2023-08-31-accounts - Chefs In Schools

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ANNUAL REPORT For the year ending 31st August 2023

CONTENTS
Welcome	3
Vision, mission and
why our work matters Highlights Our approach: Leading from the front Enabling others to follow Inspiring long-term change Looking ahead: the plan for 2023/24	5 7 9 10 13 16 18
Thank you Trustees report Independent auditors’ report	19 20 25
Statement of financial activities	29
Balance sheet Statement of cash flows	31 32
Notes to the financial statements	33

Registered charity 1178964 Registered company number 11356489 (England and Wales)

WELCOME

possibilities for feeding children well on a budget. A school chef can be a challenging role but also one that is hugely rewarding. Chefs we have supported are reporting increased job satisfaction, with over 90% of those surveyed agreeing that they would recommend working in a school kitchen.

This year we celebrated our fifth birthday, giving us the chance to reflect on our achievements and the journey we have been on to develop our programmes to reach over 110 schools to transform their food and food education. We are proud of the progress we have made in such a short space of time, whilst navigating turbulent times which have only given us further impetus to set our ambitions even higher. Of course, we couldn’t do any of this on our own - we are privileged to work alongside inspiring school communities, chefs, funding partners and other like-minded organisations who share our vision for a better school food system.

REACHING NEW AREAS

This year we recruited a Procurement Manager to navigate the complexities of food inflation, aiming to develop a long-term solution for schools to access quality ingredients at the best price. This will form a key pillar of our wider Chefs Alliance programme, a membership model that will support the development and aspirations of school chefs across the country. Our recent expansion out of London into the South West and Yorkshire has provided an opportunity to work with more rural school communities, understanding the different challenges they face but also exploring how we can capitalise on the rich landscape of quality, local food producers. Our School Chef Educator training programme is going from strength to strength, moving beyond the pilot stage and ready to roll out to school kitchens in these new areas.

A QUEST FOR QUALITY

Despite the pressure of rising food costs, supporting schools to serve up food that is creative, nutritious and of great quality remains our priority. Our solution-focussed approach empowers schools to achieve this with our training and guidance to develop cost effective recipes, working with affordable but high quality suppliers. Almost 90% of school leaders we surveyed reported satisfaction with the quality of their food, compared to 15% before working with us. Our network of school chefs continually demonstrate the endless

MORE NEED THAN EVER

We are still hearing how the cost of living crisis is impacting families, forcing them to cut back on food at home, further reinforcing the need for equal access to nourishing school food. For some children, their school lunch is the only food they will eat - we must make sure it is good, nutritious food. In October, we announced our involvement in the Feed the Future Campaign; joining forces with other passionate food organisations and charities to call on the Government to urgently expand eligibility for free school meal entitlement in England. We were therefore delighted to hear the announcement from the Mayor of London in February to extend free school meals to all primary school children in London. This universal approach crucially ensures that no children in primary school fall through the safety net of support, and also offers a golden opportunity to robustly prove the

wider benefits for all children in the school. To help make the implementation a success, we created a free digital toolkit packed with advice on meeting increased demand without impacting on quality.

We draw hope and inspiration from the incredible school food we see each day across the country. From focaccia and samosas to tacos and butternut squash bhajis, all cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients, demonstrating that it is possible to feed kids nourishing, colourful, beautiful food on a budget. We want to thank the unsung food heroes - school chefs who go above and beyond to not only nourish children but feed their imaginations too, setting them up to thrive at school and beyond.

HENRY DIMBLEBY NAOMI DUNCAN NICOLE PISANI CHAIR CHIEF EXECUTIVE CO-FOUNDER

VISION. MISSION. WHY WE EXIST

VISION

Our vision is that every child has access to quality, tasty, exciting, nutritious school food and food education – and therefore is equipped with the knowledge to choose, and make, nourishing food throughout their lives.

MISSION

Our mission is to transform kids’ health through food – plate by plate, class by class, school by school. We recruit chefs and train school kitchen teams to make tasty, exciting meals that kids enjoy, packed with fresh, nutritious produce. We support schools to embed good food culture, educating their pupils about food in the dining room and the classroom. We inspire and enable others to follow our lead, and we use our expertise to inform policy and campaigns that seek to tackle systemic barriers to progress. Kids are the future, let’s feed them like it.

WHY DOES OUR WORK MATTER?

Positive, solutions-focused interventions are needed now because child health is at a tipping point. Obesity is one of the biggest health crises facing our country; it’s the second biggest cause of preventable cancer and costing the NHS £6.5bn a year[1] . In the most deprived areas, 1 in 3 children leaves primary school obese, almost double the rates in more privileged areas[2] . Child obesity levels soared during the pandemic with research showing it would cost the UK more than £8bn in costs to the NHS and the economy[3] .

There are complex causes of this health crisis, but research by the McKinsey Institute[4] is clear, schools can play a significant role in tackling the issue in the long term.

cook real food for themselves, is a proven, vital intervention into their future health, wellbeing and happiness. Yet while the school food system has come a long way, there is still too often beige, boring, bad for you food being served up in schools.

Nationally, the quality of school food is inconsistent; often not viewed as a priority amongst the competing demands placed on headteachers. We know that schools recognise the important role food has to play in contributing towards a thriving school community, but too often they are held back by the complex system which creates barriers to improvement. We have shown that with the right support, it is possible to feed kids well in school on a limited budget.

