The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
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, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)".
The Charity's objects ("objects") are as follows:
to help, assist and advance in life and relieve the needs of deaf children, young people and their parents internationally and in the United Kingdom by the provision of information, education, technology and such other means as the trustees may determine.
to advance the education and understanding of the public in the needs of deaf and disabled children and young people worldwide.
to further such other charitable purposes for the public benefit as are exclusively charitable according to the laws of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time determine.
The charity’s vision is to create a world where deaf children and young people are able to live safely, without fear of abuse and exploitation. Deafkidz International (DKI) works to respond to the safeguarding and protection needs of deaf children and young people globally. We are committed to delivering accessible solutions through programmes of education and advocacy, all aimed at reducing the risk that deaf children have of experiencing physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. We work with children directly, their caregivers, teachers, professionals and governments to create opportunities and environments where deaf children are able to prosper and fully realise their potentials.
Deafness is the third largest disability globally with 466 million deaf people worldwide, yet it remains the least resourced. The abuse and exploitation of deaf children is endemic, with deaf children three times more likely to be abused than hearing children but safeguarding and protection networks lack the means to support deaf survivors/victims of abuse and deaf children at risk. The charity seeks to address the vital gaps in meeting the safeguarding and protection needs of deaf children and reducing risk and vulnerability while supporting deaf children and young people to lead their fullest lives. Drawing its authority from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which guides the international development agenda, DeafKidz International aims to promote and realise the rights of deaf children as enshrined, endorsed and promoted in international legislation.
Values
DeafKidz International is a deaf-founded organization where deaf children and young people are central to all aspects of our organization, influencing and informing our work. We are committed to the integration of deaf and hearing people, through which we seek to ‘normalise’ being deaf, reduce stigma and promote deaf inclusion. We recognise and celebrate the diversity of deaf people and deaf communities and adopt and advocate a total communication approach, believing every deaf person has the right to choose and use their preferred mode of communication. We are evidence- led, guided by the lived experience of deaf children and informed by the learning and impact of our work, strategies and approaches. We consider sustainability right from the outset, aiming to embed our work in local structures and investing in enhancing the skills and capacities of local communities and partners.
We take a rights-based approach, promoting and protecting human rights, and stand for non-discrimination and equal opportunities for everyone regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or any other basis while also recognizing the barriers and inequalities faced by certain groups due to stigma, stereotypes, marginalization and power imbalances. At our core, we are an organization that treats everyone we come in contact with decency, respect and dignity.
Our Strategic Aims and Objectives 2023-26
Our 3-year strategy (2023/24 to 2025/26) sees us working in 8 low-resource countries - with deaf children directly, with their caregivers and with nation state governments. In these geographies, we strive to create environments where deaf children are valued and protected from harm.
Our areas of focus are:
1. Skills Development
Teaching deaf children the skills to keep themselves safe from abuse at school, home and in their wider communities.
Bringing vital knowledge and tools to the caregivers of deaf children to increase their awareness of child safeguarding. Aiming to enable them to create a safer environment for their child, and, to take an active role in championing their child (including advocacy training to enable them to challenge societal norms in their communities).
Training teachers of the deaf – providing them with the knowledge they need to educate the children in their care about safety and abuse, and instilling confidence to respond to a safeguarding disclosure.
Enhancing our e-Learning platforms providing safeguarding education for all professionals working with deaf children.
Creating real opportunities for caregivers of deaf children to acquire sign language, allowing communication and bonding with their children, including language specific to safeguarding.
2. Advocacy
Schools – guiding schools on safeguarding policies/pathways and strengthening the safeguarding values in schools (many being residential schools).
Communities – engaging key stakeholders in the wider communities where deaf children live. These will include faith leaders, tribal leaders, and municipal leaders (local government structures).
Government – driving the inclusion of safeguarding specific teaching to be included in the national curriculum for Deaf children, challenging the exclusion of deaf children in government social support and legal systems and working with them to remove barriers.
