2025-07-31-accounts - Abingdon Carousel

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Registered Charity: 1177322

Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts for the year ending 31[st] July 2025

Reference and Administrative details

The Trustees present their report together with the financial statements of Abingdon Carousel for the year ended 31[st] July 2025. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS102) in preparing the annual report and financial Statements of the Charity.

Charity’s Principal Address: The Abingdon Carousel Family Centre Caldecott Chase Abingdon-on-Thames OX14 5GZ Trustees Sharron Jenkinson Chair Penelope Clover Honorary Fundraising Trustee Mark Rusher Treasurer Ruth Hawkins Lead Safeguarding Trustee Emily Rawle (resigned 28 April 2025) Kathryn Devine Jennifer Reading Deborah Lymn Michael John (resigned 10 March 2025) Accountants (Payroll) Wenn Townsend 10 Broad Street Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 3LH Independent Examiner Positive Community Finance Ltd 7 Scholars Rise Stokenchurch Buckinghamshire HP14 3FL

Structure, Governance and Management

The charity was incorporated as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) on 26 February 2018 and is governed by a Foundation Constitution updated on the 5 October 2022. Trustees are selected and voted on to the board by existing Trustees in a quorate meeting.

Objectives and Activities

Abingdon Carousel Family Centre is a charity which was set up to run services in the former county council funded South Abingdon Children’s Centre. When OCC withdrew funding, Carousel was incorporated as a charity and is now in its fourth year of offering services to local families.

Carousel offers a variety of recreational, care, educational and adult development services both directly to the public using paid employees and volunteers and through making the building available to community focussed partner organisations. All Carousel activities are free to families although we encourage small donations where these can be afforded.

Service priorities are those which benefit families with children aged 0-5 years although other family and community services are also offered under an umbrella approach that aims to be relevant to the community as a whole. Carousel is an inclusive organisation that aims to reflect the views and needs of our families.

Specifically, Carousel aims to:

Provide a range of facilities and programmes, through the provision of a safe and stimulating space, for children to socialise, learn and play and for parents / carers to receive guidance and support.
Support parents / carers in developing skills and strategies for effective parenting.
Enable parents / carers to engage in a range of opportunities to meet other families, undertake personal development activities and become active members of the community, so reducing isolation.
Provide a community hub from which partner organisations can offer their services.
Provide information and signposting so that families can access services across the wider community.

Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Achievements and Performance

Our focus during 2024 - 2025 has been on consolidation of existing good practice and extending and improving the quality and range of services on offer. Drop-in ‘Stay and Play’ sessions are held on five days of the week (including the very popular Saturday Club) and are frequently full. In 2023-2024, 500 families were registered at Carousel, compared with 150 three years ago. During 2024-2025, a further 302 families have registered.

As well as sessions for families, we have also continued to develop our parent / carer support and development programme. Courses have been offered under the Family Links umbrella, and we have worked with partners to offer ‘Communication through Play’ courses and a ‘School Readiness Course’.

In addition to our own sessions, we work with a range of partners, and this extends the use of the centre. The Health Visitors offer regular sessions, and we have been happy to host Holiday Play Schemes for young people with disabilities. We have collaborated with Oxfordshire Play Association to participate in community play activity days. Hire bookings are healthy and in 2025 – 2026 we will be offering a further range of activities including foreign language play groups, music for babies and toddlers, NCT classes and evening youth activities. National and local organisations use our facilities benefiting young people with disabilities, and adults in our community. These include Endorphins Group UK, Making Space and BeeZee.

As important as the specific sessions on offer, are the extent to which staff have worked with individual families and County Council and community teams to advise and support, especially in times of crisis. This has ranged from individualised support for parents struggling with the bureaucracy associated with SEND issues to supporting emergency rehoming needs.

Carousel’s 3-year Improvement Plan (2023 – 2026) focussed on three priority areas:

 Finance

Ensure that successful fundraising and efficient financial management lead to a balanced budget and robust reserves

 Leadership and Management

Develop systems that ensure legal compliance and best practice in leadership and management

 Provision and services

Ensure that the quality of provision and services is of a consistently high quality. Sessions for children reflect Early Years Foundation Stage best practice and other services meet the expressed and identified needs of our users.

During 2024 – 2025, we appointed a new manager and agreed a new 5 year lease with Oxfordshire County Council. As Caldicott School no longer had a use for the pre-school facilities in their part of the building, Carousel has now taken on full responsibility for the whole building including an additional large playroom and garden. With expansion of services now being a realistic priority, we have rewritten our Improvement and Expansion Plan. In summary, our priorities are:

 Sustainability and growth

Ensure that successful fundraising, and efficient financial management, lead to a balanced budget and robust reserves so that we can grow our services and programmes.

