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OBJECTIVES OF THE CHARITY
To support the education and training of adults who have come to settle in the UK and whose first language is not English.
CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC BENEFIT
The Trust helps individuals with inadequate financial means to pursue a course of study or training.
It enhances their opportunities to gain qualifications and enter employment appropriate to their ability so that they contribute to the wider economy and social cohesion of the UK, advancing equality for individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
SUMMARY
This has been a worrying year for ESOL learners and all who are concerned with their education and training, as the impact of the proposed cuts in classes and increase in fees for ESOL provision itself became clearer. It is difficult to predict the effect of these changes on the Trust but we must make contingency plans to meet a possible increase in requests for help with basic ESOL fees.
The Trust joined the Action for ESOL campaign and was represented at the Parliamentary meeting organised by the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education and the Refugee Council. Our trustee, Shabibi Shah, recounted her own experience as a refugee arriving in Britain, needing to learn English.
At the same time we worked hard to raise money to support learners who requested nearly £200,000, many times the £15,000 we had available to give. However, responses from our applicants confirm that our donations, though often modest, make a huge difference.
FINANCE (see accounts, appended)
Through sterling efforts by friends and supporters (and a single generous donation), we ended the financial year with £3,000 more than anticipated. We are pleased to have this sum to support our plans for possible increases in applications from students on ESOL courses.
We are very grateful to Oxford University Press for donating and posting 63 dictionaries, a contribution in kind of more than £800. We also extend grateful thanks to Stewart Laitner for overseeing the accounts.
COSTS
In excess of 94% of our income is used to support learners. During this financial year, just over 4% was used in fund-raising costs (renting space, publicity, insurance etc), and admin cost less than 2%.
AWARDS
Out of 441 applications received, we awarded a total of £15,141 to 201 people. In addition, we allocated 63 Oxford University Press dictionaries. Fees accounted for the vast majority of our awards (only one award for equipment and one for textbooks). Some applicants received an award for fees plus an OUP dictionary.
We made one special Rose Grant award to a wheel-chair bound applicant, a refugee from Kenya, who, in addition to having an outstanding academic record, was making a valuable contribution as a volunteer to a disability group.
COURSES
More than three quarters of our successful applicants were on further or adult education courses, studying a wide range
of subjects from phlebotomy and bio-medical sciences to beauty therapy, plumbing and computing. Some 70 applicants
were on ESOL courses or courses combining ESOL with other subjects. 14 applicants received awards to pay for CRB
checks, a requirement they needed to complete the work placement element of their course.
SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS
As in previous years, successful applicants reflected the world’s troubled areas, coming from 41 countries across Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. The largest group came from Africa, primarily from the Congo, closely followed, for the first time, by Zimbabwe.
Applicants were widely dispersed across England, Wales and Scotland but, this year, no successful applicants from Northern Ireland. More than 50% lived outside London and the Home Counties. Again the majority were adults over the age of 25. The gender balance, which varies slightly year on year, leaned towards more female applicants (116 out of 201). The majority of successful applicants were permanently settled here. 50% had permission to remain in the UK, 15% were British citizens. The number of asylum seekers dropped again (25% of the total) and only 9 successful applicants had EU citizenship.
RAISING MONEY
DONATIONS
We are deeply grateful to NATECLA and the Donald Sanderson Charitable Trust for their generous support, but are still very dependent on donations from individuals. We are indebted to those of our supporters who give regularly through Standing Orders and to all supporters who enable us to claim Gift Aid. We are moved at the donations we are still receiving in memory of Susan Harris and were very grateful for the generous donations, which we received as a tribute to one of the trustees on the occasion of her birthday.
FUND-RAISING EVENTS
Fund-raising events are very important to our revenue. In November 2010, thanks to Shabibi Shah and her energetic family, we held another successful Afghan evening held in St Anne’s Church, Highgate, raising £3,728.
Students from City and Islington College who were planning to raise money attended the event and were so inspired by meeting 3 students, who had received Trust awards and moved successfully into higher education, that they then raised £310 for us. There are plans afoot for other student groups to raise money during Adults Learners’ Week and an International Day in May. We are truly grateful for their enthusiastic support of the Trust.
MONITORING & QUALITY ASSURANCE
We check and monitor all applications closely. We continue to pursue un-presented cheques (because applicants often move without leaving forwarding addresses). Yet again, we have had to inform a college that grants were awarded solely for the purpose agreed by the grants committee. Ruth Hayman Trust cheques are not convertible for the payment of fees into cash for students’ personal use. We also had to clarify that if, for whatever reason, all or part of the money was no longer needed for fees, the cheque should be returned to the Trust for readjustment so that we could reallocate funds to help other applicants.
PUBLICITY
We plan to redesign the website and leaflet, develop a Facebook page and update our donor and supporter database.
VOLUNTEERS
We are making a start at quantifying our volunteer support. It is a large group comprising not only present and former trustees and their friends and families, but also our patrons, ESOL teachers (especially NATECLA members) and the enterprising, fundraising ESOL students. Our thanks go to all of them.
PATRONS & TRUSTEES
Our patrons are always responsive to our requests for help. This year we would particularly like to thank Lord Joffe for supporting a funding application and Tom Jupp for presenting certificates to City and Islington students who helped raise funds. We congratulate Janet Suzman DBE on her recent honour.
We have no paid officers or staff. All work and nearly all administration expenses are borne by trustees
(S K Chand, S Colquhoun, S Diplock, J Lee, L Murphy O’Dwyer, G Panchapagesan, S Rosenberg, S Shah,
M Simpson, M Siudek, J Smith, J Wainman, F Weinreich, and S Zagor). This means that 94% of the money raised is
awarded to applicants.
We are delighted to record that our Chair, Sheila Rosenberg (on right with Trust hon. secretary, Frances Weinreich)
was awarded an OBE for services to ESOL teaching in the 2011 New Year Honours list.
CONCLUSION
We are most grateful to all those who have supported us this year, particularly at a time when so many people are facing financial difficulties. As we come to the end of the year, the provision of ESOL tuition itself is threatened and there is the fear many students will no longer qualify for fee remission. So we are unsure what demands will be made on us in the coming months. What we can be sure of is that our awards, though often inevitably modest, will continue to be greatly valued and well used.
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