2020-08-31-accounts

Ambitious about Autism Iiiiilliii "AAIC06RD* 30103Q021 COMPANIES HOUSE A07

192

I ￿￿Ort nd accounts 2019-20

editorial members Natasha Hawley Ilious Aulism Maddie Heywood AmbitlOLJS Autism aroline Hopton ollege learner Saffron *ouncil Josefina Troncoso ouncil member member ouncil affl rn4Arnl￿L

Contents Our story Welcome from the Char of Trustees and Chief Executive . An update from our Youth Council Why we're needed Our mission. vision and values 10 Strategic report. Our Ambitious moments. Arnbitious Futures 201￿20 review . Ready for school. Achieving at school Preparing for adulthood . Building a community of support Developing our organisational capacty. Building the evidence 11 12 -14 .14 16 .21 .27 .34 .35 Our Ambitious partners and supporters . Our strategic partners . Thank you Emergency Coronavirus Appeal Our Employ Autism supporters . Huge thanks to our proud partners and supporters .36 .37 .39 .40 .41 .42 Looking to the future Financial review Our approach to fundraising Legal structures and govemance . Our leadership team and advisers The statement of trustees, responsibilities Independent auditor's report to the members of Ambttious about Autism. Consolidated ststement of financial activitses. -51 .53 .62 .67 .69 .72 Get involved. .98

Our story are charity children people autism. ambition ordinary possible people national children autism. We are proud of our pioneering approath, which started in 1997 when a group of parents set up the TreeHouse Trust to enable autistic children and young people to access the education they need and deserve. Since then, we have increased our reach and impact across the UK. About autism Autism is a lrfelong developmental disability that affects 1 person in 100 in the UK. Autism affects the way a person communicates and how they experience the world around them. It is described as a spectnjm condition because while people with autism share certan characteristics, they have individual interests. needs and preferences. Despite our many successes. the sad fact is that children and young people with autism still face a lack of understsnding of their needs and the right support. Their worlds have been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandernic, and they need our support now more than ever. Children and young people with aLrtism face enorrnous challenges due to a lack of undersL3nding of their needs. Our priority over the next 12 months will be to support children and young people with autism and their families to manage the impact of this pandemic. Some people with autism can live independent lives, but others may have addttional needs, including leaming disabilities. Earty inteNention. education and support are critical if children and young people with autism are to leam, thrive, achieve and lead fulfilling lives. We want to help even more children and young people with aLrtism to improve their quality of lrfe and secure a fulfilling and rewarding future.

WollGOtffl@ frotm the chaotr of ftrLJ]steos atnd Choef t£xecutove writing annual accounts, living coronavirus pandemic, having children families. reality profound people autism Many children and young people with autism. already deeply affected by isolation. anxiety and financial hardship, have struggled to cope. As a result, the need for our services and support is greater now than ever before in our history. Throughout this report. you'll see how we've grown and evolved over the last three years. Through our TreeHouse School, The Rise School and Ambitious College, we have directty offered specialist ed(￿atIOn and support. This was the last year of our Ambitious Futures 2020 strategy. The progress we have made since its publication ensured that we were in a better position to manage the unexpected. As we embark on a new decade, and a new strategy. we are no less detennined to achieve our vision.. of a world where the ordinary is the everyday experience of children arKJ young people with autism. Our charity continued to live up to its narne as we achieved so many of our ambitious plans. from the developrnent of our Right from the Start toolkit to the launch of Employ Autism, and our amazing co-production and participation with autistic young people. In addition to buildirKJ on our expertise across education. employment and youth participation, our new strategic plan will address the increased need for support in heatth and wellbeing, families and relationships and local communities. particularly in these exceptional times.

The pandemic has had a siwlfi￿t impact on our fundraising activitses. (Xjr Cal￿ar of events- the London Marathon and comfwnty fundraising activities and events- was cancdled in line with govemment guidance. Nevertheless, we were quick to act.. soon after the first lockdown in March 2020. we launched our Emergency CoronaviNs Pppeal. We set and exceeded our amtitrous tsrget to raise much-needed funds to help us address the crisis that autistic young people and ther families were arbd are still facing. What we have achieved would not have been possible without you. This year. the support of our wonderful children and young people, parents and carers, and generous partners and supporters is appreciated more than ever. No matter how you've contributed, you have been crucial to our mission to make the ordinary possible for children and young people with autism. Neil Goulden Chair of Trustees Jolanta Lasota Chief Executive

AM] utpdat@ ftnm oll]tr Yoofjttkn Coutrncllll halves. m*ting panels engagement principles remain Autism. people trouncil. online. importance Nevertheless co-production Ambitious What's most important when representing. advocating and supporting any group is that the real opinions and views of that group are heard and understood. And the . best way to do this is to involve them directty. The participation programme enables us. the experts by experience, to share our opinions on what affects us and the changes that need to be made. No one is better posttioned to voice the needs. worries. hopes and opinions of people with autism than autistic children and young people themselves. The participation programme has continued to listen to us throughout this year. It has given us the space and opportunity to have our voices heard and acted upon. The pandernic was, and is, a completely unexpected disruption filled with change. fear. confusion and isolation. These have been incredibly drfficult for anyone to deal with, but are even more challenging for people wrth autism. Without our involvement as young autistic people. charities would lack the intimate understanding of our needs. Being involved also allows us to use our skills. gaining experience in different projects, whilst benefiting others in our community.

Autistic people can be considered a vulnerable demographic, whether or not there is a pandemic. However, our specific, wide-ranging. and often individualised needs have been forgotten in conversations surrounding the pandemic and its consequences. autistic people and has shed light on those pandemic-related Modifications to our lrfestyies that could help autistic people in the long tun. Amid all the chaos. Ambitious about Autism has been a source of infomation, advocacy, friendship. advice and understanding. at a time when dl of these were more important than ever. Ambitious about Autism's work during the pandemic speaks for itself- tt has stepped up to this challenge by providing support for as many young people as possible and allowed people to thrive in these very uncertain times. It has emphasised the urgency of meeting the needs of young Emity, Josefina and Saffron YoLrth Council members 2019-2020

Why we're needed Meeting challenge, making successes, enormous challenges difference reality autistic children understanding people On average, families are waiting More than 18 months 130,000 schoolchild￿n in England are autistic. and this nurnber is growing. for an autism diagnosis. Fewer than of children with autism have been sent home from school illegally or denied a full education. one in four young people with autism access education beyond school. AA o•0 Just Autistic graduates are least likely to be in full-time employment, with of autistic people are in full or part-time employment. identifying as unemployed. This figure is higher than for graduates with other disabilities and than for non-disabled graduates (3.8 % ).

£32bn10= 79 % ., a year is the cost to society of the lack of support for autistic people and their families. This is more than the combined cost of strokes, cancer and heart disease. autistic people and of autistic adutts said they needed employment support. but families said they were socially isolated due to a lack of understanding of their needs. only 12% said they received it. Coronavirus and lockdown The impact on autistic children and young people of autistic young people and those who support them believed it would be harder for thern to find a job following the coronavirus pandemic. Two-thirds of people did not receive any support during the lockdown. Autistic children and young people were accessing some support before the pandemic, with more than half (58 % ) Before the pandemic, receiving specialist support in education and one-fifth receiving mental health support. four in five autistic young people were experiencing mental health issues. Almost Following the outbreak of the pandemic. 80% reported that this support had reduced or stopped following the outbreak of the pandemic. of autistic young people said their mental health was worse.

10 Our mission, vision and values mission possible children autism. ordinary vision ordinary children everyday experience people Our values. Children and young people with autism are at the centre of all that we do. Investing in our staff to make sure our wotl( has the biggest impact on children and young people with autism. We value difference: given how unique every experience of autism really is. we work hard to develop personalised solutions for the children and young people we work with. Our values We believe in the talent of our staff and bring this expertise together as an organisation to challenge the status quo for chIld￿n and young people with autism. We are open: to new ideas, in how we work and how we make decisions. We a￿ team players We are team players: in how we work within the organisation. with children and young people. wrth parents and carers, and with our partners.

11 8tffategoG nport Review August was Ambitious Futures strategic vision people strategy. priorities. focused closer achieving expenence children Together, ordinary everyday autism. school: design delivery resources autistic children. Achieving extending services children schools school: providing school-age autistic inf Suencing widely. Preparing developing adulthood: research, parents Building quality outcomes. evidence: Building developing policy are community information, support: participation, training, support autism Developing developing infrastructure, delivery organisational aligning people, cuItLJre, systems processes support strategic This report outlines our progress in achieving ItEse strategic objectives and outcomes in 201 ￿20 across the three main areas of our work: education, employabilty arKI engagernent actNities.

Outr AmEootOOLllS mOmQnts As an organisation, we're proud of our ambition.in t)oth name and practice. Thanks to the hard work of autistic children and young people, their parents and carers, staff, partners. supporters and volunteers, we have so much to celebrate from the last year. With thanks to our editorial board of youth patrorE, parents and staff, these are just a few of our h￿hlightS for 2019-20. school Our Right from the Stsrt toolkit was downloaded 5.844 times from its launch in January 2020.1 The online toolkit- a guide to autism in the early years- contsins information to help families w5th young children to navigate the autism diagnosis process. Achieving at school School September co-located welcomed opened partnership Thames ollege. pupils success.ul pupils achieving personal ambitions. academic Saplings project TreeHouse School Biodiversity hallenge's ommLJnity Engagement September outdoor people autism an natural children opportunity develop more skills. Ambitious was chosen Kingston, London. PUDIIS autism Autism Schools special school school support For tha pericxl janu￿ 21r20 until 31 ￿JgUSt 2020.

13 Preparing adulthood Ambitious College supported partnership Whittington Health combined education across internships programme Interns participating different offered programme hospital. Ambitious College won Natspec's Wellbeing support learners, self-regulation Mental sensory Health recognition Autism Exchange programme continued despite pandemic. Working partnership accommodate remote working placements. support 96 people autism. autistic people employers, we were environment assessments experiences careers Employ Autism formally launched November Building on success Autism Exchange, Employ Autism people across country through access specialist careers advice were secure support employer partners- including Manchester, Deutsche Birmingham Sen/ice- attracting ernployer interest. vas Ambitior, support autistic experience. Greater leading TalkTalk played Building a community of support P • The Ambiti¢)us Youth Network ran peer support sessions four times a week from the beginning of the first lockdown at the end of March 2020. More than 80 young people had attended the sessions by the end of August. To complement the Zoom chats. we also produced infomiation resources, authored by young people, based on topics that matter to them. We expanded our Learner and Family Support service to offer direct support to families of autistic pupils and leamers at our schools and college. The seNice provided a vital source of support during the coronavirus pandemic. ranging from delivery of food parcels to liaising with local authorities and facilitating access to unJent health care. We published coronavirus and autism resouvces on our website. Using expert infonnation and advice, these resources were developed specifically to help families and young people with autism during the pandemic, and were shared nationally and intemationally. From the launch in April 2020 more than 18,CXX) website visitors had accessed them 2 Developing organisational We successfully launched our Emergency Coronavirus Appeal. which raised a generous £574k from donors. exceeding our £546k target. Our Night of Ambition gala dinner gala dinner. hosted by TalkTalk in November 2019 raised £358k. ? For th* period April 2W20 to 31 August 2020.

Ambitious Futures 2019-20 review Autism is a different way of viewing and experiencing the wortd. Some people with autism can live independent lives, while others face additional challenges. including leaming diffi'culties and disabilities, which affect them so profoundly that they need support in many areas. When we launched our Ambitious Futures strategy in 2017. we knew we had some way to go to achieve our vision of a world where the ordinary is the everyday experience of children and young people with autism. This report outlines how we focused our efforts on six key areas to tske us one step closer to making.this a reality.- ffteadly fow schoo Lack of earty support has a profouncl impact on children and young people with autism, their families and our communities. Our research shows that from their child first being referred for an autism assessment, nearty half of parents wait longer than 18 months for a formal diagnosis. In some cases. parents reported wailing over three years. Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan We wanted more families to be bett infonned; to have the confidence to support their child and be able to make and influence decisions affecting their lives. We committed to research and create an early yeas resource specifically for parents. ' 46% of parents. Data from an online survey cond￿19￿ by AmL¥tsws ab￿rt Atrtism between September and November 2019. The suw w8S Open to p¥rwts and corws of a￿l$ti¢ c￿l¢jI Jed I￿25 ond 3,842 pwle respMdg(J.

15 Right from the Start We worked with the Universty of Wa￿ick. Universty College London and a host of partners in the fields of autism, health and early education. As part of our commitment to Co-production. we collaborated with parents and young people in the development of the toolkit. We aimed to research what families need. develop solutions and provide trusted information. We embarked on a two-year project to examine the pathways and barriers to accessing pre and post-diagnostic support in the early years. Through this research, we developed a programme of support to help parents understand their options rf they think their young child may have autism or following an autism diagnosis. The Right from the Start online toolkit - a guide to autism in the early years - was launched in January 2020. It C¢Mtains a wealth of infomation and support to help families with young children navigate the autism diagnosis process. We want parents to feel fijlly informed and better able to provide and secure the support their child needs, as earty as possible. I didnl think I could go to the GP with concerns about my son development I lived this lrfe, day in, day out, worying he might have something like brain cancer. or wondering rf I was just a bad mum, and not knowing how to help him. We officialy launched the toolkit at our Right from the Start conference in central London. attended by 150 eminent researchers, academics and education, health and social care professionals, arKI parents and carers. Having a resource that shows parents what to look out for and how they can raise their concerns is really irnportant. IVS also important parents know where to look for support and what their rights are. y J Before the conference. we received signffioant coverage in the national, local and trade press, and on TV and radio broadcast media. highlighting our new research on autism diagnosis waiting times. This enabled us to raise awareness of the plight faced by thousands of parents waiting for diagnosis and effective support. Helen. a parent in Kent. who was involved in the development of the toolktt. and spent Imo years waiting for a diagnosis for her son, Evan The toolkit has been extremety successful, with 5.844 downloads from its launch to the end of August 2020.