 Leadership and Management

Ensure that effective leadership and management from Carousel’s Manager and Assistant Managers, supported by Trustees, contributes to consistency of good practice, growth and stability.

 Programmes and Services

Ensure a consistently high quality of core programmes and services, and work with partners to ensure that services provided by others meet Carousel’s high standards and benefit our community. Further develop core and partner services to ensure that Carousel’s premises are effectively and efficiently used.

Carousel’s staff structure has been revised. Our three experienced core staff have taken on management responsibilities and are now Assistant Managers. Two new Playleaders took up post in September 2025. We are grateful for financial support from Abingdon Town Council, Sovereign Network Group and a range of other funders, corporate and individual as this has enabled us to embark on ambitious expansion plans.

Financial Review

The unrestricted surplus for the year ended 31 July 2025 was £29,300. The Trustees are pleased that given the costof-living crisis the charity has been able to show the surplus and forecast a small surplus for the year ended 31 July 2026.

The main reasons for the surplus in the year;

Saving of centre manager costs for a period of the year
Write back of previous provisions for service charges and rent following the signing of a new lease
Fundraising efforts and outcomes
Control of costs generally

Considering the charity’s risk profile which indicates that the main financial risk relates to the dependency on the annual Abingdon Town Council grant of £37,500 and general fundraising. The Abingdon Town Council grant is received in advance.

Restricted funds received in the year amounted to £27,759 and amounts unspent at the 31 July 2025 amounted to £14,678.

The charity secured a new lease effective 1 April 2025 for 5 years which will mean increased overheads and hire income in future years. In signing a new lease the charity took on additional space with a graduating increase in rent over the 5 year period.

Abingdon Carousel has the structural inability to make sudden cost savings on large expenditure items such as rent and service charges. The Trustees have determined that Abingdon Carousel should hold reserves which, in a funding crisis, would allow the organisation to carry on delivering services for 12 months whilst new major grants are applied for and which allow time and funds for longer term cost-reduction plans. Therefore, the Trustees aim to keep 6 months running costs in reserve amounting to approximately £40,000. Following the signing of a new lease effective 1 April 2025 the charity has the obligation to repair and service the entire building at Caldecott Chase therefore further reserves are held to plan for potential significant one-off costs in the future.

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Approved by the board of Trustees on 10 November 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Sharron Jenkinson: Chair of Trustees

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Abingdon Carousel

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Abingdon Carousel (the Trust) for the year ended 31[st] July 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Lee Mathers MIAB, MCIOF (Cert) Positive Community Finance Ltd 7 Scholars Rise Stokenchurch Buckinghamshire HP14 3FL

12 November 2025

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

Restricted Funds 2025 £ 27,759 - - - - 27,759 - 34,410 - 34,410 (6,651) 25,392 (4,063)	Unrestricted Funds 2025 £ 53,559 18,550 - 661 1,629 74,399 - 45,099 - 45,099 29,300 52,426 4,063	Total Funds 2024 £ 91,768 16,378 - 476 2,272
		110,894
		196 91,529 -
		91,725
		18,973 58,845 -
14,678	85,789	77,818

The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All incoming resources expended derive from continuing activities.

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 JULY 2025

Notes Fixed Assets Tangible assets 4 Total fixed assets Current Assets Debtors 5 Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 6 Net current assets/(liabilities) Total assets less liabilities Funds of the Charity Restricted income funds 7 Unrestricted funds Total funds	Restricted Funds 2025 £ - - - 14,678 14,678 - 14,678 14,678 14,678 - 14,678	Unrestricted Funds 2025 £ 6,835 6,835 5,861 78,386 84,247 5,293 78,954 85,789 - 85,789 85,789	Total Funds 2025 £ 6,835 6,835 5,861 93,064 98,925 5,293 93,632 100,467 14,678 85,789 100,467	Total Funds 2024 £ 8,369
				8,369
				4,864 77,994
				82,858
				13,409
				69,449

				77,818
				25,392 52,426
				77,818

Approved by the board of Trustees on 10 November 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Sharron Jenkinson, Chair of Trustees

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

1 Accounting Policies

General information and basis of preparation

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), incorporated in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 2 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities is the delivery of children and family services from the building.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 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 on 16 July 2014 (as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £1.

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

Fund Accounting

Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in the furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific funds. The aim and use of each of the restricted funds is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Incoming Resources

All incoming resources are included in the SOFA when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Resources Expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

1 Accounting Policies (Continued)

Tangible and Intangible Fixed Assets

Tangible and Intangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible and intangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

Database development over 3 years Leasehold improvements over 5 years Equipment over 3 years

Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure

Financial instruments

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted.