Food education is a vital part of changing a school’s food culture and it’s needed now more than ever with research[5] from the Food Foundation revealing that:

94% of secondary school aged children eat less than 3.5 portions of vegetables a day, with just 11% of primary school aged children meeting the recommended amount.
A fifth of vegetable intake now comes from foods classed as ultra-processed.
Diets low in vegetables and legumes are associated with 18,000 premature deaths in the UK each year.

The system can be reimagined and changed. Good school food and food education isn’t expensive. Better is possible. We’re proving that generation-powering, mind-opening, society-changing food can be served every day within school budgets. Now we need to make this the norm.

Investing equally in the next generation, equipping every child with the skills to eat and

1 https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/07/government-plans-to-tackle-obesity-in-england/ 2 https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/obesity?gclid=CjwKCAiA_OetBhAtEiwAPTeQZyv0FwdfSQXTr9Ap5PGA_t-9gj8oAP7q-NFnrCrlUoxclMpz_ZddrRoCxsQQAvD_BwE 3 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/24/child-obesity-in-england-still-above-pre-pandemic-levels-study-finds 4 McKinsey Global Institute, ‘Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis’ 5 Food foundation report: Veg facts 2021.

OUR IMPACT

17 NEW SCHOOLS

supported on our School by School programme with 9,600 pupils enjoying nourishing, delicious school food

78% OF HEADTEACHERS

reported that pupils are now consuming more fruit & veg and are more likely to try new foods since working with Chefs in Schools

93%

of school chefs surveys agreed they are proud to work with Chefs in Schools

335 DOWNLOADS

of our food education and universal free school meal toolkits

4,053,546

estimated number of nutritious & delicious school lunches eaten across our 75 partner schools

MORE THAN HALF

of headteachers reported seeing an improvement in pupil behaviour & concentration since working with Chefs in Schools

87%

of our school chefs surveys reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their job

4,200

new visitors browsing our website

“ THERE IS NO COMPARISON BETWEEN THEN AND NOW. EVERY ASPECT OF THE SCHOOL LUNCH SERVICE IS HUGELY IMPROVED. THE CHEFS ARE VERY MUCH A VALUED PART OF OUR SCHOOL’S ” STAFF TEAM.

OUR APPROACH

This year we finalised our strategy for how we will increase our immediate reach to 1,850 schools and over 700,000 children nationally, and create influence across the whole school system. We will do this in three keys ways:

Leading from the front: continuing to deliver our flagship School by School programme to establish centres for excellence and innovation, providing inspiration for the catering industry and schools to follow our lead.
Enabling others to follow our lead: delivering training and resources to empower chefs and schools with the skills and knowledge to improve school food. We aim to be the leading voice on school food with the media, decision makers, schools and the food industry to tackle change at a systemic level.
Inspiring long-term change through the development of our Chefs Alliance; a membership network for school chefs to support their professional development and ambition.

LEADING FROM THE FRONT

Our School by School programme takes schools on a year-long food transformational journey, tailored to their individual needs and ambitions to dramatically improve the quality of their food and food education. We support schools who want to make the transition from externally contracted catering to in-house, or schools already in-house who want to develop their kitchen teams and improve their food culture. We set school kitchens up to deliver a high quality and efficient service; this includes help with recruitment, training, suppliers, recipes, menus, digital support and food education.

This year 17 new schools, reaching 9,620 pupils, went through the programme including

six schools in Yorkshire in partnership with the Astrea Academy Trust. We worked with our first all vegetarian school - Guru Nanak Academy; supporting them to move away from frozen, ultra-processed ingredients to cooking fresh meals which better reflect the school community. We helped the school to significantly reduce their food costs; proving that cooking from scratch using fresh ingredients can be more cost-effective than buying in pre-made, nutritionally poor products.

We worked with our first schools in the South West, with thanks to funding from the Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust. This includes the Grove Primary School in Totnes.

“

With support from Chefs in Schools, we made the brave choice to take catering in-house. They help us provide incredible food within our budget. The food is what we wanted it to be – freshly made using fresh ingredients. We also have food education at the heart of the school. Three months in, the benefits cannot be understated, we’ve seen behaviour, engagement and learning improve because of improving the food. I would encourage every school to do this.”

Deputy Headteacher at Redriff Primary

CASE STUDY

“

It’s a lot of hard work and very hands on. You must be prepared to put in the groundwork, and you must get the whole school involved. But it’s marvellous. The way to most people’s hearts is certainly with food. Now we’re educating the children in food, which we weren’t really doing before. Chefs in Schools has helped us to take that brave step. The kids really believe this is the most amazing thing to happen to our school.”

Hilary Priest, Headteacher at the Grove

We helped the Grove to recruit Chef Marco who has worked in Michelin starred restaurants and even cooked for the queen. Marco put an end to processed, frozen food, replacing them with seasonal, freshly cooked meals. We helped Marco and his team to set up the kitchen for success and develop enticing, cost effective

menus which appealed to the kids and are packed with goodness. Not only has Marco transformed the quality of food but he’s started teaching pupils to bake bread and knife skills, making use of the dining hall as an inspiring learning environment.

