The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 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)".
Polish Language, Culture, and Affairs (POLCA) is a constituted organisation created by Polish emigrants. POLCA is a registered Charity (NIC107785) and a company limited by guarantee registered at Companies House no. NI645874.
Our principal activity is the provision of a Polish Saturday school for children from Polish and mixed-Polish families. Our school provides Polish education in Polish language, history, geography art, and culture. As well as the Saturday school POLCA also works to support Polish community in Northern Ireland and promote good community relations across Northern Ireland. Our financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
The POLCA school year started in September 2024 with 165 young participants and 24 teachers and assistants. A new group of 3 year old children joined our school nursery unit, but the most significant development was the start of our Youth Club, led by Agnieszka Bialek and Piotr Liburski-both experienced teachers working with the teenagers. We had an enthusiastic response from the parents in regard to the Youth Club, perhaps because teenagers are under-represented in every Polish Saturday school in the UK. This is a promising start to this new project and we hope the Youth Club attracts more young people to join our school.
POLCA held a number of extra-curricular events during the school year, and also participated in a number of events and competitions in in collaboration with other Polish community charities.
The end of the year ushered in a refreshed membership when some of the founder members were replaced in July and plans were put in place to increase the number of Members and Trustees.
The school year for 2024-2025 ended on 31st July with the teachers and parents entertained by the Youth Club’s stage presentation.
Events and celebrations
Visit to Stormont – 18/01/2025
Our school sent a party of older children to visit Parliament building in Stormont to learn about and experience the political system here in Northern Ireland.
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity – 25/01/2025
The greatest ever charity event in Poland, organised by Jerzy Owsiak with a number of concerts and activities across all country and among the Poles abroad. As usual, our school actively participated in this event, not only to help to collect money for charity purposes, but also to teach our children the importance of charitable giving to help those less fortunate.
Carnival Party and ‘’POLCA got talent– 08/02/2025
A party was organised for our pupils with a number of activities including sport and dance and great competition for our young members- ‘’Polca got talent’’. Children could present in front of the parents and other guests their fantastic skills in dancing, singing, performing and art.
St Patrick’s Parade – 17/03/2025
Representatives of the POLCA participated in St Patrick’s Parade in Belfast among other Polish.
Anniversary of 1000 years of Polish Crown- April 2025
The whole month preparations for an anniversary of establishing of Polish Kingdom in 1025. Our school actively participated and hold a number of events, workshops and performances in relation to the coronation of the first Polish King- Boleslaw the Brave. This was a great all Poland action in cooperation with Polish Authorities, Consulate and other organisation, as in our tradition the coronation was significant moment of Polish history.
Celebration of the 3th May Constitution- 03/05/2024
POLCA celebrated an anniversary of the first Polish Constitution created in 1791. We celebrated this day with Polish Consulate and Polish Society Belfast, who prepared a special exhibition for our children to show the history of the Polish Constitution and the Polish patriots fighting against the foreign powers in XVIII century.
Youth Club Mourne challenge- 31/05/2025
Youth club trip to Mourne’s Mountains. Our teenagers have ‘’conquered’’ Pierces Castles summit in Mourne Mountains, despite bad weather conditions.
Children’s Day-Summer Fair- 07/06/2025
This year an event took a place in Dungannon, in cooperation with the other Polish schools (Dungannon and Newry) and Polish Consulate. This was an opportunity to create bonds between children and parents from different Polish communities in Northern Ireland.
End of the school year – 21/06/2025
As usual we celebrated the end of the school year with the performance prepared by our Youth club for their parents. After the show our pupils were awarded by the Principal for their hard work all year.
Christmas in POLCA - 22/12/2024 *
A celebration known also as “Jaselka’’ – one of the Polish traditions celebrated with Christmas songs and performances created by our pupils, with – of course – Santa’s visit! An event took place in Harding Memorial IPS
*Similar events were organised in the past seasons
During financial year 2024-2025, POLCA was supported by:
Institute of Development of the Polish Language of the name of St Maximilian Kolbe
The largest fund providing body in Poland representing the Polish government and Parliament.
National Lottery Community Fund
POLCA has been awarded a two-year National Lottery Community Fund grant of £20,000.
John Moore’s Foundation
POLCA received £3,200 from the John Moore’s Foundation. This award was received at the end of the financial year, in July 2025, and hence it is allocated to the 2025/6 Financial year.
Aid the Poles in the East Foundation
Polish Foundation supporting Polish community abroad in cooperation with Polish government.
