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REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 08396177 (England and Wales)
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1154104














REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FOR

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

OPEN SCHOOL EAST






CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024




Page

Report of the Trustees 1 to 10

Independent Examiner's Report 11

Statement of Financial Activities 12

Balance Sheet 13 to 14

Notes to the Financial Statements 15 to 20

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024


The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

INTRODUCTION

Open School East (OSE) is an innovative arts charity that delivers free and flexible education programmes with and for communities less likely to access traditional provision. Initially based in East London from its starting point in 2013, OSE relocated to Margate, Kent, in 2017. OSE offers a space for artistic and collaborative learning that is experimental, versatile and non-exclusive.

We run four strands of programming:

* The Associates Programme: a ten month long development programme for emerging artists and cultural
practitioners from diverse backgrounds and generations;
* The Despacito Art School: an art, craft and functional object-making programme open to 5 to 12 year olds
who lack opportunities to develop creatively
* The Public Programme: a multifaceted programme of events, activities and short courses open to everyone;
* Lacuna: A learning network and programme for teachers, educators, artists and arts professionals in the
region in collaboration with Turner Contemporary & Arts Education Exchange.

Open School East is committed to making the arts a more open sector and to fostering cultural and social exchanges between artists and the broader public. We do this by making our programmes entirely free of charge and opening them outwards, responding to our locality, and providing an informal environment for the development and sharing of knowledge and skills across all communities and generations.

We equip artists at an early stage of their career with the tools to become resourceful and self-sufficient, and enable young people and adults alike to develop confidence and life skills and to shape their creative voice by becoming active learners and co-producers of OSE's programmes.

Open School East strives to be a self-scrutinising and adaptable organisation; accordingly, it keeps its doors open to change and places access, in its widest sense, at the centre of its agenda.

OSE has a committed and dynamic Board, which in 2023-24 was composed of eight trustees, chaired by Sarah Griffin, to support the staff team, steer the organisation and advocate for its activities.

Open School East is a registered charity and National Portfolio Organisation, supported by Arts Council England. Core and project funding comes from trusts and foundations, and individual giving/ donations.

For more information, please visit: www.openschooleast.org


OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
The charity's objects ('Objects') are specifically restricted to the following:

To advance education of artists and the public in general in the South East, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of:
(a) training, advice and support for artists;
(b) space and facilities for the creation and appreciation of art; and
(c) the exchange of knowledge and skills by way of art conferences, workshops and other facilitated learning opportunities.

To meet its objectives, Open School East (OSE) supports:
(1) The artistic and professional development of artists through tuition, mentorship, studio provision and exhibition opportunities;
(2) The development of life and creative skills, and confidence, among local young people;
(3) The delivery of events, workshops, short courses and collective projects devised by and with the OSE community and partner organisations.

Public benefit
In setting objectives and planning for activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to the general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit.


OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable activities
VISION

The trustees and staff of Open School East have identified the following objectives, which inform the activities and priorities outlined in the business plan 2018-23.

* To promote artistic excellence through support to aspiring and emerging artists and collaboration with world
class artists in the delivery of our programmes;
* To keep widening access to our programmes, in particular for those without opportunity to develop creatively;
* To nurture our independence of thought and drive to be a self-reflexive and adaptable organisation;
* To stimulate and influence debates around contemporary art, learning and access, through collaborative
research and programming, and partnerships across sectors and geographies.

Open School East's strategy focuses on developing these principles within the following areas of activity:

* The Associates Programme
* The Public Programme
* The Despacito Art School
* The Lacuna Network
* Alumni Commissioning


PROGRAMME 2023/24
1. Associates Programme
2. Public Programme
3. Despacito Art School
4. Lacuna

1. Associates Programme

The Associates Programme is a free development programme offering a critical, informal and non-competitive environment in which to develop artistic practice and expand networks. The programme is run according to principles of collaboration, experimentation and openness, and welcomes those who engage with these notions in different ways. The Programme is free to attend, non-accredited and is principally self-directed, creating platforms for the Associates to develop their practice.

Associates at OSE are emerging artists from different generations, backgrounds and levels of education, who work in a variety of media. Following a yearly open call sent locally, nationally and internationally, prospective Associates are selected according to the following criteria:

* artistic quality;
* a recognised need to access free learning opportunities outside the formal structures of school, college or
university;
* the ability and willingness to work collaboratively and to enter into a meaningful dialogue with local
audiences and publics from further afield.

