REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 00888176 (England and Waltrsl REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 525924 REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 FOR WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED Clarke Nicklin LLP Charter8d Accountants and Stalulory Auditors Clarke Nicklin HoLtse Brooks Drive Cheadle Royal Business Park Cheadle Cheshire SK8 3TD WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 Page Report of the Governors 1 10 15 Report of the Independènt Auditors 16 10 19 ststement of Financial Activitles 20 Bolance Sheet 21 Cash Flow Statement 22 Notes to the Cash Flow Statèment 23 Note$ to the Financial Ststements 24 to 33 Detslled Statement of Financ5al Actlvltles WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 The Governors who are also the members and directors for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report, which includes the Report of the Directors., with the financial slal¥menls of the Gharily for the year anded 31 August 2022. The trustees, referred lo as Governors, have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable lo charities preparing thèir accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in Ihe UK and Republic of Irelarsd IFRS 1021 leffe¢live 1 January 2015), OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objective In accordance with ils objects, the activity of tho Trust is the educational development of pupS18 atthe Wilmslow P￿paI&10ry School {VVPSI, providing full-time education lo pupils aged 5 10 11. Full or part-lime education is provided lo pre-Receplion Ghildren from the age of 3. The School's overall objective is to.. 'Provide the best possible education for its pupils in a happy, caring and sllmulaling envlronmenv. Alms The School's specific aims are then identified as the following.. To provide acadernic eXcel￿nc8 through a broad, balanced and vailed curriculum., To ensuro that our pupils dovelop lively. enquiring and creative minds., To value each boy or girl as an individual so as lo maximise his or her pol8nlial and confidence., To offer a safe, kind and ¢aring environment- To encourage s&lf-respecl and respect for others. These are then underpinned by a number of key business objectives as follows.. To sustain financial viability, by maintaining pupil numb6rs and continually reviewing expenditure items in order lo contiol costs., To recruit and Telain high calibre staff, who between them bring broad teaching experience. 8 variety of creative skills and strong management and tèchnical skills.. To maintain our premises and buildings lo a high quality lo assist the above &ducalional aims to be achieved. In selling our specific objectives and planning our activities for the academic year 2021122, our Governors continued lo be mindful of the Charity Commission's general guidance Dn publi¢ benefit. Our particular objectives lor the year includ8d'. To ensure delniery of a high calibre remote learning programme, adaptable and wesponsive lo the requirements of the Covid Situation, as necessary., To assess and implement any catch-up iequired as a result of the pand$mic,' To look after our pupils ard staff through continued development of well-being stralegl8s, particularly bearing in mind the impact8 of thè pandemic., To increase pupil numbers, particularly in Reception and infant year groups., To provide continuing support of our pupils alrtsady in receipt of fee a8SiStance through bursaries., To develop joint working with local slate junior schools., To further develop our strategic partnership with The King's School Macclesfield for the bontsfit of our pupils and staff., To continue lo develop our rolé in tha lif8 of our local community through our charitable and community acllvities, whilst adding to the all-round education of our pupils. Page 1 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST UMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Strategy. Ethos, Access, Educalional Links and Bursary Pollcy strategy.. The Governors are responsible for agTeeing a slialew lo achieve our objectives. The focus of our strategy is on the continued development Df our pupils, so that each child achieves hisffter potential. through high levels ol academic and exlra-¢urr¢cular achievement, and lo further widen access lo the eduCat￿n our School provides. Our èthos.. We aim lo be a happy, caring school, which creates a strong sense of community and seek8 to seThe the local community and soci81y. WPS is a Charitab￿ Irusl, which