Ambitious
ABO￿￿K•
30103Q022
COMPANIES HOUSE
A25
#111
d accoun
-2020-21

Contents
()Jr vision, misson and values
Standing with autistic children arKI young people
Welcome from the Chair of Trustees and the Chief Executive
Why We'￿ needed
Our strategic plan
Excellent education
Employment and enterprise
Family and relationships
Health and wellbeing
Active citizenship in the communty
Our partners and supporters
Our strategic partners
Our approach to fundraising
Our people .
Disability Confident
Equality. diversty and inclusion
Looking to the fLrture.
.13
-15
.24
27
31
.35
.45
.47
.49
51
.57
Financial review
Legal structures and governance
Our leadership team and advisers .
The statement of trustees. responsibiltties.
Indep8ndent auditor's report to the members of Ambttious about Autism
.63
.69
.76
.82
References .
115

Our vision, mission
and values
Ambitious about Autism is the national chaity standing with autistic children
and young people.
We believe every autistic child and yourMJ
person has the right to be themselves and
realise th￿r ambitions.
We started as one school and have
become a movement for change. We
champion lights. campaign for change
arKI create opportunities.
Our purpose
We help autistic children and young
people to be themselves.
Our vision
(kjr vision is for a future where every
autistic child and young person can be
themsefves and realise their ambitions.
Our mission
We stand with autistic children and
young people, champion their rights
and create opportunities.
Our values
Autistic children and young people are
at the heart of everything that we do.

TS U
VJ £ ai a)

Welcome
from the Chief
Executive and the
Chair of Trustees
This was another turbulent year for
autistic children and young people
and their families, as the coronavirus
pandemic continued to disnjpt lives
and create isolation and haKlship.
None of these achievements would have
been possible without our dedicated and
Committed stsff rn￿bers. supporters
and partners.
In a rapidty changing siiuation. we ￿pOnded
nimbly to ensure that we could target our
supp3rt at the right time. Following the end
of our Ambitious Futures 2020 strategy,
we launched our new one-year strategy to
focus our support during the coronavirus
pand￿￿c. It places autistic children and
young people firmty at the heart of all we do.
At the beginning of 2021 we entwed a new
national lockdown: yet another crushing
upheaval for aLrtistic children and young
people, who had already been so deepty
affected by the coronavirus crisis.
Through our TreeHouse School. The Rise
School and AmbitM)us Col*, directly
provided specialist education and support
for families throughout this challenging
period and beyond.
In addttion to buikjing on our expertise
in education. employment and youth
participation, our strategic plan responded
to the increas8d need for support in health
and wellbeing. families and relationships
and local communities. particularly in these
exceptsonal times.
Nationally, we wovided vital online peer
support to isolated young people across
the UK and we continued to develop
Employ Autism. a programme aimed at
securing better employment opportunit*s
for autistic candidates.
We continued to deliver this support despite
a challenging economic environment ar￿ the
cancellalion of key fundraising events.

10
Ilve responded creatively and Iwked for
innovative new ways to generate vital funds,
which led to our hugely successful Be
Ambitious fundraising campaign.
Our mission is to stand with autistic children
and young peop￿, champion their rights
and create opportunities. We can do this
only thanks to you." our wonderful children
and young people, parents and carers, and
generous partners. supporters and staff.
Your ongoing support throughout this
challenging time helps autistic children
and young people be themselves and
realise their ambitions.
We were delighted to be selected as Marsh
McLennan's UK strategic charity partner
for 2021-23 and built innovative corporate
partnerships with many organisations
raising vital funds. as well as championing
neurodiversty within the workplace.
We know from our worl( and from research
we commissioned that the impact of the
pandemic will be deep and long lasting,
affecting autistic clildren and yourKJ
people's mental hea￿h, wellbeing and fLrtLxe
aspirations for many years to come.
Jolanta Lasota
Chief Ex￿utiVe
Neil Goulden
Chair of Trustee5

11
££
l just want to be
my true self. gy
Emily, 19

wth]y wo'n tn@@ded
Autistic children and young people face enormous challenges in all areas
of their lives.
70%
of autistic people and
their families didn't
receive any support
during lockdown.,
of autistic young
people say their
mental health
is worse following
the pandemic.,
of under-18s are
waiting longer than
the NHS 13-week
deadline for an
autism diagnosis.
000
Fewer than o
I haof
Just
of parents have lost
sleep worying about
their child's school
placement.
of autistic children
and young people
say they are happy
at school 5
of autistic people are
in full or part-time
employment, the
lowest rate of all
disabled groups..
istic
young people fear
discrimination if they E
disclose to employers
that they are autistic.
790/0
autistic people say
they are socially
isolated because of a
lack of understanding.
Raf8ran￿ on p115

13
ALlltllstoc chlllldtren
and
oung
peopue are at
the heart of allll
tDrnat we do.

14
stmt@guc plla
In 2019, we started developing our new strategy. We engaged with autistic
young people, parents and carers, partners and our staff to help shape
our plans.
Following Ihe outbreak of the coronavirus
pandemic. and in the face of a rapid
changing sytuation, we reacted quickly and
adapted our Strateg￿ plans.
Ensuring autistic chifdren and young people
are at the heart of all we do, we focused our
work on five key objectives.
This outlines our progress in achieving
these five strategic objectives.
We developed a responsive (￿e-year
strategy for 202(k21 to target our support
for aLrtistic children and young people during
the pandemic.
Our strategic objectNes
Excellent
education
EMplO￿ent
and enterprise
Health and
wellbeing
chik1￿1 a￿1
young people
at the heart
Famity and
Cttizenship in
the community

15
**
Yh)e heallth and
euutoellng of our
Dlls, Uearners
and staff was OLllr
{•)
priior

Excellent
education
This year the coronavinjs pandemic
continued to disrupt the lives of autistic
children and young people. but our
education settings were resilient and
agile, adapting to rn￿t the changing
circumstances. The health and
wellbeing of our pupils. leamers and
staff was our key priority during these
challenging times.
From March 2021. in line with the
govemment's four-step roadmap out
of the lockdown. we welcomed more
putils and learrers back to our settings
arKI also set up staff testing centres.
As hopeful reports about coronavirus
vaccines were announced. we lobbied
for autistic people wtth learning disabilities
and those who support them to be included
in the priorty group for vaccination. After
thbs was confitTn￿J. we worked with
families to support young people with
leaming dtsabilities in our settings to
receive vaCcinat￿ns.
The new academic year began with face-
to-face learning for pupils at TreeHouse
School and The Rise School and leam*s *
Ambitious College. Our staff worked tirelessly
to prep￿ our settirrfJs for the safe retum
of young people and staff. ensuring social
distancing could be practised as
much as possible.
We also produced eas
read uldes and
visual stories about the coronavirus vaccines
to offer further support to families across
the UK.
In January 2021, we once agan faced a
national l¢xkdown and many of wr pupils
and leamers retumed to virtual, homfrbased
learning, except for the most vulnerable and
those who We￿ children of key workers.
Despite the cha]lenges, there have been
Incredib￿ successes across our settings
this year.

17
Talia's story
TreeHouse School
When Talia. joined Treehouse School,
she found it challenging to communicate
her wants and needs and to follow
teachers, instruclions.
In March 2021, TreeHouse School was
shortlisted in two categories in the Music
& Drama Education Awards 2021: our
music departrnenl in the Outstanding
School Music Department category. and
our ukulde project, led by our Head of
Perfomiing Arts, in the Excellence in SEND
(Music & Drama) category.
The trans-disciplinary team at T￿eHOuSe
School worked with Talia and her parents
to develop strategies to help her with her
overall school experience. They began wtth
a few simple steps, such as taking regular
breaks, providing a varied and motivating
timetable for Talia and giving her additional
tasks to help support her to recognise and
manage her emotions.
to
neffted from somè
ons to
school
f funders
xcitin
site this ear.
also
new
In February 2021. TreeHouse School
secoThlary playground was renovated to
include a sensory walkway with totem poles,
bug hotels. an amphitheatre and multisensory
surface. The primary play area was also
enha￿ed with the addition of mud kitchen
Talia spent time building rapport and trust
with new teachers. as well as exploring
fun and engaging activities and leaming
through play and sensory experiences.
With support from a speech and language
therapist, Talia also learned to increase
her use of Makaton, paired with verbal
language and visuals. to develop her
communication skills. Makaton is a
language that uses signs, symbols and
speech to help autistic people who are
minimally verbal or experience difficulty
in expressing themselves verbally.
In August 2021. the two former training
kttGhens in the secondary area were
transfomied into eight hoh-spec life
skills kitchens.
TreeHouse
School
Talia now spends more time in class
engaging in work-related learning activities
for longer periods of time and with several
different teachers. She has made good
progress, particularly with her use of
Makaton, arKI her vocabulary has also
expanded. She continues to participate
in a variety of fun and engaging activities
within the pre-formal curriculum.
"Name has been chang&Y

19
The Rise School
Ambitious College
The Rise School is a vibrant leaming
community that equips young people with
qualifications and communication. social.
emotional and employability skills.
In May 2021. Ambitious COll￿e won a
[￿igiouS Natspec award for the second
in a row. The award celebrated the
innovatNe strategies that the college had
put in place to support learnets, and their
parents, while some learning was taking
place at home. The team championed a
combined approach using learning packs,
online lessons and resource5, resulting in an
increase in learners, ICT literacy. The judging
panel ferna￿ed that Ambitious College had
used the pandemic as an opportunity for
innovatK)n and positivty, ensuring that no
leamw would be left behind.
Year 11 pupils at The Rise ScPrt)ol celebraled
excellent exam results this year. thanks to the
hard work of pupils and staff.
Nine pupils gained five or more GCSES at
grade 4 or above and one pupil achieved
seven GCSES. One pupil also received the
school's first ever GCSE computer sc1w￿e
award. a hugely successful grade 8.
Ambttious
College
SCHOOL
AJ'S story
AJ has been a pupil at The Rise School sirKe he was in year 7 and is now in year 10. Before
his autism diagnosis. V￿￿t to a mainstream primary school where he encountered many
challenges due to the teaching staff not urKjersL￿dlng his needs.
The Rise School has made a huge d¢fference to both AJ'S education and wellbeing. His mum
Sarah said: "He is much happier, and the environment has helped massively. He¥ not very
affeclionate. but it feels like a dark cloud has be￿ lifted and he now gfves me a hug and
tells mo that he loves me."
Sarah feels reassured that AJ is being supported and likes Ihat the school undeTStands his
needs. He loves learning about history, Japan and fcx)d technology. and even likes to cook food
al home now for his family. He is also taking his GCSE in computer science.
As a parent. Sarah ￿￿lY appreciates the comrnunicat¢on between the school staff and her. She
said: "l am supported by the school and I'm rK)t afraid to ask for advice when I need it. AJ
going to The Rise School has been completety Ibfe changing for him and the fambly. I cannot
fault them."

[W,Illl,

21
Arnbitious Approach
National work
The Ambitious Approach is our model
of education practi￿, vthich fccuses on
improving the qualty of lrfe of autistic your¥J
people while they are in education and
ensuring thal this qualty of lrfe continues
inlo adulthood. We want to p￿pare children
and young people for happy and fulfilling
lives armd, while doing so. afford Ihem dI￿lty.
respect and compassion.
In De￿mber 2020. we hosted a panel
comprising aLrtistic young researchers,
parents and teachers to discuss the
impact of the Children and Families
Act 2014 on outcomes for SEND (special
eduC*1¢￿al needs and disabilities) leamers
aged 16 and over. This was based on
research conducted by the Centre for
Research in Autism Education at UCL.
cO-prcrfJ￿ed with autistic youn9 people.
In September 2020, we launc1￿ our
Ambitious Approach model within our
services and externaily. We f￿USed
our attenti1￿ on ensuring that we have
enabling environments across all our
education settings.
We met then children's minister at the time.
Vicky Ford MP. in spring 2021 to discuss our
concerns abwt the government's proFY)sed
new use of language regarding exclusions.
We were pleased that followirKJ our meeting
and through our work with the Special
Educational Consortium. the minister
reconsidered the use of the outdated and
punitive term 'expulsion' to describe school
exclusions.
We also identified extemal settings, a
school and a specialist college, to pilot and
evaluate cmjr Ambitious Approach. The pilot
project began in September 2021 and will
end in July 2022, when we will report on the
project's impact.
With the Auti
mEdu
not-for-profrt programme led by Ambitious
about Autism and the National Autistic
Society) we launched resources to promote
aut1sm-i￿lusive attitudes in schools.
Excellent induction, training and professional
development are realty important to us and
so we invested in Iraining on attachment
and traurna for all staff. We also developed
a rol￿St framework to ensure that staff
have the necessary skills and confidence to
support autistic children and young people.
This year, our training and consultancy
team engaged with 1,842 education
and careers professionals, of whom
97 % reported increased knowledge
and skills and 94 % reported increased
confidence.

22
TreeHouse
School
IXIFI3CTrIOOI- IKEYI*FVRMAT
Join our'college
fow 102?.
We reUau]nched the TreeHouse
chooll an
Amiblltllous Colllle
websot@s in 2
21 to make
them more accessllblle.
(•}

11

@tmplloymotrnt
and otrnto[rp￿0s@
Transition to Employment toolkit
Thanks to funding from the Autism Education
Trust. in June 2021 we launched a new
toolkit to support autistic youro people
into ￿mployment.
nsitlon
Iklt has
been developed to support Ihose working
with autistic young people to understand
their needs and hdp them on to ts job
ladder. or into further training or education.
ft includes resources f(K ernployers. ¢areefS
professionals and autistic young people.
31
ugust 2021,
just three months
after tt was Uaunched,
the toolkit had
been downuoaded
2,892 tDmes.
The toolkit includes ternplates to help
Caree￿ professionals understand young
people's skills. experience. career goals
and ambitions. tips to help young peop
prepare for job inteNiews: and infomiation
to SUPF4)rt employers working with autistic
young people. Al the resources, which may
be edited and adapled. are free to download
from Ambitious about Autism's website.

