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2021-08-31-accounts

Trustees’ Report and Consolidated Annual Accounts 2020/2021

Year Ended 31 August 2021

www.infocus-charity.org.uk

Contents

Contents
Introductions from our Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive Ofcer 4
Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31st August 2021 5
About our charity, including our vision and mission 6
Objectives, activities and values 7
Our services 9
Our impact 10
Achievement and performance 2020/2021 14
Finance and Risk 22
Structure, Governance and Management 28
Reference and administrative details 30
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 31
Audit report 32
Accounts and fnancial statements 37

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Thank you...

Everyone at InFocus Charity would like to thank: Our Ambassadors Michael Caines MBE DL and Judi Spiers.

Jacqui Taylor of Otter Garden Centres for her continued generosity and financial support to our West Hill outdoor learning centre.

Our volunteers across all five of our charity shops (Honiton, Sidmouth, Exeter Heavitree, Exeter Sidwell Street and Exeter Cowick Street) our horticulture projects at West Hill and Countess Wear, and everyone who volunteers at our main site.

All our partner work placement employers.

Our amazing and dedicated staff team.

The parents and carers of our young people.

Our Trustees and advisory members who give their time and expertise so generously.

Burrington Estates, and all the contractors who have helped create our latest residential space onsite.

Volunteer and fundraising groups from:

Alex Le Tissier.

Generous donations from:

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Introduction

InFocus Charity has a proud history of providing education and care services to children and young people with a vision impairment for more than 180 years in the city of Exeter in Devon. Since the 1960’s this has been from a site on the Topsham Road near Countess Wear. In July 2021 we agreed to change our name to InFocus Charity stating boldly that we are the vision impairment and complex needs charity. Our new name reflects that we are no longer just a School and College and our refreshed strategic plan for 2019-2024 sets out our development plans particularly in our adult care provision.

Our expertise and focus on cortical vision impairment and vision impairment with complex needs makes us quite a unique educator. Where other providers have made their offer more generic, we remain committed to being a very specialist provider that is laser focussed on the specific needs of young people with VI and complex needs. To be the charity in this field requires us to continually up-skill ourselves as an organisation and demonstrate the positive impact our methods have for the young people and adults we support.

We remain an ambitious organisation and despite the challenges of increased regulation, incredibly tight funding and increased compliance we aim to reach more people, provide high quality services and offer good value for money. Our Trustees’ Report shows this happening.

Christopher Knee Chair of the Trustees

Of course, in 2020/2021, we faced the most unusual circumstances of trying to do all of this during the COVID-19 pandemic, without much time for preparation and with little applicable guidance. Our Trustees report and accounts for 2020/2021 show that InFocus Charity (or WESC Foundation as it was then) admirably rose to the challenge and the organisation has not suffered unduly financially. This was achieved in several ways.

Firstly, our staff were magnificent and rose to the challenge with creativity, commitment and determination to keep our young people safe and still deliver them the service they deserved. We thank them wholeheartedly for this. Secondly, we were quick to look at how we changed our delivery model across all aspects of the service, and how we could use the financial support on offer from the government (such as grants and limited amounts of furlough) to keep the organisation afloat. Thirdly, we continued throughout with our plans for improving and streamlining how we work, making ourselves more efficient, making our offer and our fees much clearer, managing our funds tightly and looking after our staff team.

Unexpectedly 2020/2021 leaves us in a good position at the mid-way point of our strategic plan to continue with improvements and, excitingly, to expand and create new services.

Jane Bell Chief Executive Officer

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31st August 2021

The board of Trustees of InFocus Charity present their annual report and audited accounts for the year ended 31st August 2021 and confirm that they comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011 and 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) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)).

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty imposed on them by s17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)’.

On the 15th of July the Trustees agreed by special resolution to change the name of the charity from WESC Foundation to InFocus Charity. After a great deal of research and consideration it was agreed that the name WESC Foundation no longer represented the organisation in its entirety.

Over the years the organisation has become much more that just a School and College. The major change in the last ten years for the organisation is the development of our adult care services, which are community-based services for adults who are not in education. These services are rated outstanding and meet the needs of very complex young people with very specific support needs.

Adult services now make up over half of our income, half of our staffing and half of our direct beneficiary group.

InFocus has been chosen as the name for the charity. This is to reflect our overall Focus on Vision Impairment and complex needs, which is the tagline for the charity. It also acknowledges the importance of Focus from a vision impairment perspective. It is a common misunderstanding that the young people who attend our education and adult care services are blind. However, this is not the case – most have some degree of optical ability and many have a cortical vision impairment, which is to do with processing of sensory information in the brain. We deploy many techniques with our young people to maximise the effective use of the vision they do have, including for example eye gaze techniques which help a young person to learn to focus their eyes and use this as a communication system.

As a result of the name change the charity’s Articles have also been updated which, whilst agreed in principle on the 15th of July 2021 are currently undergoing Charity Commission approval prior to formal adoption by the Board.

InFocus Charity remains a registered charity (registered number 1058937) and company limited by guarantee.

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About our charity

“ The children and young adults we support face huge barriers to learning, living and taking an active, independent place in their communities.”

This is why InFocus Charity (formerly WESC Foundation) exists.

Some arrive at InFocus unable to use their voice, or unable to express simple choices like yes and no.

They may need specialist equipment like a wheelchair or powered hoist just to enable them to explore their world.

Others don’t have the mobility skills to be independent in their community and do simple things like take a bus to the shops or visit friends.

Our young people see the world differently, and sometimes hardly at all, but could use what vision they do have more effectively with the right specialist input.

InFocus Charity has over 180 years of history supporting young people with vision impairment. Our specialism in Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI) makes us unique in the UK.

We are the only education provision solely focussed on the combined difficulties that arise from a vision impairment alongside other disabilities such as profound and multiple learning difficulties, autism, long term health conditions, physical disability or life limiting conditions.

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Our vision

A world where young people with vision impairment and complex needs are able to take their place in society, where they are valued for their contribution and their rights and independence are supported.

Our mission

Our mission is to empower children, young people and adults with vision impairment and complex needs to live fulfilling young and adult lives, through the delivery of a range of education, care and support services. To succeed in our mission we will:

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Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Charity remain relatively unchanged under the proposed revised Articles. These are:

The relief of persons with a vision impairment and complex needs (whether this is a physical, other sensory or cognitive impairment) by:

InFocus Charity supports the education, care, health and independence of persons with a vision impairment or other sensory impairment. Income is generated from the following sources:

Our values

Our operational values – how we work as a staff team

Our community values – the things most important to our young people

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Our services

InFocus offers a range of educational, care and support services to young people and adults with visual impairment and complex needs.

Our services include:

Education provision

We currently operate an independent residential special School (5-16 years) and a residential College (1625 years) offering:

Adult care and support services

We have a range of community services supporting young adults with vision impairment and complex needs:

Our services are supported by our expert staff teams:

Enterprise

As a charity we undertake a number of activities that support our work and give our students additional opportunities.

----- Start of picture text -----
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Our impact

able to:

Be active citizens in their community

George, volunteering for East Devon District Council

Use technology effectively to support and enhance daily life

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

to be

Maximise their functional vision

Using symbols on a giant touch-screen to help make choices.

Use their voice about things that matter to them as advocates for young people with Cerebral palsy and CVI

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Our impact (continued)

Work, volunteer or make valued contributions to the local community

Follow their passions and doing things that they really enjoy

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Advocate for themselves independently or with support

Make choices about all aspects of their lives, to the fullest extent possible

Live as independently as they are able, with the right level of support

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Achievements and Performance 2020/21

Our strategic plan

2020/21 is the second year of our 5-year strategic plan. The 2019-2024 Strategic Plan set out ambitious plans for InFocus Charity (WESC Foundation at the time) and how we intend to grow our services and increase the positive impact for our beneficiary group – children, young people and adults with vision impairment and complex needs.

