The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charitable company's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)
Our Objectives
The objectives of the School and Nursery are the advancement of education (including social and physical training) of children of all genders from 9 months to 11 years.
Our objectives are set to reflect our educational aims and the ethos of the School. It is important to us that we maintain and enhance the academic success of the School. This objective is, however, set in the context of the broader goals we set for the School and its pupils.
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and in particular to its supplementary public benefit guidance on advancing education and on fee-charging.
Our key objectives for the year included:
To broaden and extend our academic curriculum;
To enhance and improve the co-curricular provision for pupils;
To continue to develop the first class pastoral care we provide for pupils;
To increase pupil numbers in our Nursery and Primary School;
To provide continuing support of our pupils already in receipt of fee assistance through bursaries;
To increase the provision of means tested bursary places.
Our Aims
We aim, through our Nursery and Primary School, to provide first class care and education to children of all genders from the ages of 9 months to 11 years. We seek to provide a structured educational environment that develops our pupils' capabilities, competences and skills. We promote the academic, moral and physical development of our pupils through our academic curriculum, pastoral care, sporting and other activities. We provide an educational environment where each student can develop and fulfil their potential, building their self-confidence and embedding a desire to contribute to the wider community. In so doing, we prepare our pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experience of later life.
Our Vision
To enable our children to excel in an ever changing world. To promote a thirst for learning and to walk tall with resilience, confidence and understanding in an increasingly diverse society.
Our ethos is ‘’Self-belief brings Lasting Success’’.
Our Mission
At St. Joseph's School we provide a positive, family environment, in which children can develop the optimum skills and attitudes required to become effective lifelong learners.
As an independent primary school and nursery we offer an innovative, nurturing approach to education in a stimulating setting. We have high expectations for every child.
Through our Christian ethos and traditional values, we encourage everyone to love, respect and understand themselves, others and the diverse world in which we live.
Our Values (Including British Values)
At St Joseph’s we promote and teach a set of values to our pupils that will ensure they develop the skills to be good citizens of the future. These values are interwoven into the curriculum and through effective teaching, In order to develop improved social and emotional skills that will positively affect learning and behaviour.
These values are:
· Cooperation
· Responsibility
· Individuality
· Peace
· Respect (incl. self-respect)
· Love and compassion
· Tolerance and Understanding
· Honesty
· Kindness
· British Values
democracy.
the rule of law.
individual liberty.
mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.
· Good manners
These values should be seen in the context of a whole. They are not in rank order and are all of equal importance.
Our Ethos, Strategy and Policies
Our Trustees are responsible for setting a strategy for achieving the objectives they have set. The focus of our strategy is on the development of our pupils, their continued high levels of academic and co-curricular achievement and to further widen access to the education our School provides. In taking forward our strategy we:
Review and benchmark the School's academic syllabus, teaching practices and examination results;
Ensure the range of co-curricular activities available to our pupils is stimulating and challenging;
Invest in technology and the infrastructure of our School;
Co-operate and share resources with local schools; and
Continue to review and develop our methods for awarding bursaries and scholarships to ensure wider access to pupils from all backgrounds.
Our ethos: a caring School serving our local community and society
St Joseph's School is a charitable trust which seeks to benefit the public through the pursuit of its stated aims. Our fees are set at a level to ensure the financial viability of the School and at a level that is consistent with our aim of providing a first-class education to boys and girls.
Our School welcomes pupils from all backgrounds. To admit a prospective pupil, we need to be satisfied that our School will be able to educate and develop a prospective pupil to the best of their potential, in line with the general standards achieved by their peers. An individual's economic status, gender, ethnicity, race or religion do not form part of our assessment processes.
We are an equal opportunity organisation and are committed to a working environment that is free from any form of discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability. We will make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of staff or pupils who are or become disabled.
Our School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Parents are given regular information about their children's social and academic progress through parent evenings in addition to the traditional end of year reports. We maintain regular contact with parents throughout the year through informal contacts and through our newsletter.