25
Employ Autism
Employ Autism Higher
Education Network
Enabled by the genero&ty and vision
of programme partners including Pears
Foundation. Marsh McLennan. the Civil
SeNice and others, Employ Autism has
estsblished partnership networks between
employers and educators across the nation.
Over the last year, nearly 300 aLrtistic young
people have undertaken paid intemships.
improving their skills and confidence.
Ambitious about Autism worked in
partnership with Santander Universities
UK to cmte an employability programme
for autistic students and graduates. The
Empty Autism Higher Education Network
was launched in October 2020, with an
endorsement from Justin Tomlinson MP, then
minister for disabled people. health and work.
Through the programme. autistic students
at 17 universtties across the UK can access
paid intemships and tailored careers support
and advice. Professionals working with them
receive training to understand their needs
and help them identify roles that match their
skills and career goals.
Since the programme began. we have
delivered training to more than 130
employers hostirYJ intemships as well as
500 higher education professionals. Through
the partnership. autistic young people took
part in 60 work experience placements with
54 employers in summer 21r21.

26
Civil Service partnership
Emily's story
We have a successful record in supporting
autistic young people to access paid worf(
experience through our award-winning
Autism Exchange programme.
Tr transilion from education to work was
daunting as I didnl know what to expect or
what I might be capable of.
"l am Inte￿Sted in a career where I can
make an impact on others, lives so when
I leamed about the Civil SeThice Autism
Exchange intemship programme. l thought
it w0￿d be a weat opportunty to gain
vaknable worf( experience in a supported
Sitt￿lon. this proved true.
Over the last six years, we have developed
extensive experience in providing careers
advice and work experience to young people,
as well as training for employers.
This year our bid for the Civil Senrfice autism
internship programme was successful.
resulting in a two-year Contract to deliver
internships for 120 young people.
Tr internship was a great first experience
of the world of work ft was extremely
enjoyable. a)d pn>ved invaluable in building
my ¢onfiden¢e and resilience. I went from
being neNous ab(Mrt arranging meetings to
organising arKI conducting them myself and
giving a wesentstion.
In July 2021, 85 alrtist￿ young people-
a record-breaking number- took part in
three-week-long paid intemships in
20 government departments across the
UK, including the Cabinet Office. the
Department for Education and the
Department of Health and Social Care.
"I've reaty valued the opportunty to
experien￿ the (*y-to&y lrfe of a cNil
servant and to make a postlive contribution.
The opportunity gave me an idea of what
reasonable adjustments I can ask for,
a (l￿tIon that l always found hanl to
answer on job applications. Everybody
l interacted with was extremely welcoming.
accepting and accommodating. I'm
so grateful that the Autism Exchange
p￿￿rarnrne exists"
We also worked with a host of other
partners this year, including m/Six. BNP
Paribas, Atos. Tech MahirKlra, Michael
Page and Compass Grwp. to deliver pad
internship opportunities.
l{. /
Emily sludied sociology at the University
of Surrey and graduated in 2020.
4&

27
(•)
e are pmi
OLfjr pooneerllng
appmach.
{•)

tfamolly and
nllatootrnsthops
Support for autistic young
people and their families reduced
substantially during the pandemic,
or stopped, leaving many f￿ling
even more vulnerable and isolated
than ever before.
Inforniation and support
Being connected to others is vital. and
aLrtistic young people and t￿1r families
hav8 told us they want uplifting but realistic
infomalion tailored to them.
This year we ¢realed free
o su fa . including easy read
guides and visual stories about receiving
a coronavirus vaccine. We also published
infomiation to support families as IoGkdown
restrictions were lifted.
During Children's Mental Health Week in
February 2021, we published new resea
investigating families. experiences during
the pandemic. Our lindings were based on
survey of over 2.000 autistic children and
yourg people and their parents.
(Ater the past year. our website had almost
one million page views and over 3,500
peop￿ viewed our coronaviNs reSoUr￿s.
Parents reported feeling 'oveThvhelmed' and
'alone' as support services were wsthdrawn.
The research also highlighted the impact of
the pandemic on autist￿ children and young
people's mental health. Nearly tsvo-thirds
(630h) said that their mental health was worse
than before the outbreak of the pandemic.
After visiting our website, 83% of parents
and carers felt they had better knowledge
and skills to support their autistic chikd
or young person and 84% felt more
confident supporting their autistic child
or young person.
Three-quarters of resp)ndents175%} said
they felt more anxious since the pandem
and over haff described feeling stressed
{560h) and overwhelmed (54%) during the
pandemic.
We joined a coalition of charities supportiNJ
the National Autistic Society's Left Stranded
campaign, which called for a government
action plan to help autistic children and
young people and thar families recover fr￿n
the pandemic.
rhe Coron.
vaccine e,.
Coronavir
Pkw JI SIO
li,iPgers 4¥11
Èitrip Corer
3v.r

Learner and family support
Our Learner and Family Support team helps
the parents and carers of autistic children
and young p￿pIe attending our educatK
settings throughout their joumey with us.
delivery of fty)d parcels to Ikqising with local
aLrthoriti8s and facilitating ac£ess to urgent
health care.
This year the team provided tailored support
to more than 50 parents arKI ¢arers in our
educatKJn settings. They also hosted online
transttion events f(￿ many parents and carers
arKI bespoke training sessions fc￿ staff
across our settirKJs.
At the start of the pandemic, expanded
our Servi￿ to offer direct support to families
of autistic pupils and learners. The swi
provided a vital source of support during
the coronavirus pandemic. ranging from the

xo

31
2.-Y*4
And it's important to know that
ou're not out there alone.
Together wtith
autostllc young
peo
Be we tacklle
heallth llnequalDtDes.
in those sessions of
tal hèalth problom$

Health and
wellbeing
We work to make sure that autistic
children and young people have
timely access to support and care
that will enable g￿d physical and
mental health and wellbeing.
Post-diagnosis resources
Young people from our Ambitious y￿th
Network embark&J on a project to tackle the
lack of peer-led advice and support available
for young people going through the autism
diagnosis process.
This year. we ran online webinars for
professionals who w(yk with autistic yourKJ
people to increase their urmjerstanding of
aLrtism. mental health arKI wellbeing.
In Augusl 2021, we published a series
abcxrt what tt le￿ like to be diagnosed - some
as Children. some as teenagers and others as
young aduns.
These webinars were co-produced aNI
Co-delivered with youro people from our
Ambitious Youth Network. During 202(F21,
we engaged with 1.811 health and social
care professionals, of whom 93% reFx)rted
increased knowledge to support autbstic
young people.
Currenty. 70% of under-18s are waiting
k)nger than the NHS 13-week target for a
medical diagnosis for autism" the average
waiting time is 352 days.
The National Instrf(ute for Health and Care
Excellence (Nice) guidelines on autism
recommend a follow-up appointment within
six weeks of a diagnosis. a personalised
aLrtism plan and a key wother to support the
individual. However. research undertaken by
AmbitK)us aLK)Ut Autism revealed that this
Is rK)t often the case: many autistic people
are given onty very basic support, such as a
leaflet or links to fLxther online reading.
We also worked with NHS England to
support decisions about autism trainirvJ
programm&s for inpatient facilities. Tv
autistic young people from the Ambttious
Youth Network, who had experien
of inpatient facilities, were invdved in
decision-making for the Health Educati
England tendering process in relation to
an autism train-the-trairEr programrne
for inpatient services.
The Ambitious Youth Network's free
resources gwe other autistic young people
much-needed access to relatable advice
from their peers.

￿

35
ActDV@ Gutuz@trdsthllP
utro th@ COtfflttnoJtnDty
Autistic child￿n aThJ young people are at the
heart of all our work and this year, thrO￿h our
co-production with them, we influenced policy
and practice nationally.
specifically for parents and carers of
children with special ed￿ational needs and
disabilities for their online safety hub.
We ¢￿tir¥￿ed to work with young people lo
co<reate content for our website, inclLKJing
infomation aboLrt autism diagnosis for girls,
eating disorders and coping with exam
cancellations.
Nine autistic young people met Justin T(Mnlins
MP. minister for disabled people at the time.
to discuss the Department for Work arKI
Pensions. health and disability green paper
and national strategy for disabled people.
He was very engaged and spent 90 minules
with the young people to hear their views.
Feedback from 12 yOLrth patrons also infomied
the new child￿n￿ commissioner for England's
strategy development.
Our growing Amb1￿US Youth Network
provides a safe space for autistic young
F*ople aged 16 to 25 to be themsdves arKI
connect with other.
We also worked with autistic young people
and parents arKI carers on a project with the
National Society for the Prevention of Ctuelty
to Children INSPCC) and 02. We prod￿ed
w online safe
ti
. advice and activities
Netw rk membe
atth
their words of what it means to be autisti
understand
so
more
really
difference
outlook
dreams
for the
future,
determination
things
want to
webinars
Autism,
rewarding.
someone
me
on
Ambitious
Autism,
can
really
on
impact -
several
Ambitious
incredibly
network
making
friends
meeting
inspiring
individuals
on
things.
so
significant,
joining
Ambitious
events
amazing.
Before
Network,
as
understand
others
me
diagnosis.
autism
helped
Connecting
support
so
some
shaped
me
confidence
identity for
myself.
an
Saffron
Ambitious
member
Network.

36
People
autism
interesting
people
should
celebrated.
Saffron. Ambitious aboLrt Autism
Youlh Council membèr
Having
Having
am
people;
fairer
people
employment
education
system.
autism
autism
jealous
tragedy.
neurotypical
Josefina. Ambitious about ALrt"Ism
Youth Council Member
People
should
understand
autism.
should
assume
everything
autistic
people.
Emity, Ambitious attht Aulism
YoLrth Council member
aut,ism
awareness

Thlls
ear we appointed autustllc
llronman troathllete
am Holness
as our new ambassador.
Doing sport has helped to reduce my
anxiety, and improve my communication
skills and health. In addition, being autistic
has helped me to focus on my career as
a triathlete. I like structure and I never
give up. I'm proud to support Ambitious
about Autism, which champions other
autistic young people like me to reach
their ambitions, whatever they might be.yy

39
Our partners
and supporters
Ambitious about ALrtism stands with
autistic children and young people
so they can be themselves and
realise their ambitions. We create
opportunities. run services and
campaign for change.
This was vital as ttE coronavirus pandemic
continued to create upheaval and instability.
leading to the postponement or cancellatbon
of fundraising events. which are our largest
source of unrestricted income.
We offw our heartfett thanks to everyone
who donated unrestricted fvrKls to us this
year. from our regular individual supporters
to our corporate partners and all of you who
creativety and enthusiastically raised money
for our Be Ambitious fundraising campaign.
The life-changing worf< we cary out Nnning
vital seNices and influencing national policy
and practice simply wouldn't be possible
without generous giving from our supporters.
These donations support our
organisational structures. including
governance and leadership. people and
culture, finance, fundraising. marketing arK
comrnunicalions. research and evaluation,
digital and IT and propty. These teams
provide the core foundation that enables
us to support autistic children and young
people. providing them with outstanding
education seNices and a range of
exciting projects that champion th￿r
voices and improve their lives.
We are extremely fortunate to have the
support of a committed group of supporters,
many of whom have funded our mission
to help autistic children and yourKJ people
over a long perM)d. In a year in which our
SUPF(Xters received many other calls for
assistance. we are honoured and grateful to
have re￿iVed unrestricted support to help
fund our CO￿ work.
We have recognised these supportws in this
rep)rt. We wish to pay special thanks to four
longstsnding partners: Pears Foundation.
Rapha, TalkTalk, Marsh McLennan and
Graham and Susan Tobbell.
Maintaining these services requires continual
investment. And we can do this only by
having voluntarily donated income that we
are free lo spend where we know that it's
most needed. We are fortunate and very
grateful to have received generous donat￿)nS
this year. fr(Kn a host of supporters.
This commitment to our core mlssion
supwrts the lifeblood of our organisation.
As the pandemic continued, the unrestricted
income help￿1 stand with autistic children
and young people and gave us much-needed
financ￿￿ stabilty in uncertain times.
Thank you.

Enhancing our
TreeHouse School
facilities
With the Coronavin￿ pandemic continuing to
impact our daily lives, we are grateful lo our
key partners f¢y their sustaned commitment
and generosty. helping us to continue beirKJ
there for autistic children and yO￿g people
throughout the year.
Wrthout the help of OLK funding partners, we
would not have been able to transfom our
facilities. helping to enhance the multisens
leaming experience. and the mental and
physical wellbeing of pupils.
We are delighted lo have raised over
£420.000 duriro the lifetime of the project.
We are grateful to our lead supporter f
this project, the Constable Educational
Trust. as well as all the major donors, trusts.
found*￿nS and corporate partners who
have contributed to the refurt)ishments.
helping to make the new facilities a reality
and enhancing the environment for autistic
children and young people to thrive and
realbse thebr potential.
An uplifting example of pulling together to
make positive changes for autistic chiklren
and young people is the refurbishment of
our facilities at TreeHouse School. We set
OLrt to revamp our primary and secondary
playgrounds, the fomier having been updated
over 15 years ago. and in August were
delighted to have completed the works on
our life skills kitchen. Facilities like this play
a critical role in an autistic young person's
journey to adulthood. helping them to build
independence, prepare and cook their ovm
meals, and develop their confidence.

