2020-08-31-accounts

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number: 1902341 (England and Wales) Charity Registration Number: 517958

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

CONTENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

	Page
Reference and Administrative Details	1 – 2
Trustees’ Report	3 - 11
Governance Statement	12 - 20
Statement on Regularity, Propriety and Compliance	21
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities	22
Independent Auditor’s Report on the Financial Statements	23 - 24
Independent Auditor’s Report on Regularity	25 - 26
Statement of Financial Activities incorporating Income and Expenditure Account 27 - 28
Balance Sheet	29
Cash Flow Statement	30
Notes to the Financial Statements, incorporating:
Statement of Accounting Policies	31 - 35
Other Notes to the Financial Statements	36 – 53

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS for the year ended 31 August 2020

Governors (Trustees) G Evans (re-appointed 15/10/2019) * = members of the Finance Committee I Birnbaum (Chairman) (re-appointed 10/12/2019) L Edwards H Copplestone (retired 31/10/2019, re-appointed 11/09/2020) L Walters (re-appointed 10/12/2019) M Ingram L Wilkinson J G Phillips (resigned 11/12/2019) R Buswell (re-appointed 15/10/2019) J A Smalley J Bowler (appointed 26/4/2020) P Duckworth V Ross C Winteringham (appointed 6/1/2020) Secretary P Mitchell Senior managers Principal/Accounting Officer L Edwards Deputy Head - Secondary L Walters Deputy Head - Primary H Copplestone Director of Finance and Administration P Mitchell Registered Office Cobbs Brow Lane Lathom L40 6JJ Tel: [phone] Company Registration Number 1902341 (England and Wales

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS for the year ended 31 August 2020

Auditors	JVSA Ltd
	Chartered Accountants
	20 Derby Street
	Ormskirk
	L39 2BY
Bankers	Lloyds
	PO Box 1000
	Andover
	BX1 1LT
	Barclays Bank
	265-267 Lord Street
	Southport
	PR8 1PD
Solicitors	Napthens Solicitors
	7 Winckley Square
	Preston
	Lancashire
	PR1 3JD

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

for the year ended 31 August 2020

The trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements and auditors’ report of the charitable company for the year 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Constitution

The School is a company limited by guarantee with no share capital (registration no. 1902341). The Academy Trust's memorandum and articles of association are the primary governing documents of the School together with the Funding Agreement entered into with the Secretary of State for Education. Members of the Academy Trust comprise of the signatories to the memorandum, up to 3 persons who may be appointed by Maharishi Foundation and 1 person who may be appointed by the Secretary of State, the Chair of Governors and others whom existing members may unanimously appoint. The articles of association require the members of the Academy Trust to appoint at least three governors to be responsible for the statutory and constitutional affairs and management of the School.

Members’ liability

Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he/she is a member, or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10, for the debts and liabilities contracted before he/she ceases to be a member.

Trustees’ Indemnities

The Academy has purchased insurance to protect trustees, governors and officers from claims arising from negligent acts, errors or omissions occurring whilst on Academy business. The insurance provides cover up to £1,000,000 for governors’ liability on any one occurrence.

Principal Activities

The principal activity of the charitable company is the operation of the Maharishi School Trust to provide education for pupils of different abilities between the ages of 4 and 16 known as Consciousness-based Education.

Method of Recruitment and Appointment or Election of Trustees

The governors are directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006 and trustees for the purposes of charity legislation. The governors who were in office at 31 August 2020 and served throughout the year are listed on page 1. During the year under review the governors held 6 meetings. The training and induction provided for new Governors will depend on their existing experience. Where necessary, induction will provide information on charity, educational, legal and financial matters. All new Governors will be given a tour of the School, including the chance to meet with staff and students.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

for the year ended 31 August 2020

Method of Recruitment and Appointment or Election of Trustees continued

All governors are provided with access to copies of our policies, procedures, minutes, accounts, budgets, plans and other documents that they will need to undertake their role as governors. As the number of new governors a year is limited, induction tends to be done informally and is tailored specifically to the individual.

Policies and Procedures Adopted for the Induction and Training of Trustees

Company law requires the governors to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company at the end of the financial year and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view, the governors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• 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; and

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

The governors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charitable company and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Academy Trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The governors confirm that so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Academy Trust’s auditors are unaware. They have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as governors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Academy Trust’s auditors are aware of that information. The governors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the Academy Trust’s website.

Organisational Structure

The structure consists of two levels: The Governors and The Senior Managers. The aim of the management structure is to devolve responsibility and encourage involvement in decision making at all levels.

The Governors are responsible for setting general policy, adopting an annual plan and budget, monitoring the School by the use of budgets and making major decisions about the direction of the School, capital expenditure and senior staff appointments.

The next layer is the Senior Managers, these are the Head teacher, two Deputy Heads and the Director of Finance and Administration. These managers control the School at an executive level implementing the policies laid down by the Governors and reporting back to them. As a group the Senior Managers are responsible for the authorisation of spending within agreed budgets and the appointment of staff, though appointment boards for posts in the Management Team always contain a Governor.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Risk Management

The governors have assessed the major risks to which the School is exposed, in particular those relating to the specific teaching, provision of facilities and other operational areas of the School, and its finances.

The governors have implemented a number of systems to assess risks that the school faces, especially in the operational areas (e.g. in relation to teaching, child protection, health and safety, data protection, relationships and school trips) and in relation to the control of finance. They have introduced systems, including operational procedures (e.g. vetting of new staff and visitors, security of school grounds) and internal financial controls (see below) in order to minimise risk. Where significant financial risk still remains they have ensured they have adequate insurance cover through the DfE RPA scheme. The School has an effective system of internal financial controls and this is explained in more detail in the following statement.

During the last year the governors have been appraised of and approved the various measures taken to keep the school Covid-secure, and are satisfied the school has followed government guidelines and done the best it can under difficult circumstances to safeguard pupils, staff and parents.

Statement on the system of internal finance control

As governors, we acknowledge we have overall responsibility for ensuring that Maharishi School Trust has an effective and appropriate system of control, financial and otherwise. We are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the School and enable us to ensure the financial statements comply with the Companies Act. We also acknowledge responsibility for safeguarding the assets of the School and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurance, that:-

• The School is operating efficiently and effectively;

• Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition;

• The proper records are maintained and financial information used within the Academy or for publication is reliable;

• The School complies with relevant laws and regulations.

The School’s system of internal financial control is based on a framework of regular management information and administrative procedures including the segregation of duties and a system of delegation and accountability. In particular, it includes:

• comprehensive budgeting and monitoring systems with an annual budget and periodic financial reports which are reviewed and agreed by the governing body;

• regular reviews by the Finance Committee of reports which indicate financial performance against the forecasts and of major purchase plans, capital works and expenditure programmes;

• setting targets to measure financial and other performance;

• clearly defined purchasing (asset purchase or capital investment) guidelines.

• delegation of authority and segregation of duties;

• identification and management of risks.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Statement on the system of internal finance control continued

The governors have considered the need for a specific internal audit function and have decided not to appoint an internal auditor. However, the governors have appointed M Miley as Responsible Officer (RO). The RO’s role includes giving advice on financial matters and performing a range of checks on the Academy’s financial systems on a termly basis. As of December 2019 the RO will also assess the school’s proposed actions against risks the school has identified in the Risk Register. The Internal Audit Committee which is a sub-group of the Finance Committee, holds termly meetings to review the Responsible Officer’s reports and make recommendations accordingly.

The Responsible Officer is required to report to the Governing Body, via the Internal Audit Committee, on the operation of the systems of control and on the discharge of the Governing Body’s financial responsibilities. These arrangements provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that assets are safeguarded, transactions are authorised and properly recorded, and that material errors or irregularities are either prevented or would be detected within a timely period.

Objectives, Strategies and Activities

The main objectives of the School during the year ended 31 August 2020 are summarised below:

• to maintain the primacy of Consciousness-based Education as the unique educational strategy;

• to employ the maximum safety strategies possible to ensure a Covid- secure environment for all school users;

• to ensure that every child enjoys the same high quality education in terms of appropriate resourcing, tuition and care;

• to raise the standard of educational achievement of all pupils;

• to improve the effectiveness of the School by keeping the curriculum and organisational structure under continual review;

• to provide value for money for the funds expended;

• to comply with all appropriate statutory and curriculum requirements; and

• to conduct the Academy’s business in accordance with the highest standards of integrity, probity and openness

Public Benefit

One of Maharishi Free School’s guiding principles is “The world is my family”.