The tenth edition of the Associates Programme ran from September 2023 and completed in June 2024. In total, 49 artists applied to an open recruitment round for the Associates Programme. A shortlist was produced and potential applicants were interviewed resulting in Associates from diverse disciplines in contemporary visual arts joining the programme in 2023/2024.

The 2023/2024 cohort of Associates were represented by the following artists;

Alex Vellis (They/Them) is a Greek-British poet, producer, and playwright from Canterbury, Kent. They hold an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent and have published five books through Whisky & Beards Publishing. Alex’s work has been studied in schools in the Netherlands and in young offender’s institutes in the United States.

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Vellis has performed nationally and internationally as a poet, gracing stages in Paris, London, Oxford, and Malta, as well as delivering lectures at universities and festivals on events production, being a working-class artist, and poetry in the larger sphere.

Emelia Kerr Beale works across drawing, sculpture and textile to process body/mind complexity and to hold space for multiplicity. Since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 2019, Emelia has sought further ‘education’ through alternative routes, including In Session FKA GRADJOB (2019-2020) and The Newbridge Project’s Collective Studio (2021-2022). Recent exhibitions include There Has To Be Somewhere, Grand Union Gallery,Birmingham (2023) and pain folds its legs, Edinburgh Sculpture workshop, Edinburgh (2023).

Gwennan Thomas (She/Her) is a Franco-British artist who grew up in both France and south Wales. She was nominated for the Abstract Critical Newcomer Awards in 2012 and selected for Flowers Gallery’s Artist of the Day in 2013. She has shown regularly in the UK and has also participated in several curatorial projects.

Her practice is studio-based and process driven, working primarily with painting which sits somewhere between abstraction and figuration. The work explores fluidity in the context of memory, bicultural identity and language. She paints on a variety of surfaces and often makes her own paints, building a body of research on materiality and the tactile.

Jas Dhillon (She/Her) is a self-taught artist and curator with an expanded practice. She uses her Punjabi, Sikh, Indian heritage and a deep reverence for nature and spirituality to create spaces for a tender and sensitive reflection on ideas of identity, rootedness and belonging.

Raised by working class, immigrant parents in Kent, she is inspired by the power of the ordinary, community, humanity and kindness. Her practice so far has used fabric, Punjabi script, screen printing, neon, sound, scent, and found objects. Jas’ projects include an outdoor installation for the Glow Illumination trail 2022, curation of the Whitstable Biennale 2022 short film programme, co-curation and commissioning for the Estuary Festival 2021 opening weekend programme, and a commission for Margate Now 2020.

Kenny Mala Ngombe (He/Him) is an artist based in Belgium. Through painting, drawing, sculpture, video, animation and sound, he explores the representation and perception of the human body. His practice is preoccupied with how the fiction that is “otherness” seeps into our reality and society. Inspired by the Manifesto of Afro Surreal, Mala Ngombe attempts to unravel the invisible world hiding behind the visible one in which we operate, to rethinkshapes and bodies.

He is co-founder of Customs & Borders, an artist-led collective that was active from 2021 to 2023, and which aimed to shift the boundaries of access to contemporary art with an Afrocentric vision.

Lucia Coppola (She/Her) is an artist based in London. Her work explores and playfully critiques social dynamics and power structures. Within storytelling she leans into vulnerability, mystery, menace and joy. Coppola’s films and performances often unfold within domestic or leisure inspired settings and situations. Using humour, familiarity and unexpected climaxes, she seeks to carefully unravel reality.

She graduated from Goldsmiths (BA Fine Art) in 2019 and was the recipient of The Nicholas & Andrei Tooth Travelling Scholarship. As a result of this award she made her recent film ‘The Last Tender’, which documents her experience on a cruise ship throughout February and March 2020, the same time the covid-19 pandemic was first unfolding.

Middleton Maddocks (They/She/He) (formerly of UCA and Goldsmiths) is an artist, filmmaker and henomenologitian. Middleton’s work is concerned with mapping; language—its failures and tricks—; nonsense making; theatre as a space and performance as a mode for living; autofiction; and personal symbolic histories. They treat theatre as a space in which the complex dynamic that emerges between personal and extrapersonal languages of symbol/gesture can be unfurled with an audience; enabling a shared attunement to the (often nonsense-producing and chaotic) oscillations between the self & the other.

