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2025-12-31-accounts

Connecting children with the land that sustains us all

Annual Report & Accounts 2025

President: The Duke of Westminster

Vice Presidents:

Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher Bt Sir Nicholas Bacon Bt

V Beaumont

Lord Boswell of Aynho DL (deceased Aug 2025)

W Butterfield

Earl of Carnarvon

J M Carr-Ellison

J Knappett B Ed NPQH Lord Dear QPM

T. Fanshawe

T C M Fawcett BSc (Hons) (appointed January 2026)

W J Henderson DL

M Kendall

W Kendall DL

Hon. John Leigh-Pemberton

G Long MBE Hon G E Lopes L V Lyle MA PGCE

M Maclay DL

H Mills DL

H R Oliver-Bellasis FRAgS Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE J Serjeant BA (Hons) ACA A J Stafford MA (Oxon) (appointed November 2025)

I N Tegner CA FRSA (deceased May 2026) F Weston MA (Cantab)

Chief Executive:

J D Attenborough MA (Cantab) FRSA

Registered address:

Moulsham Mill, Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7PX Tel: 01245 961049

Ambassadors:

N Partheeban BVM&S BSc (Hons) PGCert(DHH) PIAGrM R.Ani.Tech. FRSA MRCVS A Pawsey J Pawsey

Trustees:

The Trustees who served the charity during the year were as follows

M A Bufton-McCoy B Phil, Cert Ed (Appointed Chair June 2025)

G Deatker

M Everitt BA (Hons) MA LLB (Appointed December 2025)

T C M Fawcett BSc (Hons) (stepped down December 2025)

R J Frossell (appointed Vice Chair June 2025)

M Gent

K Kaur BSc(Hons) GTP (QTS) MA NPQH C.Linley BA (Hons), CAIA

M Nicholls (stepped down September 2025)

A J Stafford MA (Oxon) (stepped down June 2025)

Bankers:

CAF Bank Ltd. 25 Kings Hill Ave, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19

Auditors:

Edmund Carr LLP 146 New London Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0AW

Lawyers:

Wrigleys Solicitors LLP 19 Cookridge Street, Leeds LS2 3AG Street, Leeds LS2 3AG

The Country Trust is the largest provider of farm visits in England, and the only national-scale charity focused exclusively on giving disadvantaged children access to working farms.

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Country Trust – Trustees’ Report 2025

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We have focused our programmes on the children most in need. On average our schools have over 41% of children meeting the criteria for Free School Meals Ever 6, compared to a national average of 26.3%.

Overall, we connected over 60,000 children with the land that sustains us all, across our Farm, Residential, Food Discovery and Farm in a Box programmes and our Soil Health Campaign. 20,315 children participated in our face-to-face programmes and 11,727 in our Farm in a Box programme, providing over 181,700 hours of engagement in all, the majority of which was provided free of charge. In addition, over 30,000 people, most of them school children, registered for year three of our Plant Your Pants Soil Health Campaign, our first fully digital year.

Farm in a Bag was provided to 238 teachers enabling over 5000 children to benefit from the sensory activities and video content before their Farm Discovery visit. The Bags provided over 10,000 learning hours in addition to those gained on the farm visits themselves and as one teacher reported, ‘pre-knowledge in a calm environment reduced anxiety.’

We had our first full year of Residentials at our new locations in Sussex and the Lake District, and both are proving very popular and impactful. Our Yorkshire Dales based Residentials continue to thrive though attracting funding has proved challenging this year.

With funding from The Westminster Foundation we began a six-month Strategic Development Programme led by an internal Senior Manager seconded to the role.

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Theory of Change The Problem The human race is dependent on the natural world for surrfival. However, there is no consistent provision (resource or structure) for every child to discover the land that sustains us all and to explore first-hand the fundamental connection between the way we live, our own health and the health of the planet. Therefore children, particularly the most disadvantaged, are ill-equipped to grow to actively contribute to, and benefit from, a thriving society and planet. Activities Farm Discovery Tl Discovery Countryside Residentials Farm in aBox National Sustaining Impact Campaign Polic Wor Children (& adults) who engage with The Country Trust: are able to imagine a wider range of future possibilities are excited to useldiscuss what they have learnt have a better understanding of how to interact with the natural world around them are more confident to try new things are more curious about the world, particularly food, farming and the land that sustains us all are more able to make connections between their lives and food, farming and the land that sustains us all Parents who engage with The Country Trust: Feel more confident to encouragel support their children to try new things Intermediate Outcomes Teachers who engage with The Country Trust: place greater value on food and farming education are more confident to use f￿d and farrning experiences to support pupil learning Children (& adults) who engage with The Country Trust: demonstrate a greater belief in their own agency • are more likely to chooselpursue outdoor hobbies/interests/careers related to food, farming and the land that 5UStains us all are more likely to make (or want to make) informed choices about food, farming and the land that sustains us all Teachers who engage with The Country Trust: seek out and use more real-worLd learning experiences in their teaching Longer Term Outcomes Through first-hand experiences of fo)d, farming and the land, The Country Trust aims to empower children, particularly the most disadvantaged, and the adults who influence them, to discover their connection with the land that sustains us all, to be confident, curious and create change in their lives and the world around them so that they, society and the planet can thrive. Overall Aim

Food Discovery - impact themes

Our Impact

Our 2024-5 Impact Report is available here.

Impact themes across our programmes - from qualitative data analysis.

Farm Discovery - impact themes

Our children come from an area of high deprivation and often join us with very limited experiences and time outside of their local area, some not even attending our local beach. Today, they not only attended a farm, but a working farm, and genuinely felt for one day, they became farmers! We loved how free the children were across the day, staff knew they were safe and well cared for, with enough wonderful outdoor space to run far and wide soaking up all that the farm has to offer.

My child really enjoys Food Discovery. She doesn’t ever tell me anything she’s done at school at all, but she does tell me about these sessions. She never used to try anything at home or even entertain having it on her plate but now she’s coming home now and asking me to cook with her.

Residentials - impact themes

Our cohort included a number of SEND students who have had their horizons broadened in every sense of the phrase: greater independence, increased self-esteem, greater willingness to face challenges and all have fostered an appreciation of nature and the countryside.

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Country Trust Annual Report 2025

Farm in a Box - impact themes

We have found some of our children are confident talking about what they have learned in the sessions which is different for them as usually they struggle to access whole class teaching.

-Teacher

Teacher Impact - across all programmes

Food Discovery has had a lasting impact on my teaching practice by enriching the way I teach students with food education. It has encouraged a more handson, inquiry-based approach that encourages curiosity and allowed children to explore where food comes from, how it’s prepared, and the importance of healthy choices. It has increased my own confidence in delivering practical lessons and has strengthened my ability to link food education with broader curriculum goals (e.g. Science/DT, Geography and PE) making learning more meaningful and memorable for my pupils.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

The work undertaken by our secondee from the John Lewis Partnership Golden Jubilee Trust has helped us to start to realise our EDIB ambition, by creating an effective framework around the structure, terms and conditions of our delivery workforce. This clarity has already helped us to support the delivery workforce better.

We have been extremely fortunate to have secured another Golden Jubilee Trust secondee, for 2026, whose focus will be on building upon the framework, including workforce engagement and furthering our EDIB data collection and strategy. Our Business Operations Manager has been selected to take part in a Rank Foundation extended EDIB training programme in 2026.

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Evaluation Framework

How the Charity’s activities deliver public benefit

In setting our programme each year we have regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. The Trustees always ensure that the programmes we undertake are in line with our charitable objectives and aims. The difference we want to make is captured in the following infographic.

We use an evaluation framework, based on our Theory of Change, to gather feedback on all the activities we offer. We collate and analyse all feedback, and this then informs our programme design. Feedback from children, teachers and parents suggests that the Trust is achieving its goal of helping to improve the life chances of the children who take part in our programmes.

We are in the unique position of being able to provide programmes which support teachers to engage children with learning and support physical, emotional and social wellbeing. We can build food knowledge and food confidence, provide access to food and farming related climate learning and enable children to discover that they can be active participants. We can create connections between pupils, farmers and the natural world. We can speak up on relevant education, agriculture and food issues, taking the lead or supporting others.

Country Trust Impact Framework

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Through food, farming and countryside experiences,
disadvantaged children build a foundation to....
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Our core aims...
Understand where food comes from and Understand their connection to the
develop a positive relationship with food natural world and living things
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Our core aims...
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Why... Because every child facing disadvantage deserves to know that they
are influential, and that through their actions, they could make a
positive difference to their own wellbeing and that of the planet
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Supporting adults to
Helping children feel more sustain our impact
powerful in their lives
Fostering a sense of Influencing policy to help us
connection and belonging achieve our core aims
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Our roots to success...

How we work

All our programmes are designed to create moments that provoke curiosity, making learning irresistible. Children learn most deeply when they are following their natural curiosity as it places them at the centre of their learning.

Giving children time, space and the tools to understand the world around them – whether it’s in their school grounds, a farm or at the beach – allows children to discover for themselves the wonder and connectedness of life.

As so many of the children we work with have limited experiences, we ensure that new experiences are crafted carefully and consciously into our programmes, building confidence and happy memories.

Our aim is to help children feel more powerful in their lives through opportunities to see that their actions make a difference, and to foster a sense of connection and belonging through being guided to successfully experience and build relationships with new places and new people.

We recognise that teachers and schools are gateways to opportunity for disadvantaged children and so we aim to support them to both access and then sustain the impact of our programmes.

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Country Trust Annual Report 2025

We have become more aware that there is a widespread lack of understanding, even a disbelief, of the day-to-day reality for the most disadvantaged in our community, and how poverty impacts access to good food, green space, the natural world, and opportunity, which in turn affects diet, health, the ability to participate and the ability to thrive.

This is why we aim to provide opportunities for the most disadvantaged children in society. We determine eligibility for our programmes on the following basis, though we always consider individual circumstances, as we know that poverty can be hidden.

