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2025-03-31-accounts

Five A Day Market Garden

Annual Report April 2024 – March 2025

Charity Number: 1202446

Trustees Annual Report for the year ended March 2025

Annual Report

The trustees of Five a Day Garden are pleased to submit their annual report on the activities of the Charity, together with the financial statement for the period from 1st April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025.

Chairs comments

Firstly, I would like to thank all our funders and donors for their vital support, as well as Englefield Estate for letting us use their land. In addition, I would like to thank our volunteers both current and past, for their hard work, who continue to be the key to the success of Five A Day Garden, along with my fellow trustees and management team, who remain continually supportive and committed as we look forward to another year and another set of new challenges.

Review of the year

Since our last report, we have continued to provide opportunities for groups to visit the garden for therapeutic, educational and general wellbeing purposes and have provided access to natural, healthy produce grown on site.

The main groups attending the garden are the over 65’s called Thyme Together which meets every Thursday; local reception and year 1 children from urban schools and uniform groups e.g. Guides, Brownies, Rainbows. By maintaining the garden to a high standard, we ensure that these groups have a safe and calm space to enjoy.

Charity Objectives

The Objects of Five A Day Garden remain unchanged and are to improve the wellbeing of everyone in the local community by managing the garden to provide horticultural education, therapy and access to healthy, natural grown produce.

We have maintained these Objects throughout the year and our aim is to continue to do so in the years to come.

Activity during the year

As mentioned in my last report we engaged a Service Development Manager in January 2024, who very quickly was able to make a positive impact on our activities, particularly with the school and uniform groups and our Thyme Together group.

Our work with schools and uniform groups continued in the year 2024-25 and remains one of our key focus areas. When I came to look at the statistics I was amazed and extremely pleased to see that we have welcomed over 1,134 school children and over 366 members of

uniform groups to Five a Day. The increase in the numbers attending uniform sessions is thanks to the efforts of the Service Development Manager.

Our Thyme Together group for the over 65’s has fluctuated in numbers, due to the nature of the people who attend, and one of our main aims now is to expand this facility in the future so that more people can benefit. We know that what we do is unique in the area and that we have unmet demand and following on from a publicity campaign to advertise the group more widely are now attracting new members. We are now planning on running a second group from July 2025 and are in the process of sourcing funds to finance this.

Key to being able to offer this second group was the employment of a new horticultural therapist, who joined us in May 2024, and who has been able to make a significant difference in being able to develop the facilities that we offer. To use Katies own words: "Everyone comes to Thyme Together with a different experience of gardening, but they are all there because they like being in the garden. It's my job to ensure that the attendees have an interesting session and are supported when needed", said Katie Andrews, session leader. "We have a lovely garden space, with lots of seating and higher raised beds, and we grow a wide variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables and of course plenty of herbs including thyme."

An example of the positive feedback from one of these attendees is also below: "We enjoy being out in the open air and working on the garden, but it's also a way to get out and about and meet other people", said Caroline from Theale. She has been attending Thyme Together since September 2024.

We have continued selling our produce very locally and have become something of a destination shop for some regular customers. Sales of our produce, along with our wreath making workshops using our own willow, amounted to over £7,000, which is the same as last year. This income allows us to pay our regular expenses and also contribute towards the visiting groups, as well as providing fresh seasonal produce to the local community.

We ran our annual wreath making events prior to Christmas 2024, which are very popular and are a major fundraising opportunity for us and is one that we will continue to run and hopefully build upon.

We have also introduced two new workshops, Painting with Paper and making willow plant supports which brought in extra income of over £200.

We have done various activities to help try and spread the word about who we are and what we do:

The trustees confirm that when setting the objectives and planning the activities of Five A Day Garden, they have considered and complied with the Charity Commission guidance on Public Benefit.

Volunteers

The trustees would like to thank all the volunteers who make Five a Day Garden the fun and yet place of calm that it is.