Off-beat and out of tune are considered important and technical homes in the creative, neurologically diverse landscape Middleton inhabits. Devotion to the good-life, girl best friendship and mourning are central to their practice.

Nikki Sheth (She/Her) is an internationally recognised sound artist and composer. Her work aims to give voice to the environment and foster a deeper connection with the natural world through field recordings, soundscape composition, multimedia installations, and sound walking using multichannel and ambisonic spatial practices.

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024


She was awarded a Sound and Music award (2020), nominated for the Phonurgia Nova Awards (2020), received an Honourable Mention for the Sound of the Year Awards (2021), nominated for Ivor Novello Composer Award (2021) and awarded a Sound and Music Seed Award for New Voices (2022).

She recently collaborated on the ‘Disruptive Frequencies’ album released with Nonclassical and her debut album, ‘Sounds of Mmabolela’ was released with Flaming Pines in 2021. She is currently a Sound UK Sound Generator Artist.

Each year OSE's Artistic Director, Polly Brannan, invites a Lead Artist to develop a collaborative project as part of the programme curriculum. This is a great opportunity for Associates to work with an established artist, gaining insights into their approach and exposure to the practices of a number of guest artists invited to lead sessions as part of the project.

Term structure
The Associates Programme is structured around three terms with various modules and outcomes. For the 2023-2024 iteration of the programme, the cohort focused on the following activities:

TERM 1

* Introductory Week: A week to settle in, meet the other Associates and the OSE team, explore Margate and
the school itself.
* Social Practice Module: The Social Practice Module is a series of talks and workshops, devised by the OSE
Artistic Director, that explores and unpacks what it means to be working collaboratively with communities,
and helps to form a deeper understanding of social practice and engagement.The module invites guests that
include commissioners, researchers, practitioners/artists and curators who are leading in their field. Past
invitees have included; Viviana Checchia, Amal Khalaf, Anna Cutler and Sepake Angiama.
* ‘Circulating Energies’ with Artist Hugh Nicholson: This was a partnership of cross border collaboration
and exchange between France and UK, as part of the Triennial of Art & Industry, based in Dunkirk
(10.06.2023 — 14.01.2024) in partnership with Frac Grand Large, ESA Art School and Open School East. A
number of Associates had the opportunity to develop a programme of public events in early January 2024 as
part of the Triennial, in collaboration with ESA Art School, their students and artist Hugh Nicholson. This
opportunity was developed with Hugh as part of his ongoing residency research which looked at green energy
options as an alternative to current energy production methodologies.

TERM 2

Lead Artist Project: This term was a collective learning project developed in collaboration with the invited OSE Lead Artist for 2023-24: the vacuum cleaner https://www.thevacuumcleaner.co.uk.

Associates worked with artist and activist the vacuum cleaner, in the context of a NHS community mental health space in Thanet, The Beacon.

This was an opportunity to work with an artist that blends research, process and exhibitions, to reimagine mental health support and the environments this support happens in. the vacuum cleaner has experience of working with vulnerable adults and young people, and developing collaborative ways of working within community settings/mental health care settings.

Guided by a steering and accountable group, this process supported the Associates to use this space to learn and develop a shared way of making new work, with a focus on community, disability and mental health issues.

With training and guidance, the Associates had the opportunity to develop in context, learning about disability justice, through making work and a series of workshops with clients at the mental health centre.

The mentoring module started in Term 2 with each Associate having 2 mentors each to guide them through the year as well as OSE staff offering 1-1 sessions, the development of the Associates Public Programme and NHS training of Associates with experts and guests from the Advisory Group. Workshops took place at The Beacon and Arts in Ramsgate (AiR). The visiting artists module began , including artist talks and workshops with artists such as Ingrid Pollard and Harrold Offeh.

TERM 3

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024


OSE Associate Exhibition 23/24: Each year, Open School East invites a Guest Curator to work closely with the cohort of Associates during their third term and in the build up to their end of year exhibition. Through 1:1 mentoring sessions, group crits and curatorial development sessions, the Guest Curator helps to shape individual Associate projects and the exhibition as a whole. The 2023-24 cohort of OSE Associates was joined by guest curator Beatriz Lobo Britto, a curator, museologist and researcher. She is an enthusiast of non-hierarchical thinking, and believes in non-linear ways of composing and organising ideas. Her research is invested in decolonial methodologies, exploring practices around education, social and environmental justice. Since 2011, Beatriz has been an advocate for Indigenous rights, working on community-led projects with a focus on critical pedagogy and land justice in South America.This year the Associates also worked with Aimee Harrison (Curator of Learning at Liverpool Biennial), to take them through the exhibition and installation process; alongside advice from their mentors and guidance from the OSE Artistic Director and team.

