## **WANTAGE DEANERY CIO**
**TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST ] DECEMBER 2025**
Wantage Deanery CIO Year Ended 31[st] December 2025 – Annual Report
## **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025**
The Trustees of Wantage Deanery CIO present their Annual Report along with the financial statements of the Charity for the period from 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2025
## **Reference and Administrative details**
## **Name of the Charity**
Wantage Deanery CIO operating also as Wantage Deanery and through Wantage Deanery Synod.
## **Registered Charity Number - 1203772**
## **Charity's principal address**
St John the Baptist Church Main Street Grove Wantage OX12 7LQ
**Trustees** Rev. John Durant (Area Dean and joint Chair) until 31[st] December 2025 Rev. Katherine Price (Area Dean and joint Chair) from 1[st] January 2026 Hugh Rees (Lay Chair and joint Chair) Paul Thompson (Secretary) Sarah Shackleton (Treasurer)
## **Independent Examiner**
Stephen Dexter
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
## **Governing document**
The Charity was established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation under a constitution adopted on 27[th] June 2023.
## **Organisational Structure**
Wantage Deanery CIO was established by the Wantage Deanery Synod in the Anglican Diocese of Oxford, itself established in accordance with the Church of England (Synodical Government) Measure 1969. The Trustees are responsible for the management and administration of the Charity.
## **Recruitment and Appointment of new Trustees**
The Trustees are the members from time to time of the Standing Committee of Wantage Deanery Synod, elected or appointed to that Committee according to Church Representation Rules. The Area Dean and Lay Chair are _ex officio_ members of the Standing Committee.
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Year Ended 31[st] December 2025 – Annual Report
## **Risk Management**
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Deanery is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against these risks. The Trustees aim to ensure that the Deanery could continue to operate in accordance with its objectives despite reasonably foreseeable adverse occurrences.
## **Objects and Activities**
## **Objects**
The constitution specifies that the objects of the Deanery are to benefit the public by furthering the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the Deanery of Wantage in the Diocese of Oxford.
## **Charitable Activities**
The Deanery enables the Anglican parish churches in and around Wantage and Grove to collaborate on charitable activities within their parish boundaries. The charitable activities will be identified by the churches or Deanery Synod, but not necessarily be undertaken by them. The activities supported must be consistent with both Christian principles - demonstrating the love of God in words and/or actions - and Deanery priorities. They may include community building, care for the environment, supporting children, young people and schools and specific mission activities.
## **Achievements and Performance**
The Deanery has, throughout its history, supported and encouraged the Anglican churches within the Deanery in their mission and witness to their local communities.
Synod has met on 2 occasions in 2025. On 4th June at Childrey Church where the main topics were “Margot Hodson introduced her work with the John Ray” Initiative, and also Phil Evans the Area Church Engagement and Fundraising Officer for Christian Aid spoke in an engaging and inspiring way about the work of Christian Aid. On 19th November at Charlton Church when the AGM of the CIO took place, the meeting also discussed “Uniting pastoral provision for care homes across the Deanery”, and there was a presentation on “Living Faithfully in an Environmentally Challenging World”.
## **Financial Review**
The accounts of the CIO start on 1[st] January 2025 with the year-end of 31[st] December 2025.
Deanery Share is the main source of income for the Diocese to fund clergy stipends, local and national training and the essential central safeguarding and administrative functions of the Diocese.
The Deanery coordinates payment from Parishes (Parish Share) to make up the Deanery Share total. The Deanery co-ordinated payments from parishes to the Diocese during the year, which provided the time for one parish to resolve its parish share commitment within its finances.
The Deanery helped cover a parish’s payment to the Diocese due to a payment failure; this was promptly refunded by the particular parish; this enabled all parishes to receive their portion of a refund payment from the Diocese.
We are delighted that once again the Parishes have enabled payment of Deanery Share in full and on time. In recognition of this the Diocese refunded 2.5% of this year's Deanery Share which was returned to parishes minus a contribution to Deanery management costs.