The plan sets out 5 key objectives, underpinned by a financial strategy and a marketing and communication strategy. It describes how over the five years we will make sure we get the basics right, whilst reaching towards improvement, innovation, and expansion.

Our 2019-2024 objectives at a glance

We will offer a personalised preparation towards leading a fulfilling adult life through our School and College provision and education outreach.

We will support young people and adults to live an independent and fulfilling life in the community through excellent care and support services and community outreach programmes.

1 IMPROVE EDUCATION

2. EXPAND ADULT CARE

3. USE OUR KNOWLEDGE

4. DEVELOP THE SITE We will share our knowledge and resources We will modernise with our local community, and create improved with professionals and 5. STRENGTHEN THE within our sector so that spaces on our site ORGANISATION more people can benefit which promote from our work and independence and enhance learning and expertise. We will be a well led, living at effective and sustainable InFocus. organisation and a great employer.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Strategic plan review- mid-way point

Context

The first two years of our strategic plan were not quite the years we were expecting! Having done a huge amount of work on safeguarding since July 2019, our residential special School was still felt to be inadequate in December 2019. This therefore continued to be the top priority during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected our plans across all of our objectives and much of our focus had to be turned to staying open and keeping everyone safe into 2020/2021.

Our charity

Since 2018, after an exceptional period of internal change, the charity has had settled leadership with a committed Trustee board and consistent leadership team. The exception is in education, where there has been several changes of Principal.

Currently, we remain dependent on unpredictable fee income, income from our enterprise activities and our fundraising all of which are very vulnerable to external changes. Fees have been increased across all services to reflect the true costs and are due to be implemented in September 2021. A full review of our financial systems has also been completed.

COVID-19 has meant we have not been fully re-inspected since December 2019. We are confident that we have made significant progress towards Good in education as evidenced by a number of monitoring visits.

Our young people

Overall as of September 2021 we support 80 young people across all our services.

Although student numbers remain reasonably stable overall, the number of School students has been in steady decline, leading to a decision to close the School in September 2022.

All the young people we support have a vision impairment and other complex needs, 57 % of whom would be described as having severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities. About 45% of our young people use wheelchairs.

This table shows the number of students in School and College over a three-year period.

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Year School College
2018/2019 (start of year) 12 35
2018/2019 (end of year) 13 34
2019/2020 (start of year) 9 36
2019/2020 (end of year) 9 34
2020/2021 (start of year) 8 34
2020/2021 (end of year) 8 31
2021/2022 (start of year) 5 35
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This table shows the number of young adults receiving a service in our different residential care and community services over a three-year period.

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Residential care Adult day Supported
Year (St David’s) services living services
2018/2019 (start of year) 17 10 7
2018/2019 (end of year) 16 9 6
2019/2020 (start of year) 16 10 7
2019/2020 (end of year) 15 10 7
2020/2021 (start of year) 15 10 8
2020/2021 (end of year) 16 9 8
2021/2022 (start of year 19 10 11
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The special education sector

The prevalence of pupils with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) is still increasing. The number of statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans at January 2021 was 430,697. This is up from 390,100 (+10%) in 2020 and 319,819 in 2018.

High needs funding for children with SEND remains under huge pressure. Despite additional funding of £780m in 20/21 and £730m in 21/22 and a total spend of £8billion plus, there remains a very tight squeeze at local level on fees and funding.

Non-maintained special schools and colleges such as at InFocus often specialise in specific low incident/ high complexity conditions. The average cost of a place is therefore significantly higher than the cost in a more generic maintained school and some local authorities perceive the specialist independent sector negatively on the grounds of cost and quality.

The impact of COVID-19

During 2020/2021 InFocus was, like everywhere else, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. All of our services remained open throughout the pandemic with some students being educated remotely. Selfisolating as a result of COVID-19 infection or being picked up via the NHS Test and Trace was a constant issue but our staff rose to the challenge fantastically. Safe services were maintained at all times, by staff working over and above to cover shifts.

Early access to vaccinations has helped us to manage staffing and keep everyone safe. We were recognised as leading the field in our approach to COVID-19 risk assessments and safeguarding practices. This was through an external audit completed by a re-deployed Ofsted inspector on behalf of Devon County Council. We were able to welcome most young people back on site in September 2020, but the challenges of adapting our services to operate in bubbles were still with us.

Unlike other sectors, our fee funding from local authorities was continued to enable us to continue to support all our young people. The charity shops closed for several months on two occasions and most commercial activities such as pool hire through our trading company (WESC Enterprises) ceased or was greatly reduced. In addition, we also experienced a significant impact to restricted fundraising activities and income.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Achievements in 2020/2021

Despite the challenges of 2020/2021 , InFocus has made good progress on some of its key objectives.

Objective 1 – Improve Education

“ Leaders incorporate exciting learning opportunities as part of the curriculum, so that learners can explore and develop their independence, talents, and interests”

Ofsted

Objective 2 – Expand Adult Care

St David’s House, our CQC “Outstanding” residential care home

Jigsaw, our community service where “everyone fits in”

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Objective 3 – Use our knowledge

“

It’s been brilliant. Working with the guys in eBay was fun, but going out to the shops and enjoying some banter with the staff and customers was an even bigger confidence boost”.

Jeff, 2021 Leaver

Objective 4 – Develop the Site

• We completed some upgrades of facilities in Nell Arran, one of our student residential houses, with a new kitchen, new bathroom, refreshed bedrooms and a refurbished lounge.

• We have started converting an old unused classroom in our student village which will be a fully accessible flat with the help of corporate supporters Burrington Estates and all their suppliers.

Progress with our “Home from Home” project to provide the very best accommodation for our College students.

• We continued to develop the Discovery Garden and renovated our Sensory Garden.

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Objective 5 – Strengthen the organisation

Our expert staff helped the local community understand issues faced by people living with vision impairment and other disabilities.

Radio-mad former student Jacob completed his apprenticeship, won the “Outstanding Apprentice of the Year” award for Devon, and then joined our staff team as a paid-up member of the Estates team.

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Challenges and threats

Revised objectives going forward

Based on the outputs and outcomes of the first two years, we have reviewed and updated our 5 objectives within the plan. All 5 objectives remain relevant and appropriate although wording has changed slightly. Our planned activities and goals remain broadly the same, but there have been some updates to reflect strategic decisions taken and new opportunities that have arisen in year 1 and 2.

– This is set out in our refreshed strategic plan available on our website Strategic plan InFocus Charity, Exeter

Our immediate priorities for 2021/2022 are:

Objective 1 – To offer education and learning opportunities to young people and adults with vision impairment and complex needs that enables and supports them to live their best life

Objective 2 – To support young people and adults to live a fulfilling life by providing a range of adult care and support services in the community

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Objective 3 – To share our knowledge and resources with our local community, professionals and the sector so more people can benefit from our work and expertise

Objective 4 – To modernise and develop the InFocus living and learning spaces on our site to meet the needs of young people now and in the future

Objective 5 – To be a well led, effective, safe and sustainable organisation and a great employer

Finance and

Risk

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InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Finance and Risk

Income and Expenditure

As COVID-19 restrictions continued into 2020/21 InFocus Charity continued to feel the effects financially.

The end of year financial statements show a consolidated income for the year of £7,753,596 with expenditure totalling £7,939,770.

The end of year consolidated accounts including unrealised gains from investments reported a deficit of £57,367. This is better than anticipated as a result of careful in year budgeting and a generous legacy.