Numbers of regular unpaid volunteers have remained stable at around forty two. They maintain all aspects of the garden and help with the visiting groups and fundraising activities as necessary, such as the garden open days and wreath making workshops. In the year 2425, the total number of volunteer attendances was 1061 with an average time spent by each volunteer being 3 hours. This provided an incredible total of 3183 hours of gardening. As well as providing fantastic input into the garden, the volunteers also find that their own wellbeing is enhanced by being part of the Five a Day team.

An example of the feedback that we’ve had is shown below:

‘I am very happy to be with everyone at Five a Day. It is a pure pleasure. I look forward to my Tuesday mornings - they give me a real lift’ said Mu who joined in January 2025.

Sue from Newbury said ‘ I have been coming to Five a Day every Tuesday since Covid. I live on my own and have some mobility issues, so it helps me in two ways: it keeps me moving plus I meet up with a lovely group of volunteers. It really lifts me, even though I return home for a rest! I love it.’

As well as the regular volunteers, we have many corporate groups visiting the garden. In 2425, we welcomed over 184 volunteers from 10 different organisations, many of whom visited more than once. All of the groups have commented on how much they enjoy volunteering with us by benefiting from being away from their desks in our lovely garden.

We now have a volunteer on the management committee to provide perspective from the volunteers’ point of view. She has proved a great addition to the management team and has provided much valuable feedback.

Risk management

The Management Team has conducted its own review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. We have an extensive list of policies covering all aspects of our activity to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity and comply with external regulations and requirements. Each policy is reviewed annually by the management team and distributed as necessary.

We have continued to monitor and review all of our policies throughout the year and will continue to do so.

Plans for Future periods

Looking forward to the rest of 2025 and 2026, we have built a budget which anticipates growth and incorporates ideas for new workshops that we would like to implement and monitor.

Five A Day Garden aims to continue the activities outlined above in the forthcoming years subject to satisfactory funding arrangements.

Our plans for 2025/26 include:

Financial Review

The Charity has a number of sources of funding:

We were particularly fortunate this year to receive a grant from the National Garden Scheme to expand the Thyme Together Garden. This was followed by a visit from the Berkshire County organiser who kindly said that “the work that you and all the volunteers are doing is very inspiring and absolutely in the spirit of what we want to support with the National Garden Scheme Community Gardens grant”.

The results for the year and the company’s financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements

During the year Five A Day Garden had income of £34,572 (2023/4: £35,210), of which £18,658 was restricted, and expenditure of £29,033 (2023/4: £25,478).

There was an operating surplus of £5,539 (2023/4: operating surplus of £9,732)

Reserves policy

The trustees consider the level of unrestricted reserves, £11,267 appropriate for the Charity at this time, considering our ongoing financial commitments and the potential liabilities in the event that the charity ceased.

The charity holds no significant assets.

Reference and Administrative Details
CharityNumber 1202446
Registered Office The Street,Englefield,Theale,RG7 5EL
Bankers The Co-Operative Bank
PO Box250,Skelmersdale,WN8 6WT
Independent Examiner Rachel Belshaw (MA ACA CTA)
Hill Top Accounting Ltd, Hill Cottage,
Church Lane, Ufton Nervet, Reading,
RG7 4HQ
Trustees
Duringtheperiod ending31stMarch 2025 the followingwere Trustees for the charity
Name Date of Appointment
Glenys Higgins(Chair & Management Team) 23 March 2023
Sarah Brooke 09 May2023
Lizbeth Cooper 03 May2023
WendyCadman(Management Team) 23 March 2023
Yvonne Redgrave 23 March 2023
Additional Management Team members Position
Jo Harrison Volunteer representative
JennyCarter Finance andgovernance officer
Ali Luke Service development manager

Date of Approval: 21[st] August 2025

Signed by Glenys Higgins, Trustee, Chair and Garden Manager:

Five a Day Garden 1202446
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
For the period
from		 01 April 2024 To 31 March 2025
Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest
£
5,284
2,032
1,394
3,955
3,125
100
24
-
-

