2021-08-31-accounts

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 August 2021

years of 21 operation young people 12 trained in the bakery

young people in our care 94 during the year

32 1,128,391 data points about young young people trained in people logged on Prior Insight other vocational streams (100% increase on 564,424 last year)

New graduate programme 4% new 12starters reduction in carbon emissions to 46.6kg CO2e m-2 (kg of carbon per gross internal square metre of space) 160 trees planted in the orchard 606 Healthy You sessions for staff took place during Eco School the year from Couch to 5K to yoga status achieved

Eco School status achieved

Ofsted Artsmark outstanding Gold

The Trustees present their Statutory Report (incorporating the Strategic Report) and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Contents

Contents The Trustees present their Statutory Report (incorporating the Strategic Report) and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021
Trustees’ Statutory Report (incorporating the Strategic Report):
Our purpose, Our services	4
Our ambition	5
How did we do against plans for 20/21?	6
Covid-19: What has been the impact?	7
Our 20/21 targets	8
Selected highlights	15
Spotlight on Prior Insight	16
Young person case study	17
Future plans	18
Financial Review	19
Statement of Compliance, Reference and Administrative Details	21
Governance	22
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities	25
Independent Auditor’s Report to
the Members of Prior’s Court Foundation	26
Financial Statements	30
Notes to the Financial Statements	33
Patron, List of Members and Trustees, Executive Team,
Committees, Advisors and Registered Offce	50

Strategic Report

Our purpose – why we exist

To transform the lives of young people with complex autism, helping them to build a brighter, more independent future.

Our services – What we do

We are a registered charity providing education and residential care for up to 95 young people, aged 5-25, with complex autism, learning difficulties and other complex needs. Set within a 50 acre site in Berkshire, we have extensive bespoke facilities to help our young people to be healthy, happy, more independent and have the opportunity to work.

Our ambition – what we strive for

To be a global leader for young people with complex autism.

We also provide training services for parents and other professionals working in the field of autism.

How did we do against plans for 20/21?

Once again, the review of the year cannot be described without acknowledging the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the organisation. Whilst we may still be operating slightly differently, it is very much business as usual in terms of Prior’s Court keeping our young people safe and developing their skills to become healthy, happy, independent and have access to work opportunities.

Covid-19 – ongoing impact

Prior’s Court continued to remain fully open and operational throughout. Our response to the pandemic, coordinated and led by the Covid-19 management team, had three objectives, which were all met during the year:

• To keep our young people healthy

• To keep our staff healthy

• To maintain the operational safety and effectiveness of the organisation

Covid-19: What has been the impact?

Health and wellbeing of young people

12 young people (13%) tested positive for Covid-19 in the year. Many were asymptomatic and, thankfully, none were significantly affected by the virus.

Health and wellbeing of staff

During the year 71 staff members (13%) tested positive for Covid-19. None of the cases required hospitalisation and there were no lasting physical health issues. The organisation did feel the effects of increased absence caused by staff fatigue resulting from the combination of the stress of living through the pandemic and having to work longer hours to cover colleagues who were isolating. In response to this issue we increased the level of counsellor support, created a comprehensive staff wellbeing handbook and converted one of the rooms in the Court House building into a quiet rest area. We are continuing to offer wellbeing support through the ongoing Healthy You programme.

Staff levels and training

Staffing of our residential operations has always been a challenge since the early days of Prior’s Court, but during Covid-19 this challenge has been magnified. At no point did staffing levels drop below safe levels, however the organisation has been under significant strain. The analysis of the net staffing position, after the working of additional hours and the use of agency staff, shows that we were able to remain at 90% staffing levels at all times.

Financial impact

The estimated financial cost to Prior’s Court of the pandemic, at the EBITDA level, during the year is £223,000 which includes the impact of delayed young people admissions, Covid-related paid sickness absence, PPE, and hygiene and cleaning measures, offset by government grants and some savings from a reduction in travel and activities. In total this takes the cost of the pandemic close to £0.5m over 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Despite the pandemic we have made progress against our goals for the year described overleaf. Once again, this has all been made possible by our extraordinary staff, who continue to demonstrate the true spirit of Prior’s Court throughout these challenging times.

Our 20/21 targets

Impacting the lives of more young people

Planned

Continue to develop further work placement opportunities within our Bread & Beyond bakery enterprise and our emerging horticulture enterprises.

Progress our project to find a further site for Prior’s Court to enable us to fulfil the excess demand for places which we continue to experience.

Develop a proposal to create a product which shares our Prior Approach practical autism expertise with a wider audience outside Prior’s Court.

Delivered

Whilst Covid-19 restrictions meant we were unable to attend off-site work placements, our team worked hard to ensure young people didn’t miss opportunities to undertake work experience and placements onsite. We were able to offer approx. 50 sessions per week across all of the programmes of learning.

The bakery continued to train young people with approximately 12 young people following the programme. A further five young people were involved with on-site delivery to staff and students. One young person who recently left our Young Adult Provision has a work placement with a charity-run bakery near his new home.

As our apple orchard grows, so does the number of opportunities for our young people to develop vocational skills. Work has included: learning to plant and compost a tree, and irrigation and watering. Involvement in fruit harvesting and juice making will follow next year as the trees mature.

Our strategic review in March 2021 provided a shift in emphasis away from a second school site, towards the organic expansion of our Young Adult Provision within the local community. We had struggled to find suitable sites for a second school and identified that demand from our existing young people soon to leave Prior’s Court School was such that smaller scale growth through the opening of individual, five-bed adult care homes for 18-25 year olds would be a more achievable way to expand. A five-bed property local to Prior’s Court has been identified and planning permission is being sought from Swindon Borough Council.

The Prior Approach methodology is the cornerstone of how we work with our autistic young people. The project team has reviewed the current details of the approach and is designing a new version to be rolled out across the organisation during 21/22. The final, refined training package will then be offered externally.

Achieving outcomes beyond imagination

Delivered

Planned

The Hub opened in February 2021 and it has brought together nursing and therapy staff into a multi-disciplinary environment. Early impact has included:

Open a new Health and Wellbeing Hub (HWB), which will enable more effective delivery of all young people’s health and wellbeing services.

• Covid-19 vaccination programme – Of those eligible, 82% of young people have had their vaccination in our HWB Hub.

• Desensitisation programmes in the HWB Hub are proving highly successful, as the examples below demonstrate:

• A young person who was very fearful of medical environments accessed a GP’s Surgery for the first time in four years without distress.

• A young person had their first successful dental check-up in five years.

• A young person, who previously had to be sedated for any blood tests, has undergone blood tests without the need for sedation.

The new Learning Framework was launched in 20/21 after nearly two years of development. It was fully embedded within our digital system, Prior Insight, in September 2021. The framework consists of seven Areas of Learning, which are in turn broken down into smaller learning programmes. Learning progress is measured by, recording on Prior Insight, the achievement of “I Can “ statements at differing levels of independence. Real-time progress reports are available on Prior Insight and they form the basis for the multi-disciplinary team’s bi-monthly young people’s progress and wellbeing review meetings.

Facilitated by Prior Insight, introduce the new Prior’s Court Learning Framework, which delivers our ambitions for our young people: happiness, healthiness, independence and work, through the focus of learning in seven areas -Functional Academics, Vocational Skills, Healthiness, Keeping Me Safe, Positive Behaviour Support, Daily Living Skills and Communication.

Refer to the spotlight section on page 16 for more information.

Plans have been developed and were approved by Trustees in March 2021. They are now being fully costed in advance of a tender process for final trustee approval in March 2022. Our intention is to seek funding support for the project from March 2022. The centre itself will be a bespoke space to support many of the challenges of people with autism and enable not just learning of new skills but expression through multiple means.

Develop a plan to create a world leading, autismspecific Performing Arts Centre to allow young people the opportunity of experiencing and taking part in the creative arts.

Creating a great place to work

Planned

Implement the new Prior Insight staff rota system to maximise effective staff utilisation.

Continue to develop our recruitment processes to increase the numbers of full- time Prior’s Court Autism Practitioner roles.

Gain trustee approval to introduce a sector leading “employee trust” staff retention programme in 2021/22.

Complete the refurbishment of the Court House building to create modern, flexible workspaces and improved training delivery facilities.

Develop a strategy to reduce our environmental impact.

Delivered

The new Prior Insight rostering system was launched in January 2021. Driven by the daily activity of each young person, the system allows us to match staffing to the specific activity, thereby ensuring effective use of resources. It also provides enhanced visibility of attendance and absence and has a direct link to payroll systems.

2021 has been a challenging year for recruitment as the impact of Brexit, post-Covid 19 economic growth and mandatory vaccinations in adult care homes combine to put pressure on both recruitment and retention. Since 1st February 2021, Prior’s Court has outsourced its provision to a team of external recruitment specialists, ensuring expert skills and knowledge to enable us to meet our recruitment objectives. During this period, we have welcomed 109 new staff into Prior’s Court, 56% of which have been in direct contact care roles. Our challenge continues to be increasing the number of staff working in contact care roles, and in 2022 we will be exploring transportation support, an interactive referral application, and broadening our approach through social media channels.