The following areas experienced a direct impact as a result of the continued COVID-19 restrictions against the predicted forecast budget for 2020/21:

Social Enterprise

All charity shops were open at the start of the year with a budget income of £410,099 (including Gift Aid) however, once again all shops were closed from 5[th] November to the 3[rd] December 2020 and from the 4[th] January to the 14[th] April 2021 as a result of the continued periods of national lockdown. The social enterprise budget was revised in April due to the in-year trading restriction. Once trading commenced the charity shops experienced higher than expected levels of trading, which meant that the end of year income was £332,412 against a revised budget of £264,600 (including gift-aid). Social Enterprise also received local business grants as a result of COVID-19. Staff who were unable to work as a result of the closures benefitted from the Government furlough payments however, InFocus paid all staff 100% of their salaries during the enforced lockdowns. The total benefit of COVID-19 support payments received by social enterprise at the end of the year was £115,557. In addition, two shops benefitted from periods of reduced rent.

Fees

InFocus were due to increase fees across all areas of service delivery at the start of September 2020. Fees charged at InFocus have not been increased for over 6 years and no longer fully cover the cost of running the services. As a result of the continued disruption caused by COVID-19 the Board took the decision to delay the fee increase until September 2021. This had a negative impact to the budget and meant that the start of year 2020/21 budget was a predicted deficit of £246,857.

Health and safety costs

Throughout 2020/21 we continued to maintain a COVID-safe environment including the continued use of PPE by all staff who are in direct contact with students and young people at InFocus, extra surface disinfection and hand sanitiser continually supplied to all areas. We have increased cleaning regimes and continue to ‘deep clean’ following a suspected or confirmed case.

WESC Enterprises

Much of WESC Enterprises continued to be affected by the impact of COVID-19 throughout 2020/21. The swimming pool was closed for external use as a result of the national lockdowns with staggered returns by those who rent the use of the pool. Plymouth University students remained off site during the lock down periods with limited site presence for the remainder of the year, this resulted in a loss of sales in the InFocus café.

At the start of the year with the anticipated continued impact of COVID-19, WESC Enterprises predicted a surplus of £41,777. At the end of the year the recorded income was £191,227 with expenditure of £185,297 giving an end of year surplus of £5,930.

Agency staff

As a result of continued vacancies and periods of isolation experienced by staff either contracting COVID-19 or being requested to isolate by NHS Test and Trace we saw an increased use of agency staff and overtime. This meant that both these areas exceeded the predicted budget. At the end of the year the expenditure for contract, agency and overtime was £899,179 (excluding on-costs) against a budget of £749,053, of which £599,532 were direct agency costs.

Site improvement

Despite a challenging year we continued to improve areas of the site as identified as one of the key priorities this year, in addition to the improvements identified in this year’s achievements for 2020/21 we have also:

A number of additional remedial works were carried out to roofs, paths and boilers. Further ground improvements were undertaken, particularly to the discovery and sensory gardens.

The cost of repairing and maintaining the site has totalled £360,963 (excluding staff costs) with an additional £63,235 spent on specific projects from restricted fundraising.

The above projects were funded through a combination of grants, fundraising and site improvement budget.

Lease properties

The Board deliberated the valuations of the leased properties and did not consider an in-year revaluation was required given the current market conditions and restrictions on the properties.

COVID grants

During 2020/21 InFocus received COVID grants totalling of £191,063, £75,506 for the charity and £115,557 for social enterprises.

Although the effects of COVID-19 continued during 2020-21 as a result of careful in-year budgeting, received COVID-19 grants and a sizable legacy confirmation, InFocus reported an operational year end surplus of £316,616 against a predicted budget deficit (revised at the April re-forecast) of £252,927 excluding any unrealised gains.

Despite another less successful year and one that continued to be impacted by COVID-19 WESC Enterprises finished the year with a modest overall surplus of £5,930 which they plan to gift aid to InFocus Charity.

At the year end the Board is reporting a consolidated statutory accounts deficit of £57,367.

Fundraising and grants

Fundraising continued to be impacted by COVID-19, with many of our events cancelled or postponed. In addition, we found that some trusts and foundations changed their funding priorities or continued in suspending their grants programme.

Unrestricted fundraising realised an income of £485,309 against a predicted target of £60,000, including the legacy of which £410,532 has been recognised in-year and a gift in-kind of £10,509.

Restricted fundraising realised an income of £44,814 against a predicted target of £140,000.

The cost of fundraising for the year is £57,295.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Reserves and financial health

The Board of Trustees receive monthly management accounts and key performance indicators to ensure oversight of the finances, budgets and expenditure against budgets together with cash flow, an analysis of debtors and creditors and other key factors which influence our financial well-being.

During the year there are two budget reforecasts to ensure that the budget remains on track as much as possible. During this process the Director of Quality and Business Resources and Finance Manager meet with all budget holders. As identified above COVID-19 restrictions meant that in-year considerations were required. This process has been even more crucial this year to ensure potential savings are made wherever possible and relevant.

Restricted funds are managed through the restricted funds panel who meet regularly to review applications made to the panel for specific projects or equipment which directly benefit the young people at InFocus Charity using funds raised that are restricted to certain areas of activity.

The InFocus Charity reserves policy states that we should aim to hold unrestricted reserves of:

4 months Operating Reserves (free reserves) £2,500,000
Contingency for death or loss of contract for Service Users (designated Funds) £ 200,000
Site Improvement (designated Funds) £ 500,000
Total target reserves (including designated funds) £3,200,000

InFocus Charity calculate operating reserves (free reserves) as that of total charity reserves less fixed assets and restricted reserves. As of 31[st] August 2021 the total unrestricted free reserves were £2,775,612, the operating reserves on the above agreed calculation basis were just over 3.3 months (excluding designated funds). Trustees remain mindful that our current levels are still below the agreed 4 months operating reserves and increasing this remains a priority for the Trustees and Executive team.

The Trustees continue to monitor the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The Trustees have agreed a rolling three year forecast and will continue to monitor in-year performance through monthly management accounts. A priority for 2021/22 remains to increase numbers in College and expand Adult Services, which will have a positive impact to the financial position of InFocus. As a result of continued low numbers, the School will close at the end of 2021/22. New fees have been implemented from September 2021, when at capacity this should result in fees covering the cost of service provision with any additional income received from areas such as social enterprise, WESC Enterprises and fundraising used to improve the site including the residential provision.

The Board monitor financial resilience and currently maintain a reasonable level of reserves. Taking the information available into consideration the Trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties around the ability of InFocus Charity and WESC Enterprise to continue as a going concern for at least the next 12 months.

Investments

Despite a turbulent year within the financial markets the Board is generally pleased with the overall performance of the investments held with Sarasin and Partners:

Fund Value as of
31st August 2020		 Value as of
31st August 2021
Total value of investments £1,518,877 £1,670,457*

The Board remain confident that the funds are being effectively actively managed by Sarasin and Partners and are in accordance with InFocus Charity’s investment policy.

Pension Liability

Staff are ordinarily enrolled in one of three principal pension arrangements as employees of InFocus Charity. The InFocus Pension schemes are with AVIVA (previously Friends Life, now closed to new entrants), NEST and the Teachers’ Pension. As of 31[st] August 2021 there are 10 staff in the Teachers’ Pension, 30 are in AVIVA, 171 are in NEST pension scheme and 1 employee has individual pension arrangements.

Principal risks and uncertainties management

The Board of Trustees are responsible for the overseeing of risks faced by InFocus. During 2020/2021 the risk register was updated to reflect the new strategic plan. The risk register is reviewed three times a year by the Business Affairs Advisory Committee with any recommendations for changes being agreed at the Board. Detailed analysis of the risks are delegated to the Executive team, these are identified, assessed and controls established to mitigate the risk. The principal risks that the Board of Trustees identified during 2020/2021 are:

The impact of COVID-19

The pandemic in 2020/2021 created several new risks that had not previously been identified. The key risks were deemed to be loss of life or serious illness of a young person through failure to manage the service in line with all guidance; loss of life or serious illness of a staff member through failure to manage the service in line with all guidance; inability to support young people due to staff absences through NHS Test and Trace, and loss of income due to reductions in fees for services; and loss of income through closures of retail and other commercial activities.