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Year Ended 31[st] December 2025 – Annual Report
## **Future Plans**
The Deanery's capacity to continue with its objectives and charitable activities depends on its continuing receipt of the Parish Share rebate from the Diocese of Oxford which is dependent on the timely payment of parish share, and on external grants. The Trustees continue to operate on the basis that the Deanery's income will be broadly maintained, but prudently avoid undertaking longer term financial commitments without taking take great care in considering all relevant factors.
Our work depends entirely on the generosity and practical support of parishes and volunteers across the Deanery, along with grants and support from external bodies; we offer them our sincere thanks.
## **Reserves Policy**
The Trustees have examined the Deanery's requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organisation. The Deanery maintains reserves in its General Fund of around £6,400 against unexpected expenses. Synod has also agreed that this fund can be used as cash flow support where parishes struggle to pay Parish Share on time. In this case full repayment is required, either from the parish involved, or from withholding a proportion of Deanery Share rebates from all the parishes.
In addition, a further sum of around £400 is held in the Management fund against Trustee expenses and governance costs. This is topped up annually if required by withholding a proportion of Deanery Share rebates from all parishes.
## **Declarations**
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' report above.
Signed on behalf of the Deanery's trustees
Revd Katherine Price Area Dean and joint Chair
Date 2 February 2026
Hugh Rees Deanery Lay Chair and joint Chair
Date 2 February 2026
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Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
## **Wantage Deanery CIO**
Receipts and payments account for the year ended 31st December 2025
|||||**Designated Fund**|**Designated Fund**||**Restricted Funds**|**Restricted Funds**|**Restricted Funds**|**Restricted Funds**|**Restricted Funds**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Receipts|**2025**
**2024**
£
£
**General Fund**|||**2025**
**2024**
£
£
**Management Fund**|||**2025**
**2024**
£
£
**Mission Fund**|||**2025**
**2024**
£
£
**Schools Chaplaincy**
**Partnership**|||**2025**
**2024**
£
£
**Total**||
|Deanery Share rebates
Grants from PCCs
Other grants|7,943|7,700||-|-||-|-||-|-||7,943|7,700|
||-|500||413|-||-|-||-|-||413|500|
||-|-||143|258||-|-||-|-||143|258|
||7,943
8,200|||556
258|||-
-|||-
-|||8,499
8,458||
|Payments
Parish Share rebates
Deanery Share contributions
Return of unused grants
Lay Chair expenses
Other officer expenses
Other management expenses
Fund transfer|||||||||||||||
||7,528|7,701||-|-||-|-||-|-||7,528|7,701|
||3|497||-|-||-|-||-|-||3|497|
||-|-||-|-||-|-||-|2,640||-|2,640|
||-|-||437|-||-|-||-|-||437|-|
||-|-||-|26||-|-||-|-||-|26|
||-|-||165|319||-|-||-|-||165|319|
||413|-||-|-
||-|-||-|-||413|-|
||7,944
8,198|||602
345|||-
-|||-
2,640|||8,546
11,183||
|Surplus (deficit) of receipts over payments
Bank balance at 1st January 2025
Bank balance at 31st December 2025|||||||||||||||
||(1)|2||(46)|(87)||-|-||-|(2,640)||(47)|(2,725)|
||6,449|6,447||452|539||1,814|1,814||3,185|5,825||11,900|14,625|
||6,448|6,449||406|452||1,814|1,814||3,185|3,185||11,853|11,900|
|Represented by: TSB bank account|||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||11,853||
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS**
## **1) Basis of Preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
## **2) Accounting Policies**
## **Funds**
The financial statements are prepared under the current Church Accounting Regulations and in accordance with the 2015 Charities SORP and applicable accounting standards.
**Unrestricted Funds** represent the funds of the Deanery that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use. They include the General Fund which is available for application on the general purposes of the Deanery, and the Management Fund which is funds set aside for Deanery management.
**Restricted Funds** are those funds that must be spent on restricted purposes and details of the funds held and restrictions are provided in note 6.
## **a) Incoming Resources**
**Deanery share rebates** are monies returned by the Diocese to the Deanery if the Deanery pays their share in full and in a timely manner. The Deanery Share is raised from each parish (Parish Share) based on a formula which closely maps to the formula used by the Diocese to calculate Deanery Share. The specific sum due from each parish is agreed at the preceding Autumn Deanery Synod. If rebates are received, they are returned to parishes in proportion to their Parish Share, minus money withheld for Deanery purposes.