16 Achoovong at scThooO schoolchildren England number growing. M￿SsIng education provision support. are autistic, autistic pupils because Fixed-term and permanent exclusions of autistic pupils have risen by over 90% since 2011. One-fifth of parents of children with aLrtism have had to give up their job due to school exclusions: they regularly have to miss days from work too and reduce their working hours. Meanwhile. 80% of parents said the stress of getting their child the right support at school caused them to lose sleep., Our schools Since TreeHouse School was formed in 1997. we've established our reputation for expertise and innovation in providing education seniices for autistic children and young people. By 201 ￿20. TreeHouse School and The Rise School were well established and The Rise School Sixth Fomi opened in September 2019. Last year we educated 2tMJ pupils across both schools. Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan Our Ambitious Approach is our model of education practice that's offered across our schools and college. Vlhen pupils and leamers leave our settings. we want them to find employment, go on to further education ortraining. and Irve fully as part of the communities of their choice (see p20). As part of our strategy, we wanted to extend our role in providing seNices to school-age children with autism and influence schools more widely. This included embedding our Arnbitious Approach to education. further developing TreeHouse School, developing The Rise School and exploring opportunities to open further schools through our" Arnbitious about Autism Schools Twst. ' Ambitious aljout Aub'5m We Nead an Education survey coThJucted bets¥een Swwnber November 2019

17 TreeHouse School TreeHouse School is dedicated to educating and supporting pupils with autism and leaming drfficuFties aged 4-19 frorn across London and the home counties. We're proud to have maintained our Outstanding Ofsted rating since 2011. Resilience during the pandemic Pupils at TreeHouse School receive indNidual and persondised learning and support suited to their needs, talents and interests. Our curriculum is creative and flexible, using our natural environment to extend pupils. leaming. You are as likely to see maths being practised in the shop, the communrty orthe garden. as you are in the classroom. The coronavirus pandemic has created upheaval in everybody's lives but children and young people wtth autism and their families have been acutely affected by disruption to education, change to routine and the withdrawal of support seNices. During the pandemic and the lockdown. we provided high-quality education and support to pupils and leamers, through our settings and home leaming. TreeHouse School What parents of TreeHouse School pupils have told us Excellent provision focused on child's abilities rather than disabilities. school promotes skilled education, child's psychological, sensory TreeHouse School example specialist should cater for children autism their families. compassionate, high[ly] skilled, determined, school. an school embraces including emotional, pedagogical, independence improved as skills happier more Perfect. school progressive. through pandemic, supportive behaviour communication enhanced. can because family. Responses to the TreeHouse School parent and &qrer survey, 201 ￿20

18 School The Rise School, established in 2014. is dedicated to educating pupils with autism aged 4-19. We were proud to open The Rise School Sixth Fom in 2019 in partnership with and co-located at West Thames College. Pupils at The Rise School access the national curriculum at approxirnately the &8rne level as their neurotyp￿1 peers. All pupils a￿ given the support and challenge they need to leam and succeed in the worfd beyond school - their quality of life is key. Our aim for all our pupils is that they lead their lives as independently as possible, and are prepared for a promising fiJture in the communty of their choice. SCHOOL Achieving School At The Rise School, we wrsue qualty of life through excellence in academic social progress. Highlights in 201￿20 include: • The opening of The Rise School Sixth Form, co-located at West Thames College. In our first year all pupils . Exceptional Key Stsge 4 outcomes for the third cohort of Year 11 pupi14 wilh all choosing to contirK* in The Rise School &xth Fonn. their Level 2 ￿￿1 Level 3 BTec courses. Ambitious Schools The Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust {AaAST) is our multi-academy trust. which aims to develop more schools to reach the children and young people with autism who need our specialist support. In January 2020. Ihe Department for Education (DtE) approved the Trust to become an academy sponsor. This status will ailow us to support underperforming academies so that more children and young people can receive the high-quality education they desenie. An expert project group is leading on the planning forlhe school opening. Worl< has already begun on the inbtial desKJn of the new school building. Engagement with partners and the local communty is vital to the development and success of our new school. We continue to work closely with the DfE, Kingston Council. local schools and Express Cic - a local parent and family support group for those viith autistic children - to develop a school that is user-led and rneaningful to the community. In July 2020. the DfE announced that it had chosen AaAST to run a new special free school in Kingston, London. The school will support up to 90 pupils with autism aged 4-19.

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20 Ambrtious Ap.proach Other highlights include: The Ambitious Approach is our model of education practice, which focuses on improving the quality of lrfe of autistic yourKJ people while they are in education and ensuring that this quality of life continues into adulthood. We have a clear vision of what we want our education settings to achieve. We want to prepare children and young people for a happy and fulfilling lrfe and, while doing so, afford them dignty. respect and compassion. In consultation with the PBS Alliance steerirKJ group and National Association of Independent Schools & Non-maintained Special Schools (NASS) member schools. we developed a self-review tool. This tool enables education settings to conduct an audit of their practice and identify areas for development. Feedback has been very positive, with settings stating that using the tool as a starting point makes the model framework More accessible and has helped them identrfy short and long-tefm goals. This year, thanks to the generous support of the Joseph Levy Foundation. we were able to train our school and college staff to begin embedding the Ambitious Approach across our organisation. • We started using an action research structure to support the development and implementation of change management projects. This should help improve accountabilty and measuring the impact of the initiatNes implemented. In this first year, the foundation's grant has enabled us to develop and test this model in our own schools and college, and to develop a robust guidance and competency framework. Expansion of our Integrated Services Team comprising transdisciplinary professionals to help us develop and implement the Ambttious Approach. . We adapted our Ambitious Approach model to create the Ambitious Framework, which will enable other education settings to use a similar approach, with support from Ambitious about Autism. Successfulty identfying three suitable education settings that will partner with us to develop the Ambitious Framewort< in the 202￿21 academic year. performance pupils indicator TreeHouse ollege learner School, pupils numbers. full-time equivalent learners School. Ambitious 202(P2.1 academic pupils learners School, pupils as exceeded three education settings. TreeHouse School one includes learners numbers pupils Ambitious ollege.

21 PreLDarong for a￿￿0th0O￿ Evidence preventing making education challenges autism people successful employment are immense. All young people deseNe the support to progress to further education. training or employment when they leave school and to live as part of their communty. Just 21.7% of autistic people are in full or part-time employment. Cwcialty. there's a lack of specialist careers advice and work experience tailored to th￿r needs. Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan Our strategy set out how we would develop our post-16 support for young people with autism. This included the development of Ambitious College and our first supported intemship programme. We also wanted to develop our employment programme. Employ Autism. to support more young people to make the successful transition from education to employment. We want more children and young people with autism to be empOWe￿d to influence decisions about their lives. o•0 Just istic people are in full or part-time employment.

22 Ambitious ollege VVEiat leamers and their parents have told us about their experience of" Ambitious College Ambitious College was set up as London's first independent specialist day college dedicated to providing specialist and integrated further education support for people with autism. We work with leamers aged 1 Pr25. through our Ambttious Approach to education. learners college. learners college. tr ommunity access popular activity amongst learners. Our highly personalised curriculum is designed to support our leamers posttive to acquire new skills and tske part in everyday life. learners statement. college agreed things happen" At Ambitious College, we believe that every young person attending the college deseNes a fulfilling. happy and rewarding lrfe. We have learner councils on both campuses and a number of ways of listening creatively to our learners and hearing what they want to tell us about college lrfe. learners experience. learners learned lockdown enjoyed Results from the Ambitious College leamer suniey, 2019-20. Ambitious College provided invaluable advice, telephone support additional resources as computers learning materials access learning. daughter, it having access classes online, thoroughly enjoyed. access therapy language occupational believe Ambitious ollege leadership management exceptional! Responses to the Ambitious College parent and carer survey, 201 ￿20.

23 Supported internships The first Ambitious College supported internships programme started in 2019-20. in partnership with Whittington Healih NHS Trust. A typical day for our supported intems includes: classroom instruction in employabilty and independent living skills participation at one or more intemship rotations (pictured Ambitious righti, intern social interaction in their intemship department supported internship Whittington 201&20. ' regular feedback from the instnJctor. job coaches and business colleagues. t¥• Hospital Intems are supported through on-the-job coaching and improvement strategies, the goal being to help them secure paid employment and live independently. During his placement, MIKey worked assistant. where he developed his communication, teamwork skills by organising patient files and working on reception one Mikey aso helped manager Rae review menu options patients on the warcjs learned management budgeting. All supported interns in our 2019-20 cohort undertook and passed the OCN Level 1 Certificate in Employabilty. achieving a 100% pass rate in our first year of the programme. winner.. Ambitious In July 2020. we were the proud winners of the Natspec Award for Wellbeing and Mental Health. There were rnore than 50 entries in the category. Nonetheless. we won based on the innovative work of OL occupationa therapist {On team. and their creation of "OT TV. to support regulation and wellbeing. The judgirKJ panel said they especially liked how the approach was embedded across the whole curriculum and were impressed by the evidence of the impact that it has had across the college.

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25 Employment is often out of reach for autistic young people, which is a huge waste of potential. Employ Autism seeks to change this, and l am proud to play a part in this vital programme. . Autistic people bring unique qualities and diverse perspeclives to the workplace and we are working across the UK to ensure that they get employment experience. Through Employ Autism, we want lo improve outcomes for autistic young people and help them bridge the gap to employment. We are achieving this by working in partnership with young people, their families. educators. careers advisers and employers. Lord rim Clement-Jones CBE. Ambitious about Autism President and Chair of the Employ Autism Development Board Exchange The Employ Autism networff is creating a sustainable model to give young people careers advice and work experience, and provide training for employers. educators. charities and public sector organisations. We have a successfvjl record in supporting autistic young people to access paid work exF)erience through our award-winning Autism Exchange programme in London. C>4er the last five years. we've developed extensive experience in providing careers advice and work experience to young people, as well as training for employers. In February 2020. we launched the first phase of the Employ Autism network- in the north-west of England - at an event hosted by TalkTalk in Manchester. Representatives from local government, business and autism charities were invited to hear more about the programme and how they could be invohied in their region. Theo, an Autism Exchange intem. spoke at the event. alongside Tristia Harrison, CEO of TalkTalk, and the Mayor of Salford. t￿ring 201 ￿20. we continued to wo wtth partners to provide work experience opportunities for autistic young people with organisations including the Civil Service, SAP, Nest. BP and Essex County Council. despite the impact of the pandemic. As workplace restrictions were introduced due to the pandemic, some employers needed staff to work from home. Others, however, were able to continue to support staff within the workplace. Aulistic people Parentsl carers/ advocates Employers Ambitious Changes such as these can have a big impact on autistic employees, especially young people still adjusting to the world of worf(. We wothed closely with our employer partners to support autistic young people to adjust to working from home as well as retuming to physical workspaces. Autism- Policy maker51 influencers Education profess¢onals government or authorities

26 ArnbiOou5 aboLrt Athbsm pi l_ ffl@o]tn1fft70Fa3 rod"Iv- WOtOll£@2 ear-old recent graduate degree English creative writing, as feeling unhir.able. global pandemic things tougher. imagine practical trainin business operations e-lo-one excellent insight rec. ruiti ne+JNorki eer c. oaching. booster autistic Interns autistic dividuals access ainslrea disability benefits scarce Guaranteed feeling nobody internship confident before becoming difficulties, ignored autistic opaortunities SeNice. InleNiew rnment suitable career citizen5 create Service bvious entirel virtually situation. benefits.. oubledl Immensely grateful experience unique normalisalion +apability aulislic adults opportunity," ellov valuable autistic jobseekers. accÈs% comfortably eff Icieritly Ran￿e1 i.DJs a= trebs Ip despite having connection members o. f servant acknow support condescending was enough as aulislic. wofflan, treated disabled. The c. ulture senlimenls wo*force Service fellow Rashida Denbobii, celebrates difference"

27 OoJoOdotng a commoJnity of suJptp)Ort *hildren people Through support autistic children supported. autism are national information, participation, create are training people included Following the coronavirus outbreak, this was more important than ever. Our focus tumed to amplifying the voices of autistic children and young people. and their parents and carers. as they faced the urgent need for support. Our Know Your Nomial and Include Autism campaigns have had worldwide reach and influence and have been recognised with awards. W0￿1ng with autistic young people to face the challenges of the pandemic Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan While our strategic plan was implemented before the coronavirus pandemic. it did enable us to establish important communty and support ne￿OrkS. which proved vttal during the lockdown. The pandemic posed challenges and changed the way in which we collaborate with autistic young people. The development of the online Ambitious Youth Network during 2020 enabled us to reach more young people and professionals than ever before. Ambitious Youth Network and Youth Council Since March 2020. the participation team has adapted its programme to engage online with autistic young people. Over the past three years, youth participation at knbrtious about ALrtism has developed from the core Youth Council into a p￿graMrne that covers a range of projects in educatt<MI. heath. research. and arts and hffitage. The participation team and training team have also offered online webinars to professionals who work with autistic young