Debt instruments are subsequently measured at amortised cost.

Going Concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

Judgement and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

2 Donations and Legacies Abingdon Town Council Other Grants Donations from Individuals & Groups 3 Total Resources Expended Staff Costs Facilities Management Professional Services Depreciation Office Costs Service Delivery Costs Fundraising Net incoming resources for the year This is stated after charging: Independent Examination Other Accountancy Services Depreciation Staff Costs Salaries	Restricted Funds 2025 £ - 27,759 - 27,759 Restricted Funds 2025 £ 27,684 1,610 - 2,131 685 2,300 - 34,410	Unrestricted Funds 2025 £ 37,500 4,500 11,559 53,559 Unrestricted Funds 2025 £ 17,04 6 16,49 4 810 3,879 6,167 703 - 45,099	Total Funds 2025 £ 37,500 32,259 11,559 81,318 Total Funds 2025 £ 44,730 18,104 810 6,010 6,852 3,003 - 79,509 Total 2025 £ 475 335 6,010 7,295 Total 2025 £ 44,730	Total Funds 2024 £ 36,750 45,905 9,113
				91,768
				Total Funds 2024 £ 53,964 22,935 1,026 8,106 4,522 980 192
				91,529
				Total 2024 £ 450 576 8,106
				9,132
				Total 2024 £ 53,964

Training and Recruitment

192 44,730 54,156

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

Tangible Fixed Assets Cost At 1st August 2024 Additions Disposals At 31stJuly 2025 Accumulated Depreciation At 1st August 2024 Charge for the year Disposals At 31st July 2025 Net Book Value At 31st July 2025 At 31st July 2024 Debtors Trade Debtors Prepayments	Equipment £ 15,693 4,476 - 20,169 10,420 2,914 -	Total £ 30,825 4,476 -
		35,301
		22,456 6,010 -
	13,334 6,835 5,273 Total 2025 £ 2,439 3,422 5,861	28,466

		6,835

		8,369
		Total 2024 £ 2,284 2,580
		4,864

Creditors	Total	Total
2025 2024 £ £ Other Taxes and Social Security - 811


Creditors	Total		Total
	2025		2024
	£		£
Other Taxes and Social Security		-	811

Accruals

5,293 12,598 5,293 13,409

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

7 Restricted Funds Christs Hospital – Baby scales Christs Hospital – Family links Christs Hospital – Room refurbishment Awards for All Lord Lieutenant Fund Lord Lieutenant Fund Garfield Weston Foundation Shanley Foundation ASDA Oxfordshire Community Foundation SNG Sovereign Network Group Oxfordshire County Council The Abingdon Caldecott Community Insight Profile Grant	Opening Balance £ 943 715 - 16,824 850 1,650 - - - - - 600 3,810 25,392	Incoming Funds £ - - 5,000 - - - 10,000 2,500 1,260 3,967 5,032 - - 27,759	Outgoing Funds £ (943) (715) - (8,510) (850) (1,650) (5,833) (2,500) - (3,967) (5,032) (600) (3,810) (34,410)	Transfers £ - - (4,063) - - - - - - - - - - (4,063)	Closing Balance £ - - 937 8,314 - - 4,167 - 1,260 - - - -
					14,678

Purpose of Restricted Funds

Christs Hospital funds were to acquire and maintain baby scales and provide the Family Links programme. A further grant was received in the year to refurbish and purchase new equipment for the new playroom.

Awards for All grant to support the Saturday Club.

The Lord Lieutenants Fund contributed towards session costs.

Garfield Weston Foundation grant covered core and Saturday Club costs.

Shanley Foundation funds were granted to cover Saturday Club costs.

ASDA donation was given to improve and maintain the outside play space.

Oxfordshire Community Foundation funds were granted for Stay & Play sessions.

SNG Sovereign Network Group funds were granted for Friday Stay & Play sessions.

Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) funds were granted to support session costs.

The Abingdon Caldecott Community Insight Profile funds were granted for session costs and a parent course.

ABINGDON CAROUSEL

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 JULY 2025

___________

8 Trustee Remuneration and Benefits

No Trustee received any remuneration or benefit during the year (2024: £nil).

9 Trustee expenses

The Charity’s insurance provides Trustee indemnity cover.

10 Related party transactions

The charity received £636 from Trustees without conditions during the year (2024: £876).

A Trustee Penny Clover is also a Trustee of Christs Hospital who provided a grant of £5,000 in the year.