The Trustees have approved a fund for 2021/22 and have agreed to designate up to £150k of reserves from 2020/21 into this new fund which will be called ‘Our Future Our Fund’, in readiness for a launch later in the 2021/22 financial year.

We have completed three of the six phases of refurbishment work providing more agile working space to facilitate hybrid working, including transforming the office and working space for HR, recruitment, the Prior Insight project and IT teams. Additionally, on the ground floor the staff room, parent room and Workforce Planning team office have been refreshed. Phases 4-6 (including remaining office space, reception and training areas) will conclude in 2021/22.

The Trustees approved a new Prior’s Court Environmental Policy, KPI framework and process for identifying and approving environmental actions in December 2020. Key targets around energy usage, waste and water usage were set as part of the strategy. See the SECR on page 14 for more information on our energy usage, where we achieved a 4% reduction in CO2 vs our 5% target.

Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR)

	Current Reporting Year 2020/21 UK GHG Emission and Energy Data	Previous Reporting Year 2019-2020* UK GHG Emission and Energy Data
Energy consumption used to calculate emissions (kWh); all mandatory energy sources are included.	3,667,748.7	3,677,060.6
Total gross CO2e based on above (tCO2e)	861.9	896.6
Intensity Ratio: kg CO2e gross based on mandatory felds above per metre square of Gross Internal Area: (kg CO2e m-2), being 18,490.9 m2	46.6 kg CO2em2	48.5 kg CO2e m-2

Methodology

An evidence-based methodology was adopted in accordance with BS EN ISO 14064-3:2019, Section 4.3; verifiable data has been collected from the following sources:

Energy Data:	Energy Metering, Invoices, Supply Summaries / Statements, Repayment Claims for business mileage, Fuel Cards, and correspondence with suppliers and school.
Previous Audit Data:	ESOS Phase II and SECR Baseline Report.
Emission Conversions:	All emission factors for CO2e, have been calculated using Defra Conversions 2021, as the period covers four-months of 2020 and eight-months of 2021, in accordance with Defra guidelines.

*Erratum – The 2019/20 Baseline Report contained an estimated Electricity consumption; since submission of the report, it has been confirmed the estimated energy data should not have been included, as the supply had been disconnected – the baseline report has been recalculated to reflect this.

Energy Efficiency Action

Since the previous SECR Report, the Foundation has switched electricity supplies to 100% REGO backed Zero Carbon Renewable Electricity, as part of a holistic de-carbonisation plan.

Selected highlights

The school has approximately 10 acres of managed mature woodland, which according to the Woodland Carbon Code, allows each acre of woodland to sequester approximately 1.9 tCO2 per annum. The managed woodland is estimated to sequester around 19 tCO2 offsetting the school’s total GHG emissions by approximately 2%.

The Foundation continues to develop its schedule of five-year planned works which highlights energy inefficiencies within its buildings. The Executive Team is incorporating this, along with opportunities identified with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) Report, into the framework agreed with Trustees in December 2020 to identify and implement the most cost-effective opportunities within the five year plan to minimise Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG).

Spotlight on Prior Insight Focus on the Learning Framework and the I Cans

Prior’s Court has its own bespoke Learning Framework that focuses on seven key Areas of Learning to ensure young people are supported now and in later life. The vision for the young people is happiness, health, independence and access to work.

The Learning Framework is in place seven days a week, throughout the waking day and across the 52 weeks. Each of the seven Areas of Learning has a measuring system of ‘I Can’ statements which are the skills that can be gained in each area. The areas and number of skills that can be gained are shown below. In total, nearly 4,000 new skills could be accessed and learnt by any one individual.

Area of Learning	Number of skills
Functional Academics	1,200
Vocational Learning	1,694
Communication	250
Healthiness	322
Keeping Me Safe	99
Daily Living Skills	276
Positive Behaviour Support	135

The Prior Insight digital platform facilitates the practical application of the Learning Framework in the following ways:

• The staff member supporting a young person during an activity has access to the ‘I Can’ targets and guidance on what to do to deliver this learning by clicking on the activity in the young person’s daily timeline.

• Once the activity is complete the staff member simply records whether the ‘I Can’ has been achieved at the targeted level of independence.

• The system has inbuilt reports which show the progress a young person is making, and these reports are updated in real time. This allows staff to identify areas for improvement and take immediate action to improve a young person’s learning. Further analysis is possible by cross referencing the learning progress data with other variables, such as sleep quality, diet or emotional wellbeing, to understand whether they are impacting the quality of learning.

Young Person Case Study: How incident management can drive academic progress

Young people often come to Prior’s Court having been excluded from their existing school or being taught away from the main class group. This is an example of a young man who started as a day pupil in January 2021, regularly exhibiting challenging behaviours and required 2:1 staffing to manage these incidents.

With the correct environment, structure and experienced staffing group, the behaviours decreased enabling access to learning, acceptance of others and access to learning environments.

Progress in Functional Academics vs Incidents

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10
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JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG
Achieived I Can Statements Incidents
2021
Number of Incidents/achieved I can's
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Future plans Our plans for 21/22

Despite the ongoing uncertainty ahead resulting from Covid-19 and the post-Brexit impact, the Trustees have agreed to focus on seven strategic projects to take the charity forward as we strive to be a global leader for young people with complex autism.

Our current plans for 2021/22, which are subject to ongoing Trustee review, are:

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Prior’s Court.
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Financial review

Commentary on consolidated balance sheet and results for the year

back into the Foundation on 31st August 2021. The Bakery, horticulture and ground maintenance projects remain a fundamental part of Prior’s Court’s vocational workstreams, developing our young people’s skills for future employment opportunities. These are now being carried out within the Foundation rather than the trading subsidiary, with a reduced emphasis on income generation (and thus risk) from the projects. Further details can be found in note 7a.

The consolidated group accounts include the ongoing operations of Prior’s Court Services Limited and the final year of activity within Prior’s Court Trading Limited. Group incoming resources increased 4.2% year- onyear to £21,667,373 (2020: £20,800,570). This included donations of £376,436, the majority being in relation to the Health and Wellbeing Hub, with remaining donations supporting several other smaller projects. Average occupancy increased to 93.3% (2020: 90.2%) back to 2019 levels after the impact of the Young Adult Provision refurbishment work in 2020.

Prior’s Court Services Limited

During this, the second full year of trading for Prior’s Court Services Limited, the Foundation continued to novate contracts for education and care services over to this wholly owned subsidiary. As at the financial year end over 85% of contracts had novated. The VAT savings the new group structure provides support the Foundation’s investment in its strategic projects and the overarching aims of the charity to provide support to more young people with complex autism, whilst contributing to the long-term sustainability of the charity. Further details can be found in note 7b.

Overall, the Group net surplus fell to £637,254 (2020: £1,060,240) reflecting the increasingly challenging staffing recruitment environment contributed to by Covid and Brexit, and higher than budgeted agency costs. This was also supplemented by a small year on year fall in donation income.

Unrestricted reserves increased to £3,005,107 in the year (2020: £2,905,187). This is making progress towards meeting the Trustees’ objective to increase reserves to the £3.3m target.

Fundraising

The Foundation is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and, as such, adheres to the Fundraising Code of Practice. We do not engage any third-party fundraisers, and comply with the key principles and behaviours of the Code to ensure that we take all reasonable steps to protect vulnerable people from inappropriate or unwelcomed fundraising approaches. The Foundation has not received any complaints about any aspect of its fundraising.

Expenditure on fixed assets during the year totalled £735,469 (2020: £796,587) and included a £150,652 investment in intangible assets for the third year of work on our Prior Insight IT system. Other expenditure included a £258,972 investment in the creation of the Health and Wellbeing Hub and £83,565 in phases 1-3 of the Court House offices refurbishment.

At the year end the Group had a net debt of £1,822,568 (2020: £1,645,296). This increase in net debt reflects an increase in debtor balances over the year. This is primarily due to debt chasing being restricted to email during the Covid pandemic with no ability to contact local authority staff working at home by telephone to resolve items.

Our donors take us above and beyond the core funding we receive from Local Authorities and enable us to provide new facilities, equipment and activities for the young people at Prior’s Court. This would not be possible without the support of so many and our thanks go to each and every individual and organisation that has helped the Foundation to secure the funds it needs, or supported it with gifts in kind to address our ambition for the children and young people we serve.

With increasing demand for specialist provisions and stringent OFSTED requirements, the Trustees recognise that investment in staffing, operations and the existing estate is critical to maintaining service quality. The policy thus remains for surpluses generated to be reinvested in the Group to support these goals, minimise net debt, and maintain a financially secure organisation to achieve future benefits for young people with complex autism.

During the year the fundraising team raised £376,436 of voluntary income (2020: £456,293), of which 69% was restricted to the Health & Wellbeing Hub capital appeal. The Hub, which was completed in February, is already enabling us to be more efficient, proactive and better able to meet our young people’s health and wellbeing needs.

Prior’s Court Trading Limited

The remaining 31% of donations supported other areas of our work including the Bakery and our Prior Insight data project, as well as helping towards additional Covid-related costs such as PPE. We were awarded a grant from BBC Children in Need and the Youth Futures Foundation to support the development of an orchard within our grounds, which will provide further opportunities for our young people to gain the skills and experiences required to enter the world of work.