28 people on 'Understanding autism and mental health,. These webinars. funded by Mind (the mental health charity) and the Department of Health and Social Care, were co-produced and co-delivered with young people from our Ambitious Youth Network. • continuing the expansion of our Arnbitious Youth Netwoth to reach more young people across the county • the abilty to offer rTM)re online peer support sessions to reduce loneliness and encourage more young people to connect with one other. A positive future Despite the challenges of 2020, we have so much we still want to achieve in collaboration with our Youth Council and Ambitious Youth Network. including: We're looking forward to building on this exciting work in the year ahead. developing a post-diagnostic support programme for autistic young people Statistics 71% of aut￿¢1¢ ¢hlldi*n an young people 54% of4￿1$ patiÈRts lJJ¢yeats i1￿￿• of70 llrsl pothtof Mlry

29 Afflbibous abotr.Athism A-I"b ryJl ari= support l joined Ihe sessions in late March and immediately felt v￿CoMed. No matter what mood I wa5 in. or vthat extemal situations I was facing. clwing to other young people and doing fun activities made me completely forget about the rest of the worfd. 9 9 pandemic. was source increased isolation p8opl8. Network suggested autistic lockdown, started anxiety autistic Vera pw support p•ts'cipant support during weekly f inding online oun feeling, can participation ran people , 90-minule sessions session. on beginning one our feelings 15 are an complement content, authored matter to attendecl sessions an Thanks pa￿cipatIon ma based o. n topics partic'rani. sessior,s peer support sessions have given me a feeling of friendship when my ithfficulties with my autism and mental health have left me feeling alone [for a long time]. tWhen] lockdown began. lrfe became even more scary and ha￿1 to manage. Rules and restrictions kept changing and, as someone who clings to order, numbers and routine, this was extremely stressful. It still is stressftl. Ixrt having people to Check in with has been invaluable. Even more so when the people I have met a￿ some of the most interesting people I have ever meL Each n￿eting* I leam so mary new things and seem to have a new perspective on something. 99 Saffron. member ol Youth COU￿11

Learner and Family Support service Before the pandemic, we offered family support to the parents and carers of autistic pupils and leamers attending our schools and college. The team initially comprised a leamer and family support manager and transitions officers. They offered advice, support and guidance to ensure thal autistic pupils and learners had a secure pathway of progress once they left school or college. during lockdown ££ The new Support authorities Ambrtious Leamer Family lrfesaver. even more f inancial andemic. batling 5UPPOrt for has become even education The pandemic suddenly presented the team with a new and pressing challenge. Calls for support increased dramatically as essential local seNices and support disappeared overnight. Anxious parents needed support to help with their aLrtistic child being at home. and to cope with the changes to routine and ever-changing rules. There was a clear need to expand the team and provide welfare support to parents and carers. in addition to the usual guidance. sustaining applies Leamer Family Support team case parents isolated our battles get the 'instsnt' we highest for the family guided me through processes achieve honestly have done wtthout them. stepped we only the support team necessary outcomes We quickly expanded the team. adding o new welfare support officers. The support the team provided ranged from delivering food parcels to liaising with local authorities and facilitating access to urgent health care. they have furnished of knowledge to as for your expe￿"Se ama￿ng possible, for all our sons efficiency the ordinary daughtets. We also produced infomiation and resources for families coping with the lockdown, in our schools and college communities. and nationwide. Caro ie o, NmJilioLs Go'lcge leaffrEr

31 Online infonnation and support We launched the first in our series of aLrtism and inclusion infomiation in July 2020, focusing on race and racism. The purpose of these resources is to support autistic young people to explore different identities to foster greater understanding and acceptance. We will work with autistic young people. parents and carers. and teachers to co-produce new autism-specrfic resources on topics, including mental health, friendships and LGBTQ+ issues. In April 21f20, we completed our website refresh project. The new ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk features improved navigation and new infomation to address the needs of parents, carers and families of children with autism. as VRII as autistic young people th￿fves. From the website refresh until August 2020, we had more than 1 m page views on our webstte. Engagement with our online resources has increased signrficantty as users find information more efficienty and spend more time on the ￿te. We developed our Talk about Autism online communty, which provides peer support for parents and carers of children with autism. Our online coronavirus and autism resources brought together expert information and advice to support people during the pandemic. These proved to be an important resource for parents and carers. as well as autistic young people in theirtime of need- as evidenced through engagement levels and feedback. From April to August 2020. the resources had almost 18.5(X) unique visttors, with 11.179 engaging with our illustrated story, The World Has Turned Upside t)own, which aimed to explain the lockdown to autistic young people. Training Arnbitious about Autism provides training and consultancy to local authortties, healthcare providers, schools, colleges, employers and communty groups. During 2019-20 we traned more than 1.5CK) professionals (1.996 in 2018-19) across a range of sectors to become more autism confi'dent. Figures for this year were reduced due to the postponement of training in the early stages of the pandemic. Of those

32 completing the traning in 2019-20. 91 yo said they felt they had improved their knowledge and confidence. focused on their leamers. Despite this. we worked with to move to online training, facilitating access to some resources for fr￿ for professionals. rather than printed verstons. which have an associated cost. Our partnership with the Autism Education Trust We completed a comprehensive, two-year, mults'.region project with the at the end of March 2020, to increase uptake by post-16 professionals in our training. We are proud to be a founding partner of the Autism Education Trust (AEf). supported by the Department for Education. Together, we strive to ensure that all autistic children and young people receive the education they deserve. Since then, we've been fortunate to secure addttional funding to develop a free toolkit for professionas, autistic young people and employers. The toolkn't will be aligned with Employ Autism. to support more autistic young people on their journey to employment. We are on track to launch the toolkit in 2021. The partnership gives us the opportunty to provide training to schools and post-16 settings, as well as strategic support and quality assurance to other tratning organisations. During the early part of 2019-20 we trained almost 200 education practitsoners face to face using AEf materials and resources. The global pandemic caused a sharp. and persistent downturn in demand as education settings attempted to follow guidance on whether to dose entirely and, rightly,

Nas TLotrned Upsode Oow Following the UK-wide k)ckdovm in March 2020, Red Brick Road, a creative agency, apFxoached us atx)ut collaborating on a woject to support children and young people with aLrtism. This project would also help to raise much-needed fvnds as part of our Emergency Coronavirus Appeal. Fdomng the lajnch of the sw, W￿ wcked with fry dmklren ￿ ycung pyjlg. to help thwn work the Best ThoLKJhthJl Marketing Campaign catw ofthe Cmta arMJ M&ketirg kncKiation (OMA) AwaJKts n Cktotw 2(r20. We enlisted bestselling chiklM& autPTh Kes rci Dog,) and Illustra￿ Chth Batchdorto hetp us create an illustrated story to explan thkdimn to childm with autism. crt￿￿￿￿. it was a stcry that all Ghildren cryjd eni)y. The story ￿ avalat to download from a web page that an invitation to rnake a vdunw donati￿ to the This FJf1￿t not have ￿ ￿N￿9ble wrthout supwt of Kes Gray and Chlc Batche1￿. aso grat81ul to FleLI Brick Rc&J, nVSIK Th&&Patwship, Ckn Chan￿1 UK J T¢Jry (¥ay fm Words by Cesign for contributing ofths stoy. Ambitious at(Jut Autism. a reajing of th8 Story, ￿lch we shared on y￿TUba. The stijy was also avafable C￿ (￿r e and sha￿j thrO￿h wral, scciJ [r￿JIa aTKI cKrt(bJ display advertisng in cities such as Bristd. Cwdiff. <lxfon and south￿Pt0n. fabulous social we now sharing families. Mcfe than 20.CMJO vksitcts access&1 the st through the website. YouTut, sccial nx¥Jia arml the Issuu publishmig platftThi. It W&8 rwj by in the UK. as well as the US. ReputAic of lTr*arKI. Parents Scheme Ealing (PESTS) Training •} lovely some useful students. K.S2 K.S3 sharing. School Teacher

34 Oevellopong ou orgatrnllsatootnall capacoty In March 2020, we were halfway through what was turning out to be another successful year for Ambitious aboLrt Autism. We had successfully launched the Right from the Start toolkit for parents, as well as our Employ Autism programme. We had opened our new sixth form at The Rise School, and were embedding our Ambitious Approach across our schools and college. In February, we were able to enjoy the rare privilege of bringing als our staff together for our staff conference and awards. Our new strategy was also on track to be launched in September 2020. Everyone in our organisation pulled together to support autistic childm and young people. their parents and carers and our own staff during this challenging time. Our resilience was often tested, yet from staff in our schools and college to facilities and tT to HR. fundraising, finance and youth participation, we were united in our aim to make the ordinary possible for children and young people with aLrtism, even in extraordinary circumstances. Our Ambitious Futures 2￿20 plan Our strategic objective was to develop and align our people. cutture. infrastructure. systems and processes to support the delivery of our strategic aims. Our response to the coronavirus pandemic Ambitious about Autism Strategy 2tr21k21 The coronavirus outbreak meant that we had to review our priorities. Across the entwe orrJanisation. our number one focus was to support children and young people with autism and their families to cope with the impact of the pandemic. In 2019, we started developing our new five-year strategy for 2ff2￿-25. We engaged with young autistic people. parents and Ca￿rs. partners. staff and trustees to help shape our plans.

35 Thanks to their input, we were well on our way to developing a new strategy to achieve our vision of world where the ordinary is the everyday experience of children and young people with autism. Given the emergency, we decided to produce a one-year strategy to focus our efforts on meeting the extraordinary and unJent needs of our community. Our new strategy is based on the principles we'd planned for the next fNe years. the key one being that autistic thildren and young people are at the heart of all we do. OoJlllldotrng tThe evod]ence Although it is estimated that autism costs the UK £32bn a year in lost earnings and care and support (more than heart disease, stroke and cancer combined). only £4m a year is spent on autism research. Our aim as a chaiity is to gather more evidence of the best educational approaches for children and young people with autism. This evidence-based app￿ach underpins all of our work underpin our Right from the Start toolkit. We also worked with the Centre for Research in Autism Education (CRAE) to assess post-16 outcomes since the Children and Families Act 2014. Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan We have adapted our plans to evaluate the qualty of work and outcomes of the Ambitious Approach. Despite the impact of the pandemic on our ability to research in a consistent environment. we were able to react to dats collection in an agile way to undertake a fomative rather than a summative assessment. We set out to build evidence of the qualty of our work and its outcomes. including evaluation of our Ambitious Approach and the Employ Autism programme. Our research and evaluation programme We established a partnership with Discover Autism Research and Employment (DARE), CRAE and Autistica to evaluate our Employ Autism programme. We are looking forward to completing the first phase of our evaluation in 21Y21>21. Our Research Govemance Committee oversees our research and evaluation work to ensure alignment with our strategy and an ethical approach. We partriered with the University of Warwick and Universty College London on research evidence to

parttrnen and support@• We are d￿pIY grateful to our strategic partners and generous supporters, who have stood by us throughout this very challenging year. It's thanks to your ongoing support that we raised £2m this year, enabling us to continue to ensure better outcomes for children and young people with autism. Our Ambitious Futures 2020 plan . Supported intemships.. Thanks to the generous gift from Graham and Sus Tobbell, we were able to open our first supported intemships programme. We committed to exploring new fundraising opportunities, expanding our reach and developing new sources of income, to support the achievement of our strategic aims. Here's a tsste of just some of our highlights over the last three years. . Employ Autism: Pears Foundation provided seed funding that made the launch of this vitaF programme possible. . Right from the Start: The development and creation of this important toolktt for parents was made possible thanks to Sarah YaMan1￿ generosty. . Understanding autism and mental health webinars: Thanks to funding from Mind and the Department of H•alth and Social Care. we worked with young people to co-produce and deliver webinars, designed for professionals, which started in August 2020. • Ambitious Approach: Thanks to the multi-year support from the Joseph Levy Foundation, we have started implernenting the Ambitious Approach. . Ambitious College.. Our appeal successfully raised £4.5m to fund the vital work of our Imto college campuses. A particular thank you to our funding partner Mariamarina Foundation for its signfficant contributton. and to every supporter who donated since our appeal began.

37 We are proud of the strong working relationships forged with our partners over many years. Our strategic partners Sh￿ our ambition to make ttrE ordinary possible for children and young people with autism. Pears Foundation TalkTalk Since 20[￿. TalkTalk has raised £5m for AJnbitious about Autism. As well as sponsoring the annual Night of Ambition gala event, TalkTalk supports us with campaign development and broadband connectivity. In 2019, they became a leading partner of Employ Autism in rolling out the programme to the north-west of England and leading the call to encourage businesses to loin the pathership. The launch of Employ ￿tI$M during 201 &20 was made possible thanks to the generosty of Pears Foundation, long-standing partnws and friends of Arnbttious aboLrt Autism. In March 2020, Sir Trevor Pears spoke of his motivations for supporting Employ Autism at our President's Dinner at the House of Lord& inspiring employers and funders to get behind the programme. INe remain forever grateful to Pears Foundation for sharing our vision and striving to make the ordinary tmjssible for children and young people with autism. TalkTalk Joseph Levy Foundation Our partnership with the Joseph Levy Foundation continued over the last year. We have been enonnousty grateful for the foundatlon's ongoing support to enable us to develop our pioneering Ambitious Approach to education, and to navsgate the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. The Ambitious Approach has already had a tremendously positive impact on our seNices. which would not have been possible wrthout the backing and friendship of the foundalion. Rapha Thanks to the support of Fts chief executive and founder, Simon Mottram. Rapha RaciThJ Ltd has raised more than E1.3m since its first cycling challenge in aid of Arnbitious at)out Autism in 2014. In April 2020, 34 cyclists took part in the Rapha Hill Climb in support of the 2.6 Challenge. Collectively, they raised £21 k. We're aso pleased to have Simon and Lucy Mottram's support as two of our ambassadors.