**Grants** can be from the Diocese or from external bodies. They are included in the accounts when they are received.
**Tax reclaims:** The Deanery has not received incoming resources from tax reclaims but if a tax reclaim was made it would be included in the accounts when it was received.
**Fundraising:** The Deanery has not received incoming resources with related expenditure (as with fundraising income). If they were to do so then the incoming resources and the related resources expended would be accounted for gross.
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
**Gifts in kind:** The Deanery has not received any gifts in kind but gifts in kind would be accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to the Deanery or the amount actually realised. Gifts in kind for sale or distribution would be included in the accounts as gifts only when sold or distributed by the Deanery.
## **b) Expenditure and Liabilities**
**Liabilities** are included in the accounts when they are paid. This includes payment of agreed expenses incurred by members for work done or items purchased on behalf of the Deanery – such as refreshments for Deanery Synods and payment of consultants for work done on behalf of the Deanery. The expenses for the Spring synod came to £52. The Deanery facilitated a community talk on local archaeology. The expenses and contributions to other causes were more than covered by donations received on the night, and the Deanery therefore received a net grant of £30 towards its management fund.
**Deanery share rebates if received** are returned to the Parishes in proportion to the Parish Share they paid minus a sum agreed at that year’s Autumn Deanery Synod to cover Deanery governance and management costs.
**Governance costs** include costs of the preparation and examination of accounts, the costs of Synod and Trustee meetings and cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters. During the period the Deanery incurred no such costs.
**Grants with conditions** are where the Deanery agrees a Grant which requires specified conditions to be met (and invoices or copies of receipts to be provided). The money is set aside as a liability after the Grant has been agreed but is only recognised in the accounts once it has been paid.
**Grants payable without conditions** are recognised in the accounts when the Deanery has agreed to an unconditional grant and paid it.
## **c) Assets**
The Deanery does not have any tangible fixed assets, investments, stocks or work in progress.
## **d) Transfers between funds**
Where there are transfers between funds, these are shown in the accounts.
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
## **3) Trustees Expenses**
The Deanery pays travel expenses to the Lay Chair and Diocesan Synod representatives for any meetings attended in or on behalf of the Deanery. In addition, any Lay member of the Deanery who attends an event as a Deanery Representative will also have their travel expenses covered by the Deanery at Diocesan rates.
The Lay Chair expenses for both 2024 and 2025 are included in the 2025 accounts:
For 2024 these amounted to £233 and for 2025 £204
## **4) Fees for Examination of the Accounts**
No fees were paid for the examination of the accounts for 2025.
## **5) Grant Making**
No grants have been made in 2025.
## **6) Fund details**
## **a) Unrestricted Funds**
**General Fund** This Fund holds the unrestricted monies for managing the finances of the Deanery. It is kept at around £6,000 to cover un and acts as a cash flow buffer.
**Designated** This Fund holds monies raised from parishes. The amount set aside each year is generally taken as 0.21% of the Parish **Management** Share paid that year and is withheld by the Deanery from any Share rebates at the end of the year. The fund is used to **Fund** pay for venues for Synod meetings (if payment is required), pay for refreshments at Synod meetings, and pay for travel expenses for Deanery Officers and for the Diocesan Synod Representative on traveling to those Synod meetings. In addition, it is used to pay for legal and other management advice to the Deanery.
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## Wantage Deanery CIO Period ended 31[st] December 2025 – Financial Report
## **b) Restricted Funds**
**Mission Fund** This Fund holds monies given by a Diocesan Mission Grant for work in rural parishes across the Deanery and elsewhere in the Diocese. It will be utilised as and when suitable needs are identified. In 2025 no grants were made.
**Schools Chaplaincy Partnership Fund**
This Fund holds monies raised from grants and donations specifically for the purpose of appointing and supporting the work of a chaplain to the Church of England and Community primary and secondary schools within the Deanery.
## **7) Transactions with Related Parties**
Wantage Deanery CIO has a partnership with the Vale Academy Trust (VAT) for the purposes of developing a Schools’ Chaplaincy Partnership. This project has been paused for the moment following failure to attract sufficient grants from other grant making bodies to make the project viable.
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