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Erasmus Student Network UK SCIO
Scottish Charity Number - SC051188 Annual Report and Accounts
For the year ended 30 June 2025
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Table of Contents
| Table of Contents | |
|---|---|
| Table of Contents | 1 |
| Trustees’ Annual Report | 2 |
| Reference and Administrative Information | 2 |
| Charity name | 2 |
| Charity Number | 2 |
| Address | 2 |
| Trustees until 30 June 2025 | 2 |
| National Level | 3 |
| Structure, Governance, and Management | 4 |
| Constitution | 4 |
| Appointment of trustees | 4 |
| Objectives and Activities | 5 |
| Charitable purposes | 5 |
| Activities | 5 |
| Financial Review | 7 |
| Reserves policy | 8 |
| Statement of Receipts and Payments | 8 |
| Statement of Balances | 10 |
| Notes to fnancial accounts | 11 |
| Plans for the future | 13 |
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Trustees’ Annual Report
For the year ended 30 June 2025
The trustees of Erasmus Student Network UK (“ESN UK”, “the Charity”) are pleased to present their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025. The Charity has income below 250,000 GBP 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, nor does it require an audit.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity name
Erasmus Student Network (“ESN”) UK
Charity Number
SC051188
Address
ESN Strathclyde 51 Richmond Street Glasgow G1 1XU
Trustees until 30 June 2025
Jude Waites President Siân Campbell Vice-President for Training & Development Senthil Kumaran Raja Kumar[1] Vice-President for Human Resources
Eve McMullan Secretary Calum Marney Treasurer Lauren Eilis Education and Policy Officer
1 Resigned on 5th January 2025
National Events Manager
Francesa Roberts
National Level
Findlay Currie Liaison Officer for Education Wil Hayes Liaison Officer for Education Levan Ketcsbaia Liaison Officer for Education Ellie Tomlinson Liaison Officer for Education Kaitlin Willoughby Press Officer Amy Greer Section Care Coordinator
Structure, Governance, and Management
Constitution
ESN UK (“the Charity”) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“SCIO”). It was registered in its current legal form on 9 August 2021. The assets of the unincorporated association were transferred to the SCIO upon registration. As the charity is built upon a two-tier structure, the aforementioned trustees are the trustees of the Charity with a membership body made up of local associations, or ‘sections’, each represented by a legal representative.
Appointment of trustees
Members of the broader management committee (“National Board”) are the Charity’s trustees. Election to the National Board (“NB”) and National Level (“NL”) - which acts in a non-executive function - is open to all volunteers within ESN UK upon successful nomination, as are external advisory positions. Trustees are assigned to NB positions.
The NB positions[2,] are:
-
President
-
Vice-President for Human Resources
-
Vice-President for Training and Development
-
Treasurer
-
Project Manager
-
Communication Manager
-
National Events Manager
-
Education and Policy Officer
The NL positions for the 2024-2025 mandate are:
-
Liaison Officer
-
Press Officer
-
Section Care Coordinator
2 Please note, due to the voluntary nature of ESN UK, some NB and NL positions may remain vacant in some years.
The external advisors are:
-
Financial Regulator
-
Legal Regulator
Appointment of NB and NL - and thus Trustees - occurs towards the end of the Financial Year, during the second National Assembly in the year, between March and June. There must be a minimum of three trustees and a maximum of ten trustees. For further information, the constitution of ESN UK can be shared upon request[3] .
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Objectives and Activities
Charitable purposes
ESN UK is a charity student organisation representing local associations (‘ESN sections’), operating an association model. Our aim is to foster student mobility in Higher Education, provide opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development under the principle of ‘Students Helping Students’. ESN UK works in the interest of international students who are spending parts of or their entire formal education at a Higher Education Institution in the UK, as well as UK students who spend parts of or their entire higher education at a Higher Education Institution abroad. We are working on a volunteer basis in 14 Higher Education Institutions in the UK. All the sections of ESN UK help thousands of international exchange, international full-time degree, and local students every academic year. In summer 2021, ESN UK adopted their mission: promoting international sharing through the exchange of experiences and people since 1991.