38 Santander The Clothworkers, Foundation Santander has Coo￿lInated a £1 m investrnent into our groundbreaking employabilty inibative, the Employ Autism Higher Education Netwo￿ This p￿graMrne will unlock the potential of thousands of autistic students and boost neurodiV￿￿ty within the UK workforce. The Clothwort(ws' Foundation is a long-standing friend of Ambttious about Autism, invofved in developing many Strateg￿ pro)￿ts with us since 20￿. A lead funder in the construction of TreeHouse School and Ambitious College and, more recently, an earfy and committed supporter of our expanding Leamer and Family Support service; their contribution over the last 15 yeas has underpinned The strategic partnership between Ambitious about Autism and Santander has created a game-changing new autism employabilty programme spanning a network of universities across the UK Hundreds of careers and employment professionals in this network will receive specialist training and support to work with autistic students, to help guide them into sustainable employment. THE CLOTHWOKKEKS. FOUNDATION Graham and Susan Tobbell &nce their first introduction to us back in 2016, Graham and Susan Tobbell have provided essential seed fijnding to our AmbitTrous Futures appeal and to our supported intemships programme. They embody the essence of working in pathwship, regularty attending our events and always providing honest and valuable feedback on our plans and strategies. In 201￿20. as the pandemic struck, they were earty and generous with signrficant un￿t￿ted fvnding to help us weather the storm. We are fortunate and grateful to have Graham and &Lsan as our partne￿. 4¥ Sontander Universities Mariamarina Foundation A committed funder of Arnbitious College since 2016. Mariamarina Foundation has been instrumenlal in the expansion of the college and were lead fvnder in 201 &20. Their unwavering support and belief in the potential of our learners has transforned the lives of hundreds of autsstic young people across London. mariatnarina FOUNDA TIO

39 Tth]anB£ yo)Lfj Donors who support our mission We offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated unrestricted funds to us this year. from our regular individual donors to our corpoThqte partners and all of you who creatively and enthusiastically raised money for our Emergency CoronaviNs Appeal. We are extremely fortunate to have the support of a committed group of donors, many of whom have funded our mission to help autistic children and young people over a long period. In a year in which our supporters received many other calls for assistance. we are honoured and grateful to have received unrestricted support to help fund our core work. Our mission is to make the ordinary possible for children and young people with autism. We can achieve this only through our outstanding edu&3tion services and a range of exciting and innovative projects that support autistic children and young people. This work would not be possible wtthout our organisational structures, which support the work that we do. From our participation team. through to marketing, fundraising, IT and HR these teams provide the foundations that enable us to deliver our services to support autistic children and young people. Maintaining these seD4ices requires continuai investment. And we can do this onty by having voluntarily donated income that we are free to spend where we know that it's most needed. We are fortunate and very grateful to have received generous donations this year, from a whole host of funders. We have recognised these supporters in this report (see p42). We wish to pay special thanks to the following donors: Pears Foundation. Jefferies. Rapha. TalkTalk, and Graham and Susan Tobbell. The unrestricted income helped pay for our emergency response to the pandemic and gave us much-needed financial stability in uncertain times. This commitment to our core mission supports the lifeblood of our organisation. It is the reason we can continue our work to make the ordinary possible for children and young people wtth autism. This unrestricted income was so important in the fitst half of 2020. when the coronavirus pandemic presented us with the challenge of increased costs for providing emergency support. This was just as dl our fundraising events - our largest source of unrestricted income - were cancelled or postponed. Thank you. We launched our EmeffJency Coronavirns Appeal to help manage this unprecedented double impact on our finances and are grateful for the oveThvhelmingly g￿￿rouS respo￿.

bitlDU5 abuth Auti5Tll A-. You really have gone out of your way to . ￿PpOrt U5 ￿￿1 we are so very gratefid to have... had you 'in ￿ cornef. I donl honestly know vA￿t we woUld￿e done without your supporu yy Coronavi special thanks Jefteries avirus unimaginabl ildren families. presented Foundatio. harlott Masonic Itabl qenero dation appeal. innova olulions omenal autistic famili iiew se people se amtjitio incurr result 5UPPOrt. enable 5etYices. learning, support are advice donors, The 2.6 Challenge TalkTalk employee fundraising Many of our supporters participated in the 2.6 Challenge on Sunday. 26 April 2020 to raise funds for Ambitious about Autisrn, which would usually have been donated through the London Marathon. TalkTalk employees have also raised funds for Ambitious aboLrt ALrtism this year. Michael Clark a TalkTalk stsff member, rwsed almost £2k in the 2.6 Challenge. running 26 hill repetitions. Ruth Kennedy and Bronagh Mccloskey organised a virtual 1 Ok run in which 72 people took part. nning, walking and even paddle boarding. Despite the pandemic and the lockdown. our supporters came up with some extraordinarily creative ways to raise funds: from selling made-to-order face masks to tap-dancing. hosting online quizzes, a DJ set and even 26 sun salutations. Combined with the efforts of those vtho cycled, climbed, walked and ran, a total of £76k was generously donated. Collecttvely, they raised £1 Ok. It's thanks to the efforts of inspirational individuals like Michael. Ruth. Bronagh and their colleagues that we can continue our vital work.

41 Our Employ Autism supporters We are delighted to have estsblished our Business Ambassador Group of business leaders who thare a passion for bridging the gap between education and employment for young autistic people. Wrth representation ranging frorn the telco, eneryy tech and financial seThices seeto throu￿ to insurance, media arKI entertainmenL professional Night of Ambition Our Night of Ambition gala dinner. hosted by TalkTalk, raised £358k. The event was compèred by comedian and performer Fluby Wax and featured a powerful video produced by our Youth Patrons, which highlighted the challenges that so many autistic young people face in accessing paid worl(. are committed to supporting the fantastic Employ Autism programme. We achieve this through fundraising, leveraging our networks for introductions and promoting the signrficant business value that a neurodiverse Employ Autism Business Ambassador Group In 2020, we established our Business Ambassador Group of liktrminded business leaders working collaboratively to develop our Employ Autism programme. We now have more than 30 ambassadors and. with a solid foundation and framework, are excited about the prospect of growing our contributions in 2021 and beyond. Simon Clements. Chair, Business Ambassador Group Encouraging colleagues to be themselves is one of TalkTalk core values, so celebrating diversity and providing an inclusive working environment is realty important to us. The Employ Autism programme is a truty transf0M￿tiVe initiative that will enable thousands of autislic young people to fulfil Iheir potenlial in the workplace and I would encourage other business leadws to get Awolved. ., . President¥ dinner INe held our annual president's dinner in March 2020 at the House of Lords. The event was hosted by our presidenc Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE, and attended by Sir Trevor Pears of Pears Foundth'on, our long-standing partner. Through the event, we raised awareness of Employ Autism viith employers and donors and increased support for the programme. Tristia Harrison. TalkTalk Chief Executive

COMMUNITY Ambttious Pears Foundab"on TalkTalk Group plc Joseph Levy Foundation Racing Ltd Mariamarina Foundakn"on Santander The Clothworkets, Foundation Graham and Susan Tobbell Lucy Nutt Magnus Sthoeman Martyn Craddock Masonic Charitsble Foundation MattiDavis and Eliza Mischon MattiHutnell Michael Clark National Lottery Community Fund Neil Goulden Ambttious supporters Aberdeen Asset.Man2gement ' Maccallum Disley-findell Peter Cruddas Foundation Philip Noblet Philippa Stobbs PIMCO Foundation Rather Be Cycling Red Brick Yamani and Prof Dr Malik R Simon Clements Hillson Simon and Lucy Mottram Smurfit,Kappa Foundation Snowbilrty St James's Place Foundation Sue Adkins Tanith Dodge The Annette Duvollet Trust Edward Gostling Foundation The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation H3￿belI Centenary Fund The Health Foundation The Lawson Foundation Thomp50n Family Charitsble The&Partnership Tim Bart>er LO￿ rim Clement-Jones CBE Tokio Marine Tottenham Grammar School Foundation Tristia Ha￿lSOn The Children's Charity Dr Viryjinia Bovell OBE BBC Children in Need Beatri¢e Laing Bernard Sunley Chatitable Foundat"on Carlyle Group Chapman Charitable Charlotte Grobien Charlotte Dahlan Give It Away Collaboration Company Crédit Agricole CIB David Astor Department for Education Department of Heatth and Social Care Elizabeth,Stanton Gavin Sumner Sir Harrfey McGrath Heathrow Communty Trust Homsey Parochial charit.es Levenant Jefferies Joanna Healey John and Clare Coombe-Tennant Jonathan And￿wS Ketchum Koral Anderson Kusuma Laurie Edmans CBE Lesley Longstone

,]](- , jll-' Ambitious about Autism strategy 2tr21>21 EmplDyment Heamh Vlelljguig Chiken and Young People allhe Heart Ckjr strategic plan for 202(k21 describes what we plan to do as we focus on supporting autistic children and young people during the coronavirus pandemic beyond. Although the world is changing, our vision for a world where the ordinary is the everyday experience of children and young people with autism remains the same. Farni￿ and Relatytsnships Trds wcAk 7hiM be ￿dpinna¥ by slmng fwndatw6. Children and young people will continue to be at the heart of all that we do. Our new strategic plan sets out five objectives on which we will focus our efforts. Urnlerynr*d by Excellent education • We will put the necessary steps in place to expand our direct education setvbces in the south of England. We will do this by pursuing opportunities to develop new free schools or providing sponsorship for school transfers and considering other partnership opportunities. . We will speak out to stop aLrtistic children and young people being left out and left behind as they retum to frjll-time education during the coronavirus outbreak. We will amplify the voices of autistic children and young people and their pwents and carers. drawing on our experience as an edU￿￿10n provider and a nationa charity. Employment and enterprise . We will establish Employ Autism as the umbrella programme under which all our employability activities are consolidated. The Ernploy Autism programme will be adapted and offered across three regions over the next year. • We wlll continue to provide hIgh-qu￿ty and safe educalion serrfices. as we use and embed our Ambitious Approach. We will continue to adapt and continually improve our approach in light of the coronaviws pandemic. • We will continue to offer our current supported intemship programme. We will develop ways of enhancing learning and careers education through the innovative use of digitd technology.

. We will continue to develop the careers education we offer pupils and leamers in our education settings. We will also work to improve careers education for all autistic children and young people by providing online information and support. and our training programme for careers professionals nationally. • We will develop best practi￿ guidance and influence decksion-makers in the health system. We will develop the information and guidance we produce. as well as partnerships to promote the mental health of children and young people wtth autism, and their parents or carers. Active citizenship in the communty • We want to develop our seNices so that we can integrate them within local communities. Considering the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, we will adapt our approach to ensure that our services are accessible and relevant to the communities they aim to serve. Family and relationships . We will expand our Leamer and Family Support service for autistic children and young people. and their farnilies, within our education settings This service will provide support in responding to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. . We will develop information and support to empower parents, carers and other fami Members of autistic thildren and young people across the UK. This infonnation will be available through existing and new digital services. We will develop a youth participation strategy and, subject to funding. expand our Ambitious Youth Network. We want to create a safe and trusted space for p*r support, to access infonnation and empower autistic young people to campaign for more inclusive communities. We will continue to support pupils and learners in our schools and college to make a successfijl transition to work and adult life, as part of their communities. We will develop our model for use as an exemplar to others. Health and wellbeing . We will improve access to physical and mental health support and servw n our education settings for pupils and leamer5, and their parents or carers. Working with strategic partners, we want to improve the experience of autistic children and young people in accessing health services.

45 Strong fourKlations • We will continue our work with existing partners, while also building our supporter base. We will diversify our fundraising actrvities, working closely with our supporters and partners. Achieving our objectives would not be possible without the strong foundations that underpin our strategic plan. . Co-production and taking a user-centred approach will be central to the way we work. We will take into account the views of autistic children and young people, their parents and carets and our partners in planning. governance. extemal influencing and developing services and activities. . We will further develop our approach to leaming. development and talent management for our staff and act as an exemplar of good practice in equality, diversty and inclusion. . We will continue to strengthen our marf(eting and communications to provide trusted information supported by a robust content and digital marketing strategy. . We will continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic through our crisis management, financial planning, wellbeing, and health and safety systems. and across our support services. . We will continue to implement our IT strategy, support remote and mobile leaming and working. and make better use of technology currently in place. . We will continue to carefulty manage our financial position. including treasury management. to ensure the sustainabilty of our organisation. . We will fijrther improve how we sto and manage our dats. and how we communicate with supporters, while continuing to maintain high standards of data proteGtion compliance.

tlotrnatrncllan tr@vu@w income income investment over.all expenditure Taking account positive giving pension position, taking assets August movement , compared August Income Expenditure ollllll mlllluo Income: How our money was spent: El £17.7m El £17.1m Charitsble activities: education services Charitable activities: education seNices 111 £0.1m .2m Charitable activtties: external affairs Charitsble activities: extemal affairs C] £20m D £0.9m Gifts and donated seniice RaFsing funds EF £0.1m Investments E] £0.1m Other income