Deaf children everywhere deserve to live a life where their wellbeing is cherished, and their worth is seen. Together, we can build this world.
Grant-making
In some circumstances, grants may be made to third party non-government organisations or other charities where this enables DeafKidz International to further pursue its charitable objectives.
Grants are only considered if the non-governmental organisation or other charity meets the following criteria:
It has registered with the relevant government authorities.
The objectives of the proposal are compatible with DeafKidz International's mission statement and objectives.
They have a clear safeguarding policy in action and all requisite codes of conduct.
A formal Memorandum of Understanding / Agreement is signed with DeafKidz International.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
In 2024-25, the charity finds itself reporting yet another year of success as we move forward our agenda of protecting deaf children across the world.
1. Prevention and mitigation of abuse against deaf children, young people and vulnerable adults
In the financial year 2024-25, we confirmed a strategic focus which looked to further enhance the child protection programmes that we already know are working well – our work will be achieved though working with deaf children directly, with their caregivers, teachers and schools, also with governments.
DEAFKIDZ GOAL! INDIA
Thanks to renewed support from Comic Relief, following their funding of our 2019 to 2022 and 2023 grant, DKI launched a further rollout of the DKG! program in Nagpur, Central India.
This funding round, which ran from May 2024 to June 2025, enabled DKI and our long-standing partners, Slum Soccer, to continue delivering vital safeguarding and life skills to Deaf children and young people (CYP) through using the transformative power of football-based learning sessions.
PROJECT UPDATE FOR THE PERIOD
This reporting period saw 15 Deaf coaches receiving regular capacity building & training and 150 Deaf CYP engaging in twice weekly football & physical group activity sessions. This was held over 8 months at 5 Deaf schools in Nagpur.
In addition to the above period, a Deaf Inclusion State Football Tournament was successfully held in November 2024, a Deaf Youth Leadership Camp took place for 25 Deaf CYP in February 2025 and various Deaf awareness workshops were offered up to 30 families to help provide an inclusive and supportive environment to Deaf individuals.
Finally, DKI started working on producing a high-quality, inspirational video planned to showcase the impact of DKG! The video highlights the incredible journey and story of DKG! Coach/Program Fellow, Vijaydas Dasriya, and illustrates the program’s long-term benefits, impact, growth, and vision for the future.
FUTURE ASPIRATIONS: Our fundraising team continue to seek funding to scale our partnership work in India and also to bring the DKG! program to the African continent working in partnership with a number of soccer influencers.
DEAFKIDZ DEFENDERS
DK Defenders is an innovative, early intervention, digital, educational resource for deaf children aged 6-11, empowering them to stay safe from abuse and exploitation in person and online. The resource is used as the central teaching tool and is coupled with in person teaching; role plays and worksheets. This programme was piloted in 2022 with 600 children in South Africa and Pakistan and showed excellent impact, evidenced by our robust evaluation of the programme. The programme also includes educational modules for duty bearers (caregiver and teachers) of deaf children.
PROJECT UPDATE
We were granted funding from Safe Online for the further rollout of our DKD programme from May 2023 to April 2025. Our commitment is to deliver DKD to 1600 children, 137 teachers, 150 caregivers, in 32 Schools in South Africa, Zambia and Pakistan. In this reporting period, we successfully implemented DKD in 22 schools reaching 1,454 children, 301 teachers and 402 caregivers.
In South Africa, we covered 3 provinces – Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. DKD was delivered by well-trained Deaf facilitators which has significantly contributed to our success – we have seen excellent levels of engagement from the children with notable knowledge increases. We attended the Deaf Education Principals Association Conference which opened doors to expanding into new provinces and acquiring a pleasing level of government stakeholder buy-in.
