2025 was a year of significant progress for The Children's Adventure Farm Trust. We welcomed 22,655 children to the Farm, a 35% increase on the previous year and our highest ever, with every visit provided entirely free of charge. More than 75% of those visiting were identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, with many also living in areas of social deprivation.
Our residential programme ran at capacity throughout the year. Seasonal and specialist programmes continued to grow, reflecting both increasing demand and our ability to respond to it. The dedication of our staff, and the 1,393 volunteers who gave 16,957 hours of their time, made this possible.
The financial statements set out in this report reflect an organisation in good health. This year we invested deliberately in our facilities and programme capacity, reflecting our confidence in the direction of travel and our commitment to being ready for the growth ahead.
Looking ahead, our five-year strategy sets out our ambition to welcome 150,000 children to the Farm by 2030. The foundations are in place. We are grateful to everyone whose generosity and commitment makes this work possible.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
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 charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)".
Objectives and aims
The Children's Adventure Farm Trust is a charity creating free, joyful experiences – primarily day visits, residential breaks and seasonal programmes - for children from the North West of England and North Wales whose lives are shaped by life-limiting conditions, serious illness, disability, caring roles or social disadvantage.
Based on a welcoming farm in Cheshire, CAFT gives children vital time to play, belong and just be children in an accessible, inclusive environment. All activities are delivered from our site at Booth Bank Farm near Altrincham.
Adventure is central to everything we do. For every child who visits, adventure takes a different form — and this is encouraged, nurtured and celebrated.
The charity is financed entirely through voluntary income — donations from individuals, charitable trusts and grant-making bodies, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, challenges and our charity shop in Knutsford. We receive no statutory funding.
The trustees are satisfied that the charity's activities deliver clear public benefit, in line with the Charity Commission's guidance under Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011.
The Trustees have considered the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. By fulfilling its objectives to provide holidays and other recreational activities to children disadvantaged through illness, disability, poverty or other emotional needs, the Trustees consider the Charity is indeed providing a public benefit.
Fundraising activities
In 2025, CAFT provided 22,655 visits for children and families — a 35% increase on 2024 and our highest ever. Over 75% of children visiting were identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), with many also living in areas of social deprivation.
Our residential programme ran at capacity throughout the year, with 1,152 children enjoying a three-day residential break. Seasonal programmes welcomed 3,240 children at Easter, 1,767 at CAFTfest, 2,258 at Halloween and 3,741 at Christmas. A further 9,817 children visited for Fun Days, and 680 attended our Forest School programme.
Every visit was free of charge.
Like many organisations, we absorbed the impact of increased employer National Insurance contributions and Living Wage this year. This is reflected in our staffing costs but was managed within our overall financial position, and our commitment to our staff team remains absolute.
Fundraising
Our fundraising programme continued to develop across several income streams. Events and challenges were our largest source of income in 2025, driven in particular by the success of our Great Tuk Tuk Adventure, alongside the Grand Ball, Ladies Lunch, cycle rides and treks.
Charitable trusts are ordinarily our largest single funding stream and remain a vital and consistent source of support, enabling us to plan with confidence.
Corporate partnerships grew through team-building activities, holiday sponsorships and volunteering days that provide both meaningful experiences for corporate teams and essential practical support for our maintenance and facilities programme.
Individual giving and in-kind donations continue to reflect the depth of support within our community.
We are members of the Fundraising Regulator and follow the Institute of Fundraising Code of Practice in all our activity. We do not use agencies or third parties for face-to-face or telephone fundraising campaigns. We never sell or share supporter data with third parties.
Financial position
The total incoming resources for the year were £1,188,487 (2024: £1,037,542) whilst expenditure amounted to £1,189,266 (2024: £1,157,843), producing a net deficit of £779 (2024: deficit of £120,301) for the year. At the end of 2025 the Trust maintained net assets of £1,768,862 (2024: £1,769,641), with £1,036,423 (2024: £1,141,523) held in liquid funds.
The Trustees are satisfied with the charity's financial health.
Our financial position remains strong. This year we chose to invest in our facilities and programme capacity, a deliberate decision that reflects the board's confidence in our strategy and our future.
Diverse Income Streams
Our fundraising approach reflects the depth and breadth of our community connections:
Charitable Trusts remain our largest contributors, providing substantial funding that enables us to plan with confidence.
Events and Challenges continue as a vibrant cornerstone of our fundraising success, with the Annual Grand Ball and Ladies Lunch creating memorable occasions while generating significant income, and our challenge events including successful Tuk Tuk trips providing both great fundraising and relationship building with our supporters.