Activities within this subsidiary (trading as ‘Bread & Beyond’) continued to be impacted by the Covid pandemic during the year. Pauses and reductions in customer demand for bakery products provided opportunity for the Trustees to strategically review operations of the trading subsidiary in March 2021. As a result, the Trustees took the decision to transfer all operations within Prior’s Court Trading Limited

Further details can be found in note 5.

We would like to acknowledge the generous support we have received as donations and pledges in the year from the following:

Grey Matter Learning Helen Robertson Charitable Trust Iliffe Family Charitable Trust K2 Material Goods Michael & Anna Wix Charitable Trust Mill Ride Golf & Country Park Morgan Charitable Foundation Newbury Building Society Oliver Ford Foundation Payne-Gallwey Charitable Trust Phoenix Energy Solutions Ltd Rotary Club of Hungerford Sainsbury’s Thames Water Utilities Ltd TK Maxx Vodafone

Ammco Trust

Autism Threads

Baily Thomas Charitable Fund BBC Children in Need and Youth Futures Foundation Belvedere Trust

Constable Educational Trust Co-Op (Hermitage) Cumber Family Charitable Trust Doris Field Charitable Trust Fastrack EMS Focus Assured Fujitsu Gerald Palmer Eling Trust Green Hall Foundation Greenham Trust Ltd

We also acknowledge with gratitude all those whom we cannot list here or who wish to remain anonymous.

Blue – Gifts in Kind. Pink - volunteers

Reserves

factors. Prior’s Court retains a healthy pipeline and on-going demand for places from funding authorities. Based upon this the Trustees have examined the major risks and the mitigating actions available to be taken and have reasonable expectation that the Foundation has adequate resources to continue its activities for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

The Trustees regularly review the Group’s financial position, including monthly cash flows and spending against budget and updated forecasts, and against the background of the five-year strategic plan. The impact of Covid-19 continues to make this significantly important. This stewardship is critical to monitor closely the local government fee income needed to fund the operating expenditure - mainly staff costs required to provide the specialist care which our pupils need twenty-four hours each day throughout the year. The Trustees are pleased to report that, through a combination of the Group’s surplus and lower levels of capital expenditure 2020/21 has seen a small increase in free reserves to £3.005m. The Trustees believe the appropriate target for free reserves to cover contingencies arising from operating cash flow fluctuations should remain the equivalent of six months’ operating costs, net of controllable staff costs. This is calculated at £3.300m.

Investment policy

The Trustees are authorised under the Articles of Association to invest any monies in an investment authorised by law for charity funds.

The aim of the Foundation is to apply its income in support of its charitable objectives and investment of surplus funds will only be considered as an interim measure in respect of as yet uncommitted cash surpluses. All investment activities involve risk and reward, and the policy of the Foundation is to achieve a satisfactory return whilst minimising risk.

Going concern

Overall responsibility for investment decisions lies with the Trustees. The management of investment activities is delegated to the Director of Finance, who reports regularly to Trustees on any investment activities as part of his regular financial reporting.

The impacts of Covid-19 and (since 31st December 2020) Brexit on the UK, the economy and the Foundation are still not fully known. The two have distinct impacts and are increasingly difficult to separate on the wider macro-economic picture affecting the UK employment market, on which, as a 24-hour care provider, Prior’s Court is so heavily dependent to meet our safe staffing levels. Whilst Prior’s Court has remained fully operational to date throughout the pandemic, the Executive team has regularly updated financial forecasts and considered future projected cash flows for a range of scenarios based on the impact of the pandemic and their understanding of longer term

With the ongoing low Bank of England base rates the opportunity to generate interest receivable reduced such that no short-term deposits were held during the year. Thus, the Foundation generated £nil (2020: £9,627) interest receivable in the year.

Statement of Compliance, Reference and Administrative Details

Objects and activities

This report complies with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report Regulations 2013), Prior’s Court Foundation’s Articles of Association, which is its governing document, and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP), effective 1 January 2015 – Charities SORP (FRS 102).

The objects of the Charity are set out in the Articles of Association. The main object is summarised as: “to promote the education, welfare and relief of people (and in particular, but not exclusively, children and young adults) who suffer from any one or more of the following:

• [learning disabilities or]

Reference and Administrative Details Legal constitution, operating names

• [physical disabilities or]

• [psychiatric illness and]

Prior’s Court Foundation is a company limited by guarantee, number 3583324 (“the Company”) incorporated on 12 June 1998 and a registered charity number 1070227 (“the Charity”). The members of the Company, who are also the Directors of the company and the Trustees of the Charity, each agree to contribute up to £1 in the event of the Charity winding up; throughout this report they are collectively referred to as “the Trustees”.

• [social or communication difficulties or disorders ] which are related to, or associated with, autism”.

• The Charity addresses its objects by offering:

• [an independent day and residential special school for ] children and young people aged 5 to 20;

• [a residential provision for young adults from 19 to 25 ] years; and

• [a training centre developing expertise in autism best ] practice for Prior’s Court’s staff, parents and external professionals.

The Charity also operates under the name of Prior’s Court School (the “School”), Prior’s Court Young Adult Provision (the “Young Adult Provision”) and Bread & Beyond (the trading name of the Bakery operations which transferred into the Foundation on 31st August 2021 following the winding up of operations within Prior’s Court Trading Limited as at that date (see below).

The Charity owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of Prior’s Court Services Limited (a private company limited by shares number 10998772) which was incorporated during the year on 16 May 2019.

The Charity also owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of Prior’s Court Trading Limited (a private company limited by shares number 10886137) which was incorporated on 27 July 2018 and until 31st August 2021 traded under the trading name ‘Bread & Beyond’. From 31st August 2021 this company is now dormant.

Public benefit

In setting the Charity’s goals and planning activities the Trustees have given due consideration to the published Charity Commission guidance on the operation of the public benefit requirement of the Charities Act 2011. As places for young people are assessed on the needs of the students and the fees are entirely paid by Local Authorities the Trustees consider that the public benefit requirement has been met. Furthermore, subject to the Covid pandemic, the Charity makes specialist autism training and development services available to other schools and external organisations from across the country.

Governance

Trustees, Executive Team and appointed advisors

The Trustees, (detailed, together with the subcommittees on which they serve, on page 50) determine the general policy of the Foundation. The Trustees are appointed by the company membership and serve for up to three years, retiring by rotation and being eligible to serve for two further terms under the Articles of Association.

The Board of Trustees, which may have up to 15 members, administers the Foundation and is responsible for approval and review of the Foundation’s long-term strategic plans. The Board meets quarterly, and its sub-committees cover the different areas within the Foundation. The Chief Executive leads the Executive Team and is responsible to the Trustees for overseeing all operations within the Foundation as well as the framework for staffing, education and residential care requirements for the School and the Young Adult Provision.

The role of parent-appointed and staff-appointed advisors (named on page 51) is to act as a link between the Trustees and the stakeholders they represent.

The members of the Executive Team are listed on page 50. The Foundation’s professional advisors are listed on page 51.

Key management personnel

Key management personnel and the Trustees are named on page 50.

The remuneration of key management personnel is set by the Board, following advice from the Nominations Committee. The policy objective is to provide appropriate incentives to encourage enhanced performance and to reward them fairly and responsibly for their individual contributions to the Foundation’s success. The remuneration policy is reviewed annually to ensure it remains appropriate and relevant. The committee benchmarks remuneration against similar organisations in the charity sector to ensure that Prior’s Court remains sensitive to the broader issues of pay and employment conditions elsewhere. We aim to recruit, subject to experience, at the median point within a band, providing scope for rewarding performance in the future. Delivery of the Foundation’s charitable vision and purpose is primarily dependent on our key management personnel, and staff costs are the largest single element of our charitable expenditure.

Trustees’ induction and training

New Trustees are appointed at full Trustee meetings upon approval by the existing membership and are briefed on their legal obligations under charity and company law, on the content of the Articles of Association, on the committee and decision-making processes, and on the business plan and recent financial performance of the Foundation. All Trustees are required to undertake regular safeguarding training. Further

training is provided to give an overview of our autism best practice and relevant areas of education, residential care and organisational management such as risk management.

During their induction new Trustees meet key employees and other Trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

Section 172 (1) statement

In 2018 the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations introduced a requirement for large companies (including charities) to publish a statement describing how the directors (charity trustees) have had regard to the matters set out in section 172(1)(a) to (f) of the Companies Act 2006 which relate to the interests of stakeholders in their decision making.

• [The board of trustees consider, both individually and ] collectively, that they continue to have regard to the likely consequences of any long-term decisions including the interests of the Foundation’s employees and other stakeholders, the impact on the community, the environment and Foundation’s reputation, when making decisions. This is carried out through the charity’s governance structure outlined above.

•[The board recognise that the outstanding ] achievements with young people can only be delivered through the employees who work for the Foundation to support the delivery of our strategic plans. This is particularly so while the charity is having to manage the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff health, safety and wellbeing are hugely important, and we work hard to make Prior’s Court a ‘Great Place to Work’ through engaging with our employees and acting on their feedback. Our Living the Values and Healthy You programmes have gone from strength to strength this last year and the board has approved plans to launch an innovative new Staff Fund to retain and further reward our employees.