47 Financial perfonnance target retum of inflation (CPI) +3%. averaged over three to five years, which was not achieved in the year, because of the unrealised losses on investments. This good financial performan￿ is attributed to the growth in leamer and pupil numbers at Ambitious College, TreeHouse School and The Rise School, as well as the generosty of our partners and supporters. The coronavin pandemic created financial uncertainty in the year, to which we responded with careful cost management and launching a successful fundraising appeai. These measures allowed us to create a designated coronavirus fund of £0.6m, which will help us manage the future financial uncertainties in relation to the continuing impact of the pandemic. We also secured longer-term financing of £1 m to boost liquidity in these uncerknn times. Our total expenditure for the year was £19.2m, an increase of £1m in comparison to 2019 {£18.2m}. Investment risk management As al year end we held £1.6m in listed securities (£1.7m. 201 &19). The portfolb) is diversified across a range of instruments to reduce the risk of overexposu to one type of asseL We hold the following instruments: fixed interest, direct UK and overseas equities. cash and property and managed funds. Note 12 provides further analysis of these assets (see p84). The investments are managed by investment managers appointed by the Charity. currently Rathbone Brothers Plc. which is a reputable FfsE 250 company with net income of £26.9m in 2019. The risk profile is agreed with the investment manager and is regarded as medium risk. In line with this positive financid perfonnance. our free reseNes for the year are £1 .9m. which are within, but at the lower end of, our reserves parameter of £1.7T￿£2.5rn. During the year, the charty invested £0.1 m in freehold improvements. £0.1 m on fumiture and .equipment, £0.1 rn on website development and £0.2m on computer equipment as we equipped our staff, pupils and leamers to work and learn.from home. The investment portfolio perfonnèd in line with the benchmark during the year and was valued at £1.6m as at 31 August 2020, taking into account an unrealised loss of £0.1 m. Risk management practices Members of the investment committee meet the investment manager at least twice a year to review performance and discuss market iisks. The investment committee reports to the trustees on the risk profile, selection of investment managers and retums achieved. Reserves policy and going concern Investment policy xFree reserves exclude restricted funds, iiesignated funds and any parts of unrestricted funds not readily available, such as fixed assets. At Ambitious about Autism. we hold free reserves to mitigate against risks resulting trom unexpected drops in fundraising income%a downturn in leamer numbers or unexpected short-terin The charity's Investment policy was approved by the board of trustees in Juty 2020. It aims to produce the best financial retwn at an acceptable level of risk. The risk profile is agreed with the investment manager and is regarded as medium. The policy is reviewe(I at leasl once a year. The trustees have set a

48 increases in expenditure. Our reserves policy is reviewed by the trustees annualty and was last reviewed in November 2020. distancing, staff cover for those who need to isolate. and supportirHJ remote leaming and working. • Transformation Fund - a fund totalling £0.2m at 31 August 2020, which has been established to support the work of the new strategy. Based upon an evaluation of income and expenditure risks and working capital requirements. the trustees have agreed that free reserves should be in the range of £1.7m - £2.5m. As at 31 August 2020. free resenies were £1.9m. The trustees will continue to monitor the reserves position closely throughout the year. The policy of the Ambitious about Autism i Schools Trust is to hold sufficient reseNes' to provide a working balance to mitigate the impact of uneven cash flows., provide a contingency in respect of unexpected events,. and plan for potential major items of expenditure. including the set-up of the sixth forn. Funds balances as at 31 August 2020 totalled £6.9m. This comprised nil unrestricted funds, £2.2m of restricted funds, a £1.6m pension liability and È6.3m of restricted fixed asset funds. The funds balance at 31 August 2020, excluding the pension deficit, totalled £8.5m. In addition to the free reseNes, Ambitious about Autism has a number of designated funds totalling £5.6m as at 31 August 2QY20. These are: Fixed assets, valued at £4.1 m. Depreciation expenditure will be funded from this fund on an annual basis, of which £0.7m is planned depreciation expenditure for 202(k21. Cyclical Maintenance Fund - a sinking fund, which is based on projected 30-year lrfe cycle costs, was established for major repairs to the Pears National Centre for Autism Education. As at 31 August 2020, there was EO.7m in this fund. The £1.6m pension defictt is increasing, resuFknng in year-on-year unrealised losses, which is at risk of increasing further in the future. In accordance with the arrangements for a multi-academy trust. the deficit relating to the Local Govemment Pension Scheme (LGPSI is undeNKitten by the DfE. We also monitor the pension scheme carefully and in 2020 a review of the LGPS was undertaken to provide assurance to trustees that the set-up of the scheme was appropriate and being correctty administered. . School Development Fund - a designated fund was created in 2013 for broader school development. The fund had a balance of £5k as at 31 August 2020. . Coronavirus Fund - a fund of £0.6m was estsblished in 2020 to provide a contingency against future risks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. including additional costs or losses in income. This will continue in the coming year (202Qk21) as we continue to operate and manage during the pandemic, covering the additional costs of cleaning. PPE. additional venue hire to facilitate physical After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a r￿￿Onable expectation that the trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it continues to adopt the going concem basis in preparing the financial statements. Further detsils regarding the adoption of the going concern basts can

be found in the Statement of Accounting Policies. While there have b￿n some challenges in response to the coronavirus pandemic. the trust has continued to ensure all pupils continue to leam and that the situation is managed well. Ambitious about Autism has a risk register, which is reviewed annually by the finance and resources committee (FRC) and the board of trustees. Risks are scored according to likelihood, impact and the organisation's attitude to that risk. The changes to risks are reviewed termly by the FRC and board, with the actions taken or proposed to manage them. In response to the uncertanties from the coronavirus pandernic, six month capital holiday repayments were secured for all of our existing long-terrn loans {Futurebuilders, Nalwest £1 .1 m tranche and Nalwest £1.9m tranche). Delaying our loan capital repayments by six months helped ensure that there was sufficient cash to continue operating in case of delayed payments from customers, while the longer-term irnpact of the coronavirus pandemic was assessed. This continues to be assessed, monitofing the financial and operational ¥npact. The table below Id￿tifIeS the three key strat￿lC iisks that have been identrfied by the tMMI of trustees and expLans how these risks are being managed. Risks and uncertainties Risks are managed in accordance with the risk policy approved by the board of trustees, which was reviewed and updated in March 2021. The aim of the policy is to: . understand as ￿llY as possible the risks being faced or taken • take appropriate action.to manage those risks, where possible and cost*ffective minimise the risk of new initratives adversely affecting existing Work ' accept a higher level of uncertainty, rf appropriate, when taking advantage of new opportunities.

Risk Mitigation That the coronavinjs pandemic adversety affects our operations, has a negative impact on our financial position. induding cash flow, and has a negative effecl on staff. pupil and learner wdlbeing. Our coronaviNs response team, which includes the executive leadership team, is carefully managing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. and is minimising the negative impact on the charity through risk mitigalion and forward planning. including a number of initiatives to promote staff, pupil and leamer wellbeing. Coronavirus: Within an uncertain policy environment in times of austerity, there is an increased risk to pupil and leamer numbers in our education services and this uncetsmty then affects our abilty to plan. To manage the risk. we monitor pupil and learner numbers so that we can carefulty manage admissions. We maintain good relatiC￿ShipS with commissioners, ensuring timely assessment dates to enable a fast tumaround of Consu￿atIonS, and support parents and carers through the admissions process. We also host open days to maximise opportunities lor parents and commission￿S to see our services first hand. Learner and pupil numbers: Our abilty to operate and grow as set out in our strategy depends on our abilty to raise funds. which we depend on for other impactful projects across Ambitious about Autism. We are wothng hard to ensure our existing partners are well supported and spread the work with new partners. Fundraising:

51 Our approach to fundraising Fundraising practices A company contracted to provide auction support at our gala event went out of business at the start of the pandemic crisis in 2020. Like several charib'es affected, this has meant we have not yet received all funds due. We raised this as a serious incident with the Chartty Commission, which decided not to investigate. We notified all guests at the event. which led to a Sing￿ complaint about involving a third party in handling their donation. which was satisfactorily resolved. Meeting the highest fundraising standards is essential to retaining the trust and support of our much-valued donors. We pay the voluntary levy to register with the Fundraising Regulator. and we tske care to ensure that our practices comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise. We are also a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. We maintain up-to-date policies for our fundraising code of conduct: compliments and complaints; and whistleblowing. and ensu￿ that all team members understand and comply with these policies. Our board of trustees ￿vIewS these policies, alongside our Complian￿ with fundraising regulations. annually. No other complaints have been received by us regarding fundraising activities in the year ended 31 August 2020. As a charity set up to protecl and champion vulnerable people. we consider it important that these values are echoed in our ndraising. Through our close adherence to fundraising regulations, scrutiny by the executive leadership team and transparency with donors, we ensure that we do not unreasonabW intwde on a person's privacy; are not unreasonably persistent; and do not place undue pressure on any person to give money or other propety. Our privacy policy continues to comply with data protect50n legislation and regulation and is accessible to ai on our websrtes. We also ensure that we are compliant with the General Dats Protection Regulation. In the year under reiyew and beyond. thwe have been no instances of non-compliance with the requirements of the Code of Fundraising Practice.

52 Our fundraising work - Like many other organisations. we are continuing to manage the challenges uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the increasingly challenging fundraising environment and the diversification of the fundraising strategy, fundraising expenditure is higher, we have made additional investments to set the foundation for our fundraising work in the future. to ensure that opportunities are grasped and that we can continue to be proactive as w4er. Most of our fundraised income is generated through partnerships with individuals who have an interest in our cause, as well as trusts, foundations and corporate partners. We have also benefitted from the generosty of community members and individuals participating in challenge events and attendees at our annual gala event; Night of Ambition. In partnership with TalkTalk, we were fortunate to benefit from another successful Night of Ambttion in November 2019. As before, TalkTalk sold tickets and helped with auction items. while atl materials for the event and fundraising activities w￿e designed and monitored by the knbitious about Autism team. We do not engage through face-to-face or telephone direct marketing. Our regular giving programme is conducted primarily wtth our close community, and one small Christmas appeal to a selection of supporters. We do not conduct street or public site collections, nor do we have any mass participation activities in place. Unfortunately. most challenge events and community fundraising activities were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are grateful to those supporters who took part in the 2.6 Challenge - the online fundraising event organised by the team behind the Virgin Money London Marathon. For these fundraisers, we have continued to use the seNices of online fundraising platfoms JustGiving and VirginMoneyGiving. ensuring that these plalfonns remain compliant and meet high starKlards.

53 Legal structures and governance Governance Ambitious about Autism (rhe Company) is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 25 May 1997 (company number 03375255} and registered as a charity on 2 July 1997 {charity number 1063184). The company was established under a memorandum of association. which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is govemed under its articles of association. Ambitious about Autism is governed by a board of trustees who also act as the directo￿ of the company for the purposes of company law. A formal govemance review was conducted during the year and changes were made to the govemance structure, which took effect from 13 December 2019. The govemance review was supported by an external facilitator and had a remit to streamline and strengthen governance arrangements across the group. This included the board and committee structure and membership. with updated articles, members agreements, scheme of reseNation and delegation, and terms of references being put in place. The wort( was informed by interviews and questionnares completed by trustees and members of the executive leadership team, and appropriate legal advice was taken at each stage. The proposals from the govemance review were then reviewed and approved by the DfE, in relation to the trust. Ambitious about Autisrn Schools Trust trhe Tnjst) is a multi-academy trust, a company limited by guarantee and an.exempt charity. It was founded and incorporated on 18 December 2012 (company number 08335297) to support the development and wnning of The Rise School and further free schools. The charitable company's memorandum and articles of association are the primary goveming documents of the ItusL The twst is governed by a board of trustees who also act as the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law, and it has membefs whose duty is to ensure that the board is effectively discharging rts responsibilities. Ambitious about Autism is the sole corporate member of the ttust along with four individual members. The new govemance structure also resulted in changes to the company members of the twst. Until 12 December 2019, the four members were Ambitious about Autism. the chair of Ambitious aboLrt Autism. the chair of the trust and the chief executive. Under the new governance arrangements. there are five mernbers: Ambitious about Autism and four individuals who are trustees of Ambitious about Autism.

As a result of Ihe new governance structure. the Joint Group Board Committee was created. and the tnjstees of Ambitious about Autism and the Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust became members of this from 13 December 2019. The respective Ambitious about Autism and Ambitious about Autisrn Schools Trust boards retain responsibility for all matters and delegate a number of appropriate decisions to the Joint Group Board Committee and its Subcommittees. The aim is to maximise efficiency and impact between the two boards. For example, where joint policies exist, they are reviewed and approved, where appropriate by the Joint Group Board Commtttee. Clear schemes of reservation and delegation have been approved by both boards. management, and reporting intemal -x controls and risk management for the charity and the trust. • The Education Committee meets temily and is responsible for our education services. It also oversees the governing bodies and advisory groups in each seNice for both the charity and the trust. • The Investment Committee. an Ambitious about Autism committee, which reports to the FRC, monttors the perfornance of the charty's investment portfolio and meets twice per y&*. • The Trust Audit Committee meets annually in November. and tennly from 2021. to oversee the annual report and accounts. the audit, the programme of internal scnrtiny and compliance with DfE legislation for the trust. Both boards of trustees follow a regular cycle of terrnly rn￿tingS and have at least one awayday with the executive leadership team each year, as well as holding additional meetings when required. All mattets related to the educational performance of TreeHouse School. The Rise School and Ambitious College are examined by their goveming bodies. The boards are supported by several joint subcommittees. which since the 13 December 2019 restructure have been as set out below. Management of the charity and the trust is delegated to the chief executive, who is also the accounting officer for the trust. and the executive leadership team. They attend tx)ard and subcommittee meetings. • The Nominations and Remuneration Committee oversees governance planning and policy, including trustee renewal, support and review. It also reviews and agrees remuneration and terms and conditions of employment for the executive leadership team and staff across the charty and the trust. It meets temity in advance of board meetings. • The Finance and Resources Committee (FRC) meets tennly in advance of board meetings and is responsble for the general oversight and scrutiny of systems, planning, financial and resource The Ambttious about Autism Youth Council comprised 14 autistic young people aged 1 &25. as at 31 August 2020. Members of the Youth Council are encouraged to shape and influence our work and make presentations to the board of tnjstees.