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Structure and operations
ESN UK acts as a central organising body for its Members, called ‘Sections’, of ESN UK, located at 14 Higher Education Institutions in the UK[4] . It supports the existence of these Sections by arranging opportunities for best practice sharing across Sections, acting as a resource and support hub, and providing capacity-building training to volunteers that sit on Section committees (often
3 Please contact ESN UK at info@esnuk.org 4 A full list of these sections can be viewed at https://esnuk.org/our-sections
University students themselves). Aside from organising large events for participation by Sections, ESN UK represents the voice and views of the international students its Sections support to educational stakeholders across the UK, and facilitates the benefits of membership to Erasmus Student Network International (“ESN International”) for its volunteers. Across the year ending 30th June 2025, ESN UK is estimated to have supported over 4,500 international students across its network via a network of over 150 volunteers.
Activities
As mentioned above, a significant amount of the Charity Trustee’s activities are operational and involve supporting our sections and their work directly. Often ad-hoc, these activities vary significantly across NB positions throughout the year. Below are a number of key highlights, initiatives and projects from ESN UK’s work in FY25.
In November 2024, ESN UK held an annual national trip to Edinburgh for volunteers and international students. Consolidating successes from the last three years post-COVID, the trip was attended by around 200 students from across the UK. ESN UK continue to organise this independently of trip providers and have managed to put solid organisational groundwork in place to aid with future editions of the event. The purpose of the trip remains as an introduction to Scottish culture and participants were able to take part in a Ceilidh, Whisky tasting and historical tours of Edinburgh.
Significant progress in advocacy was made during FY25, particularly with reintegration of the UK into the Erasmus+ programme. Through working closely this year with both the Scottish Government as well as the EU Delegation to the UK, ESN UK continues to work to establish itself as a vital and reliable stakeholder within the field of International Higher Education. In addition, ESN UK played a key contributory role in the preparation of the EU-UK Relations reset call which led to a commitment from both parties to create an agreement that brought more opportunities for Youth mobility. ESN UK also facilitated various panels and sessions at the Erasmus Generation Meeting (commonly referred to as EGM) in Ancona, Italy, the largest annual student-led conference in Europe focused on mobility.
Alongside this, some minor redistribution of workload was undertaken in order to allow the Vice President for Human Resources to focus more on our local sections and volunteers. The board believes that this was a necessary step in order to allow for volunteer recruitment and retention to improve in the coming years, especially in time to facilitate the increased student inflow to the UK.
Financial Year 2025 saw important growth in terms of communications for ESN UK. Despite beginning the year with no Communications Manager, a communication committee was created with local volunteers, producing graphics and longer content for the website. This facilitated a social media campaign called “Erasmus Stories” developed alongside the Education Team to aid our advocacy efforts. The creation of a communications committee also led to an application for Communications Manager (a previously unstable position) at the end of Financial Year 2025
ESN UK hosted two AGMs for its members (commonly referred to colloquially as ‘National Assemblies’). One was held in London in October 2024, and the other in March 2025 in Glasgow. These events focused mainly on training our local volunteers in different soft and hard-skills related to their volunteer positions, as well as their personal development outside of the network. These AGMs took place alongside a training event for the wider Erasmus Student Network in Edinburgh, funded by ESN UK and taking place in October 2024, “WEP Edinburgh 2024”. Over 160 participants joined for three-days of capacity building organised entirely in-house.
The AGMs were well attended with approximately 30 participants at each event, including National Board members, Section volunteers, chairing team members and International guests. Voting also took place on changes to various documents including amendments to internal statutes and policies. The second National Assembly also included the elections for the next National Board (and therefore trustees), as well as the National Level. One Extraordinary AGM was held online in June where the previously vacant positions of Secretary and Education and Policy Officer were elected, alongside an expansion of the Liaison Office team to four members for FY26.
Financial Review
During FY25, ESN UK’s income and reserves increased significantly, with better focus on income streams and income retention to place the Charity on more solid financial footing. Overall income rose by £19,319.97 as ESN UK hosted WEP Edinburgh via its accounts, with comparative expenditure rising to reflect this. Strong profit was also maintained by the yearly Edinburgh Trip, and improved ESNcard sales via the introduction of individual sales to students boosted income, with both being the primary driver behind a £5,382.95 surplus at the end of the financial year. This surplus provides much-needed financial security, aligning with the Charity’s Three Year Strategy by diversifying income streams.