InFocus was very quick to adapt its service delivery model including introducing home learning, implementing bubbles and ensuring all guidance was clear and understood by all staff through frequent briefings. Measures for social distancing, hand sanitising and mask wearing were put in place across the campus. Staff were very compliant with the track and trace system but also very diligent in returning to work as soon as practicably possible. All available grants were sought to support our commercial activities and the furlough scheme was used where appropriate. Fee income was maintained for all care and education services by local authorities. The risk assessment process for safeguarding young people during COVID-19 was deemed to be exemplary by Devon County Council and was shared with other providers.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Ofsted grades

Following the 2018 inspection that graded College as requires improvement, and the 2019 inspections that rated School and our Residential School as inadequate (July 2019 and December 2019) significant progress has been made against areas identified where improvements were needed. During 2020/2021 full inspections were suspended due to the pandemic. Grades remain unchanged as a result.

However, we still had 5 different monitoring visits to check on safety during the pandemic and progress against the outcomes of the inspection. All were positive and the School and Residential School monitoring visit confirmed that safeguarding was now deemed effective and we were compliant with the National Minimum Standards for Residential Schools (NMSRS).

There are effective improvement plans in place for the School, College and Residential School provision. All are tested through internal audit, learning walks and external scrutiny from Trustees, external advisors and other education and care leaders.

Student numbers and revised fees (Constraints on Government and local authority spending)

The high-needs funding that local authorities use to purchase places at InFocus is significantly overspent causing commissioners to review their internal budgets and look to reduce costs.

InFocus introduced a revised fee model during 2019/2020 which provides greater clarity and financial viability. It was the aim to introduce the revised fees for 2020/2021. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions it has applied to ‘normal’ workings in all organisations including local authorities, the Board took the decisions to delay implementing new fees until 2020/2021.

Delaying the fee increase will mean that fees will not cover core cost for another year. Increasing numbers to increase the income stream remains a priority.

The decision to close the School from September 2022 means that there will no longer be students leaving our School and entering our College, and we will therefore be reliant on external referrals. This is an increased risk to student numbers but does reduces the number of different inspection regimes we have to comply with. We will also have students in our education provision for a shorter period and will need to demonstrate progress over a shorter time period. There is still pressure on local authorities to place young people locally and not make long distance out of county placements. This risk is mitigated to some extent by our VI and complex needs specialism which cannot be locally matched, especially as some VI specific settings who might previously be specialist competitors have more recently become generic providers.

Reduce staff vacancies

We have a high number of vacancies, particularly within St David’s House. The risk with carrying too many vacancies are with the consistency in care, increased pressure on current staff and high agency costs.

During the year InFocus reviewed the overtime rate offered to staff with the view to reduce the use of agency staff and to attract new staff. This has resulted in a small drop in vacancies. Work continues to improve this risk.

Structure, Governance and Management

Board of Trustees

At the end of August 2021 InFocus Charity have 9 serving Trustees chaired by Chris Knee who was appointed in January 2019.

During the year two Trustees resigned and we recruited three Trustees.

The board has three sub-committees which each met three times during the year. On each committee there are nominated Trustees and each committee is Chaired by a Trustee. The committees are:

During 2020/21 the Trustees carried out the following meetings, many of which were conducted remotely due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic:

Trustees actively engage in training which includes the mandatory safeguarding training.

Our Board of Trustees are:

All Trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration was paid in the year. Expenses can be reimbursed. The Board of Trustees conduct their business in line with the Charity Commission Governance Code.

Legal Structure

InFocus Charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 06928379 and charity number 1058937-1. InFocus Charity is linked by the Charity Commission for accounting and reporting purposes with InFocus Charity (West of England), an unincorporated charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 1058937 and which previously undertook the operations of InFocus. The trustees of InFocus Charity are also the only trustees of InFocus (West of England). InFocus Charity (West of England) is currently the main reporting charity for the purposes of the Charity Commission although this charity is now dormant with all InFocus assets being held by, and all operations being conducted through InFocus Charity.

Executive Team

The Board of Trustees delegates the operational management of InFocus Charity to its Chief Executive who works with an Executive team, as follows:

In July 2021 the Director of Education resigned to take up an exciting opportunity abroad. Martyn Cox was appointed as Principal and now leads the School and College. The CEO and Executive team are in attendance at the board meetings and at sub-committees. Each Committee has a link Executive who they work with to monitor, audit and improve their delegated areas of InFocus Charity business. The PA to the CEO acts as Clerk to the Board.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Staffing

On 31 August 2021 InFocus Charity was employing 242 staff (including 29 bank staff) (174 FTE). As is the case elsewhere in the care sector recruiting support staff remained a challenge despite a number of recruitment drives undertaken.

InFocus is required by law to publish an annual gender pay gap report, based upon a snapshot date of 5th April annually.

Mean Gender pay gap: The difference between the mean hourly rate of pay of men and women is 5.82%.

Median Gender Pay Gap: There is 0 difference between the median hourly rate of pay for men and women.

No bonus payments are paid to InFocus employees. We operate a performance related pay system; the aim of this system is to ensure that pay reflects performance. Our principles are to pay our staff a fair salary that is competitive with the charity sector, proportionate to the complexity of each role and responsibility and in line with our charitable objectives.

WESC Enterprises

InFocus Charity has a wholly owned subsidiary called WESC Enterprises. All trading that is not aligned with our core objectives is carried out by WESC Enterprises.

WESC Enterprises is chaired by Derek Fargher. As of the August 2021 the WESC Enterprises Board consists of:

This Trustee report is therefore a consolidated Directors’ report relating to InFocus Charity and its subsidiary WESC Enterprises. However, the greatest emphasis for this report is the activities of InFocus Charity as a charitable organisation.

As a residential special School and College, and a residential care home InFocus Charity remained open through the COVID-19 lockdowns. The isolation periods meant that staffing was at times limited. However, as a result of dedicated staff and agency cover, we continued to provide the high level of care and support throughout the year. However, this additional cover resulted in higher than expected overtime and agency costs.

As a result of the ICT arrangement implemented during the first national lockdown, many of the administration staff were able to continue to work from home during the lockdown which commenced on the 5th of November 2021 with minimal impact to the organisation. A small number of staff were furloughed due to shop closures or extreme vulnerability to COVID-19.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name: InFocus Charity

Charity registration number: 1058937

Company registration number: 06938379

Registered office: Topsham Road, Countess Wear, EXETER, EX2 6HA

Trustees: Mr C D Knee (Chair), Mr D J Fargher, Mr T D Williams, Mr A McNicol, Mrs T Coultas-Pitman, Mrs C Edworthy, Miss B Dillon (appointed 10/12/2020), Dr A Daniel (appointed 15/07/2021), Mr B Horn (appointed 15/07/2021), Mr A Leadbetter (resigned 15/06/2021), Mr P Stagg (resigned 22/06/2021)

Sub-committee advisory members: Lucy Woolcock (Adult Care Advisory Committee), Anne Bilham (Adult Care Advisory Committee), Catherine Rees Stephan (Education Advisory Committee)

Ambassadors: Michael Caines MBE DL, Judi Spiers

Chief Executive Officer: Jane Bell

Executive Team: Maureen Biss (Director of HR and Enterprise), Jane Nutt (Director of Quality and Business Resources), Marc Phillips (Director of Care and Support Services), Martyn Cox (Principal)

Company Secretary: Mrs J Nutt

Auditors: PKF Francis Clark, Centenary House, Peninsula Park, Rydon Lane, EXETER, EX2 7XE

Solicitors: Bates Wells, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE

Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, PLYMOUTH, PL1 3AE

Tozers LLP, Broadwalk House, Southernhay West, EXETER, EX1 1UA

Investment Managers: Sarasin and Partners, Juxon House, 100 St Paul’s Churchyard, LONDON, EC4M 8BU

Bankers: National Westminster, 59 High Street, EXETER, EX4 3DP and HSBC, 38 High Street, EXETER, EX4 3LP

Insurance: Venture, Bank House, Burlington Road, Redland, BRISTOL, BS6 6TJ

30

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The charity Trustees (who are also directors of InFocus Charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing a Trustees’ Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the charity Trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware at the time of approving our Trustees’ annual report:

The Trustees approve the Trustees’ Annual Report, including approval in their capacity as company directors of the Strategic Report contained within it, on 9 December 2021.