Last year the average percentage of children eligible for Free 41.8%. School Meals taking part in our programmes was

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– In the UK today 4.5 million children are living in poverty approximately 31 per cent of all children. The bulk of these children are from working families – 72% of children in poverty live in households where someone is in work. The data also shows that poverty is more concentrated in Black and Asian ethnic minority communities or those households with a disabled member[1] .

The implications of this for children’s potential and future opportunities are profound. Living in poverty from early childhood is associated with worse health outcomes, lower educational attainment and fewer opportunities as they grow. The Children’s Commissioner for England has noted that children in poverty are less likely to develop the “building blocks” of a good childhood — access to stable relationships, a decent home and a good education[2] . The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) summarises that poverty “harms children’s health, social and emotional wellbeing, and education. It harms their childhoods and their futures[3] .” From an economic perspective, tackling child poverty is not only a moral imperative but also makes sense — children growing up in poverty tend to leave school with fewer qualifications, and become less able to participate fully in the future workforce.

Limited household resources mean that children in poverty often miss out on activities and experiences that support development, social skills and wellbeing. Government research on extra-curricular activities found a direct link between household income and participation: children from the poorest households were much less likely to take part in after-school clubs and other enrichment activities[4] . The rising cost of living is widening the divide, with teachers and school leaders witnessing the impact on pupils and their families first-hand. Schools themselves are also facing significant strain, with higher energy bills and increased staffing costs placing further pressure on already stretched budgets. For many disadvantaged children, school provides their main — and sometimes only

— opportunity to take part in educational visits, holidays, cultural activities or to explore beyond their local area. These experiences are more than a ‘nice to have’ — they build soft skills, confidence, peer networks and a sense of belonging, all of which contribute to onward progress. When children miss out because of cost or availability, they are disadvantaged beyond purely academic terms. This has recently been recognised in the Schools’ White Paper published February 2026.

Inequality is also demonstrated in children’s diets and their relationship with food. Families on low incomes often have less access to nutritious food — for example, for the most deprived fifth of the population, meeting the Government’s healthy diet guidelines would use up half their disposable income, compared with just 11 per cent for the highest earners[5] . Poor nutrition in childhood carries direct health risks[6] (increased risk of respiratory and other childhood diseases, poor mental health, more likely to experience poor health later in life) and indirect ones (reduced cognitive development, lower concentration, more frequent absence from school) which in turn hamper children’s ability to participate fully in learning and in social and developmental opportunities.

There is substantial evidence that a large proportion of children in the UK do not understand where their food comes from or how it’s produced. This is not just occasional confusion — it’s endemic, with roughly one-in-three or more children . demonstrating basic misconceptions[7]

This gap in knowledge has significant consequences. When children do not realise how food is grown or produced, they are less likely to value fresh, seasonal or minimally processed food, which can make it harder to develop healthy eating habits. Families in this position often rely more on convenience or highly processed foods, which tend to be cheaper, more familiar and require less time or confidence to prepare.

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Over time, this disconnect from food origins can lead to weaker food literacy — meaning fewer chances for children and families to cook, grow, or use food resourcefully. This can increase household food costs and make it difficult to access goodquality, nutritious food, particularly for those on lower incomes.

The implications of this disconnection extend beyond consumer choices and into the relationship between communities and the agricultural sector. It is important to recognise that the children we work with often have very limited agency over the food that enters their household; affordability, availability and pressures on the adults in their homes shape most food decisions. However, developing knowledge, understanding and practical skills still matters. When opportunities do arise, these foundations enable children to make more informed, healthier and more sustainable choices.

This learning is also important for farmers. Many report feeling misunderstood or undervalued (Wheeler et al, 2022), and a lack of public awareness about farming practices contributes to that sense of disconnect. In the meantime, the growing urban–rural divide means that children and adults alike have fewer chances to meet farmers, see food production first-hand, or engage in conversations that build trust and appreciation. Farm visits provide a rare space for genuine twoway learning; children gain insight into where their food comes from, and farmers gain the chance to share their experiences, combat stereotypes and feel seen and valued. These human connections reduce isolation, challenge misconceptions on both sides, and strengthen relationships across the food system.

Just as children’s understanding of where food comes from shapes their relationship with what they eat, access to green spaces influences how they interact with nature and the environment more broadly. Research finds that neighbourhood greenspace is linked with better school attendance and learning; children with more access to nature have lower behavioural problems, better attention and improved mental-health outcomes. However, recent government data shows that only 15% of children visited fields, farmland or countryside, and fewer than half (45%) spend time outdoors most days (Children’s People and Nature Survey, 2024). Greenspaces (and well-designed school grounds) are sites for informal physical activity, social play, outdoor lessons and risk-managed exploration — all activities that build resilience, executive functioning and

practical skills valued by educators and employers. Where children lack safe, affordable local green spaces they are less able to take part in sports and play that boost physical health and concentration, they lose low-cost avenues for socialising and skills development, and they are more likely to remain indoors or have to travel further (which many families cannot afford). Opportunities to explore, play, and learn outdoors not only support physical and mental wellbeing but also provide a tangible connection to the world around them, reinforcing lessons about sustainability, nature, and the origins of the food they consume.

Operating Context

The number of children eligible for Free School Meals has risen by over 77,000 in the last year.[8] School budgets are tighter than ever, teacher confidence and capacity to take children out of school has reduced, there’s a crisis with provision for children with SEN/D, there’s been a surge in mental health concerns for children and young people, and food/diet remains the biggest cause of death and disability in the UK. The long tail of the pandemic continues. Our team now expect to prepare for non-verbal children, many more children with SEN/D, social, emotional and behavioural concerns, a lack of motor skills, physical fitness, attention span, younger children who aren’t toilet trained. We are very conscious of being specialist providers for a growing and underserved audience.

School budget cuts and the cost-of-living crisis have significantly increased demand for transport subsidies, further stretching our fundraising. The total cost of subsidies in 2025 reached £110,923 (£100,216 in 2024, £80,072 in 2023.)

For charities like ours it has been another challenging year of increased operating costs, rising demand and increased competition for funding.

8 explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25

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By age 5,
inequality is already visible.
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Likelihood of obesity by year 1

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Least Most
deprived fifth deprived fifth
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Children in the most deprived fifth of the population are nearly twice as likely to be living with obesity as those in the least deprived fifth by their first year of school.

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IMD Decile 1
Other Deciles
All schools eligible for support
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6,330 primary schools meet our eligibility criteria, 23% are in IMD 1*

*Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Decile 1 represents the most deprived neighbourhoods in England.

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4 million
children
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1 in 3 children live in poverty in the UK

That’s 4 million children. Of those, 2 million live in deep poverty, and 1 million children experience destitution

Significant Increases in Transport Costs

School budget cuts and the cost-of-living crisis have significantly increased demand for transport subsidies, further stretching our fundraising.

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2025 £110,923
2024 £100,216
2023 £80,072
0 20k 40k 60k 80k 100k 120k
Cost in £
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Farming

2025 was yet another turbulent and challenging year for farming and a roller coaster ride as we awaited the news on financial support for educational visits, the funding which enables farmers to offer The Country Trust multiple visits to their farms. We celebrated the inclusion of Educational Access Payments in the Sustainable Farming Incentive in 2025, but the schemes were only open for a brief window before being spent out. In the new iteration of SFI in early 2026 Educational Access Payments are not included.

We spoke out about the incredible opportunities that Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) had created for disadvantaged children across the country. We celebrated the extension of the programme by a year from April 2025 but the announcement came so late that agreements with each FiPL team could not be finalised in time for the peak of demand for farm visits in the summer. Though we are thrilled that a further three years of FiPL funding was announced in early 2026, the same pattern is being repeated with many FiPL teams not having access to the detail of the funding until the start of the new financial year. Though not applicable in the FiPL context, we are working to build an operating reserve which we can use to try and bridge gaps where the timing of the booking of activity with schools and farms doesn’t align with the receipt of funding.

Global risk

In January 2026, British Intelligence Chiefs briefed the government on a threat that for the first time was not related to defence. “Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity.” (Global Biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security. A national security assessment). It barely caused a ripple in terms of political or public response.

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Climate Change

The sustainability and climate change strategy for education states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan”. It is not clear whether this has been achieved.

Curriculum and Assessment Review

The Department for Education’s 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review positions climate change and sustainability education more prominently than any previous national policy document. But climate education is mostly framed in relation to economic opportunity. The review recognises that climate change and sustainability education in England is weak, fragmented and often entirely absent. Climate change is scarcely visible in the primary curriculum for example. It also recognises that pedagogy, not just curriculum content - is vital in influencing how learners engage with climate change issues, but just naming this need isn’t enough. We are not alone in recognising the importance of head, heart and hands in meaningful learning (National Association for Environmental Education). Farms continue to provide incredible ‘on the doorstep’ opportunities for hands-on engagement with climate change, in terms of impact and mitigation.

Education Summary 2025

3. Government Review – Curriculum & Assessment

4. Teacher Recruitment & Retention

Challenges:

Vacancies Rise: Teacher shortages are consistently worse in disadvantaged schools, and the gap is getting wider compared to pre-pandemic trends.

Retention Issues:

1. Budget Allocation (2025)

2. Home Schooling – Continued Growth

• More than 175,900 children were electively home educated at some point in the 2024/25 academic year, a 15% rise on the previous year. [news.sky.com]. Mental health (16%), SEND needs (16%) and philosophical reasons (12%) were key factors. [news.sky.com] The data shows a growing proportion of home-educated children have additional needs and families often cite insufficient SEND support in schools. [edexec.co.uk]

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5. Socio-Economic Disparities

Persistent Disadvantage:

• In 2025, 32% of pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 were considered disadvantaged, with a 22-percentage point gap in reaching expected standards in reading, writing, and maths compared to non-disadvantaged pupils.

• By the end of primary school in 2024, approximately 19% of pupils were identified as persistently disadvantaged (eligible for FSM for most of their school lives).

• Free School Meal (FSM) Eligibility: The attainment gap between pupils eligible for FSM and those not eligible remained substantial. At age 5, there was a consistent gap of around 20 percentage points in achieving a ‘good level of development.’ At Key Stage 4, the gap widened further.