55 Trustee recruilmen( induction and training resulting in changes to the committee structure. and various updates to board filings such as articles (please see above for further details). The aim of the charity and the trust is to build a diverse board that has the optimum range of skills, experience and perspectNes to ensure we have the appropriate level of support, scrLrtiny and oversight. People with lived experience of autism are involved in the govemance and decision-making of the charity and the trust. including on the board of trustees. the goveming bodies and advisory groups. . E(walty, diversty and inclusiotr. The board believes a balance of experience. skills, knowledge and backgrounds is crucial in the composrtion of the members to provide a variety of perspectives in discussions and enhance decision-making. We believe that including people with lived experience of autism in our governance and decision-making and also on the board ot trustees is ot benetit to the chanty. The board is committed to investing in its diversty through future recruitment. The recruitment and induction policy works to promote this goal. New trustees are recruited openly Ihrough a variety of channels, including search. advertising and through networfKs. Once recruited. trustees are supported with an induction programme and handbook in the first few months. followed by ongoing training as required. Our people Our skilled and dedicated staff and volunteers are vttaj to achieving our mission and vision and living our values. We are committed to being a great organisation to work and volunteer for. The recruitment, induction and appraisal of trustees is overseen by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. It is critical that we attract. motivate. develop and retain staff and volunteers with the right skills, talents and knowledge so that we can run the charity as efficiently and effectively as possible. All trustees give Iheir time voluntsrity and receive no benefits from the chaiity or the trust. Any expenses reclaimed are set out in note 6 to the accounts (see p80). Charity Governance..Code As part of the Ambitious Futures 2020 strategy, we continued our focus on investrnent in recruitment, development and retention. and ensuring that managers have the skills and capabilities to lead and manage to a high sL3ndard. The principles and recommended practice set out in the Charity Governance Code are regularfy discussed by the trustees. Areas of focus in 201 ￿20 were: During the coronavirus pandemic, the health and wellbeing of our staff. pupils and leamers was our utmost prionty. We supported our staff to work from home, in line with govemment guidance, which allowed us to • Board effectiven&8s: During 2019-20. a formal govemance review was conducted wilh changes to the govemance structure being implemented in December 2019.

56 operate better social distancing for staff at X We regularty engage and communicate our schools and college to provide education with staff, using a range of methods, to autistic children and young people. including whole staff and team face-to-face meetings and briefings, newsletters, senior management team cascades and management rneetings. We developed a horneworkiThJ charter and wellbeiw resou￿, induding online physiotherapy. yoga. resilience trainirKJ. regular supervisions. and guidance for managers to support teams working remotety. During the coronavirus pandèmic, our internal communications were targeted, timely and relevant. We provided emergency updates through line managers. emails and team meetings as appropriate. We are enorrnously grateful for the dedication, high standards, and care of everyone who works at Ambitious about Autism. In our 2020 annual survey, 960/0 of staff said they were proud to be part of Ambitious about ALrtism (compared to 95.70/0 in 20191. When asked about coronavirus communications. 960h of staff said the updates were clear. We are proud that, across the group, 97% of staff understand our vision, mission and values. The Coronavirus Job Relenlion Scheme (CJRS) From April to August 2020. we furloughed a few charity Staff members, claiming a total of £118k through the Coronavinjs Job Retention Scheme ICJRS) in line with govemment guidance. After the year-end, we continued to fudough staff members on an operational basis and to meet our resourcing requirements. We have a staff council. with representstives from across the organisation. The council meets regularty to share the views of staff on decisions regarding people. policies and praclices. The council also contributes to the continuing improvement of the organisation arKI our working environment. Engagement with staff, benef iciaries and stakeholders Employee engag•m•nt Our employees a￿ consulted on issues through staff meetings and kept informed on specrfic matters directly by managers. We have adopted a procedure of upward feedback for senior managers and the trustees. We've also established fair employment practices in the recruitment. selection, retention and training of all stalf. Our staff are fundamental to the success of Ambitious about Autism and the delivery of our strategic aims. We must attract. retsin and motivate employees. From ensuring that we remain a responsible employer, to considering pay and benefits. and our health, safety and workplace environment, our executive leadership team considers the impact of its decisions on employees, wherever this is feasible. We celebrate and recognise our successes as a whole staff team each year.

57 We encourage the involvement of stsff across the organisation through a range of activities. including participaling in fundraising events and supporting activities and events for our pupils and leamers. The executive leadership team and the board consider the following: • The likely consequences of any decision in the long tenn. This includes a regular review of our risk register, departmental operational plans and overall strategic plan. All staff joining Ambitious aboLrt Autism and the Trust have a comprehensive induction covering our values, plans and policies. including for safeguarding, whis1leblov￿ng and data protection. We engage with and update staff on our performance during the year. • The interests of our employees, through regular feedback from all-staff meetings, team meetings,and individual monthly supervisions. • The need to foster business relationships with suppliers, customers and others, ranging from prompt supplier payments to regular meetings and communication with local authorities. This includes weekly updates to local authorities with respect to our pupils and learners. Engagement with supplier&, customers and others in a business relationship We have a strong commitment lo paying all suppliers within agreed terms. • The impact of the operations of the charity and the trust on the community and the environment. We have a communty representative on all our governing bOd￿S and continue to review our fleet management to achieve further cost savings in terms of running costs and our impact on the environment. Chjr executive leadership team prioriknses achieving the best possible outcomes for our pupils. learners and stakeholders. Open engagement with parents. guardians and our local communities is vttal to building successful and long-term relationships. continue to worf( ckjsdy and collaLK)rativdy with local authorities to ensure outc￿leS nMrtually,beneficial, with our pupils, leamas and stakehoklers continuing to be our co focu& We work hard to establish arKI rnantsin good relatiorKships with our wider slakehohJgE. incKJding ￿r fLmders supp)rters. • The desirability of the chaiity and the trust in maintsining a reputation for high standards of business conduct. We lead by example and build a culture of excellence through good recruitment choices and practices, and excellent training. S172 statement • The need to act faity as members of the charity and the trust. We have combined most of our policies across the group. The executive leadership team and board make assessments and decisions in good faith, considering the potential consequence on stakeholders. In addition. they consider the expected outcomes rnost likely to promote the success of Ambitious about Autism. The benefrt of our pupils. leamers and stakeholders is always pararnount. Remuneration policy for key management personnel The Board of Trustees of Ambitious about Autism and the Tnjst is responsible for defining the executive pay policy. This

58 includes deciding on the salaries of the chief executive and the execLrtive leadership team. The board delegales this responsibilty to the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. The committee reviews executive pay and our total reward strategy for staff. The group which comprises trustees and an extemal expert. meets each tem. The committ makes recommendations to the board of trustees for approval. We have an executive pay policy. which sets OLrt our approach to pay for our executive leadership team, how pay is detennined and reviewed. and the rdative impact on pay across the organisation. . Ensure perfomiance is reviewed and reported to the Nominations and Remun￿atIOn Committee on an annual basis. . Apply perfomiance-related pay elements onty where required by the relevant mart(et sector. Mirror the national standards for professional groups, such as headteachers. • Take account of the Academies Financial Handbook. • Take account of the difference between executive leadership team pay and the lowest-paid roles. and median and average pay across the organisation. Our approach to pay is underpinned by our principle to: "Pay a fair salary and ￿ward package to atlract and retain skilled and expert senior leaders for AaAIAaAST. Salaries and benefits should be competitive within the chaiity, education and public sector proportlonate to Ihe complexity of each role and responsibility. and in line with our objectives and affordable." Disability Confident employer As a charity wothing to support people with disabilities. we are ￿llY committed to being welcoming and supportive to all staff with disabilities or any other protected characteristic. Our recruiting staff are trained to ensure that applicants with disabilities are considered fulty and fairly, and are supported with relevant adjustments made during the recruitment process, and in the workplace. The executive pay policy aims to follow a robust evidence-based process to achieve this principle. • Take account of pay in similar organisations in the UK charity and public sector markets, but do not compete with salaries in the private sector. We are proud to have achieved Level 3 Disabilty Confident Leader status. As part of this scheme. we guarantee to Inte￿ieW candidates with a disabilty whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role as detsiled in the pewn specrfication. . Monitor salary trends in the tharity sector through surveys produced by providers such as XpertHR, Croner and ACEVO, as well as Education and Skills Funding Agency academy sthools financial benchmarking reports and, where necessary. commission extemal benchmarking exercises. We work to ensure that all staff, including those with disabilities. have the appropriate training. career development and promotion opportunities put in place. This process

59 starts at induction arKI is managed through supervisions and ongoing perfomiance reviews. We have access to advice from occupational health support. an on-site physiotherapist and an employee assistance programme to enable us to support any member of stafi, including those who become disabled during employment. . is championed by our board and leadership teams • takes into account people's views and experiences and the external context must result in a range of actions that deliver clear and measurable benefits, which are reviewed. appraised and reported to our key stakeholders. Our wellbeing offer is extensive, and we continue to demonstrate our commttment to supporting improved mental health and wellbeing across the organisation. Streamlined Energy and Ca￿On Reporting Energy and carbon consumption Equality, diversity and inclusion: living our values Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR} is the new legislative reporting requirement from 1 April 2019. It mandates that all companies that meet the thresholds must report on their operational energy consumption and associated emissions. The high-level breakdown is as follows: We proudly value and embrace difference at Ambitious about Autism, bLrt we know there is more we can all do. As Chief Executive. Jolanta Lasota publicly signed up to the sector-wide initiative to address the drversity deficit in charity leadership. Tolal 504.439 548,610, 40,745 1,093,794,, WA WA 47,970 47,970 97 139 120 One of our core values is that 'we value difference.. We are ambitious in name and this includes ambition in equalty. diversity and inclusion IEDII. It is part of our core purpose to be an organisation that champions and supports diversty. Race is an integral part of this that needs far greater attention. We serve and work with people from all backgrounds and we are motivated and energised by the opp)rtunity to improve outcomes for everybody in our charity. education sectors arKI wider society.- . kwh Mil intenslty metric An intensty metric gives us an indicator of carbon perfonnance based on an operational figure of the number Servi￿ users Ipupils and leamers). with 274 members emitting on average 1.30 kgC02e each. This will be measured annually and compared with previous years to show progress in reducing our carbon intensty. In 2020, we committed to achieve meaningful and lasting change around EDI through a proactive and comprehensive approach that: 274 ' is embedded throughout our organFsation and strategy 201&20

60 Ambitious about Autism initiatives Public benefit This section highluhts energy and carbon improvement projects undertaken during the year or those that are CU￿entty under way. Ambrtious about ALrtism works to support children and young people wtth autism and their families throughout the UK. Monitoring rnileage underpins good fleet management and should be more than a data collection exercise. Reducing mileage reduces costs and emissions, and technology solutions will make the process easier and more accurate. We've already secured voluntary funding towards the purchase of two new vehicles. of which one was bought in this financial year, enabling us to replace two aging vehicles and achieve further cost savings in tem of running costs. We continue to focus on our fleet managemenL TreeHouse School supports pupils aged £k19 and Ambitious College supports leamers aged 1 fr-25, based on their needs. Placements of leamers are fvnded by a combination of funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and local authorities. Other activities are funded through voluntary income or fees earned from providing a serrfice, for example, providing specialist training or support to parents, teachers and other professionals. In overseeing the provision of education and the support of children, young people and their families, the trustees of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust have complied V#llth their duty regarding the guidance on public benefft published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. Calculations The following figures were used to convert energy to C02 figures: 0.18387 02331 per I￿ne 0.23314 or 0289 w tc*M Electricty The trustee5 have referred to the guidance contained in the Charty Commission's general guidance on public benefft when reviewng the aims and objectives of the charity and in planning its future activities. Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust's principal object is to advance, for the public benefit. education in the UK by developing schools to make special educational provisions for pupils with special educational needs. or 1 &-19 academies offering curricula appropriate to the needs of their students. The twst opened its first school. The Rise School, in September 2014. Fuel 9.1kvth K￿pIng data safe We are fully committed to protecting details of all the people we work with and who support us. We continue to make sure we're always thinking about privacy and how to keep data safe and secure. Staff are required to stay up to date and infomed through regular training. We never stop worlong on this.

In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives set. and are committed to NCVO'S ethical principles. Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust The Ambitious about ALrtism Schools Trust IAa4ST) is a separate exempt charty. Connected organisations Ambitious about Autism is an active member of the Autism Education Trust. Auts'sm Alliance, British Institute of Leaming Disabilities (BILD). Council for Disabled Children. Disabled Children's Pathership, National Association for Non-maintained and Ind8ppndent srw.ial .8r.hrJnls (NASS), Natspec. Positive Behaviour Support Aliance and the Special Educational Consortium. AJnbitious about Autism is the sole corporate member of the trnjst. Therefore. the results of AaAST are consolidated into these group financial statements. Aa4ST has been chosen to open a new special free school for autistic children and young people in Kingston and is actively seeking further partnerships to develop more special schools. Our education provisions are co-located at Springwest Academy (part of the Tudor Park Education Trust), West Thames College and The College of Haringey. Enfield and North East London. All the organisations listed here are independent organisations and their results are not included in the financial statements of Arnbitious about Autism and the Ambitious aboLrt Autism Schools T￿St.