• [The Foundation continues to seek to maintain its good ] working relationships with our placing authorities, parents, suppliers and other stakeholders that have seen Prior’s Court positively impact the lives of some many young people and families over the last 21 years.

•[The majority of Prior’s Court’s operations take place ] on our own site. However, our strategic plans to impact the lives of more young people and achieve outcomes beyond imagination have developed our reach into the community, whether it be through the sale of Bread & Beyond’s bakery products locally, or our vocational stream work placements supporting various outdoor activities in the local environment. Through our Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting processes we also seek to review and reduce our environmental impact thus benefitting the local community further.

• [The Foundation consistently seeks to deliver the best ] possible provision of education and care and other services through its work. It is regularly monitored by external bodies such as Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to ensure this. In addition, we have policies to ensure high standards of conduct such as our Safeguarding and Whistleblowing policies, and we work hard to conduct training and promote awareness to employees in all such areas.

• [As a charity, our members are all Trustees with an ] interest in the work of Prior’s Court, none of whom has any ownership of the Foundation but act in a voluntary capacity to support the delivery of the charitable objectives.

Statement of Engagement with Employees

In line with government advice, Covid-19 safety precautions have restricted opportunities and the numbers of visits to site during the year. In line with the requirements of the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018, the Board of Trustees has engaged with employees throughout the year via the staff representatives who attend quarterly board meetings; discussions with the Executive Team and, Covid-19 permitting, on-site visits, with June 2021 committee meetings returning to site for the first time since February 2020.

Staff recruitment, retention, rotas and staff utilisation continued to be a strategic focus in the year. The Trustees have engaged with and fully supported the Executive Team in their development and implementation of plans for improvements in these areas, including the implementation of a new staff rota system on Prior Insight, the outsourcing of recruitment to a third-party provider and a comprehensive review of remuneration for experienced contact care staff. The Trustees recognise however, the formidable external impacts during the year (and still ongoing) that have put significant pressure on the organisation from a staffing perspective.

Employment Policy

The Foundation is an equal opportunities employer and this is laid out in the Employee Handbook. Full and fair consideration is given to job applications from disabled persons and due consideration is given to their training and employment needs. Communication, consultation with employees and training (including safeguarding and health and safety) is a key focus at Prior’s Court.

Statement of the Group’s Business Relationships with Suppliers and other Stakeholders

The school continues to engage with a large number of stakeholders, the most important of which are the families of our young people and their placing authorities.

With the vast majority of young people being 52-week residents at Prior’s Court, the trust and forging of good relationships with parents is critical. During the year we have developed our Parent Portal on Prior Insight to provide parents more real time information and reports about their young people – including their activities,

behaviours and incidents. We have launched quarterly Zoom meetings for parents to share more about our ongoing developments on Prior Insight which have been well attended. We also work closely with local authorities to ensure the young people’s needs are being met and strive for outstanding progress in all aspects of their development. The Trustees also recognise that organisationally our success is built on strong business relationships with key suppliers who understand the unique circumstances within which we operate and partner with us in a cost-efficient way to deliver the often bespoke services required.

Risk management

The Trustees recognise their responsibilities in the management of risk and have a risk management strategy which comprises:

• [a quarterly review by the Board of Trustees of the ] principal risks the Charity may face, in terms of both likelihood of occurrence and gravity of effect. This review is informed by the Trustees’ risk appetite;

• [the establishment of internal controls, systems and ] procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the reviews; and

• [the implementation of procedures designed to ] minimise any potential impact on the Foundation should those risks materialise.

The risks rated as high by the Trustees, and the actions taken to mitigate them are currently:

• [Residential staff numbers and/ or experience and skills ] fall to levels where quality of life of young people is affected.

The Trustees recognise the pressure on the UK employment market nationally and particularly within social care. A combination of post-pandemic job vacancies being at all-time high levels and the removal of the EU recruitment market as a result of Brexit is placing significant stress on staffing levels at Prior’s Court. The Trustees have approved additional investment to ensure salary rates remain competitive and our recruitment partner is exploring a multitude of ideas to generate job applications. In addition, work is being carried out to improve the effectiveness of current staff allocation, using the new rota module on Prior Insight.

Covid-19 remains a current risk that is being actively managed by the Executive Team who are keeping Trustees regularly updated with all the operational and financial impacts. The Trustees are satisfied with the Foundation’s approach to date, and with the response plans developed and constantly being refined to minimise risk and impact on our young people, staff and wider stakeholders, whilst ensuring the financial stability of the organisation.

Provision of information to auditors

Each of the persons who is a director at the time when this report is approved has confirmed:

• [so far as that director is aware, there is no relevant ] audit information of which the Company’s auditors are unaware; and

• [that director has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a director in order to be aware of any information ] needed by the Company’s auditors in connection with preparing their report and to establish that the Company’s auditors are aware of that information.

This Annual Report, prepared under the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006, was approved by the Trustee Body of Prior’s Court Foundation Limited on 13th December 2021 including in their capacity as company directors, approving the Strategic Report contained therein, and is signed as authorised on its behalf by:

Christopher Barrett DL Chair of Trustees Date: 13th December 2021

Neil Atherton Company Secretary Date: 13th December 2021

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Prior’s Court Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Annual Report of the Foundation Trustees (incorporating the Strategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group, and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• [select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;]

• [observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;]

• [make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;]

• [state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed ] and explained in the financial statements; and

• [prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable ] company will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions, disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Prior’s Court Foundation Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Prior’s Court Foundation for the year ended 31 August 2021

Opinion

statements is appropriate.

We have audited the financial statements of Prior’s Court Foundation for the year ended 31 August 2021 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated and Foundation Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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

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

Other information

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

In our opinion the financial statements:

• [give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s ] and the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2021 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;

• [have been properly prepared in accordance with ] United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and

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

• [have been prepared in accordance with the ] requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

• [the information given in the trustees’ report, which ] includes the directors’ report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements;

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustee’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial

and

• [the strategic report and the directors’ 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 light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

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

• [adequate accounting records have not been kept; or]

• [the financial statements are not in agreement with ] the accounting records and returns; or

• [certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified ] by law are not made; or

• [we have not received all the information and ] explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 25, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.

uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the group and charitable company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) and the Charities Act. We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the group and charitable company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the group and charitable company for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were Safeguarding regulations, Health & Safety legislation, General Data Protection Regulations, Food Hygiene Standards, OFSTED and Care Quality Commission regulations. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the timing of recognition of income, and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, and the Finance Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, Independent Schools Inspectorate and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed noncompliance with laws

and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would be to identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remains a higher risk of nondetection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report 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 may state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Janette Joyce Senior Statutory Auditor

For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Reading

Date: 14 December 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

(including an income and expenditure account)

----- Start of picture text -----
Note Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Total funds
funds 2021 funds 2021 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Income from:
Trading Activities 6 18,148 - 18,148 108,593
Donations 5 45,630 330,806 376,436 456,293
Charitable activities:
Provision of education & care 21,230,789 42,000 21,272,789 20,235,684
Total 21,294,567 372,806 21,667,373 20,800,570
Expenditure on:
Raising funds:
Finance costs 8 109,327 - 109,327 147,206
Fundraising costs 9 184,948 - 184,948 184,350
Trading expenditure 7a 41,210 - 41,210 38,678
Charitable activities:
Provision of education & care 10 19,723,289 94,800 19,818,089 18,350,813
Marketing and communications 10 310,711 - 310,711 366,298
Staff training 10 565,834 - 565,834 652,985
Total 20,935,319 94,800 21,030,119 19,740,330
Net Income 359,248 278,006 637,254 1,060,240
Transfer between funds 21 450,237 (450,237) - -
Net movement in funds 809,485 (172,231) 637,254 1,060,240
Total funds brought forward 20,477,833 306,506 20,784,339 19,724,099
Total funds carried forward 21 21,287,318 134,275 21,421,593 20,784,339
----- End of picture text -----

Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 August 2021 Company number: 3583324

----- Start of picture text -----
Note Foundation Group
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 13 154,753 90,911 154,753 90,911
Tangible assets 14 22,270,966 22,389,541 22,270,966 22,696,848
Investment in subsidiary undertakings 15 1,000 1,000 - -
22,426,719 22,481,452 22,425,719 22,787,759
Current assets
Stocks 16 23,566 32,921 23,566 35,536
Debtors 17 3,528,557 1,735,336 5,202,054 3,363,618
Cash at bank and in hand 3,104,636 3,873,505 3,104,941 3,887,429
6,656,759 5,641,762 8,330,561 7,286,583
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year 18a (3,082,345) (2,543,585) (4,707,874) (4,157,928)
Net current assets 3,574,414 3,098,177 3,622,687 3,128,655
Total assets less current liabilities 26,001,133 25,579,629 26,048,406 25,916,414
Creditors
Amounts falling due in more than one year 19 (4,626,813) (5,132,075) (4,626,813) (5,132,075)
Net assets 20 21,374,320 20,447,554 21,421,593 20,784,339
Capital and reserves
Restricted funds 22 134,275 306,506 134,275 306,506
Unrestricted funds- General 21 2,957,834 2,875,709 3,005,107 2,905,187
Unrestricted funds- Designated 21 18,282,211 17,265,339 18,282,211 17,572,646
21,374,320 20,447,554 21,421,593 20,784,339
----- End of picture text -----

The net income for the financial year dealt within the financial statements of the parent company was £926,766 (2020: £1,065,247) .