“

This is one of the most precious jobs I’ve ever had in my life. You know, feeding all these kids has a different meaning to feeding paying customers. An early education in a better diet is vital. And if I get to inspire these children for the rest of their lives, I can’t ask for more.” Head Chef Marco at the Grove Primary School

This year we surveyed school leaders from our partner schools to understand more about the impact and effectiveness of our work:

We asked about the current quality and healthiness of their school food with 87% reporting that they were satisfied or very satisfied (compared to 15% with their previous catering arrangement).
Over 90% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the choice of food (compared to 20% with their previous catering arrangement).
When asked about the current morale of their kitchen team, 82% were either satisfied or very satisfied (this compared to 25% with their previous catering arrangement).
More than half reported seeing an improvement in pupil behaviour & concentration.
78% reported that pupils are now consuming more fruit & veg and are more likely to try new foods.
Our findings also revealed the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and soaring food costs: • When it comes to the cost of their school meals - 59% of Headteachers reported being satisfied or very satisfied - this compares to 75% of Headteachers the previous year.
The majority of respondents, 89%, reported taking some sort of action to help pupils who are not currently eligible for free school meals but whose families are struggling financially. Initiatives include setting up food banks, breakfast clubs and signposting.

This reflects what we are hearing from school chefs and we have taken several measures to support schools. This includes devising new cost-saving recipes to make expensive ingredients such as fish go further and encouraging more vegetarian days. To tackle the issue of food costs at a systemic level, we have recruited a Procurement Manager to harness the buying power of our partner schools.

“

We have been able to link our food experience to our working farm. This has revolutionised the experience of the children as they see a farm to fork reality in the centre of London.” Headteacher

ENABLING OTHERS TO FOLLOW

Informed by our experiences of delivering our school based programmes over the last five years, this year we have developed training and resources to share our expertise with schools and chefs across the country. We also want to raise public awareness so that school food is seen as a national priority. Our campaigning and advocacy efforts involve working in coalition with other charities to call for systemic change. This is underpinned by our communications function which shares the impact of our work through a range of media channels.

TRAINING THE SCHOOL KITCHEN WORKFORCE

Following a successful pilot in 2021, this year we have refined and developed our School Chef Educator Programme, aimed at empowering and upskilling school chefs to deliver outstanding school food. Through a mix of in-person and online sessions, the training covers a range of topics, from the big picture of school food culture and food waste reduction to the details of nutrition and meeting the School Food Standards. Participants also learn techniques to increase pupils’ vegetable intake, how to develop food education and create attractive food displays that inspire children to make more nutritious choices.

In November, we recruited a Head of Training to drive this programme forward, scaling it up to train chefs across the country. In February, five chefs from three schools in Doncaster and Sheffield completed the programme; serving school meals to 2,847 pupils collectively. In preparation for significantly scaling the programme from September, we recruited two Chef Trainers with backgrounds in nutrition and local authority catering.

“

Favourite part of the programme? Meeting new people and learning new recipes. Watching food being prepared.” Trainee, Participant from Yorkshire

The team has spent time creating an optimal learning environment for the programme, ensuring we are providing an effective and easy-to-use educational experience. We invested in technology to develop an accessible learning website, with multiple

language translations which reflect our school chef workforce. We have developed new video content including information aimed at school chefs who cater for children with Special Educational Needs.

In order to raise our profile and awareness of the training programme, the team presented at various education sector events including Education Executive Seminars, Fix Our Food Summit and the Sustainable School Lunches Event with the Bristol Education Working Partnership.

DIGITAL RESOURCES

This year we developed two digital toolkits to share our experience and knowledge of what works in school food and food education with schools across the country. Our Food Education Toolkit was informed by our joint project of building the Hackney School of Food, drawing on expert advice and insights from the architects and LEAP Federation of Schools. This resource provides guidance on taking the first steps of developing food education projects e.g. starting a herb garden, through to larger scale cooking and growing programmes. Since its launch in March up to August, the toolkit has been downloaded 159 times from our website.

“

Food education hubs are needed more now than ever in schools and communities. They are an incredible resource that can lay the foundation for a life-long love of good food, which makes healthy choices exciting. Our ambition is for this toolkit to be the spark that creates a network of gold standard food education hubs in the UK and beyond.”

Henry Dimbleby, Chair of Chefs in Schools

In response to the Mayor’s funding for universal free school meals for all London primary schools, we created a Universal Free School Meal Toolbox to help kitchen teams prepare for the increased demand whilst maintaining quality. Created by our Chef Trainers, the guide provides advice, hacks, case studies and recipes. We have been working with the Mayor’s office to disseminate the resource to all schools in London. It has been downloaded 176 times between its release in June up to the end of August.

CAMPAIGNING AND ADVOCACY

We have continued to collaborate on campaigning activities, coordinating the School Food Review Group alongside Food Foundation, School Food Matters and Bite Back 2030. Funded by Impact on Urban Health, together we are calling for a government-led overhaul of school food policy and funding.

To evidence the Feed the Future campaign for equal access to school food, we surveyed teachers to understand the food poverty they witnessed during the school day. This polling highlighted the heartbreaking reality that many children experience at school. Over 80% of teachers said that the number of children coming to school hungry had increased in the past six months. This is impacting on their engagement and behaviour; with these children displaying excessive tiredness, being easily distracted and disruptive at school. We achieved extensive coverage for this work, including Channel Four news, Good Morning Britain, ITN, the Guardian, Financial Times and New York Times.

“

We are one of the wealthiest nations on earth, we must do better for our children. A meal in school provides a nutritional safety net, but also fuel for learning and a vital opportunity for education about food.” Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive

Following the development of our brand, our website has continued to generate interest with 4,200 new visitors and 11,000 page views this year. We have also grown our social media following with 9,586 followers on Instagram, and 4,390 followers on Twitter. We were thrilled to see the acknowledgment of our female leadership with Chief Executive Naomi and co-founder Nicole Pisani named as Waitrose Top 10 Women in Food. Our work wouldn’t be possible without all of the incredible women working in school kitchens and classrooms who recognise how vitally important it is to grab every opportunity to teach children about food. We are so proud to be associated with their work and delighted to see school food mentioned in these awards.