We recognise the unity of every individual with every aspect of the world, not only other people, but the whole environment. A practical expression of this is the fundraising of various types our pupils undertake for those in need, both at home and around the world. Although the lockdown interrupted normal fundraising activities, in the last year this has included BBC Children in Need, Save the Children, and a local foodbank. Maharishi School also, where possible, makes its facilities available to individuals and groups in the local community.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Public Benefit continued

During the Covid pandemic, school staff and parents/carers have contributed to helping local families struggling to buy food, and has advertised local companies, some connected to the school, who are also offering help with meals.

The school is also licenced to operate the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and often has the highest proportion of involved pupils in the region. The award has since been further developed within the school with sufficient time and resource allowed for pupils to work towards both Bronze and Silver awards. The Duke of Edinburgh award includes the requirement of participants to undertake a volunteering activity.

The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit by seeking to promote, sustain and increase individual and collective knowledge and understanding of specific areas of study, skills and expertise. In support of this Maharishi School provides its highly beneficial system of Consciousness-based Education to as many children as possible within the physical constraints of the current buildings. Despite this the school is often unable to satisfy demand for places, both locally and beyond. The school also actively supports parents in learning the practical element of Consciousness-based Education, The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The School is in its ninth year of operation as a Free School and continues to attract students for all year groups. Total students at the year ended on 31st August 2020 numbered 211.

As with everywhere else, the school’s year has largely been dominated by the Covid-9 pandemic and the resulting lockdown.

Due to the lockdown, there were no external KS1 or KS2 assessments during the year. There were also no GCSEs taken but results were obtained from the DfE’s final, national policy for assessing GCSE scores. This was the higher of either the centre assessed grades (CAG) or grades calculated by Ofqual via an algorithm.

In 2020, the year 11 GCSE cohort consisted of 18 pupils and, as always, our small numbers can make it difficult to compare to the national picture. All of our classes are mixed ability and therefore outcomes vary accordingly.

The teachers gave their CAG based on the data they had and what they felt each pupil would have achieved had the exams gone ahead. The data they used included November and February mock GCSE results, class work, homework, marks from past exam papers and general attitude to work. Our teachers gave very honest predictions and did not overestimate the grades which may have been the case in some other schools. The school also did not change the teachers’ CAG to make them more in line with our previous results, which is also reported to have occurred in some other schools.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE continued

There were 20 CAG’s increased by the algorithm: 7 across English language and literature, 8 in Science, 3 in Geography. History and Maths were also affected. Teachers agreed with some of these changes, but not all of them. However, teachers did not have any influence over those altered grades.

From the actual grades awarded, our Attainment 8 score of 53 is the same as the estimated national average. Based on CAT scores, the cohort was predicted to achieve an Attainment 8 figure of 44, so the final result is an improvement. The percentage achieving grade 5+ in both English and Maths in 39%, which compares favourably with the CAT prediction of 28%, but is below the predicted national average of 50%. For grade 4+ in both English and Maths, the estimate is nearer the national figure at 67% to 71% nationally. The Ebacc G5+ scores are also good, with the school scoring 28% against an estimated national average of 19%. Maharishi School students achieved average points of 4.96 against a national average of 4.58. 100% of the cohort were entered for the Ebacc compared with 40% nationally.

Based on the school’s Progress 8 performance in the 2019 school league tables, released this year, Maharishi School secondary phase was the second best secondary school in Lancashire and in the top 1.8% nationwide. The school has also recently been rated as the best secondary school in West Lancashire by Lancashire Live’s Real Schools Guide 2020.

Elisabeth Cleary again deserves praise for the outstanding results in the extra-curricular Photography GCSE. All of her pupils exceeded their potential, largely thanks to her commitment, some by as much as 3-4 grades.

To ensure that standards are continually raised, the School operates a programme of standardised testing of ability, attainment and attitude including Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS), Progress Test in Maths (PiM), Progress Test in English (PiE) and Progress Test in Science (PiS) scores, and Cognitive Ability Testing (CAT). Peer and Governor observation of lessons takes place and the school organises visits by external inspectors. Staff maintain contacts with other local schools to share and learn successful practice. Maharishi School continues to be part of the “Shares” cluster of local schools in which training, information and practice experience are shared to benefit all cluster members equally.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the board of trustees has a reasonable expectation that the academy trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Statement of Accounting Policies.

Key Financial Performance Indicators

Maharishi School is of the view that it is difficult to find comparable schools against which to be benchmarked, which has been reinforced by reviewing the comparator schools available from the DfE’s own benchmarking tool. We have compared our financial performance against the Department for Education’s latest benchmarking report card on the school, which used 2018/19 data, using three different routes of comparison yielding 5 other Academies, for which a comprehensive summary report was produced. This method enabled comparisons with different schools according to the comparison criteria, although some appeared in more than one route group. It was found that the comparator schools were not particularly good matches for Maharishi School for varying reasons. Also, the reporting methodologies for some schools differed from our school, in some cases producing unrealistic figures against which to contrast our own. Last year the school started submitting the new SRMSAT checklist and will continue this to allow future benchmarking.

Environmentally Maharishi Secondary School is fortunate to occupy a building originally constructed using natural materials wherever practicable, including rammed earth walls. This building was converted for the School’s conversion to Free School Status, under the auspices of the Department for Education, to the latest environmental performance standards, including a new roof. The subsequent addition of CCTV cameras and a higher fence have significantly improved the security and Safeguarding provision of the Secondary site. There is a longer term plan to upgrade the Primary School site to achieve more energy efficient buildings. From February 2016, the reception class and other functions occupied a new, stand-alone classroom, constructed largely of timber products and to the highest energy-efficiency standards.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Key Financial Performance Indicators continued

The school has found the introduction of Chromebooks operating through the Google Education platform and operating via Wi-Fi has greatly enhanced the learning experience for pupils and maximised the amount of teaching time within lessons, as expected. During the Covid lockdown the school made extensive use of online platforms and teaching, and was praised for the speed this was implemented and the quality of the offering by Google Education professionals and others familiar with what other schools provided.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial and Risk Management Objectives and Policies

The school Finance Committee regularly reviews the Trust’s financial status, including risks and potential forecast pressures and work towards ending each year with a balanced budget in order to maintain sufficient reserves. All the necessary policies and procedures are in place to protect the school from potential risks and are also subject to review. During the year in question, the school had projected a reasonable surplus which increased significantly due to the reduced expenditure afforded by the Covid lockdown.

The year in question is the seventh year in which the school has participated in the Local Government Pension Scheme, from which the Actuaries report indicates a scheme deficit of £382,000. This deficit is a result of the general position of the Lancashire LGPS and a review has resulted in the scheme taking an additional £275 per month from the school to assist in alleviating the deficit.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Outlined below are the principal risks that may affect the Maharishi School Trust.

• 1 Maharishi School Trust has considerable reliance on government funding through the ESFA. In 2019/20, approximately 96% (6% more than 2018/19) of the School’s income was publicly funded and this requirement is expected to continue. The school was subject to a reduction in the split site funding received, following a review by Lancashire County Council.

This risk can be mitigated in a number of ways:

• 2 By closely monitoring the evolving education agenda and the changes outlined by the Department for Education

• 3 By closely monitoring the School's cost base and ensure value for money is obtained across all expenditures .

• 4 By working to maintain and increase pupil numbers to the maximum possible roll in order to receive the maximum achievable ESFA funding

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Reserves policy

The governors review the reserve levels of the School annually. This review encompasses the nature of income and expenditure streams, the need to match income with commitments and the nature of reserves. The reason for this is to provide sufficient working capital to cover delays between spending and receipt of grants and to provide a cushion to deal with unexpected emergencies such as urgent maintenance.

Financial position

The School held fund balances at 31 August 2020 of £596,478 (2019 - £652,488) comprising £446,797 (2019 - £505,157) of restricted funds and £149,681 (2019 - £147,331) of unrestricted general funds.

Investment Policy

During the financial year Maharishi School Trust Ltd had a cash balance of £288,053, and the governing body has approved the placing of various sums in deposit accounts to maximise income from its balances. The objective of the academy is to ensure that sufficient funds are available at short or no notice to meet foreseeable requirements, while earning an acceptable rate of return without undue risk .

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

The school will continue working to improve the levels of performance of its students at all levels, and will also maintain its recruitment up to the maximum capacity of our buildings. The School has significantly upgraded its built environment in recent years and is working to continue this work, to create improved conditions for both pupil learning and staff working.

AUDITORS

The auditors, JVSA Ltd, are willing to continue in office and a resolution to appoint them will be proposed at the annual general meeting.

The report of the governors was approved by the governors on 10 December 2020 and signed on their behalf by:

Ian Birnbaum, Chairman

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Scope of Responsibility

As trustees we acknowledge we have overall responsibility for ensuring that Maharishi School Trust Limited has an effective and appropriate system of control, financial and otherwise. However, such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives, and can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurances against material misstatement or loss.