62 Our leadership team and advisers The trustees of Ambitious about Autism are directors and members of the charitable company. They each guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 August 2020 was nine {2019: nine). The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charitable company. Trustees of Ambitious about Autism Neil Goulden (Chairl Koral Anderson (until 12 December 2019) Lesley Longstone (Wice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Education Committee) Jonathan Andrews Martyn Craddock rustee until 18 September 2020 and Chair of the TreeHouse School Governing Body from 1 September 20201 Paul Disley-Tindell rustee and Chair of the Nominations and Remuneration Committee) Alison Halsey (from 7 October 2019) Elizabeth Stanton reasurer. Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee) Alistsir Maccallum (from 7 October 2019} Phillippa Stobbs rustee and Chair of the TreeHouse School Governing Body, until 31 August 2020) Charlotte Warner (until 12 December 2019)

63 Trustees of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust Neil Goulden (Vice Chair until 12 December 2019, Chair from 13 December 2019) Tanith Dodge (appointed 7 October 2019) Joanna Healey Lesley Longstone (Chair until 12 December 2019. Chair from 13 December 2019) Jolanta Lasota (until 20 April 2020) Koral Anderson (rrustee and Chair of the Audit Committee from 13 December 2019 until 31 December 2020) Lucy Nutt Elizabeth Stanton reasurer and Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee} Michael Clark (appointed 7 October 2019 and Chair of the Audit Committee from 1 January 2021) Charlotte Wamer Members of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust Ambitious about Aulism Alison Halsey (from 13 December 2019) Martyn Craddock (from 13 December 2019) Jolants Lasota (until 12 December 20191 Paul Disley-Tindell (from 13 December 2019) Lesley Longstone (until 12 December 2019) Neil Goulden (until 12 December 2019) Alistair Maccallum (from 13 December 2019) The trustees are supported in their work by the president and vice presidents, who all support the work of our charity. President Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE Wice Presidents Nick Baldwin CBE Katharine Doré OBE. Karen Ed%vards OBE Richard Hatter irginia Bovell OBE Nick Hornby Peter Carroll Tristia HaThison Matthew Punshon John Constantln• Al•x Hatter Sid Wells

Autism Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award Dr Wirginia Bovell OBE Dr Virginia Bovell is the mother of Danny, 25, WIKJ has autism and severe leaming disabilities. She was one of the founding parents of TreeHouse School and Ambitious about Autism. She is now one of our Vice Presidents. Dr Bovell was recognised at the Autism Professionals Awards in March 2020 for her policy and campaigning work in relation to autism and special educational needs, and for contributing to several nationa] guidance documents, including the NICE guideline on the management of autism in children and young people. Youth Patrons Jonathan Rayhan Aishah Trinny Grace Patrick Olivia Kieran Emily Josef Dominic Josefina Lucy Youth Ambassadors Jack Welch Sam Chown-Ahern Jasmine Bigden Kerrle Portman Expert advisers Our team of expert advisers are leading academics. dinicians, lawyers. communications professionals and young people- all with an interest in autism and a passion to raise awareness and understanding. They provide advice and guidance on specific projects and campaigns, all as volunteers. INe are honoured to be able to draw on the expertise of: Judith Barnard Prof Patricia Howlin Mark Schmid Sir Simon Baron-cohen Jonathan Meth Dr Rowie Shaw OBE Steve Broach Dr Emran Mian OBE Fiona Slomovic Leo Capella David Nicholson Su Thomas Prof Tony Charnian Nick Peacey Richard Townley Prof Richard Hastings Prof Liz Pellicano Gaby Zein

65 Ambassadors Our ambassadors come from all walks of lrfe. but all share an interest in autism and a passion to raise awareness and undersLanding. Our ambassadors are: Sarah Cawood Lucy Mottram Michelle Collins Simon Mottram Nlamh Cusack Jules Robertson Jonny Gould Hayley Ronson Kathy Lette Jon Snow David Mitchell Luke Treadaway Parent Patrons Our team of parent patrcrf)s are all people whose lives have been touched by autism.. Rt Hon John Bercow MP (retired 31 October 2019) Matthew Davis Keith Duffy Sally Bercow (retired 31 October 2019) Eliza Mishcon Nicky Clark Charlotte Moore Claire Coombe-Tennant Claire Ryan John Coombe-Tennant Sophie Walk•r Employ Autism Development Board Chair Lor(l.Tim Clement-Jones CBE Members Laurie Edmans CBE Allstsir Maccallum Sue Adkins Chris Pond Koral Anderson Matt Hutnell Tristia Harrison

66 Executive Leadership Team The trustees delegate day-to-day management of the charity to the executive leadership team: Louise Posocco Director of Finance and Planning, and Company Secretsry" Jolanta Lasota Chief Executive Ivienne Berkeley Executive Principal Zoe Weaver Director of People Paul Breckell Deputy Chief Executive Harry Wilkinson Director of SeNice Development Danae Leaman-Hill Director of Fundraising and Development Alison Worsley Director of Extemal Affairs Independent auditor RSM UK Audit LLP 25 FatTingdon Street. London EC4A 4AB Bankers Solicitors National Weskninster Bank PIC 13 Market Place Reading, 8etl(shire RG1 2EP Stone King LLP 13 Queen Square. Bath BA1 2HJ Farrer & Co LLP 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holbom, London WC2A 3LH Nationwide Building Society Nationwide House, Pipers Way Swindon, Wiltshire SN38 1 NW CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4JQ Investment managers Rathbone Brothers Public Limited Company 8 Finsbury Circus. London EC2M 7AZ

67 The statement of trustees, responsibilities trustees purposes Annual accordance (United Kingdom (who, a company including applicable r enerally directors Ambitious Autism are responsible preparing Trustees, strategic financial statements United K,ingdom Accounting Standards Accepted Accounting Practice) Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and group as at the balance sheet date. and of the incoming resources and application of resources. including the income and expenditure. of the group for that period. • state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements • prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. In preparing these fi'nancial statements, the trustees are required to: The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records that disclose wtth ￿asOnable accuracy at any time the financial posttion of the charitable company and erkible them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2(K16. ' select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistenty ' observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) • make judgements and estimatss tr￿t are reasonable and pNdent

Statement as to disclosu￿ of information to auditor The appointment of our new auditors, RSM UK Audit LLP. was made on 5 June 2020 following a tender process supported by trustees. In so far as the trustees are aware: there is no relevant audit infonnation of which the charitable company's auditor is unaware The Trustees. Annual Report is approved by order of the board of trustees and the Strategic Report and the Directors. Fleport required by company law (Included therein) are approved by the board of trustees in their capacty as the directors at a meeting on 26 March 2021 and signed on their behalf by: • the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that infomation. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitsble company and the group. and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Neil Goulden Chair of the Board of Trustees The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial infonnation on the charitable company's webstte. Legislation in the UK goveming the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may dtffer from legislation in other jurisdictions.

69 Independent auditor's report to the members of Ambitious about Autism Opinion . have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice We have audited the financial statements of Ambitious aboLrt Autism (the 'parent charitable company.) and its subsidiary (the 'group') for the year ended 31 August 2020, which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account. the Group and Company Balance Sheets, the Group Cash Flow Statement 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. including FRS 102 'The FIn￿CIal Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). . have been prepared in accordance with the uirements of the Companies Act 2006. Basis for opinion We have been appointed audttors under the Companies Act 2CK)6 and section 151 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with those Acts. We condLKted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing {UK) OSAS {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 group and parent charitable company 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 fuffilled 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. . In our opinion the financial statements: ' give a tnje and fair view of the state of the group's and the parent charitable company's affaits as at 31 August 2020 and of the group s incoming resources and appli&3tion of resources, w)cludirKJ its income and expenditure, for the year then ended

Conclusions relating to going concem the other infonnation. If, based on the work Xwe have perfO￿￿ed, 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. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAS (UK) require us to report to you where: • the trustees, use of the going concem basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate Opinions on other.matte prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 • the trustees have not disclosed in the linancial statements any idenltfied material uncettsinties that may cast signrficant doubt about the group's or parent charitable company's abilty to continue to adopt the going concem basis of accoLmting for a period of at least 12 months from the date when the financial sLqtements are authorised for issue. In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: • the inf0m￿tIOn given in the Trustees, Report. which includes the Directors. Report and the Strategic Report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements Other information • the Directors. Report and the Strategic Report included within the Trustees, Report have been prepared in accordance with appluble legal requirements. The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other Ihan the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other infomiation and, except to the extent othenwise explicitly stated in our report. we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Matters on which we are required to report by exception In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and their environment obtsined in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors. Report or the Strategic Report included within the Trustees, Report. 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 infomiation is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identfy 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 We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2(￿ requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: • adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or retums adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us

71 . the parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and retums rtain disclosures of Irustees. remuneration specified by law are not made that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS (UK) will atrways detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material rf. individually or in Ihe aggregale, they could reasonably be expected to irffluence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. we have not received all the infomialion and explanations we require for our audFt. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is provided on the Financial Reporting Council's website at frc.o .ukJauditorsres onsibilities. This descripts'on fomis part of our auditorfs report. Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the statement of trustees, responsibilities set out on p67. the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company 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 intemal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement. whether due to fraud or error. Use of our report This report is made solety to the charitable company's members. as a body, in accordance wrth Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 20￿. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state lo the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorfs report and for no olher purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body. for our audit work, for this report. or for the opinions we have formed. In preparing the financial statements. the trustees are responsible for assessing Ihe group's and parent charitsble company's ability to conb'nue as a going concem. disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going COn￿M and using the going concem basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations. or have no realistic alternative but to do so. ,SM LLL kn. aLE LLP Hannah Catchpool Senior Stalutory ALKlitor For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP. Slatutory Audrtor Chartered Accountants 25 Farringdon Street London EC4A 4AB Auditor's 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 auditorfs report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, bul is not a guarantee Date.. 26 March 2021

72 Consolidated statement of financial activities (Incorporating an income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 August 2tr20 31 *JJgu5t2019 £'OLPJ 13.113 13218 17M1 External al￿'r$ 1(t3 101 Trndnw ir¢c Rsircorr 118 118 T•i#l IrKome 14777 rakn3lund 12 12 12 12 12.934 745 497 13.431 17.iw 14041 Ektsmd affair5 Totslexpenthbxw 14,627 14618 1&168 bdore olher9ath￿Ikn880?1 Ikns8esygainsc 1122) P12) 19 {1 451 14571 {1571 218 TotA fuThY5 kwhtfarwdrd Totsllunds caTrknJI￿afd 19 8.167 14733

73 Balance sheets As at 31 August 2020 CO￿￿n￿￿er. (r3375255 Gro 31 AwtX120 31 2019 31 wa120 31 A￿￿8t201> £'tho Tangtle8888ts 10 172 10,839 12 1.75) 1,750 IrrtQn9ilYea8sds 19 19 19.031 12. Detlors 13 Cashat tenkandinhand 2.414 758 13 4,7&5 3,1￿2 14 P,5741 4,107 14,150 13.136 14.9691 16 Defined be￿lit 17 115rn 167 Sry4 7.1( Des4rfjt•YfvrKIs frJrK15 5578 5219 2.414 5,578 5.219 2.414 7h76 7A76 ITotslfvn 18 14r¥J 167

Consolidated statement of cash flows For the year ended 31 August 2(Y20 Forth•JYwwKl8d31 W21i0 Fryts￿r￿ded 31 2019 £'o(yJ £,￿0 Irrte￿￿ 110n 1616> P87J 1123) 771 1(• 4918 Cath at ténk ond in h￿d 1414 13 Atthe¥kn At￿￿ 2.414 3fft1 11.4911 13 (37 pn) (5.76

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2￿20 1. £c￿￿11n9 polkl88 Ambti(xts abxtAulism ksa C￿rtatI8910￿ Srr•l•S Lw rt it ryc01ettHt￿ irLr¥rewll l arnlt a[￿￿1n UK dtrelwpj FF6 Iry2)IthIF 1 JanLory2019)-wxw￿es &YIP FRS thè Repxbry Stsndwd apF4Kat4ein the IJ( of (FF6 1WIMarth 201•arnlll Cth7ws d2CI arcuJntirvJ ￿4￿yOr rxAe. b. Basis of consolrdaiion The￿rthe consdxlated financ￿ Stat￿￿ ol ts c Incc￿rate thefinarK4ql atern￿ts of￿trll￿t. a UK crrfrrwry thewLP. rX¥Jrrised￿ Ihg tosis0ft￿ V￿Ue011he9rfttothe 9wp. ist￿ wrwrt wrAPW)ukJ hw¥E i%en TrMllYwJto bene11t￿lty enw ￿ller FRS 11fd. d. Gtyng cortem fortheflna￿aaI 2021>21 taken into inyffit ¢1Covl.19, ¢XtO Kxpl mrttys exceèjirg b￿ge19￿10¥eh. theadrfthn￿ c(6tsc4 Covp$19 IV￿t0 rTNkea [Q￿r￿￿t09 it LS t aThJ t￿armJnt oflhe thydtic) can

76 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2tr20 affdxttjooftaxatk and exerryXsU￿￿s, VAT£￿ exwl Allocation of support eosts •tr at4tytO U8e tssoft%wTrytQ 5dl •trO￿t1[ty0f8LmIetff￿ffl￿, Other Leadw5hip Finan T1￿¢ sFrt Siaff head CO￿)1 Staff head crx)t Genal admmistrats.on Staff head crx rrorket w¢e. faIrv￿￿e ill ba c4th8 lease. l Tan9ibl8fixed assets d in usè. Frethdlar•J at )JsdoAvw . Creditors and wo¥l$4N dlin trtr>*roffvTrJ8to athrd pty and theamurt Crmwtere¢wiprrtht