sgeks to benofil the public through the pursuit of ils slated aims. Our fees are sel al a level lo ensure tho financial viability of tho School and al a level that is C(￿sIStenI with our aim of providing a first-class educallon to our pupils. Our School welcomes pupils from all backgrounds, To admit a prospective pupil we need lo be satisfied that our School will be able to educate and develop such a pupil lo Ihe best of hisJher potential and in line with the general standards achieved by hislher peers. There is no assessm8nl for enlry into our pre-school or Reception years, informal assessment and interview for the Infants (forms Prep 1 and 21, and rnore formalise inleNiew and assessment for entry into the Juniors (forms Prep 3 -61. These methods help us lo satisfy ourselves and parents that potential pupils can cope with the pace of learning and benefit from tho eduGation we provide. An Ind￿[1dual.S economic status, ethnicity, race, religion and in most cases disability do not foim Part of OUT ass8s8ment processes. Our School is commilled to safeguarding ancl promoting the welfare ol our pupils and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. our most iecenl inspection by the Independent Schools. Inspeclorale (ISI) w8s a Compli8n¢e Inspection which look place in November 2021. We were rigorously assessed across all 8 factors. includlng Welfare, Health and Safely of Pupils, and were judged 8s compli8nl Ino grading is 15tsued fDr tliis IypE DI in5peGtiDnl. Our most recent Educational Quality Inspection was in July 2017 when we achieved 'excellenl' on all the outcomes assessed. The pastoral care provided by our staff was describeLI as "excellent Parents are given regular information about their child's social and academic progress through parents, evenings, in addition to the traditional end of term and year reports. We maintain regular Gonlacl with parents Ihroughuul the year through inforrnal contact and IhTough our weekly newsleller. All pupils have a Form Tutor responsible for pastoral care and academic develoFiment. We also have a syslttm of 'buddies' who are invoEved in assisting leaching staff in enfor¢ing our very vigorous anti-bullying policy. Robust strategies are usèd lo support the overall well-being of our pupils. We are an equal opportunity organisalion and are cornmitted lo a working environment that is Iree from any form ol discrimination on the grounds of ¢olour. race, elhnicily, religion, sex, sexual oiieFilalion or disability. We will make reasonable adjustmen18 to meet the needs of staff or pupils who are or become disabled. Access: 11 is important lo us that the first class education we offer is not r&s1￿Cted lo those who Can afford our fees, and we believe that oui pupils benefit from learning within a diverse community, through social inlera¢lion and shared experiences, which helps develop each individual's wider understanding. Page 2 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Educational links.. Our School is part of a wider community and we are keen that our staff 8nd pupils parti¢ipale in that. We offer ourfacililies fora variety of sporting dovelopmenl activities for Children from Other schools through sport fixtures and are constantly looking to develop this. We also offer a holiday club during School holi(lay periods and Nursary, both through an external provider, and both are open lo children from the wider community. We have orgariised courses where we invita other schools lo participate, which obviously is beneficial lo them, and speciali81 teachers meet with others from different schools lo discuss best practice and share ￿eas. Such meetings are open lo any local school. Bursary Pollcy: The Governors view our bursary awards 35 important in helping to ensure that children from families who would olherwiso not be able lo afford the fees can access the education we offer. Our School is a small prep school wilhoul the benefits of having any large endowments, and in funding our awards we have lo be mindful that we musl ensure a balance between fee-p8ying parents, many of whom make considerable personal sacrifices lo fund their chikl's education, and those beneliling from the 8wards. Our bursary awards are available lo all who meet our general entry requirements and are made sotely on the basis of parental rneans or lo reliev8 hardship where a pupil's education and future prospects would olhewise be al risk, lor 8xample, in Ihtr case of redundancy. The awards range from 100/0 10 100QA remission of faes. We also