The Associate Exhibition is an opportunity for the current cohort of Associate Artists to share their work with arts professionals (nationally), prospective collaborators, funders, peers and the wider public. Past curators include; Sepake Angiama (Iniva), Angelica Sule (Site Gallery), Cedric Fauq (Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux) and Maggie Matiæ (Studio Voltaire).

Throughout the year Associates meet their mentors for one to one tutorials to discuss their work, research and ideas, both in general and in preparation for public events and the final show.

During the third and final term Associates were able to invest more time in their allocated studios, focusing on the production of new and ongoing artworks for the Associate Exhibition, and a group publication featuring contributions from all the Associates. The exhibition and publication enabled each Associate to showcase the research and work they have generated during their time at Open School East to local, national and international audiences.

Associate Final Exhibition June 2024: we went outside and it’s the entire earth
The OSE Associate Exhibition 2024 invited audiences to see and take tours of the exhibition led by the Associates and Guest Curator, Beatriz Lobo Britto, and to see collaborative works developed through a series of workshops with OSE’s Despacito Art School and members of the creative, teachers, and educators network programme, Lacuna. Led by artist Samara Scott, the project involved sharing their practice’s approaches and methods to create sessions focused on making and experimenting.

we went outside and it’s the entire earth, https://openschooleast.org/events/associate-exhibition-2024 took place over a 4 day period in June (Thursday 27th - Sunday 30th) at OSE premises in Margate (with a publication launch at Turner Contemporary). Our audience figures for the exhibition (including previews and curator led tours) were 540.

2. Public Programme
Each year the current cohort of Associates develop and deliver a Public Programme of participatory events, that runs alongside other curriculum activity. Their public events, activities and short courses invite interactions between the artistic community, the local neighbourhood and the broader public. They include skills-based workshops, talks, seminars, reading groups, walks, performances, concerts, screenings and social gatherings.They are organised by, and in dialogue with, OSE Associates, alumni and staff, guest practitioners, and local and regional partner organisations.

This year we continued our partnership with Turner Contemporary, who generously hosted part of the public programme.

Public Programme -
Back to the Cave: online in-conversation and exhibition sneak-peak with artist Tracey Rose Wednesday 14 February 2024, 6–7:30pm
Associate Middleton Maddocks held an online conversation with the artist Tracey Rose from her travelling retrospective Shooting Down Babylon at the Kunstmuseum Bern, ahead of it’s opening reception on 23 February 2024. Rose was invited to discuss alchemy and animism in art – how we find it in our current contemporary circumstances, and where along the way it might have been lost.

The Night Alphabet: An evening of live readings with poet Joelle Taylor, Wednesday 21 February 2024, 5:30–8pm, Turner Contemporary

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

T. S. Eliot and Polari Prize award-winning poet Joelle Taylor gave live readings from her debut novel ‘The Night Alphabet’ and an in-conversation with OSE Associate Alex Vellis. Set across geographies and timespans, The Night Alphabet is a dazzlingly bold and original work, a deep investigation into human nature and violence against women. This event was a LGBTQIA+ centred space, and invited Kent-based, working class writers to join the conversation.

Ultra DIY Open-Wave Receiver with Shortwave Collective Wednesday 27 March 2024, 2–5:30pm, Open School East
Associate Nikki Sheth and members of Shortwave Collective created a workshop to learn about and build a simple homemade radio receiver, an ‘Open Wave-Receiver’. Participants engaged as co-researchers and experimenters, working with a basic set of materials: copper wire, metal clips, speaker wire, tent pegs, and found objects.

Fluid Images with Gwennan Thomas Saturday 27 Apr 2024, 2–4:10pm, Open School East
Associate Gwennan Thomas led a painting workshop which looked at image making through working with fragments of poetic prose and film stills. The focus of the workshop was on working with fluid and intuitive painting processes.

