|
|Total Payments:||£15,131|£0|£15,131|£21,223|£2,987|£24,210|
|Surplus/(deficit) fortheyear||£1,173|£0|£1,173|£249|-£2,987|-£2,738|
|Transfers||£0|£0|£0|-£827|£827|£0|
|Surplusi(deficit) fortheyearafter = pq 473<br>transfers<br>,|||£0|£4,173<br>,|£578|£2,160<br>,|-£2,738<br>,|
|Balance brought forward||£6,343|£0|£6,343|£6,921|£2,160|£9,081|
|Balancecarriedforward||£7,516|£0|£7,516|£6,343|£0|£6,343|



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## Lusofonias — Oficinas de Portugués 

## Statement of Balances for the year ended 31 July 2025 

||||2024/25|||2023/24|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||General<br>fund|Restricted<br>fund|=|General<br>fund|Restricted<br>fund|—|
|Cash balance at 1 August|£6,343|0|£6,343|£6,921|£2,160|£9,081|
|Surplus/(deficit) forthe year|£1,173|0|£1,173|£578|£2,160|£2,738|
|Cashbalanceat31July|£7,516|£0|£7,516|£6,343|£0|£6,343|



## Statement of liabilities 

## Independent examination fees 

£240 £240 

The financial statements on pages 7 and 8 were approved by the Board of Trustees on 12 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by: 

## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 July 2025 

## 1 Basis of accounting 

These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 

## 2 Related party transactions 

No remuneration or expenses were paid to the trustees or any connected persons during the year, other than for the reimbursement of materials for teaching or events. 

## 3 Restricted funds 

No restricted funds were held at the end of the current financial year. 

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