allempl lo supplement bursary awards to p8y for 8xtra-curriculai activities, equipment and school Irips, in particulaf hardship cases. To emphasise the importance we place on ¢onlinuily for families, we also offer di8¢ounls where parents have more than one Chi￿ althe School. A discountschEm8 where staff members choose lo educate their child al our School is also in place, which we believe can help to allracl and relain high quality staff. Infomalion about fee assistance is provided to all who appty to WPS. We also advertise the fact that we offer Bursaries through the local press, and in any advert we place. as well as on our website. Page 3 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST UMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 STRATEGIC REPORT Achlevement and perlorrnance Operational performance The lolal number of pupils educated during the year averaged 126. Our fees for 2021122, bafora the deduction of any bUrsar￿S or discounts were,, Kindergarten Infants Middle Juniors Upper Juniors £368 per session per week per lei £3,560 per larm £3,845 per term £4,1 $5 per term Having dealt with two years, 2019120 and 2020r21 both being impacted by challenging events with tho global COVID pandemic forcing three lockdown8 in a 12 Month period in England. the year commencing September 2021 started oplimislically as all adults aged over 18 years had been offered vaccinations against Covid by June 2Q21. In addition, isolation rU￿S wero changed for all double va¢cina19d adu118 in August before the return to School in September. which eased staffing chall8nges, Contact tracing then ended from 24th February 2022. All employed WPS staff followed the government's vaccination programm8 and have taken up vaccines when available. More specific performance details are provided below. Academic performance Our full inspection r&sull from 2017 is our most recent full external independent School Inspeclorale {ISI) inspection, wheie inspectors, yet again, awarded Wilmslow Prep the highest possible judgement in all categories inspected, of 'excellent'. In Novembei 2021, WPS met all Ihe requisite standards in the Compliance Inspection. This year foim Prep 8 leavers all chose lo Bil entrance examinations lo Independent S8nior S¢hool8, and again achieved an excelleiil pass ialg. Cliildiuii ieb¥iveLI ITiultiple Dffers, g 10181 of 34 offers across 14 chlldren, including 8 scholarships across academia, arts, Sports and music scholarships, lo Manchester consortium schools, which include some of the North West's top SGhools. Pupils al the School are formally assessed in the Summer Term Iwilh Prep 6 being 88se8sed in the Autumn in preparation for the Senior School exams). Pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage IEYFS, which incorporatès the pre-school and Reception years), complole informal assessments and pupils in Years 1 mplele formal assessments in English and Maths {Year5 1 61 plus Verbal and Non-vertjal Reasoning (Years 3 - 61, lo assess academic progress and abllily. Currently the School use GL Education Assessments. FOT the Key Stage 2 pupils lie Years 3 61 the English and Maths 88sessmenls are ¢omplelod online and analysed exlernally providing an in-d8Pth analysis of èach pupll's performance. Thé lesls are slandardised to a national scale which enable staff lo fully track each pupil's progréss, which is Communicated regularly lo each pupil's parenl{sllgu8rdi8nlsl. Our Educational Quality Inspection in June 2017 noted that all groups ol pupils made excellent progress in Telalion lo their starting position and the ability piofile of tho School is above avemge, which continues lo be the case. P8g8 4 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHCK)L TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 STRATEGIC REPORT Achievement and performance Music.. Music is a strong feature of Wilmslow Prep life. Over 70QA of the children in Prep 2-6 continue lo have muslc lessons in one or more areas. Children in R8cepliDn and Prep 1 also start lo have lessons as the year progresses, Five professional musicians come in lo delivei the instrumental and vocal le880ns each week as well as a music specialist lo leach ¢u¥riculum music. 