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 13th December 2021.

Christopher Barrett DL Chair of Trustees

William Powlett Smith Chair of Financial Security Committee

The notes on pages 33 to 49 form part of these accounts.

The notes on pages 33 to 49 form part of these accounts.

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Consolidated statement of Cash Flows

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income per statement of financial activities 637,254 1,060,240
Depreciation 1,010,700 1,012,759
Amortisation 86,810 37,355
Loss/(profit) on disposal of fixed assets (700) 8,111
Bank interest paid 109,327 147,206
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (1,838,436) (2,021,469)
(Increase)/decrease in stock 11,970 (26,168)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 649,899 2,519,583
Cash generated by operating activities 666,824 2,737,617
Cash flows from investing activities
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets 700 10,242
Purchase of fixed assets (intangible and tangible) (735,469) (796,587)
Cash used in investing activities: (734,769) (786,345)
Cash flows from financing activities
Bank loan repaid (605,216) (384,707)
Interest paid (109,327) (147,206)
Cash (used in)/generated by financing activities (714,543) (531,913)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (782,488) 1,419,359
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 3,887,429 2,468,070
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 3,104,941 3,887,429
Cash at bank and in hand 3,104,941 3,887,429
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements

presented for the Foundation as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The net incoming resources of the Foundation (excluding PCTL & PCSL)) were £926,766 (2020: £1,065,247).

1. Company Information

The Foundation’s principal activity is the maintenance of Prior’s Court School and Prior’s Court Young Adult Provision for students aged 5 to 25 with autism, learning difficulties and complex needs. The Foundation (charity number 1070227 and company number 3583324) is incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of the registered office is shown on page 51.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the amount and receipt become probable. Deferred income is generated where tuition fees for the forthcoming term are invoiced in advance of the period end.

Investment income

Investment income represents bank interest received on cash deposits.

2. Accounting Policies

Income from charitable activities

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) – Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Provision of education and care represents fee income received for pupils and Young Adults who live in residential accommodation at Prior’s Court Foundation and fee income received for pupils who attend the School on a daily basis. During the year the group received £55,248 (2020: £58,761) in Covid-19 support from Local Authorities in the form of additional grants.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds, whose use is specified by the donor, are credited to income in the period in which they are received. Where amounts are not specifically allocated against expenditure in that period, the balance is deferred and added to the balance brought forward on the restricted fund to be used in future periods. See note 22 for analysis of these funds.

The Foundation meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Designated funds

Going concern

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of the designated funds are set out in Note 21 to the financial statements.

Having reviewed the funding facilities available to the Foundation together with the expected ongoing demand for places and the Foundation’s future projected cash flows, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Foundation has adequate resources to continue its activities for the foreseeable future. This decision has been taken after a rigorous review of potential impacts including the wider employment market situation in light of the Covid pandemic and Brexit and their impact on the Group’s operational activities and finances.

Resources expended - charitable activities

Costs of charitable activities include costs associated with providing services to the pupils and an apportionment of overheads and support costs as shown per Note 10. The costs relating to the pupils include teaching, care, staff training and premises.

Intangible fixed assets

It is the Trustees’ belief that the Group can continue to manage the impact of the above including further outbreaks of Covid-19 infections operationally on site, provide safe levels of staffing cover and have sufficient reserves to cope with any such additional expenditure. Costs are being carefully monitored and managed accordingly. Therefore the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses. All intangible assets are considered to have a finite useful life, and are amortised over 3 years.

Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of Prior’s Court Trading Limited (PCTL) and Priors Court Services Limited (PCSL) the charitable company’s trading subsidiaries with company numbers 10886137 and 11998772 respectively. No separate statement of financial activities is

The notes on pages 33 to 49 form part of these accounts.

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

are attributable to the School. In accordance with FRS102 therefore, the scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution scheme.

2. Accounting Policies (Continued)

Tangible fixed assets

Financial instruments

The Foundation has applied the “deemed cost” provisions of FRS102 in that valuations of previously revalued land and buildings will no longer be undertaken.

Basic financial instruments include debtors and creditors. Debtors and creditors are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. Note 26 provides more information on financial instruments where future cash flows are anticipated, with financial assets referring to cash and debtor balances excluding prepayments, and financial liabilities referring to all creditor balances excluding deferred income and taxation and social security.

Depreciation is provided to write off the cost or valuation, less estimated residual values, of all tangible fixed assets, except for freehold land and assets in the course of construction, evenly over their expected useful life. It is calculated at the following rates:

Freehold buildings 50 years Fixtures, fittings and other equipment 5-10 years Computer equipment 3 years Motor vehicles 3 years

3. Significant judgements and estimates

In the application of the Foundation’s accounting policies, which are described in note 2. Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Within the Foundation individual items costing less than £1,000 are written off as expenses on acquisition. There is no de minimis limit in the trading subsidiaries.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is based on the cost of purchase on a first in, first out basis. Net realisable value is based on estimated selling price less additional costs to completion and disposal.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects the current and future periods.

Debtors

Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment. Loans receivable are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment

The Trustees consider that there are no material judgements in applying accounting policies or key sources of estimation uncertainty.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash is represented by cash in hand and deposits with financial institutions repayable without penalty on notice of not more than 24 hours. Cash equivalents are highly liquid investments that mature in no more than three months from the date of acquisition and that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash with insignificant risk of change in value.

4. Status of the charity

The Foundation is a company limited by guarantee and is a registered charity. Each member’s liability would be limited to an amount not exceeding £1 in the event of the Foundation winding up.

Creditors

Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price. Other financial liabilities, including bank loans, are measured initially at fair value, net of transaction costs, and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
5. Donations 2021 2020
£ £
Donations comprise:
Restricted Income
Donations – Lemon Tree 2,500 2,500
Donations – Bakery 27,208 54,530
Donations – Memorial Funds 376 -
Donations – Prior Insight 3,722 8,149
Donations – Health & Wellbeing Hub 260,752 320,989
-
Donations – Gym Equipment on Track 18,385
-
Donations – Sports Equipment Xmas Appeal 2,710
-
Donations – Middle Playground 19,386
-
Donations – Young adult fund 1,000
-
Donations – (Covid-19)- third party 10,000
Donations – Horticulture 22,588 -
Donations – Water Butts 1500 -
Donations – Countryside Learning Centre 860 1,140
Donations – Volunteering 300 -
330,806 427,789
Unrestricted donations 45,630 28,504
Total 376,436 456,293
6. Trading activities 2021 2020
£ £
-
Training courses and conferences 18,535
-
Other fundraising activities 40,352
Vocational work stream income - 409
Bakery income from Bread & Beyond 18,148 49,297
18,148 108,593
----- End of picture text -----

Pension costs

The Foundation operates a group personal pension plan for its non-teaching staff. Contributions are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they become payable. The Foundation also contributes to the Teachers’ Pension Defined Benefits Scheme at rates set out by the Scheme Actuary and advised to the Board by the Scheme Administrator. The scheme is a multiemployer pension scheme and it is not possible to identify the assets and liabilities of the scheme which

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

7a. Trading Income and Expenditure - Prior’s Court Trading Limited

Prior’s Court Trading Limited (PCTL- Company Number: 10886137) is a 100% subsidiary of the Foundation trading as “Bread and Beyond”. Its registered office is the same as the Foundation’s noted on page 51. PCTL was incorporated on 27 July 2017, in order to provide vocational training, and employment opportunities in furtherance of the Foundation’s objects. The trading results extracted from its audited accounts for the period ended 31 August 2021 were:-

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
£ £
Turnover 80,692 49,297
Cost of sales (16,913) (13,373)
Gross profit 63,779 35,924
Administrative expenses (143,603) (123,781)
Donations (226,968) -
-
Other operating income 52,857
(Loss) on activities before taxation (306,792) (35,000)
Taxation - -
(Loss) for the financial year (306,792) (35,000)
----- End of picture text -----

The aggregate amount of share capital and reserves of Prior’s Court Trading Limited at 31 August 2021 was £500. Administrative expenses include a management charge paid to the Foundation of £ 13,887 (2020: £9,952) . Other operating income in 2020 represents a grant of £52,857 made towards revenue and capital expenditure. Donations relate to the transfer of all trade and assets from Prior’s Court Trading Limited to Prior’s Court Foundation on 31 August 2021. All of these items are eliminated upon consolidation.

