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 note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charitable company's memorandum and 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) (effective 1 January 2019)".
Inaura School is an independent, co-educational SEND school for pupils who have complex educational needs in addition to SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) needs.
The school has four education learning centres located in the county of Somerset. We provide student educational day placements for Somerset local authority and the surrounding local authorities including Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and Swindon. Our Key Stage 2-3 learning centre is located in Wedmore while our Outdoor Learning Centre and Forest School are located nearby in the Westhay Moor Nature Reserve. Our two Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 learning centres are located in Burrowbridge and Street.
All of our students have Education Health and Care Plans and are placed with us through their local authority SEND departments. We work with students who have encountered challenges in mainstream, pupil referral units and other special school settings. Many of our students have experienced failure in multiple educational settings. That is why we do things a little differently.
Our approach encompasses a relational and non-coercive philosophy for teaching and learning. This philosophy focuses on building trust and systematically removing the barriers that pupils encountered in their previous learning journeys.
Our Vision
Inaura School will be a safe, supportive, inclusive and aspirational community for everyone – with the students at the heart of a school that is continually evolving.
The aim of Inaura School is to:
Re-engage our pupils in education
Facilitate experiences of success
Raise self-esteem
Raise self-awareness
Enable our young people to realise independence in their own life
Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that every individual will learn when presented with the right conditions. Our goal is to help students enjoy learning again. This 360-degree learner-centred approach focuses on the Head, Heart, Hands and Home.
Head - Promoting academic learning and the gaining of qualifications to enable choice and social mobility.
Heart - Promoting emotional resilience, relationship building, higher self-esteem and self-awareness to facilitate experiences of success.
Hands- Promoting hands on activities that are flexible, practical and proactive rather than teacher-centred, lecture style learning.
Home- Promoting quality home/school relationships through effective communication and collaboration with parent/carers that closes the loop between the expectations of home and school.
Our Ethos
The school ethos is based on compassion and we believe in being ‘consistently kind’. Inaura's highest priority is to keep our students safe, healthy, happy and inspire them to overcome personal obstacles that prevent them from learning.
The vision, aims and ethos of the school have been underpinned by the following core values:
Integrity, Compassion, Kindness, Love and Family
And the following additional values:
Loyalty, Self-Respect, Courage, Friends, Freedom, Heritage, Respect, Fairness, Reliability and Authenticity
We believe all young people are able and genuinely want to learn. This will only occur if we remove the barriers that are holding them back from engaging with school and assist them in overcoming past, present and future challenges. We will empower students to learn the skills that will enable them to confront life's obstacles with confidence, poise and resilience.
In+aura - Our name means 'radiance piercing the darkness within'.
Charitable objectives
Inaura School's charitable objectives are:
To advance the education of young people up to the age of 18.
To safeguard and protect the psychological and physical health of young people by offering therapeutic emotional educational counselling support.
To educate the public with particular reference to the emotional, physical and sexual relationships of young persons who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress and with a view to developing personal responsibilities and enriching personal and family life.
These objectives have been met in 2023-2024 by:
Developing a broad and rich Inaura School curriculum offer that is ambitious and designed to give all students, particularly disadvantaged students with SEMH, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life
Improving student engagements and reducing the total number of sessions with ‘no engagement’
Achieving consistency in the garnering and capturing student engagement/feedback in each lesson delivered
Establishing the use of Personal Development and Thrive targets in sessions without a fixed SoW e.g. DT, PE, Art
Extending the capacity and range of complimentary therapies delivered across the school
Improving the whole school attendance with a focus on achieving 80%
Continuing the work on whole-school culture to further explore the range of factors that contribute to Inaura School’s organisational culture and their impact on functionality and resilience
Evaluate and improve ‘Digital Safeguarding’ at the Inaura School
Prioritising Mental Health and Well-being of staff and students through the appointment of two Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) to increase the MHFA team to five staff
Implementing a reactive Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) programme which responds to ongoing needs within our students’ lives and ensures that safeguarding is embedded across the whole curriculum at Inaura School
Creating greater consistency of approach toward ‘Reading for Pleasure’ across all Learning Centres
Future development towards the school’s objectives include:
Implement, monitor and evaluate the redesigned core subject curricula for Maths, English, Science
Ensure the new Maths, English and Science curricula build sequentially on what students already know and address gaps in learning
Evaluate and refine, delivery of the Personal Development curriculum
Evaluate the consistency across the school of Personal Development and Thrive planning and recording.
Improve the skills of students to enable them to extend their writing - students plan, draft and extend their writing over a series of sessions
Plan opportunities for students to find their enjoyment of writing
Ensure consistent assessment and teaching of phonics across the school
Prevent of misuse and abuse of Inaura IT infrastructure
Stamp-out Cyberbullying - reduce the number of online abuse/bullying incidents between students outside of school hours
Establish a whole-school strategy, policy and protocols to underpin the work of the Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs)
Investigate Coaching and Mentoring toolkit of management tools for use by the Senior Leadership Team and Learning Centre Managers to identify key staff in their teams and promote development of whole-culture
Set a strategic direction for sustainability initiatives within the school.
Develop staff and student’s understanding of sustainable practices at school and within their own lives.
The Relational Approach
When using the relational approach, we look for opportunities to create positive conditions allowing us to invite the student (without coercion or conditional statements) to do what we are asking them to do. The challenging situation provides a way to build stronger relationships through trust and understanding. We want students to be safe, have fun and engage in their learning. Sometimes we will not be able to give students what they want but we work very hard to ensure that we give them what they need.
How does Inaura School do this?
Using non-coercive techniques
Applying restorative justice approaches
Building relationships that encourage change and enable personal empowerment
Reiterating the mantra – Be safe; Have fun; Engage in your learning
We believe that this approach combined with our 1:1 student to teacher ratio and small group settings are what make Inaura unique amongst other schools working with SEND/SEMH young people who would otherwise be disengaged from the learning process.