80 lessons are delivered each week on 12 inslrumenlslvoice. Musjc clubs Include Chamber Cholr and School Orchestra. Each of fhese group8 performell at the Garol Concert and al Speech Day. At Christmas, Kindergarten and Reception performed the 'Nuisery Nativity, and Prep 1 and 2 performed 'Hooray a Mangel., The whole school look part in a splendid Carol Concert al the WilmslDW Leisure Cenlre. Pupils also went carol singing across the roed al Canterbury Grange and through the town ¢enlre on the last day of temi. Once again, we were delighted that a pupil received a Musi¢ Scholarship for sscondary school entry. Each year we hav8 an internal House Music Competition and this year we had 75 performances from 56 children. We welcomed Sue Hallam as Adjudicator., a former Hèad of Music Service foT Staffordshire and she was extremely impressed with the standard of the performing. At the end of Spring Term, our Prep 3 and 4 pupils prepared their show calkd 'Wiz Wharn Alakazam.. There is mtjch talent across these two classes and many budding drama and music students to look out lor in the years lo come. Alderley Edge Festival look place this year, having been cancelled for the past two years due to thu pandemic, and Wilmslow Pr8p scored a hat trick, winning all three choir Sections for our age group. Theie were excellent perfomances from individual children loo. Our celebrations lo mark the late Queen's Jubilee saw all children singing t￿ether for our invited guests and parents. This was a tru￿ 8pecial occasion. including staff. parents, Governors, former staff and communsty guests, all of whom enjoyed a wonderful afternoon lea al School. 6 children look ABRSM music examinations in June with exams ranging from grade 1 up to grade 3. All pupils passed their examinations wilPI good marks. In addition, we successfully Irialled a differerst examination board, Trinity. Thi8 board offers more flexibility, and we were delighted with the results, 15 children took their exams ranging from Initial to grade 5. Across the iwo oxaminalion boards, our children g3ined 7 distinctions including a grade 5 pupil. 9 merits and 5 passes. Prep 5 and 6 performed thoir end of y83r show in Juty-'Olivia'. The ooslum@S, PTOPS, acting, and singing ware fantastic. Speech Day was a special occasion, particularly memorable as our last whole school live spegch day was in 2019, The event showcased beautifully our many talented musicians and performer8. The School &njoyed a busy and successful year of music, freeLf from the Covid reslriclions ofthe previous bmo years. Speech & Drama- Speech and Drama is laughl as part of the limelable lo all children from Reception upwards and continues lo go from strength lo stre¢igth. KG are involved in a number of our whole s¢h(K)l events and special dayslassemblies. Page 5 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 STRATEGIC REPORT Achievement and performance Our Learning Ambassadors (in Prèp 61 speak al a rBnge of special occasions to inlfoduce these events, which gives them a great experience of public speaking to an audience. During tho year, all the childrell had the opportunity lo take part in a production &ilher al Chrtslmas, Easter or al the end of the Summer Term, as well as in particular assemblies. 11 has been wonderful to be able lo enter thè festivals such as the Alderley Edge Festival and th8 English Speaking Board IESBI exarninalions, which were both cancelled due lo Covid-19 resllictions ovei the last couple of years. A vary high proportion of our children entered the Alde[￿Y Edge Festival and received a number of placings. Children in Prep 3-6 entered the ESB examinations with 72'/o achieving distinction and 28 /0 schieving a merit or merit plus which was a truly excellent outcome. Th& 2021122 Prep 4 all achieved distinction.. a superb achievement. The children continued lo benefit from participation in events such as the Carol Service and Speech Day, and we were delighted lo b8 ablé lo come together once more for these events. Sport.. Our philosophy is lo encourage physical exerciso, with the added stimulation of healthy comp@lilion. Our pupilg take part in 8lhlelics and cross-counlry as well as a wide range of ball and racket sports, including hockey, netball, football and badminton, We have re¢enlly introduced Tag rugby. Teams are fielded for pupils in Years 4 upwards and our results ref18cI th8 hard work and enthusiasm of the children. We also offer the pupils the option lo join in a¢livilies such as judo, fencing, yoga, gymnastics, loolball, kwik crick81 and dance through ext¥8-curricular clL*bs. Sporting fixtures were resumed this year and our pupils were also able lo enter national competitions such as the Independent Schools Association IISAI Alhlelics. and the ISA Cross Country events. WPS pupils performed well in both, with some pupils gaining podium positions