Children are provided education in various religious faiths and the school is proud of its multi-cultural outlook, which is in keeping with its ethos of eliminating any form of discrimination and true to its traditional heritage.
Access Policy
It is important to us that access to the education we offer is not restricted to those who can afford our fees. We believe our pupils benefit from learning within a diverse community. A great deal of learning occurs through social interaction, conversation and shared experiences which helps our pupils develop an understanding of the perspectives of other people that will be vital in their adult lives. Our bursaries contribute to a widening of access to the education we offer and the facilities we enjoy.
Bursary Policy
The Trustees view our bursary awards as important in helping to ensure children from families who would otherwise not be able to afford the fees can access the education we offer. Our bursary awards are available to all who meet our general entry requirements and are made solely on the basis of parental means or to relieve hardship where a pupil's education and future prospects would otherwise be at risk for example in the case of redundancy. In assessing means we take a number of factors into consideration including family income, investments and savings and family circumstances for example dependent relatives and the number of siblings. However, our School does not have a large endowment and in funding our awards we have to be mindful that we must ensure a balance between fee-paying parents, many of whom make considerable personal sacrifices to fund their child's education, and those benefiting from the awards. The bursary awards range from 5% to 30% remission of fees.
Other Policies on Assistance
Family discounts policy
To underline the value we place on continuity for families, we offer discounts where parents have more than one child at the School.
Assistance for our teaching staff
As part of our emphasis on attracting and retaining high calibre staff. (We offer a discount scheme where staff members choose to educate their children at our School).
The School's nursery provides care to children regardless of economic background including low income families as part of its participation in the government non means-tested Early Years Entitlement Scheme and the means-tested funding at 9 months and at 2 years old.
The School is also committed to enhancing access to the facilities of the School for the benefit of the local community and public generally.
Significant activities
The principal activity of the charity in the year under review was that of the provision of nursery and primary education.
The average number of full time equivalent pupils enrolled at the end of each term comparison is as follows:-
Term 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24
Autumn 116 112 99 86 105
Spring 114 116 123 95 90
Summer 112 104 107 87 91
In the financial year to August 2024 the Nursery provided care to children regardless of economic background including low income families as part of its participation in the government non means-tested Early Years Entitlement Scheme. The Nursery is validated and can accept means tested children from 9 months as part of the Government Grant Scheme. The Local Authority deem the Nursery to be a good setting allowing us to offer extended funding for two year olds. In the main school, the value of means tested bursaries and scholarships totaled £49,171. They provided assistance to and average of 19 of our pupils.
Academic Achievements
All our Year 6 children who were entered for Secondary Independent School Entrance Examinations were offered places at secondary schools of their choice.
Internal examinations in Literacy and Numeracy take place twice yearly. Reading and spelling tests are carried out at least annually as are nationally accredited verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests. All outcomes are assessed via pupil progress meetings with the Head Teacher, Teacher in charge of Assessments, SENDCo where necessary and Class Teacher. Parents are advised of outcomes and are invited to attend regular reviews of children who have an Individual Provision Map (IPM). Interim and Annual Reports are sent to parents. Formal Parent Teacher Consultations are carried out twice yearly and an annual written report with a further optional consultation is available at the end of the academic year. We also operate an 'open door' policy to see parents at any appropriate time outside of these.
During the year pupils at St. Joseph’s took part in all or some of the following activities:
Annual prize giving held at New College Nottingham
Annual Inter-House Sports Day held at Lenton Park
Carol Concert held in School
Carol Singing at Canning Circus lights switch on
Harvest Festival - gym
PTA Film nights
World Book Day
Children in Need
A residential at Walesby Forest, Walesby,
Newark, Sports Week
Potted Sport
Participation in Sport
Our children took part in a variety of sporting activities mainly in school due to the pandemic - Archery, Dodge Ball, and Football along with weekly PE Lessons. We have an annual whole school and nursery sports day which was held at our local park and a potted Sports Day was held in school.
