Section 172 Statement

Our statement as required by Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 is set out below.

Section 172(1) Statement – Considering All Key Stakeholders

We, the board of directors of Hood Topco Limited, believe that we (individually and together) have taken decisions and acted in a way we consider most likely to promote the success of the company and group for the benefit of its members during the Period Ended 30th November 2022. We believe that to maximise value and long-term success we must take account of what is important to all key stakeholders and maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct.

During the Period Ended 30th November 2022 the board of directors has considered key stakeholders in four main groups:

Employees

During the period a new, group-wide People portal has been introduced with a wealth of content, including access to a wide range of online training, group policies, Talking Points and group communications.

The group has given employees access to an Employee Assistance Programme which is a free and confidential service that supports employees with personal or workplace issues that may impact their wellbeing, performance, physical or mental health – including access to a confidential helpline, counselling and coaching as well as a wellbeing portal with a library of physical health, mental health and lifestyle resources.

Employee training is an important focus for the group and, in addition to online training, we have introduced a suite of courses delivered by our Learning and Development team, as well as external training courses including apprenticeships.

The group carried out an engagement survey of all employees in 2022 and as a result of this, a group-wide review of benefits has been carried out. Changes to benefits, including health care, pensions and working hours are planned for FY2023.

Our Educators

Part of our role is to provide tutors, trainers, teachers and learning support staff with the tools they need to deliver the best service to schools. Our CPD Academy provides Educators with access to tools designed to enhance their career at the same time as preparing them for success. Our Educators have access to advanced learning and development through apprenticeships and to free online courses to develop their skills, with particular regard to tutoring to give as many of our Educators as possible the opportunity to become involved in the National Tutoring Programme and other forms of tutoring.

The group runs a Future Teachers Programme, addressing teacher shortages by attracting and supporting bright graduates considering a career in teaching and wishing to gain practical experience before enrolling in formal teacher training.

School Clients

We are passionate about education and we recognise the important role we play in helping schools and pupils achieve the best possible results. We commit to quality, always aiming to provide the best services, the best Educators and the best value. We strive to be the leading provider of education support in the market, making sure we have sufficient staff, locations and Educators to meet all of the services and support needs at our client schools. We are committed to being ‘expert’ at what we do by training our staff to understand the schools market and the importance of fulfilling the special and often unique requirements of each individual school. Customer experience and service are at the heart of our business and we strive to deliver the best possible user experience for all our school clients – from professional, efficient service to well-developed, intuitive apps and websites to ease administrative burdens.

Through the specialist support services delivered by the companies in our group, we are able to provide a wide range of services to schools including legal, payroll and HR, IT, Finance, training and staffing services. The provision of these services will help our client schools operate efficiently and continue to deliver the very best education to pupils.

Our staff build excellent relationships with our client schools, going beyond providing great service by giving time to help out with fundraising, school talks and workshops and event support such as sports days and school fetes.

Suppliers

We understand how important it is to our suppliers that their invoices are paid promptly. Our average payment days and percentage of invoices paid late is a focus for the business. We maintain good relationships with all our suppliers, large and small, and we are pleased with the regular communication and connections developed during the period.