LTrthi&J

Marsh McLennan
This year Ambttious about Aulism was SeleCt￿j as
the new UK charity partner of Marsh McLennan,
the world's leading professional services firm in the
areas of risk, strategy and people.
££
UK-based colleagues at Marsh McLennan
businesses Marsh. Mercer. Guy Carpenter
and Oliver Wyman voted ovethelmingly to
choose Ambf(ious about Autism as the fimi's UK
strategic charity partner for 2021-23. Through the
partnership. Marsh M¢Lennan has ¢(￿nmitt￿ to
b￿Ome a more aLrtism-confident employer and
industry leader in promoting arKI championitvJ
neurodiversity in the workplace.
This partnership
gives us the
enormous
opportunity to
transform the lives
of autistic young
people across the
UK by opening new
Ca￿er paths.
Since the partnership began in February 2021,
Marsh McLennan has galvanised its UK workforce
of 12,700 people to raise £110.Cm during the first
six months of the partnership through colleague
fvndratsing. whrch has di￿tlY supForted
Ambitious about Autism's Employ Autism
programme.
By educating
colleagues, creating
career paths
and engaging
in fundraising
and volunteering
activities, our aim is
to drive long-lasting
social change. 91
More than 900 Marsh McLennan colleagues also
volunteered 5,856 hours of their time. attending
sessions such as autism awareness 'lunch and
leams. to understand more ab(yJt diversty arm
inclusivity in the workplace.
Marsh McLennan is also providing pro bono
support to Ambitious atM)Ut Autism on three
projects: business continuity, disaster recovery
and project management refinement.
More than 100 Marsh McLennan colleagues with
Ilved experience of aLrtism have playwj an active
role in the partnership and hdped guide activities
and desired outcomes.
Chris Lay, Chief Executive of the UK
and Ireland region of Marsh
Marsh McLennan is now working hard to devetop
and improve its own workplace environment.
inclusive policies and recruitment practices. arKJ
will be hosting five autistic interns in 2021-22.
•• MarshMcLennan

Our strategic
partners
Pears Foundation
Joseph Levy Foundation
We are indebted to the Pears Foundation for
its unwavering dedication, partnership and
generosity towards our work. The foundation
is a firm advocate of giving core funding -
unrestricted grants or funding for essential
costs such as staff posts- and we are
delighted to be the recipients of thi5 special
funding. As a seed funder for our Employ
Autism programme. the foundation also
gives us stability, through its renewed,
multi-year commitment, and safeguards
future work experience opportunities for
autistic young people.
Last year we continued developing our
Ambitious Approach thanks to the support
and encouragement of the Joseph Levy
Foundation. At its heart. the Ambitious
Approach focuses on the wellbeing, dignty
and happiness of the individual and this
has never been mre important as we
suppcwt pupils and leamers in the face of
the pandemic. We are thrilled to have been
able to share the Ambitious Approach with
othws over the past year and look fO￿ard
to rolling this OLrt to other schools and
colleges in the fuiure.
Peofs
Mariamarina Foundation
The Clothworl(ers' Foundation
A committed funder of Ambitious College for
the last five years, Mariamarina Foundation
has been instrumental in the expansion of
the college and was its lead funder frorn
2019 to 2021. Mariamarina Foundation also
made a generous donation in resFrf)nse to
the coronavirus pandemic. helping us to
support families of autistic children during
this especialty challenging period.
As a long-standing friend of Ambitious
about Autism. the Clothworkers. Foundation
has been involved in developing many
strategic projects wtth us since 2CK)6 arKI
transforming the lives of hundreds of auti*ic
children and young people. A lead fiJnder
in the construction of TreeHouse Schts)l. tt
supported the school once again in 2021.
helping fund our new lrfe skills kitchen and
wider school renovations.
mariamarina
FOUNDATION
THE CLOTHWORKERS.
FOUNDATION

Marsh McLennan
Santander Universities UK
Marsh McLennan became our thr*y&gr
strategic partner in Febtuary 2021 V￿th a goal
to create brighter fvtures by empowering
talent and unlocking opportunities. The
partnership aims to raise £750.00) to support
the vital growth arKI expansion of Employ
Autism. Marsh McLennan continues to raise
awareness aboLrt autism and inclusiwty in
the workplace through autism awareness
sessions and training.
SantarKler un[ve￿tieS UK has cts)rdinated
a £1m investrnent in our gr￿￿1breaking
employabilty initiatNe, the Empby Autism
Higlw EdLK*ion Ne￿¢￿￿. Just under half of
t￿e funds SWFnt Ambitious about Autism s
wc*l(, incl￿j1ng the provision of training, arKI
the rest is LEed directly by universities to
provKle pard {salaried) intemships for autistic
stLvJents, Jor￿side wider support.
A¥ Sontander
Colleagues have also volunteered their time
and expertise to support many aspects of
Ambitious about Autism's work, including pro
bono support for strategic projects. Marsh
M¢Lennan is also working hard to bec(Kne
an autism-confident employer through
developing its own I￿luSive practices.
policies and workplace environment with
support from Ambitious about Autism
nsuhanw team. Together, we can create
brighter futures, and Marsh McLennan is
certainly s￿Wing us tt's done.
TalkTalk
Since 2CKE. TalkTalk has raised £5m
for Ambitious about Autism. As well as
sponsoring the annual Night of Ambition gala
event. T￿kTalk supports us with campaign
development and broadband connectivty.
In October 2020, colleagues at TalkTalk and
a team of employees from Gamma took to
the streets of Manchester and London f
our inaugural fundraising challenge, lok Your
Way. raising nearly £8.000.
•• MarshMcLennan
TalkTalk
Rapha
Thanks to the support of its chief executive
and founder, Simon Mottram. Rapha Racing
Ltd has raised more than £1.4m since its first
cycling challenge in aid of Amlytrous about
Autism in 2014. Through fantsstic innovation
and support, Rapha continues to stand with
autistic chIld￿n youro people through its
fundraising efforts.
Graham and Susan Tobbell
We are delighted to have had Graham and
Susan Tobbell as partner5 of Ambitious aboLrt
Autism, since their first gift in 2016. More
recently. Graham and Susan have made
a signrficant, unrestricted donatTron to our
work" gifts of this kind are critical to helping
us adapt our worK such as we have done
throughoLrt the pandemic, so that we can
continue to be there for autistic chi5dren and
young people.

Huge thanks
to our proud partners
and supporters
Ambitious partners
The Glothworkers. Foundation
Joseph Levy Foundation
Mariamarina Foundation
Marsh McLennan
Pears Foundation
Rapha Racing Ltd
Santander Universities UK
TalkTalk Group plc
Graham and Susan Tobbell
Elizabeth Stanton
Foyle Foundation
Gavin Sumner
H&ithrow Communty Trust
Homsey Parwhial Charities
Hospital Saturday Fund
Jean Levenant
Jefferies
Joanna Healey
John and Clare Coombe-Tennant
J￿athan Andrews
Ketchum
Koral Anders(
Laurie Edmans CBE
Lesley Longstone
Uoyds of London
Lucy Nutt
MISIX
Magnus Schoeman
Marf( NaLJghton
Matyn Craddock
Masonic Charitable Foundation
Matt Davis and Elrza Mischon
Matt HLrtnell
Michael Clark
Mind
National Lottery Communty Fund
Neil Goulden
Nick Hornby
Paul Disley-findell
Ambitious supporters
Aberdeen Asset Management
Ali Maccallum
Apply Recruitment
Atos
BBC Children in Need
Beatrice Laing Trusl
Carfyle Group
Chapman Charitable Trust
Charity Extra
Charlotte Grobien OBE. Give It Away
Charlotte Wamer and Bruno Paulson
Chris Pond Collaboration Company
Constable Education Trust
Crédit Agricole CIB
David Astor
Department for Education
Department of Health and SociJ Care

Peter Cruddas Foundation
PF Charitable Trust
Phil Haslam
Philip Noblet
Philippa Stobbs
PIMCO Foundation
Red Brick Road
Ruth Kennedy
Sarah Yamani and Prof Dr Mdik R Dahlan
Simon Clements
Simon Hillson
Simon and Lucy Mottram
Smurfit Kappa FourKlation
Snowbilty
Sue Adkins
TalkTalk
Tanrth Dodge
The Annette Duvollet Trust
Th8 Edward Gostling Foundation
The Harebell Centenary Fund
The Health Foundation {PPP)
The Lawson Trust
The Rayne Foundation
The St James's Place Chaiitabfe Foundation
The Story of Christmas
The Thompson Family Charitable Trust
The&Partnership
rim Barber
Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE
Tokio Marine
Tristia Harrison
Dr Virginia Bovell OBE
National Lottery Community FurKI
The National Lottery Community Fund's
support enabled us to develop vital online
content and resources for parents and
carers, as well as online engagement and
participation opportunities for autistic
young people.
COMMUNITY
FUND

49
Our approach
to fundraising
Fundraising practices
As a charity set UP lo prolect and champion
vulnerable people. we consider it important
that thw6e values are echoed in our
fundraising. Through our close adherence
to fundraising regulations, scrutiny by the
executive leadership team arKI transparency
with donors, vrfe ensure that we do not
unreasonably intrude on a person's privacy:
are not unr&￿)nabIY persistent: and do not
place undue pressure on any person to give
money or other property.
Meeting the highest fundraising standards is
essential to retaining the trust and support
of our much-valued donors and partners.
We pay the voluntary levy to regtster with
the Fundraising Regulat￿. and we take care
to ensure that our practices comply with
the Code of Fundraising Practice and the
Fundraising Promise. We are also a memb
of the Chartered InstitLrte of Fundraising.
We maintain up-to-date policies for our
fundraising c¢Jde of conduct. compliments
and complwnts: and whistleblowing and
ensure that all team members understand
and comply with these pOI￿leS.
Our fundraising work
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 benefited fr(xn the generosity
ol communty members and individuals
participating in online and in-person events
and challenges.
Our Board of Trustees reviews these policies.
alongside our compliance with fundrasing
regulations. annually.
Our privacy policy continues to comply with
data protection legislation and regulation and
is accessible to all on our websites. We also
ensure that we are compliant with the UK
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR}.
the EU GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018
and Privacy and Electronic Communications
Regulations (PECRI.
We use third parties to support our
fundraising when speGific digital platfomis
are required for fundraising events. for
example JustGiving and Charity Extra.
We do not engage through face-to-face or
telephone direct marketing. Our regular giving
programme is conducted primarily with our
close communty. We do not conduct street
or public site collections. nor do we have any
mass participati￿ activities in place,
In the year under review. the prior year, and
up until the dale of signing, there have been
no instances of non-compliance with the
requirements of the Code of Fundwsing
Practice or formal complaints.

Ou]r p@opll@
The work we do to champion aulistic chlkfj￿n
and young people would not be possible
withoLrt our dedicated and resilient staff. INe
are committed to b￿ng a diverse, inclusive
arKJ supportive organisation that our staff are
prO￿j to work for.
The ycgramme has been created in
collaboration with stsff from across Ambitious
about Autism and has been aCc￿d[ted by
the Institute of Leadership and ManageffEnt
(InstLM). This means that all participants
who SLrKEssfully ccffiplete programme will
become A8sociale Members of the Institute
of Leadership and Management.
This year the coronaviws pandemic
continued to impact our work and supporting
our staff through these changes was a key
priority. We also placed a locus on nurturing
and developing talent within our organisalion.
We supported some staff to work from home.
in line with govemment guidance, vthich
allowed us to operate better social distancrng
for t￿se working in our schools atKI college
educating autistic children arKI young people.
Our People Team led an inspiring programme
of events and activities for staff, covering
themes such as menta. emolional. social,
physical and financial weblbeing. This
included a popular cross-organisational step
challenge. called Big Team Challenge, vthich
encouraged teams of staff to work together
to stay active and mottvated.
e are enormouslly
gratefull for the
dedDcation, hogh
standards and care
of everyone who
works at
mbDtDous
about Autism.
We also launched a new 'my benefrts. portal
offering a range of advice to staff on ￿1
aspects of financial wellbeing, as well as
infomation on benefits available to them
as Ambitious aboLrt Autism employees.
As part of our commitment to nurturirg and
develop talent. we launched our new leaming
and development programme, Ambitious
Leaders, created to support people leaders
across our organisation.

Due in part to the impact of the pandemic.
we continue to develop our approaches to
selection and interviewing. and we rolknj
out training to recruiting managers. Vl8
were shortlisted for the Petsonnel Today
Awards 2020 in the Innovation in Recruitment
category and for the 2021 Recruitment
Industry Disabilty Initiative {RIDD Awards
in the Disabilty Specialist category.
tJJring the coronavirus pandemic. we
communicated with our staff regulariy to
relay critical infomiation and to offer support.
We Fxovided errenJency UFrtaates through
line managers. emails and team meetings
as approwiate.
In our 2021 annual suniey, 91.6% of staff
said they vme proud to be part ol Ambitious
about Autism and 92.1 Oh said they enjoyed
their job. Vthen asked about understanding
devekjpments in the organisation, 86.4¥0 of
staff said they felt informed. We are proud
that. auoss the group, 96.2% of staff said
that they understc4)d our vision. mtssion
and values.
Engagement with staff, beneficiaries
and stakeholders
Our stsff are fundamental to the success
of Ambitious aboLrt ALrtism aThJ we are
committed to mthng our organisation
a great place to work.
We have a staff council. wh￿h meets
gularty to share the vievts of staff on
decisions regardirKJ people. policies and
praclices. The council also contributes to the
continuing improvement of the organisation
and our working environment. Our employees
are consulted on issues through staff
rneetings arKI kept informed on specrfic
matters di￿tlY by managers. We have
adopted a procedure of upward feedback for
senior managers and the trustees.
From ensuring that we remain a resFthsibbe
employer. to considering pay and beneffts.
and our health. safety and w(xkplace
environment, our executive leadership team
considers the impact of its decisions on
employees, wherever possible.
We regularly engage and communicate
with staff, using a range of methods.
including whole staff and team
fac&to-face meetings and briefi￿Js.
newsletters. senior management team
cascades and management meetings.
We've also established fair employment
prnctices in the recruitment. selection.
retention and training of all staff.
We celebrate and recognise our successes
as a whole staff team each year, and in 2021
we launched our first virtual Staff Awards
ceremony. to include those working remotely.
We encourage the involvement of staff across
the organisation through a range of activities.
including participating in fundraising events
and sUpportir￿ activtties and events for our
pupils and leamers.
All staff joining Ambitious abwt Autism and
the Ambitious al)OLrt Autism Schools Trust
have a comprehensive induction covering
our values. plans and policies. including
for safeguarding, whistleblowing and data
protection. We engage wrth and update staff
on (yJr performance during the year.