School Outings
Children throughout the nursery and main school have visited many educational settings to enhance their learning. Each year the main events would include:
Annual Residential to Hagg Farm, Hope Valley, Derbyshire (Juniors)
Nottingham Playhouse to see the Pantomime (Reception to Year 6)
Theatre Trip (Pre-Prep)
The children also have regular trips to local places of interest including:
Nottingham Contemporary
Cathedral
Nottingham Castle.
Nottingham Market Square for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, St Georges Day celebrations, Remembrance Day, to visit the 'Beach', and viewing the Christmas Tree and lights.
Canning Circus to sing at the Christmas lights switch on.
Local shops
Stonebridge Farm
Random Acts of Kindness throughout advent
Local Police Station Visit
Local fire station
Pirates Soft Play Centre
Clay Creators - lunchtime
Cookery Club - lunchtime
Charity Work
Throughout the year children from the nursery and school have been involved in fundraising by taking part in the 'Big Toddle' to raise money for Barnardo's, Harvest Festival for the Canaan Trust, Children in Need, Sport Relief, MacMillan Coffee Morning, Red Nose Day, Think Pink – cake sale, Christmas Jumper Day and Pyjama Day for the Homeless.
The Arts
Music, Drama and Dance continue to thrive, we have weekly dedicated art lessons across the school. A music teacher continues to develop this subject within the school and an independent teacher also attends school to teach piano.
The children took part in our Annual Carol Service, Nativity Plays, Choir and the Derby Road Lights Switch on to sing Carols.
Children take Drama lessons in school in preparation for our Annual Prize Giving and Production night.
Extra Curricular Activities
A number of lunch time and after school clubs continue to be popular including:
Football Coaching, Recorders, Archery Club, Rattle & Roll Music & Dance, Singing Club and School Council.
Religious Aspect
The children receive religious input weekly during our normal assemblies, they also perform their own class assemblies, regular visits from Mike and Bob of Toton Churches take place throughout the year. We held our annual Carol concert and all age groups performed adaptations of the Nativity.
Financial position
The Trustees regularly review the management accounts. New budgets are being set and spend against budget together with review against quarterly management accounts. There is a continuing programme of refurbishment, development and investment to maintain excellent teaching facilities for our pupils as needs arise. The Trustees consider that given the charity's balance sheet, the cash flow from student rolls, the ongoing popularity of our School, and the available banking facility that can be called upon if need arises, that there is a need to build up a free reserve as mentioned above.
The Trustees recognise that the level of reserves fluctuates during periods of investment in the School and the arrangements with our bank are in place to provide an adequate 'safety net' should it be required.
No Trustee or person connected with a Trustee received any benefit from means tested bursaries to our pupils.
Principal funding sources
The school is principally funded by fees charged for places.
Reserves policy
The school has funds in reserve of £852,954 at 31 August 2024 (2023: £886,942). It is the policy of the school to increase its cash and relatively liquid equity to £50,000 within the next five years. Once that has been established, then any surplus would be invested in enhancing school facilities.
The results for the year are set out in the annexed financial statements.
Risk management
The Trustees are responsible for the overseeing of the risks faced by the School. Detailed considerations of risk are delegated to the Headmaster. Risks are identified, assessed and controls established throughout the year. A formal review of the charity's risk management processes is regularly undertaken.
Through the risk management processes established for the School, the Trustees are satisfied that the major risks identified have been adequately mitigated where necessary. It is recognised that systems can only provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that major risks have been adequately managed.
Future plans
The Trustees intend to continue their current strategies of maintaining the School's position in a competitive market by investing to provide high quality education for our pupils. Achieving a high standard of academic results is a constant aim whilst maintaining the breadth and depth of the education provided.
Our future plans are financed primarily from fee income. The Trustees need to maintain an equitable balance ensuring our current pupils benefit whilst, at the same time, ensuring a sound infrastructure and financial base are preserved for the next generation of pupils in the same way as our current pupils benefit today from the investment made in the past.