The board of trustees has delegated the day-to-day responsibility to the Principal, as Accounting Officer, for ensuring financial controls conform with the requirements of both propriety and good financial management and in accordance with the requirements and responsibilities assigned to it in the funding agreement between Maharishi School Trust Limited and the Secretary of State of Education. They are also responsible for reporting to the board of trustees any material weaknesses or breakdowns in internal control.

Governance

The information on governance included here supplements that described in the Trustees’ Report and in the Statements of Trustees’ Responsibilities. The board of trustees has formally met 6 times during the year, utilising Google meet for remote meetings following the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

Trustee	Meetings attended	Out of a possible
I Birnbaum (Chair)	6	6
L Edwards (Principal)	6	6
G Evans	3	6
L Walters	5	6
M Ingram	6	6
R Buswell	6	6
L Wilkinson	4	6
J Phillips	0	1
H Copplestone	1	1
J Smalley	2	6
J Bowler	5	6
V Ross	4	6
P Duckworth	5	6
C Winteringham	4	4
Non Trustee
P Mitchell (Clerk)	6	6

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Governance continued

Finance Committee

The committee assists the decision making of the Governing Body, by enabling more detailed consideration to be given to the best means of fulfilling the Governing Body’s responsibility to ensure sound management of the School’s finances and resources, including proper planning, monitoring and probity. The Finance Committee has the following responsibilities:

1. Consider the financial aspects of particular matters specifically referred to the committee.

2. Consider the School’s indicative budget funding obtained from the Ready Reckoner and to assess its implications for the School in consultation with the Principal and Business Manager in advance of the financial year involved, drawing any matters of significance or concern to the attention of the Governing Body.

3. Consider and recommend acceptance/non-acceptance of the School budget, at the start of each financial year, (1st September – 31st August.)

4. Contribute to the evolution of the School’s Development Plan, through the consideration of financial priorities and proposals, in consultation with the Principal and Business Manager within the School’s stated and agreed aims and objectives.

5. Receive and make recommendations on the broad budget headings and areas of expenditure to be adopted each year, including the level and use of any contingency fund or balances, ensuring the compatibility of all such proposals with the development priorities set out in the development plan.

6. Agree limits of delegation and virements.

7. Liaise with and receive reports from other Governing Body committees as appropriate and make recommendations to those committees about the financial aspects of matters being considered by them.

8. Monitor and review income and expenditure on a regular basis and ensure compliance with the overall financial plan for the School and with the requirements of the Funding Agreement, Education and Skills Funding Agency or Department for Education, including the school’s own internal financial regulations, drawing any matters of concern to the attention of the Governing Body.

9. Monitor and review procedures for ensuring the effective implementation and operation of financial procedures on a regular basis, including the implementation of bank account arrangements and where appropriate to make recommendations for improvement where necessary.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Governance continued

1. Prepare the financial statement to form part of the annual report of the Governing Body to parents and for filing in accordance with Companies Act requirements.

2. Receive Auditors and Responsible Officers reports and to recommend to Governing Body action as appropriate in response to audit findings.

3. Recommend to the Governing Body the appointment or reappointment of the Trust’s auditors.

4. Develop and recommend to the Governing Body policies on charging, lettings and contracts that are in accordance with Financial Regulations and advise governors on the financial implications of adopting certain policies.

5. Additional items as required/agreed.

Premises

1. Follow the requirements of the Funding Agreement and the Department for Education and other relevant statutory authorities concerning the upkeep of buildings and land.

2. Ensure that the conditions of the premises and grounds are monitored and receive regular reports.

3. Ensure that resources are available to implement repair and maintenance as required and in a timely manner.

4. Prepare a statement of priorities for maintenance and development (Asset Management Plan.)

5. Receive regular reports on the general maintenance of the premises and grounds and inform the Governing Body of the effectiveness of any planned maintenance programmes/Asset Management Plan.

6. Approve the budget allocation for maintenance, repairs and redecoration.

7. Oversee the preparation, implementation and monitoring of premises-related contracts.

8. Prepare a letting policy for the approval of the Governing Body and to monitor and advise the Governing Body on the use of the school by outside bodies.

9. Consider and advise the Governing Body on matters relating to the efficient and effective use of the premises and grounds.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Governance continued

1. Draft and review the Academy’s Disaster Recovery Plan and make recommendations to the Governing Body.

2. Be aware of the extent of insurance cover on premises and equipment and review annually.

3. Additional items as required/agreed.

Attendance at finance committee meetings in the year was as follows

Trustee	Meetings attended	Out of a possible
I Birnbaum	6	6
L Edwards	6	6
R Buswell	6	6
Non-Trustees
J Scott	3	6
P Mitchell	6	6
M Wilkinson	5	6

Review of Value for Money

As Accounting Officer, the Principal has responsibility for ensuring that the academy trust delivers good value in the use of public resources. The Accounting Officer is aware of the guidance in the Academies Accounts Direction 2019-20 regarding value for money statements published by the Education Funding Standards Agency and understands that value for money refers to the educational and wider societal outcomes achieved in return for the taxpayer resources received.

The Accounting Officer has set out below how she has ensured that the academy trust’s use of its resources has provided good value for money during the academic year.

Maharishi School 2019-20 Value for Money statement

This statement is to show that Maharishi School Trust’s use of public assets and funds has provided good value for money during the year, and to identify any opportunities for potential improvement, particularly in respect of the following:

• the economic, efficient and effective use of all the resources, for example to produce better educational results;

• the avoidance of waste and extravagance;

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Review of Value for Money continued

• the prudent and economical administration of the organisation;

• the establishment and maintenance of a system of financial governance, (including sound internal spending controls, keeping up-to-date financial records, continuous financial monitoring and timely reporting); and

• ensuring all financial transactions represent value for money.

Maharishi School Trust opened as a Free School in September 2011 with a capital cost to the Department for Education of under £1million, compared to the average premises cost of setting up a Free School published by the National Audit Office of £6.6million. The school was originally conceived on the basis of 15 pupils per class but, due to high levels of demand, we have increased class sizes to 18 by stages. This will almost fill the school’s buildings to capacity. The fact of smaller class sizes ensures that teachers can devote more time to individual pupils and their particular requirements. Maharishi School Trust, in keeping with the requirements of its Funding Agreement with the Department for Education, has all the relevant policies and procedures in place to ensure that the Trust is properly run and provides value for money.

All matters relating to finance are referred to the Finance Committee, which is acutely aware of the Trust’s limited budget and the pressures on it. They have actively questioned expenditure proposals, challenged variances, advised on strategy and expressed their reporting requirements. When satisfied, the Finance Committee have then made appropriate recommendations to the Governing Body. Also, as required, the school has the function of an internal audit in the form of an Internal Audit Committee, as allowed due to the Trusts’ size. As required in the Academies Financial Handbook, the Headteacher, as Accounting Officer is part of this committee. Maharishi School continues to utilise an independent Responsible Officer, who reviews the financial operations, compliance and risks, including the Risk Register and the school’s risk management proposals, etcetera on a termly basis. Maharishi School’s Responsible Officer is a retired chartered accountant, whose termly reports inform the deliberations of the Audit Committee and are submitted to the Governing Body.

These bodies are subject to their own Terms of Reference/ Roles and Responsibilities documents and the Finance Committee routinely meets every other month and the Internal Audit every term. Finance meetings take place ten days before Governors’ meetings to ensure that the data and topics under discussion are still current. The meeting schedule is designed to accommodate the production of Quarterly finance reports in order that matters are reported and acted upon in a timely manner. Members of the Governing Body are mostly parents of current or past pupils of the school. The Chair of the Governing Body is a former Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services of a London Borough.

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MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

Review of Value for Money continued

Maharishi School Trust has been audited by the EFSA who have expressed their satisfaction with the financial management and governance of the Trust, including the requisite policies and procedures. These include:

– Draft internal financial regulations: these ensure that the school maintains and develops systems of financial control which conform with the requirements both of propriety and of good financial management.

– Headteacher and Governing Body responsibilities: this document details the levels of decision making for all aspects of the school.

– Delegated authority table: this details the levels of authority for and conditions pertaining to expenditure amounts.

– Continuity plans for each and both school sites: these provide all the information needed to ensure the fastest possible disaster recovery of school operations.

– Risk Register: this lists all perceived potential risks to the school, level of risk and control procedures. Register updates are a Governing Body standing agenda item.

– Whistleblowing policy: this is intended to enable individuals to raise concerns about general malpractice, abuse or wrongdoing at an early stage and in the right way, without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination or disadvantage. The policy is designed to encourage and enable individuals to raise concerns within the school or, if necessary, externally rather than to overlook a problem. (This enables any member of staff, pupil, parent or member of the public to notify the relevant authority of suspected wrongdoing and ensures investigations are conducted, and if necessary acted upon, impartially and objectively.)