54
Ollsajllllllty
CotTh]f ndotrnt
As a charity working to support people
with disabilities, we are fully committed
to being welcoming and supportive to all
staff with disabilities or any other protected
characteristic.
This stsrts at lrKJ￿t1on and
managed thrtsjgh supervisions and ongoing
p￿f0mlanCe reviews. We have access to
advice from occupational health support.
an onsite physiotherapist and an employee
assistance programme to enable us to
support any member of staff, including those
who become disabled during employment.
We are proud to be mernbers of Purple.
a disabled user-led organisation worf(ing
to improve disabilty inclusion. to have its
support and to have maintained our Level 3
Disability Confident Leader status following
reaccreditation this year.
As part of this scheme, we guarantee
to interview candidates with a disabilty
whose application meets the minimum
criteria for the role as detailed in the person
specification. Our recruiting managers arKI
team are trained to ensure that applicants
with disabilities are cOn￿dered fully and fairby.
and that they are supported with relevant
adjustments made during the recruitment
process and in the W0￿p1ace.
•Thyfi*AUp
Vve make sure that all staff. including
those with disabilities, can benefit from t
appropriate training, career development and
promotion opportunities.
CJ disability
OEI confident
LEADER

65
Equality, diversity
and inclusion
Equalty. diversty and inclusion IEDD affect
everybody. We se￿e and work with people
from all backgrounds and we are motivated
and energised by the opportunty to improve
outcomes for everybody in our charity,
education sectors and wider soaety.
Inclusive workplace
We want to create an environment that
celebrates diver&ty: to understand more
abcyjt the profile. needs and views of our
people: arKI to ensure Ihat leadership and
management is driven by the principles
of inclusion.
In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd
and the Black Lives Matter movement
caused us all to confront the injustice5 that
continue to exist in our ￿lety. Like rnany
organisations. we realised how much we still
had to do oursdves.
HIgh￿Uality and inclusive education
and services
We will ensure the curriculum and content
wtthin our services refl￿t the diverse
histories. interests and experiences of the
communities we seNe.
We are committed to achieving meaningful
and lasting change arourKI EDI through the
development of a comprehensive strategy,
informed by p80pleb views and experie￿.
embedded throughout our organisation
and championed by our board, leadership
teams and EDI committee. which has
representatives from across the organisation.
Influencing national work
On a national scale, we will continue to stsnd
with autistic children and young people
from diverse comrnunities. researching and
highlighting their views and experiences and
investigating the barTiers they face.
This year we appointed EW Group to
cary out an independent audit of our
organisation's EDI work, which included
focus groups with staff. The aLKIrt and
feedback we ￿CeIVed helped us to develop
four priorities and overarching goals:
The findings from the audit were used to
develop our EDI strategy and action plan.
published in October 2021.
We also carried our further intemal activity
this year to drive forward our EDI agenda:
Courageous governance
and leadership
• Our chief executive becanie overall EDI
champion for Ambitious about Autism.
A key reflection from our audit was the need
for courageous governance anLJ leadership
that demonstrably and actively leads on EDI.

56
• We set up a new equalty, diversty and
inclusion hub on our intemal staff network
to share infomiation and support with
staff groups.
• We recruited new members to ￿r staff EDI
committee to continue to devdop the ￿1&
the group plays in our organisation.
• We apFM)inted a new EDI business
partner in the people team to develop
our EDI work.
trIs(4al
visual story exi
and racism
• We rolled oul training for trustees.
govemors, the senior [nanagern￿t tearn.
staff and managers C￿ unconscious bias
and inclusion.
Inclusion resources
Following the Black Lives Matter protests.
we launched a new inclusion section of our
external website, including
les
nd raci
m. We also created accessible easy
read guides and visual stories on race and
racism for aulistic children and young p￿pIe
and their families to understand the issues.

58

59
Our strategy at a glance
The next three years will be critical in our
work with aulistic children, young peop
and their families to overcome the enonnous
challenges they face as a result of the lack of
unde￿andIng of their needs.
Over the next three years. we will continue to
build on our core expertise in education and
employability while engaging more than ever
befo￿ in the other areas that are essential
for autist￿ children and young people to
lead fulfilling lives. such as having supportive
families and relationships, 9x)d heJth and
wellbeiro and being active citizens in their
communities.
We will lake a person-centred approach.
focused on individuals, quality of lrfe. which
we call the Ambitious Approach.
Excellent
education
Employment
and ente￿rise
Hea￿h and
wellbeing
young people
Active
citizenship in
the community
FarThly a￿1
InflUe￿ing policy
aNI Ixactice natior￿llY

60
Excellent
education
Excellent education
Our overarching aim is that all autistic
children and young p80ple have an excellent
and inclusive education that enables them to
learn, thrive and achieve. Ultimately, this will
support them to have a good qualty of lrfe.
including the ￿aTrIStiC prospect ot living artd
working as part of their communities.
Health and
wellbeing
Health and wellbeing
Employment
entery)rise
Good physical and mental health and
wellbeing are essentk?I components of an
autistic child or young person's abilty to
thrive. Right from the start. timely diagnosis
followed by post-diagnostic support lays
the foundations for understanding autism
and how to access the rMJht healthcare and
suptM)rt. Alongside thts. autistic people need
services that support good mental health
by reducing isolation and early inteNention
through signposting to specialist support.
Employment and enterprise
Our guiding principle is that we V4pnt every
autistic young person to have good careers
educalion al school and in further and higher
education. including experience of W￿k. This
will equip them to progress to employment
and instil transferable life skills.

61
Family and
relationships
Influencing
and practice
nationally
Family and relationships
Influencing policy and practice
nationally
During the pandemic. the supwt that autistic
young people and their families received
reduced substantially or stopped. leaving
many fe81ing even more vulnerable and
isolated than ever before. Being connected
to other3 is vital, and autist￿ young people
and their families have told us that they want
peer networks as well as uplifting but realistic
information tailored to them.
We are passionate about sLqnding with
autistic children and young people. To
achieve this. we'll work with autistic youro
people and their families to influence policy
and practice nationalty. to improve their
access to excellent education. quality health
support and fulfilling careers.
Strong foundations
Active citizenship in the community
We will wntinue to develop our strong
foundations (including governance
and leadership, people and culture,
fundraising and finances, marketing and
¢¢xnmuDications. research and evaluation.
and digital ar￿ inforrnation technology} to
support delivery of the strategy.
Inclusion is a comwstone of our Ambilious
Approach and is just as imwrtant in
the community as it is in education or
employment. Our Ambitious Youlh Networf
will be further developed and exparKled
nationally to emF)ower young people to
connect with one another and to influence
societal change.
foundations
citizenship in
the community

62
Ti'me for
Ambition
exciting
Ambitious
Autism as we continue to
forward progress for all
autistic
children and young people. It's an
immense privilege to stand with the
charity's incredible team as we deliver
these ambitious goals.9Y
Lesley Longstone
Vice Chair of Ambitious about Autism and the
Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust

64
Income
Expenditure
£1.9 tfflollllion
£21.6 moUOllQ)n
Income:
How our money was spent:
r] £20.2m
E] £19.4m
Charitable activities: education services
Charitable activities: education services
£0.1m
£l￿rn
Charitable activities: extemal affairs
charitab￿ activities: extemal affairs
3m
Gifts and donated service
£0.7m
Raising furKIs
£0.2m
Trading income
E] £0.1m
Investments and other income

65
Financial performance
Investsnent policy
Our overall excellent financi￿ perfomiance,
with incoffe increased to £22.9m from
£20.Om in 2020, 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 supporteTS. The coronavirus
pandemic continued to fftate some
financial uncertainty in the year. to which we
responded with careful cost management.
This measure allowed us to replenish our
designated coronavirus recovery fund
to £0.7m, vthich will help us manage the
future financial uncertainties in relati￿ to
the continuing impact of the pandemic. We
also extended the repayment date of our
ban from Rathbones to May 2026 to boost
liquidity in these uncertain times. Our total
expenditure for the year £21.6m. an
increase of £2.4m {2020: £19.2m).
The chwity's investment p)licy was
approved by the Board of Tnjstees in July
2021. It aims to prodLre the best financial
return at an acc8Ptable ￿Ve1 of risk. The risk
profile is agreed with the investment manager
and is regarded as medium. The policy is
reviewed at least once a year. The trustees
have set a tsrget return of infiation (CPI) +3%.
over the long tem. which was achieved in
the year.
Cfver the W thr8e years. the investments
have increased from £1.71 Ok to £1.868k
which is a gan of9%.
Investment risk management
investment portfolio is diversrfied aCr￿3s
a range of instruments to reduc8 the risk of
overexposure to one type of asset. We hold
the following instruments: fixed interest,
direct UK and overseas equities, cash and
propety and managed funds. Note 12
provides further analysis of these assets
(see p101).
In line with this posrtive financial
perfomiance, our free reseNes for the year
InC￿aSed to £2.4m12020: £1.9m). which is
within our reserves range of £l.7[r￿£2.srn.
During the year. the chaiity invested £0.1 m
in freehold and leasehold improvements,
£0.4m on fumiture and equipment. £0.1m on
vehicles and £0.1 m on computer equipment
as we equipped our staff. pupils and leamers
to work and leam from home.
The investments are managed by investment
managers appointed by the chwity. currentty
Rathbone Brothers Plc, which is a reputable
FfsE 250 company with net income of
£26.7rn in 2020. The risk profile is agreed
with the investrnent manager and is regarded
as medium risk.
Ambitious aboLrt Autism is using an interest
rate swap to manage its exposure to interest
rate movements with the interest rate fixed
at 4% for the Natwest Loan of £1.1 m. The
value of the interest rate swap entered into in
February 2011 relates to a loss of £136k.
Risk management practices
Members of the investment committee
meet the investment manager twice a year
to review performance and discuss market
risks. The investment Committ￿ reports to
the trnstees on the risk rxofile. selection of
investment managers arKI ￿tUrnS achieved.
ChJr investment portfolio performed in line
with the target during tlE year and was
valued at E1.9m as at 31 August 2021. laking
into account an unrealised gan of £0.2m.

66
Reserves pollcy and going concern
• Coronavirus fvnd - a fund established in
2020 to provide a contingency against
future risks as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic. including additional costs or
losses in ira)me. The furmj had a balance
of £0.7m as at 31 August 2021 . This will
continue in the coming year12021-221 as
we continue to operate arKJ manage during
the pandemic. covering the additional
costs of cleaning. PPE. additional venue
hire to facilitste physical distancing, staff
cover those who need to isolate, and
suppcxtirKJ remote leaming and workiro.
Free reseNes exclude restricted funds.
designated funds and any parts of
unrestricted funds not readily available.
such as fixed assets. At Ambitious atojt
Autism. we hold free reserves to mitigate
against risks resulting Irom unexpected
drops in fundraising income, a downtum in
leamer numbers or unexpected short-tenn
increases in expenditure. Our reserves Folicy
is reviewed by the tnjstees annually and was
last reviewed in December 2021.
Based upon an evaluation of income and
expenditure risks and working capital
requirements, the Injstees have agreed
thal free reseNes should be in the range
of £1.7m-£2.5m. As at 31 August 2021.
free resenies were £2.4m. The trustees will
continue to monitor the reserves p￿tIOn
closely throughout the year.
• Transfonnation fund - a fund totslling
£1.2m at 31 August 2021, which was
established in 2020 to support our
new strategy.
The policy of the Ambitious about Autbsm
Schools Trust is lo hold sufficient rese￿eS
to provide a working balance to mitigate
the impact of uneven cash flows" provide
a contingency in respect of unexpected
events. and plan for wential major iterns of
expenditure. including continued expansion.
In addition to the free reseNes, Ambitious
about Autism has a number of designated
funds totalling £6.6m as at 31 August 2021.
Ambttiws about Autism Schools Trust funds
balances as at 31 August 2021 tolalled
£6.8m. This comprisgJ nil unreslricted funds,
£3.1 m of restricted funds and £6.2m of
restricted fixed asset funds, net of a £2.5m
pension deficit. The funds balance at 31
August 2021. excluding the pension deficit.
totalled £9.3m.
• Fixed assets. valued at £4.Om. Depreciation
expendilure will be funded from this fund on
an annual basis. of which £0.7m is plamed
depreciation expenditure for 2021-22.
Buildings maintenance and development
fund, which is based on projected 30-year
life cycle costs and was established for
masor repairs to the Pears National Centre
for Autism Education. As at 31 August
2021, there was £0.7m in this fund.
The £2.5m pension deficit is increasing,
resulting in year-on-year unrealised losses.
which is at risk of increasing further in the
fLrture. In accordance with the arrangements
for a multi-academy trust. the deficit relating
to the Local Government Pension Scheme
(LGPS) is underwritten by the Department
fcy Education. We dso monitor t￿￿ pension
. School devd0pm￿t fund- a designat&l
fund was created in 2013 for broader
school development. The fund had a
balance of £5k as at 31 August 2021.