INSPIRING LONG-TERM CHANGE

We are developing a national alliance of school chefs that will underpin the longterm sustainability and impact of our work. Currently a thriving online chat community, our network of school chefs are sharing recipes, challenges, and advice; we will build on this to create an aspirational membership body for school food which raises the ambition and status of the school kitchen workforce.

We have started this work by addressing a key challenge for school kitchens - food costs. This year we recruited a Procurement Manager and Chefs Alliance Assistant who have been working to engage school leaders, school business managers and school chefs to understand the challenges and opportunities of sustaining a quality food service. This is a complex and significant piece of work and we look forward to sharing our progress and learnings which will have wider application for the public sector.

We carried out a survey with chefs from our partner schools to gain insights into their job satisfaction and how we can better support them. Findings include:

87% reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their job
93% are proud to work with Chefs in Schools
Over 90% of chefs would recommend working in a school kitchen to a friend
We asked chefs about what would help them further in their role; 87% said access of professional development opportunities and 47% said access to more recipe and menu ideas
When asked whether they are treated with respect at work, 80% agreed or strongly agreed

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Underpinning the growing success of our programmes has been an investment in our infrastructure. A multi-year strategic partnership with Impact on Urban Health, under their ‘children’s health and food’ programme, has enabled us to grow our team and ultimately drive forward our strategic plan.

This year we carried out a skills and perspectives audit with our board to identify the gaps and opportunities. Subsequently we recruited three new Trustees, who bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and networks to strengthen our governance and support our mission:

Tamsin Cooper: Tamsin was the lead civil servant on the National Food Strategy and subsequently Director of Obesity at the newly created Office for Health Improvement & Disparities.
Karen Martin: Karen is the UK CEO of BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty), the world-renowned creative agency.
Melanie Jane Neill: Melanie has professional experience as a chartered accountant, helping set up the Bridge Academy in Hackney as part of her work with the bank UBS.

the Riot who are supporting us with training and support to ensure this work leads to meaningful change.

This work will continuously evolve and we want to avoid creating a static policy which gets

filed away. Our actions this year have included:
Introducing an anonymous screening process for employee and trustee recruitment.
Workshops for the whole team and board, facilitated by Be the Riot, to ensure a baseline understanding.
Assessment of our current Board and team to identify where we may have gaps in perspectives, particularly focused on socio-cultural, gender & ethnicity.
Ensuring content for our external communications – socials, website, news, cookbook - reflects and celebrates our diverse community and workforce.

We remain committed to this journey – DEI is discussed at every board meeting, and we have recently formed a People & Culture committee at team level, who are scrutinising DEI as part of their remit to support, advise and hold leadership to account. We feel strongly that this work is a vital part of aiming to be an outstanding employer.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

We have taken significant steps this year towards developing our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. We are committed to embedding this in our DNA, recognising our responsibility to do this internally for our team and organisation, and externally as a leader in our industry. We have been working with Be

LOOKING AHEAD

OUR PLAN FOR 2023-24

LEAD

SCHOOL BY SCHOOL

We will work with another 26 schools nationally, remaining focused in London, South-West and Yorkshire
We will develop a central production hub model to help us support schools in rural locations and with falling rolling numbers

HIGH LEVEL TARGET

+ 10,000 children reached 5m school lunches consumed

We will identify our next major Local Authority or Multi Academy Trust partnership, ready for 2024-25

INSPIRE CHEFS ALLIANCE

We will appoint a senior leader to drive development of the Chefs Alliance

£200k initial food spend within the framework

We will establish our first framework for fresh food, test it with key partners. By the end of the year, will have an initial framework for existing schools
We will deliver a business plan and secure initial investment for rollout

ENABLE SCHOOL CHEF EDUCATOR TRAINING

We will develop and test a number of delivery models, training 450 school chefs across the UK
We will identify and develop a 3 year scaling plan, exploring marketing & branding, potential partnerships, models and accreditation options

CAMPAIGNING & ADVOCACY

450 chefs in 225 schools reaching 90,000 children

Every primary school in London aware of us

We will work proactively to share our knowledge to help London schools manage and make successful the Universal Primary Meals roll-out
We will identify our core campaign for 2023-24, with an engaging call to action
We will relaunch the Hackney School of Food toolkit
• We will update the Chefs Pack and prepare to launch this as a nationally available best practice resource in 2024-25

THANK YOU

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of our partners and supporters who have enabled us to grow our reach and continue our mission to transform school food for the next generation. We’re lucky enough to be supported by some truly amazing individuals and organisations:

Ampney Brook Foundation Bartle Bogle Hegarty Charlie Bigham’s Garfield Weston Foundation Gerald M. Fox Hawksmoor Henry Oldfield Trust Impact on Urban Health Indigo Eight Mandy Lieu Pev and Susannah Hooper The Baring Foundation The Belazu Foundation The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust The Food People The Linbury Trust The MJ Samuel Charitable Trust The Rothschild Foundation The Swire Charitable Trust The Worshipful Company of Cooks Victoria & Don Brenninkmeijer William Jackson Food Group

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

TRUSTEES REPORT For the year ended 31 August 2023

The Trustees, who are also directors, present their Annual Report together with the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives

Activities

We work to achieve change in three main ways:

Leading from the front to directly support schools to implement our philosophy and transform the standards of food and food education offered.
Enabling others to follow; developing and delivering training and resources for chefs, schools and caterers to improve food and food education. We seek to be the leading voice on school food; within the media, with decision-makers, schools and within the food industry, seeking to change the system at its roots to improve school food.
Inspiring the school food workforce; providing access to training, procurement, resources and peer support.