DEMONIC HALF-PERSON with Jamie Crewe Wednesday 1 May 2024, 5:45–8pm, Turner Contemporary
Artist and filmmaker Jamie Crewe held an artist’s talk at Turner Contemporary in which Crewe discussed ‘DEMONIC HALF-PERSON’, a creative technique that recurs throughout their practice. The event was co-facilitated by OSE Associate Emelia Kerr Beale, who hosted a Q&A after the talk.

Unconscious Reflection with Alice Davies Wednesday 8 May 2024, 5:45–8pm, Turner Contemporary
Arts Psychotherapist and Educator Alice Davies and OSE Associate Kenny Mala Ngombe hosted an experiential art-making workshop. This was a space for collective and intuitive art-making, where the group dynamic may be considered a microcosm of society at large, and where significant themes that arose through acts of art making and discussion in the group were explored as meaningful reflections of such.

If I Recall Correctly with Alex Margo Arden Friday 17 May 2024, 5–8pm, Margate Caves
Artist Alex Margo Arden and OSE Associate Lucia Coppola led a performance and storytelling workshop. In this participatory workshop they undertook improvisational exercises to develop an alternative tour of Margate Caves, devised and delivered by all participants. The collective performance allowed participants to share stories, ideas and experiences related to the imagery within paintings on the walls of Margate Caves.

They Dance in the Dark, Performance and Q&A with RENU (Renu Hossain) Wednesday
29 May 2024, 5:45–8pm, Turner Contemporary
Percussionist, tabla player, composer, producer and curator RENU (Renu Hossain) gave a live performance of They Dance in the Dark, their critically acclaimed 2017 album. Co-facilitated by OSE Associate Jas Dhillon, who hosted a &A with RENU after the performance.

In total, the 2023-2024 public programme event curated by Associates attracted an audience of nearly 300, with representation from communities across the UK.

3. Despacito Art School
Started in 2017, the Despacito Art School is a programme open to 5 to 12 year olds who live in and around Cliftonville and Margate, who lack opportunities to develop creatively; working with artists and practitioners to develop both collaborative and individual work. The art school was named by the young artists after their favourite 2017 summer hit.

Within the financial year 2023-24, funding enabled us to deliver three high quality Despacito Art School programmes that were provided free to local families, ensuring that local children in Cliftonville were able to access supported, creative sessions that allowed them opportunities to play, learn new skills, make friends and grow in confidence.

In November 2023 the ‘Little Sprats’ workshop was held at Hawley Square, Margate, where the children explored ideas and stories for a potential TV show about a group of children from an arts club, just like Despacito Art School!

In February 2024 half-term Despacito Art School worked with artist Samara Scott, learning about designing, making and creating a fashion and art show using sustainable practices, collaboration and found materials.


OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

During May 2024 Despacito Art School worked collaboratively with 3 of the year's Associate Artists to create part of a film. The children were involved in the film’s set design and character development. They created a scene which was included in the Associate's film ‘Wish you were here’, which was then shown at a special screening for the participants and families as part of the final show.

All 3 projects were planned and delivered by OSE with input from a diverse range of artists. Through project delivery, we were able to engage a local community member from within the Cliftonville community to provide translation services and support to all families and children who engaged with the project. This was an excellent way in which to ensure that our project activities reached the families that it was aimed at.

Despacito Art School is reliant on support from fundraising activities and the above projects were partly funded by the J P Jacobs Charitable Trust.




4. Lacuna: A Learning Network for Educators, Practitioners, Artists and Teachers

Lacuna is a network led by OSE, Arts Education Exchange and Turner Contemporary. This network has evolved through discussions, conversations and feedback that reflects that lack of space that arts and creative activities have within the formal curriculum within education environments. The network is aimed at teachers and educators across the southeast region to share and develop their knowledge and approach to creative learning. The network will stimulate creativity, curiosity and critical thinking, making use of the cultural context of Thanet. We aim to invite an open dialogue across sectors and communities, building on the area's rich tapestry of history and innovation to nurture a culture of learning. With our joined up expertise, knowledge and resources in social practice, education and access we want to open up opportunity, discourse and practice.

In total, 6 Lacuna events were held over a 12 month period, with OSE leading on the following events;
April 2023: Artists Role in Society - working with publics and not for An in-conversation event with OSE Artistic Director, Polly Brannan, and Super Slow Way Director, Laurie Peake, around social arts practice and community initiatives. Case studies of best practice were shared based on the experiences of communities working with artists on their own terms and shaping the places they live and work in. Examples included; Liverpool's Homebaked/2up2down Jeanne van Heeswijk and Granby CLT and Shapes of Water, Sounds of Hope by Suanne Lacey in Lancashire. The event was hosted at Turner Contemporary.