In Zambia, the programme was delivered across three districts - Kitwe, Ndola, and Lufwanyama. Teachers who were already placed in schools were trained and they were responsible for delivering the sessions in their classroom. We enjoyed very high levels of government engagement within the Department of Education in the Copperbelt Province – this led to strong investment from teachers and parents. Our greatest challenge was the frequent and prolonged electricity outages, and lack of digital infrastructure.
In Pakistan, we carried out extensive preparation for the programme rollout, including ongoing logistical arrangements with schools and teachers. We trained one group of teachers. Implementation in the schools will commence in the next financial year.
During this period, we also went out to tender and appointed an agency, Southern Hemisphere, to undertake a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning study. Planning and data gathering happened from September 2024 to March 2025, the analysis and report writing will follow.
With funding received from a number of partner Trusts and Foundations, we were able to pilot the implementation of DKD in Kenya. Through our partnership with local NPO, Watoto Watch Network, we reached 869 deaf children and 10 teachers (2 trained in each school). We received strong support from the Kenya Society for Deaf Children (KSDC), which played a key role in facilitating access to schools and mobilizing other local stakeholders for wider awareness raising
2. Ear and Hearing Care work
HEARING AID REFURBISHMENT PROJECT (HARP)
For a number of years, DKI has facilitated the HARP project, where we receive second hand hearing aids from hospitals and clinics in the UK and send them on to hospitals in both Malawi and Zambia. Once received, we sort through the hearing aids to determine which ones are fit for purpose and those are posted to our partner site’s where they are refurbished and reused. The Beit Cure Hospital (Lusaka) and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Blantyre) have been recipient hospitals for a number of years and this year, after being approached by the Arthur Davison Children's Hospital (Ndola), we are also now distributing to them. Due to needs expressed, we are now also sourcing donated batteries and tubing and sending those to hospitals in need.
PROJECT UPDATE
This financial year, we have shipped 8 boxes of hearing aids and other audiology consumables to the sites in Zambia and Malawi.
3. Building a robust and sustainable organisation
REGISTRATION AS A NON-PROFIT COMPANY IN SOUTH AFRICA
On the 9th April 2024, the registration of DeafKidz International in South Africa was formalised, this marked a significant milestone for DKI as we strategically move the centre of gravity of the organisation to the Global South. We have hired an Office Manager, Project Co-Ordinator and Training Lead in South Africa (in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng). The decentralisation of our operational activities to South and Southern Africa means that we gain a better understanding of the needs of our beneficiaries, it allows us to better network with stakeholders on the ground and brings about a shift in power dynamics. Our core Fundraising and Finance functions remain in the UK. During the year we made a grant of £136,724 for funding the South Africa non-profit.
ORGANISATIONAL STRENGTHENING
We have also concentrated our efforts on strengthening our organisation as we aim to grow our operations in line with our mission, we are aware of the need for our processes and support functions to be robust for this surge. We have engaged organisational development and HR consultants to support these areas and have spent considerable time creating and implementing strong communication systems, financial controls and governance structures.
FUNDRAISING
The last few years has seen a shift in the international development sector and securing institutional funding has become highly competitive. In response to this, we have looked at other streams of income such as Community / Events fundraising - this has potential to bring in regular unrestricted income and provide much needed networking opportunities to raise DKI’s profile affirming the charity as the global leader for the safeguarding and protection of deaf children (in turn helping to grow corporate and major giving). We have also targeted smaller trusts and foundations. Corporate and High Net worth Individuals have huge potential, being a small charity, there is a lot of groundwork to be done, and will take significant time to build new connections and relationships before we can see this income stream grow.
We held our inaugural Golf Day at the Dyke Golf Club on the 6th June 2024, this was a successful event and we plan for this to become an annual event. We also held our second Manchester United Legends Football match on the 17th November 2024. We launched our Sign & Dine fundraising product in September 2024, this is unique dining experience where participants gain exposure to British Sign Language and the Deaf experience in a relaxed, intimate setting. A further development to this was our Sign & Wine experience which was launched in March 2025.