Public Benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s objectives and activities and in planning future activities.

The principal activities of the charity during the year continued to be ‘to advance education in cookery and food preparation and to advance health through (but not limited to) the improvement of food standards in schools.’

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Fundraising

We remain incredibly grateful to all our funding partners and donors who help to ensure the ongoing success and sustainability of our work. Our Fundraising Policy outlines our ethical approach to fundraising activities. We carry out due diligence on prospective partners and will not work with funders who conflict with our mission or compromise our reputation.

Our fundraising strategy to date has focused on soliciting grants from Trusts and Foundations

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

as well as a small number of companies. We are also growing our income from major donors, supported by bespoke fundraising events. We will always be honest about what we can achieve when asking for funds, submit realistic budgets, use the funds for the purpose intended and ensure that we provide any reports required, on time.

We do not engage in mass public fundraising, preferring a more targeted approach of developing meaningful relationships. We do not use any third-party fundraisers and haven’t received any fundraising complaints to date.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Income and Expenditure

This year we experienced significant growth, increasing our income by 108% on last year. A key factor in this was a new strategic funding partnership with Impact on Urban Health which is helping us to deliver an ambitious growth strategy over the next four years.

Total income amounted to £1,128,444 compared to £542,106 in the previous year. During the year the charity’s expenditure was £1,045,978 compared to £578,961 the previous year.

Result for the year was a surplus of £82,466 compared to a deficit of £36,855 in 2022.

The restricted income of the charity is available only for the specific projects or purposes determined by the funders. During the year the charity received £213,600 of restricted income and spent £228,978.

Reserves policy

In accordance with its Articles of Association, Chefs in Schools holds free reserves to enable the charity to meet timing variations in income or unforeseen expenditure, to provide for contingencies or to cover core costs in the event of a shortfall in funding. Our Trustees regularly review the charity’s need for reserves in line with guidelines issued by the Charity Commission and the operating environment prevailing at that time. Staff and Trustees aim to accumulate reserves equal to three to six months’ unrestricted expenditure which equates to £370,000 to £740,000 (2022: £250,000 to £500,000).

Unrestricted funds currently stand at £430,320 and restricted funds £98,170. Our unrestricted reserves position at the end of the financial year is equivalent to 5.2 months expenditure (after costs covered by restricted funds are deducted) which is within our target holding.

Restricted funds were received to support our School Kitchen Consultancy Programme, our Chef Educator Training Programme, The Chefs Alliance Programme as well as to invest in training and development for the team at Chefs in Schools. The balance carried forward will be spent in the forthcoming financial year, fulfilling the purpose set out by funders in committing their financial support.

Risk management

The Trustees have reviewed the major strategic, business and operational risks to which Chefs in Schools is exposed. These include the impact of high inflation and increased food costs where school budgets are already under pressure, the potential for adverse publicity as a result of campaigning activities, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Trustees are confident that systems have been established to mitigate any such risks. These mitigations include ensuring our strategy is flexible to allow us to continue to support schools through financial pressures, appropriate insurance cover has been obtained, sufficient budget is available to allow legal & professional advice to be sought as necessary and that the assessment of risks is kept under review.

The charity’s risk register is kept under constant review by the Chefs in Schools management

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

team, overseen by the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, with key risks reviewed at least quarterly by the full Board of Trustees.

Going concern

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of at least one year from the date of authorisation for issue of the financial statements and have concluded that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Chefs in Schools is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 11 May 2018 and registered as a charity on 27 June 2018.

The company is governed under its Articles of Association. The Trustees have a responsibility to ensure that all aspects of the Charity’s activities are properly conducted and carried out in full compliance with its Articles of Association. The Charity is governed by its Trustees who meet four times a year. All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Expenses totalling £931 were claimed by Trustees during the year.

Role of Trustees

The Trustees provide governance and develop the policies of the charity and accept ultimate legal authority for it. The board meets four times a year with a focus on strategic decision making, financial oversight and management of risk. The Trustees approve budgets and are responsible for the good stewardship of the charity’s resources. They work in partnership with the Chief Executive to help her achieve the charity’s objectives. The Trustees, who are also the members of the Company, each have a limited liability of £1 in the event of the charity being wound up.

The Trustees have formed two sub-committees; the Strategy and Impact Committee, chaired by Tamsin Cooper and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, chaired by Jasbir Notay.

Recruitment and induction of Trustees

The board is responsible for overseeing its effectiveness, including skills audit, and recruitment of new trustees. A review of skills on the Board is carried out regularly to ensure these are in line with the Charity’s strategy. The board are also ultimately responsible for implementation of our diversity, equity and inclusion plan, and ensuring the number of trustees meets the Articles’ requirements.

Trustee positions are advertised openly through Trustees Unlimited, Linked In and similar. Candidates that wish to apply for the role do so via an anonymised process, based on the Applied method, followed by interviews with the Chair, other board members and the Chief Executive.

In the year to 31 August 2023, two long-standing board members stepped down and we took the opportunity to carry out a skills and perspectives audit. We subsequently recruited three new Trustees in January, who bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and networks to strengthen our governance and support our mission:

Tamsin Cooper: Tamsin was the lead civil servant on the National Food Strategy and subsequently Director of Obesity at the newly created Office for Health Improvement & Disparities
Karen Martin: Karen is the UK CEO of BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty), the world renowned creative agency

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

Melanie Jane Neill: Melanie is a retired risk and financial specialist, formerly working as Risk Chief Operating Officer at Credit Suisse and holding senior financial management roles at UBS. She helped to set up the Bridge Academy in Hackney.