67
scheme carefully and in 2020 a review of th8
LGPS was undertaken to provide assurance
to trustees that the set-up of the scheme was
appropriate and bang CO￿ectlY administered.
Risks and uncertainties
Risks are managgy in accordance with
the risk policy approved by the Board of
Tntstees, which was reviewed and updated
in March 2021.
After making apwopriate enquiries, the
trustees have a reasonable expectation that
the trust has adequate reSoU￿eS 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 details regarding
the adoption of the going concern basis can
be found in the Slatement of Accounting
Policies. While there have been 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.
The am of the policy is to:
• urKJerstand as fulty as possible the risks
• take appropriate aCtK￿ to manage
risks
minimise the risk of new initiatives
advmty affeGting existing worf(
. accept a higher level of uncertainty.
rf appropriate. when takiry3 advantage
of new opportunities.
In response to the uncertainties from the
coronavirus pa￿deMIC. expenditure budgets
have been managed carefully to ensure
that there was sufficient cash to continue
operating in case of delayed payments from
customers. while the longer-temi impact of
the coronavirus pandemic was assessed.
This continues to be assessed, arKI the
financial and operational impact monitored.
Arnbitious about Autism ha5 a risk register,
which is reviewed ann￿￿lY by the Finance
and Resources Committee and the Board
of TruSt￿S. Risks are scored according to
likelihood. impact and the organisation's
attIt￿￿e to that risk. The changes to risks
are reviewed termly by the Finance and
Resources Committ* and board, alongside
the actions being taken or proposed to
mitigate the risks.
The table on the next page identifTres the
three key strategic risks that have been
identrfied by the Board of Trustees and
expl￿n$ how risks are being managed.

68
Risk
Mitigation
That the corcxpvirus
(ljr coronavirus response team. which
pandemic continues to
ir￿lUdeS the executive ￿aderShiP team.
affect ow operations. has
is carefully managing the impact of the
a negatrve imw on our
coronavinjs pandemic. The team is
financial position and has a
continuing to minimise the negative impact
negative effect on staff. pupil on the charity through forward planning,
and learner wellbeing.
adapting quickly and effectively to ensure
that our pupils and learners continue to
have access to excellent education and
focusing on initiatives to promote staff,
pupil and leamer wellbeing.
Coronavirus
That there are more
applications to our schools
and college than we can
accommodate within the
constraints of our maximum
admission numbws and
physical space, resulting
in pupils and leamers
getting a¢¢ess to the
educational Supp￿ they
require and impacting our
ability to plan.
To manage the risk, we monitor pupil and
leamer numbers so that we can carefully
manage admissK)ns and increase our
admission numbers as required. We maintsin
good relationships with commissionets.
ensuring timely assessment dates to enable
a fast turnaround of consultations. and
supp(xt parents arKI carers through the
admissions process. We are looking at future
OPF¢rtunities and undertaking a feasibilty
stucty into increasirvJ our spa￿.
Learner
and pupil
numbers
That we are unable to
recruit the number arKI
quality of specialist staff.
for both our cuTht
structure aNJ our growth
structure. as specialist staff
are in high demarKI and
are reluctant to change
jobs while the Goronavirus
pandemrc continues to
cause ur￿￿inty.
Vle are building our recruitment pipeline,
diversifying our approach to recrurtment and
building relationships with training sGhools
to attract applicants in hard-to-recruit
professi¢)ns. We have several initiatives in
place to ensu￿ that our terms and conditions
are competitive in a challenging market.
Recruitment

69
Legal structures
and governance
Governance
Ambitious about Autism (the Company) is
a charitable company limited by guarant&.
incorporated on 23 May 1997 per Companies
House (company number 03375255) and
gistered as a charity on 2 July 1997
(charity number 1063184}. The Company
was established under a memorandum of
associati￿. whtch established the otriects
and powers of the charilable company and is
governed under its arttcles of association.
and it has members whose duty is to ensure
that the boarrl is effectivdy dIScha￿j1ng its
responsibilities. Ambitious about Autism is
the sole corporate member of the Trust along
with four irmdividual members.
A fom￿1 governance review was conducted
in 2019 supported by an external
facilitator with a focus on streamlining and
strengthening govemance arrangements
across the gr¢wp. The board and committee
structure and membership, articles of
association. members agreements, scheme
of reservation and de]egation. and temis of
references were all updated and are now
reviewed annually. All changes in relation to
the Twst were approved by the Department
for Education.
Ambitious about Autism is govem&J by
a board ol trustees who also act as the
directors of the Company for the purposes
of company law.
Ambitious about Autbsm Schools Trust
(the Trust) is a multi-academy trust. a
company limited by guarantee and an
exempt charity. It was founded and
incorporated on 18 De￿rnber 2012
(company number 08335297) to support
the development and running of The Rise
School and further fre8 schools.
twstees of Ambitious about Autisrn
and the trustees of Ambitious about Autism
Schools Tnjst a￿ all members of the Joint
Group Board Committee. The ￿SpeCt￿e
Ambitious about Autism and Ambitious
about AutBm Schools Trust trx)ards ￿taIn
responsibilty for all matteTS and delegate
number of appropriate decisions to the
Joint Group Board Committee and its
subcommttt*s. This maximises efficiency
and impact betrween the two boards. Ftx
example. where pint policies exist. they are
The charitable company s memorandum
and articles of association are the primary
governing documenls of the Trust. The Trust
is govemed by a board of trustees who
also act as the directors of the charitab
company for the purposes of company law.

70
reviewed and approv￿1. where appropriate.
by the Joint Group Board Committee. Clear
schemes of reservation and delegation are in
place for both boa￿.
• The Trust Audit Committee meets terTnly
as part of the Finance and Resources
Committee to oversee the annual report
aThJ accounts, the audit. the programme
of internal scrutiny and compliance with
Department for Education legislation for
the Trust.
Both boards of tnjstees follow a regular
cycle of temily meetings and have al least
one awayday with the executive leadership
team each year. as well as holding additional
meetings when required.
All matters related to the educational
performance of TreeHouse Scho)I, The Rise
Schwl and Ambbtious College are examined
by their governing bodies. Safeguarding is
disoEsed army considered at every level of
our ￿Vernance.
The boards are supported by several joint
subcommittees as set ¢Xrt below.
• The Nominations arKJ Remuneration
Committee oversees govemance ￿anDIng
and policy. including trustee recruitment.
support and review. It also reviews a￿1
agrees remuneration and tenns and
conditions of employment for the executive
leadership team and staff across the
Company and the Trust. It meets temily
in advano of board m*tings.
Management of the charity and the Trust is
delegated to the chief executive. who is also
the acwuntirNJ officer for the Tnjst. and the
executive leadership team. The executive
leadership team members attend board and
sutcommittee meetings.
The Ambitious about Autism Youth Council
comprised 14 aLrtistiC yOLmg people aged
1 etr25 as at 31 August 2021. Members of the
Youth Council are encouraged to shape and
influence our work and make presentations
to the Board of Trustees.
. The Finance and Resources Committee
meets tennly in advance of board meetings
and is responsible for the general oversight
armj scrutiny of systems. planning. financial
and ￿ourCe management, and reviewing
intemal controls and risk management f
the charity and the Trusl.
Trustee recruitment, induction
and training
• The Education Committee meets termly
and is responsible for our education
services. It also oversees the goveming
bodies and advisory groups in each service
for both the Charity and the Trust.
The aim of the charity and the Trust is to
build a diverse board that has the optimum
range of skills. eX￿lenCe and perspeclives
to ensure that we have the appropriate level
of support. scrutiny and oversight. People
with lived experience of aLrtism are involved
in the govemance and decision-making of
the charity and the Trust. including on the
Board of Trustees. the goveming bOd￿S and
advisory groups.
• The Investment Committ&, an AmbitM)us
atKlUt Autism committee which reports to
the Finance and Resources Committee,
monitors the performance of the charity's
inveslment portfolio and meets twice
a year.

71
The recruitment and irKluction policy
w0￿S to promote this goal. New trustees
are recruited openly through a variety of
channds. including search, advertising arKJ
through networks. Once recruited. trustees
are supported with an induction programme
and handbook in the first few months. As part
of the induction process. trustees receive
training on issues such as safeguarding.
health and safety and data protection.
The board is committed to investing in its
diversty and appointed four new trustees to
the Ambitious atrM)ut Autism t()ard and two
new trustees to the Ambitious about Autism
Schools Twst toard in December 2021. The
Joint Group Board Committee is undertaking
a skills and diversty audit in earty 2022.
Integrity. The board review￿ the new
principles of integrity included in the Charity
Govemance Code from December 2020 and
confimied that it was adhering to the new
principles. In particular, the annual review of
the safeguarding policies and confimiation of
understarKling of the Keeping Children Safe
in Education reqU1￿ments by trustees as well
as regular reviews of the risk register and
incidents ensures that the board continually
reflects on its responsibiltties and those of
the organisation.
The charity also runs a termty training
programme for trustees. covering topics
such as equality. diversity and inclusion.
exclusions and unconscious bias.
The recruitment. induction and appraisal
of trustees is overseen by the Nominations
and Remuneration Committee. All trustees
give their time voluntarity and r￿1ve no
benefits frorn the charity or the trust. Any
expenses reclaimed are set out in note 6 to
the accounts (see p97).
Engagement with suppliers.
customers and others in a business
relationship
Charity Governance Code
We have a strong commitment to paying all
suppliers within agreed terrns.
The principles and recommended practice
set out in the Charty Govemance Code are
regularly discussed by the trustee&
r executive leadership team prioritises
achievirKJ the best possible outcomes for
our purxls. leamers and stakeholders. Open
engagement with parents, guardians and
our local communities is vital to building
successful and long-tenn relationships.
Areas of locus in 2021>21 we￿.
Equality. diversity and inclusion: The trM)ard
believes a balance of experience. skills.
knowledge and backgrounds is crucial in
thè composition of the members to pmvide
a variety of persFe¢tives in discussions
and enhance decision-making. We believe
that including people with lived experience
of aLrtism in our governance and de¢isbOn-
making and on the Board of Trustees is of
benefit to the charity and the Tntst.
continue to work Close￿ and
collaboratrvety with local authorities to
ensure that outcomes are mutually beneficial,
viith our pupils, learners and stakeholders
Continuing to be our core focus. We work
hard to establish and maintain good
relat￿nShIpS with our wider stakeholdeffs.
ir￿lUding our funders and supporters.

S172 statement
example and build a culture of excellence
through good recruitrnent choices and
practices. and excellent training.
The executive leadership team arKI board
make assessments and decisions in gocrtj
faith, considering the potenti￿ consequence
on stakehokjers. In addition, they consider
the expected outcomes most likely to
promote the success of Ambitious about
Autism. The benefrt of our pupils. reamers
and stakeholders is always paramount.
• Th8 need to act fairly as members of the
chanty and the Trust. We have combined
most of our policies xross the group.
Remuneration policy for key
management personnel
The executive leadership tearn and the iK)ard
consider the following:
The Board of Trustees of Ambitious about
Autism arKI the Trust is ￿ponSIble for
defining the ex6rutive pay policy. This
includes decidirrfJ on the salaries of the chief
executive and the executive leadership team.
The board delegates this responsibility to th8
NOMI￿￿tionS and Remuneration Committee.
The committee reviews executive pay and
cyjr lotal reward strategy for staff.
The consequences of any decision in the
long term. This inGludes a regular review of
our risk register. departsnental operation
plans and overall strategic plan.
. The interests of empbyees. thrwgh
regular feedback from all-staff meetings.
team meetings and individual monthly
supervisions.
The group. which Comprises trustees
and an extern￿ expert. meets each temi.
The committee makes recommeThJations
to the 8oard of TrLtstees for approval. We
have an executive pay policy, which sets
out our approach to pay for our executive
leadership team. how pay is delermined
and reviewed. and the relative impact on
pay a¢r￿8S the organisation.
• The need to foster business relationships
with suppliers. CUStonErs. and other5.
ranging from prompt supplier payments
to regular meetings and communication
wrth local authorities. This includes weekly
updates to Ic¢al authorities with respect to
our pupils and learners.
• The impact of the operations of the charity
and the Trust on Ihe community and
the environment. We have a communty
representative on all our goveming
bodies and Continue to review our fleet
management to achieve further cost
savings in temis of running costs and our
impact on the environrnent.
Our approach to pay is underpinned by
our principle to:
"Pay a fair salary and reward package to
attract and retain skilled and expert senior
leaders for Ambiiious about Autism and
Ambiti￿$ about Autism Schools Trust.
Salaries arKI benefits should be CoM￿￿tive
within the chaiity, education arKI public
sectors proportionate to the complexty of
each role and wonsibility, and in line with
our objectives and afft)rdable."
. The desirabilty of the charity and the
Trust in maintaining a reputation lor high
standards of business conducl. We lead by

73
The 8xecutive pay polw aims to folk)w a
Streamlined Eneryy and Carbon
Reporting (SECR)
this prinaple.
• Take acco￿1 of pay in similar cMYJanisatior
in tre UK ctwty arKJ wblic mathets.
but do not compde with salaries in the
private sector.
Energy and carbon consumption
SECFI IS the new legislative reFM)rting
reqU1￿ment from 1 April 2019. It mandates
that dl companies that meet the thresholds
must report on their operalicfial energy
consumption and assock2ted emisswjns.
The hoh-level breakdown is as follovrfs:
• Monitor salary trends in the chatity sect
through surveys FJtxJuced by Fxowders
as x￿rtHR. C￿ner arKJ ACEVO. wdl
as EducatK)n and Skills Funding
demy sch(yJs financial b￿niarki1wJ
kwh
Mileage
8Xtemal benchmthrKJ exercises.
1C
504,439
nla
97
rted to the Nominations arKfj
Remuneration Committee on an ann
basis. Appty p￿rma￿r￿1at￿ pay
elements wh* r￿uir&￿ by the rele4Wrt
market sectcf.
nla
103
16.488 17,974
18,319 19.8SS
14
. MiThor the national standards for
professional groups. such as headtethrs.
1.046262 17.974
• Take accounl of the Academy Trust
HarNJbook.
119-20
1.071.368 19.855
241
• Take account of the difference between
executive leadership team pay and the
lowest-paid roles, and median and average
pay across the organisation.
Intensity metric
l¥n Int￿sity gives us an #idicator of
frjU￿ of the Nmber of Servi￿ users Iwpils
a￿1 leamer5). with 291 user5 emitting on
a4erag8 0.72kgC02e each. This is mwured
annually aThJ compared with FKevicxJs yews to
show Fxwress in reducirvJ our cathn intensty.
The 201 ￿20 fKJLW8S have ￿stated due to
a cal&Jlation emr.
The Coronavirus Job Retention
Scheme (CJRS)
We continued to use the CJRS scheme in
2020-21, based on the needs of the charity
to meet our resourcing requirements and in
line with government guidance.
11&20
During the year, we furloug￿ a few
Ambitious about Autism staff M￿tsers. in
areas we lost significant income. claimirKJ a
total of £31 k (2020: £118k) through the QIRS,
in line with govemment guidance. until May.
291
274
241