Community Initiatives have flourished, with local schools partnering with us not only for fundraising but also through valuable work experience opportunities for pupils—embodying our Belonging value by creating meaningful connections.
Corporate Partnerships have grown through innovative approaches, from team-building activities that provide essential voluntary support to holiday sponsorships for visiting children.
Individual Giving continues to demonstrate the heartfelt commitment of our supporters, alongside in-kind donations ranging from everyday essentials to special treats that enhance every child's CAFT experience.
The results for the year are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities.
The board maintains free reserves equivalent to at least six months of anticipated expenditure. This provides essential security against unexpected costs or income shortfall and enables the charity to plan and invest with confidence. This position was maintained throughout 2025, and the trustees consider it appropriate given the charity's income profile and strategic ambitions.
Surplus funds are invested only in board-approved vehicles with established financial institutions, prioritising security and appropriate returns. Professional advice is sought as required.
In 2025 we published Our Way Forward, our five-year strategy to 2030. Our ambition is to welcome 150,000 children to the Farm by 2030. The strategy is built around five priorities: enhancing our Facilities, growing our Capacity, raising our Profile, developing our Income, and building our Membership community.
Progress in 2025 — including the launch of our membership scheme, a full board of nine trustees, and significant growth in visits — gives us confidence that we are well placed to deliver on that ambition.
CAFT is a company limited by guarantee with no share capital, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The directors of the company serve as its trustees for the purposes of charity law.
Following the establishment of our membership scheme in September 2025, the charity now has a wider membership community in addition to its directors, reflecting our commitment to building a broad and representative base of support for CAFT's future.
The board meets at least quarterly. The Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage day-to-day operations, with delegated authority for operational matters including finance, employment and programme delivery.
A full board of nine trustees was in place throughout the year, providing strong strategic leadership and support to the CEO and team, publishing Our Way Forward — our five-year strategy to 2030 — and overseeing the successful launch of our membership scheme in September 2025.
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:
New trustees are appointed by ordinary resolution of the company's members. All new trustees undertake an induction covering their legal responsibilities, the charity's governing documents, its strategy and recent financial performance, and the work of the organisation in practice.
The board of Trustees administers the Charity and meets at least quarterly. A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the Charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the Trustees, for operational matters including finances, employment and operational activities.
On 6 August 2024, a new board was appointed with two transformative priorities that directly support our "Our Way Forward" strategy:
1. Expanding our Membership Foundation: Establishing a larger, more diverse board of trustees to bring fresh perspectives and broader expertise to guide CAFT's future
2. Building our Membership Community: Creating a robust membership structure for the charity that authentically represents the families and children CAFT supports, strengthening both our governance and our impact
These governance developments directly advance our fifth Foundation Five commitment—Building our Membership—creating a community of passionate advocates who'll help shape CAFT's future while ensuring our decision-making remains closely connected to the needs of those we serve.
New Trustees undergo an orientation day to brief them on: their legal obligations under Charity and company law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and inform them of the content of the Memorandum of Articles of Association, the committee and decision-making processes, the business plan and recent financial performance of the Charity. During the induction day they meet key employees and other Trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.
No trustee receives remuneration or other financial benefit from their work with the charity. Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 11 and 22 to the financial statements.
Risk management
The trustees maintain a risk register which is reviewed at each board meeting. Principal risks identified include financial sustainability, given our reliance on voluntary income; safeguarding, which is addressed through robust policies, regular training and DBS checks for all staff and volunteers working with children; and health, safety and food hygiene, maintained through current accreditations and staff training.
The trustees are satisfied that appropriate controls are in place to manage these risks to an acceptable level.
Our volunteers
CAFT runs because of people. Our dedicated, talented and hardworking staff team are at the heart of everything we deliver — their skill, warmth and commitment shape every child's experience at the Farm, and we are enormously grateful for everything they bring to this organisation.
In 2025, 1,393 volunteers gave 16,957 hours of their time — the equivalent of around 12.5 full-time posts and an estimated saving to the charity of £370,000.
Volunteers contribute across every area of our work: programme delivery, grounds and facilities maintenance, the Knutsford charity shop, fundraising events and administration. We are deeply grateful to each of them.