in the alhlelics and our boys coming 4th out of 17 groups in the cross country. Thése are excellent results for a small prep school, as we compete against schools significantly dilferenl in size. In addition, this year, our PE Coach. Mrs Broome. was recognised as a Sporting Hero. She was one of only 2d coachès in the UK lo reGeive thi5 award which was preseiil¢d by Prinivbb Aiiii¥ ul aWiiid5 ceremony. Art.. As with all th6 arts, this discipline i8 held in high regard al WPS. As a school, we are trxlremely proud of the high slaridard of work that is achieved by all our children under the guidance of our specialist art leachar. We believe in giving the children plenty of opportunities lo express themselves through a variety of ¢realive mediums, providing them with the chance to try new artistic techniques on a regular basis. The children are encouragtrd lo be proud of their WOTk which is displayed prominently around the School building and is often the source of comments and praise from visitors. The children continue to enjoy leaming about artists from all over the world, including more contemporary and less well known artists. They have opportunities lo explore and experirnenl with a broad range of materials and techniques, many of which would not be seen in other primary settings. such as fell making and lino printing. This year. the School was represented again in the annual ISA Art competition, where we were delighted lo have secured first place in five categorie8 31 the North Regional Competition. These entries were then forward lo the National Competition, where we secured two first plac8s. one second place and a highly comm8nd8d: a truly fantastic 8chievam8nl. Page8 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 STRATEGIC REPORT AchieveTnent and performanGo Community Involvement.. Wilmslow Preparatory School pupils ar& actively 6ncour8ged lo engag6 in charitable work and fund raising baiely a week goes by wilhoul some form of activity taking place. Pupils are involved in raising money for Francis House la local children's hospice), for Barnardo's Ilhrough the box scheme), cancer cha￿lIes and the NSPCC. They also regularly take part in Red Nose Day and Children in Need. Activities range from cake sal8s and rafllas lo non-uniform days. In 2021122 ov8r £2,000 was raised by pupils for go(xJ causes. In addition, pupils lake part in many local inilialives such as the Jeans for Genes, the Rola-Toy Appeal and supporting East Cheshire Hosp5cè. The pupils also lake part in aclivili8s such as Carol Singing at ChriBtmgs lime in eld@rly residential homes, lo Lifeshare, or out in the community, in a normal year. Harvest gifts are collected and distributed lo IDcal elderly 18sidenls 8ndlor homes and the pupils also take part in the Rotary Club Rota-Toy Appeal, packing a shoebox with gifts arid loilelries lo be stsnt to families locally. Similarly. disaster boxes are made up, as appropriate, by pupils, which the Rotary Club store and then use for local families, in the event of a disaster. We also collect Barnardo's Boxes for Barnardo's and support other charilies for our annual programrne such as Diabetes UK. The School made no political donations. Wilmslow Prep pupils and staff are well known within the community and the School is renowned for b8ing willing to help local businesses and individuals where possible, We see this maller as an extremely important part of the pupils, education, as they interact with those outside the School cotnmunity and gain a wider understanding of the environment. We have two defibrillalofs, one on an outside wall, for the benefit ol the community. the other in our sports hall which is well used by external local groups. All staff have re￿iVed training in the u88 of these delibrillalors, 8nd this training is updal8d as necessary, Our premises are also used by the wider community. During the School holidays, 'Holiday Zone,. use otjr maln School hall and facilities, to run a holiday club which is opon lo all local s¢hool-age children. Our Sports hall is a popular community facility well used by a number of local clubs. 