All Trustees must undergo a DBS check and sign the Charity Commission Trustee Declaration as well as complete a declaration of interests notice in order to be accepted onto the board.

One third (or the number nearest one third) of the Trustees must retire at each AGM, those longest in office retiring first and the choice between any of equal service being made by drawing lots. A retiring Trustee who is eligible (as laid out in the terms of the Memorandum and Articles - Article 3.3) may be reappointed. There is no specific requirement in the articles to hold an AGM. The last AGM was held in October 2022.

Role of Chief Executive

The Chief Executive provides leadership to employees and is responsible for the operational detail and implementation of the business plan and the management of the charity, including control of expenditure in line with budgets and delegations approved by the Board. The Chief Executive reports regularly to the Trustees on progress against agreed priorities and objectives and seeks opportunities to expand and promote the organisation.

Key management remuneration

Key management personnel are considered to be the Senior Leadership Team comprising the Chief Executive and Executive Chef, Head of Communications, Head of Development, Head of Training and the Finance and Office Manager. Remuneration for key management personnel is reviewed annually. Benchmarking data from across the sector is considered. Any recommended increases for the Executive are proposed by a Trustee Remuneration Committee to the wider full Trustee board for approval. Salary increases for the remaining Senior Leadership Team are decided by the Chief Executive.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Trustees

Jane Amphlett (resigned 5.1.23) Henry Dimbleby John Michael Lee (resigned 20.10.22) Thomasina Miers Louise Nichols (resigned 16.11.23) Jasbir Kaur Notay Tamsin Cooper (appointed 19.1.23) Karen Martin (appointed 19.1.23) Melanie Neill (appointed 19.1.23) Christina Adane (appointed 19.12.23) Andre Bailey (appointed 19.12.23)

Registered Company number

11356489 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1178964

Registered office

First Floor River House 1 Maidstone Road Sidcup Kent DA14 5RH

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

Senior management team

Naomi Duncan – Chief Executive Nicole Pisani – Executive Chef Laura Mumford – Head of Training Polly Praill – Head of Development Danielle Glavin – Head of Communications Anna Norman – Finance and Office Manager

Independent Auditor

Azets Audit Services First Floor River House 1 Maidstone Road Sidcup Kent DA14 5RH

Bankers

Coutts 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the surplus or deficit of the charity 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 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Statement as to Disclosure of Information to Auditors

So far as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware, and each trustee has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditors are aware of that information.

Approved by the Trustees on / / 2024 28th 03

and signed on their behalf by:

Henry Dimbleby – Chair of the Trustees

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF CHEFS IN SCHOOLS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Chefs in Schools (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2023 which comprise Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, 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’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006; and
have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP 2019.

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 charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast doubt on the charity’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. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report and 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; 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 the 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 returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; 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; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

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 non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.

We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:

Enquiry of senior leadership, Trustees and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company through enquiry and inspection;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Performing audit work over the recognition of grant income and the allocation of expenditure to funds;
Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for indicators of potential bias.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance.

The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

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 might 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.

Michelle Wilkes FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

Date

For and on behalf of Azets Audit Services, First Floor, River House, 1 Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Kent. DA14 5RH

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Notes Income from: Donations 3 Charitable activities 4 Other trading activities Investments - Interest receivable Other income Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total expenditure 5 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted funds £ 311,113 596,675 5,767 1,289 - 914,844 59,019 757,981 817,000 97,844 332,476 430,320	Restricted funds £ - 213,600 - - - 213,600 - 228,978 228,978 (15,378) 113,548 98,170	Total 2023 £ 311,113 810,275 5,767 1,289 - 1,128,444 59,019 986,959 1,045,978 82,466 446,024 528,490	Total 2022 £ 211,354 330,748 - - 4 542,106 49,917 529,044 578,961 (36,855) 482,879 446,024

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

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022

Notes Income from: Donations 3 Charitable activities 4 Other income Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total expenditure 5 Net income / (expenditure) Transfer between funds 14 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted funds £ 211,354 93,668 4 305,026 49,917 317,789 367,706 (62,680) 59,139 (3,541) 336,017 332,476	Restricted funds £ - 237,080 - 237,080 - 211,255 211,255 25,825 (59,139) (33,314) 146,862 113,548	Total 2022 £ 211,354 330,748 4 542,106 49,917 529,044 578,961 (36,855) - (36,855) 482,879 446,024

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 AUGUST 2023

Company Registration No. 11356489

Notes 9 10 11 14 Tangible fixed assets Current assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity Restricted funds Unrestricted funds: General unrestricted fund 15	£ £ 1,432 15,927 631,798 647,725 (120,667) 527,058 528,490 98,170 430,320 528,490 2023	£ £ 86,094 59,552 362,559 422,111 (62,181) 359,930 446,024 113,548 332,476 446,024 2022

The accounts were approved by the Board of Trustees on 28th March 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

H Dimbleby Chair

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

Cash flows from operating activities Net income / (expenditure for the year) Adjustment for: Depreciation Loss on disposal of fixed assets Assets gifted Decrease / (increase) in debtors Increase in creditors Net cash used in operating activities Investing activities Purchase of tangible fixed assets Net cash used in investing activities Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	£ £ 82,466 5,122 - 80,664 43,625 58,486 270,363 (1,124) (1,124) 269,239 362,559 631,798 2023	£ £ (36,855) 15,493 952 - (18,215) 29,206 (9,419) (473) (473) (9,892) 372,451 362,559 2022

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

1. Accounting Policies

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

Chefs In Schools is governed under its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The address of the principal office can be found on page 23. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are set out in the Trustees Annual Report.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the CompaniesAct 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Trustees have considered relevant information, including the annual budget, forecast future cash flows and the impact of subsequent events In making their assessment.