Since the conversion to a Free School the Maharishi School Trust Governing Body has usually approved a balanced budget with a small GAG funding carry forward within recommended limits. The outturn figure for 2019/20 is better than that budgeted at £46,990 (Surplus) until the pension deficit increase of £103,000, which is outside the school’s control, is applied. Maharishi School holds a healthy balance of reserves, which has comfortably covered any past shortfalls. The Trust has submitted statutory financial reports, including Audited Accounts, ESFA Accounts Return and ESFA Budget Forecast Return and BFR Outturns which have satisfied the ESFA Auditors (Deloitte). The Trust has routinely compared its financial performance with the James Crowper/Kreston (chartered accountants) Academies Benchmark Reports and the Department for Education/Education and Skills Funding Agency Benchmarking systems. In the last year this has been the online benchmarking tool, using three different criteria. (see Key Performance Indicators, page 9). We are satisfied with our performance compared to Academy Trusts generally, many of which have struggled financially in recent years, despite the diseconomies of scale due to our smaller class sizes and resultant per class funding, especially staff pupil ratio.

17

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 August 2020

Review of Value for Money continued

This demonstrates a high level of responsibility in the use of the Trust’s funds. The Trust makes every effort to gain the maximum value in procurement of services and products. We are confident the Trust does very well at obtaining good value overall in procurement due to the ongoing review of suppliers and their prices by the finance and admin teams. This has included joining the DfE RPA school insurance scheme in September 2019, which represented a further saving for the school. In terms of the educational and societal outcomes of Maharishi School we can demonstrate that the resources expended are offering exceptional value for money.

Maharishi School was inspected by Ofsted in November 2017 resulting in a “Good” report overall with Outstanding in Personal Development and Welfare. The school is pleased with the report, but is not complacent and is already acting on the advice for areas to be developed. This has included extending the Reception class’ enclosed play area, completely resurfacing the whole area and installing outdoor play equipment. An order for awnings for the Reception area and other ground floor classrooms was placed during the year in question, although delivery has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Development of full potential is nurtured at Maharishi School, as indicated by other pupil achievements. In addition to statutory testing Maharishi School utilises standardised ability, attainment, and attitude testing to regularly monitor pupil abilities and social development. Extracurricular activities are encouraged and facilitated, including the Duke of Edinburgh award. This introduction has been assisted by the school fundraising group, who also assist, for example, in school trip funding, which allows us to offer a full range of educational visits across the whole school, including residential and foreign trips. Other after-hours offerings during the year included Photography and Computer Science.

Staff recruitment and deployment has been undertaken with care (using the practices recommended by ‘Safer Recruitment’), and is regularly reviewed, to obtain the most beneficial outcomes for pupils. This has been particularly the case in the Primary phase which underwent planned expansion following becoming a Free School. Here, the allocation of teaching assistants and subject specialists reflects the specific requirements of classes as a whole and of individual pupils, including those requiring degrees of one-to-one support. As planned, the school now provides more targeted, specific literacy and numeracy support in both phases. During the last year there has been staff recruitment in both phases following staff emigration to further enhance the school’s offering.

Maharishi School Trust started as a Free School with a good track record in both educational and pastoral provision and financial management, and continues that ethos to the present. We always proactively seek the best value in the use of our funds and will continue to refine our approach to improve on past performance. The development of our pupils is of paramount importance to us and we will continue to do whatever we can to maximise the value to them of our funding.

18

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 August 2020

The Purpose of the System of Internal Control

The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives. It can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an on-going process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of academy trust policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically. The system of internal control has been in place in Maharishi School Trust for the period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements.

Capacity to Handle Risk

The board of trustees has reviewed the key risks to which the School Trust is exposed together with the operating, financial and compliance controls that have been implemented to mitigate those risks. The board of trustees is of the view that there is a formal on-going process for identifying, evaluating and managing the academy trust’s significant risks that has been in place for the period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements. The process is regularly reviewed by the board of trustees.

The Risk and Control Framework

The school’s trust system of internal financial control is based on a framework of regular management information and administrative procedures including the segregation of duties and a system of delegation and accountability. In particular, it includes:

Comprehensive budgeting and monitoring systems with an annual budget and periodic financial reports which are reviewed and agreed by the board of trustees;

Governance

• Regular reviews by the finance and general purposes committee of reports which indicate financial performance against the forecasts and of major purchase plans, capital works and expenditure programmes;

• Setting targets to measure financial and other performance;

• Clearly defined purchasing (asset purchase of capital investment) guidelines;

• Delegation of authority and segregation of duties;

• Identification and management risks.

19

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 August 2020

Governance continued

The board of trustees has considered the need for a specific internal audit function and has decided:

• Not to appoint an internal auditor. However, the trustees have appointed M Miley, an accountant, as responsible officer (RO) to inform the audit committee, a sub-committee of the finance committee on any failures of the audit function that arise during his review of the systems and controls;

The Reporting Officer’s role includes giving advice on financial matters and performing a range of checks on the academy trust’s financial systems. On a termly basis, the Responsible Officer reports to the board of trustees on the operation of the systems of control and on the discharge of the board of trustees’ financial responsibilities.

Review of Effectiveness

As Accounting Officer the Principal has responsibility for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control. During the year in question the review has been informed by:

• The work of the responsible officer and peer review;

• The work of the external auditor;

• The work of the executive managers within the academy trust who have responsibility for the development and maintenance of the internal control framework.

The Accounting Officer has been advised of the implications of the result of their review of the system of internal control by the finance and general purposes committee and a plan to address weaknesses (if relevant) and ensure continuous improvement of the system in place.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 10 December 2020 and signed on its behalf by:

I Birnbaum Chair of Trustees

L Edwards Accounting Officer

20

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

STATEMENT OF REGULARITY, PROPERIETY AND COMPLIANCE

As Accounting Officer of Maharishi School Trust Limited I have considered my responsibility to notify the academy trust board of trustees and the Education Funding Agency of material irregularity, impropriety and non-compliance with Education and Skills Funding Agency terms and conditions of funding received by the academy trust, under the funding agreement in place between the academy trust and the Secretary of State for Education. As part of my consideration I have had due regard to the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook 2019.

I confirm that I and the academy trust board of trustees are able to identify any material irregular or improper use of funds of the academy trust, or material non-compliance with the terms and conditions of funding under the academy trust’s funding agreement and the Academies Financial Handbook 2019.

I confirm that no instances of material irregularity, impropriety or funding non-compliance have been discovered to date. If any instances are identified after the date of this statement, these will be notified to the board of trustees and Education and Skills Funding Agency.

L Edwards Accounting Officer 10 December 2020

21

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who act as governors of Maharishi School Trust Limited and are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with the Annual Accounts Direction issued by the Education Funding Agency, United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

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 of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and the apply them consistently;

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 and the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020;

• Make judgements and accounting 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 and 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. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for ensuring that in its conduct and operation the charitable company applies financial and other controls, which confirm with the requirements both of propriety and of good financial management. They are also responsible for ensuring grants received from Education and Skills Funding Agency/Department for Education have been applied for the purposes intended.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Approved by order of the members of the board of trustees on 10 December 2020 and signed on its behalf by:

Signed

I Birnbaum Chair of Trustees

22

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST 31 August 2020

We have audited the financial statements of Maharishi School Trust Limited for the year ended 31 August 2020 on pages 27 to 53, which have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out on pages 31 to 35.

This report is made solely to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS AND AUDITORS

The responsibilities of the directors for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and for being satisfied that the financial statements give a true and fair view are set out in the Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees on page 22.

The trustees have elected for the financial statements to be audited in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 rather than the Companies Act 2006. Accordingly, we have been appointed as auditors under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under section 154 of that Act.

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland).

We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the information given in the Trustees Annual Report is not consistent with those financial statements, if the charity has not kept adequate accounting records, if the charity's financial statements are not in agreement with these accounting records and returns, or if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

We read the Trustees Annual Report and consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements within it.

23

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST 31 August 2020

BASIS OF AUDIT OPINION

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the trustees in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the charity's circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion, we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.

OPINION

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 2020 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; and

• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally

• Accepted Accounting Practice, and in accordance with the Companies Act 2006;

• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP 2019 and

• the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020.

 the information given in the trustees’ report including the incorporated strategic report for the year for which the financial statements have been prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

C SALES (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of

JVSA Ltd

20 Derby Street Ormskirk Lancashire L39 2BY

Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditors

10 December 2020

24

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

INDEPENDENT REPORTING AUDITOR’S ASSURANCE REPORT ON THE REGULARITY TO MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED AND THE EDUCATION FUNDING AUTHORITY

In accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 20 November 2017 and further to the requirements of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) as included in the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020, we have carried out an engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether the expenditure disbursed and income received by Maharishi School Trust Limited during the period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 have been applied to the purposes identified by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.