Regional Disparities: School readiness for children in disadvantaged areas shows a 9.6% gap compared to wealthier areas, with roughly 45% of children receiving Free School Meals not deemed “school ready”. In some areas, only 52% of children in deprived areas are considered school-ready, compared to 86% in more advantaged locations.

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Our Farm, Food and Residential Coordinators are located across England and North Wales delivering hands-on, real-world food and farm experiences.

We have a well-established, highly skilled team.

Image right: locations of our Coodinator team.

In 2025 we continued to embed our greenlighting process, only authorising activity once funding has been secured. Through discussion we have made progress in aligning the timing of some of our bigger grants and donations with the timing of the booking and delivery of our programmes, though the majority of our funding is still received in the year in which we will spend it. Our Coordinators are self-employed, and we know that the continued misalignment causes financial uncertainty for them. During 2025 we worked on creating a small operating reserve to allow us to pilot (in 2026) authorising activity for which we had not yet received the funding. Our aim would then be to ‘refill’ the reserve as and when funding is received.

Our Farm in a Box National Programme and our Soil Health campaign enable us to reach schools located in the country’s most deprived areas where we don’t yet have a presence on the ground.

Image left: Locations of Farm in a Box Schools 2024.

691 schools supported in the 24-25 academic year

On average, 41.8% of children in the schools we work with meet EVER6 FSM* criteria. The national average is 26.3%

*Have been entitled to free schools meals at any time during the last 6 years.

Image right: The locations of schools participating in all our programmes in 2024/5.

Over 6,000 schools eligible for our support

We’re dedicated to supporting the most persistently disadvantaged children.

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Our impact at a glance

(statistics taken from evaluation of activities during the 2024-5 academic year)

Pupil impact

Teacher impact

Our reach - 2024/5 academic year

Over 20,300 children on farm visits:

Farm Discovery: 18,031 Food Discovery: 1,609 Residentials: 675

Over 32,000 children engaging with our core programmes:

Farm Discovery: 18,031 Food Discovery: 1,609 Residentials: 675 Farm in a Box: 11,727

Over 181,700 hours of engagement:

Farm Discovery: 72,124 (4 hrs per child) Food Discovery: 24,000 (14.9 hrs per child) Residentials: 24,300 (36 hrs per child) Farm in a Box: 46,908 (4 hrs per child) Farm in a Bag: 10,076 (2 hrs per child) Residential in a Box: 4,358 (2 hrs per child)

On average 41.8% of children in the schools we work with, meet EVER6 FSM criteria. (The National average is 25.9%) 10%* of eligible schools in Decile 1 of the Index of Multiple Deprivation engaged in our programmes.

691 Total number of schools we have worked with across our core In addition, this year, programmes. 26,765

children are estimated to have taken part in our soil health campaign ‘Plant your Pants’ supported by 3,283 adults.

95% of children

100% of teachers

said that their relationship with their pupils improved as a result of a Country Trust residential.

felt that farms were important after their visit (+11% compared to last year’s data).

100% of teachers

92% of teachers

reported bringing more elements of food and farming and more realworld learning activities into their classroom teaching after their farm visit.

said that Country Trust programmes gave their pupils new opportunities and experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have accessed.

93% of children

100% of teachers

said their residential experience made them feel happier or healthier.

reported feeling more confident leading cooking sessions , teaching about food and farming and teaching planting and growing after Food Discovery.

91% of children

said they were trying to eat more fruit and vegetables after taking part in Food Discovery.

99% of teachers

said that all or most of their children applied their learning in a new context during their farm visit, or made a connection to their previous learning.

89% of children

said they had done something for the their farm visit. first time during

We are particularly proud that we continue to see evidence of teachers changing their practice because of their increased confidence and connection with food and farming following their time with us, and the positive impact they have seen our programmes have on their children.

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Farm Discovery

Day visits to working farms for school and community groups. These are led by our Coordinators who work with host farmers and teachers/group leaders to ensure a safe visit with appropriate sensory experiences and hands-on activities. Provided free of charge.

Food Discovery

A Country Trust Coordinator takes a class on a journey through food: growing vegetables, preparing and cooking meals, tasting produce, visiting local farms, running their own markets, and experiencing the joy of sharing a feast. The depth of the programme gives children the time to explore many aspects of food. Schools make a contribution if they can.

Countryside Residentials Immersing children in the countryside for 2-4 days, Coordinators organise and support a tailored programme, including a farm visit, working with teachers and third party providers to ensure a memorable, safe, and happy time away from home. We provide a subsidy of at least a third.

Farm in a Box

A box of hands-on, sensory farm-centred activities plus video content created on a theme by The Country Trust, ordered and presented by teachers in eligible schools. Centrally packed and distributed and provided free of charge.

Sustaining Impact

Supporting teachers to be the gateway to opportunity for children and sustain the impact of our programmes through the provision of: digital resources including ‘seeds to supper’; CPD for some schools; and through modelling by and conversation with our Coordinators. Provided free of charge.

Residential in a Box A digital/physical resource to support Outdoor Learning Centres to better prepare and support children, parents and teachers from disadvantaged communities for their residential and to increase their engagement. Provided free of charge.

Plant Your Pants Soil Health campaign

Our public facing campaign designed to enable people of all ages to discover the wonderful and vital life of the soil. Planting cotton pants and digging them up 8 weeks later is a fun and engaging way to make the invisible life of the soil visible.

Provided free of charge.

Farm in a Bag

5 sensory activity cards with matching hands-on resources from the farm, a presentation about the farm and a welcome video from the farmer. Given to the teacher at the pre-visit to use before the visit and then returned at the visit ready to be reused. Provided free of charge.

Our Values:

We believe you grow by learning from others

We think the quality of our connections with others has an important effect on who we can be and what we can do

We are active participants in a world which inspires and sustains us

We want everyone to know that their contribution is welcome and valued

We aspire to be child-centred, no matter what our role is

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Impact on children

Our Programmes : Farm Discovery

Visits to working farms and estates are at the heart of all Country Trust programmes. Farm Discovery has now been running for over 40 years, reaching children across England and North Wales. Each year, we collaborate with innovative farmers and estate managers to provide thousands of disadvantaged children with immersive, hands-on experiences in food and farming.

In partnership with our farmer hosts, group leaders, and teachers, we carefully design Farm Discovery visits to meet the specific needs of each class or group. Visits are brought alive with hands-on activities designed to meet the needs of each group and connect with the curriculum. Whether it is planting seeds, exploring soil life, meeting livestock or connecting classroom science to renewable energy on the farm, children are encouraged to explore, question and discover. For many, these visits are their first real encounter with farming, and they leave with experiences that continue to shape their learning and outlook long after the day is over.

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93%
of children awarded
their visit 4 or 5 stars
18,031 out of 5.
children from 381 72,124
schools across the learning hours.
academic year.
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Themes of qualitative feedback

So when my mum and my sister eat cheese, it has milk in it? My brain is blown!

-Pupil

Impact on teachers

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“This trip is so much more than a day out - it is a vital part of our curriculum and a key way we broaden our children’s horizons. By seeing, hearing, and even touching real animals, the children build a deeper understanding of where their food comes from and how the natural world works. This handson learning experience supports their language development, curiosity, and confidence, giving context to topics we explore in the classroom. For our pupils, whose life experiences can be limited by circumstance, the farm trip is a powerful way to bring learning to life. It inspires awe, encourages questions, and helps every child to develop the cultural capital they need to thrive both in and out of school.”

“This was one of the best trips that I and the children have ever been on! The staff went above and beyond to welcome us and show us around the farm. Each staff member was kind and considerate to all of our children and pitched each learning experience beautifully at the correct level for them. They were extremely flexible and understanding on our late arrival and quickly changed plans to ensure our children did not miss out. Open ended activities were planned to facilitate the children’s learning and curiosity. Simple but very effective. The farm provided our children with an experience they have never had and the space to enjoy and appreciate nature. A big thank you to the Coordinator who carefully organised the trip with us. Meeting via video call and in person to make sure we felt prepared and happy.”

- Teacher, Ark King Solomon Academy

“Some of our most vulnerable learners came to life during this visit. We have a number of children with special educational needs and we literally saw a spark ignite inside their minds. Learning opportunities like this are few and far between.”

“One little boy doesn’t attend school regularly but had turned up as he wanted to come to the farm. He doesn’t speak much English so struggles in the classroom. The whole day he was asking questions and engaged, and was telling me lots about his life in Romania.”

“One Pupil who struggles to read and write wanted to know more about being a sheep shearer as he thinks he would like to do it as a job, and farmer Jemma has invited him back to the farm next year when the shearers are in - which the Headteacher is very excited about - This boy had 10% attendance 2 years ago and thrived on the farm today.”

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“My favourite bit of the visit was lying in the field with my eyes closed, listening to all the birds.”

“I really enjoyed feeding the goats and hens. I loved taking my hen egg home and my mum cooked it that night for my tea. I learnt about some of the plants in the wildlife garden. I saw the swallows in the house roof and I didn’t know that birds travelled to the other side of the world.”

“Making flour, going on the tractors and feeling all the different types of seeds and different crops - I will remember everything!”

“The plants they all were so good especially the wild berries and the Logan berries and I have never seen anything like goose berries and blueberries. So it was outstanding.”

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Case Study : Wolverham Primary School

To protect identities, the image above does not feature any of the children from this case study.

We spoke to a teacher and five pupils from Year 3 at Wolverham Primary School. They reflected on their Farm Discovery visit which had taken place 7 months earlier.

She recalled one boy who had been transformed by the visit.

Wolverham Primary School and Nursery is located in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. 45.5% of their pupils are eligible for free school meals, almost twice the national average.

“ When he first saw the cows he was terrified because he’s never seen anything like that before. By the end of the morning he was hand feeding a cow. That really stuck in my mind.”

The Year 3 teacher described the school as being in “ A very, very deprived area...high free school meals...low student experience.”