Ambitious ab(xrt Autism inilialives
Public benefit
ccmmitt&d to malang ¢8thn-￿dwrN3
changes arKI have been reviewiThJ ￿r caftx)n
footpint to er￿Ure we have ￿ xcwate
baseltne frcwn whrth to build ￿.
autistsc and young pecrle ar¥J the
families thr0￿l￿)Lrt the UK. TreeHouse SchcM)I
Supp￿ pupiL% apj ¥19. The Rise &hool
SW pupils W 4-18 ar¥J Ambttious
Coll* supr*)rts leam&s ag￿ 1&25. based
We are renewing our fleet of vthicles to move
towards lower carton vehicles. Two of ti
vehicles were purchased this year. We are
also Èeginning to make other Caloon-￿1U￿ng
changes to the estate such as rrK)viTrJ towards
LED lightirvJ whwe tM)5sible.
cornLNnation of furMJirvJ from the Education
arKI Skills FwKliThJ Agw aNJ aUth￿1t1&5.
Olher actIV￿ are fuThJed th￿Ugh voluntary
income cf fees eamed from providing a Se￿ICe.
fcf example, providing sp￿liSt training
or support to pa￿ts. teach￿$ and other
Calculations
The following figures were (￿ed lo convert
enwJy (kwh) to tC02e figures:
In ovawirKJ the provision of ￿uCatI￿ and
gjprth of thiklrpn, young people and
ther families, the truste8s of Ambitious ab)ut
uttsm Schoob Trust have ccxnpli&J wtkh
0.23314
Iheir duty ￿Kdar￿e on public
0.21233
Fertcw
0.289
bel￿ publis￿ by the ())aity Canmission in
pw eX8rcF￿r#j their Fthvws duties.
9.1kWh 9.1kMft) 0.31349 0.28
per litre per litr8 Fer to￿ Fvlorvie
202(￿21 20￿￿21 XI1￿20
0.18316
0.18387
tx 0.2331
r￿a
F¢
The trustees have rpfeft￿ to the guidar
contsirEd in tre l))arty CcxnmisS￿n￿ gerwal
gUKla￿ ￿ wblic benefit then wewirKJ
the aims th objectives of the charity and in
FkniTrJ its fLrture activities. Ambitious atrfjut
Auttsm &1￿?1$ Tntst's prinapai object is to
for wblic b￿)efi( &Jucaticffl in
UK by developirwJ to make s￿TraI
c*K)nal KXOVlW6 for wpils with special
educatM)nal ￿1$. or 1&19 academies
Off￿7r￿j curTKuLq appropr4ate to the nwjs of
tFEir st￿￿ents.
Keeplng dats safe
We are fully committed to protectiro details of
all the people we wth and ￿ suptK)rt
us. We continue to rnake SLKe We'￿ aiways
thinking atrKJut priv￿ arKI to keep data
safe and secure. Staff are required lo sw ￿ to
date and infomed th￿Ugh regulartranrKJ. We
never stop working on this.

75
The TNst Ope￿ its fir* $c*K￿. The R6e
SchcK)I, in September 2014. In parti￿￿ar. the
trustees c¢xEider plamed activits￿ will
contiibuie to the aims and obl￿tiveS set. arKI
are committed to NCVO'S ethical
Ambitio￿ alx)ut Autisrn Schoots Trust
The Arnbitio￿ atxyjt Autism WKK)Is Trust
is a separate exempt charty.
Connected organisati(
membw of ts TNSL Therefore, the results
of Ambitious abcyjt ALrtism Schools Trust
are consolKlated into these group financial
Ambitiws ab￿ Autism is an &bve memt
of the Autism Educati￿ TrLSt. Aulism Pjliance.
British Institute of LearniThJ Disabilit*s (BILD).
Council for Disabled Chikjw, txsabled
Children's Partnership, National AsS￿lat￿)n
for Non-maintaned aThJ IndeFerKlent s￿
SchcK)Is (NASS), Natspec, Pothe BehaVI￿r
sup[￿ AJ1iar￿e arKI the Speoaj EdLKXtKThl
Consortium.
Ambitious atrfxrt Autism &hools Trust has
ckjsen to open a new special free
schcK)I autith children and young people
in KiThJston ar¥J is activety seeking further
partnerships to devebp rThJre S￿la1 sc￿>01S.
Our ￿ucatiOn provisKYB are ctrlocated at
Springwest N£ademy Ipart of the Tth Park
EdLrAtion Trust). We* Thames Q)Ilege.
The College of Haringey. Enr￿d th Ncxth
l the crfuanisations listed ap
indepeThJent C4yani&*ions aThJ their rnsulis
are not i￿luded in the financial statements.

76
Our leadership
team and advisers
The trustees of Ambitious about ALrtism are directors and mernbers 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 2021 was six (2020:
nine). The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charitable company.
Trustees of Ambitious about Autism
Neil Goulden
(Chair)
Lesley Longstone
(Vice Char of the Board of Trustees and
Chair of the Education Committee)
Andy Forbes
(from 10 December 2021)
Eduardo Gutierrez-Garcia
(from 10 December 2021)
Elizabeth Stanton
reasurer. Chair of the Finance and
Resources Committee and Chair of the
Investment Committee)
Alison Halsey
{until 30 August 2021)
Paul Disley-Tindell
(Chair of Nominations and
Remuneration Committee)
Jonathan Andrews
(until 31 December 2021)
Helen Jeffries
(from 10 Decernber 2021)
Alistsir Maccallum
{to 28 January 2022)
Jack Welch
(from 10 December 2021}

77
Trustees of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust
Neil Goulden
(Chair)
Elizabeth Stanton
reasurer and Chair of the Finance and
Resources Committee)
Lesley Longstone
ice Chairl
Koral Anderson
(trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee
until 31 DeGember 2020)
Michael Clark
(rrustee and Chair of the Audit Committee
from 1 January 20211
Tanith Dodge
(until 3 March 2022)
Joanna Healtsy
Lucy Nutt
Laura Palmer
(from 10 December 2021)
Kumar Tangri
(from 10 December 2021)
Charlotte Warner
(until 15 December 2021
Paul Disley-Tindell
(rwstee from 10 December 2021 and Chair
of the Nominations and Remuneration
Committee)
Members of Ambitious about Autism Schools T￿￿t
Ambitious about Autism
Eduardo Gutierrez-Garcia
(from 28 January 2022)
Alison Halsey
{until 30 August 2021)
Alistair Maccallum
(to 28 January 2022)
Martyn Craddock
Paul Dlsley-Tlndell
(until 10 December 2021)
Andy Forbes
(from 28 January 2022)
The trustees are supported in th￿r work by the president and vice presidents. who all
support the work of our charity.

78
President
Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE
Vice presidents
Nffick Baldwln CBE
Alex Hatter
irginia Bovell CBE
Richard Hatter
Peter Carroll
Nlck Homby
John Constsntine
Bruno Paulson
Katharlne Doré OBE
Matthew Punshon
Karen Edwards OBE
Charlotte Warner
Tristia Harrison
Sid Wel
Youth Council
Jonathan
Aish
Trinny
Patrick
Olivia
Kieran
Emity
Dominic
Lucy
Youth ambassadors
Jack Welch
Sam Ahern
Jaz Blgden

79
Expert advisers
Our t&wm of expert adwsers are leadiro &ad￿n￿￿. clIn￿lan$, a￿1 communutions
ofessionas. al with an interest in autign and a paswn to raBe aw&Eness and Und￿Sta￿￿1￿￿. They
FYOVKle advice and gUKlan￿ on S￿lfIC woiects ar#J campaNJns, all as volunteers. We are hOn￿r&￿
to be able to draw on the experti* ot.
Judith Barnard
Prof Patricia Howl
Dr Rowie Shaw OBE
Sir Simon Baron-cohen
Jonathan Meth
Fiona Slomovic
Steve Broach
Dr Emran Mian OBE
Su Thomas
Leo Capella
Richard Townley
Prof Tony Chamian
Nick Peacey
Gaby Zein
Prof Richard Hastings
Marf( Schmid
Ambassadors
Our ambassador5 ccxne Nvalks of life. but all sha? an int* in autism and a passion to raise
Niamh Cusack
Lucy Mottram
Jon Snow
Kathy Lotte
&mon Mottran
Luke Trnadaway
David Mitchell
Jules ROt￿lSOn
Sam Holness
Hayley Ronson
Parent patrons
Our te8rn of parent pa￿5 are all Kwple wlK6e lives have bew t(xKhed by autism:
Nicky Clark
Charfotte Moore
Claire Coombe-Tennant
Eliza Mishcon
Claire Ryan
John Coombe-Tennant
Keith Duffy
Sophie Walker

Employ Autism development board
Lord Tim Clement Jones CBE (Chair)
Koral Anderson
Laurie Edmans CBE
Adkins
Chris Pond
Matt Huts￿1
Tristia Harrison
Jonathan Andrews
Alistsir Maccallum
Katie Vannbck-smith
Business ambassador group
Simon Clements (Chair)
Ruth Kennedy
Magnus Schoeman
Jean Lavenant
Nathan Ott
Nick Medd
Tim Bart•er
Dom Hilleard
Matt Davis
Neil Pat
ArKlrew Mercer
Marilyn Swinney
HaThiet FoThest
Dan Snape
Jim Berrlsford
lan lceton
Richard Jones
Ricky DeLandro
Paul Cunningham
Nigel Moralee
Danuta Grdy
Sally Cairns
Gina Connell
Mark Edwards
Gavin Summer
Chris Evans

Executive leadership team
Jolants Lasota
Chief Executive
Helen Spice
Interim Director of Finance and Planning
(from 9 October 2021 to 23 January 2022)
Louise Honeysett
Director of Finance and Planning
(from 24 January 2022)
Zoe Weaver
Director of People
Harry Wllklnson
Director of Service Development
(until 15 October 2021)
Alison Worsley
Director of External Affairs
ivienne Berkeley
Director of Education
Paul B￿Ckell
Deputy Chief Executive (and Company
Secretary from 9 October 2021)
Danae Leaman-Hill
Director of Fundraising and Development
Louise Posocco
Director of Finance and Planning. and
Company Secretary (until 8 October 2021)
Independent auditor
RSM UK Audit LLP
25 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB
Bankers
Solicitors
National Westminsler Bank Pk
13 Market Place, Reading RG12EP
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide House. Pipers Way. Swindon
SN38 1 NW
CAF Bank Limited
25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill.
West Malling ME19 4JQ
Stone King LLf¥
13 Queen Square. Bath BA1 2HJ
Farrer & Co LLP
66 Lincoln's Inn Fields. HoltK)m. London
WC2A 3LH
Investment managers
Rathbone Brothers Public
Limited Company
8 Finsbury Circus. London EC2M 7AZ

The statement
of trustees,
responsibilities
The trUSt￿S {who are also directors of Ambitious aboLrt Autism for the
pury)oses of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees,
Annual Report, including the strategic report and the financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Stsndards
(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
. prepare the finar￿la1 statements on
the going concem basis unless it is
inappropriate to presunie that the charity
will continue in operation.
finanoa ststwnents for each fir￿¢￿1 year,
which give a tnje arKI far VEW of the stste of
affairs of charttable u)mpany and 9￿up as
at the bdance sheet date. ￿ of the incAKniTrJ
The tr￿ee$ are ￿Spor￿le for maintaini
a£counting recoth that di¥lose with
reasonth a¢¢uracy at any time the financi
px)sth)n of the charitable company and enable
th￿n to ensu￿ that the fin￿1￿ Stat￿nents
including the income and exp￿rt￿e. of the
group for that period.
In prepaing these fin￿la1 slatwngts. the
trustees to:
• select suitsble accounting policies and
then apply them Con￿stentIY
Statement as to disclosure of
information to auditor
' observe the methods and principles in the
Charities Statement of RecommerKled
Practice {SORP)
• there is no relevant audit infomiatw?n of
which the charitable c(Ynpany's auditor is
unaware
' make judgements and estimates that are
reasonable and prL￿ent
' state whether applicable UK Accounting
Standards have been followed, subject
to any materid departures disclosed and
expl&ned in the financial statements
• the trustees have taken all steps that they
ought to have tsken to make thernselves
aware of any relevant audit infomiation and
to establish that tre auditor is aware of that
infomiation.

saf￿uar[l1ng the assets of the c*wIt￿e
company and the g￿Up. arKI f(* takiThJ
rpasonable steps for the prevention and
det*￿￿ of fr￿d aThJ other iThegul&itE&
maintenance arKI I￿egrity of the c(xpJ*e
and finarcid inforTnation the charit
Company￿ webyte. LegislatM)n in the UK
goveming the preparatK)n and disseminaticn of
financial statements may dtffer frt¥n legislatm
in ottwlurEditTrc￿s.
The Trustees, Annual Report is ap￿Tr￿1 by
order of the Board of Trustees arKI Strateg
Report and the Directors. RewKt ￿ul￿d by
company law (Indudèj therein} are aFVDvaJ
by the Board ofTrustees in thw capacty as trE
directors at a meeting on 25 March 2022 arKJ
signed on their behalf by:
Neil Goulden
Chair of the Board of Trustees