Mr C D Knee, Trustee

Independent auditors report

32

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Independent Auditors report to the Members of InFocus Charity for the year ended 31 August 2021

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of InFocus Charity (the “Charity”) for the year ended 31 August 2021 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, Group and Parent Company Balance Sheets, Statement of Consolidated Cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the original financial statements were authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the Trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities set out on page 31, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the Charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

As part of our audit planning, we obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that is applicable to the Charity to identify the key laws and regulations. As part of this, we reviewed the Charity’s website for indication of any regulations and certification in place and discussed these with the relevant individuals responsible for compliance. The key regulations we identified were The Charities Act, compliance with the Care Quality Commission (“CQC”), Ofsted School, Further Education and Skills Framework, and the Residential Special School (National Minimum Standards), safeguarding, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006.

We discussed with management and Trustees how the compliance with these laws and regulations in monitored and discussed policies and procedures in place. We also identified the individuals who have responsibility for ensuring that the Charity complies with laws and regulations and deals with reporting any issues if they arise. As part of our planning procedures, we assessed the risk of any non-compliance with laws and regulations on the Charity’s ability to continue trading and the risk of material misstatement to the accounts.

Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Our procedures involved the following:

As part of our enquiries we discussed with management whether there have been any known instances, allegations or suspicions of fraud, which there were none. We evaluated the risk of fraud through management override, including that arising from management bias in accounting judgements and estimates. In response to the identified risk, as part of our audit work we:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements. This risk increases the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements as we are less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our Report

This report is made solely to the Charity’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Stephanie Henshaw (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of

PKF FRANCIS CLARK, Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditor Centenary House, Peninsula Park Rydon Lane, Exeter, EX2 7XE 9/12/2021

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Accounts and Financial Statements 131

Consolidated statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account)

31 August 2021 Unrestricted Restricted 2021 2020
funds funds Total funds Total funds
Note £ £ £ £
Income and endowments
Donations and legacies 4 676,372 44,814 721,186 266,431
Charitable activities 5 6,593,074 51,329 6,644,403 6,782,667
Other trading activities 6 191,227 - 191,227 274,266
Investment income 7 45,682 - 45,682 1,369
Other income 8 138,963 12,135 151,098 103,291
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Total income 7,645,318 108,278 7,753,596 7,428,024
═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════
Expenditure
Expenditure on raising funds 9 245,765 - 245,765 263,843
Expenditure on charitable activities 10 7,398,035 295,970 7,694,005 7,827,172
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Total expenditure 7,643,800 295,970 7,939,770 8,091,015
═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════
Net unrealised gain / (loss) on revaluation
of fxed assets 12 - - - 326,364
Net unrealised gain / (loss) on
investments 12 128,807 - 128,807 102,470
Transfers between funds 21 88,139 (88,139) - -
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Net income/(expenditure) and net
movement in funds 218,464 (275,831) (57,367) (234,157)
═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════
Reconciliation of funds
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Total funds brought forward 7,922,630 1,391,573 9,314,203 9,548,360
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Total funds carried forward 8,141,094 1,115,742 9,256,836 9,314,203
═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet
Year ended 31 August 2021
Note 2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible fxed assets 16 6,246,538 6,246,538 6,653,353 6,653,353
Investments 17a 1,659,110 1,659,210 1,518,777 1,518,877
Investment properties 18 422,500 422,500 422,500 422,500
────── ────── ────── ──────
**8,328,148 ** 8,328,248 8,594,630 8,594,730
Current assets
Debtors 19 798,663 865,962 430,627 413,989
Investments 17b 11,347 11,347 95 95
Cash at bank and in hand 25 585,169 498,167 791,778 761,662
───── ────── ────── ──────
1,395,179 1,375,476 1,222,500 1,175,746
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year 20 466,491 452,717 502,927 485,570
────── ────── ────── ──────
Net current assets 928,688 922,759 719,573 690,176
────── ───── ────── ──────
Total assets less current liabilities 9,256,836 9,251,007 9,314,203 9,284,906
────── ────── ────── ──────
Net assets 9,256,836 9,251,007 9,314,203 9,284,906
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
Funds of the charity
Restricted funds 1,115,742 1,115,742 1,391,573 1,391,573
Unrestricted funds 8,140,914 8,135,265 7,922,630 7,893,333
─────── ────── ────── ──────
Total charity funds 21 9,256,836 9,251,007 9,314,203 9,284,906
═══════ ══════ ══════ ══════

These financial statements were approved by the board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 9th December 2021, and are signed on behalf of the board by:

Mr C D Knee

Trustee

Company registered number: 06938379

Statement of cash flows

Year ended 31 August 2021

Year ended 31 August 2021
Statement of cash fows
Notes 2021 2020
Cash fows from operating activities: £ £
Net cash provided by operating activities (47,274) (105,654)
────── ──────
Cash fows from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (193,492) (388,879)
Investment additions (11,525) -
Investment income 45,682 1,369
Proceeds on disposal of investments - 125,000
────── ──────
Net cash used in investing activities (159,335) (262,511)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period (206,609) (368,165)
────── ──────
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
reporting period		 791,778
────────		 1,159,943
──────
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period 25 585,169 791,778
══════ ══════
Net income / (expenditure) for the period (57,367) (234,157)
Depreciation 600,307 551,925
(Gain)/loss on investments (128,807) (428,834)
Investment income and bank interest (45,682) (1,369)
(Increase) / decrease on debtors (368,036) (49,022)
(Increase) / decrease on current asset investments (11,252) -
(Decrease) / increase on creditors (36,437) 55,803
────── ──────
Net cash provided by operating activities (47,274) (105,654)
══════ ══════

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the financial statements year ended 31 August 2021

1. General information

The charity is a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales.

The address of the registered office is Topsham Road, Countess Wear, Exeter, Devon, EX2 6HA. The charitable entity is a public benefit entity.

2. Accounting policies

(a) Statement of compliance

These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland’, the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011. There were no material departures from FRS 102 or the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

(b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except to the extent that certain assets are carried at fair value as explained below.

The accounts have been prepared on a consistent basis, except that £217,843 of COVID-related grants received in the prior year has been reclassified in the comparatives from other income to donations and legacy.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.

(c) Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements consolidate the financial statements of the company and its subsidiary undertaking drawn up to 31 August 2021.

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the company. Control is achieved where the company has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

No separate SOFA has been presented for the Charity alone as permitted by S.408 of the Companies Act 2006. The amount of loss dealt with in the parent charity’s accounts is £33,900 (2020: deficit of £153,609).

(d) Going concern

In making their assessment of going concern the Trustees have considered cashflow forecasts for the next 12 months and beyond and the impact of COVID-19 on the charity and its subsidiary. They are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the group’s ability to continue. Further details on this assessment are in the Trustees Report.

(e) Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

The following are the significant judgements that the Trustees’ have made in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies and that have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

Property classification

Buildings on the charity’s site have been leased to a third party. The Trustees’ have therefore considered whether the property should be reclassified as an investment property and carried at fair value.