Enclosed in the following sections of this report are the "Statement of Receipts and Payments," which indicates that the Charity’s final cash balance totalled £9,447.25, rising to when including assets £15,274.75 and liabilities. This remains comparable to FY24’s total of £15,453.63, signalling that this increased liquidity in the bank has primarily been driven by the sale of ESNcard assets.
Reserves policy
ESN UK has a target cash reserve policy of £3,000.00 which the National Board endeavours to exceed at the end of each financial year. The purpose of this reserve policy is to absorb unforeseen surprise costs. Looking forward, the Board plans to budget for this amount to rise into the next financial year.
Statement of Receipts and Payments
| Statement of Receipts and Payments for the year ended 30th June 2024 |
Statement of Receipts and Payments for the year ended 30th June 2024 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| Receipts | ||||||
| Receipts from charitable activities: | ||||||
| Membership fees | £1,289.50 | £0.00 | £1,289.50 | £2,397.50 | ||
| Fundraising | 4 | £34,179.51 | £0.00 | £34,179.51 | £41,704.03* | |
| Charitable activities | 5 | £29,454.89 | £0.00 | £29,454.89 | £2,502.40* | |
| Grants | £1,000.00 | £0.00 | £1,000.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Bank Interest | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| TOTAL RECEIPTS | £65,923.90 | £0.00 | £65,923.90 | £46,603.93 | ||
| Payments | ||||||
| Fundraising costs | 6 | -£23,808.42 | £0.00 | -£23,808.42 | -£35,460.13 | |
| Cost of charitable activities | 7 | -£34,434.16 | £0.00 | -£34,434.16 | -£8,389.29 | |
| Governance costs | 8 | -£1,654.78 | £0.00 | -£1,654.78 | -£1,815.33 | |
| Equipment costs | 9 | -£643.60 | £0.00 | -£643.60 | -£1,882.30 | |
| TOTAL PAYMENTS | -£60,540.96 | £0.00 | -£60,540.96 | -£47,547.05 | ||
| Surplus / (Deficit) for the year | £5,382.95 | £0.00 | £5,383.12 | (£943.12) | ||
| Transfers between funds | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||
| Surplus / (Deficit) for the year | £5,382.95 | £0.00 | £5,383.12 | (£943.12) |
All values are in Great British Pound Sterling (£).
Statement of Balances
| Statement of Balances | Statement of Balances | Statement of Balances | Statement of Balances | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement of Balances as at 30. June 2024 |
||||||||
| Notes | Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||||
| Opening cash at bank and in hand | £4,064.13 | £0.00 | £4,064.13 | £5,007.25 | ||||
| Surplus / (Deficit) for the year | £5,382.95 | £0.00 | £5,383.12 | (£943.12) | ||||
| Closing cash at bank and in hand | £9,447.25 | £0.00 | £9,447.25 | £4,064.13 | ||||
| Bank and cash balances | ||||||||
| Bank deposit account | £9,447.25 | £0.00 | £9,447.25 | £4,064.13 | ||||
| TOTAL BANK AND CASH BALANCES | £9,447.25 | £0.00 | £9,447.25 | £4,064.13 | ||||
| Other assets- unrestricted fund | ||||||||
| Unsold ESNcards | £5,827.50 | £0.00 | £5,827.50 | £11,389.50 | ||||
| Property, Plant, and Equipment | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| Outstanding Income | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| TOTAL OTHER ASSETS - UNRESTRICTED FUND |
£5,827.50 | £0.00 | £5,827.50 | £11,389.50 | ||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||
| Outstanding payments | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | ||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
Notes to financial accounts
1 Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts of Payments basis in accordance with the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 2 Nature and purpose of funds All funds received (receipts) and paid (payments) are unrestricted. This means that all funds may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objectives of The Charity. All funds are contained within a single unrestricted fund.