77 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2Wa) Fmancial in5trurnents ol ts9roJp's&ctyJnting thedw& L PeThsion8 schewo avalatle toal staff. the w) ¥￿the￿Stift￿ts &% w￿eth9 ￿$10Th trwkjwtre ru￿5 OtaulwrdrrertvAth a dEkned FVb)Y c• matrffl is in rKrte 17. sthemes. rrps)ondthe ￿ ¢knr￿1 fLGPSy %ith ts bvst In dy1hatthep￿w￿ cast ts a lth'lrfie5 an tY5 using the ¢￿it fttknJ aThJ a Net irrtWESt net liatrikty rwwd c•ylcffj ttwsJefin&J tw•fft¢*4HJabcm and irtwest ir¢c¥re as8etsat the Wiimir#Jof lh8 Trta

78 Notes to the f5nancial statements For the year ended 31 August 2020 £YJco 174 57 57 57 F•rIh•￿rend0d 31 fvJwtan9 Srthxls Twst ro £'ooo 1,781 1P17 136 1Ms1 Sctrts)IsTtwt &A)tc4al A85tn"cd Totsl 11246 11284 14640 Ed￿aticffl ￿lL5 FurbairgN4 1.857 67 14113 17,6711 103 i(rJ 11113 17.n4 Fty*•ywénded 31 A¥￿t￿ll9 Sthc¢45 TnLSt Toial £.￿0 24 11.IY2 2.6491 Educakn antlgdlls F￿n0 P4e 1.707 1Xtr 101 101 101 101 11M .101

79 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2020 F•rthoy68r rcw rco) ec 8,379 787 1415 153 14431 257 4661 14 A661) 18 146181 SupFQrt (y) 778 131 131 Aub￿ &hcthTn*l ITotaloNp•ndllwv 747 170 131 199391 r£￿ rl roLY) fvnds 447 16 1 471 249 12 19 145 1.163 150 21 ¢IS8¥ 214 In 181". sm Sclw)JLsTntsl 781 170

80 Notes to the financial statements For th• y•ar ended 31 August 2020 5. N•1 InGonforth•y 31 AugLtst ￿19 roLfs 107, 113 12 14 1Q3 14 Staff costs asfC4h￿$.' FaT￿rer#￿ed 31 Auwsi 2Q19 111791 11.056 YOW￿ded 31 A¥J￿t 2D19 fell wtl¥ntl t)￿ £70.LW79.999 £1CO,(XW109. £110,1}J(￿lg, £130,OJH139.g>J 01 tr)rts 12.rTrJrth tts31 g019.. t￿.1171 JOW Lasola. CIMel E¥eryJiNe s*ydt115.Cthto31 W2(J20 ¢2019.. £111,1(x)I.

81 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2(Y20 7. Stalnumbws dLrrir¥J ts ywwasas fothx. 31 AW2019 gng fvr 11 SuF¥xyt The chaDtypurr&8J £6,012 P019.. L¥,49• of¢fftftWrMIfftth￿n nil ¢￿th1or tdYce(2019.' nJJ. theyu. thetnjst rn•Je [g￿r￿tst0￿IVj (2019.. t5W to fu Educatw PO19.. £riTr: ab)Jtp SthdsTrust dd #XL¥rn ￿.(￿Ik￿)1. at(￿Arb5rn £1,934k (2019.. £1.&IWIKYn P019.. £40,175) ¢0 the chaiity. ￿ be. t41,35512019". 14) ￿￿K￿l &an tnth ofNCVO Y NrnTrknJ B￿bIlly￿, knthich NCVOfyB ￿voTr*Wj

82 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2Wal Total fOLX) AttlE artoftr¢ 11.770 Ydknws irbtheJt3r tWl¥ in Iheye4r At erxJLlthe 245 31 P1 (5101 11. At ts startc1th8￿W Ghaoeytr >ar c1sF•￿al5 inthey AtfvwK1o1￿ 372 374 130 242 138 75 10). &197 116 Nètbookvthe IAtlhe end olth•y6w 17J62 At ￿ 513rtoftl 11.710 1,075 drtths in theyear tJskwL8in tsyear AtfveTrJcfthe 175 31 P11 11, Atthe51wl ofthoy¢W 2￿63 242 130, 4134 195 At￿end cftlJw 577 116 N•1 book¥•l Atl1io•Ki olth•y Atlh•.si•itoithèy I￿1￿￿￿dI725 Jors) th to￿ PA5e Sdth

83 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2(r20 11. In1•￿bl•fU4d •sWs Co¥t Atthe slart dthe year ints At Iheeb¥J ofthe At the￿art of Ihe year chargetcy￿)￿ At theeTrJ oftheye N•1 iwJokv41 IAttht end ofth¢y 19 Atth•8l•tolth•year 19 Attr¢ startoftryew Altt slart tsftheye* 12 12 Attheernl cét￿￿% 19 IAtthoendthth•> 19

84 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2tr20 31 Awl 2019 1.678 1192) (Net h)$8ygain cffj inl¥sh Cash hdd in Ir￿1rrents 31 Awt >)19 Fix&Y inttresl 279 DYt UK S67 C&sh heJdf¢rren¥EStmu 79 Cash 1.7501 7148 hiS￿1c￿l ccét of irNe5trrwtsi5 ri28ek ￿￿9. t1,W. 31 31 Awt 2019 31 P¥wst20Z> 31 ￿gu￿2019 TrthdeLrto 347 144 19 116 110 107

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2(r20 378,; 37 Tr•lecrEditcfs 342 ', 311 179 D8fWTgJi￿¥V 15) 1,078 1574 31 W&119 31WXth 31 Aws12019 ￿lr￿￿of￿ye nl ￿lEaSed10 in tty Jnt defekrny In thè year 1.176 11.1761 1.078 1m81 ,176)i 1.104

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 21Y20 31 AwJL2019 1,331 IB•knwatthoend ofthejy 47 The¢￿ity aL80 has 8 Namtst. ￿ tr￿8￿ £1.1m and £1.9m. whth in aTrJ A￿.1 2012. respxtw. terestis atO.75% abJv8 LIBOR ¥¥J 1.2596 atx)ve LIBCA9, re4Xtr4. trarP￿b)ek￿ (tl.1m) is eapFed atan itwest tst8 V•Win 1 ￿ar eofyj 218 1,076 212 N*W85t £1.1m 47 377 19 soo 1519

87 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2(r20 17. ￿On 8¢hwng Th&cLfftrrt SCPE is 2.496 ab)¥Yttw rat•of CPI. Assurr¥d rEal rate c4 raNJm i5 2.4% th ex¢ess of pri¢es arxy 2% in excess of . ￿ rat• ol earnT￿ wth is assum•J to be 21%. 4.45%. Tr %bJaith ¥egJtt is dLto b? lnWwr￿t•1 from 1 4%120fJ. set in FAS 102. th8TrS 18 a "-•IW sc￿￿. Tre 9fDUP ts unHtle to . pcC(da￿ with FAS 102 h&s XCOLntsJ tsits contritxrtths to as rf it ￿ a ¢c¢Stri￿tiOn schem. The of fil￿r￿la1 actiwtsas rewesrtthe Contri1￿ti￿ theytar an)>ffjted to £225k g019.. £162k). Reguktws120101 aTrJ. frDrn 1 Aprl. ￿14. TeacPer5' ar •YwtsJ to t1Pa2k (2019: t85k). foTfull.tlmeteac￿rs in ar￿der￿ and, from l Jarnmry 2CII7. at 31 2tr2012019.. 2¥). to OFI 0￿. t 31 W 2CQO12019'. 13). V4lu•iion ol IhgT¢4¢h¢rt Pgnbkn Sdme No less th&n asry frwr the wi¥J Ij￿￿ 31 Atwst 2020 were r29[￿(2019.. E22W. of ¢1xrtrX￿ totylkd f219k (2019". E161kl s, ccfitr￿￿C￿5l0￿l￿j £71k P019.. E59k). ratesttytyry)k)ysirtwse sol&y and the year Ivaluakns arKI E￿￿￿c4)st Capl ti'rfiths 2014 HM Traasury. Th aim ofthe mi8W k8to $F•ifyt￿ of 5.5% 12S% cl ￿)￿￿tI￿SaIary. The aweed fty of5.5% to a rrwmmof 12.5% of Krat48 sa￿. Ckn'rg the 31 2020, no and rrwnyotherfactry5. The ￿te4 OtttTrS was caffied as at 31 Mrh 2016. The Wwas wblished bytre Oe￿rtr￿rtt EdLKa1￿ ￿ S 2019. Fw50% 01 rK4rrd cryrtrbkn to build up romi ¥rto fc*re m 18Juty 2013. of £156,1(thgwng a cl £t2.iXI P019". 48). 15 2￿0.

Notes to the financial statements For the year erthd 31 August 2￿20 At31 At 31 W 2019 £'oD) 2.15% Ck5CQLrt mtefr< sdvne k8tAIths 1.9J% krfknion a5￿pkn ICPD 2.15% so.o 1110 11YA 2.474 2,570 SS7 10% 2.474 2570 616 53T 10% 2.474 $91 2.384 567 616 2,474 $91 2,302 614 At31 ApJwt2019 R￿￿n91•daY Mdes Fmk5 24 A8llrfrtg Mdes 25.8

89 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2020 31 2019 $41 61% 41 5% 157 129 18% Cash 14 13 2% ITotsl mthetVak•of￿ts 4741 11.182) Thfrgppup￿ share ofthe a5$0ts Lrftl f4ThJ is ￿88 tlw 1%. s¢trY tyss¢tsfft £5XthI e42.rm. 31 W2019 cur￿￿$￿9 ¢f6t Net interest ccÉt IT•tsl opwallrvd ¢lwg• 2019 470 31 Actyjari￿ bssl (gn) 71 IAt31Au 1474 2019 t'o 10 16 19 161 Fad

90 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2ff20 FLnd &sat 31 4JgUsa2CQOarefwes￿J ty. Targt4e fixed 8S88ts 10y6 6. Net ¢uftertasse 731 2213 11,57T) 107 fots"Irtiss .7&9 15A211 Totslfvnds rTrJD T￿b￿￿m￿j assets IOW6 731 Lory.twrn I￿lI￿S (5.7 (47651 10039 6.423 17A62 1.7S> 19 1.750 IntyrvJilkfvAlassets curr¥rt a55ets/llHbllE5) twm11abl￿es 19 14. 11.18¥ (11511 14r&l lo￿ 1.75) irtarKJi4èfixaJas8 19 1670> 14. Lrytwrn 149 21gl V*..?.._

91 Notes to the financial statements For th• year ended 31 August 2020 Attho Jg. Mo¥em¢nt Atthgstsrt 314ty4u5t2CQO.. 11 137 137 Farr4y SUFWI PortiriWK 13 162 111 14n InfoTtM"on &wyt 122 122 (TO) ' 11&) 74 6. 7.1( P.743) n41 14511 7W51 Firyl 8ss ln 819 724 78 2.414 13.887 113.J3a 14711 114627) 7fv76 14TJJ Tran

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2CY20 Forth8 yw•)J8J 31 W 2019: (241 In 11 11191 13 18 145 ¢￿I¥j at Colg> 114 ITO) Pl 18) 1.157 11,15VJ Arnt￿￿J$ Colbje 27 115n 6597 19) 7.1ffj1 1678) 1LX) 233 819 42191 13 113.2831 U3 1414 unr•strictsdknd 1138611 IToial wow•fvrKI8 {18. 1473J

93 Notes to the financial statements For th• y•ar ènded 31 August 2 FarrIys￿rf￿I tTffjuip7Wrt Fixgj oss*8

94 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2tr20 2019 11641 11241 519 ofth&folbwry WKxJ' 2079 2019 £'ooo 18 Onetoffive says 431

95 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2￿20 2019 r(M)o 6,423 Cath at t￿(8￿￿ iThh 1.079 ShJrt.termd8pJdt Liabllth P74) 1213 4513 7.7481 ITotalnotawts FinedBssetthJr 2113

96 Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2￿20 Asset FuTrJ £'o f•rth•y•Y. Fur#ts Ocfflaticffjs8TrY 24 111 ChwilAe acbMI 214 4072 INVI 5wpW(d• 11 370 224 6,342 | 202012019." £250k). These S￿S fi[H￿, ￿knati￿, HR, fatikn"e5 arnl ￿￿1[￿t. Th2SEare ￿trIK1￿1 ator Ww cG%t, wothj AMbrtio￿ab￿t ￿￿tiSM w*re£S3k (2019: friWI.

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 August 2(Y20 Toi•l E'L￿0 1SS 1P75 12￿75 12D 12.W5 101 3y7 101 Total Ineorno 14910 1&777 Rai￿￿1￿￿1$ F￿d￿s￿l9 actMt*s 12 12 12 12.184 813 12393 1.1&3 1.1&3 14188 TotAI •ApeAdlb 1&1a) (3121 (312) Net knwmeforth8ye8r 19 11 11641 19 (311 frJrkY5 txm4ht frrfw• 7.7 6.597 14 18 167 14.73J

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Thanks colleagues across oryanisation, including the finance planning, fundraising, marketing communications teams contribution compiling annual accounts. Ambit,ious Aut,ism Ambitious children Autism people national charity autism provide serviGes, awareness understanding, campaign social policy change. Through TreeHouse School. School Ambitious trollege, specialist education support. we ambition more children ordinary people possible autism. Contact us National Avenue, entre London Autism Education Woodside k7 [e-mail] pambitiousaboutautism.org.uk Follow ambitiousautism ambitiousaboutautism Oambitiousaboutautism us Ambitious Ambitious about Autism registered chanty In and Wales" 1063184 and a registered corDpaD}i ' Englan 0337525i AmbitlOUS about Autism Schools Is an exempt.charity England and Wales ancj a registered company 08335297 Pliblished April 2021