Lowberdale Farm
Annual Report for period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025
1. Charity Details
Lowberdale Farm – a Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity Registration Number – 1180913 Address of Operation: Field House Farm, Hulme End, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 0HQ
Trustees:
Chair – Robert Sales Treasurer – Henry Rusch Andrew Brown - Resigned Liz Hitch Dorothy Hawton Tamara Oates Fiona Goodyear Andrew Warren
2. Governance and Management Structure
The existing group of trustees has been in place now for a number of years during this period has met three times in the year to ensure the Charity meet regulatory requirements, is operating effectively and meeting its goals. The Board is supported by a secretary, Andrew Warren. The day to day management of the Care Farm continues to be carried out by Mark Lowe, an experienced teacher and farmer. Mark is assisted in his role by trained volunteers.
Work has also continued by the Board to ensure policies have been updated annually and procedures are in place for running programs on the farm.
3. Objectives, activities and achievements during the period
Over the Summer Term of 2024, we supported two young people to come to the farm on supported individual placement days. One was a referral from a local college, another was home schooled. We continued to provide one morning session a week for the young person who started in January, but he also attended with a friend for an additional session every other week.
We continued to run the Easter lambing and Summer shepherding programs, 12 different young people attended half day group sessions, all of whom had attended in previous years.
From September 2024 to March 2025, Lowberdale supported a regular group day on a Wednesday, for four of the young people, who had attended the farm over the
Summer. Some young people now came as part of their work experience requirements for college, others as part of their home school programs, for some it was one of the few things they did all week. They were all aged between 15 and 19 and with neurodivergent conditions such as autism or ADHD.
Young people largely supported Mark with the seasonal farming activities, whilst developing their own farming skills and experience. The young people were also supported by a volunteer. Young people’s attendance was between 92% and 98% of the 24 sessions available. At the end of the program young people provided the following feedback:
Our favourite things about the farm:
-
making & seeing friends
-
moving cows & lambing sheep
-
drinking tea
-
learning about farming – sheep & cows
-
working outdoors
-
working in a team
-
the cat
-
being given responsibility
-
Mark’s Mum & Archie
-
cute baby animals
How coming to the farm has helped us:
-
having fun
-
less depressed
-
get me out of the house
-
helped with confidence
-
making friends and seeing them weekly
-
being encouraged and learning new things
From January 2025, we also ran a group on a Friday for three young people all of whom had attended the farm in previous Summer and Easter programs. One of the young people had been suspended from her school in the previous Autumn, and the Mum had suggested that the school approach Lowberdale when putting together a new program for her. The young person has PDA and ASD, and so can exhibit challenging behaviour. As such, we appointed a tutor with experience of young people with neurodivergent conditions, to support the young person on these days.
By March 2025, Lowberdale was therefore supporting up to 8 young people to attend the farm every week; two full group days on a Wednesday and a Friday, a half day individual session on a Tuesday and a paired half day session every other Thursday.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, Lowberdale therefore supported 43 group days, 10 group half days, 15 paired half days, 12 individual full days and 47 individual half days on the farm.
Below is a statement from the parent of the young person who attended a weekly half day session over the last year:
‘My son had been out of formal educa?on for over three years when he first came to Lowberdale 18 months ago. His complex needs could not be met in his generic special school and all possible schools approached, stated they too could not meet his needs. He was trauma?sed by his experience at school. He was hugely anxious, extremely demand avoidant, had no independence and struggled to leave his home. He could not engage with anything that looked like learning and he had lost all trust in people outside his close family. My son already had a natural affinity with animals and recognising that he needed an interest led, hands on, prac?cal approach to learning it was fantas?c to see him learning how to care for the animals and ac?vely comple?ng the daily farm tasks. Working alongside Mark at Lowberdale finally gave him the opportunity to succeed at something. The suppor?ve environment and achievable, engaging and interest led tasks has seen his confidence and self esteem grow and his anxiety much reduced. Alex’s experience at the farm has been invaluable in equipping him with both prac?cal and transferable skills, a sense of real purpose whilst benefi?ng his health, social skills and mental wellbeing. Alex says he would like to work on a farm when he grows up.’
5. Financial Review
The reporting period covers the year to 31st March 2025. The charity began with £6739 and ended the period with £12471. Significant income has included funding for the one to one sessions, £16500, which are expected to continue into the following year along with parental donations £1840, for the group sessions. Costs have risen sharply to cover the individual tutoring £8720, and during the period we have engaged a ‘fund raising’ professional to enable the Charity to take on a Farm Co-ordinator role along with further tutoring as the requirement grows £1800.
| Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | No(if any) | No(if any) | CC16a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowberdale Farm | 1180913 | ||||||||
| Receipts andpayments accounts | |||||||||
| For the period from |
Period start date | To | Period end date | ||||||
| 1st April 2023 | 31st March 2024 | ||||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||
| Lambing Course | - | - | - | 320 | |||||
| Group Donations | 1,840 | - | - | 1,840 | 290 | ||||
| Donations | 270 | - | - | 270 | 485 | ||||
| Tutoring AB, ET, & EE | 16,500 | - | - | 16,500 | 900 | ||||
| Shepherding Course | - 0 | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total_(Gross income for AR) _ | 18,610 |
- | - | 18,610 | 1,995 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
|||||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | ||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | - 0 | |||||
| Sub total | - 0 |
- 0 | - 0 | - | - 0 | ||||
| **Total receipts ** | 18,610 |
- 0 | - 0 | 18,610 | 1,995 | ||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||
| Premises | 1,263 | - | - | 1,263 | 1,200 | ||||
| Bank charges | 62 | - | - | 62 | 61 | ||||
| Session Costs | 8,720 | - | - | 8,720 | 1,440 | ||||
| IT | 142 | - | - | 142 | 206 | ||||
| Insurance | 398 | - | - | 398 | - | ||||
| Prior Year costs | 398 | - | - | 398 | - | ||||
| Fund raising | 1,800 | - | - | 1,800 | - | ||||
| Course fees | 95 | - | - | 95 | - | ||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 12,878 |
- | - | 12,878 | 2,908 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) |
|||||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | ||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - 0 |
- 0 | - 0 | - | - 0 | ||||
| **Totalpayments ** | 12,878 |
- 0 | - 0 | 12,878 | 2,908 | ||||
| **Net of receipts/(payments) ** | 5,732 |
- | - | 5,732 | - 913 |
||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - 0 | - | - | - | - | ||||
| A6 Cash funds lastyear end | 6,739 | - | - | 6,739 | 7,652 | ||||
| **Cash funds thisyear end ** | 12,471 |
- | - | 12,471 | 6,739 | ||||
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |||||||||
| Categories | Details | Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | Endowment funds |
|||||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||||||
| B1 Cash funds | 12,471 | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
10/11/2024
1
| Total cash funds | Total cash funds | Total cash funds | 12,471 | - | - | - | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
OK | OK | |||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | Endowment funds |
|||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | - | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
||||||
| B3 Investment assets | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
||||||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
- | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
When due (optional) |
||||||
| B5 Liabilities | - | ||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Print Name | Date of approval | ||||||
| Henry Rusch | |||||||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
10/11/2024
2