The Trustees view our bursary awards as important in widening access to the education our School provides. The Trustees have reviewed our Bursary Awards policies to ensure that able children can accept offers of places at our School through the availability of means-tested fee assistance. A particularly important issue has been a review of the earning thresholds applied to our bursary awards.
Maintaining and, where necessary, developing the fabric and facilities of the School are central to our strategy. Environmental issues are also a high priority and we are seeking the more efficient use of water and supporting local recycling initiatives.
Developments and Maintenance
Plans to replace the heating in stages throughout the school is ongoing.
Staff continue to develop professionally by attending courses run by Schools Services and in-house training. All staff attend and participate in regular staff meetings, during which various issues are discussed, including reviewing children's progress, review of school policies, planning for future activities and developments within school.
We continue to employ contract cleaners who are responsible for cleaning throughout the school and nursery. Our Site Manager is responsible for day to day routine maintenance.
We have a number of contractors who we can call upon for specific areas - electrical; plumbing; buildings. A rolling programme of redecoration is in place.
Pest control procedures are in place, fire safety equipment is annually tested and maintained and all electrical equipment is PAT tested annually. An Annual Health and Safety Inspection takes place. Our Fire Evacuation Procedures are regularly checked and updated. Risk Assessments are regularly carried out and reviewed by the Trustees and ISI.
ISI Inspection
An Independent Schools Inspection (ISI) was carried out at the beginning of February 2023. All work from the previous action plan has been carried out and approved.
The key findings were that the quality of the pupils’ academic and other achievements is good and the School fully meets the standards of the compliance schedule to the Education Regulations (2018), the requirements of the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, and associated requirements, and no further action is required as a result of the inspection.
The inspection found that the overall effectiveness of the Early Years provision is good with elements of excellent and the quality of the pupils' academic and other achievements is good also with elements of excellent.
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
St Joseph's School Nottingham, ("the School") is a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital and is exempt under section 60 of the Companies Act 2006 from the requirement to use the word limited as part of the company name. The company registration number is 02625721.
The School is also a registered charity and is governed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the School Instrument of Government. The charity registration number is 1003916.
The address of the principle office which is also the registered office is 33 Derby Road, Nottingham, NG1 5GF.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
P Hemsley (resigned during the Year)
A Kelly (resigned during the Year)
S Bodill
V Trafford
M Whitaker
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
The Governing body requires breadth and depth of experience to carry out its duties effectively and efficiently. When recruiting new governors, who are also the Charity Trustees, the important attribute is a passion for the work of our School and an understanding of education as a holistic and rounded experience of personal growth. Under the School's Articles the majority of the Trustees should follow the Roman Catholic faith. However in the last 10 years there have been occasions when there have been either no Roman Catholic Trustees or they have comprised a minority of the board.
Where possible the Trustees consider that the skills and experience of the Board should comprise the following:
A Trustee with a legal background.
A Trustee with a financial/accounting background.
A Trustee with education experience.
A Trustee with senior managerial or business experience.
A Trustee with experience of equal opportunities or disability needs.
At least one female Trustee and at least one male Trustee.
One Trustee may have one or more of these skills.
Head teacher delegated with day to day management
Matthew Davies
Organisational structure
The articles of association provide for a minimum of four trustees, and a maximum of 12, to ensure the board can have access to a wide range of expertise as appropriate for the strategic development of the school. The articles provide that the majority of the Trustees shall be of Roman Catholic faith.
Trustees' meetings are held at regular intervals during the year. At these meetings, the trustees agree the broad strategy and areas of activity for the school in relation to financial planning, risk management, policies and procedures and so on. The day to day administration and management is delegated to the Head Teacher who is supported as required by the Trustees.
Organisational Management
The Trustees determine the general policy of the School. The day to day running of the School is delegated to the Head Teacher, supported by senior staff. The Head Teacher undertakes the key leadership role overseeing educational, pastoral and administrative functions in consultation with the senior staff. The day to day administration of both the Nursery and School is undertaken within the policies and procedures approved by the Trustees which provide for any significant expenditure decisions over £5,000 and major capital projects are referred to the Trustees for prior approval.