February 2024: artist Nicolas Deshayes joined OSE for an evening of making and discussion in our Public Programme room, to explore how creativity and artistic practice can inform teaching practice, asking the questions ‘how can we embed artistic practice into everyday learning and teaching?’ and ‘what do we learn from being an artist?’.

Our last session again took place at OSE with artist Samara Scott, who introduced her artistic practice through working with liquid alchemical, image transfer and mark making processes. Participants used latex and liquid rubbers to make a collaborative and collective textile work, exploring similar processes that were used in Open School Easts Despacito Art School Programme earlier in the year. Throughout the evening we explored how creativity and artistic practice can inform how we work, teach and connect. In total, OSE attracted an audience of 80 over the course of the 3 events above. All three partners have received a strong response to Lacuna events and there is a desire to continue this work.

Partnerships 2023-24
Under the direction of the Artistic Director Polly Brannan, OSE has been working hard to develop long term sustainable partnerships to enable us to reach new, diverse audiences as well as identifying new professional development opportunities for our 2023-2024 Associate OSE Alumni. The following key partnership approaches are identified below; 243 Luz - Lizzy Deacon (OSE Alumni) had her first solo exhibition at 243 Luz in Margate and
at their Ilano gallery based in Mexico City in January 2024;

Gathering in London and Cement Fields in North Kent have also confirmed that they will work with OSE to provide exhibition and commissioning opportunities for our alumni; Mosaic Rooms in London offered event commissions for OSE Alumni James Jordan Johnson & Sarah Al-Sarraj and Alumni Simina Neagu delivered a series of workshop, screening & performance events as part of Mosaic Rooms public In Response strand.


OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024


ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Fundraising activities
During the 2023-24 financial year, OSE received the following grants:
Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation,
Co-op towards Despacito Art School,
Jerwood Artists Development Fund towards the Associates Programme,
J P Jacobs Charitable Trust towards the Associates Programme and Despacito Art School,
Kent County Council towards the Associates Programme and Despacito Art School,
The Roden Fund towards the Associate Producer.

FINANCIAL REVIEW
Reserves policy
The policy of Open School East (OSE) is to hold a general reserve in a minimum sum of unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately three months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. This reserve is to cover various contingencies such as a significant uninsured loss, a significant event which damages the organisation's reputation leading to a reduction in income generated via funding and or studio licence income. The general reserve can also be used to cover temporary cash flow shortfalls in receiving grant payments. On 31 March 2024 this reserve stood at £60k.
This policy is reviewed annually by the Board of Trustees.

Going concern
Open School East is a charity and its Trustees have a duty to consider the operational and financial resilience of the entire organisation. The charity has reserves in place and implements plans to increase the current level of reserves as and when appropriate. These reserves are to ensure the smooth wind down of the charity if that is deemed to be a necessary course of action. This could be due to financial considerations or the lack of a need for the charity's services. OSEs financial position is reviewed on a monthly basis as part of the preparation of management accounts and cash flow forecasts and considered alongside delivery of our business planning processes.

OSE has a strategic risk register in place and any changes to the register are assessed in terms of their impact on financial resilience. The register enables trustees to retain a clear oversight of external and internal factors likely to have a significant impact on income and expenditure which are particularly relevant to cashflow management and our going concern status.

Clearly, for OSE as a free art school, our ability to navigate appropriately through the current financial context will be crucial; continuing to support our artistic community in a safe and responsible manner, using our finances in the most efficient way possible, and continuing to build our supporter/ patron base.

Trustees will continue to review plans with the OSE leadership team to make any necessary changes to the financial plans.
The charity has a positive balance sheet and the Trustees are of the opinion that OSE has sufficient resources in place to meet its liabilities as required. As such, they remain satisfied that Open School East can continue to operate and the accounts have been prepared in the knowledge that OSE is a financially viable organisation.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
The management of the company is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association.

Organisational structure
Open School East has a Board of Trustees who meet quarterly and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. In 2023-24, the Board had eight members from a variety of professional backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity. A scheme of delegation is in place, and day-to-day responsibility for the running of the school rests with the management team. The management team is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the activities specified, and that key performance indicators are met. In 2023-24, Polly Brannan and Natalie Ross/Fiona Kingsman shared responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the charity.