We were granted another 3-year core grant from The Oak Foundation with a total value of £397,631, starting on the 1 August 2024. This will enable further programmatic work and organisational strengthening activities.
Deafkidz International South Africa have worked with Brighton & Sussex Medical Schools to develop a research work package that looks to explore the development of digital sign language dictionaries to empower deaf communities. This work will take place in Zambia, Malawi and Cambodia and is funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) to DeafKidz South Africa, the funding for this project will commence in May 2025.
Total income for 2025 was £464,196 (2024: £567,397). We have a deficit for the period on our unrestricted fund of £50,075 (2024: £3,305), and a deficit on our Restricted funds of £15,029 (2024: surplus of £141,897), after transfers. Our Unrestricted fund balance carried forward at year end is £139,429 (2024: £189,504) and total Restricted Fund balances carried forward are £190,398 (2024: £205,427).
This strong financial result for the period is reflected in a continuing strong liquidity position shown on our Balance Sheet at year end, with Cash balances held of £269,717 (2024: £344,540), and cash representing 82% of our net assets.
DeafKidz International has a reserves policy which aims to hold a minimum of £60,000, or 3 months running costs whichever is the greater, in unrestricted reserves. Currently, 3 months running costs would equate to approximately £134,987. We have just slightly reduced our unrestricted reserves balances over the year and at year end held approximately 3 months running costs in unrestricted reserves.
Due to the highly volatile and uncertain sector environment at the moment, with funding opportunities continuing to be challenging within the international funding environment, and a highly volatile international situation etc, we have maintained our reserves to help protect us against future unforeseen shocks.
All significant activities undertaken are subject to a risk assessment as part of the initial programme and project design. Major risks are identified and ranked in terms of their potential impact and likelihood. Major risks, for this purpose, are those that may have a significant effect on:
- Operational performance, including risks to our personnel, volunteers and beneficiaries
- Achievement of our aims and objectives
- Meeting the expectations of our beneficiaries or supporters
The Trustees review these risks through regular Board consultation and an annual review exercise. Within this they assess whether adequate systems and procedures are in place to manage the risks identified, recognising that some areas of our work require the acceptance and management of risk if our key objectives are to be achieved. Where appropriate, risks are covered by insurance. The Trustees consider the principal risk to be:
- Lack of unrestricted funds with which to fund core costs
This risk is managed in the following way:
- Investment in fundraising for unrestricted funds
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.
Charity constitution
In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.00. The Board of Trustees agrees that the Chief Executive and appointed staff and consultants are authorised to represent the charity and act on its behalf on all matters of day-to-day management of programme implementation, business development, monitoring & evaluation and financial management, in line with its Delegation of Authority policy. Control over these powers is exercised by the Board of Trustees through its regular oversight of the work of the charity including through regular processes of reporting at Board meetings, agreement of the organisational strategy, budget, and appropriate consultation.
DeafKidz International has a number of Ambassadors:
- Honorary President The Lord Bruce of Bennachie KT PC
- Global Ambassador Colin Allen AM
- Global Ambassador Rachel Shenton
- Global Ambassador Kevin Walker
- Global Ambassador Raymond Antrobus
- Global Ambassador Tasha Gouri
- Global Ambassador Scott Garthwaite
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
New trustees are appointed at duly convened meetings for a period of three years, after which they are eligible for re-election for a further three years. The recruitment, selection and induction of new trustees is managed by the chair in association with the wider board. This process looks to ensure the size of the board, its skills mix, diversity, structure and effectiveness works to support the vision and mission of DeafKidz International.
Following the appointment of new members, an induction programme is arranged which aims to give the individuals the information and tools they need to fulfil their legal obligations as well as play an effective role on the Board. The induction involves briefing documents, access to staff, visits to the UK office and where appropriate, visits to DeafKidz International field programmes. During the term of office of trustees, opportunities for on-going training are offered either through specifically arranged sessions or recommended reading lists, training courses and webinars.
