for the Period Ended 30 April 2024
Directors report | |
Balance sheet | |
Additional notes | |
Balance sheet notes | |
Community Interest Report |
Directors' report period ended
The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period ended 30 April 2024
Principal activities of the company
Directors
The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from
1 May 2023
to
30 April 2024
The director shown below has held office during the period of
1 May 2023
to
27 April 2024
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006
This report was approved by the board of directors on
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
As at
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The notes form part of these financial statements
The directors have chosen not to file a copy of the company's profit and loss account.
This report was approved by the board of directors on
and signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
The notes form part of these financial statements
for the Period Ended 30 April 2024
Basis of measurement and preparation
for the Period Ended 30 April 2024
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Company activities and impact The company runs several different community-based projects with the aim of achieving a racial justice and equity in education and mental health access. We provide three main services: - Teacher training in school so they can better support Black students. - Running Black history session to improve Black children’s racial esteem. - Advocating for social injustice issues that affect our community like racially discriminatory school exclusions and policies. - Providing a safe space to access wellbeing support from a cultural lens to the Black British Community. Our projects for the financial year 2023 – 2024 include the following: 1. The Grounded Project The Grounded Project is our school-based initiative dedicated to weekly lessons on Global Black history at our partner schools. Our engagement spans both Primary and Secondary Schools children aged 8–16-year-olds, covering Lambeth and various other areas in London. With a reach extending to five schools and over 100 students, the primary goal of this program is to enhance the racial esteem of Black children, aiding them in unlearning and challenging internalised racist stereotypes surrounding their Black identity. Our sessions provide a secure environment not only for Black children but also serve as an educational tool for all races, emphasising the global nature of history. We've successfully expanded and enriched our curriculum, offering students a more comprehensive understanding of Black history and culture while introducing them to previously unexplored topics. Additionally, we've conducted Grounded Project workshops and assemblies, responding to schools that actively seek out BLAM UK for this valuable service. The Grounded Project remains a crucial vehicle in advancing BLAM UK's mission. Current school list: Henry Fawcett Primary School - During School Hours -Monday 2-5PM – 25 students year 3-6 rotating for full year, After School – 10 students 9-11 year old Van Gogh Primary School - After school club -Tuesday 3.15-3.45PM - 10 students, 9-10 year old St Alfege with St Peter Primary School - During School Hours - Wednesday 1.30-3PM - 30 students 10-11 year old Lilian Balis School From January 2024 -During Hours - Friday, Time varies depending on year group - 30 students -11-14 year olds Past schools list: Fairlawn Primary From 2021 - September 2023 - After school club - 10 students, 9- 10 year old. Evelyn Grace Academy - After school enrichment program - 20-25 students that rotates termly 11-16 year old. Upcoming School Bevington Primary School- -Starting in April 2025 After school club Thursday 3.15-3.45PM - 10 students, 9-10 year old Zuri Therapy is a monthly racial wellness workshop designed to provide alternative therapeutic methods for Black adults across the UK. These virtual sessions are led by trained therapists and focus on equipping participants with effective techniques to address racial trauma. In 2024, our Zuri project experienced incredible success, with workshops consistently fully booked. While Zuri Therapy has been paused since November, we are now concentrating on an exciting new initiative, the launch of our report, "Racial Trauma as a Public Health Emergency," in collaboration with The Equality Trust, scheduled for March 2025. 2. School Exclusion Work Our School Exclusion Programme continues to support families, working with pupils who face a range of complex and misunderstood needs, many of which relate to social, emotional well-being, and mental health. Alarmingly, we continue to see a significant trend in Black students being disproportionately excluded just before their GCSEs, a practice that severely impacts their academic outcomes. We have been committed to identifying where schools have failed to meet students' needs and to advocate for families navigating these challenges. This has involved attending Independent Review Panel meetings and engaging with key stakeholders in education to push for reconsideration of sanctions and more sensitive approaches to supporting vulnerable students. Through these efforts, we’ve achieved several positive outcomes: Exclusions removed from pupils’ academic records. Reinstatement of students who were initially denied the opportunity to return to school. Successful transitions for students into better-suited school environments. BLAM UK is still deeply concerned by the rising number of cases involving racist behavior and bullying from both teachers and students, which often go unsanctioned. Currently, we are supporting two families in taking their concerns to the Department for Education . In 2025, we aim to expand our School Exclusion Programme by recruiting a dedicated youth advocate and a lawyer to represent Black children facing exclusion. This will enable us to provide even more comprehensive support to families and challenge systemic injustices in education. As part of our advocacy, we are developing resources to address the long-term impact of exclusions on Black pupils, focusing on strategies to combat these challenges while introducing aftercare support for both children and their families. We remain committed to fighting for systemic change and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive in an equitable and supportive educational environment. Current work Exclusions programme Currently in the process in offering mental health and SEND support to our clients Black British English Campaign to be relaunched 2024 More resources and documents are being created for the school exclusions process and the work that we do. Empowerment Network. 3. The Curriculum Research Project The Curriculum Research Project Report will launch on 20th January 2025, in partnership with the law firm Leigh Day. This report offers a comprehensive exploration of systemic racial discrimination against Black children within the UK education system, with the goal of improving educational outcomes and addressing racial disparities. This event has 86 ticket purchases. 4. BLAM Digital Rights in UK Schools Research Project We are currently undertaking a 12 month research project on the use of Body-Worn Cameras cameras in Black majority schools. Our research will highlight the need for an outright ban or comprehensive overhaul of their usage. It is worth noting that the first school trials of BWCs took place in 2022, marking a relatively recent development in the educational landscape. Our research will show that the Information Commissioner's Office guidance, which dates back to 2012, is outdated and fails to adequately address the privacy and data protection concerns arising from the use of BWCs in schools. Our research aims to highlight the urgent need for updated and robust regulations that ensure full compliance with data protection. 5. Language Justice BLAM has hosted numerous events, training sessions, and workshops across the UK focusing on Anti-Black Linguistic Racism, accent bias, and fostering safe spaces for Black British English speakers. Highlights include delivering training to the Young Minds organisation, presenting at the GOE Language Convention in Birmingham with over 1,000 teachers from across the UK, and collaborating with universities, the St Giles organisation, and ReconnectJA.
The company’s stakeholders are mainly the Black British community in London, the schools and teachers in the local area, and the organisations that provide us with funding. By having different types of projects that range from working with young people, teachers and adults in the Black British and wider communities we can get a better understanding of the concerns and issues that they face in everyday life. We are then able to tailor our projects to help to make an active contribution to these problems. For example, creating Zuri Therapy as a way to provide an easy entrance point to group wellness sessions that many in the community did not have access to previously. At the end of our projects, attendees are asked to fill out a survey so that we know what has worked well and the areas that can be improved. For our Black history workshops we ask the young beforehand how much Black history they currently know, many indicate that they knew very little and would like to know more. Their parents are also very keen for them to take part in sessions and sign consent forms on their behalf. We do a feedback form at the end of the term finding out what sessions they enjoyed most and if they feel they have learnt more about their history and culture. We use the feedback forms to help us guide the sessions we do, many reported that they liked the dancing sessions and cultural games sessions. We ensured that the next term had more of these themes within them.
The company paid remuneration of £11,398 to one of its Directors for the period ending 30 April 2024. There were no other transactions that are required to be disclosed.
No transfer of assets other than for full consideration
This report was approved by the board of directors on
20 January 2025
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name: IFE THOMPSON
Status: Director