ACCELERATE_&_ACCESS_FOUND - Accounts

The trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2021.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)

The Accelerate and Access Foundation’s (AAAF) aim is to promote social mobility by increasing the number of students from poorer backgrounds accessing leading universities. AAAF does this by supporting programmes designed by AAAF and run by its partner schools. The flagship programme provides a multi-year programme of support to low and middle-income students focussed on raising aspirations, providing advice and guidance, academic support and enrichment.

In addition, from October 2018, AAAF aimed to encourage all UK universities to support in particular, their students from lower income backgrounds who are the first in their families to attend university, in specific ways that will ensure that they have the most positive academic, social and employment outcome experience possible. We convene academic and administrative university leaders to learn from each other as well as from US–based leaders doing this work at their universities. During 2019, we started an initiative aimed at teaching first generation university student leaders and to engage with their institutions to garner specific support for their needs as the first in their families to attend higher education.

Programmes

The format of our programmes has not changed since 2013. Overall, the university access programmes are designed to support academically able students with a programme which extends over four years. This runs from the end of year 9 (age 13/14) to year 13 (age 16/17) and includes two residential weeks a year (during the Easter and summer holidays) and on-going input from learning mentors, as well as bespoke activities such as university visits and cultural trips. During the period of this report (2020 and 2021) all programming was virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We aimed to capture what would have been in-person sessions by creating and hosting online academic events, motivational talks, aspiration-raising activities and enrichment. They provide an opportunity for pupils to strengthen knowledge of core subjects but also provide the chance to experience a range of subjects and activities that will help the pupils develop in other ways. As students move into the sixth form they are also given specific help in making applications to university and intensive subject specific revision sessions. The goal is to ensure that a high proportion of the students go on to study at leading universities and that this acts as a beacon for others in their schools and communities to do the same. The project is innovative in providing such sustained support around university access to a single group of students over multiple years.

Kent

The charity has been working with the Kent Academies Network since 2012. The Kent project today involves a group of five academy schools and three independent school partners: Sevenoaks School (the lead partner), Tonbridge School and Benenden School. The maintained schools currently involved in the network are: Marsh Academy, Skinner’s Kent Academy, Isle of Sheppey, Knole Academy and the John Wallis Academy. The project is also supported by Fitzwilliam College and Queens College, Cambridge which pre-Covid hosted free visits and residentials for our students. Since September 2018, the main responsibility for this programme has been held by Sevenoaks School which has made it their flagship outreach programme. Sevenoaks had independently raised enough funds to carry the programme forward from July 2020 without financial support from AAAF.

Surrey

The United Access programme started in 2017 through a partnership with United Learning with equal funding from each party. Unlike in Kent, there has only been one cohort for this offering as United Learning offered no further funding and the pilot will come to an end July 2021. It is hoped that the United Access programme will resume in July 2022. United Learning adopts the same programme structure as in Kent for students from six of their academies: Totteridge Academy, Hurlingham Academy, Lambeth Academy, Midhurst Rother College, Wye School and Regis School. Caterham School is the Independent sector partner and hosted the residentials until Covid forced the initiative to move online.

Advocacy

AAAF organised and sponsored a virtual event in November 2020, Mobilizing Students to Equalize Higher Education. It was a workshop for the leaders of the First Generation Networks at highly selective UK universities. The event brought together experts from the US on the types of support for which students from less-privileged backgrounds should advocate and expect from their universities and thereby help to close the ‘cultural capital’ gap with their more advantaged peers

Reach and impact

As in previous years, the aim of our programmes is twofold.

First, we hope it will have a direct impact on the students involved as they will receive significant support throughout their GCSEs in making decisions about further education and university and throughout the UCAS application process.

Kent

The first cohort received 9 Russell Group offers between them in 2017. The cohorts which graduated in 2018 and 2019 were not as strong academically with 4 and 5 respectively going on to a good university after finishing the programme. About 2/3 of the 2020 graduated cohort had university offers. 90% of the cohort who graduated from the programme in 2021 went on to a degree course at a UK university.

United Access

The first United Access cohort are currently in Year 13 and will receive their A level results this summer. The UK Government has announced that these students will not sit exams but has not yet given clarity on how their grades will be decided. This is likely to be announced before March 2021. 64% of the original cohort are still fully engaged with the programme and 58% of the cohort have applied to study at a university next year. Whilst none of the students have applied to study at Oxbridge, 41% of the cohort have applied to Russell Group Universities and all of those who made these applications went on to study at their chosen universities. Other members of the cohort either went into careers such as policing or onto more vocational HE courses such as animation.

Second, we also believe that we have had a wider impact on the teachers in the academies involved, putting them in a better position to help raise aspirations and support their pupils’ decisions about higher education in future. Sevenoaks School continues to arrange and host training seminars for university advisors and Heads of Sixth Forms from the network and other local schools which are very well attended and receive universally positive feedback.

Further, there is also no doubt, that our learning mentors have benefitted from working with us. They gain valuable teaching experience guided by seasoned teachers and have the opportunity to develop counselling skills as well.

In the medium term, the project has tremendous potential to act as a beacon for other pupils in the participating schools, helping to demonstrate that higher education, including the most competitive universities, are not ‘out of reach’.

Public benefit

AAAF is mindful of the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and is confident that it works for the public benefit by increasing the educational opportunities available to young people from low and middle-income homes; and improving and promoting social mobility. The charity’s work is targeted at those from socio-economically deprived and non-privileged backgrounds – those which the data shows are less likely than their peers to go to university. AAAF believes this represents a waste of talent that is not only unfair to the individual, but also of economic cost to the country.