84
Independent
auditor's report to
the members of
Ambitious about
Autism
Opinion
and of the group's incoming resources
and application of resources, including
its inwme and expenditure. for the year
then ended"
We have audited the financial ststema)ts
of Ambitious about Autism (the 'parent
charitable company.) and its subsMJiaries {the
'group') for the year ended 31 August 2021
which comprise the Consolidated Statement
of Financial Activities incorporating an
Income and Expenditure Account, the Group
and Company Balan￿ Sheets. the Group
Cash Flow Statement arKJ notes to the
financial statements. including signrficant
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 Financial Reporting Standaffl
applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland"
(United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice).
. have been proFerty prepared in accordance
wtth United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice: and
• have been prepared in accordance with Ihe
requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We c(NKJucted our audit in accordance
with Internationd Standards on Auditing
(UK) (ISAS {UK)) and applicable law. Our
responsibiltties under those standards
are further described in the auditor's
responsibilities for the audit ol the financial
statements section of our ￿pOrt. We are
ir¥Jependent of the group and parent
charttable company in accordance with the
ethi&ql requirements that are relevant to our
audit of the financial statements in the UK,
ind￿11ng the Financial Reporting COU￿11
In our opinion the financial statements:
. give a true and fair view of the state of
the group's and the parent charitable
company's affair5 as at 31 August 2021

85
Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our
other 8thical responsibilities in accordance
with these requirements. We believe that
the a￿lt evidence we have obtained is
sufficient and appropriate lo provide a
basis for our opinion.
Our re¥)onsibility is to ￿ad the other
information and. in doing so. consider
whether the other information is materially
inconsistenl with the financial statements
or our knowledge obtained in the course
of the audit or otherwise appears to be
materially misstated. If we identify such
material inconsistencies or apparent
material misstatements. we are required
to detemine whether this gives rise to
a material misstatement in the financial
statements themselves. If. based on the
work we have perfomed. we conclLKle that
there is a material misstatement of this other
inforrnation. we are requir￿$ to reF)Ort
tw fact.
Conclusions relating to going
concern
In auditing the financial statements, we
have concluded that the trustees. use of the
going concem basis of accounting in the
preparation of the financial statements is
appropriate.
Based on the work we have perfmed.
we have not identified any material
uncertainties relating to events or conditions
that, individualty or collectively. may cast
significant doubt on the groupb or parent
charitable company's abilty to continue as
a going concern for a period of at least 12
months from when the financi￿ statements
are authorised for issue.
We have nothing lo report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters
prescribed by the Companies
Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken
in the course of the audit:
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities
of the trustees with respect to going concem
are described in the ￿￿ant sections of this
report.
• the InfO￿atIOn 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
ststements are prepared is consistent with
the financ￿1 statements: ar
Other information
The other infomiation comprises the
information included in the annual report
other than the financial statements and
our audrtor's report thereon. The tnjstees
are responsible the other infom)ation
corrtained wFthin the annud report. Our
opinion on the financial statements does
not cover the other information and, ex￿pt
to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in
our report, we do not express any fomi of
assurance conclusion thereon.
• the Directors. Repc*t the Strategic
Report included within the Trustees. Report
have been prepared in accordance with
applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required
to report by exception
In the light of the knDwled9e and
understanding of the group and the parent
charitable company and ttEir environment
obtained in the course of the audit. we have

86
not identified material misstatements in the
Directors, Report or the Strategic Report
included within the Trustees'/Directors'
Report.
basis of accounting unless the trustees
either intend to liquidate the group or parent
charitable company or to cease operations,
CY have no realistic a￿eMatiVe but to do so.
We have nothing to reFort in respect of the
lollowing matters where the Companies Act
2006 requires us to report to you if, in our
opinron..
Auditor's responsibilities for the
audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial
statements as a wthole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or
error. and to issue an auditor's report that
includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance
is a high level of assurance. but is not
a guarantee that an audit conducted in
accorda￿ with ISAS (UK) will ahNays detect
a material misstatement when it exists.
Misststements Can arise from fraud or error
and are considered material rf. individually
or in the aggregate. they could reasonably
be expect￿1 to Influen￿ the economic
decisions of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
• adequate accounting records have
not been kept by the parent charitable
company. or returns adequate for our audtt
have not been received from l)ranches not
visited by us. or
• the parent charitable company financial
statements are not in agreement with the
accounting records and retums:
' certain disclosu￿$ of trust￿,
remuneration specified by law are not
made: or
• we have not received all the infomiation
and explanations we require for our audit.
Responsibilities of trustees
The extent to which the audit was
considered capable of detecting
irregularities. including fraud
As explained more fully in the statement
of trustees, resrK•nsibilities set out on p82.
the trustees (who are also the diwtots of
the charitable Company f¢y the purposes
of COTnpany law) a￿ responsible for tTr
preparation of the financial statements aTh
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
p￿paratIOn of financial statements that are
f￿e from material misstatement. whether due
to fraud or error.
I￿UlarItIeS a￿ insta￿eS of non-compliance
with laws and regulations. The objectives of
our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate
audit evidence regarding compliance with
laws and regulations Ihat have a direct effect
on the detemlnatl¢￿ ol material amounts
and disclosures in the ffftancial ststements,
to perfomi audit procedures to help identify
instaw of non-compliance with other laws
and reguktions that may have a material
effect on the financial statements, and
to respond appropriately to identified or
susp￿ted non-compliance with laws and
reguL2tions rdentified during the audit.
In preparing the financial statements, the
trustees are responsible for assessing the
group's and parent charitable company's
abilty to continue as a going concem.
disclosing. as applicable. matters rdated to
going concem and using the going concem
In relation to fraud. the objectives of our audit
are to identify and assess the risk of material

87
misstatement of the financ￿91 statements due
to fraud. to obtain SLrfficient appropriate audit
evidence regarding the assessed risks of
material misslatement due to fraud through
designing and implementing appropriate
responses and to respond appropriatety to
fraud or suspected fraud identified during
the audit.
statements are FRS 102. Charities SORP
IFRS 1 (r2). Companies Act 2006. Chariti8S
Act 2011. the parent Gharitable Gompany's
governiro document. tax legislation and
Charities (Protection and Social Investment)
Act 2016. We perfomied audit procedures
to detect non-compliances which may
have a material impact on the financial
statements which included reviewing the
financial statements including the Trustees.
Report, remaining alert to new or unusual
transactions which may not be in accordance
with the goveming documents, inspecting
cOThesp￿dence with tax aLrthorities and
evaluating adwce received from internal and
external advisers.
However. it is the primary ￿spOnsibl1ty of
management, with the oversight of those
charged with governance, to ensure that
the entity's opeThgtions are conducted in
accordance wilh the provisions of lav
and regulations and for the prevention and
detection of fraud.
In identifying and assessiro risks of material
misstatement in respect of iffegularities.
including fraud. the gr￿p audit engagement
team:
The most significant laws and reguiaticffls
that have an indirect impact on the financial
statements are those in relation to the
Keeping Children Safe in Education under
section 175 of the EdUCat￿n Act 2002, and
the UK General Data Protection Regulation
(UK GDPR). We perfonned audit procedures
to inquire of management and those charged
with govemance whether the group is in
Gompliance with these laws and regulations
and inspected Correspondence with
regul*ory authorities.
obtained an understanding of the nature
of the sector. including the legd and
regulatory framework that the group and
parent charitable company operates in
arKI how the group arKI pawt charitsble
company are Complyng with the legal and
regulatory frameworK
. inquired of Management. and those
charged with govemance. about their
own identification and assessment of the
risks of irregularities, includiro any known
actual. suspected or alleged instances
The group audit engagement team
identrfied the risk of management override
of controls as the area Whe￿ the financial
statements were most susceptible to
material misstatement due to fraud. Audit
procedures perfomied included but were not
limtted to testing manual joumal entries and
other adjustments. evaluating the business
rationale in ￿latIon to signrficant. unusual
transactions and transactions entered into
outside the nomial course of business and
challenging judgements and estimates.
• discussed matters about non-compliance
with laws and regulations arKI how fraud
might occur including assessment of how
and where the financial sLqtements may be
susceptible to fraud.
As a result of these rxocedures we consd
the most S￿nifICant laws and regulations
that have a direct impact the financi
A further description of our responsibilitEs
for audit of the financial statements

is provided on the Financial Reporting
Counci1S webstte at xy￿￿￿k/
auditors
onsibilili8s. This description
forms part ol our auditor's rep)rt.
Use of our report
This ￿port is made solely to the charitable
company's members. as a body, in
accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of
the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work
has been undertaken so that we might slate
to the charitable company's members those
matters we are required lo state to them in
an auditorfs report and for no other purpose.
To the fullest extent permitted by law. we
do not accept or assume responsibility to
anyone otrk8r than the charitabje company
and the charitable company's members as a
body, for our audit work. for this report, or for
the opinions we have formed.
RSM LLP
Hannah Catchpool
SenKK Slatutory Audtior
For and on behalf of
RSM UK AUOIT LLP
Statutory Auditor
Chartered Accountants
25 FarriThJdon Street
London
EC4A 4AB
Date: 28th Mareh 2022

89
Consolidated statement of financial activities
(Incorporating an income and expenditure account)
For the yaar ended 31 August 2LY21
31 A￿1￿1
Inwelwm..
1214
27
2m1
14.￿5
175
71
14.870
71
16¢
71.
17.671
1C
16
GJRS IT￿rr
Tow kncom8
31
31
31
118
I7￿15
Aai5Yg
FthYAisin9
13
13
13
12
14.191
879
15
17,0
1239
19*9
Exi*Thql affa
14725
17.1
21￿.
Nel gal￿1£¥)
Nel losses w rwtskin cwtit
112
19
617
(61n
Recor￿Alia¥0￿ of fth*.'
19
7.476
14,732

Balance sheets
As at 31 August 2021
31 W2LU1 31 W2YYJ) 31 *4L**)21 31 A1￿ust2020
xeda&88ts:
10
16146
10.546
12
Int￿b￿95s8ts
1W5
18.ssfj
11415
12256
13
1,148
3,758
stN)rt4wrn dysts
13
13
9>15
6.911
14
4107
Tota &*8éts1885 VJntntlwlxlth
1S
1419)
769
16
Total netas*ets
Fury
778
Unrestitt* funrts..
Cknsignatad frj
Gener8lfun(ts
5,$78
5.578
2.414
7h7S
7N76
Totslknd
19
Nel Gouklen
Char of Boarrl cl Tnths

Consolidated statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 August 21Y21
IntW8gt Féyab
1107)
(744
(5
PuTr*&èof
791
2.19)
3.918
095
rt-ternéeposts
13
13
1(
Ate￿(•
£wo
8ffj78
13
13
LoarstsNng d￿￿1h1n(MYpar
Lowtyling ￿￿aft￿rrnrfrth
47¥
ITotal

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 AUg￿t 2021
8. Ba*s ol pr8par8tion
PRCtkxaFylica￿0t0chalb￿s ti*
aK4YthxtAe rfi the UKaTrJ ofirthY(FRS IIV (ell￿¥
1 JaMBry20191-ICh*rbBsSORP FRS 1D2>, Ihe Firm
IF￿ 102IINknh ￿18)•¥jI￿G)nW￿krz((
b. Ba￿8 of e¢molldthm
tr5 arn rw45eAI on ofthègmto
p, Ihe aFK￿￿tthe9KYJP have 10
p￿)1*¢ bonefft wtity
d. Golr¥J conwn
cOr￿rI￿ A 12.rr¥Jnth deiaibj Wet ts P¥8r*J frcffi
thaknbitnus al￿ul A￿￿rIS¢h￿& h** io
frtrn RaItrQx￿8s, 10 A Cth¥J.19fthl
of £O.fm w&% 8$18t￿$1￿j in 2020, (2021. tO.7ml 10
pa￿￿. cc6ts c* &xg89 In r¢cffi*. Tha
rrwoal fu￿ast and assumptky6forts firwci* y 2Cel-22
havtrtskeTr Yrtowxxmt imp* ofthk*19.
to rr*kea paytt*Trf ￿ a Ihrd paty, rt E yrtsblitrat
The￿￿te&s￿O not c￿4￿￿1h81 b)•e*é arywc85
0fwets8nd1￿tsSfQr8 wc*Jofai L¥asi 12 rroitr6 fy<m

93
l. ￿loCal0n of 8UPPOrt¢osts
3FpYtK)nuJ￿ t*5es, e$￿￿ iey•J
L@aL*￿I￿P
Firw*e
TirnB spwt
rjr￿tim￿ markgt wcg. in f*rvahJe wll b8
G8n8Yal admir•5traticn Statt WJ CfAY
n ts Wry'Not gainsl(k)55e51 ￿ 1rNestr￿ls, In
cowlidat￿n of th•grO￿ac(cl￿
Op•¥tiry le•g•S
itseaio 12 ¢Y oft
of IhD ￿e.
l. T8nglble flx¢d •990ts
TO alh￿[1 FOrty8nd arrKxJnt
to xtp4th8sonth8 b85￿ 01the￿ a55ets InllK
arK1 vaL* in w.
I￿￿￿$. of FAS 102 in to all itsfinarwaal ins*Nrrrt. Bagc
Fru*￿￿*1arVJ*d bJthlYvJ *
irtangiblefrAed¥&sets
garts k)5ses arE wni¥*l In or h)ss. Ths
(¢r￿or¥*

94
that * at4etOsdlthtrassei ￿￿8t￿j11￿d
. AfinancAI Icr ￿tr￿e(dI
kn accwntir9 w)I¢MbS. tr*dir
t Pen￿OnS
￿￿￿￿1. mU￿-￿[loyerSCW aThJ Sab"4*5cd
rf0M￿n *) 17.
liv89 with th•T￿$t m x¢h aw*tw t￿ rxÉt * a
attarvalue￿￿ lablitEs arerft8w1c￿
t•eqU￿al&ftt totha cut7*rt
the8ch￿￿a¥S8ts. ¢alcukWty rrAAi¥tyr¥Jth•far¥*ecll

95
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2021
Totsl
1.018
1214
27
1974
57
12.618
12.688
1I681
EdLUti)n aslulls 14
2.077
2.172
175
14M70
71
1,164
71
i Edu&*iL¥) Tnjst
71
71
71
14941
cAYsTn
17246
Edltatk)Th￿j s￿1$ Furorg
11113
1(6
13,218
103
17,671
1rI3
Jj1￿ E￿waI￿nThJst
1Q3
14321
469
17.7741

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2(r21
Fortheye¥
Costs 31 Auw8t2Tr21
£'w) el￿)
ALrt¢m'.
CA55tofgwmtrrYJ
frjrp
14
16
158
25
111513 1JB7
17.188
SuprA)rtcosts
10 141rA>
13711
P71)
1195
n SL*v)ols Trust
1,118
214
14774
461
costs 31 August *)XI
r(xK* t'cr
fiJn(ts
8,379
3815
297
Extemal affaw¥
787
257
153
9h40 1JYJ
1&618
SJppartcts%ts
Gov8m8t¢ec(éts
7T8
131
14 Ae611
18
32
131
Autism Tn&t
Total ey4yer¥Jthrt
747
170
19

97
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August iYr21
& N*lneomtforV*y
870
12
13
1ts).
107
191
19
134
135
21
f'(KJD
12.179
1.122
321
14T14
E)(0.Oc￿El(g.
lo.c((￿19.
the 12-rn¢￿ F*Tr>J to31 £1289.$371.