This report is made solely to Maharishi School Trust and the ESFA in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Maharishi School Trust and the ESFA those matters we are required to state in a 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 Maharishi School Trust and the ESFA, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusion we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of Maharishi School Trust’s accounting officer and the reporting auditor

The accounting officer is responsible, under the requirements of Maharishi School Trust’s funding agreement with the Secretary of State Education dated 9 August 2011, the Deed of Variation dated 29 August 2014 and the Academies Financial Handbook, extant from 1 September 2019, for ensuring that expenditure disbursed and income received is applied for the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.

Our responsibilities for this engagement are established in the United Kingdom by our profession’s ethical guidance and are to obtain limited assurance and report in accordance with our engagement letter and the requirements of the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020. We report to you whether anything has come to our attention in carrying out our work which suggests that in all material respects, expenditure disbursed and income received during the period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 have not been applied to purposes intended by Parliament or that the financial transactions do not conform to the authorities which govern them.

Approach

We conducted our engagement in accordance with the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020 issued by the ESFA. We performed a limited assurance engagement as defined in our engagement letter.

The objective of a limited assurance engagement is to perform such procedures as to obtain information and explanations in order to provide us with sufficient appropriate evidence to express a negative conclusion on regularity.

25

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

INDEPENDENT REPORTING AUDITOR’S ASSURANCE REPORT ON THE REGULARITY TO MAHARISH SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED AND THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY

A limited assurance engagement is more limited in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in a reasonable assurance engagement. Accordingly, we do not express a positive opinion.

Our engagement includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the regularity and propriety of the academy trust’s income and expenditure.

The work undertaken to draw our conclusion includes:

• Review expense claims and any unusual transactions ensuring the expenditure does not contravene the funding agreement

• Review of work undertaken and conclusions reached by Accounting Officer and the Responsible Individual throughout the year ensuring internal control procedures have been implemented

• Review responses from 2019 FMGE Return and assessment to ensure all actions required were implemented

• Review the risk register and representations given to trustees to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities including declarations of external interests

• All minutes of committee meetings were reviewed

Conclusion

In the course of our work, nothing has come to our attention which suggests that in all material respects of the expenditure disbursed and income received during the period 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 has not been applied to purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions do not conform to the authorities which govern them.

C Sales Senior Statutory Auditor JVSA Ltd Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditors

10 December 2020

26

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT AND STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES)

for the year ended 31 August 2020

		Unrestricted	Unrestricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Fixed Total Funds	Total Funds
		Funds		Funds		Funds	2020	2019
	Note	£		£		£	£	£
Incoming Resources
Incoming Resources
from generating
funds
Voluntary Income	3	12,759			15,119	-	27,878	57,695
Activities for
Generating funds	4	21,067			-	-	21,067	61,116
Investment
Income	5		65		-	-	65	77
Incoming Resources
from charitable
activities
Funding for the
Academy trust’s
educational
operations	6		-	1,214,036		-	1,214,036	1,114,518
Total Incoming
Resources		33,891		1,229,155		-	1,263,046	1,233,406
Resources expended
Costs of generating
Voluntary income	9		-		13,411	-	13,411	9,910
Fundraising
Trading	8	17,045			8,634	-	25,679	31,875
Charitable activities
Academy’s
Educational
Operations	10	14,496		1,176,441		-	1,190,937	1,167,103
Governance costs	11		-		46,029	-	46,029	54,954
Total resources
Expended	7	31,541		1,244,515		-	1,276,056	1,263,842
Net incoming/
(outgoing) resources
Before transfers		2,350		(15,360)		-	(13,010)	(30,436)

27

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT AND STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES)

for the year ended 31 August 2020

Note Net incoming/ (outgoing) resources Before transfers Gross transfers Between funds 18 Net Income/(expenditure) For the year Other recognised gains and losses Actuarial 18,27 Net movement In funds Total funds brought forward 18 Total funds carried forward at 31 August	Unrestricted Funds £ 2,350 - 2,350 - 2,350 147,331 149,681	Restricted Funds £ (15,360) 10,992 (4,368) (43,000) (47,368) (229,364) (276,732)	Restricted Fixed Funds £ - (10,992) (10,992) - (10,992) 734,521 723,529	Total Funds Total Funds 2020 2019 £ £ (13,010) (30,436) - - (13,010) ` (30,436) (43,000) (99,000) (56,010) (129,436) 652,488 781,924 596,478 652,488

All of the School’s activities derive from continuing operations during the above two financial periods. A Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses is not required as all gains and losses are included in the Statement of Financial Activities

28

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED BALANCE SHEET at 31 August 2020

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED BALANCE SHEET at 31 August 2020
		2020	2020	2019	2019
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	15		744,866		760,616
Current assets
Debtors	16	42,772		37,282
Cash at bank and in hand		288,053		217,559
		_		______
		330,825		254,841
		_		______
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year	17	(97,213)		(83,969)
		______		_
Net current assets			233,612		170,872
			_		__
Total assets less current liabilities			978,478		931,488
Pension scheme liability	27		(382,000)		(279,000)
			__		__
Net assets including pension liability			596,478		652,488
			__		__
Funds of the academy trust:
Restricted income funds
. Fixed asset fund	18	723,529		734,521
. General fund	18	105,268		49,636
. Pension reserve	18	(382,000)		(279,000)
		__		__
Total restricted funds			446,797		505,157
Unrestricted income funds
. General fund	18	143,591		134,104
. Designated fund	18	6,090		13,227
		_		__
Total unrestricted funds			149,681		147,331
			_		__
Total funds			596,478		652,488
			_		__

The financial statements on pages 27 to 53 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issued on 10 December 2020 and are signed on their behalf by:

Ian Birnbaum, Chairman

29

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

CASH FLOW STATEMENT for the year ended 31 August 2020

		2020	2019
	Note	£	£
Net cash flow from operating activities	22	81,748	44,488
Returns on investments and servicing of finance	23	65	77
Capital expenditure	24	(11,319)	(14,836)
		______	_
Increase/(Decrease) in cash in the year	25	70,494	29,729
		______	_
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds
Net funds at 1 September 2019		217,559	187,830
		_	_
Net funds at 31 August 2020		288,053	217,559
		_	_

30

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

1. Statement of Accounting Policies

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements of the academy trust, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared under the historic cost convention and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Academies Accounts Direction 2019 to 2020 issued by the ESFA, the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

Maharishi School Trust Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. A summary of the principal accounting policies, which have been applied consistently, except where noted, is set out below.

Going Concern

The governors 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 governors make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of authorisation for issue of the financial statements and have concluded that the academy trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties about the academy trust’s ability to continue as a going concern, thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Incoming resources

Grants receivable

Grants are included in the statement of financial activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the balance sheet. Where income is received in advance of meeting any performance-related conditions there is not unconditional entitlement to the income and its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income until the performance-related conditions are met. Where entitlement occurs before income is received the income is accrued.

General Annual Grant is recognised in full in the year for which is receivable and any unspent amount is reflected as a balance in the restricted general fund. Capital grants are recognised when receivable and are not deferred over the life of the asset on which they are expended. Unspent amounts of capital grant are reflected in the balance in the restricted fixed asset fund.

Sponsorship income

Sponsorship income provided to the Academy which amounts to a donation is recognised in the statement of financial activities in the period in which it is receivable, where there is certainty of receipt and it is measurable.

31

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

1. Statement of Accounting Policies (continued)

Donations

Donations are recognised on a receivable basis where there is certainty of receipt and the amount can be reliably measured.

Interest receivable

Interest receivable is included within the statement of financial activities on a receivable basis.

• Other Income

Other income, including the hire of facilities, is recognised in the period it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided or on completion of the service.

 Donated Service and Gifts in Kind

The value of donated services and gifts in kind provided to the academy trust are recognised at their open market value in the period in which they are receivable as incoming resources, where the benefit to the academy trust can be reliably measured. An equivalent amount is included as expenditure under the relevant heading in the Statement of Financial Activities, except where the gift in kind was a fixed asset in which case the amount is included in the appropriate fixed asset category and depreciated over the useful economic life in accordance with academy trust’s policies.

Resources Expended

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

• Costs of Generating Funds

These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

 Charitable Activities

These are costs incurred on the academy trust’s educational operations.

 Governance Costs

These include the costs attributable to the academy trust’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustee’s meetings and reimbursed expenses.

All resources expended are inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

32

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020 1. Statement of Accounting Policies (continued)

Tangible Fixed Assets

Assets costing £1,280,253 are capitalised as tangible fixed assets and are carried at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.

