The Charity's Object is to promote social inclusion for the public benefit by working with people over the age of 50/or disabled people in the Area of Benefit who are socially excluded by combatting loneliness and social isolation arising as a result of their age, infirmity, ill-health, disability or social circumstance, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of:
1.1 social and recreational facilities and events.
1.2 advice, support and information which is capable of reducing their social isolation.
For the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded' means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of one or more of the following factors: unemployment, financial hardship, youth or old age; and ill health (physical or mental).
Haringey Circle was registered as a charity on 22nd March 2024 having previously been a Community Interest Company since September 2020. This is Circle's second Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with the Charities Statement of Operational Practice. The transition from CIC to a Charity has involved the development of a new business model based on free membership and a greater dependency on income from grants, sponsorship and donations. The organisation has continued to develop this business model with some success in securing grant funding of £46k, £20k of which was Unrestricted, and a Crowdfunding / Christmas appeal in December /January for coach trips in the summer of 2026 raised £1,300. Our total income in 2025/26 was £52,240, an increase of £25,938 over budget and a significant increase over income of £30,874 in 2024/25.
The start of the year 2025/26 was financially challenging, involving reductions in staffing hours and the termination of the Manager’s contract in May. Our Administrative Assistant was redesignated Communications and Administration Manager in June on a 25 hour/week contract. The decision to work remotely to reduce overheads since February 2025 has continued as the members’ social activities and events are delivered in community facilities across Haringey and outside in parks and local nature reserves. We have secured several regular venues which are free or low cost and offer space for our weekly team meetings.
In response to our Member Survey in February 2026, we have moved from a monthly Newsletter to a weekly communication to members listing the activities in the forthcoming week and requesting expressions of interest in new activities. Our original Website was built on a Drupal platform which was very expensive to maintain and was no longer supported. In line with our inter-generational work, we commissioned a local University student to transition the Website to a Wordpress platform, saving over £1,200 in annual support costs and £8k in developer’s fees. The new Website includes a calendar of activities which is updated on a weekly basis.
Over the year our membership numbers have grown by 276 (53%) from 515 to 791 with over 50% of new members coming from N15, N17 and N22, postcodes that score relatively high on the index of deprivation. During the year we facilitated 499 social activities and events attended by 4,400 participants. We have expanded the range of activities on offer, many requested by members, and often oversubscribed.
Line Dancing, both beginners and intermediate, has continued to prove popular and the art and ceramics classes have continued to be in demand. We successfully trialed an introduction to golf at the local golf club and this will be repeated in the summer of 2026. Sunday walks frequently attracted 20+ participants and our monthly dining circle experiencing different cuisines and the Thursday coffee morning drop-in continued to be popular. Christmas / New Year and Bank Holidays can be a lonely time for many people and this year our drop-in at a local café was open on Christmas and Boxing Day and we have lunches at a local pub, attended by c.20 members on Bank Holidays.
We continued into the second year of our successful partnership with Disability Action Haringey delivering the ADOBE funded contract, facilitating social activities for those with a disability. The contract ends in September 2026, and we will be hoping to continue the partnership supported by new funding streams. We have established a successful partnership with the Art House Cinema in Crouch End where the Circle Cinema Club of 50+ members have a discounted £4 entrance fee and 10% off food and drink. A “Creative Days” partnership with Collage Arts in Wood Green provides members with Drama sessions, art and printing classes and Dance and Movement.
We are committed to listening to our members, developing new opportunities and evaluating the impact of our interventions in reducing social isolation and loneliness. Measuring the impact of the Circle interventions is not straightforward but we made a start at the end of 2024/25 by using the nationally recognised UCLA Loneliness Scale to survey our members. The objective was to establish a baseline against which the Circle intervention could be evaluated. The Survey continued into the first few months of 2025/26, and the final Report is included on our website and indicates that 50% of respondents are classed as “lonely” and 15-20% “very lonely”. Members with a disability reported a significantly higher incidence of loneliness.
We undertook a Members Survey (N=182) in February with a view to gaining feedback from members on the Circle “offer” and, understanding why some members have not engaged in any activities or social events. The responses from members who engaged in activities (N=140) were overwhelmingly positive with 62% very satisfied and 32% satisfied with the activities on offer. Some comments from the Survey were:
• ‘I’ve had a really positive experience with Haringey circle. It feels welcoming, supportive and genuinely community focused. I’m grateful to be part of such a kind and uplifting environment’
• ‘I found the sessions very welcoming’
• ‘Haringey circle is doing wonderful work to bring older people together and offering really lovely activities and opportunities. Thank you.’
Those members who had not engaged in any activities (N=42) gave reasons for not doing so, including mobility transport issues and wanting more local activities.
Reflecting on the number of members who we have not engaged in any activities has challenged our perception of how successful we have been in meeting our charitable objects. The members who have not engaged may be the most socially isolated and lonely and we need to prioritise communications with them and develop a more interventionist “stewardship” role. Our recent grant funding bids have highlighted the need to communicate with those members who have proved harder to reach and identified targeted resources to make this possible.
Circle's Board of eight Trustees brings a range of expertise and local knowledge and are representative of the membership, all being age 60+ and two with disabilities. Anne Gray is also a board member of the Haringey Over 50s, and Andrew Carpenter is on the board of Disability Action Haringey. Trustees are appointed by the Board and have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Board members have had an introduction to Finance and Management Accounts to enable them to better understand the financial monitoring reports presented at their monthly meetings. The Trustees receive regular, bi-monthly financial reports and cashflow projections to ensure that Circle's costs and income are under continual review. Our newly refreshed Members Reference Group has met on four occasions and provided useful feedback on the existing programme and future developments.
Although the Annual Report looks back on the year, we are also looking forward to the year ahead with the opportunities and challenges this will bring. At the turn of the year, we have secured an Awards for All grant of £12.5k which will support our continuing activity over the next twelve months. Working with the Social Media students at the local College we have produced a series of videos capturing the experiences of our members and stakeholders which will be uploaded onto a Haringey Circle YouTube channel.