To ensure they are providing their children with a rounded education, she explained that the school tries to arrange a lot of trips as they feel that “it’s important for us to spend that money on giving the children those experiences that they probably wouldn’t get at home” . She said that while some children’s families will take them to places, many do not, and at the end of the holidays, it is not unusual for many children to have “only gone as far as the local park” .

The 5 pupils recalled their visit vividly and with much enthusiasm. They were very keen to share their memories of the day and what they had learnt.

“ We met the cows! We got to feed them with lots of different ingredients.”

And reflect on how the visit had helped them learn more about where food comes from, and how farmers work together with nature:

The class teacher expressed that the Farm visit was “one of my best trips I’ve ever been on and I’ve been working here for 22 years!” She said she had “probably not seen a class so happy” as they were that day on the farm and emphasised the longer-term impact of the trip, with discussions in class often referring back to the experience, and the class frequently reflecting on the visit and linking it to their new learning.

“ Most food comes from animals because chickens give us eggs and a cow will give us beef and milk and a pig will give us meat too.

“It’s like a circle because the food grows and the cow eats it. The cow makes the manure, and then the farmers take it and put it where the food is growing. The food grows again... it keeps going and going.”

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Impact on children

Our Programmes : Food Discovery

At the end of the Food Discovery programme,

The Food Discovery programme works to support children to develop healthy relationships with food, early on in their lives, aiming to overcome the inequalities and challenges they face. Through a year-long programme including a farm visit, planting and cooking sessions and a playground market, children are supported by expert Food Discovery Coordinators to build their food confidence, learn how to make informed food choices and prepare simple, nutritious meals.

Our Food Discovery programmes immerse children in every stage of the farm to fork journey - growing, cooking, tasting, and even selling food. Pupils learn how to prepare soil, plant, nurture, and harvest seasonal vegetables and herbs. With our support, schools connect Food Discovery to key curriculum topics and foster meaningful discussions about the environment and the wider world.

Children are introduced to a variety of healthy foods and are encouraged to explore new tastes and smells in a safe, supportive space. They learn how to cook affordable, nutritious meals using the crops they’ve grown alongside other simple, wholesome ingredients. Through visits to local farms, pupils gain insight into large-scale crop production. They put their maths skills to use by running a Playground Market, selling produce to parents and peers, and conclude the programme by preparing a Harvest Feast to share with family, friends, and farmers.

The programme cascades into the home, as children take home meals they have prepared and windowsill gardens to grow at home. We have found that the programme has a lasting impact on the children and families, and that the positive impact of the programme has reached throughout the school and encouraged them to improve their outdoor spaces.

“Some people say nature is not important but it is, we get our food from nature and we need to look after nature, we are part of nature”

“I like watering and clearing out the beds… It just makes us feel happy and I don’t get why... it just feels really nice for me. I really like planting the seeds, it’s just kinda fun. Getting my hands in the soil, it makes me feel happy”

“We’re learning about food, if you go to the shop it costs money but if you grow a plant, you can get it for free!”

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Impact on teachers

After taking part in Food Discovery...

“Many of our children come from low income families and do not always have a varied diet as fresh fruit can be expensive. This has given them an opportunity to try new foods and develop their tastes.”

“One child who will not try new foods at all, and who has a packed lunch, tried the food at the harvest feast which was amazing! This made my year.”

“The Food Discovery sessions have allowed me to see another side to pupils who struggle academically but have thrived in these sessions and have learned valuable life skills. It’s been lovely to connect with the children during these sessions and it’s given me further insight into the lives of the pupils in my class.”

“ Thank you so much Charlotte - you have brought to our children an experience beyond what we as class teachers could have offered and we are very appreciative of how thoughtful you have been towards the children and our needs.”

Impact on parents

Feedback from teachers, parents and students provides evidence that the programme is engaging and inspiring and effectively supports children to try new foods, engage with nature and develop healthy relationships with food.

“The teacher and the children discussed that school lunch options only include white bread which wasn’t healthy. As a result of these conversations the class rep took the feedback to the school council meetings and the menu has changed and the bread is now ‘best of both’.”

Ben* is a year 4 pupil who attends St Gregory’s RC Primary, where 37.2% of children have been eligible for free school meals in the last 6 years. The school is situated in Farnworth, Bolton,

Case Study : St Gregory’s RC School

Ben took part in Food Discovery with the rest of his class in year 3. His teacher said, “There’s no diagnosis there or anything, but he has fluctuated with his behaviour before and he does find traditional learning, if you like, quite difficult at times” . At the start of Food Discovery, she said she was “a little bit apprehensive of how’s he going to behave out there.”

Jannine, the Country Trust Coordinator running the programme, said she remembered Ben as a boy “who asked a lot of questions and he really wanted to learn and really engaged with the practical stuff and absolutely loved the farm visit” .

Ben said that he had found Food Discovery “exciting” because he enjoyed spending “more time...outside, like with your friends, you could do more stuff together.” Doing ‘stuff together’ was something that Ben came back to: his favourite thing was “when we was planting the fruit, because it was really fun ‘cause you could be in pairs or threes and all of you could pick some seeds and then we could plant it” . The impact of Food Discovery on the class’s teamwork was also something his teacher brought up: “ You can see that they’ve been able to work in groups”.

She remembered that Ben found the growing sessions, “beneficial in terms of when he came back in from being outside” and that he was “a lot calmer, he was more ready to learn.”

Ben suggested that taking part in Food Discovery had helped his self-belief: when asked what Food Discovery had taught him, he very insightfully responded “It taught me that I am more helpful than I think.” He went on to say that when

he had made soup in Food Discovery, his family “really liked it”. As a result of this, he claimed that in the year since he had finished Food Discovery, “now I’m also [making soup] for when we like go out for trips and stuff” .

Ben said that when he had the opportunity to do something new, he felt “a bit scared but I still want to try it.” Food Discovery had given him these opportunities: “I’d never tried peppers but when we made the soup...I put in peppers just to try it and then like, I actually really like peppers now!”

The class teacher felt that Food Discovery had supported her children with science and DT in particular, and one year on, Ben was still able to demonstrate good retention of knowledge around soil and compost, explaining, “Compost is a bit like soil, but instead the compost is very different...cause compost welcomes worms” and he also had good general understanding of how humans need to look after themselves. He had learnt that food is important for our “digestion system and it will like give you nutrition into your bones [and] your internal organs” and also that “you should be outside daily to get lots of vitamin D and vitamin C...because them two are really good for your body” .

Ben’s teacher felt that “having that freedom and learning in a completely different way, that probably [met] his needs better has really made that difference.” Country Trust Coordinator, Jannine, said that she feels that enabling children to engage with nature “gives them an inner power, so that they know they can always go back there, that that is a happy place for them.”

*Pupil name has been changed

To protect identities, the image above does not feature any of the children from this case study.

Countryside Discovery Residentials

This year we have focused on embedding our programmes in two new regions; Sussex and The Lake District. Through continuing to hone our systems and deepen regional relationships, we have been able to see the value of an offer which reduces both financial and practical strain on teachers and families. Through successfully enabling nearly 700 pupils to join us on residentials this year we have been able to provide new, valuable experiences that celebrate, connect and explore our complex but vital relationship with the land that sustains us all.

For many children, the chance to step away from the classroom and into some of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes is a significant and memorable part of their school life. During a residential, The Country Trust enables children not only to explore the countryside but to begin to read the landscape, developing a sense of connection and belonging in places they may never have visited before. These experiences help children understand that their own health and the health of the planet are deeply intertwined. Alongside this, residentials bring a host of other benefits: stronger relationships with peers and teachers, opportunities to shine in new ways outside the classroom, and the discovery of activities and environments that make children feel healthier and happier.

In the Lake District, thanks to funding from the Ernest Cook Trust, we were also able to offer pre- and post-visit sessions to our four original schools. These sessions introduced the concept of the butterfly effect, encouraging children to explore how the actions of individuals and groups can ripple out to influence the wider world. This approach helped put children in a positive frame of mind ahead of their residentials and supported more meaningful reflection afterwards. We look forward to assessing the impact of this further in the coming year. In Sussex, we also ensured that our new Coordinator visited pupils in every incoming school before their residential. Schools reported that this proactive step significantly helped to reduce pupil anxieties. Looking ahead, we are eager to seek funding that would allow us to extend both the pre/post-sessions and the CPD piloted in the Lake District - across our other residential programmes.

The residential will help me realise the vital importance of children experiencing the outdoors and outdoor working environments. Many children have since told me how much they valued the experience and it will no doubt change their lives forever.

Teacher feedback

Impact on children

residential.

I tried new foods, it can be good having confidence trying new things.

I was away from the internet which made me realise there are better things to do.

I haven’t been on my ipad for over 48 hours.

Outside makes me happy!

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Impact on teachers

Parents

Last year we identified the need to engage more with parents, and thanks to Ernest Cook Trust funding, we have taken important steps forward. Our conversations with three parent groups have offered valuable insight relating to the challenges and worries of parents of children with SEND needs and the cultural and community contexts that some of the children we are working with are coming from. As Professor Miles Richardson has highlighted, nature engagement has been declining since the industrial revolution, and our three parent forums this year provided unparalleled insight into this multi-generational issue. Parents spoke openly about a huge range of issues, some of which were focused on their own relationships with the countryside.

“What if they come back and ask me where meat comes from? I don’t want to have that discussion.”

“My son loves dirt - that’s fine at school but not at home, I don’t like it at all.”

“We have a local park but this is not a safe space so it is not a place for play or for us to feel at ease.”

“I tried to create a greener community space but it has been destroyed. When you can’t get out of the city but you can’t create these spaces safely, where can you go?”

“All of the children were upset to leave on the last day on the farm. Most of the group sensed a connection to the farm. One particular boy had never been allowed on a school trip before. He had been expelled from a previous school 3 times before. The visit was his first ever. Mum had mental health issues, his older sibling was in care. He flourished during the visit.”