Where tangible fixed assets have been acquired with the aid of specific grants, either from the government or from the private sector, they are included in the Balance Sheet at cost and depreciated over their expected useful economic life. The related grants are credited to a restricted fixed asset fund in the Statement of Financial Activities and carried forward in the Balance Sheet. Depreciation on such assets is charged to the restricted fixed asset fund in the Statement of Financial Activities so as to reduce the fund over the useful economic life of the related asset on a basis consistent with the academy trust’s depreciation policy.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets other than freehold land, at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life, as follows:

o	Freehold buildings	1%-25% Straight Line
o	Fixtures, fittings and equipment	25% Straight Line
o	ICT equipment	33% Straight Line
o	Minibus (included within equipment)	25% Straight Line

Assets in the course of construction are included at cost. Depreciation on these assets is not charged until they are brought into use.

A review for impairment of a fixed asset is carried out if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of any fixed asset may not be recoverable. Shortfalls between the carrying value of fixed assets and their recoverable amounts are recognised as impairments. Impairment losses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Leased assets

Rentals under operating leases are charged on an actual basis over the lease term.

Taxation

The academy trust is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the academy trust is exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by chapter 3 part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

33

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

1. Statement of Accounting Policies (continued)

Pension Benefits

Retirement benefits to employees of the academy trust are provided by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (‘TPS’) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (‘LGPS’). These are defined benefit schemes.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme and contributions are calculated so as to spread the cost of pensions over employees’ working lives with the academy trust in such a way that the pension cost is a substantially level percentage of current and future pensionable payroll. The contributions are determined by the Government Actuary on the basis of quadrennial valuations using a prospective unit credit method. As stated in Note 27, the TPS is a multi-employer scheme and there is insufficient information available to use defined benefit accounting. The TPS is therefore treated as a defined contributions scheme for accounting purposes and the contributions recognised in the period to which they relate.

The LGPS is a funded scheme and the assets are held separately from those of the academy trust in separate trustee administered funds. Pension scheme assets are measured at fair value and liabilities are measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit credit method and discounted at a rate equivalent to the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liabilities. The actuarial valuations are obtained at least triennially and are updated at each balance sheet date. The amounts charged to operating surplus are the current service costs and the costs of scheme introductions, benefit changes, settlements and curtailments. They are included as part of staff costs as incurred. Net interest on the net defined benefit liability/asset is also recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities and comprises the interest cost on the defined benefit obligation and interest income on the scheme assets, calculated by multiplying the fair value of the scheme assets at the beginning of the period by the rate used to discount the benefit obligations. The difference between the interest income and the scheme assets and the actual return on scheme assets is recognised in other recognised gains and losses.

Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately in other recognised gains and losses.

Fund Accounting

Unrestricted income funds represent those resources which may be used towards meeting any of the charitable objects of the academy trust at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted fixed asset funds are resources which are to be applied to specific capital purposes imposed by funders where the asset acquired or created is held for a specific purpose.

Restricted general funds comprise all other restricted funds received with restrictions imposed by the funder/donor and include grants from the Education Funding Agency on behalf of the Department for Education.

34

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

1. Statement of Accounting Policies (continued)

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions

The academy trust makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

The present value of the Local Government Pension Scheme defined benefit liability depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a variety of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the net cost (income) for pensions include the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions, which are disclosed in note 27, will impact the carrying amount of the pension liability. Furthermore, a roll forward approach which projects results from the latest full actuarial valuation performed at 31 March 2016 has been used by the actuary in valuing the pensions liability at 31 August 2020. Any differences between the figures derived from the roll forward approach and a full actuarial valuation would impact on the carrying amount of the pension liability.

35

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

		2020	2019
		£	£
2	GENERAL ANNUAL GRANT (GAG)
	a. Results and Carry Forward for the Year
	GAG brought forward from last year	40,295	47,193
	GAG allocation for current year	1,200,079	1,099,739
		_	_
	Total GAG available to spend	1,240,374	1,146,932
	Recurrent expenditure from GAG	1,136,619	1,106,637
		_	_
	GAG carried forward to next year	103,755	40,295
	Maximum permitted GAG carry forward at end of
	current year (12% of allocation for current year)	144,009	131,969
		_	_
	GAG to surrender to DfES	-40,254	- 91,674
	(12% rule breached if result is positive)	(no breach)	(no breach)

Under the funding agreement with the Secretary of State the academy trust was subject to limits at 31 August 2020 on the amount of GAG that could be carried forward from one year to the next. An amount equal to 12% of GAG could be carried forward, of which up to 2% could be used for general recurrent purposes, with any balance being available for premises/capital purposes. The academy trust has not exceeded these limits during the year ended 31 August 2020.

3 VOLUNTARY INCOME

3 VOLUNTARY INCOME
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	2020	2019
	£	£	£	£
Private sponsorship and donations
Miscellaneous donations	12,198	1,500	13,698	36,679
Duke of Edinburgh	-	1,930	1,930	892
Europe Projects Income	-	3,457	3,457	2,367
Edna Linnell Legacy	-	-	-	9,185
Miscellaneous Income	561	8,232	8,793	8,572
	______	_	______	_
	12,759	15,119	27,878	57,695
	______	_	______	_

36

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

4	ACTIVITIES FOR GENERATING FUNDS	ACTIVITIES FOR GENERATING FUNDS
		Unrestricted Restricted		Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	2020	2019
		£	£	£	£
	Fundraising	1,538	-	1,538	5,426
	Pupil Trips	4,320	-	4,320	35,223
	Uniform Sale	258	-	258	1,301
	Out of Hours Income	13,363	-	13,363	15,963
	Catering Income	411	-	411	2,185
	Bus Transfer Income	1,177	-	1,177	1,018
		______	_	______	_
		21,067	-	21,067	61,116
		______	_	______	_
5	INVESTMENT INCOME
		Unrestricted Restricted		Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	2020	2019
		£	£	£	£
	Bank Interest	65	-	65	77
		______	______	____	_____
6	FUNDING FOR THE ACADEMY’S EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS
		Unrestricted Restricted		Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	2020	2019
		£	£	£	£
	DfE/ESFA grants
	General Annual Grant (GAG) (note 2)	-	1,200,079	1,200,079	1,099,739
		______	_	___	__
		-	1,200,079	1,200,079	1,099,739
		______	_	___	__
	Other Government grants
	Local authority grants	-	13,957	13,957	14,779
		_	__	__	__
		-	1,214,036	1,214,036	1,114,518
		_	__	_	___

37

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

7 RESOURCES EXPENDED

7 RESOURCES EXPENDED
	Staff
	Costs	Non Pay Expenditure		Total	Total
			Other
		Premises	Costs	2020	2019
	£	£	£	£	£
Costs of activities for generating funds 15,028		-	10,651	25,679	31,875
Costs of generating voluntary income 11,904		-	1,507	13,411	9,910
Academy’s educational operations
. Direct costs	723,649	17,843	123,151	864,643	872,890
. Allocated support costs	271,294	27,984	27,016	326,294	294,213
	_	______	_	_	_
	1,021,875	45,827	162,325	1,230,027	1,208,888
	_	______	_	_	_
Governance costs including
allocated support costs	32,838	-	13,191	46,029	54,954
	_	______	_	_	_
	1,054,713	45,827	175,516	1,276,056	1,263,842
	______	______	_	_	_

Incoming /outgoing resources for the year Include:

Incoming /outgoing resources for the year
Include:	2020	2019
	£	£
Fees payable to auditor - audit	4,750	4,750
- other services	3,538	3,588
	____	_____
	8,288	8,338
	_____	_____

8 CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – COSTS OF ACTIVITIES FOR GENERATING FUNDS

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	2020	2019
	£	£	£	£
Catering	1,247	8,634	9,881	15,079
Uniforms	770	-	770	-
Support staff costs	15,028	-	15,028	12,656
Other support costs	-	-	-	4,140
	_	_	_	_
	17,045	8,634	25,679	31,875
	_	_	_	_

38

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

9 CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – COSTS OF GENERATING VOLUNTARY INCOME

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		Funds	Funds	2020	2019
		£	£	£	£
TM Teaching		-	11,904	11,904	9,910
Duke of	Edinburgh	-	1,507	1,507	-
		____	_	_	_
		-	13,411	13,411	9,910
		____	_	_	_
10	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES – ACADEMY’S EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS
	DIRECT COSTS