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August W21
7.
OJttrKJtheprYA8as f(kn.
￿J￿2¥)>]
12
395
18
19
Surwrt
477
Fr*th2>werxl2d Ftylhe ywwded
31 ALWJWt2WJJ
13
13
15
17
Tw5t at a cost of Tprrfn Septwrbgr20Y) loALyUSt 2Q1
ra)20- t43Th). The5•servKe5 ￿Cl￿def11￿￿.ed￿ats￿, HR.
an1Cr￿lit¢￿ b3￿r￿P￿0.. nl)-
Acalettry. Th• h&15a cthract
I lo ur¢lert*ir¢J51(x•*kns1, arxl E205k P(r20'.
SC￿￿TnJSt into 8 12￿￿ *ase ￿ T￿P•
E(*Jcalx)n T￿ 19 May 2015
Pth E￿¢at￿Jn Tntsl.Atthtr￿r¥￿J. Itwe *asmoJlSknJrYJ
16.823 P02Q. £44.792ltots chty. Otth&e, ncth*p m*
Paul Brtk81 unp*d IpJ￿￿OI ￿VoTI￿1￿
Buiklr•J. (VH ￿vOrr8￿￿ LMWJ.
the￿ar paym￿l0 NcVO￿Bt1.l77 r2m'. At

99
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 81 August 2tr21
10.T•rylW•llxeda5sets
At tst otth•y•ar
MS
71
At th8 •nd of
6fi42
gJ7
1.148
218
At ofttsyw
245
57
19
Dispjsa
119)
116
718
743
870
Alts end ollheye
1172
At tho thrtoltheyew
1.174
413
Mth)r
rot
At 5t¥t 0f￿year
71
Alts￿d ofthe >*ar
11.9)3
812
218
At t￿ stwt ot￿year
577
116-
245
173
19
Attre*￿01th8fftr
713
375
710
Not1￿¥￿1
end01th•￿aT
175
IAtthe 5tstofthpyMr
10A46

100
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2(Y21
11. ktsrEthftxod•558ts
Addit￿r￿s wi the
At tr*erdcltr*
tS8'
A¢thw5twt Oft￿
19
Cha￿et￿th•￿
At th*qrKI of th?
Alth8erMt ofthe yow
11XJ
1031
At#*i startof Ihe
in theswr
At thgaiLldtts yw
158
At tr*s￿ oftr*
19
19
Di¥*)sth in I￿Y*r
Att￿ ofthe year
At#*¢ndofty*)
1tr3

101
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 Auwst 2ff21
m8rt0t￿￿fi Bt theslwl0f￿
or6atC05t
Ia￿9tvduBat ¢Ytho
Cath hold in In¥e5b￿lS
TOtal*N8slmeiii8￿ld
1,$9D
54
278
21
Ma￿e1¥*U￿aIth08￿I olthfr
1￿8
Tr*Yedebto
319
144
14
217
195
116

102
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2021
373
373
475
441
296
ruulitors
179
1(X>
156
412,
1.139,
1.077
&819
atttretrffj"nnif9dtsyew
1,077
1.078
.1011 j -
1.139
11,078)
1J)77
1.169

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2(r21
Gro￿)¥¥j Am￿O￿al¥￿AA￿thrn
1285
valve l*tilty
atthe end oltht
136
4479
Th•￿rity a150 has a k?￿ from Naim ￿ tr8rth50f r1.1m tl.*n. NovwntrAY%•J8 2012
tere* is ch8ryJèab￿ at 0.75% aLK)ve Ll8(YlaKI 1.25% aLth* W2. Frcffl 1 Febnw 2022. both k)ans
wwo nxived tothe rats. C￿0 tra￿** Lrf IE1.1ml an inlere* 1816 Lrf4%.￿ low (s re￿ Irtyn Nov￿l￿ 2013
Th¢tt0rity ts ￿n9 an interest rate swapto mw its exrKAJreto ilTwe5t rnte its £1.1m tr*ink with The •areem￿l
w*￿lY
2-Syws
ar5 y•w8
FU￿￿ik￿
NatW85t £1.Imtr
NatW95t £19miw*8
NatW95t £Wk
&80
91
376

104
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2021
Th8 gw ttsowtfy its share of
rftt *w8a schorn. Th&grwp has 88t out
Theassets ofth&5th￿S afyhebj 8<*ratatyfiL￿ kne of
bitiOUS at*)ut A￿]￿. pe￿￿) ¢c*ts in ts stairn
Jatw in tsyoHr amjrtrl tg VJJk P(oo". r225￿.
*mSthtyA%T￿I h tr*year•)KAmWto £1&7k P020.' t18￿.
Introdu￿On
>￿￿8t 31 2021 I2￿. 26).
d8fJnwJ b8nefitscl*me. by1￿T￿￿' P
Re9￿at10r￿(2￿l0j and. frryn 1 Apnl 2014, by
*hem8 ReguPatior%$ 2014.
ror lull.Jmeteac*ets in academ*s arK#. l Jarrtw2W7,
of Sr*￿st 31 ￿just 2(r21120ZO.' ISI.
LLral Gov•[Nn￿ 5d*m&lLGPSI * afun(l•d,
tru#g*a¢knini5teW fw15. Thetotal contritythK>ns rnade for
thB yew ￿ded 31 AvJust 2021 werè £379k12(￿O." £2￿k). of
by ern￿Oy￿S aTt ¢yFtht8J tothg Exclwuer. PatWWTWI and Lrtl
rrArryee5' tota￿ £78k ￿￿￿0." £71k). Con1Dl￿tiCe7
rae5 lor wnp4oy*s I￿r￿*t *iihsahry and duriryj tr* yearwde
31 AvyJst 2CQ1 prthiyryconbibuknn rntes were be￿￿on
SS96 12.5% of saw. Tr*agr••d conlribulion
rate5 y*rs are23.3% fOr￿￿0y￿s, a￿j fcff eWcy8es
of5.5% fv a maxThLtyn of 12.5%
. t*JrhYJ 31 AL4USt 2021. rK) wnpbyB85t<yJk
prryipl6s. cO￿￿ts a fr*M￿ ￿tL￿ revr* TPS.
Empbyercosicapl ch￿￿)n8 2014 wblitsj by HM Toa
e¥wyf¢ty y¥ars. The atim of to or
r*xttFJ rAYrtr*xrtw)tsto up pa￿￿)n.
Wds aut as at 31 2016. The RFxxt wa
putr41￿ by Il* Dwwrtrngrrtfor E¢JLxaiK￿ on S M*th 2019. TI*
18 Juty 2013.
12 Cttrthr2021.
£198,IIx)mwir¥Jamti￿￿ kwt¥W¥i￿￿￿0fPZ2,C(￿
rat&0freL￿ 62.4% hiexc#>scrfrrfKesaTrI2%

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2021
At 31 AtyJust 2Tr20
£'oJD
32D%
220%
1.65%
Irffl*Dn aSurnpti￿ (CPO
2.20%
soo0%
0.10%
-th10%
3,957
872
912
41.1
3.957
872
8rJ
872
Q10%
.10%
4.107
3,957
3.797
+1Y•w
4,124
913
3,957
3.797
* 65
At31 *wstXQ1
At 31 2020
Relrlrytodty
Ma
21.3

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2￿21
Equrtiys
()
541
61%
41
596
Cthert#ywJs
1ST
104
01
4%
596
157
18%
14
Totsl maTr*otvalL* of a55ets
PM74
31 A￿jL&2c￿O
147
Npt int*E5t cctst
wo
At 1 Septsmber
1474
470
37
Benefits p4d
71
At31 AuwJs¢
2,474
18
In
16
Vlg
219
71
EmK)by8rCL￿trtNjli
AdmIniStrat￿ 6XPW¢8S
Bffts pad
At31 Au#u51
vi

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August %Y21
TaTrJit48 fix8dawts
10.434
62CD
16.&34
1.878
1(
103
3,LK8
P,465)
778
(5,47SI
*414
10,434
1Q434
In¥¢sbTrnls
103
A79
474
F￿￿tr(t
Totalknd5
Tan￿￿x¥J86S￿s
105
Int¥*Jfoknfr4•J as*ts
2213
4107
Lor¥Jtwm Ivblt
Total kn¢5
T￿￿￿￿fiX&￿a$3￿$
lo￿16
knt*vJib19fl%*Jas*ts
rJi

108
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 21Y
Atlh•énd
of lh*
Ferfvye8ren¢*d 31 W 2ce1.'
al ArntxtkiusaL¥>￿
11761
1(
151
Famty supwt
121
V20)
trdh8 in1crtrn￿ns￿*YI
C￿l￿eYoUths￿pFC￿t
tfewi
10
14)
15
Amb1￿uS abtyrtpdjbsm
S.X47
797
(4*781
1617),
7.wl
Designatedlur
Fix￿1 assets
4014.
SchcOlde￿
173
r*OVeryf￿È1
19)
Bul￿1￿$ rnwntenar￿and
TotsldesioTr8ied lurnjs
724
pn
I14,￿n
114T241
7.476
1V12
Tol4wup knds
4109

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August W21
19&
Atth2 end
ofth•
FOr￿Year￿d￿j 31 W2Ce
137
24
Farni￿sup￿t
13
162
111
14n
or￿￿YOuth Suptymt
122
122
74
blAmb￿saL￿￿kn
<4,743)
7¥
14S11
7.11KI
7A451
1CO
173
819
2.414
13.
113.
(4711
7.476
14T&a
19.9111
15.321

110
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 Au9USt 21Y21
exh other.
Lipmert
PuFposoofdg¥gn*•d fuThJ¥'
dBv4)w8nt furvj

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August %)21
(G￿nIOnS￿ offix*J a59*s
107
1124)
IncFea* d8
EqLNpm**
t'o
£'oLK)
134
134
11

112
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 21Y21
TaTvJIb￿8w
15•
Cath at ténkand
UabHIth&
571
P74
2213
131
FW &588tfiJThY
6210
2213
Totslfur
778

Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2(Y21
Toial
17
10.
5294
16
10
4.787
015
1214
(12UJ
128
Funds Whl fcThard
3X)',
47rn
2Q21 (2020. t437kl. These servw firoru. ￿￿at￿in, HA. IfwK*t. T1￿1¥re* cost. Other￿ to
wergt205k excluding VATI2￿. tS3kl. ¥atstsmrtoff246k kth#ryVAYPOX)'. niD 10 b8 to

114
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2(r21
Irv•mefrom'.
2,031
13.113
13218
4.453
lemal th"r5
Ott*rlrrtomè
11a
1ro
Tr*Jir*J iruff*
cJRsir￿ty
Toial
W75
Ratsn9fuN
FundwroJ acfvs
12
12
12
12.934
745
13.&ry1
3fi21
17,052
Extern￿ affaws
Toial e¥pervji￿lE
494
15M18
Nei Ic68e5¢n dafiot
22>
507
Tra￿1￿ beN**n aTrJ
19
451
218
Reco￿1[8¥00 rflund&'
8.167
147&9
7.476

References
' knbitious about Autism (2021) and L(Kkdown: The Impact on Autistic Children and
Young People Ionlinel. AVal￿e at wwwamb" .
defaulVfiles/
rilesl
avIn￿and-1
(Accessed 30 D￿mber 20211.
2 Arnbrtio￿ atxxrt Autism (2021).
NHS (2021) Autism Waihrg Time Stati5trs- Quarter 1201￿20 to Quarter 2 202(>-21 and Quarter
3 (October to Decwnbw) 2(r2(k21 [CknlirE]. Avalable at www.d' .
.nh&ukld
li&*io
ber.2tr2￿21 (Accessed 30
D*emtEr 2021).
° A£cording to an online conducted by Ambithxts a￿￿t Autism between September and
November 2019, whith was owi to pwts of artisbc childw ag&J Ck25 arKI to which
3.842 people resFo)d&d.
5 All Party Pall￿entary GK4Jp on Autism IAPP(4 P019) Autism 10 years on IOnline].
AvailatrAe at www.
A-Autism-
8 Office fcr NatKSTNqJ StatiSt￿s P021). C*Jtc(rn f(x thsabl&J Pwle in the UK: 2020 Ionlinel. AV￿jable
L4
parEnts in 2021.
8 N£ccKding to a NaticvRI Autistic &xEty sury Corkj￿tsj in 2016 as part of ts Much
Inforniation ￿paign.

16.1