“As a team, we really enjoyed watching our children transform into curious and inquisitive learners, displaying a keen interest in everything they encountered. Their enthusiasm made the experience truly special and memorable for everyone involved!”

These conversations have helped us to better understand the context in which we are working and where some of the barriers come from - not just for children and teachers, but for families and communities too.

“As a team our favourite thing about the residential trip was witnessing the incredible transformations in the children. Those who usually lack confidence truly shone as they explored the outdoors freely, asking questions that really extended their learning. It was heartwarming to see them pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and trying new activities, whether it was petting animals on the farm, navigating a long walk along the river, or riding a pony. The joy and enthusiasm on their faces was infectious, and it made me realise how vital these experiences are for their growth. It’s moments like these that make teaching so rewarding!”

Farm in a Bag was developed with the help of funding from ‘Farming in Protected Landscapes’ and is designed to prepare children for their visit, to give them some basic knowledge to build on, some familiarity with the farm and the farmer in advance and to start engaging their curiosity.

Before children even set foot on a farm, Farm in a Bag helps to spark their curiosity and build excitement. Delivered to schools ahead of a visit, each bag is full of sensory activities that bring a taste of the countryside into the classroom. Children can feel different textures from the farm, listen to sounds, and even try something linked to their upcoming visit. They also explore a map showing where the farm sits in relation to their school and hear directly from the farmer through photos, sound clips and a short presentation.

For many pupils this is the very first time they have thought about what a farm is really like, and the thought of going to such a completely different new world can be overwhelming for some, especially those who may never have left their community before. Farm in a Bag gives them a chance to build some familiarity, learn a little about the farmer they will meet, and start asking questions before the big day arrives. Teachers tell us that this preparation helps children feel more confident and engaged once they step onto the farm, ready to connect their classroom learning with real life.

In 2024/25, we delivered 238 Farm in a Bags, preparing more than 5,038 children for their farm visits. Reusable and designed to be shared across schools, Farm in a Bag is a simple idea that makes a powerful difference: transforming a farm visit from a one-off trip into a journey of discovery that begins in the classroom.

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The box was fab and definitely exceeded our expectations. It was fun and a great way to engage and teach the children.

Very versatile for many areas of our curriculum!

The difference we make – Farm in a Box

Our ‘Farm in a Box’ programme supports children and educators to have a farm-centred experience without leaving their school grounds. Full of hands-on resources, each Box helps to spark children’s curiosity, develop their confidence and support them to make a real connection with the wider world of food, farming and the countryside.

In partnership with family bakers, Warburtons, over 47,300 children have experienced the Discover Wheat Farm in a Box since we began the initiative in 2021. More schools access the digital resources via Warburton’s Bake the Most of Life education hub.

Impact of Farm in a Box

We plan on using the box during whole class session and then move into smaller groups. We also plan on using the box with our SEND class in the afternoon during exploring time.

Our Headteacher said the box was brilliant, lovely and sensory.

The box will really support our children to understand where their food comes from. Some of these children haven’t left the city, never mind seen a farm.

Full of informative resources that were very easy to understand and use... our children were absolutely engrossed...We plan to use the box again every year.

opportunities to interact with the natural world.

All schools that attend a Country Trust residential are sent a digital teacher pack, including a link to online ‘Residential in a Box’ (RIAB) resources. These were developed with support from The Ernest Cook Trust as part of the OWL collaboration and are also available on OWL residentials. Resources include a journey journal and activities that explore children’s feelings ahead of a residential, help build teamwork and introduce some of the new sensory experiences children may encounter. Documents to share with parents, both to prepare for the residential beforehand and to embed learning afterwards, are also included. In addition, some schools are sent a physical RIAB to support preand post-residential sessions.

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Getting hands in the soil

Soil Campaign - Plant Your Pants!

In 2024/25, soil based activities featured in all of our programmes.

These activities included...

Soil is the most species-rich habitat on Earth, it’s home to 59% of life on our planet, and around 95% of our food depends on it (Anthony et al, 2023). But survey data reveals that around 40% of children don’t know that soil is important for the food they eat, and 1/3 of children don’t have the opportunity to put their hands in soil – either through play or activities such as gardening (Childwise, 2023).

Plant Your Pants 2025

Through our annual Plant Your Pants campaign, we continue to champion and celebrate soil. Unlike previous years, the 2025 public engagement campaign placed a stronger emphasis on influential adults as key enablers - helping children get their hands into the soil, wherever they were in the country. This call to action aligns closely with the Trust’s mission and the work delivered through our core programmes.

In 2025, 26,765 children were registered for the Plant Your Pants campaign, supported by 3,283 adults. All registrants received free access to a suite of resources, including sensory emails containing films, activities, and articles that guided participants on a journey to explore soil through each of the five senses.

Planting, growing, composting, putting hands in the soil, comparing soil types, observing soil through a microscope and looking for minibeasts.

...and covered a wide range of learning areas such as...

Soil health, biodiversity in soil, soil composition, erosion and flooding.

Children were not keen to touch the soil in the morning .. saying that they hated getting dirty. For the afternoon session, Farmer Andrew dug a large hole with the digger to show the different levels in the soil. For the final hour the children were totally absorbed playing with the soil... Touching it, finding worms, squishing it in their fingers, crumbling the sand stone lumps, making shapes - even a mud man!...

I watched one girl for about 5 minutes running the soil through her fingers, looking at it up close and even listening to it as she rubbed it!

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Our Policy Work

In the 2024/25 academic year, The Country Trust has been an active voice for the integration of food literacy, ecological literacy, and real-world learning into the national curriculum. Our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review was developed in conversation with the Food Education Network, NFU and many others, and in partnership with Sorted Food whose community engagement strengthened the public voice of our response.

This led to invitations to participate in steering groups for the Cooking and Nutrition Stakeholder Group and the Enrichment Framework consultation, where we were able to further explore with the Department for Education (DfE) how, farming, and nature education could be foundational parts of the recommendations for the future curriculum. We also championed two petitions seeking to further integrate these themes into the education system.

We continue to closely monitor the status of Educational Access Payments (Ed1), the proposed transformation to a capital-style payment known as VED1 and how these plans will integrate with the reforms relating to SFI.

The Country Trust has been present at more events and panels than ever, exploring how we can use our experience to ensure that food, farming, and nature education are an integral part of childhood and a healthier, more sustainable future for all. This has included the Nature Connections Conference, the Hackney School of Food’s Reframing Food Conference and attending DEFRA workshops supporting the Access to Nature Green Paper alongside continuing to be part of the Nature Premium Steering Group, Countryside Classroom, Fair Education Alliance and other collectives relating to our work.

Fantastic experience which enabled children who wouldn’t normally contribute to relax, explore and develop knowledge of farming and how food and farming are connected. All children should have this real life experience.

We used the visit to improve our student’s communication skills. Our students have additional needs that make things like communicating effectively difficult. The shared experiences from the visit were used to build enriching activities towards this focus.

Fantastic visit. We have now done this for the past 4 or 5 years and it is something we will continue to do.

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Longer Term Impact of Our Work

Broadening children’s horizons: helping them imagine a range of possible futures

Our programmes create lasting impact by opening doors to experiences many children would never otherwise have. Our interviews with children a year after their trip to the farm showed just how vividly these experiences endure. They recalled making bread from grain they had ground themselves, building dens from sticks, and investigating insects. The “Plant Your Pants” experiment prompted animated discussion even months later, as the children speculated on how and why the cotton had broken down in the soil. These memories were not just isolated moments of fun, they linked what they learned on the farm to wider topics at school, from art to science to cooking.

Crucially, these experiences deepen children’s understanding of food, farming, and the environment. One child explained how seeds become food through a natural life cycle, others spoke about natural fertilisers, the role of bees, and the risks of chemicals in our food chain. The impact goes further than knowledge. Some children leave with new ambitions, dreaming of becoming farmers, chefs, or scientists - while others simply discover the joy of being outdoors, away from screens. For all of them, these visits open up a world of new possibilities, fostering curiosity, confidence, and a sense of connection with the natural world.

By opening a window onto the countryside and the world of farming, we give children the chance to imagine different futures for themselves and to see the world, and their place in it, from a fresh perspective.

I want to work in an outdoor place.

I am not Noah anymore, I am Chef Noah!

One child said he would love to be a farmer but he didn’t have enough money to be one, and was delighted to hear that he could go to college to learn how to farm and then get an apprenticeship with a farmer.

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Farming in Protected Landscapes

As a result of Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) funding, by March 2025, The Country Trust had delivered 573 farm visits across 11 Protected Landscapes, reaching 14,626 children from disadvantaged communities. These visits directly contributed to the FiPL priorities of Climate, Place, and People, building connections to nature, farming, and the countryside. Each visit is tailored to the children and to the opportunities on the farm, but overall visits included:

Climate: Farm visits run by The Country Trust introduced children to sustainable farming practices, emphasising their role in mitigating climate change and enhancing biodiversity.

Activities demonstrated:

FiPL funding ensured schools could access these landscapes by subsidising travel costs, particularly vital for schools serving deprived communities.

People: The Country Trust provides visits for disadvantaged children, children who may never, or only rarely have, the opportunity to explore beyond their community. Schools who took part in the programme have a high proportion of their children eligible for Free School Meals, or with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The FiPL funded projects had a transformative impact on both participants and farmers by:

• Engaging children from diverse backgrounds, including ethnic minorities, SEND pupils, and non-school groups like refugees. Farm visits connect urban children with rural communities, breaking down barriers and strengthening understanding between different parts of society.

Children learnt about nature, farming, and sustainability through hands on activities, building the next generation’s awareness of climate change, biodiversity, and responsible food production. A more environmentally literate public supports better decision-making in the future.

Place: The visits provided opportunities for children to connect with Protected Landscapes, providing first-hand experiences and promoting understanding of their local environment and its significance.

Key outcomes included:

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Learning

As a learning organisation, we consistently reflect on our experiences, acknowledging both our successes and areas for improvement. We also look outward to understand the broader educational and societal contexts in which we operate. With this in mind, we have identified key areas for development in the coming year that we believe will maximise the impact of our programmes.