Armenian Foundation
An organisation of Polish Armenians- a community settled in Poland since XVI century-bonded with Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Republic of Poland
ORPEG- Institute for Development of Polish Education Abroad A Polish government body supporting Polish Education abroad Youth Action
This body usually provides access NI checks for POLCA, as our organisation has YA membership
Education Authority Northern Ireland
POLCA is a member of Youth EA as a body meeting criteria of EA Youth Club
Polish Consulate in Belfast
Polish Consulate in Belfast supporting various projects dedicated to development of Polish community in Northern Ireland in cooperation with Polish Authorities.
Halifax Foundation
Halifax bank related organisation supporting various charities in UK
Polish Sisterhood
Belfast based organisation for women with Polish background
Made In Poland
Polish Folk organisation, cooperating with POLCA
In the past POLCA was also supported by: Wspolnota Polska Foundation, Belfast City Council, Volunteer Now, Black Asian Minority Ethnics.
There was much improvement in the charity finances this period. POLCA is extremely grateful to the Lottery fund and Fundacja Pomoc Polakom for their generous support. We are further grateful to the John Moore’s Foundation, the Halifax Foundation, the Polish Consulate and the Education Authority for their generous donations and support. It would have been very difficult for POLCA to continue its charitable work without such generous financial support.
The National Lottery award is a two year grant and hence half the £20,000 award is accounted for in financial year end July 2025, the other half accrued into 2026. Similarly the Fundacja Pomoc Polakom grant is split across two years with £10,253 allocated to the 2025 financial year and £7,323 accrued into the 2025/26 financial year.
Financial year 2024/2025 was the first year of the gift aid scheme. This scheme, including the HMRC tax rebate, generated £8,773 of additional income.
Grant funding and prudent financial management has significantly improved POLCA’s financial position.
The results are set out in detail on pages 6 to 18. The charity returned net incoming resources for the year of £10,689 (2024 net outgoing resources - £7,577), unrestricted funds of £3,293 (2024 - (£5,721)) and restricted funds of £2,483 (2024 - £808). The unrestricted funds are required to provide sufficient funds to cover any unforeseen costs which may arise and fulfill legal obligations of the charity in the event that current levels of income are not maintained.
During the year the charity repaid part of the loans to related parties as detailed in note 16.
It is the policy of the charity to maintain sufficient unrestricted reserves as are consistent with the ongoing financial requirements of the charity.
POLCA now has seven Members, which include the Directors, Mrs Marlena Sekula, former school Principal Malgorzata Frasiak, and Agnieszka Liburska. We hope to further expand the membership to include parents before the end of 2026.
We expect in the future that our pupil numbers will remain above 150 participants. We would like to develop our Youth Club and continue to cooperate with other Polish organisations including the Polish Consulate in Belfast. With the generous financial support of the National Lottery, the Halifax Foundation, the Institute of Development of Polish Language and John Moore’s Foundation, we look forward to being able to continue to operate and develop the school over the coming years.
Polish Language, Culture, and Affairs (POLCA) is a constituted organisation created by Polish emigrants. POLCA is a registered Charity (NIC107785) and a company limited by guarantee registered at Companies House no. NI645874.
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:
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The following re-appointments were made in the year:
Chairman – Reverend David Samuel Armstrong
Reappointed for further term at the Annual General Meeting on 08/02/2025.
Secretary – Mr Aleksander Paprockir
Reappointed for further term at the AGM on 08/02/2025.
Trustee - Mr Mateusz Gawlik
Reappointed for further term at the Annual General Meeting on 08/02/2025.
Treasurer – Mr John Cieslik
Reappointed for further term at the AGM on 08/02/2025.
As agreed under the special resolution passed on 21/07/2025, Directors are also Members of the charity.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
We report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 July 2025, which are set out on pages 8 to 18.
Having satisfied ourselves 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, it is our responsibility to:
examine the financial statements under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008;
follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Commission under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008; and
state whether particular matters have come to our attention.
We have examined your charity financial statements as required under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and our examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. The examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters.
Our role is to state whether any material matters have come to our attention giving uscause to believe that:
1. Accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or
2. The financial statements do not accord with those accounting records; or
3. The financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102); or
4. There is further information needed for a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
We have completed our examination and I have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, We have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Polish Language, Culture and Affairs is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 11 Knockwood Crescent, Belfast, BT5 6GD.
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.
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.
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.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
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.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
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 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 year end the following amounts were owed to two of the trustees;
Mr J Cieslik £5,000 (2024 - £7,000)
Mr A Paprocki £1,882 (2024 - £966)
These loans are at arm's length and there is no interest repayable on the loans.