In making their judgement, the Trustees’ considered the detailed criteria for the classification of property set out in FRS 102 section 16 Investment Property and, in particular the strategic direction of these rentals. In the prior year, on the basis that the lease was temporary and the longer-term use of the buildings was undecided the Trustees’ concluded that the property should not be reclassified. The classification of these properties has been formally reviewed this year and they have been presented as Investment Property.

In determining a fair value for the investment properties the Trustees have taken into account the existence of potentially significant contractual restrictions on the charity’s entitlement to benefit from the full value of any sale proceeds. They estimate the restriction would limit the charity’s entitlement to some 50% of any proceeds and so have restricted the full open market value of £845,000 to £422,500.

(f) Fund accounting

General unrestricted funds comprise accumulated surpluses and deficits on general funds and the cumulative realised and unrealised gains on revaluations of investments. They are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of general charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are created where material donations are made specifically for a particular area or purpose. Expenditure is charged in the statement of financial activities subject to the conditions imposed by the donors.

Restricted fixed asset funds represent resources applied for specific capital purposes imposed by funders. Depreciation is charged against the fixed asset fund over the life of the asset.

(g) Income

Income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

Donations

Donations are included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable.

Grants

Grants where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant. Where grants are potentially repayable at the period end, the amount received but unspent has been deferred.

Legacies

Legacies are included when the charity is advised by the personal representative of an estate that payment will be made or property transferred and the amount involved can be quantified.

Donated services

Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Charitable activities

Fee income, outreach income and landlords supported living are recognised in the period to which the income relates.

Fees

Fee income comprises amounts receivable from local authoriies for the provision of education, including boarding, and is recognised on a straight line basis over the academic year. Fees received in advance of the academic year are classified as deferred income

Trading income

Trading income comprises amounts receivable in respect of sales from the café, together with the hire of rooms and the swimming pool. Café sales are recognised when the sale is made which is also the point of cash receipt. Room hire and swimming pool income are recognised when used and income is deferred where cash is received in advance.

Property rental income is recognised straight line over the period of the lease.

Income from investments is included in the year in which it is receivable.

(h) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered and is reported as part of the expense category to which it relates.

Costs of raising funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of trading for fundraising purposes.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Governance costs comprise all costs incurred in running the charity itself as an organisation, and its compliance with regulation and good practice.

(i) Operating leases

Rentals under existing operating leases are charged as the payments are incurred. For new leases rentals will be charged on a straight-line basis over the lease term, even if the payments are not made on such a basis. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are similarly spread on a straightline basis over the lease term.

Rental income from operating leases is recognised on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant lease, even if the payments are not made on such a basis. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to sign an operating lease are similarly spread on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

(j) Tangible assets and depreciation

Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.

(k) Tangible assets

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Buildings - 3%-10% straight line Land - nil Motor Vehicles - 25% reducing balance - Other fixtures, fittings 3-4 years straight line and equipment

(l) Investments

Listed investments are measured at fair value with changes in fair value being recognised in income or expenditure.

In the company balance sheet investments in subsidiaries are recorded at cost less impairment.

(m) Investment property

Investment property is initially recorded at cost, which includes purchase price and any directly attributable expenditure.

Investment property is revalued to fair value at each reporting date and any changes in fair value are recognised in statement of financial activities as a gain or loss on revaluation.

(n) Financial instruments

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument. Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted. Debt instruments are subsequently measured at amortised cost.

Financial assets that are measured at cost or amortised cost are reviewed for evidence of impairment at the end of each reporting date. If there is evidence of impairment, an impairment loss is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

(o) Retirement benefits

The Charity’s employees belong to three principal pension schemes: the Teachers’ Pension Scheme England and Wales (TPS) for academic and related staff; the InFocus Charity pension scheme with Friends Life which is closed to new entrants and a NEST Pension Scheme.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme and contributions are calculated so as to spread the cost of pensions over employees’ working lives with the Charity in such a way that the pension cost is a substantially level percentage of current and future pensionable payroll. The contributions are determined by the Government Actuary on the basis of quinquennial valuations using a prospective benefit method. As stated in the notes to the financial statements, the TPS is a multi-employer scheme and the Charity is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis. The TPS is therefore treated as a defined contribution scheme and the contributions recognised as they are paid each year.

The Friends Life and NEST pension schemes are defined contribution schemes and the contributions are recognised as they are paid each year

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

3. Limited by guarantee

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £10.

4. Donations and Legacies

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
COVID-related grants 191,063 - 191,063 217,854
Fundraising and donations 64,268 44,814 109,082 48,577
Legacies 410,532 - 410,532
Donations-in-kind 10,509 - 10,509 -
────── ────── ────── ──────
676,372 44,814 721,186 266,431
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════

Included in the 2021 total of £721,186 is unrestricted income of £676,372 and restricted income of £44,814.

5. Charitable activities

haritable activities
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Educational grants 501,234 51,329 552,563 655,928
Fee income 5,245,571 - 5,245,571 5,379,588
Outreach income 67,305 - 67,305 71,649
Shop income 332,412 - 332,412 260,106
Landlords Supported Living 446,552 - 446,552 415,396
────── ────── ────── ──────
6,593,074 51,329 6,644,403 6,782,667
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════

Included in the total for 2021 of £6,644,403 is unrestricted income of £6,593,074 and restricted income of £51,329. This year educational grants income includes emergency funding in response to COVID-19.

6. Other trading activities

. Other trading activities
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Trading subsidiary income 191,227 - 191,227 274,266
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
191,227 - 191,227 274,266
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════

Included in the total for 2021 of £191,227 is unrestricted income of £191,227 and restricted income of £nil.

7. Investment income

7. Investment income
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Income from listed investments 45,613 - 45,613 -
Bank interest receivable 69 - 69 1,369
───── ───── ───── ─────
45,682 - 45,682 1,369
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════

The total for 2021 of £45,682 is unrestricted.

8. Other income

8. Other income
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Other income 60,279 12,135 72,414 24,580
Premises income 78,684 - 78,684 78,711
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
138,963 12,135 151,098 103,291
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════

Included in the total for 2021 of £151,098 is unrestricted income of £138,963 and restricted income of £12,135.

9. Raising Funds

. Raising Funds
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Fundraising costs 57,295 - 57,295 52,534
Marketing costs 89,865 - 89,865 82,397
Commercial trading operations 98,605 - 98,605 128,912
──── ──── ──── ─────
245,765 - 245,765 263,843
═════ ═════ ═════ ══════

Included in the total for 2021 of £245,765 is unrestricted expenditure of £245,765 and restricted expenditure of £nil.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

10. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type

Activities Support Total funds Total fund
undertaken directly costs 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Teaching and education 1,100,203 - 1,100,203 1,268,898
Learner support services 3,692,568 - 3,692,568 3,923,596
Charity support services 2,455,327 - 2,455,327 2,204,608
InFocus charity shops 430,271 - 430,271 402,062
Governance costs - 15,636 15,636 28,008
────── ────── ──────────────
7,678,369 15,636 7,694,005 7,827,172
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════

Included in the total of £7,678,369 (2020: £7,827,172) is unrestricted expenditure of £7,398,035 (2020: £7,463,639) and restricted expenditure of £295,970 (2020: £363,533).

11. Taxation

The charity’s activities fall within the exemptions afforded by the provisions of sections 466 to 493 of the Corporation Taxes Act 2010. Accordingly, there is no taxation charge in these accounts.

12. Net gains on investments

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Unrealised gains/(losses) on
investment assets		 128,807 - 128,807 428,834
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════

The total for 2021 of £128,807 is unrestricted.