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Strategic direction

This will be the final year of our 5 Year Plan and we will continue to connect tens of thousands of children with the land, including significant numbers for whom we will be providing ‘first’ opportunities.

Our 5 Year Plan

The need and demand for our work continues to grow significantly. Our five-year strategy is underpinned by our Theory of Change and centres around our ambition to greatly increase the number of children who have access to meaningful food, farming and land centred opportunities and experiences.

The 5 pillars of the Plan are:

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FundraisingFundraising

Income increased by 19% and expenditure increased by 1% in comparison to 2024 (to £1,843,748 and £1,563,294) The net outcome was more positive than expected with expenditure lower than budgeted; 28% of our income was unrestricted; £340k of income received in 2025 was deferred to 2026 because it relates to the planned delivery of activity in the spring and summer terms.

We were pleased to finish the year with a surplus. This has enabled us to build a small operating reserve, the use of which we intend to pilot in 2026. Schools and farmers need to plan ahead in order to be able to participate in our programmes, including the booking of transport. However, there is often a gap between when this commitment needs to happen and when we are confident we have raised the funding for those programmes, and we therefore risk having to turn schools away.

We will be piloting the use of the operating reserve to bridge these timing gaps, our aim being that we can confidently plan with schools and farmers and enable as many children as possible to access our programmes.

Controls

Financial management consists of monthly management accounts that are distributed to all Trustees for review. Monthly forecasting enables Trustees to view the financial landscape ahead along with a mid-year review and detailed consideration in the third quarter prior to preparing the budget for the following year. Our Finance Sub Committee meets regularly to provide additional scrutiny and support.

Reserves policy

Trustees operate a RAG approach to assessing reserves with a green zone of between 3-4.5 months of operating reserves. Based on our expenditure budget for 2026 this would indicate a reserves level of approximately £461,250-£691,875. This includes provision for an operating reserve to allow us to try to better align

the timing of delivery (and committing to operating costs) and the receipt of income.

Our aim is for at least a break even budget again in 2026 but should our monitoring indicate any cause for concern we will take prompt action.

At the year-end, the charity had total reserves of £810,980, of which £170,804 were restricted and £640,176 were unrestricted.

The Board has adopted the Charity Governance Code and is working through the eight principles to ensure good governance.

Legal and ethical fundraising remains a key objective of the Trustees, and they take their responsibilities with regard to proper fundraising practice very seriously. They are guided by the Charity Commission’s Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20 updated February 2026) as well as the Charity Governance Code (updated 2025). The Country Trust is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and we fully engaged with the updating of the Code of Fundraising Practice in 2025, attending training and sharing key implications across the organisation.

In 2025, approximately 57% of our income came from charitable trusts and foundations (56% in 2024),15% from government bodies (exclusively Farming in Protected Landscapes, 15% in 2024) 17% from companies (16% in 2024), 4% from other donations (6% in 2024), and 6% from service users (6% 2024), primarily schools in the form of the balance of the cost of residential visits after our subsidy has been applied, or as a contribution from schools towards the cost of Food Discovery programmes.

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Fundraising

The Charity will comply with requests issued by the Fundraising Preference Service. The Charity strives to maintain GDPR compliance and is registered with the ICO.

Donors to The Country Trust can be assured that:

Principal funding sources

As described above the Charity continues to derive most of its funding from grant making trusts, but with a growing number of companies now supporting our work. We continued to sustain a good percentage of funding within multi-year agreements. For the first time in 2025, funds were raised for us through a live streamed gaming for good event ‘Pixels to Pastures’ with the Farming Simulator community.

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Our Partners & Supporters

The Country Trust is supported by a significant number of organisations, companies and individuals. We would like to thank all of our supporters for their encouragement and commitment to our mission. Including:

Longer term supporters such as AGCO Foundation, Anguish Educational Foundation, Ardian, Aurora Trust, Bernard Sunley Foundation, Chadacre Agricultural Trust, CLA Charitable Trust, Dove’s Farm, Dulverton Trust, Ernest Cook Trust, Frontier Agriculture, Garfield Weston, Gerald Palmer Eling Trust, Girdlers Livery Company, Impax Asset Management, John Lewis Partnership, Linbury Trust, Muckle LLP, Norwich Freemen’s Charity, Peacock Charitable Trust, The Adrian Swire Charitable Trust, Warburtons, Westminster Foundation, AIM Foundation, Bettys and Taylors, de Brito Foundation, DCR Allen Trust, Farming in Protected Landscapes, Future Biogas, Lujenna Educational Trust, Merchant Taylors’ Foundation, Müller, South of England Agricultural Society, Barbour Foundation, David Laing Foundation, Dumbreck Trust, Eleanor Rathbone Trust, Fowler Smith & Jones, Hadrian Trust, Hiscox Foundation, Laura Capel Trust, Manydown Charitable Trust, 29 May 1961 Charitable Trust, Mote Farm, Nineveh Charitable Trust, Northumberland Freemasons, Reece Foundation, Ridley Family Trust, Mrs LD Rope Charitable Settlement, Simon Gibson Trust, Sir James Knott Trust, St Nicholas Educational Trust, Tesco Stronger Starts, WA Handley Charitable Trust, Wheler Foundation, Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

New supporters such as the Duke of Devonshire Charitable Trust, National Garden Scheme, National Gas Transmission Network, P F Charitable Trust, Pilkington Charities Fund, Suffolk Community Foundation, Tees Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust.

Thank you too, to our President, Vice Presidents, Ambassadors and Champions for advocating and networking on our behalf.

We are proud to work in partnership with other charities and organisations in networks such as the Fair Education Alliance, the Food Education Network, the Access to Farms Group, Countryside Classroom, the Nature Premium Campaign, OWL and RankNet.

Transport costs

Requests for transport subsidies continued to rise in 2025 as school budgets and parental income continued to be squeezed. The total cost of subsidies in 2025 reached £110,923 (£100,216 in 2024, £80,072 in 2023) – an 11% increase on 2024, though the availability of FiPL funding for subsidies continued to play a key role in that figure. Transport subsidies are offered in addition to providing the Farm Discovery visits free of charge. Regional differences in transport costs are very significant with London schools paying sometimes three times as much for coach travel as a school in the north of England.

----- Start of picture text -----
Significant
Increases in 2025 £110,923
Transport
Costs
2024 £100,216
School budget cuts
and the cost-of-living
crisis have significantly
increased demand for
2023 £80,072
transport subsidies,
further stretching our
fundraising.
0 20k 40k 60k 80k 100k 120k
Cost in £
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72 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

73

Structure, Governance and Management

Structure

The Country Trust was founded in 1978 and is registered with the Charity Commission under Charity Number 1122103. The Board of Trustees, President, Board of Vice Presidents, Ambassadors, Chief Executive Officer, senior staff members and professional advisers are listed on page 1.

On the 23rd November 2007 the Country Trust was incorporated; it became a company limited by guarantee and not having share capital. On the 1st January 2008, the Charity commenced trading as an incorporated Charity. The Company number is 6436266 and the registered address is shown on page 1.

Governing document

Recruitment and training of Trustees

Trustees are recruited as and when required through advertising, personal recommendation and through the recommendation of third-party advisors according to the Board’s specifications concerning eligibility, personal competence, and specialist skills. Potential candidates are invited to apply and are interviewed by the Chair and at least one other Trustee. Successful applicants are co-opted to join the Board until their appointment is confirmed. Three Trustees stepped down during the year (the Co-Chair of Trustees for family reasons, one who had reached the end of their term, and one for health reasons) and one was appointed. One Trustee was appointed as Chair and one as Vice Chair. Four trustees completed their standard safeguarding training and one completed their lead safeguarding training.

The Charity is governed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Country Trust Ltd. which was slightly amended in 2025.

Organisational management

Governing Body

The structure of the Charity consists of a Board of Trustees and a Chief Executive supported by a Senior Leadership Team. The Board of Trustees is a self-appointing body and includes a good gender balance and a range of experience. Several Trustees have direct experience of our services either as teachers or active farmer hosts. Trustees with the relevant experience have particular responsibility for Finance and Safeguarding. In 2025, a Lawyer with charity experience was recruited as the Governance trustee. The Chief Executive reports directly to the Chair of Trustees and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Charity. The Charity is very fortunate to be supported by a President, Vice Presidents, Ambassadors and Champions who are an advisory, networking and fundraising resource.

The Charity’s Trustees are legally responsible for the overall management and control of the Charity. The Board of Trustees meets at least four times a year to discuss and implement strategic issues, monitor income and expenditure, monitor risk, review and approve policies and approve annual budgets. The day to day running of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive, the Senior Leadership Team, staff and sessional staff, who report to the Board monthly and quarterly.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Risk management

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the management of risks associated with the activities of the Charity. The Board refers to the Charity’s Risk Register at each meeting which is prepared and updated by the Chief Executive.

• High staff turnover – this relates in part to vacancies that we haven’t felt financially confident enough to fill e.g. Policy Lead, and the loss of a key role (Impact Lead) after a few months because of a fulltime employment opportunity. Our greenlighting process has also increased nervousness about the retention of our delivery team.

The top 6 major risks identified and monitored in 2024 were:

• Unsatisfactory fundraising – mitigated by: Annual budgets include risk analysis, monthly financial reports show progress against budget, ‘new’ spend is brought to the Board, detailed Mid-Year Review, active communication with our funders, new product development.

• Dependency on individual knowledge and relationships – (employed) key areas of vulnerability are fundraising, IT, H and S, Digital – mitigated by: IT assistant supported to do an apprenticeship degree, secondment from John Lewis Partnership, Digital Assistant and Comms Officer employed, H and S ‘how to’ guides prioritised, increased fundraising capacity, greater visibility of key fundraising information and improved management information.

• Major loss of farms – active engagement with policy makers and the political process where it relates to educational access support including Farming in Protected landscapes and the Sustainable Farming incentive.