The school business is viable and independent professionals have approved our financial management plans.
The school has made a surplus this year of £65,488.
The school was recently subject to a full three-day Inspection by HM Ofsted, between the 6th and 8th February 2024. The overall judgement from this Inspection is that the school remains ‘2 -Good’ in all judgement areas.
Principal funding sources
All income this year has come from local authority referrals to the school. Services have been provided to five local authorities this year, but the majority of referrals come from North Somerset, Somerset, Bristol, Swindon and Gloucester Councils. We will continue to promote our school to other local authorities.
Following the Labour government announcement that private school fees would be charged VAT at the standard 20% rate from 1 January 2025, Inaura School is now registered for VAT.
Fundraising
We are seeking to apply for further funding for the Outdoor Learning Centre and Forest School provision in 2023 and 2024. We also received a donation from a stewarding team at Glastonbury Festival of £1,300. This money is being used to provide a sensory room at our new learning centre in Burrowbridge.
Investment and reserves policy
The school continues to be remunerated on a four-month cycle in advance, so there is a 'dynamic reserve', which reduces to a minimum every four months. We will need to continue to apply our risk management policy to our premises portfolio and staffing levels each year. The school has a business savings account with the Nationwide Building Society where all reserves are currently held.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charitable company is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
Governing document
Inaura School is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity number 1092152. It was incorporated on 12 February 2001 and its memorandum and articles of association have been amended by special resolutions dated 11 May 2002, 3 March 2007, 28 February 2009, 23 June 2020 and 8 October 2020. The company was registered as a charity on 22 May 2002.
Signatories to the memorandum and articles are liable up to a maximum of £10 in the event of dissolution.
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:
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees 2023-2024
Inaura's Trustees are all directors of the company limited by guarantee. In accordance with its articles of association two Trustees resign each year in rotation and for the last five years have been re-elected immediately. Inaura has benefited from a loyal and committed Trustee group. Trustees give their time voluntarily and no expenses were claimed during the year. The trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.
The Trustees are all professionals with substantial experience in business, therapeutic, social and educational work. Trustees meet for a regular termly meeting, with a fourth optional meeting on a floating date to coincide with an annual Charity public event. This appears to be a successful model and will be continued.
Board of Governors
The board of governors are responsible for working with the school to ensure that it delivers the best possible education for present and future pupils. This includes best practice in appointing and managing staff as well as ensuring that child protection and safeguarding remain the school’s first priority. Together with the Head Teacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management, they set the school's aims, policies and the overall strategy. The board of governors are responsible for ensuring the efficient and effective monitoring of the school’s finances. The board meets four times per year. Since October 2023 the board has appointed two new governors and no governors have resigned.
Organisational structure for 2023-2024
We appointed a new Headteacher who started on the 2 May 2023. The school's senior leadership team consists of the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCo, School Business Manager and Curriculum Manager.
The school has four middle level manager/teachers, four administrators, a finance assistant, three specialist teachers, an Early Career Teacher (ECT), a literacy tutor, a music therapist, and twenty-four learning support workers and ancillary staff.
Trustees recognise that as the school develops, their responsibilities need to be fully understood and enacted and make use of the Charity Commission's extensive guide booklets and the Department for Education’s Governance Handbook to reference the correct approach to any unfamiliar governance issues. The school is a member of The Key for Governors who provide information, advice, guidance, research and training for governing boards.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Lentells (Audit) Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Inaura School for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that 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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Inaura School (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
As part of our audit planning we obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that is applicable to the entity and the industry/sector in which it operates to identify the key laws and regulations affecting the entity. As part of this assessment process we discussed with management the laws and regulations applicable to the company, review other communications and considered findings from previous audits.
The key laws and regulations we identified were the Health and Safety at Work, Data Protection and the Childrens' Act.
We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements, primarily Companies Act 2006 and relevant UK tax law.
We discussed with management how the compliance with these laws and regulations is monitored and discussed policies and procedures in place.
We also identified the individuals who have responsibility for ensuring that the entity complies with laws and regulations and deal with reporting any issues if they arise.
As part of our planning procedures, we assessed the risk of any non-compliance with laws and regulations on the entity’s ability to continue trading and the risk of material misstatement to the financial statements.
Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Our procedures involved the following:
Enquiries of management regarding their knowledge of any non-compliance with laws and regulations that could affect the financial statements;
Reviewed legal and professional costs to identify any possible non-compliance or legal costs in respect of non-compliance; and
Review of board minutes
As part of our enquiries we discussed with management whether there have been any known instances, allegations or suspicions of fraud, of which management confirmed there had been none during or after the period.
We also evaluated the risk of fraud through management override. They key risks we identified were related to cut-off in respect of revenue recognition.
In response to the identified risk, as part of our audit work we:
Review journal entries throughout the year, for accuracy and appropriateness;
Reviewed estimates and judgements made in the financial statements for any indication of bias and challenged assumptions used by management in making the estimates;
Undertook specific cut-off procedures in respect of revenue recognition.
Given the inherent limitations of an audit, the more remote the non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the greater the risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements, as we are less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Inaura School is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Moor View, Burrowbridge, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA7 0RB, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with, 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) (effective 1 January 2019)". 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.
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 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 are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
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.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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.
There are no significant areas of estimation or judgement within the financial statements, but standard accounting estimate areas such as prepayments, accruals and depreciation are included.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.
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.
Tuition fees are invoiced and received by Inaura School in advance of the term to which they relate.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - £Nil).
At the reporting end date the charitable company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
Total lease payments made in the year in respect of land and buildings amounted to £99,592 (2023: £92,065)