1.3 Income

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

Income is recognised on notification of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the income and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

1.4 Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

Costs of raising funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income; Expenditure on charitable activities comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs allocated directly to such activities and support costs (see below).

Support costs

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office and governance costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

1.5 Funds accounting

Unrestricted general funds are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Trustees.

Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restriction arises when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.6 Taxation

The charity is registered and is therefore entitled to the exemptions from corporation tax afforded by section 505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. Accordingly, there is no corporation tax charge in these financial statements.

1.7 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other shortterm liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.8 Tangible fixed assets

Assets costing £500 or more are capitalised as tangible fixed assets and are carried at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Fixtures and fittings - 15% reducing balance Computer equipment - 20% straight line

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset and is recognised in net income/ (expenditure) for the year.

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss.

1.9 Financial Instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the charity’s balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.10 Employee benefits

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.11 Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

2. Critical accounting estimates and judgements

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

The following judgements have been made in the process of applying the above accounting policies that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements:

Bad debts

Debtors are regularly reviewed for recoverability, any debts which in the opinion of management are not recoverable are provided for as a specific bad debt. There are no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

3.Donations and legacies Donations Services in kind 4. Charitable activities Income from Schools : Lead Grants: Lead Enable Hackney School of Food Inspire Core grants 5. Analysis of Expenditure Raising funds Charitable activities: Lead Enable Inspire Hackney School of food	Staff costs £ 50,025 330,880 186,468 59,991 3,974 631,338	Unrestricted funds £ 278,723 32,390 311,113 Unrestricted funds £ 101,675 120,000 150,000 - 51,000 174,000 596,675 Direct costs £ 3,028 34,896 389 1,986 189,657 229,956	Restricted funds £ - - - Restricted funds £ - 113,500 42,860 - 30,000 27,240 213,600 Support costs £ 5,966 86,752 44,975 42,184 4,807 184,684	Total 2023 £ 278,723 32,390 311,113 Total 2023 £ 101,675 233,500 192,860 - 81,000 201,240 810,275 Total 2023 £ 59,019 452,528 231,832 104,161 198,438 1,045,978	Total 2022 £ 211,354 - 211,354 Total 2022 £ 93,668 129,430 87,150 10,000 - 10,500 330,748 Total 2022 £ 49,917 319,634 135,935 - 73,475 578,961

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

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||||| |---|---|---|---| |6.�Support costs|Total|Total| |2023|2022| |£|£| |Accountancy and bookkeeping|9,434|7,477| ||Advertising and promotion|37,545|7,375| |Computer and IT costs|10,521|5,815| |Consultancy and subscriptions|35,766|23,596| |Insurance|2,289|1,984| ||Rent|7,440|-| |Office costs|4,104|12,547| |Legal and professional fees|320|610| |Recruitment|5,980|4,612| |Travel|25,899|11,971| |Training and staff welfare|14,907|2,237| |Other expenses|7,537|7,262| |Depreciation|5,122|16,443| |Governance costs:| |Audit of financial statements|12,250|-| |Consultancy costs|3,570|-| |*|Legal fees|2,000|-| |Independent examination|-|1,500| |184,684|103,429|

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- These costs were provided on a pro bono basis and shown as services in kind in note 3 above (Advertising and promotion - £22,950, Rent £7,440 and legal fees of £2,000). No amounts were valued in the prior year.

7. Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.

During the year ended 31 August 2023 4 trustees had expenses re-imbursed of £931 (2022 - £nil).

8. Staff

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|||| |---|---|---| |Staff costs|2023|2022| |Staff costs during the year were:|£|£| |Wages and salaries|555,055|387,068| |Social security costs|53,938|37,292| |Pension costs|22,345|16,894| |631,338|441,254|

----- End of picture text -----

Staff numbers

The average number of persons employed by the charity during the year was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2023|2022| |Number|Number| |Staff|15|11|

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Higher paid staff

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer national insurance contributions) exceeded £60,000 was:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2023|2022| |Number|Number| |£60,001 - £70,000|2|-|

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CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

8. Staff (continued)

Key management personnel

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees and the senior management team as listed on page 23.5. The total amount of employee benefits (including employer pension contributions and employer national insurance contributions) received by key management personnel for their services to the charity was £313,455 (6 persons) (2022 - £243,387 - 5 persons).

9. Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets Cost At 1 September 2022 Additions Disposals At 31 August 2023 Depreciation At 1 September 2022 Depreciation Disposals At 31 August 2023 Net book value At 31 August 2023 At 31 August 2022	Computer equipment £ 1,051 1,124 - 2,175 428 315 - 743 1,432 623	Fixtures and fittings £ 124,752 - (124,752) - 39,281 4,807 (44,088) - - 85,471	Total £ 125,803 1,124 (124,752) 2,175 39,709 5,122 (44,088) 743 1,432 86,094

Fixtures and fittings, included within tangible fixed assets with a net book value of £80,664 were gifted to the Hackney School of Food CIC (see note 16).