Risk Assessments are prepared by staff and self-employed sessional contractors for all activities led by the Charity. The Charity ensures that all our active host farmers have a Risk Assessment in place for Country Trust visits. These Risk Assessments are prepared, owned and managed by the host farmer but where required, support for the process, including signposting to external industry guidance, is provided by the Charity. The Charity receives the help of professional advisors for risks associated with health and safety, safeguarding and employment practice.

The Board of Trustees also has in place key controls for use by the Charity, such as formal agendas for meetings, comprehensive strategic planning and monthly management accounting, established lines of reporting, formal written policies and a review schedule, clear authorisation levels for all payments and a safeguarding policy which provides guidance for all on best safe practice for adults within an organisation working with children.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Openness and accountability

We strive to involve participants in programme design and the comprehensive feedback gathered from stakeholders during the year is constantly used to inform practice. Our annual evaluation reports are published online and publicised through social media and printed materials. We continue to be pleased with participation rates in our online pupil surveys sent to teachers after each farm visit. We have instigated an ‘indicators of change’ research project to talk to teachers and children two years after engaging with our programmes to understand ‘what sticks’.

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REPLACE
78 Country Trust Annual Report 2025
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This is our Position Statement:

The Country Trust connects children with the land that sustains us all. We aim to foster an understanding of farming, food production and countryside management in all its many guises and raise awareness of the way in which we are all participants in agriculture through the food that we eat.

Country Trust visits and activities are structured to support the National Curriculum, personal development and wellbeing. Our carefully planned opportunities and experiences are designed to empower children to be curious, confident and create change in their lives and the world around them so that they and society can thrive.

We do not consider ourselves to be a charity that campaigns for or against any particular form of farming or land management.

However:

• We do seek to influence policy makers where this makes it more likely that we will achieve our mission. For example, for educational access to farms to be supported as a standalone public good, and for food and farming education to be a vital part of education, health, wellbeing, sustainability and food strategies.

• In the context of the climate emergency and rapid loss of biodiversity, we design our programmes to help children to understand the unique responsibilities that farmers and land managers have for soil health and biodiversity, stewardship of non-renewable resources and locking up carbon.

Our intention is that children will be in a better position to make informed decisions, understanding that their choices matter, and may be influential in the future shape of farming and the countryside.

79

Structure, Governance and Management

GDPR

GDPR compliance: New digital infrastructure ensures photographic assets are managed across their lifespan through to deletion, with approval documented and metadata embedded within each asset to support GDPR compliance, including scheduled removal and deletion after three years.

We use our database to extend our compliance with the GDPR regulations – subscription to Newsletters allows for double opt in as well as providing the usual ability to unsubscribe.

Cybersecurity

The Country Trust continues to be vigilant with regard to Cybersecurity. All CT staff are required to complete annual training as part of our Cyber insurance obligations. We continue to use the NCSC’s (National Cyber Security Centre) monitoring tools. Continued vigilance meant that there were no serious issues in 2025.

Safeguarding

Government guidance is clear that all organisations working with children, young people, families, parents and carers have particular responsibilities. At The Country Trust we recognise that the welfare of all children is paramount and that all children, regardless of ability or culture, have equal rights of protection. We have a duty of care when they are in our charge, and we will do everything we can to provide a safe and caring environment whilst they attend our activities.

Our policy for child safeguarding is on our website and is reviewed annually by our Board of Trustees. The Country Trust is a member of SAFEcic, an umbrella organisation providing safeguarding training, advice and standards. All staff, volunteers and Trustees undertake safeguarding training and undergo DBS checks where this is permitted for their role.

Safeguarding is reviewed at the quarterly Board meetings. There were 9 safeguarding concerns raised during 2025 (7 in 2024 and 9 in 2023 for comparison) including disclosures by children pertaining to potential signs of neglect and abuse. All concerns were followed through in accordance with our Policy. Trustees have continued to keep their safeguarding training up to date and keep abreast of any significant changes.

Health and Safety

Our Health and Safety Policy can be found on our website and is reviewed every two years.

Safeguarding, and Health and Safety reports of all disclosures, accidents, incidents and near misses and subsequent actions taken are brought to every Board meeting, preserving the appropriate confidentiality.

Health and Safety briefings are issued to the whole team at key moments in the farming calendar (e.g. lambing), whenever there is a learning or update to be shared and are integrated into new programmes (e.g. Residential in a Box). Health and Safety training is made available in written ‘How to Guides’ and video form, and engagement is tracked. Pre-visits to farms are mandatory for schools (with very limited exceptions) in order that proper planning can be undertaken including understanding the particular needs of the children.

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81

Accounts

Statement of compliance with prevailing laws and regulations

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 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 published in October 2019.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies’ exemption. Approved by the Board of Trustees on 16th April 2026 and signed on its behalf by:

Anne Bufton-McCoy Chair of Trustees

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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Country Trust

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Trustees Report

Statement of trustees' responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of The Country Trust for the purposes 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), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland". The report and accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 its income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can 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.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Country Trust (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2025, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, 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 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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 original financial statements were 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 Trustees' Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustees' Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.

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The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Country Trust

Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

The Country Trust

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Country Trust

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows;

• The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations for the company, including the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, tax legislation and data protection, and employment legislation.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees' Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur by;

• Making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud.

• Considered the internal controls in place to mitigate the risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships.

• Tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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.

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:

• Agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation.

• Reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance..

• Enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

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The Country Trust

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Country Trust

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company'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 charitable company and its trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Sandra Morrell (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Edmund Carr LLP, Statutory Auditor

The Country Trust

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2025 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Other Comprehensive Income)

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Investment income
5
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
6
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
16		 Unrestricted
funds
£
498,625
-
19,715
-
518,340
131,922
422,189
554,111
(35,771)
191,583
155,812
484,364
640,176		 Restricted
funds
£
1,202,322
123,086
-
-
1,325,408
-
1,009,183
1,009,183
316,225
(191,583)
124,642
46,162
170,804		 Total
2025
£
1,700,947
123,086
19,715
-
1,843,748
131,922
1,431,372
1,563,294
280,454
-
280,454
530,526
810,980		 Total
2024
£
1,437,410
89,776
21,718
340
1,549,244
134,454
1,415,723
1,550,177
(933)
-
(933)
531,459
530,526

All of the charitable company's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods.

146 New London Road Chelmsford Essex CM2 0AW

Date:.............................

88 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

89

The Country Trust

(Registration number: 6436266) Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2025

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
Current assets
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
14
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
15
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds of the charitable company:
Restricted income funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds
16		 2025
£
9,598
211,278
988,457
1,199,735
(398,353)
801,382
810,980
170,804
640,176
810,980		 2024
£
9,000
204,146
749,951
954,097
(432,571)
521,526
530,526
46,162
484,364
530,526

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Country Trust

Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Note
Cash flows from operating activities
Net movement in funds per SOFA
Adjustments
Depreciation
Investment income
5
Working capital adjustments
Increase in debtors
13
Increase in creditors
15
Decrease in deferred income
Net cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest receivable and similar income
5
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
12
Net cash flows from investing activities
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December		 2025
£
280,454
2,392
(19,715)
263,131
(7,132)
5,854
(40,072)
221,781
19,715
(2,990)
16,725
238,506
749,951
988,457		 2024
£
(933)
2,153
(21,718)
(20,498)
(98,582)
8,386
(63,193)
(173,887)
21,718
(5,038)
16,680
(157,207)
907,158
749,951

All of the cash flows are derived from continuing operations during the above two periods.

The financial statements on pages 89 to 105 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 16th April 2026.................... and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... M A Bufton-McCoy B Phil, Cert Ed Trustee

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91

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Deferred income

1 Charitable company status

The charitable company is limited by guarantee, incorporated in England & Wales, and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the charitable company in the event of liquidation.

2 Accounting policies

Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

Deferred income represents grants and service fees received in respect of visits and activities taking place after the year end. It also represents unrestricted income where that income relates to future periods.

Donated services and facilities

Where services or facilities are provided to the charitable company as a donation that would normally be purchased from our suppliers, this benefit is included in the financial statements at it's fair value unless it's fair value cannot be reliably measured, then at the cost to the donor or the resale value of goods that are to be sold.

Investment income

Interest received is accounted for when the interest is credited on the Bank deposit accounts.

Charitable activities

Statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

The Country Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Income from charitable activities arises from educational visits and activities where schools or other partners fund all or a proportion of the costs incurred.

Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and includes VAT as the charity is not VAT registered. Governance costs are associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. Where expenditure is apportioned between charitable activities and support costs, this is done based on the portion that is applicable to the direct provision of educational visits and activities or the administration of the charity. In the case of staff costs, this is based on the time spent on charitable activities or administration.

Raising funds

These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, the management of investments and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charitable company.

Income and endowments

All income is recognised once the charitable company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.

Charitable activities

Charitable activities comprise costs incurred in carrying out educational visits and activities to farms, estates and the wider countryside, and in schools.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the charitable company’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustees meetings and reimbursed expenses.

Donations and legacies

All donated income and grants receivable are included in income on receipt except where the donor requires that the sum is to be treated as income in future accounting periods, in which case it is deferred. Where a donor has specified that a donation should be used for a particular purpose this is treated as restricted income.

Grants receivable

Grants are recognised when the charitable company has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.

Taxation

The charitable company is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charitable company is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing a significant amount are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Depreciation and amortisation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Depreciation method and rate

Asset class

Office equipment & software

25% reducing balance

Trade debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

Trade creditors

Creditors are recognised at their settlement amount.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees's discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charitable company.

Designated funds are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted funds for specific future purposes or projects.

Restricted income funds are those donated or received for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.

Pensions and other post retirement obligations

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme which is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the charitable company has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods.

Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment.

Financial instruments

Classification

The charitable company only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the charitable company and their measurement basis are as follows:

Financial assets - trade and other debtors are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost. Prepayments are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank - is classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Financial liabilities - trade creditors, accruals and other creditors are financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost. Taxation and social security are not included in the financial instruments disclosure definition. Deferred income is not deemed to be a financial liability, as the cash settlement has already taken place and there is an obligation to deliver services rather than cash or another financial instrument.