DIRECT COSTS
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	2020	2019
	£	£	£	£
Teaching and educational support staff costs	-	723,649	723,649	676,397
Depreciation	-	27,069	27,069	43,041
Technology costs	-	22,062	22,062	16,859
Books, apparatus and stationery	-	34,910	34,910	31,046
Examination fees	-	7,119	7,119	5,911
Staff development	-	2,744	2,744	4,243
Educational Visits	3,029	-	3,029	32,037
Other direct costs	11,213	32,848	44,061	63,356
	_	_	_	_
	14,242	850,401	864,643	872,890
	_	_	_	_
ALLOCATED SUPPORT COSTS
Support staff costs	-	271,294	271,294	245,511
Pupil recruitment and support	-	3,244	3,244	4,525
Maintenance of premises and equipment	-	18,307	18,307	13,173
Cleaning	-	7,529	7,529	3,022
Rates	-	5,247	5,247	4,131
Heat and light	-	7,762	7,762	7,423
Insurance	-	4,500	4,500	7,193
Telephone	-	1,592	1,592	1,676
Transport	-	4,339	4,339	5,494
Technology costs	-	106	106	364
Bank interest and charges	-	303	303	320
Other support costs	254	1,817	2,071	1,381
	_	_	_	_
	254	326,040	326,294	294,213
	_	_	_	_
ACADEMY’S EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS	14,496	1,176,441 1,190,937		1,167,103

39

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

11 GOVERNANCE COSTS

11 GOVERNANCE COSTS
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	2020	2019
	£	£	£	£
Legal and professional fees	-	4,903	4,903	5,470
Auditor’s remuneration
. Audit of financial statements	-	4,750	4,750	4,750
. Other audit costs	-	3,538	3,538	3,588
Support Staff Costs	-	32,838	32,838	38,156
Professional fees: Nursery Project	-	-	-	2,990
	_	_	_	_
	-	46,029	46,029	54,954
	_	_	_	_
12 STAFF COSTS
Staff costs comprise:			2020	2019
			£	£
Wages and salaries			716,203	702,675
Social security costs			50,921	51,088
Other pension costs			217,978	159,799
			_	_
			985,102	913,562
Supply teacher costs			42,586	44,763
Other Supply costs			15,029	12,656
Cleaning costs			92	1,739
TM teaching costs			11,904	9,910
			_	_
		1,054,713		982,630
			_	_

40

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

12 STAFF COSTS (continued)

The average number of persons (including senior management team) employed by the Academy during the year ended 31 August 2020 expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:

Charitable Activities

Charitable Activities
	2020	2019
	No.	No.
Teachers	19	19
Administration and support (including Teaching Assistants)	25	25
Management	3	3
	__	__
	47	47

---

No employees earned more than £60,000 per annum (including taxable benefits but excluding employers’ pension contributions) during the year ended 31 August 2020. (No employees earned more than £60,000-31 August 2019).

13 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS – TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION & EXPENSES

The principal and other staff trustees only receive remuneration in respect of services they provide undertaking the roles of principal and staff, and not in respect of their services as trustees. Other trustees did not receive any payments, other than expenses, from the academy trust in respect of their role as trustees. The value of trustees’ remuneration was as follows:

L Edwards (principal and trustee):	£45,000 - £50,000 (2019: £45,000 - £50,000)
M Ingram (Head of Cbe, Secondary and trustee):	£30,000 - £35,000 (2019: £30,000 - £35,000)
L Walters (Deputy Head and trustee):	£30,000 - £35,000 (2019: £30,000 - £35,000)
H Copplestone	£30,000 - £35,000 (2019: £30,000 - £35,000)

During the year ended 31 August 2020, no travel and subsistence expenses were reimbursed to the trustees (2019: £Nil).

Other related party transactions involving the trustees are set out in note 28.

14 TRUSTEES’ AND OFFICERS’ INSURANCE

In accordance with normal commercial practice the academy has purchased insurance to protect trustees and officers from claims arising from negligent acts, errors or omissions occurring whilst on academy business. The insurance provides cover up to £1,000,000 on any one claim and the cost for the year ended 31 August 2020 was £681 (2019: £681).

The cost of this insurance is included in the total insurance costs.

41

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 31 August 2020

15	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
		Freehold		Computer
		Land and	Furniture &	Equipment
		Buildings	Equipment	& Software	Total
		£	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 September 2019		871,616	126,426	270,892	1,268,934
Additions		-	4,182	7,137	11,319
		_	_	_	_
At 31	August 2020	871,616	130,608	278,029	1,280,253
		_	_	_	_
Depreciation
At 1 September 2019		122,049	121,686	264,583	508,318
Charged in year		17,843	4,208	5,018	27,069
		_	_	_	_
At 31	August 2020	139,892	125,894	269,601	535,387
		_	_	_	_
Net book values
At 1 September 2019		749,567	4,740	6,309	760,616
		_	_	_	_
At 31	August 2020	731,724	4,714	8,428	744,866
		_	_	_	_
16	DEBTORS
				2020	2019
				£	£
Trade	Debtors			3,947	3,903
Other	Debtors			14,208	14,721
Prepayments and accrued income				24,617	18,658
				______	______
				42,772	37,282
				______	______
17	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
				2020	2019
				£	£
Trade	creditors			25,162	19,365
Other	creditors			37,312	18,769
Accruals				7,300	12,279
Deferred income				27,439	33,556
				_	_
				97,213	83,969
				_	_

42

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

17 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR (continued)

Deferred income	2020	2019
	£	£
Deferred Income at 1 September 2019	33,556	34,075
Resources deferred in the year	27,439	33,556
Amounts released from previous year	(33,556)	(34,075)
	_	_
Deferred Income at 31 August 2020	27,439	33,556
	_	_
At the balance sheet date, the academy trust was holding funds received in advance for		Academy Infant
Free School Meals and Pupil Premium booked for the autumn term 2020.

18 FUNDS

18 FUNDS
	Balance			Gains	Balance at
	1 September Incoming Resources			losses	and 31 August
	2019	resources Expended		Transfers 2020
	£	£	£	£	£
Restricted general funds
General Annual Grant (GAG)	40,295	1,200,079 (1,147,611)		10,992	103,755
Other Government Grant	-	13,957	(13,957)	-	-
Edna Linell – TM Teaching	9,341	1,500	(10,841)	-	-
Erasmus/Europe Project	-	3,457	(2,367)	-	1,090
Chromebooks/Photography	-	8,232	(8,232)	-	-
Duke of Edinburgh	-	1,930	(1,507)	-	423
	_	_	_	_	_
Restricted general funds before
Pension reserve	49,636	1,229,155 (1,184,515)		10,992	105,268
Pension reserve	(279,000)	-	(60,000)	(43,000)	(382,000)
	_	_	_	_	_
	(229,364)	1,229,155 (1,244,515)		(32,008)	(276,732)
	_	_	_	_	_
Restricted fixed asset funds
DfES capital grants	734,521	-	-	(10,992)	723,529
	_	_	_	_	_
Total Restricted Funds	505,157	1,229,155 (1,244,515)		(43,000)	446,797
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds	134,104	33,891	(24,404)	-	143,591
Designated fund
Computer Fund	13,227	-	(7,137)	-	6,090
	_	_	_	_	_
	652,488	1,263,046 (1,276,056)		(43,000)	596,478
	_	_	_	_	_

43

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

18 FUNDS (continued)

The specific purpose for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

• (i) General Annual Grant must be used for the normal running costs of the Academy. Under the funding agreement with the Secretary of State, the Academy Trust is subject to a limit on the amount of GAG that it could carry forward at 31 August 2020. Note 2 discloses whether the limit was exceeded.

• (ii) Other Government Grant has been received from the Local Authority to provide individual pupil funding for SEN.

• (iii) Edna Linell Fund has the specific purpose of providing the funding to pay for the costs of teaching TM and Consciousness Based Education.

• (iv) Erasmus/Europe Project is a European Scheme set up to research the impact of TM and Consciousness Based Education in Schools to reduce radicalisation and other social problems.

• (v) A Nursery Fund has been set up for donations for the purpose of creating a new nursery for the School.

• (vi) Restricted fixed assets were funded by government grants. The grant is amortised over the useful economic life of the related assets on a basis consistent with the Academy Trust’s depreciation policy, the amount of £10,992 has been transferred between funds for this year.

The trust is carrying a net surplus of £105,268 on restricted funds (excluding pension reserve and restricted fixed asset funds) plus the balance of £149,681 on unrestricted funds at 31 August 2020.

19 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Fund balances at 31 August 2020 are represented by:

		Restricted	Restricted
Unrestricted		General	Fixed asset
	Funds	Funds	Funds	Total
Tangible fixed assets	21,337	-	723,529	744,866
Current assets	225,557	105,268	-	330,825
Current Liabilities	(97,213)	-	-	(97,213)
Pension Scheme Liability	-	(382,000)	-	(382,000)
	_	_	_	_
	149,681	(276,732)	723,529	596,478
	_	_	_	_

44

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

20 CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

The academy trust has no large future capital commitments planned at present.