1118 now used throughout the year by two local Badminton clubs. Wilmslow Football Association, a local Dodgeball group and a Karate Club. In addition, the local Alpine Society use our School hall on a regular basis for their meetings. A Day Nursery (run by an external provider through a lease agreemenll operates on our si18 which prOv￿e8 US with a good link to families with younger children and, through them, with the wider community in general. Environmental Initiative5: Wè takè th8 education of our young pupils about the wider world very seriously and try lo sel a good example a8 an organisalion lo help influence the expectations and behaviour of our pupils in their later life, providing public benefit. To this end we have introduced a number of 8nvironm8nlal initiatives such as recycling of papor, cardboard and ¢omposl, and reducin9 use of energy leg elecliicily). The School Council meet on a waekly basis Ic> discuss naw inilialives both in and out of the classroom on how we can become more aNvare of the environment and what we can do lo support this. The programme is reinfoiGed through our PHSEE lessons as w811 as through School and Form assemblies. Buildings: In addition to curriculum development, the maintenance and development of the fabric and facilllies ol our School are key lo our strategy. Ov8r recent yeais, we have undertaken iwo key developments, extending and enhancing our entrall￿ hall. and we also developed a mulli-surface Astro pitch alongside our Sports Hall. Pupils and staff enjoy the use of the Astro pitch for lessons as well as for break times, and over th8 paEt couple VI yLtcif6 we Iiavv lurlli¥r dev¥loped our outside area around the Sports hall to provide a 'Forest SG￿L￿1,. This Is particularly well-used by our Early Yea¥s Department and by our onsite Nursery, Page 7 WILMSLOW PREPARATORY SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED REPORT OF THE GOVERNORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2022 STRATEGIC REPORT Achi8vom8nt and performanc During Summer 2022, we carried out maintenance and refurbishment work of some of our leaching rooms, particularly in the Earfy Years areas lo further enhan￿ the provision for ouryoungesl pupils. Ws a150 upgraded some of our ICT facilities throughout tho School, in line with our strategic development plan and enhancement programme, which involves not only new inleraclive TVS, laptops and IPADS, bul also a review ol leaching practices. In addition, we have a programme of planned mainlan8nea throughout thè Schtsol intprnAI and èxlpmxl redecoration was ¢arried also oul over the last summer break. As noted above, we conlinue lo review our computer facilllie8 and resources on an ongoing basis in order lo keep up lo dale for our pupils and staff, Review of bursary and discounts awards- In 2021122 the value of means le8led bursaries lolalled over £296,000 representing some 23°k of lolal fee income, and providing some assistance lo around 40 pupils. We usu811y help fund the costs of extras such as Ifips for some of otjr pupils in ieceipl of Bursaries, bul this year school trips were limited due lo Covid roslricl¢ons. The Governors continually review our Bursary awards lo ensure that we try lo help children, through the availability of means tested financial assistance. who would not othenNise be able lo allend Wilmslow Prep School. Pieviously take-up of Bursaries slabilised al around the 20°/o level ol lolal foe income bul during Covid we dicl provide additional short lemi help lo a vary small number of families. In the Autumn term 2022, they represented approximately 170/D of fee income supporting 31 pupils Isorne 250A of pupil numbers). We are keen to ensure the objective ol wider access is achieved, and our airn to maintain a minimum of 12Qh of total fee income on Bursaiies, has already been met and exceeded. The Governors view our bursaries as important in widening access to the first class education we provide.. as a charity this is important to the Board. Over the last couple of years we h8v6 m8d8 signili¢ant steps to incrsased marketing of the availability of bursaries. though specific press reloases and oui website. The Sub￿8> uf Iliiè bail bLt b¥¥li by Ili¥ aduiliuiiul pupil¥ we Iiuvv Iicive iilteiidiiig WPS through finanGial as515tancB. We aré also continuing to investigate the possibility of involving local slate schools in some of our teaching aclivilies. especially through ou¥ music. sport and language leaching. Future Plans: The Governors intend lo continue thelr slralegies of maintaining the School's posilK)n in an in¢re88ingty competitive market and with a potential recession ahead, by investing lo provide high quality education for Qui pupils. Achieving a high standard of academic results is a constant aim whilst maintaining the breadth and depth of the education provided. The Headteacher and senior staff review the curriculum on an ongoing basis lo en8ure that both academic and exlra