The eleven academy schools taking part in the two programmes face significant educational and social challenges. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals averages over 40% (against a national average of 28% for 2013), and on average fewer than 46% of pupils gain five GCSEs at A*-C (placing these schools in the fourth quintile nationally). IDACI and POLAR 3 measurements place these academies in areas of deprivation and low university participation rates. The pupil population includes students who have not passed the 11-plus and gained access to selective grammar schools in the county (in the case of the Kent schools), as well as other students who did not sit the tests. Within each of the schools there are high ability students who have enormous potential; however, the schools send relatively few students on to higher education and particularly to the most highly ranked universities. The lost time due to the pandemic in 2020-21 makes our work more impactful than ever.

The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

The aim of the AAAF was always to incubate and seed fund and not run or manage innovative initiatives in education which aimed to improve social mobility in the UK. With Sevenoaks School’s full adoption of the Kent programme, we have achieved our intention. Under Sevenoaks’s stewardship, the KAN UAP will be expanded and include a greater number of students in future cohorts.

Mentoring of students by current undergraduates is a key component of AAAF-designed programmes. AAAF secured a 4-year, £129k funding grant from the Buffini Chao Foundation in 2019 specifically to support this part of the Kent programme. In the grant, there is £10,000 to support social leadership development of mentors. One outcome of our mentor internships is that a number of the university students have gone on to become teachers or to do PhDs after graduating. They attribute their experience working with AAAF students as a factor in their decision to follow these career paths.

Future plans

Due to the relocation to the US of AAAF’s co-founder, Debbie Hannam, the charity will be less active than in the past for the foreseeable future. The Trustees decided in June 2020 to release surplus funds held by AAAF to other charities whose mission and values directly align with those of AAAF. Much of the surplus came about due to the significantly reduced spending on programmes as a result of the Covid19 pandemic and the move from an in-person to a virtual format. The charities that received these surplus funds were the Linacre Institute, Intu University and the Sevenoaks Foundation. Trustee Paul Dixon resigned in June 2020 and Alastair Summers retired in March 2021. All other Trustees have agreed to remain and the Chair is Ceri Jones, a co-founder of AAAF. The aim of the charity – to improve social mobility for bright students from less-advantaged backgrounds – will remain the same. The Trustees are currently discussing two potential projects which may attract further funding to the charity. If these discussions are unsuccessful then a decision will be made regarding the ongoing viability of the charity.

The costs of all cohorts have been met through generous grants from the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Sutton Trust, the Buffini Chao Foundation, private donors, the Sevenoaks Foundation and in-kind contributions from the participating schools and universities. In addition, the Foundation’s Trustees have made either very generous contributions or performed very significant services such as financial accounting and advising on safe-guarding on a pro bono basis. We have also received significant legal services pro bono.

Reserves Policy

We have a policy whereby we hold funds to cover administrative and other miscellaneous costs. Funds for advocacy projects are raised on a project-by-project basis. The Charity has no fixed overheads such as an office or administrative staff.

Risk Management

The AAAF board consider as part of their regular meetings the major risks facing the charity and the steps in place to mitigate those risks. These risks cover financial, legal and operational areas.

The Trustees personally have the professional expertise to ensure they actively manage the risks that the charity faces and have implemented a robust policy regarding safe-guarding in particular which can be viewed on the charity’s website.

The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee . It was established under a Memorandum of Association which defines its objects and powers and it is governed by way of its Articles of Association.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:

None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 in the event of a winding up.

The directors are responsible for the recruitment of members and new trustees.

The directors were the first members of the charity. Membership is open to individuals or organisations whose application is approved by the directors.

The project is overseen by an expert trustee group and with input from senior staff in the network of participating schools.

The trustees are responsible for decision-making on long-term strategic direction and governance as well as playing a key role in ensuring that our partner schools deliver a high standard of programme.

The current trustee body of four includes three trustees who have been involved in the project since its inception. Any new trustees that join will have informal discussions with existing trustees and are offered the chance to observe a board meeting before appointment. They also have access to the charity’s governing documents, minutes of past meetings and other key materials as part of their induction process.

The results for the year are set out on page 8.

The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 May 2021, which are set out on pages 8 to 15.

The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of Accelerate & Access Foundation Limited for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

examine the financial statements under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the financial statements present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.

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

to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities;

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

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 May 2021.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the charity keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Act and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Accelerate & Access Foundation Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Bruns House, School Lane, Caterham, CR3 6BE.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

The trustees have adopted the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements, see note 14 to the accounts.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

There are no endowment funds subject to specific conditions by donors.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of recovery from HMRC.

Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred.

The costs of generating funds are those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries.

Governance costs include those incurred in the governance by the trustees of the charitys assets and are primarily associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of operating the charity

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Charity running costs

Donations

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Charity running costs

Donations

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Donations

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Insurance

Mentoring fees

Travel expenses

Sundry expenses

There were no employees during the year.

Unrestricted

Unrestricted

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2020 - none).

As disclosed in the accounting policies the accounts have been prepared on the going concern basis. This is dependent on future funding being received to enable the charity to continue. The trustees are to meet to explore further funding. If future funding is not forthcoming it may be necessary to wind up the charity. There are no adjustments required in respect of the amounts shown in the accounts if it is determined necessary to wind up the charity.