15,914
-
-
-
15,914
1,764
13,258
12
473
3
155
1,231
458
884
-
448
431
109
8,550
474
-
160
305
318		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
17,265
-
-
-
-
1,393
-
-
-
18,658
-
-
-
18,658
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
22,549
2,032
1,394
3,955
3,125
1,493
24
-
-
34,572
-
-
-
34,572
1,764
13,258
12
473
3
155
1,231
458
884
-
448
431
109
8,550
474
-
160
305
318
-
29,033
-
-
-
29,033

5,539		 Last year
to the nearest £
Grants 5,284 21,945
Donations 2,032 5,480
Charitable activities 1,394 700
Sales ofgardenproduce 3,955 7,085
Workshops 3,125 -
Paid visits 100
Interest 24 -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)
15,914		 35,210
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- -
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
35,210
Materials for projects
Sessional tutors
Advertising &Marketing		 1,764 - - 1,764 976
13,258 - 13,258 16,209
12 12 157
Audit&Accountancyfees 473 - - 473 209
Bank fees 3 3 -
DBS Checks 155 155 145
Garden supplies 1,231 - 1,231 1,605
General Expenses 458 - 458 1,087
Insurance 884 884 756
Motor Vehicle Expenses - - 87
Refreshments 448 448 338
Rent 431 431 426
Repairs&Maintenance 109 - - 109 1,039
Consultants 8,550 - - 8,550 1,520
Telephone & Internet
Training		 474 - 474 354
- - - - -
Volunteer expnses 160 - - 160 246
Washroom Facilities 305 - - 305 95
Workshops 318 - - 318 229
- - - - -
**Sub total ** 29,033 - - 29,033 25,478
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- -
- -
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
25,478
- 13,119
5,539		 9,732
- - -
24,386 28,431 18,699
11,267 33,970 28,431

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

15/09/2025

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds		 Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Community Direct Plus account
Community Direct Plus account
Petty Cash
Details
Details
Details		 Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
2,321
8,936
10
11,267
OK
Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
liability relates		 Restricted
funds
to nearest £
22,703
-
-
22,703
OK
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Signature

Print Name

Date of approval

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

15/09/2025

2

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGIAND AND WAIES Independent examlnerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Roportto tho tr￿￿0 FNe a Day Garden On at￿ynts for th• year onded 31 March 2025 Gh•rlty (If any) 1202440 Set out on I report to the trustees on my examlnation of tho accounts oftho abDVO charfty (Iho Trusf) for the year ended 31 March 2025. A8 the charity's trustee¥, you are rnspon8ible ft>r the preparation of tho axounts In axordanco with tho requiroments ofthe Charities ALt 2011 (Ihe Acr). I report In respect of my examination of the Trusfs accounts carriéd out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrylng out my exarnination. I have followed all the appllcablB DiT￿￿On$ given by the Charity Comml881on under section 145(5)(b) of the A Rupomlbllltlwd and bas1• ol r•port Independent I haQe completed my exaMInat￿n. I confimi that no malerial matters have examlnerfs stat•mont come to my attentlon in connecllon with the examination which gNes me cause to beliéve that in, any material rnspect: the accountin9 re¢ord8 w8ra not kept in accordance vlih section 130 of the Charilies Act; or the accounts did not accord wtlh the acrx)untlng records: or the accounts did not compty with the applicabl8 requlrements eoncemlng the fom and ￿ntent of accounts set out in the Charbties (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts gNe a'trug and fairf viaw which18 not a matter considered as part of an independént examination. I have no ¢oncem8 and have ¢om? aco¥¥ no other mattera in conn00t￿n vthh the examination to which attention should be drawn in thls report In rxd8r to en8￿6 a proper understsnding of th8 a¢¢ounts to be reached. Slgn•d: 12109r2025 Nam•: Rachel Belshaw Rolovant prof••slon•l quallfkatlon(•) or body (If any): ICAEW Addres•: Hlll Top Accounting Ltd, Hlll Cottsge chU￿h Lane. Ufton N8Net Reading, RG7 4HQ