	£
PCTL total costs before eliminations	387,484
Management charge eliminated	(13,887)
Donations eliminated	(226,968)
Staff costs allocated elsewhere on SOFA	(67,330)
Depreciation allocated elsewhere on SOFA	(38,089)
Total costs included in Trading Expenditure in the SOFA	41,210
	£
PCTL total income before eliminations	80,692
Training income eliminated	(47,744)
Bread sales eliminated	(14,800)
Total income included in Trading Income in the SOFA	18,148

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

7b. Trading Income and Expenditure - Prior’s Court Services Limited

Prior’s Court Services Limited (PCSL-Company Number: 11998772) is a 100% subsidiary of the Foundation. Its registered office is the same as the Foundation’s noted on page 51. PCSL was incorporated on 16 May 2019, in order to provide a more efficient basis for the Group’s service position. The trading results extracted from its audited accounts for the period ended 31 August 2021 were:-

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 Period ending
£ 31 August 2020
£
Turnover 17,983,967 13,985,353
Administrative expenses (17,936,694) (13,955,360)
Profit on activities before taxation 47,273 29,993
Taxation - -
Profit for the financial year 47,273 29,993
----- End of picture text -----

The aggregate amount of share capital and reserves of Prior’s Court Services Limited at 31 August 2021 was £47,773. Administrative expenses include a management charge paid to the Foundation of £17,809,953 (2020: £13,950,390) . This item is eliminated upon consolidation. Taxable profits are gift aided to the Foundation and are also eliminated upon consolidation.

The remaining administrative expenses are included under the Provision of education and care line on the SOFA.

8. Finance Costs

8. Finance Costs
	2021 £	2020 £
Interest paid	109,327	147,206
9. Fundraising Costs
	2021 £	2020 £
Staff costs	185,385	170,608
Other fundraising costs	(437)	13,742
	184,948	184,350

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

10. Analysis of Charitable Expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 Staff Costs Other Depreciation/ 2021
£ Support Costs Amortisation £
£ £
Provision of education and care 16,132,890 2,640,660 1,044,539 19,818,089
-
Marketing and communications 167,681 143,030 310,711
Staff training 222,189 290,674 52,971 565,834
16,522,760 3,074,364 1,097,510 20,694,634
2020 comparative Staff Costs Other Depreciation/ 2020
£ Support Costs Amortisation £
£ £
Provision of education and care 14,974,859 2,376,542 999,412 18,350,813
-
Marketing and communications 142,259 224,039 366,298
Staff training 170,567 431,716 50,702 652,985
15,287,685 3,032,297 1,050,114 19,370,096
----- End of picture text -----

Support costs are allocated consistently based on the level of direct staff costs attributable to each charitable activity. Administration salaries have been included within staff costs above. Other support costs include utilities, legal & professional fees and other general administration expenses as well as the following major expenditure items:

	2021 £	2020 £
Governance costs	19,470	20,786
Repairs and maintenance	369,806	502,529
Other catering and provisions	502,680	485,272
11. Staff Costs	£	£
Staff costs consist of:
Wages and salaries	13,173,450	11,867,109
Social security costs	1,086,956	978,428
Other pension costs	619,508	552,985
Total payroll costs	14,879,914	13,398,522
Agency and supply cover	1,828,231	2,059,771
Total staff costs*	16,708,145	15,458,293

*Reconciles to staff costs of £185,385 in note 9 and £16,522,760 in note 10. Termination payments of £ 88,020 (2020: £33,176) were made during the year.

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
The number of employees whose annual emoluments exceeded £60,000 were:
11. Staff Costs (Continued) 2021 2020
Number Number
£60,001 - £70,000 3 2
£70,001 - £80,000 1 2
£80,001 - £90,000 3 2
£130,001 - £140,000 1 1
Number of higher paid employees contributing to a pension scheme 7 6
Total cost of employer’s contributions in relation to the above 42,073 37,164
The average number of employees during the year, split by category, was as follows:
2021 2020
Number Number
Education 59 61
Residential care 332 312
Administration 93 86
484 459
----- End of picture text -----

The above numbers do not include agency staff and flexible workers. The Trustees received no remuneration during the current or preceding year. No expenses were reimbursed to Trustees in 2021. In 2020 one Trustee was reimbursed £256 in relation to travel expenses.

At the end of the year key management personnel comprised 8 (2020: 8) people who received aggregate remuneration (including employer’s pensions and employer national insurance) of £705,219 (2020: £696,004). Key management personnel are defined as members of the Executive Team, as well as the Trustees; all of whom are named on page 50.

12. Net Income

----- Start of picture text -----
This has been arrived at after charging: 2021 2020
£ £
Depreciation 1,010,700 1,012,759
Amortisation 86,810 37,355
Auditor’s remuneration - Audit and accountancy 22,595 21,945
- Non-audit 30,540 29,883
----- End of picture text -----

13. Intangible Assets

Group and Foundation	Software development £
Cost
At 1 September 2020	139,716
Additions	150,652
At 31 August 2021	290,368
Depreciation
At 1 September 2020	48,805
Charge for the period	86,810
At 31 August 2021	135,615
Net Book Value at 31 August 2021	154,753
At 31 August 2020	90,911

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

14. Tangible Assets - Foundation

----- Start of picture text -----
Land & Fixtures, Computer Motor Assets in the Total
Buildings Fittings Equipment Vehicles Course of £
& improve- & Other £ £ Construction
ments to Equipment £
property £
£
Cost
At 1 September 2020 24,873,595 3,305,627 761,460 313,849 192,934 29,447,465
Additions 3,044 73,207 62,553 21,540 409,813 570,157
- - - -
Disposals (15,495) (15,495)
Transfers from PCTL 242,882 39,011 - 1,986 - -
Transfers 488,320 94,589 - - (582,909) 283,879
At 31 August 2021 25,607,841 3,512,434 824,013 321,880 19,838 30,286,006
Depreciation
-
At 1 September 2020 3,435,242 2,756,005 644,957 221,720 7,057,924
-
Charge for 631,708 219,692 70,221 50,990 972,611
the period
- - - -
Disposals (15,495) (15,495)
-
At 31 August 20210 4,066,950 2,975,697 715,178 257,215 8,015,040
Net Book Value
At 31 August 2021 21,540,891 536,737 108,835 64,665 19,838 22,270,966
At 31 August 2020 21,438,353 549,622 116,503 92,130 192,933 22,389,542
----- End of picture text -----

Tangible Assets - Group

	Land & Buildings & improve- ments to property £	Fixtures, Fittings & Other Equipment £	Computer Equipment £	Motor Vehicles £	Assets in the Course of Construction £	Total £
Cost
At 1 September 2020	25,179,077	3,360,821	761,460	328,145	192,934	29,822,437
Additions	3,044	87,867	62,553	21,540	409,813	584,817
Disposals*	-	-	-	(15,495)	-	(15,495)
Transfers	488,320	94,589	-	-	(582,909)	-
At 31 August 2021	25,670,441	3,543,277	824,013	334,190	19,838	30,391,759
Depreciation
At 1 September 2020	3,477,477	2,773,889	644,957	229,265	-	7,125,588
Charge for theperiod	652,073	232,651	70,221	55,755	-	1,010,700
Disposals	-	-	-	(15,495)	-	(15,495)
At 31 August 2021	4,129,550	3,006,540	715,178	269,525	-	8,120,793
Net Book Value
At 31 August 2021	21,540,891	536,737	108,835	64,665	19,838	22,270,966
At 31 August 2020	21,701,600	586,932	116,503	98,880	192,934	22,696,849
All fxed assets are used for charitable purposes.

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

15. Investments in Subsidiary Undertakings

----- Start of picture text -----
£
Foundation – Cost
At 1 September 2020 1,000
Additions -
–
Disposals
At 31 August 2021 1,000
----- End of picture text -----

The investments are stated at cost and relate to the Foundation’s investment in the subsidiary companies. Prior’s Court Trading Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 27 July 2017 with £500 of share capital and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Foundation. See note 7a) for its 31 August 2021 trading results and shareholders’ funds.

Priors Court Services Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2019 with £500 of share capital and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Foundation. See note 7b) for its 31 August 2021 trading results and shareholders’ funds.

16. Stocks

----- Start of picture text -----
Foundation Group
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Stock 23,566 32,921 23,566 35,536
----- End of picture text -----

17. Debtors

17. Debtors
	Foundation		Group
	2021 £	2020 £	2021 £	2020 £
Trade debtors	62,455	880,713	4,839,152	3,012,063
Amounts owed by groupundertakings	3,215,174	604,257	–	–
Other debtors	2,919	22,553	2,919	25,687
Prepayments and accrued income	248,009	227,813	359,983	325,868
	3,528,557	1,735,336	5,202,054	3,363,618

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

18a. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
Foundation Group
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Bank loans (see note 19) 300,696 400,650 300,696 400,650
Trade creditors 543,556 709,975 543,556 711,891
Taxation and social security 1,288,785 930,534 1,288,785 1,634,195
Other creditors 252,754 116,485 342,812 117,210
Accruals 586,983 282,387 591,663 290,741
Deferred income (see note 18b) 109,071 103,554 1,639,822 1,003,241
Intercompany 500 - - -
3,082,345 2,543,585 4,707,874 4,157,928
----- End of picture text -----*

The bank borrowing is secured by a first legal charge over the property of the Foundation.

*Taxation and social security in 2020 includes £758,583 as an exceptional creditor due to the Group taking advantage of the Government VAT Deferral Scheme for one quarter’s VAT return. This has been paid in the current year in line with the Scheme rules.

18b. Deferred Income

18b. Deferred Income
	Foundation		Group
	2021 £	2020 £	2021 £	2020 £
Deferred income at 1 September 2020	103,554	137,369	1,003,241	137,369
Resources deferred in the year	109,071	103,554	1,639,822	1,003,241
Amounts realised from previous years	(103,554)	(137,369)	(1,003,241)	(137,369)
Deferred income at 31 August 2021	109,071	103,554	1,639,822	1,003,241

Deferred income relates to income received in advance for the placement of young people within the Foundation and Prior’s Court Services Limited.

19. Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year

	Foundation	Foundation	Group	Group
	2021 £	2020 £	2021 £	2020 £
Bank loans	4,626,813	5,132,075	4,626,813	5,132,075
The bank loans are repayable as follows:
Within one year	300,696	400,650	300,696	400,650
Between one and two years	307,225	409,153	307,225	409,153
Between two and fve years	4,319,588	1,280,302	4,319,588	1,280,302
Over fve years	-	3,442,620	-	3,442,620
	4,927,509	5,532,725	4,927,509	5,532,725

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

20. Allocation of Net Assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Foundation Investments Fixed Assets Net Current Long term 31 August
£ £ Assets/ liabilities 2021
(Liabilities) £ £
£
Restricted funds – – 134,275 – 134,275
Unrestricted funds:
General 1,000 – 2,956,834 – 2,957,834
–
Designated 22,425,719 483,305 (4,626,813) 18,282,211
1,000 22,425,719 3,574,414 (4,626,813) 21,374,320
2020 Comparative note
Foundation Investments Fixed Assets Net Current Long term 31 August
£ £ Assets/ liabilities 2020
(Liabilities) £ £
£
Restricted funds – – 306,506 – 306,506
Unrestricted funds:
General 1,000 – 2,874,709 – 2,875,709
–
Designated 22,480,452 (83,038) (5,132,075) 17,265,339
1,000 22,480,452 3,098,177 (5,132,075) 20,447.554
Group Investments Fixed Assets Net Current Long term 31 August
£ £ Assets/ liabilities 2021
(Liabilities) £ £
£
Restricted funds – – 134,275 – 134,275
Unrestricted funds:
General – – 3,005,107 – 3,005,107
–
Designated 22,425,719 483,305 (4,626,813) 18,282,211
–
22,425,719 3,622,687 (4,626,813) 21,421,593
2020 Comparative note
Group Investments Fixed Assets Net Current Long term 31 August
£ £ Assets/ liabilities 2020
(Liabilities) £ £
£
Restricted funds – – 306,506 – 306,506
Unrestricted funds:
General – – 2,905,187 – 2,905,187
–
Designated 22,787,759 (83,038) (5,132,075) 17,572,646
–
22,787,759 3,128,655 (5,132,075) 20,784,339
----- End of picture text -----

Loans comprise a single BoE base rate based 3 year, 8 month loan of £4.923 million taken out in August 2021 to replace a previous LIBOR based loan. The loan is charged at a margin of 2.05% plus the Bank of England base rate. The bank borrowing is secured by a first legal charge over the property of the Foundation.

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

21. Funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Foundation At 1
September Incoming Resources 31 August
2020 Resources Expended Transfers 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds (note 22) 306,506 372,806 (94,800) (450,237) 134,275
Unrestricted funds:
General 2,875,709 21,044,242 (19,665,072) (1,297,045) 2,957,834
Designated:
Fixed assets 16,947,727 - (1,059,421) 1,609,904 17,498,210
- -
New capital projects 304,990 329,011 634,001
- - -
Staff designated fund 150,000 150,000
Other 12,622 - - (12,622) -
Total designated funds 17,265,339 329,011 (1,059,421) 1,747,282 18,282,211
-
20,447,554 21,746,059 (20,819,293) 21,374,320
2020 Comparative note
Foundation At 1 Incoming Resources Transfers 31 August
September Resources Expended £ 2020
2019 £ £ £
£
Restricted funds 84,532 514,912 (292,938) - 306,506
Unrestricted funds:
General 2,485,253 20,211,350 (18,354,031) (1,466,863) 2,875,709
Designated:
Fixed assets 16,799,900 - (1,014,046) 1,161,873 16,947,727
- - -
New capital projects 304,990 304,990
Other 12,622 - - - 12,622
-
19,382,307 20,726,262 (19,661,015) 20,447,554
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
21. Funds (Continued)
Group At 1
September Incoming Resources 31 August
2020 Resources Expended Transfers 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds (note 22) 306,506 372,806 (94,800) (450,237) 134,275
Unrestricted funds:
General 2,905,187 21,028,100 (19,900,353) (1,027,827) 3,005,107
Designated:
Fixed assets 17,255,034 - (1,097,510) 1,340,686 17,498,210
- -
New capital projects 304,990 329,011 634,001
- - -
Staff designated fund 150,000 150,000
Other 12,622 - - (12,622) -
Total designated funds 17,572,646 329,011 (1,097,510) 1,478,064 18,282,211
-
20,784,339 21,729,917 (21,092,663) 21,421,593
2020 Comparative note
Foundation At 1 Incoming Resources Transfers 31 August
September Resources Expended £ 2020
2019 £ £ £
£
Restricted funds 84,532 514,912 (292,938) - 306,506
Unrestricted funds:
General 2,484,738 20,285,658 (18,397,278) (1,467,931) 2,905,187
Designated:
Fixed assets 17,142,207 - (1,050,114) 1,162,941 17,255,034
- - -
New capital projects 304,990 304,990
Other 12,622 - - - 12,622
-
19,724,099 20,800,570 (19,740,330) 20,784,339
----- End of picture text -----

Restricted funds

The restricted funds represent monies received by the Foundation for specific projects that have not yet been completed. An analysis of these funds is shown in note 22.

Designated funds (fixed assets)

Funds have been designated by the Trustees that are allocated to fixed assets used in the Foundation’s operation which are not, therefore, available to fund short term expenditure. Included within designated funds is a loan to finance the construction of designated fixed assets.

Designated funds (new capital projects)

Funds have been designated by Trustees to reinvest the VAT savings made through the establishment of a VAT group to provide funding for future capital projects.

Designated funds (staff)

A new fund to be called Our Future, Our Fund has been established this year to invest in staff working at Prior’s Court to recognise the crucial role they play in the successful delivery of the objectives of the charity. Funds have been designated by Trustees with an aim to retain, motivate and reward existing staff through this innovative new fund.

Designated funds (Other)

Funds have been designated by the Trustees from specific fund raising events, which are to be used to provide for activities and minor equipment outside the normal School budget.

Transfer

The transfers between funds are primarily to reflect the fixed asset designated fund as noted above where capital spend has occurred, or where restricted donations have been given for capital spend and have now had their restriction fulfilled.

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

22. Restricted Fund Analysis – Foundation and Group

	Brought forward £	Income £	Resources Expended £	Transfers £	31 August 2021 £
Countryside Learning Centre	-	860	(860)	-	-
Bakery	13,314	27,208	(40,522)	-	-
Memorial Fund	-	376	-	(376)	-
Lemon Tree	-	2,500	(2,500)	-	-
Day Trip Funds	1,052	-	(1,052)	-	-
Young Adult Fund	-	1,000	(1,000)	-	-
Prior Insight	2,111	3,722	-	(2,193)	3,640
Robot	2,373	-	(437)	(1,199)	737
Enhancement works	3,000	-	-	(3,000)	-
Horticulture	-	22,588	(17,825)	-	4,763
Mini Enterprise	4,692	-	(4,692)	-	-
Covid-19 – third party	-	10,000	(10,000)	-	-
Health & Wellbeing Hub	207,167	260,752	-	(422,144)	45,775
Water Butts	-	1,500	(1,408)	-	92
Volunteering	-	300	-	-	300
Bursaries	72,797	42,000	(14,504)	(21,325)	78,968
Total	306,506	372,806	(94,800)	(450,237)	134,275

2020 Comparative Note - Restricted Fund Analysis

	Brought forward £	Income £	Resources Expended £	Transfers £	31 August 2020 £
Bursaries	34,507	40,800	(2,510)	-	72,797
Lemon Tree	-	2,500	(2,500)	-	-
Countryside Learning Centre	-	1,140	(1,140)	-	-
Day Trips	1,052	-	-	-	1,052
Bakery	27,000	54,530	(68,216)	-	13,314
Prior Insight	1,639	8,149	(7,677)	-	2,111
Sport Equipment Xmas Appeal	4,482	2,710	(7,192)	-	-
Enhancement works	3,000	-	-	-	3,000
Middle Playground	2,264	19,386	(22,941)	1,291	-
Bradbury Dining Hall	1,000	-	(1,000)	-	-
Horticulture	1,500	-	(1,500)	-	-
Egg to Chicken Project	398	-	(398)	-	-
Robot	3,371	-	(998)	-	2,373
Mini Enterprises	4,319	409	(36)	-	4,692
Gym Equipment on Track	-	18,385	(17,094)	(1,291)	-
Health & Wellbeing Hub	-	320,989	(113,822)	-	207,167
Infection Control Grant (COVID-19)	-	45,914	(45,914)	-	-
Total	84,532	514,912	(292,938)	-	306,506

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

put in place to protect taxpayers against unforeseen changes in scheme costs. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, having in 2018 announced that there would be a review of this cost cap mechanism, in January 2019 announced a pause to the cost cap mechanism following the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the McCloud/ Sargeant case and until there is certainty about the value of pensions to employees from April 2015 onwards. The pause was lifted in July 2020, and a consultation was launched on 24 June on proposed changes to the cost control mechanism following a review by the Government Actuary. Following the public consultation, the Government have accepted three key proposals recommended by the Government Actuary, and are aiming to implement these changes in time for the 2020 valuations.