3 Income from donations and legacies

Income from donations and legacies
Donations
Legacies
Charitable Trusts and grant making bodies
Donated services and gifts in kind
Donations
Legacies
Charitable Trusts and grant making bodies
Donated services and gifts in kind		 Unrestricted
funds
£
96,628
6,666
395,331
-
498,625
Unrestricted
funds
£
117,827
6,592
364,961
-
489,380		 Restricted
funds
£
513,062
4,300
644,360
40,600
1,202,322
Restricted
funds
£
423,259
-
493,948
30,823
948,030		 Total
2025
£
609,690
10,966
1,039,691
40,600
1,700,947
Total
2024
£
541,086
6,592
858,909
30,823
1,437,410

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Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

4
Income from charitable activities
Countryside Discovery Residential Visits
Food Discovery
Countryside Discovery Residential Visits
Food Discovery
5
Investment income
Interest receivable on bank deposits
Interest receivable on bank deposits		 Unrestricted
funds
£
-
-
-
Unrestricted
funds
£
-
-
-
Unrestricted
funds
£
19,715
19,715
Unrestricted
funds
£
21,718
21,718		 Restricted
funds
£
98,727
24,359
123,086
Restricted
funds
£
68,237
21,539
89,776
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
Restricted
funds
£
-
-		 Total
2025
£
98,727
24,359
123,086
Total
2024
£
68,237
21,539
89,776
Total
2025
£
19,715
19,715
Total
2024
£
21,718
21,718

6 Expenditure on charitable activities

6
Expenditure on charitable activities
Countryside Discovery Residential Visits
Food Discovery
Farm Visits
Farm in a Box
Countryside Discovery Residential Visits
Food Discovery
Farm Visits
Farm in a Box
Soil		 Activity
undertaken
directly
£
213,384
174,971
614,626
39,998
1,042,979
Activity
undertaken
directly
£
147,044
183,856
517,093
44,805
41,726
934,524		 Activity
support costs
£
79,462
65,157
228,879
14,895
388,393
Activity
support costs
£
75,266
84,639
271,812
28,124
21,358
481,199		 2025
£
292,846
240,128
843,505
54,893
1,431,372
2024
£
222,310
268,495
788,905
72,929
63,084
1,415,723

The expenditure analysed above includes governance costs of £8,253 (2024 - £9,480) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 7 for further details.

96 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

97

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

7 Analysis of governance and support costs

8 Net incoming/outgoing resources

Net incoming/(outgoing) resources for the year include:

Support costs allocated to charitable activities

Countryside Discovery Residential
Visits
Food Discovery
Farm Visits
Farm in a Box
Countryside Discovery Residential
Visits
Food Discovery
Farm Visits
Farm in a Box
Soil		 Governance
costs
£
1,688
1,385
4,863
317
8,253
Governance
costs
£
1,532
1,718
5,350
470
410
9,480		 Staff costs
£
65,007
53,305
187,245
12,185
317,742
Staff costs
£
52,192
58,695
183,564
15,901
14,828
325,180		 Administration
costs
£
12,767
10,467
36,771
2,393
62,398
Administration
costs
£
21,542
24,226
82,898
11,753
6,120
146,539		 Total
2025
£
79,462
65,157
228,879
14,895
388,393
Total
2024
£
75,266
84,639
271,812
28,124
21,358
481,199
Fees payable to auditor
Depreciation of fixed assets		 2025
£
8,253
2,391		 2024
£
9,480
2,153

9 Trustees remuneration and expenses

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charitable company during the year.

No trustees have received any other benefits from the charity during the year.

During the year, 2 trustees was reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses of £562 (2024: £417 reimbursed to 2 trustees).

10 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2025
£
511,541
49,230
11,149
571,920		 2024
£
473,361
40,084
10,335
523,780

Governance costs

Governance costs
Audit fees
Audit of the financial statements
Other fees paid to auditors		 Total
2025
£
6,300
1,953
8,253		 Total
2024
£
6,000
3,480
9,480

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management team) employed by the charitable company during the year expressed by head count was as follows:

Charitable activities
Support and administration		 2025
No
4
14
18		 2024
No
2
15
17

The average number of persons employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was 13.6 (2024: 13.3).

18 (2024 - 17) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes.

98 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

99

The Country Trust

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The number of employees whose emoluments fell within the following bands was:

e numer o empoyees wose emouments e wtn te oowng ans was:
2025
No
£60,001 - £70,000
1
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charitable company were
£70,129).
11 Taxation
The charitable company is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.
12 Tangible fixed assets
Office
equipment &
software
£
Cost
At 1 January 2025
21,915
Additions
2,990
At 31 December 2025
24,905
Depreciation
At 1 January 2025
12,915
Charge for the year
2,392
At 31 December 2025
15,307
Net book value
At 31 December 2025
9,598
At 31 December 2024
9,000		 e numer o empoyees wose emouments e wtn te oowng ans was:
2025
No
£60,001 - £70,000
1
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charitable company were
£70,129).
11 Taxation
The charitable company is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.
12 Tangible fixed assets
Office
equipment &
software
£
Cost
At 1 January 2025
21,915
Additions
2,990
At 31 December 2025
24,905
Depreciation
At 1 January 2025
12,915
Charge for the year
2,392
At 31 December 2025
15,307
Net book value
At 31 December 2025
9,598
At 31 December 2024
9,000		 2024
No
1
£72,757 (2024 -
Total
£
21,915
2,990
24,905
12,915
2,392
15,307
9,598
9,000
13 Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
14 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank
15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income
Deferred income at 1 January 2025
Resources deferred in the period
Amounts released from previous periods
Deferred income at year end		 2025
£
33,372
21,625
155,891
390
211,278
2025
£
988,457
2025
£
22,275
12,273
3,725
19,869
340,211
398,353
2025
£
380,283
340,211
(380,283)
340,211		 2024
£
96,820
28,503
78,472
351
204,146
2024
£
749,951
2024
£
28,510
10,496
3,808
9,474
380,283
24,905
12,915
2,392
432,571
15,307
2024
£
443,476
380,283
(443,476)
9,598
9,000
380,283

The deferred income relates to performance related grants and grants for activities that are due to take place in future periods.

100 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

101

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Prior year:

16 Funds

Current year:

16 Funds
Current year:
Balance at 1
January 2025
£
Unrestricted funds
General
484,364
Restricted
a) Residential
20,217
b) Food discovery
25,945
c) Farm visits
-
d) Farm in a Box
-
Total restricted
46,162
Total funds
530,526		 Incoming
resources
£
518,340
223,252
206,524
850,670
44,962
1,325,408
1,843,748		 Resources
expended
£
(554,111)
(206,573)
(169,902)
(593,740)
(38,968)
(1,009,183)
(1,563,294)		 Transfers
£
191,583
(8,963)
(26,820)
(155,800)
-
(191,583)
-		 Balance at
31 December
2025
£
640,176
27,933
35,747
101,130
5,994
170,804
810,980
Prior year:
Unrestricted funds
General
Restricted
a) Residential
b) Food discovery
c) Farm visits
d) Farm in a Box
e) Soil
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at 1
January
2024
£
503,211
-
13,581
-
-
14,667
28,248
531,459		 Incoming
resources
£
511,098
172,557
224,100
559,435
49,995
32,059
1,038,146
1,549,244		 Resources
expended
£
(603,330)
(147,045)
(183,856)
(524,225)
(49,995)
(41,726)
(946,847)
(1,550,177)		 Transfers
£
73,385
(5,295)
(27,880)
(35,210)
-
(5,000)
(73,385)
-		 Balance at
31
December
2024
£
484,364
20,217
25,945
-
-
-
46,162
530,526

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

Restricted funds:

a) Funds to subsidise the cost of Countryside Discovery Residential visits enabling disadvantaged primary age children to experience food, farming and the countryside.

b) For teaching disadvantaged primary school children to grow & cook fresh produce, explore local farms, run playground markets & a harvest feast, and to train teachers in relevant elements of Learning Outside the Classroom.

c) Funds relating to the provision of Farm and Countryside Discovery educational day visits bringing the working countryside to life for primary school children from disadvantaged areas, and now the Farm in a Box programme bringing farm centred, hands on, experiential learning into schools, groups and homes. d) This fund is to support children and educators so that they can have a farm-centred experience without leaving their school grounds or location.

e) Fund for our new Soil Health Campaign – Plant Your Pants. It’s a public engagement campaign to help everyone think differently about the earth beneath our feet and to discover how it supports all our lives.

Transfers from restricted funds represent a contribution to cover central support and administration costs.

102 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

103

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2025

The Country Trust

17 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current year:

Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets
Prior year:
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
£
9,598
952,679
(322,101)
640,176
Unrestricted
funds
£
9,000
525,745
(50,381)
484,364		 Restricted
funds
£
-
247,056
(76,252)
170,804
Restricted
funds
£
-
428,352
(382,190)
46,162		 Total funds at
31/12/2025
£
9,598
1,199,735
(398,353)
810,980
Total funds at
31/12/2024
£
9,000
954,097
(432,571)
530,526

18 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year.

The Country Trust

19 Prior year Statement of Financial Activities

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Investment income
5
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
6
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
16		 Unrestricted
£
489,380
-
21,718
-
511,098
134,454
468,876
603,330
(92,232)
73,385
(18,847)
503,211
484,364		 Restricted
£
948,030
89,776
-
340
1,038,146
-
946,847
946,847
91,299
(73,385)
17,914
28,248
46,162		 Total
2024
£
1,437,410
89,776
21,718
340
1,549,244
134,454
1,415,723
1,550,177
(933)
-
(933)
531,459
530,526

104 Country Trust Annual Report 2025

105

To support our work visit: www.countrytrust.org.uk Registered charity no. 1122103 Head office: Moulsham Mill, Parkway, Chelmsford, Essex. CM2 7PX President: The Duke of Westminster

106 Country Trust AnnualImpact Report 202 51