Welcome to the ISBA Conference edition of our Schools Briefing for independent schools.

To begin, Tracey Young comments on the results from our latest Independent Schools Management Survey highlighting the impact that COVID-19 has had on schools’ finances.

Continuing on from the theme of our previous Schools Briefings, I sit down with James Rea, Bursar of Chigwell School, to discuss the challenges encountered with embarking on a capital project in the current environment and Alice Palmer discusses direct tax implications of alternative income streams.

The introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy remains to be a key topic of discussion with Nick Bustin sharing some further thoughts. Additionally, Vikram Sandhu shares the findings and learnings of the Charity Commission Inquiry into the collapse of Kids Company.

We are grateful to Stephen Ravenscroft, Partner and Head of Charity and Social Enterprise Team at Stone King, who explores the recently introduced Charities Act 2022 and what independent schools need to know.

Finally, our second guest author, David Sewell, takes a walk down memory lane reflecting on how the sector has evolved over the last 30 years. On that note, we would like to thank David for his 33 years’ service to haysmacintyre and the significant impact he has made to our organisation during that time. We wish you a long, happy and relaxing retirement.

I hope you enjoy this edition and find these articles of interest. Do feel free to let the articles’ authors, me or your regular contact know if you have any questions concerning the matters discussed.