We also thank our president, patrons, and ambassadors for their support, profile, and belief in our mission, which help us reach further and tell our story more widely. CAFT would not be what it is without the whole community of people who choose to give their time, energy and voice to it.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust Ltd 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at the Annual General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust Ltd (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2025 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 charity 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 charity’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 charity 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 charity’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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance;
the company's own assessment of the risks that irregularities may occur either as a result of fraud or error;
the results of our enquiries of management and members of the Board of Directors of their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the company's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;
the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the company for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following area: the timing of the recognition of revenue. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and local taxation legislation.
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the company's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. These included Data Protection Regulations.
As a result of performing the above, we identified the timing of the recognition of revenue as the key audit matter related to the potential risk of fraud.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described above as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
enquiring of management and members of the Board of Directors concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with relevant authorities where matters identified were significant; and
in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
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.
Use of our 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.
Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Booth Bank Farm, Reddy Lane, Millington, Cheshire, WA14 3RE. The company does not have share capital.
The guarantors at 31 December 2025 are the trustees in office at that date and detailed in the trustees report. Their liability in respect of the guarantee as set out in the Memorandum of Association is limited to £10 per guarantor.
Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity 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.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
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.
Endowment funds are subject to specific conditions by donors that the capital must be maintained by the charity.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Legacies
Legacy gifts are recognised on a case by case basis following the granting of probate when the administrator/executor for the estate has communicated in writing both the amount and settlement date. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title to the asset having been transferred to the charity.
Donated goods and services
Donated goods and services are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102), volunteers' time is not recognised and the trustees' report gives more information about their contribution.
On receipt, donated services and donated goods are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
Commercial trading activities
Clothing and other items donated for resale through the charity's shop are included as incoming resources within activities for generating funds when they are sold.
Income from fundraising
Income from events are accounted for when received, together with a proportion of donor pledges received at the major event held each year. Facility hire income is accounted for when invoiced.
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 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.
Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
Costs of raising funds comprise of costs of events organised to raise funds for the charity, the payroll costs of the charity's staff and their associated support costs.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the cost of providing holidays and related activities by the charity's staff and their associated support costs.
Other expenditure those items not falling into any other heading.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred,
Allocation of support costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the Trust's activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities.
Tangible fixed assets costing £1,000 or more 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 residual values, estimated useful lives and depreciation method of tangible fixed assets are reviewed, and adjusted as appropriate, at each statement of financial position date. The effects of any revision are recognised in the statement of financial activities when the change arises.
At each reporting end date, the charity 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).
Stock comprises of donated goods to be used as Christmas presents for the children. This stock is valued at an estimate of its cost which is arrived at by referencing to retail sales of other similar items.
The Charity also operates a shop, however donated goods received for sale in the shop are not valued as it is impractical to do so.
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 charity 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 charity's balance sheet when the charity 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 charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
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 charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Pension costs
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
There are currently no significant judgements and estimates applied by the trust which are considered key to the preparation of the financial statements.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
Trustees' expenses
In the year, expenses totalling £19 for maintenance costs were reimbursed to one trustee. There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The Trust considers its key management personnel to comprise of the Trustees and the Chief Executive. The total employee benefits including employer pension contributions of the key management personnel was as follows:
Freehold buildings includes land which is not depreciated.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
1. Increase Service
This fund comprises monies received to increase service provision for children with life limiting conditions.
2. Capital Developments
This fund comprises monies received to fund a proposed new development. If this development is not progressed, then there is provision for the monies to be used on other projects.
3. Pom Charitable Trust
This fund comprises monies received for residential visits. Expenditure took place out of unrestricted funds during the year. The amount received has therefore been transferred out of the restricted fund and into unrestricted funds at the year end.
4. Pond Project
This fund comprises monies received for the refurbishment of the existing pond within the sensory garden. This fund should be classified as Unrestricted, therefore has been transferred to unrestricted funds.
5. Festive Visit
This fund comprises monies received for a festive visit for a number of children.
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.
Designated funds
An amount has been designated from unrestricted funds for Sports Hall Repair Works.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There are no events after the reporting date to disclose.
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
Peter Scotson, trustee, owns a business called Kids Disco Parties, which was paid £6,950 (2024: £7,280) for entertainment services. At the year end £5,900 was within the balance of accrued expenses.
Nicola Graham, trustee, is director of Saferchildren Ltd and £1,100 (2024: nil) was paid in respect of staff training services.
Paula Cohen, trustee, is director of Taylory Ltd and £125 (2024: nil) was paid in respect of staff training services.
Ian Eccles, CEO was paid expenses of £272 (2024: nil) for visits costs, and Richard Sandland, husband of a trustee, and a volunteer, was paid £25 (2024: nil) for Maintenance costs.
The charity had no material debt during the year.