The Nursery Manager oversees the Nursery Department.
The Head Teacher oversees the recruitment of all educational staff and the recruitment of administrative and non-teaching support staff. The Head Teacher is invited to attend Trustees' meetings.
Induction and training of new trustees
New Trustees are provided with an induction pack of relevant literature. Induction meetings with other trustees and members of staff are arranged as appropriate. Should any requirements for training be identified, suitable courses can be arranged for the new Trustee as appropriate.
Key management remuneration
St Joseph’s School scales of pay are determined by the Board of Trustees. It is the policy of the School to review rates of pay at least once a year and to make the increments which reflect the professional qualifications of its staff and their length of service.
The Trustees Report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of St Josephs School Nottingham (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 August 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
St Josephs School Nottingham is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 33 Derby Road, Nottingham, NG1 5AW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's memorandum of articles of association, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
There is an unrestricted reserve known as the "Property Fund" which relates to the initially valued land and buildings. Each year, the excess depreciation on the initial valuation is transferred from the property to the general fund.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Freehold land and buildings were initially valued to their open market value by the trustees in November 2005. This valuation is being depreciated over 50 years. The value of the property in excess of its historical cost created by the initial valuation was credited to an unrestricted reserve called "the property fund". The carrying value of the land and buildings is reviewed by the trustees each year to ensure that there has been no permanent diminution of value. Should such a diminution occur, this would be debited to the property fund.
At each reporting end date, the charitable company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charitable company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charitable company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
The companies employees belong to one of two principal schemes: The Teachers Pension Contribution Scheme for England and Wales (TPS). This is a multi employer defined benefit scheme, the assets are held separately from those of the school. A NEST defined contribution scheme, the assets of which are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.
In the application of the charitable company’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
School and Nursery fees
Rates & water
Insurance
Light & heat
School & office requirements
Bursaries & staff discounts
Food, cleaning & hygiene
School trip & sport costs
Training, inspection & subscription costs
Sundry costs
Bank charges & interest
Bad debts
Legal fees
Repairs & renewals
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charitable company for the year ended 31st August 2024 nor for the year ended 31st August 2023.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31st August 2024 nor for the year ended 31st August 2023.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The key management personnel of the charity comprises the Trustees, the Head Teacher and the Administration and Finance Manager. The total aggregate remuneration and employee benefits of the key management personal was £102,327 (2023: £97,581).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
On the 25th September 2018 the property was valued by Musson Liggins of 30 Clarendon Street, Nottingham NG1 5HQ at an open market valuation of £850,000. This is considered by the Trustees to be a realistic valuation of the property as at the 31st August 2024; therefore the financial statements have not been adjusted in the current year to reflect a change in the market value. The historical cost of the property was £531,729.
The bank loans and overdraft are secured by way of a legal mortgage dated 1st February 2016 over the freehold property owned by the school, together with a specific charge over the goodwill of the school and a floating charge over all of the school's assets. The mortgage has now been repaid.
The School operates a NEST pension scheme for its non-teaching staff. The total cost to the School was £14,385 (2023: £11,007), which represents the contributions made by the School during the year.
The School participates in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England & Wales) ("the TPS"), for its teaching staff. The TPS is an unfunded scheme and members contribute on a 'pay as you go' basis - these contributions along with those made by the employers are credited to the Exchequer.
The pension charge for the year includes contributions to the TPS of £57,566 (2023: £66,829). Contributions totalling £9,669 (2023 £5,448) were outstanding to the TPS at the end of the financial year.
The TPS valuation for 31st March 2016, published on the 5th March 2019 determined an employer rate of 23.68% payable from the 1st September 2019. (Currently 16.48%).
A copy of the valuation report and supporting documentation can be found at:
https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/documents/news-items/teachers-pension-scheme-actuarial-valuation-2016
Under the definitions set out in FRS102, the TPS is a multi-employer pension scheme. The School has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Included within unrestricted funds (note 17) is the property fund which is material to the charity's activities and is made up as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).