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024


STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. A strategic risk register is in place and this is reviewed at each board meeting.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
08396177 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number
1154104

Registered office
39 Hawley Square
Margate
Kent
CT9 1NY

Trustees
Mrs S Griffin - Independent Curator (Chair of OSE Board)
Mr M J O’Shaughnessy - Producer
Mr O Watson - Architect
Mr S Kohli - Head of Development at Turner Contemporary
Mr S M Causer Architect
F Parrott Artist & Academic
Ms N Ross Operations Director (appointed 14/10/2023) (resigned 5/12/2023)
Ms S van Schalkwyk Accountant (appointed 13/10/2023)
Ms L R Stonock Founding Dir. & CEO of Metroland Culture (appointed 19/1/2024)

Independent Examiner
Philip Loveridge
Spurling Cannon
Chartered Certified Accountants
424 Margate Road
Westwood
Ramsgate
Kent
CT12 6SJ

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 20 September 2024 and signed on its behalf by:





Mrs S Griffin - - Trustee

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF
OPEN SCHOOL EAST

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Open School East ('the Company')
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.








Philip Loveridge

Spurling Cannon
Chartered Certified Accountants
424 Margate Road
Westwood
Ramsgate
Kent
CT12 6SJ

Date: .............................................

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
Notes £    £    £    £   
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 2 129,857 28,163 158,020 205,984

Other trading activities 3 - - - 657
Investment income 4 17,484 - 17,484 11,900
Total 147,341 28,163 175,504 218,541

EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 6,530 - 6,530 3,186

Charitable activities
Associates Programme 96,788 21,516 118,304 78,550
Public Programme 21,281 2,291 23,572 1,209
Young Associates Programme - - - 91,408
Despacito 24,440 4,938 29,378 34,065
Total 149,039 28,745 177,784 208,418

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) (1,698 ) (582 ) (2,280 ) 10,123


RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 131,412 2,348 133,760 123,637

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 129,714 1,766 131,480 133,760

OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

BALANCE SHEET
31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
Notes £    £    £    £   
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 9 3,004 - 3,004 -
Cash at bank and in hand 130,954 2,171 133,125 137,916
133,958 2,171 136,129 137,916

CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 10 (4,244 ) (405 ) (4,649 ) (4,156 )

NET CURRENT ASSETS 129,714 1,766 131,480 133,760

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES

129,714

1,766

131,480

133,760

NET ASSETS 129,714 1,766 131,480 133,760
FUNDS 11
Unrestricted funds 129,714 131,412
Restricted funds 1,766 2,348
TOTAL FUNDS 131,480 133,760

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2024.


The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.


The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
(a)ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
(b)preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each 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 charitable company.


OPEN SCHOOL EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 08396177)

BALANCE SHEET - continued
31 MARCH 2024

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


The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 20 September 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:





Mrs S Griffin - - Trustee

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Going concern
The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis as, after making enquiries, the Board of Trustees has reasonable assurance that the organisation has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
2024 2023
£    £   
Donations 13,200 2,111
Grants 144,820 203,873
158,020 205,984

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES - continued

Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:

2024 2023
£    £   
Arts Council England - 4,717
ACE NPO 91,656 91,656
KCC 4,100 2,500
Kent Community - 5,000
Mbili - 5,000
Other Grants 7,064 -
Roden 15,000 15,000
Sarah and Gerard Griffin 25,000 80,000
Weston Jerwood 2,000 -
144,820 203,873

3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
2024 2023
£    £   
Consultancy fees - 657

4. INVESTMENT INCOME
2024 2023
£    £   
Studio Income 16,106 11,606
Deposit account interest 1,378 294
17,484 11,900

5. SUPPORT COSTS
Governance
Management Finance costs Totals
£    £    £    £   
Associates Programme 86,101 110 3,145 89,356
Public Programme 19,870 25 726 20,621
Despacito 27,576 34 968 28,578
133,547 169 4,839 138,555

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5. SUPPORT COSTS - continued

Activity Basis of allocation
Management Split by size of programmes
Finance Split by size of programmes
Governance costs Split by size of programmes

6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.