3 Related party transactions
No remuneration, with the exception of Reimbursements, was paid to the trustees or any connected persons during the Year.
| 1 Basis of accounting | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts of Payments basis in accordance with the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). |
|||||
| 2 Nature and purpose of funds | |||||
| All funds received (receipts) and paid (payments) are unrestricted. This means that all funds may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objectives of The Charity. All funds are contained within a single unrestricted fund. |
|||||
| 3 Related party transactions | |||||
| No remuneration, with the exception of Reimbursements, was paid to the trustees or any connected persons during the Year. |
|||||
| 4 Fundraising | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| ESNcards | £6,962.05 | £0.00 | £6,962.05 | £3,047.24 | |
| Trips | £27,074.36 | £0.00 | £27,074.36 | £38,487.31 | |
| Partnerships | £91.56 | £0.00 | £91.56 | £0.00 | |
| Merchandise | £51.54 | £0.00 | £51.54 | £91.48 | |
| Other | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £78.00 | |
| TOTAL FUNDRAISING | £34,179.51 | £0.00 | £34,179.51 | £41,704.03* | |
| 5 Fundraising costs | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| ESNcard purchases | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | -£2,104.73 | |
| Postage of ESNcards | -£288.07 | £0.00 | -£288.07 | -£19.18 | |
| Promotions and advertising | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| Trips | -£23,284.13 | £0.00 | -£23,284.13 | -£33,336.22 | |
| Merchandise | -£236.22 | £0.00 | -£236.22 | £0.00 | |
| TOTAL FUNDRAISING COSTS | -£23,808.42 | £0.00 | -£23,808.42 | -£35,460.13 |
| 6 Charitable activities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| Training events | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| International events | £25,997.76 | £0.00 | £25,997.76 | £0.00 | |
| National Assemblies | £3,457.13 | £0.00 | £3,457.13 | £2,502.40 | |
| Other | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| TOTAL CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES | £29,454.89 | £0.00 | £29,454.89 | £2,502.40 | |
| 7 Cost of charitable activities | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| Reimbursements for volunteer costs | -£3,665.75 | £0.00 | -£3,665.75 | -£5,354.11 | |
| Training events | £258.00 | £0.00 | £258.00 | £0.00 | |
| International events | £25,061.13 | £0.00 | £25,061.13 | £0.00 | |
| National Assemblies | -£5,447.27 | £0.00 | -£5,447.27 | -£3,035.18 | |
| Other | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| TOTAL COST OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES |
-£34,434.16 | £0.00 | -£34,434.16 | -£8,389.29 | |
| 8 Governance costs | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| ESN International membership | -£1,654.78 | £0.00 | -£1,654.78 | -£1,815.33 | |
| TOTAL GOVERNANCE COSTS | -£1,654.78 | £0.00 | -£1,654.78 | -£1,815.33 | |
| 9 Equipment costs | |||||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds |
Year ended 30/06/2025 |
Year ended 30/06/2024 |
||
| Software / internet | -£643.60 | £0.00 | -£643.60 | -£1,882.30 | |
| TOTAL EQUIPMENT COSTS | -£643.60 | £0.00 | -£643.60 | -£1,882.30 |
Starred items(*) indicate a correction from the previous Financial Years’ accounts, where Charitable Activities were incorrectly included in Fundraising income, which has been rectified on this year’s accounts. This was a formatting error that had no impact on FY24 totals.
Plans for the future
Looking ahead to FY26, ESN UK hopes to build on the hard work done by previous trustees and to set new strategic goals. In terms of our financial situation, we hope to diversify our income streams by utilising grant funding, increasing our ESNcard sales and exploring commercial partnerships. This is vital in order to ensure imminent financial stability and to create a solid foundation for future financial years.
Furthermore, educating and advocating for both UK students as well as International students in the UK will remain one of the highest priorities including advocating for the reintroduction to Erasmus+. At the time of writing a one year agreement has been reached for the UK to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. Work will continue to secure a lasting partnership to benefit all students, both in the UK and beyond.
Another important action point for the upcoming year is to continue to explore ways to ensure volunteering in ESN UK remains as inclusive as possible. We hope to do this by increasing funding and reimbursement opportunities for volunteers to attend events, as well as reducing the cost of volunteering in general.
Signed,
Jude Waites Niamh McCourt 30/03/2026 30/03/2026 President and Trustee of ESN UK SC051188, FY25 Auditor of ESN UK SC051188 , FY25