13. Net income/(expenditure)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

2021 2020
Group Group
£ £
Depreciation 600,307 555,152
Operating lease rentals 98,699 98,699
Auditors’ remuneration 15,000 15,000

14. Staff Costs

The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows:

2021 2020
Group Group
£ £
Wages and salaries 4,752,646 4,747,370
Social security costs 369,017 365,314
Employer contributions to pension plans 238,408 258,728
Agency staf 599,532 625,668
────── ──────
5,959,603 5,997,080
══════ ══════

Included in staff costs are redundancy payments totalling £12,546 (2020: £5,006).

The average head count of employees during the year was 251 (2020: 246). The number of employees whose remuneration for the year fell within the following bands were:

2021 2020
Group Group
No. No.
£60,000 to £69,999 2 2
£80,000 to £89,999 1 1
─── ───
3 3
═══ ═══

Key management personnel are made up of all Executive members (5) and remuneration totalled £323,553 (2020: £316,938).

15. Related party transactions

The charity Trustees were not paid and did not receive any other benefits from employment with the charity (2020: £nil). There were reimbursements of expenses to Trustees of £195 (2020: reimbursements of expenses to Trustees of £1,069). No charity Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2020: £nil).

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

16. Tangible fixed assets (charity and group)

Land and Motor Assets under
buildings vehicles Equipment construction Total
£ £ £ £
Cost
At 1 September 2020 10,194,484 215,985 1,457,547 - 11,868,016
Additions
Reclassifcation		 -
to
-		 -
-		 182,983
-		 10,509 193,492
-
investment property -
────── ────── ────── ────── ──────
At 31 August 2021 10,194,484 215,985 1,640,530 10,509 12,061,508
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
Depreciation
At 1 September 2020 4,387,154 132,401 695,108 - 5,214,663
Charge for the year 253,390 22,291 324,626 - 600,307
Reclassifcation to
-		 - - -
investment property -
────── ────── ────── ────── ──────
At 31 August 2021 4,640,544 154,692 1,019,734 - 5,814,970
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
Carrying amount
At 31 August 2021		 5,553,940 61,293 620,796 10,509 6,246,538
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
At 31 August 2020 5,807,330 83,584 762,439 - 6,653,353
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
17. (a) Fixed asset investments
2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Investments in subsidiaries - 100 - 100
Other investments 1,659,110 1,659,110 1,518,777 1,518,777
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
1,659,110 1,659,210 1,518,777 1,518,877
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════

Investments in subsidiaries (charity)

The company owns the entire issued share capital of WESC Enterprises Limited. WESC Enterprises Limited, which is incorporated in England and Wales, gift aids its taxable profit to the charity. The registration number of WESC Enterprises Limited is 10535508. The registered office is the same as that of InFocus Charity, as disclosed in the administrative section of the Trustee’s annual report. The principal activity of the company is running catering services and provision of premises hire.

2021 2020
Summary proft and loss account £ £
Turnover 191,227 274,266
Cost of sales (97,716) (127,233)
────── ──────
93,511 147,033
Administration expenses (87,581) (117,736)
────── ──────
Operating proft 5,930 29,297
Taxation - -
────── ──────
Proft for the year 5,930 29,297
══════ ══════
The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary were:
Current assets 144,531 76,419
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (138,601) (47,022)
────── ──────
Total assets less current liabilities 5,930 29,397
────── ──────
Aggregate share capital and reserves 5,930 29,397
══════ ══════

InFocus Charity will gift aid all taxable profits to its parent charity within 9 months of the year end, therefore there is no requirement to make a provision for taxation in the financial statements.

Other Investments (Charity and Group)

2021 2020
Listed Listed
investments investments
£ £
Cost or valuation
At 1 September 2020 1,518,777 1,541,307
Additions 11,525 -
Disposals - (125,000)
Fair value movements 128,807 102,470
Movement in cash balances - -
────── ──────
At 31 August 2021 1,659,110 1,518,777
══════ ═════

Financial assets held at fair value

All investments are valued at their open market rate at the balance sheet date using readily available market data.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

17. (b) Investments: Current

2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Cash held on deposit 11,347 11,347 95 95
══════ ══════ ══════ ══════
18. Investment Properties
2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Cost or valuation
At 1 September 422,500 422,500 - -
Reclassifcation - - 96,136 96,136
Disposals - - - -
Fair value movement - - 326,364 326,364
──── ──── ──── ────
Carrying value at 31 August 422,500 422,500 422,500 422,500
════ ═════ ════ ═════

The properties were revalued as at 31 August 2021 on an open market value basis by the Trustees after taking appropriate professional advice. The properties are accessed via a private road over which permissive rights exist for educational purposes only. The limitations due to the ownership of the access roads and services to both properties mean that the charity could only expect to realise an estimated 50% of any disposal proceeds. The fair value therefore reflects this restriction.

19. Debtors

19. Debtors
2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Trade debtors 231,208 173,679 258,113 211,810
VAT recoverable 1,100 1,100 1,104 1,104
Prepayments and accrued income 563,530 563,530 164,988 164,988
Other debtors 2,825 2,825 6,422 6,422
Amounts owed by group undertakings - 124,828 - 29,665
──── ──── ──── ────
798,663 865,962 430,627 413,989
════ ═════ ════ ═════

20. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

2021 2021 2020 2020
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Trade creditors 143,309 139,183 194,525 183,101
Amounts due to group undertakings - - - -
Social security and other taxes 123,452 113,805 18,875 12,959
Other creditors 30,462 30,462 66,692 66,692
Accruals and deferred income 169,267 169,267 222,835 222,818
──── ──── ──── ────
466,490 452,717 502,927 485,570
════ ═════ ════ ═════

Deferred income comprises grant and fee income that relates to future periods which has been received in advance.

Deferred income comprises the following:

Deferred income comprises the following:
Capital Charitable
grants activities Total
£ £ £
At 1 September 2020 - 34,938 34,938
Deferred in current period - 30,221 30,221
Released to Statement of Financial Activities - (29,854) (29,854)
──── ──── ────
At 31 August 2021 - 35,305 35,305
════ ════ ════

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Restricted fxed asset funds
St David's House Appeal
Water Therapy Pool
Topsham Road
Other
Total
Restricted general funds
Day services
Site development
Activities for young people
Supporting independence
Vehicle & transport
Family fund
Research
Miscellaneous
Grants
Pupil premium
Bursaries and grants
ESFA/DFC
Access to work
Student purchases
Talking tills
Family fund
Education
Total
Total restricted funds
Designated
funds
–
contingency
Designated
funds
–
site
improvement
General unrestricted funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 1
September
2020
£
459,412
341,784
13,133
248,289
1,062,618
4,460
36,196
81,783
74,393
28
-
8,787
7,853
7,987
14,598
65,600
14,327
6,828
75
520
5,520
328,955
1,391,573
200,000
500,000
7,222,630
7,922,630
9,314,203		 Income
£
-
-
-
-
-
10
40,627
2,030
1,997
-
-
-
150
2,220
3,627
45,482
8,947
3,188
-
-
-
108,278
108,278
-
-
7,774,125
7,774,125
7,882,403		 Expenditure
£
(49,037)
(24,801)
(3,223)
(186,757)
(263,818)
(910)
8,914
(6,643)
(22,087)
-
-
-
(48)
(1,847)
(3,258)
-
(2,323)
(3,950)
-
-
-
(32,152)
(295,970)
-
-
(7,643,800)
(7,643,800)
(7,939,770)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
82,256
82,256
-
(56,630)
(2,501)
(17,605)
-
520
-
-
555
(6,009)
(65,600)
(14,327)
(2,759)
1
(520)
(5,520)
(88,139)
(88,139)
-
-
88,139
88,139
-		 At 31
August
2021
£
410,375
316,983
9,910
143,788
881,056
3,560
29,107
74,669
36,698
28
520
8,787
7,955
8,915
8,958
45,482
6,624
3,307
76
-
-
234,686
1,115,742
200,000
500,000
7,441,094
8,141,094
9,256,836

Notes

21. Analysis of charitable funds (group)

The St David’s House appeal was towards the building of a special unit to house children who are not only blind but also have other severe handicaps.