Trustees' expenses
2024 2023
£    £   
Trustees' expenses - 79

7. STAFF COSTS

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2024 2023
Management and Teaching 3 3

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

8. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - YEAR END 2020
Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds
£    £    £   
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 173,767 32,217 205,984

Other trading activities 657 - 657
Investment income 11,900 - 11,900
Total 186,324 32,217 218,541

EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 3,186 - 3,186

Charitable activities
Associates Programme 61,630 16,920 78,550
Public Programme 1,209 - 1,209
Young Associates Programme 45,572 45,836 91,408
Despacito 22,485 11,580 34,065
Total 134,082 74,336 208,418

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 52,242 (42,119 ) 10,123
Transfers between funds 700 (700 ) -
Net movement in funds 52,942 (42,819 ) 10,123

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - YEAR END 2020 -
continued
Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds
£    £    £   

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 78,469 45,168 123,637

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 131,411 2,349 133,760

9. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024 2023
£    £   
Prepayments 3,004 -

10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024 2023
£    £   
Social security and other taxes 2,292 1,730
Pension liability 439 385
Accruals and deferred income 405 1,000
Deposits held 1,513 1,041
4,649 4,156

11. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Net
movement At
At 1/4/23 in funds 31/3/24
£    £    £   
Unrestricted funds
General Fund 51,412 18,302 69,714
Reserves 60,000 - 60,000
Griffin 2023-2024 20,000 (20,000 ) -
131,412 (1,698 ) 129,714
Restricted funds
Weston Jerwood - 1,766 1,766
Art Fund 385 (385 ) -
KCC Straits Committee 1,963 (1,963 ) -
2,348 (582 ) 1,766
TOTAL FUNDS 133,760 (2,280 ) 131,480

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

11. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming Resources Movement
resources expended in funds
£    £    £   
Unrestricted funds
General Fund 30,685 (12,383 ) 18,302
ACE NPO 91,655 (91,655 ) -
Griffin 2023-2024 25,001 (45,001 ) (20,000 )
147,341 (149,039 ) (1,698 )
Restricted funds
KCC 2,500 (2,500 ) -
Weston Jerwood 2,000 (234 ) 1,766
Roden Fund 15,000 (15,000 ) -
Art Fund - (385 ) (385 )
Despacito 6,064 (6,064 ) -
KCC Straits Committee 1,599 (3,562 ) (1,963 )
Associate Programme 1,000 (1,000 ) -
28,163 (28,745 ) (582 )
TOTAL FUNDS 175,504 (177,784 ) (2,280 )


Comparatives for movement in funds

Net Transfers
movement between At
At 1/4/22 in funds funds 31/3/23
£    £    £    £   
Unrestricted funds
General Fund 18,469 3,126 29,817 51,412
Reserves 60,000 - - 60,000
Sarah and Gerard Griffin - 29,117 (29,117 ) -
Griffin 2023-2024 - 20,000 - 20,000
78,469 52,243 700 131,412
Restricted funds
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust 42,246 (42,246 ) - -
Tovey Fund 399 (399 ) - -
Art Fund 821 (436 ) - 385
Despacito 1,380 (1,380 ) - -
Colyer-Fergusson Hardship Fund 322 (322 ) - -
ACE Peer to Peer - 700 (700 ) -
KCC Straits Committee - 1,963 - 1,963
45,168 (42,120 ) (700 ) 2,348
TOTAL FUNDS 123,637 10,123 - 133,760

OPEN SCHOOL EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

11. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming Resources Movement
resources expended in funds
£    £    £   
Unrestricted funds
General Fund 14,668 (11,542 ) 3,126
ACE NPO 91,656 (91,656 ) -
Sarah and Gerard Griffin 60,000 (30,883 ) 29,117
Griffin 2023-2024 20,000 - 20,000
186,324 (134,081 ) 52,243
Restricted funds
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust - (42,246 ) (42,246 )
Kent Community Fund 5,000 (5,000 ) -
Mbili Fund 5,000 (5,000 ) -
Roden Fund 15,000 (15,000 ) -
Tovey Fund - (399 ) (399 )
Art Fund - (436 ) (436 )
Despacito - (1,380 ) (1,380 )
Colyer-Fergusson Hardship Fund - (322 ) (322 )
ACE Peer to Peer 4,717 (4,017 ) 700
KCC Straits Committee 2,500 (537 ) 1,963
32,217 (74,337 ) (42,120 )
TOTAL FUNDS 218,541 (208,418 ) 10,123

12. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2024.