23. Pensions

Teachers’ Pension Scheme

The School participates in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (“the TPS”) for its teaching staff. The pension charge for the year includes contributions payable to the TPS of £92,996(2020: £84,791) and at the year-end £10,123 (2020 - £ 10,194) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme.

The TPS is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefits pension scheme governed by The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 (as amended) and The Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (as amended). Members contribute on a “pay as you go” basis with contributions from members and the employer being credited to the Exchequer. Retirement and other pension benefits are paid by public funds provided by Parliament.

In view of the above rulings and decisions the assumptions used in the 31 March 2016 Actuarial Valuation may become inappropriate. In this scenario, a valuation prepared in accordance with revised benefits and suitably revised assumptions would yield different results than those contained in the Actuarial Valuation. Until the cost cap mechanism revision is completed it is not possible to conclude on any financial impact or future changes to the contribution rates of the TPS. Accordingly no provision for any additional past benefit pension costs is included in these financial statements.

The employer contribution rate is set by the Secretary of State following scheme valuations undertaken by the Government Actuary’s Department. The most recent actuarial valuation of the TPS was prepared as at 31 March 2016 and the Valuation Report, which was published in March 2019, confirmed that the employer contribution rate for the TPS would increase from 16.4% to 23.6% from 1 September 2019. Employers are also required to pay a scheme administration levy of 0.08% giving a total employer contribution rate of 23.68%.

Non Teaching Staff Defined Contributions Scheme

The School also runs a defined contributions scheme for its non-teaching staff. The School’s contributions to the Scheme during the year ended 31 August 2021 were £526,512 (2020: £468,194) and at the year-end £73,218 (2020: £71,236) was accrued in respect of contributions to this scheme. The number of active members at 31 August 2021 was 463 (2020: 476).

The 31 March 2016 Valuation Report was prepared in accordance with the benefits set out in the scheme regulations and under the approach specified in the Directions, as they applied at 5 March 2019. However, the assumptions were considered and set by the Department for Education prior to the ruling in the ‘McCloud/Sargeant case’. This case has required the courts to consider cases regarding the implementation of the 2015 reforms to Public Service Pensions including the Teachers’ Pensions.

On 27 June 2019 the Supreme Court denied the government permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment that transitional provisions introduced to the reformed pension schemes in 2015 gave rise to unlawful age discrimination. The government is respecting the Court’s decision and has said it will engage fully with the Employment Tribunal as well as employer and member representatives to agree how the discriminations will be remedied. The government announced on 4 February 2021 that it intends to proceed with a deferred choice underpin under which members will be able to choose either legacy or reformed scheme benefits in respect of their service during the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 at the point they become payable.

The TPS is subject to a cost cap mechanism which was

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Prior’s Court Foundation Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2021

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

24. Commitments – Foundation And Group

----- Start of picture text -----
31 August 31 August
2021 2020
£ £
Financial Commitments
At 31 August 2021 the Foundation had the following contracted 49,104 548,952
financial commitments:
----- End of picture text -----

In May 2018 a contractual agreement was entered into with Actualised Living Plc for the production of bespoke reporting software to aid and enhance the reporting capabilities of the Foundation in relation to its beneficiaries. The remaining £38,835 commitment for this contract is included in the above figure.

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

27. Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt

	2021 £	2020 £
(Decrease)/increase in cash in the year	(782,488)	1,419,359
Loan repayments	605,216	384,707
Change in net debt	(177,272)	1,804,066
Opening net debt at 1 September	(1,645,296)	(3,449,362)
Closing (Debt) at 31 August	(1,822,568)	(1,645,296)

Analysis of change in net debt

25. Related Party Transactions – Foundation and Group

One member of the key management team has a daughter who is employed as a seasonal worker by the Foundation under a standard contract of employment and under the approval of the Trustees. See Note 7 for transactions with Prior’s Court Trading Limited and Prior’s Court Services Limited.

26. Financial Instruments

Financial instruments held at amortised cost are cash, trade debtors, intercompany balances and other debtors. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost are bank loans, trade creditors, other creditors and accruals.

Foundation	2021 £	2020 £
Financial assets measured at amortised cost	6,385,184	5,381,028
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost	6,311,302	6,641,572
The Foundation’s income, expense, gains and losses in respect of fnancial instruments are summarised below:
Interest income and expense: Total interest expense for fnancial liabilities held at amortised cost	109,327	147,206
Group	2021 £	2020 £
Financial assets measured at amortised cost	8,058,986	6,925,179
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost	6,406,080	7,555,388
The Group’s income, expense, gains and losses in respect of fnancial instruments are summarised below:
Interest income and expense: Total interest expense for fnancial liabilities held at amortised cost	109,327	147,206

Analysis of change in net debt
	Net debt as at 1 September 2020 £	Cash Change £	Net funds as at 31 August 2021 £
Cash at bank and in hand	3,887,429	(782,448)	3,104,941
Loans	(5,532,725)	605,261	(4,927,509)
	(1,645,296)	(177,232)	(1,822,568)

28. Comparative Consolidated Statement of Financial Activity

	Unrestricted funds 2020 £	Restricted funds 2020 £	Total funds 2020 £
Income and Endowments From:
Income from:
Trading Activities	108,184	409	108,593
Donations	28,504	427,789	456,293
Income from charitable activities:
Provision of education & care	20,148,970	86,714	20,235,684
Total	20,285,658	514,912	20,800,570
Expenditure On:
Expenditure on raising funds:
Finance costs	147,206	-	147,206
Fundraising costs	184,350	-	184,350
Trading expenditure	38,678	-	38,678
Expenditure on charitable activities:
Provision of education & care	18,057,875	292,938	18,350,813
Marketing and communications	366,298	-	366,298
Staff training	652,985	-	652,985
Total	19,447,392	292,938	19,740,330
Net income	838,266	221,974	1,060,240
Total funds brought forward	19,639,567	84,532	19,724,099
Total funds carried forward	20,477,833	306,506	20,784,339

Patron, List of Members and Trustees, Executive Team, Committees, Advisors and Registered Office

Elaine Hudgell Director of Continuous Improvement

FOUNDING PATRON:

Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, DBE

Sue Piper Director of Young People’s Learning

MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES:

Karen White

Chris Barrett DL

Head of Fundraising

Chair (and Chair of PCSL)

FINANCIAL COMMITTEE:

Ken Bisset

(retired 17 March 2021)

William Powlett Smith (Chair)

John Byrne

Rachel Childs

Chris Barrett DL

Susan Duncan (retired 22 July 2021)

Elvira Patrasco

Buchan Scott

Jenny Gibson (resigned on 14 June 2021)

Carol Unwin

Anna Hwang

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:

Claire Miller (resigned on 23 July 2021)

Chris Barrett DL (Chair)

Elvira Patrasco (appointed 7 October 2020)

William Powlett Smith

William Powlett Smith Deputy Chair

Buchan Scott

Buchan Scott

YOUNG PEOPLE LEARNING COMMITTEE:

Cathy Tissot

JOHN BYRNE

(Chair)

Carol Unwin (appointed 22 July 2021)

WILLIAM POWLETT SMITH

Charlotte Wilson (appointed 22 July 2021)

RACHEL CHILDS

PRIOR’S COURT TRADING LTD:

Mike Robinson

Buchan Scott

Claire Miller (resigned 23 July 2021)

Clive Nickolds

(resigned 17 March 2021)

PRIOR’S COURT SERVICES LTD:

Chris Barrett DL (Chair)

William Powlett

Buchan Scott

Ken Bisset (appointed 22 July 2021)

Clive Nickolds

(resigned 14 June 2021)

PARENT APPOINTED ADVISOR:

Deepti Rajmohan (retired on 31 August 2021)

STAFF APPOINTED ADVISORS:

Samantha Wylde

(retired on 31 August 2021)

Victoria Pearson

(retired on 31 August 2021)

REGISTERED OFFICE:

Prior’s Court School

Priors Court Road Hermitage Thatcham Berkshire RG18 9NU

BANKERS:

HSBC Bank plc

Thames Corporate Banking Centre Level 7, Thames Tower Station Road Reading Berkshire RG1 1AL

AUDITORS:

Crowe U.K. LLP

Aquis House 49-51 Blagrave Street Reading Berkshire RG1 1PL

CHARLOTTE WILSON

EXECUTIVE TEAM:

Mike Robinson Chief Executive

Neil Atherton

YOUNG PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE:

Cathy Tissot (Chair)

Director of Finance

Anna Hwang

Nicola Beckley Director of Support Services

Sarah Butcher MBE

Rachel Childs

OUR PEOPLE COMMITTEE:

Director of Young People’s Wellbeing

Chris Barrett DL

Lynne Doherty

Head of Commercial Enterprises (left 31 December 2020)

(Interim Chair)

Buchan Scott

Prior’s Court Foundation, Hermitage, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG18 9NU

t: [phone] e: [e-mail] w: www.priorscourt.org.uk