The Water Therapy Pool fund was established to create a new pool for therapeutic, sporting and recreation purposes.

Topsham Road fund was used to help purchase a property which will be used as a transition house for students of the College.

Other fixed asset funds are donations which have been received to purchase specific equipment which has been capitalised.

Pupil Premium

Additional funding received from local authorities target those students from low income families who need the most in order to raise attainment.

Bursary & Grants

Funds received from the ESFA to support young people (post year 11) in need of financial support meet additional costs to help them remain in full time education.

Day Services

Funds used for the benefit of young adults attending Adult Day Services at InFocus Charity.

Activities for Young People

To fund interactive activities for students and young adults at InFocus Charity.

Supporting Independence

Funds used to provide equipment and opportunities in all areas of InFocus Charity to help enable the engagement and independence of students and young adults in daily activities.

Site Development

Funds used for the improvement and renovations of the InFocus Charity site for the benefit of the students and young adults.

Vehicle & Transport

To fund the requirement for vehicles at InFocus Charity used for the mobility of students and young adults so they can access activities off-site.

Research

Restricted funds used for specific research projects at InFocus Charity specifically around visual impairment and multi-sensory disability. Examples have been the Comic Relief funding of the development of the Eyelander Game.

Enterprise

Funds used to promote social enterprise at InFocus Charity, to ensure space and equipment facilitate student’s engagement in social enterprise.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

EPOS/Till System

Funds used to create a specialised talking till system for VI

ESFA/DFC

Annual grants and/or bursaries received from the Department for Education and/or ESFA to help maintain and improve the condition of School buildings and grounds.

Access to Work

Monies received to support individuals in the workplace and those requiring reasonable adjustments.

Student Equipment

Money received from LA’s as part of a services user’s package designated for specific specialist equipment.

Family Fund

Assist families with one-off travel costs for events at InFocus Charity.

Education Pods

To fund standalone education pods to provide additional breakout areas for students.

22. Analysis of net assets between funds (group)

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2021
£ £ £
Tangible fxed assets 5,365,482 881,056 6,246,538
Investments 1,659,110 - 1,659,110
Investment properties 422,500 - 422,500
Current assets 1,155,409 239,770 1,395,179
Creditors less than 1 year (461,407) (5,084) (466,491)
──── ──── ────
Net assets 8,141,094 1,115,742 9,256,836
═════ ══════ ═════

23. Prior year restricted funds note and analysis of net assets between funds

At 1 Income Expenditure Transfers At 31
September August
2019 2020
Restricted fxed asset funds £ £ £ £ £
St David's House Appeal 508,449 - (49,037) - 459,412
Water Therapy Pool 366,585 - (24,801) - 341,784
Topsham Road 16,356 - (3,223) - 13,133
Other 312,098 - (137,971) 74,162 248,289
──── ──── ──── ──── ────
Total 1,203,488 - (215,032) 74,162 1,062,618
Restricted general funds
Day services 4,460 - - - 4,460
Site development 88,860 44,979 (71,321) (26,321) 36,196
Activities for young people 107,565 1,292 (3,680) (23,393) 81,783
Supporting independence 74,476 31,233 (6,866) (24,452) 74,393
Vehicle & transport 28 - - - 28
Research 10,593 1,192 (2,998) - 8,787
Miscellaneous 6,131 2,438 (720) 4 7,853
Social enterprise - -
Grants
Pupil premium 11,737 555 (4,305) - 7,987
Bursaries and grants 12,061 2,537 - - 14,598
ESFA/DFC 51,682 65,600 (51,682) - 65,600
Access to work 19,282 8,472 (13,427) - 14,327
Student purchases 6,777 4,882 (4,831) - 6,828
Talking tills 75 - - - 75
Family fund - 1,000 (480) - 520
Education - - 5,520 - 5,520
──── ──── ──── ──── ────
Total 393,727 164,180 (154,790) (74,162) 328,955
──── ──── ──── ──── ────
Total restricted funds 1,597,215 164,180 (369,822) - 1,391,573
Designated funds - contingency 200,000 - - - 200,000
Designated
funds
improvement		 – site 500,000 - - - 500,000
General unrestricted funds 7,251,145 7,263,844 (7,721,193) 428,834 7,222,630
──── ──── ──── ──── ────
Total unrestricted funds 7,951,145 7,263,844
 (7,721,193) 428,834 7,922,630
──── ──── ──── ──── ────
Total funds 9,548,360 7,428,024 (8,091,015) 428,834 9,314,203
═══════ ═══════ ════════ ═══════ ═══════

Notes

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2020
£ £ £
Tangible fxed assets 5,665,301 988,052 6,653,353
Investments 1,518,777 - 1,518,777
Current assets 813,895 408,605 1,222,500
Creditors less than 1 year (497,843) (5,084) (502,927)
Net assets 7,922,630 1,391,573 9,322,203
══════ ══════ ══════

24. Operating lease commitments (Group)

The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

2021 2020
£ £
Not later than 1 year 48,170 85,427
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years 35,200 25,393
──── ────
83,370 110,820
═════ ═════

Operating leases - lessor (Group)

The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

2021 2020
£ £
Not later than 1 year 16,550 19,300
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years - 16,550
──── ────
16,550 35,850
═════ ═════
25. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents (Group)
2021 2020
Cash in hand £
585,169		 £
791,778
──── ────
585,169 791,778
═════ ═════

26. Financial instruments

Categorisation of financial instruments

2021 2020
£ £
Financial assets:
Measured at fair value 2,081,610 1,941,277
Measured at amortised cost 231,208 258,113
═════ ═════
Financial liabilities:
Measured at amortised cost 169,645 261,217
══════ ══════

27. Pensions and other post-retirement benefits

The Charity’s employees belong to three principal pension schemes: the Teachers’ Pension Scheme England and Wales (TPS) for academic and related staff; the InFocus Charity pension scheme with Friends Life which is closed to new entrants and a NEST Pension Scheme.

The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS related to the period ended 31 March 2016.

Contributions amounting to £29,572 (2020 - £12,959) were payable to the schemes at 31 August and are included within creditors. The amounts recognised in income or expenditure as an expense in relation to defined contribution plans was £238,408 (2020: £258,728).

Teachers’ Pension Scheme

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory, contributory, defined benefit scheme, governed by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations (2010) and, from 1 April 2014, by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014. Membership is automatic for full-time teachers and, from 1 January 2007, automatic for teachers in part-time employment following appointment or a change of contract, although they are able to opt out.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme and members contribute on a ‘pay as you go’ basis - these contributions along with those made by employers are credited to the Exchequer. Retirement and other pension benefits are paid by public funds provided by Parliament.

Valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme

Not less than every four years the Government Actuary, using normal actuarial principles, conducts a formal actuarial review of the TPS in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employer Cost Cap) Directions 2014 published by HM Treasury. The aim of the review is to specify the level of future contributions. Actuarial scheme valuations are dependent on assumptions about the value of future costs, design of benefits and many other factors.

The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS was carried out as at 31 March 2016 and in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employer Cost Cap) Directions 2014. The valuation report was published by the Department for Education on 5 March 2019.

InFocus Charity Trustees’ Report and Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

The key elements of the valuation and subsequent consultation are:

The TPS valuation for 2012 determined an employer rate of 16.4%, which was payable from September 2015. The latest valuation of the TPS is as at March 2016, whereupon the employer contribution rate has increased as per above and was payable from 1 April 2019.

Under the definitions set out in Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102), the TPS is a multi-employer pension scheme. The School has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. The School has set out above the information available on the scheme.