10. Debtors Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income 11. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors Other taxation and social security Other creditors Accruals and deferred income	2023 £ 10,533 - 5,394 15,927 2023 £ 8,510 27,124 5,041 79,992 120,667	2022 £ 16,127 164 43,261 59,552 2022 £ 5,267 14,284 1,637 40,993 62,181

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

12.�Deferred income

Deferred income is included within: Creditors due within one year Deferred income at 1 September 2022 Released from previous years Resources deferred in the year Deferred income at 31 August 2023	2023 £ 7,733 21,154 (21,154) 7,733 7,733	2022 £ 21,154 - - 21,154 21,154

Included in deferred income is fees received in advance for services to be provided for in 2023/24.

13. Retirement benefit schemes - Defined contribution scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £22,345 (2022: £16,894).

14. Restricted funds CURRENT YEAR Lead Enable Inspire Team Development PRIOR YEAR Lead Enable Hackney School of Food Covid Team Development Enable Toolkits	Balance at 01 Sep 22 £ 96,542 13,516 - - 3,490 113,548 Balance at 01 Sep 21 £ 60,089 21,092 3,052 59,139 3,490 146,862	Income £ 113,500 42,860 30,000 5,000 22,240 213,600 Income £ 129,430 87,150 20,000 - 500 237,080	Expenditure £ (157,201) (31,147) (30,000) - (10,630) (228,978) Expenditure £ (92,977) (94,726) (23,052) - (500) (211,255)	Transfers £ - - - - - - Transfers £ - - - (59,139) - (59,139)	Balance at 31 Aug 23 £ 52,841 25,229 - 5,000 15,100 98,170 Balance at 31 Aug 22 £ 96,542 13,516 - - 3,490 113,548

Lead

This funding is used for our School by School programme to help schools transform their food provision. We help them to recruit and train chefs, develop menus and implement systems to manage their kitchen and embed meaningful food education.

Inspire

This funding supported the development of our Chefs Alliance programme; initially focusing on procurement to help schools source high quality ingredients at the best price.

Enable

This funding supported the delivery of our training programme for school chefs, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to feed kids well.

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

14. Restricted funds (continued)

Enable Toolkits

This fund supports the dissemination of our digital toolkit which provides guidance to schools on how to manage the increased demand for school lunches following the Mayor of London’s decision to provide universal free school meals for London primary� schools.

Hackney School of Food

This fund is a partnership between Chefs in Schools and the LEAP Federation of Schools to offer schools and the local community a range of cookery courses to teach children and their families to cook nourishing foods from scratch.

Team Development

This fund relates to donations received which are restricted to our core activities.

15. Analysis of net funds

Analysis of net funds Current year Tangible Fixed Assets Current assets Current liabilities Prior year Tangible Fixed Assets Current assets Current liabilities	Unrestricted funds £ 1,432 543,672 (114,784) 430,320 £ 86,094 308,563 (62,181) 332,476	Restricted funds £ - 104,053 (5,883) 98,170 £ - 113,548 - 113,548	Total funds £ 1,432 647,725 (120,667) 528,490 £ 86,094 422,111 (62,181) 446,024

16. Related Party Transactions

Hackney School of Food

The Hackney School of Food is a community cookery school and gardens established in March 2020 by the LEAP Federation (a group of three maintained primary schools in Hackney), in partnership with Chefs in Schools, to pioneer seed to spoon food education. Leading up to January 2023, the operation of the school was delivered in partnership, with a share of operating costs and income across both organisations. LEAP Federation bore the majority of costs and received the majority of income.

In January 2023, the boards of both organisations agreed that for the long term success of the Hackney School of Food, it should be given its own independent legal status, so the Hackney School of Food CIC was created. The board of the CIC includes Louise Nichols, Executive Head of the LEAP Federation (and Chefs in Schools Trustee), Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive of Chefs in Schools and Melanie Neill (Chefs in Schools Trustee).

During the year:

£40,333 was paid in connection with running costs, including the cost of a project manager to establish the CIC (2022 £nil);
a grant of £52,205 was paid to the CIC to allow a General Manager to be appointed to drive the business forward and establish a sustainable, independent financial footing (2022 - £nil);
£5,000 was paid in connection with post-incorporation costs for marketing support, to allow the CIC to generate new income to establish financial sustainability (2022 - £nil).
Fixtures and fittings, included within tangible fixed assets with a net book value of £80,664 were gifted to the CIC (2022 £nil).

Amounts due to the Hackney School of Food at 31 August 2023 were £57,205 (2022: £nil)

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS� FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023

16. Related Party Transactions (continued)

LEAP Federation

Louise Nichols (Trustee) is Executive head of the LEAP Federation of three London Borough of Hackney Primary Schools - Kingsmead, Mandeville and Gayhurst.

During the year:

£nil was paid to the LEAP Federation for food costs incurred in the delivery of children’s cookery classes at Hackney School of Food, in lieu of a donation to the same value from Tastily for this purpose (2022 - £3,052);
£18,941 was paid to the LEAP Federation as a contribution to the salary and associated costs of the Head Chef Educator of the Hackney School of Food, prior to the incorporation of the Hackney School of Food CIC (2022 - £28,924).

Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH)

Karen Martin (Trustee), is CEO of BBH, London, a global creative agency. BBH created and produced a short video to commemorate Chefs in Schools 5th year anniversary, valued at £4,950.

17. Company Limited by Guarantee

The Charity is limited by guarantee and accordingly has no share capital.

The liability guaranteed by each member is £1. The authorised membership of the company is unlimited. At 31 August 2023 the membership was 6 (2022: 5).

CHEFS IN SCHOOLS I 42