In 2024 - 2025 we continued to build and realise the DeafKidz International mission. We continue to reach children and young people who by virtue of their deafness are at risk and vulnerable. But we couldn't have done it without the backing, commitment and generosity of everyone who has donated, fundraised or offered their support and collaboration in many ways during the year. We will continue to build this organisation, deaf led and authentic, so that no deaf child, young person or vulnerable adult has to endure the agony of abuse.
Funding partners
Comic Relief
Safe Online
Michael Hall Consultants Ltd
Oak Foundation
Peacock Charitable Trust
People for People Worldwide
Phat Pasty
St. James's Place Charitable Foundation
UNICEF
The W. L Pratt Charitable Trust
Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP
Stevens & Bolton LLP
National Institute of Health and Care Research
Souter Charitable Trust
C B and H H Taylor 1984
Pignatelli Foundation
Implementing partners and collaborators
Action Deafness, UK
Arthur Davison Children's Hospital, Ndola, Zambia
Beit Cure Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD), UK
ChildFund International
Child Helpline International
Chilengwa Primary School, Ndola, Zambia
Children in Need Network, Zambia
Deaf Reach, Pakistan
Edward Francis Small Teaching
Kamba Primary School, Ndola, Zambia
Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
Kansenshi Primary School, Ndola, Zambia
Kwa-Zulu Natal Deaf Association, South Africa
Litmus Games, UK
Malawi National Association of the Deaf (MANAD), Malawi
Manchester United Football Club Foundation
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Zambia
Ministry of Health, Malawi
Ministry of Health, Zambia
Ndola District Education Board, Zambia
nWise, Sweden
ProtectUsKidz, USA
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi
Slum Soccer, Nagpur, India
Thrive, South Africa
University of Pretoria, South Africa
University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia
WePROTECT Global Alliance
Zambia Deaf Youth and Women, Ndola, Zambia
Southern Hemisphere, South Africa
Talking Hands Café, UK
The charity report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Deafkidz International for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Charity Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and
- the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Deafkidz International (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.
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 that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements 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 financial statements 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 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.
Deafkidz International is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is c/o West and Berry Limited, Nile House, Nile Street, Brighton, BN1 1HW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)". 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 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 financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
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 the donation.
Income from charitable activities includes income received under contract or where entitlement to grant funding is subject to specific conditions and is recognised as earned. Grant funding included in this category provides funding to support activities and is recognised where there is entitlement, probability of receipt, and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Income from investments is recognised on a receivable basis.
Income from sales of publications and training courses are recognised as earned.
Income from events is only recognised in the year and period the event takes place. Until such time that the event takes place any such income is deferred to future periods.
Other incoming resources comprises one off and irregular income recognised using the same criteria for voluntary income.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Equipment costing over £1,000 is capitalised as a fixed asset.
Investments are stated at fair value at the balance sheet date. The Statement of Financial Activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations throughout the year. All gains and losses are calculated at the difference between the market value at the balance sheet date and the opening market value (or purchase value if the date is later).
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.
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.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, but 5 of them were reimbursed a total of £2,717 in travel and subsistence expenses (2024 - 2 were reimbursed £251).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The purpose of material restricted funds are as follows:
Oak Foundation - Capacity and organisational development costs
Comic Relief India - Safeguarding and protection of deaf street children
Zambia Audiology Training - Audiology training of one nurse/clinical office from Zambia
End Violence Safe Online - development of an educational, accessible digital games platform called DeafKidz Defenders to help young deaf children stay safe from online abuse, to be piloted in South Africa and Pakistan
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
Deafkidz International South Africa (DKI SA) is a registered nonprofit organisation in South Africa. DKI SA and the charity share a number of trustees. During the year the charity made grants to DKI SA totalling £136,724 (2024: £nil), and received income from DKI SA totalling £782 (2024: £nil). At the year end, a balance of £10,641 (2024: £nil) was owed from DKI SA to the charity.