21 FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

Operating Leases

At 31 August 2020 the academy trust had annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

	leases as follows:
		2020	2019
		£	£
	Other
	Expiring within two to five years inclusive	3,459	3,459
	Expiring in over five years	-	-
		_____	___
		3,459	3,459
		_____	___
22	RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH INFLOW
	FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
		2020	2019
		£	£
	Net (expenditure)/income	(13,010)	(30,436)
	Depreciation (note 15)	27,069	43,041
	Interest receivable (note 5)	(65)	(77)
	Defined benefit pension scheme cost less contributions payable	60,000	43,000
	(Increase)/decrease in debtors	(5,490)	(14,680)
	Increase/(decrease) in creditors	13,244	3,640
		_	_
	Net Cash Inflow from Operating Activities	81,748	44,488
		_	_

45

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for	the year ended 31 August 2020
23	RETURNS ON INVESTMENTS AND SERVICING FINANCE
			2020	2019
			£	£
	Interest received		65	77
			_____	_____
	Net cash inflow from returns on investment and servicing of
	Finance		65	77
			_____	_____
24	CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
			2020	2019
			£	£
	Purchase of tangible fixed assets		11,319	14,836
			______	______
	Net cash outflow from capital expenditure	and financial
	Investment		11,319	14,836
			______	______
25	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
				At 31
		At 1 September		August
		2019	Cash flows	2020
		£	£	£
	Cash in hand and at bank	217,559	70,494	288,053
		_	______	_
		217,559	70,494	288,053
		_	______	_

26 MEMBERS LIABILITY

Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he/she is a member, or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10 for the debts and liabilities contracted before he/she cease to be a member.

46

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS

The academy trust’s employees belong to two principal pension schemes: The Teachers’ Pension Scheme England and Wales (TPS) for academic and related staff; and the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for non-teaching staff, which is managed by Lancashire County Pension Fund. Both are multi-employer defined benefit schemes.

The pension costs are assessed in accordance with the advice of independent qualified actuaries. The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS related to the period ended 31 March 2016 and the LGPS 31 March 2016.

Contributions amounting to £5,887 (2019 - £4,943) were payable to the schemes at 31 August 2020 and are included within creditors.

Teachers’ Pension Scheme

Introduction

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory, contributory, defined benefit scheme, governed by the Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2014. Membership is automatic for teachers in academies. All teachers have the option to opt-out of the TPS following enrolment.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme to which both the member and employer makes contributions, as a percentage of salary-these contributions are credited to the Exchequer. Retirement and other pension benefits are paid by public funds provided by Parliament.

Valuation of Teachers’ Pension Scheme

The Government Actuary, using normal actuarial principles, conducts a formal actuarial review of the TPS in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employer Cost Cap) Directions 2014 published by HM Treasury every 4 years. The aim of the review is to specify the level of future contributions. Actuarial scheme valuations are dependent on assumptions about the value of future costs, design of benefits and many other factors. The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS was carried out as at 31 March 2016. The valuation report was published by the Department for Education on 5 March 2019. The key elements of the valuation and subsequent consultation are:

• Employer contribution rates set at 23.68% of pensionable pay (including a 0.08% employer administration levy)

47

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS (continued)

Valuation of Teachers’ Pension Scheme (continued)

• Total scheme liabilities (pensions currently in payment and estimated cost of future benefits) for service to the effective date of £218,100 million, and notional assets (estimated future contributions together with the notional investments held at the valuation date) of £196,100 million, giving a notional past service deficit of £22,000 million

• The SCAPE rate, set by HMT is used to determine the notional investment return. The current SCAPE rate is 2.4% above the rate of CPI. Assumed real rate of return of 2.4% in excess of prices and 2% in excess of earnings. The rate of real earnings growth is assumed to be 2.2%. The assumed nominal rate of return is 4.45%.

The next valuation result is due to be implemented from 1 April 2023.

The pension costs paid to TPS in the period amounted to £ 107,152 (2019 - £68,552).

A copy of the valuation report and supporting documentation is on the Teachers’ Pensions website.

Under the definitions set out in FRS 102, the TPS is an unfunded multi-employer pension scheme. The academy trust has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. The academy trust has set out above the information available on the scheme.

48

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS (continued)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME

The LGPS is a funded defined benefit pension scheme, with the assets held in separate trusteeadministered funds. The total contribution made for the year ended 31 August 2020 was £65,970 (2019 - £63,495), of which employer’s contributions totalled £50,826 (2019 - £48,246) and the employees’ contributions totalled £15,144 (2019 - £15,249). The agreed contribution rates for future years are 16.7 percent for employers and range from 5.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent for employees.

Parliament has agreed, at the request of the Secretary of State for Education, to a guarantee that, in the event of academy closure, outstanding Local Government Pension Scheme liabilities would be met by the Department of Education. The guarantee came into force on 18 July 2013.

PRINCIPAL ACTURIAL ASSUMPSIONS

PRINCIPAL ACTURIAL ASSUMPSIONS
	At 31	At 31
	August	August
	2020	2019
Rate of increase in salaries	3.80%	3.50%
Rate of increase for pensions in payment/inflation	2.40%	2.10%
Discount rate for scheme liabilities	1.80%	1.80%
Inflation assumption (CPI)	2.30%	2.00%
Commutation of pensions to lump sums
-Maximum Cash	50.00%	50.00%
-3/80ths Cash	50.00%	50.00%

49

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

• 27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS (continued)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME (continued)

PRINCIPAL ACTURIAL ASSUMPSIONS (continued)

The current mortality assumptions include sufficient allowance for future improvements in mortality rates. The assumed life expectations on retirement age 65 are:

	At 31	At 31
	August	August
	2020	2019
Retiring today
Males	22.3	22.8
Females	25.0	25.5
Retiring in 20 years
Males	23.8	25.1
Females	26.8	28.2

Sensitivity analysis shows how the measurement of the schemes liabilities would be affected by changes in the relevant assumptions.

	At 31	At 31
	August	August
	2020	2019
	£000	£000
Sensitivity Analysis
Discount Rate +0.1%	362	677
CPI rate +0.1%	402	710
Mortality assumption – 1-year increase	408	705
Pay growth +0.1%	383	694

50

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS (continued)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME (continued)

The academy’s share of the assets in the scheme were:

Fair value at 31 August 2020 Equities 246,000 Other Bonds 37,000 Property 74,000 Cash/Liquidity 10,000 Other 174,000 Total market value of assets 541,000 The actual return on scheme assets was (loss-£4,000) (2019: £44,000) AMOUNTS RECOGNISED IN THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2020 Current service cost (net of employee contributions) (103,000) ___ Total operating charge (103,000) Analysis of pension finance income/(costs) Expected return on pension scheme assets 8,000 Interest on pension liabilities (13,000) Pension finance income/(costs) (5,000)

Fair value at 31 August 2019 198,000 7,000 36,000 7,000 166,000 414,000 2019 (85,000) _____ (85,000) 10,000 (14,000) (4,000)

The actuarial gains and losses for the current year are recognised in the statement of financial activities. The cumulative amount of actuarial gains and losses recognised in the statement of financial activities since the adoption of FRS 17 is a £43,000 (2019: £99,000 - loss).

51

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

27 PENSION AND SIMILAR OBLIGATIONS (continued)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME (continued)
Movements in the present value of defined benefit
Obligations were as follows
	2020	2019
	£	£
At 1 September 2019	693,000	446,000
Current service cost (net of employee contributions)	103,000	85,000
Interest cost	13,000	14,000
Employee contributions	15,000	15,000
Past Service Cost (gain)	-	2,000
Actuarial (gain)/loss	102,000	133,000
Benefits/Transfers Paid	(3,000)	(2,000)
	___	___
At 31 August 2020	923,000	693,000
	______	_
Movements in the fair value of academy’s share of scheme assets:
	2020	2019
	£	£
At 1 September	414,000	309,000
Interest Income	8,000	10,000
Actuarial gain/(loss)	59,000	34,000
Administration Expenses	(2,000)	(1,000)
Employer contributions	50,000	49,000
Employee contributions	15,000	15,000
Benefits Paid	(3,000)	(2,000)
		___ __
At 31 August 2020	541,000	414,000
Deficit in Scheme at 31 August 2020	(382,000)	(279,000)
	_ __	___ __

52

MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 31 August 2020

28 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

No related party transactions took place in the period of account.

Owing to the nature of the academy trust’s operations and the composition of the board of trustees being drawn from local public and private sector organisations, transactions may take place with organisations in which a trustee has an interest. Any transactions involving such organisations are conducted at arm’s length and in accordance with the academy trust’s financial regulation and normal procurement procedures.

53