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2025-03-31-accounts

THE SICK CHILDREN'S TRUST

Company No: 01618435 Charity No: 284416

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 MARCH 2025

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The Sick Children’s Trust

Page
Legal and Administrative Information 3-4
Trustees’ report 5-17
Independent Auditor's Report 18-21
Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating income and expenditure
account) 22
Balance Sheet 23
Statement of Cash Flows 24
Notes to the Financial Statements 25-39
Acknowledgements 42

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The Sick Children’s Trust Legal and Administrative Information

Address

4[th] Floor 28-30 Worship Street London EC2A 2AH

President

Michael Crawford CBE

Founders

Professor J Malpas Dr J Pritchard

Ambassadors

Alice Beer Anton Du Beke Anita Dobson Tim Downie Alfie Joey Christina Johnston Margaret Keys Jen Pringle Christopher Timothy Sian Welby Paul A Young

Trustees

Aileen Ryan (Chair - Appointed September 2024) Abbie Pokorny (Resigned November 2024) Angela Yannoulias (appointed March 2024) Darren Fennell (Appointed July 2024)

David Plane Deborah Kester Dr Jack Singer (Resigned October 2024) Fiona Blakemore

Mei-Lin Roberston (Appointed March 2025) Michael Robinson

Patrick James Rigby

Paul Jardine Peter Cunard Polly Staveley

Tim Craig (Resigned October 2024) Vicky Carter (Resigned January 2025)

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The Sick Children’s Trust Legal and Administrative information (Continued)

Principal Bankers

Coutts and Co Specialist Commercial Banking 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS

Solicitors

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP Cannon Street 78 Cannon Street London EC4N 6AF

Weil, Gotshal & Manges 110 Fetter Lane London EC4A 1AY

Both CMS Cameron McKenna and Weil, Gotshal & Manges provide legal services on a pro bono basis

Independent Auditor

UNW LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Citygate

St James’ Boulevard Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4JE

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The Sick Children’s Trust Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-2025

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act and the Members of Council under the terms of the governing document) present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of The Sick Children’s Trust (The SCT) for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements of the company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the company’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and Activities

Policies and Objectives

The core purpose of the charity as set out in the company's memorandum of association is to benefit the public by promoting and furthering the care, relief and treatment of sick children at any hospital in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Charity’s objects are specifically restricted to the following:

This accommodation is provided in the following houses:

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Strategies and activities for achieving objectives

Our main activities are described below.

All of our charitable activities focus on the provision of 'Home from Home' accommodation for the families of sick children receiving treatment in hospital. These are our main beneficiaries. The activities we undertake promote our charitable purposes for the public benefit in the UK. The trustees confirm that they have had due regard to the law relating to public benefit and the Charity Commission’s guidance on the subject.

The Sick Children’s Trust has ten ‘Homes from Home’ providing support to families with a sick child in hospital at one of eight hospitals in five cities in England. Our homes provide both practical and emotional support to families with a seriously ill child in hospital. All our homes vary in size and layout but the key elements remain the same – private family bedrooms so family members can relax in privacy and communal kitchens, living areas and laundries so families can have a degree of normal family life. Our house staff ensure the smooth running of the home and offer support to families.

The service provided by The Sick Children's Trust 'Homes from Home' is free of charge and we welcome all families irrespective of their personal circumstances, financial or otherwise. We work with the medical teams to ensure that families most in need are able to utilise our services. The majority of referrals are based on a family's needs and requirements i.e. distance from home, siblings in attendance, type of illness and length of stay. Families with a child on intensive care or high dependency are our highest priority when it comes to allocating rooms in our 'Homes from Home' because there is nowhere else for them to stay at the hospital.

Operations - who used and benefited from our services

The Sick Children's Trust supported 3,203 families in the year ending 31 March 2025, made up of 2,529 new families and 674 returning families. The average length of stay across our ten houses was 15 days. We have experienced a gradual increase of occupancy since 31 March 2024 to achieve 91% occupancy in 2024/25

Our accommodation includes three flats - a bone marrow transplant flat at Rainbow House in London, a liver transplant flat at Eckersley House in Leeds and a heart transplant flat at Scott House in Newcastle upon Tyne. These allow post-transplant children to stay with their families so that they can recover and prepare to go home.

Demand for our service fluctuated house to house during 2024/25 in response to regional demand and reflecting localised ward closures. However, demand remained high with constant waiting lists in some of the houses. In line with current NHS provision, paediatric services have become more centralised at specialist centres across the UK, so children are having to travel far from home to receive the treatment they need, making our services even more essential.

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Continuing Efficiency

The impact of our work goes beyond those who we help directly and includes reducing the physical stress of the hospital environment, enabling family members to take a break from clinical environments for much needed rest and quiet periods.

We continue to review our services on a regular basis and ask all families who use our services to complete a feedback form. This feedback helps us to evaluate the support we provide and shapes future services and developments. To increase the uptake of these forms we have made them more accessible by offering a printed copy and an online copy that can be accessed with a QR code.

In 2024/25, 431 families (13%) filled in our feedback form and a 99% of them said they would recommend us to a family in a similar situation to them. 100% of our families said that being close by was beneficial for their child's wellbeing and recovery, 99% said staying in the ‘Home from Home’ helped them to cope, while 100% said it was reassuring to be able to be close to their sick child. 99% of families said that being supported in a ‘Home from Home’ and being close to their sick child helped their mental wellbeing. 95% of families felt staying in a ‘Home from Home’ helped to alleviate financial concerns that they may have had.

Our dedicated staff support families and are at the heart of our ‘Homes from Home’. 98% of families felt that it was important to have house staff on hand to give support during their stay. Peer to peer support can be a great help to parents and 85% of families who spent time talking with other families in the home found it to be a supportive aspect of staying in a ‘Home from Home’.

By providing somewhere for families to stay close to their sick child, parents are able to play an active part in their child’s care and treatment. 89% of families helped with the personal care (washing, bathing and dressing) of their sick child.

Families can stay with us for many months or even years. In 2024/25 a family went home after staying for 567 nights.

Volunteers

We are very fortunate to have a number of volunteers who give their time to support our work. Volunteers help in a number of ways including fundraising, office and administration and work in our ‘Homes from Homes.’ A number of corporate supporters provide volunteers who have prepared meals for families staying in the houses, baked for cake sales and house events.

Gifts in Kind

We are fortunate that a lot of our essential household items such as bed linen for our ‘Homes from Home’ are donated to us free of charge from Beaumont Brown. These donations represented an estimated cost saving of £32,814 for the year.

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Review of activities 2024-25

The charity reviews its aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at what we have achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous twelve months, and the benefits that have been brought to the families that we are here to help. It also keeps us focused on our stated purpose.

Our key achievements this year

Supporting families

Fundraising

Organisational development

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The Sick Children’s Trust

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

Fundraising and Communications Update

Fundraising activities undertaken by the charity are carried out with reference to the Code of Fundraising Practice. We are registered with the UK Fundraising Regulator and abide by its best practice recommendations.

Any complaints received by the charity are recorded and investigated in line with the charity’s Complaints Policy which is reviewed and approved annually by our Governance, Risk and Compliance Committee of the Board of Trustees. During the year we did not receive any complaints in relation to our fundraising practices. If complaints are received, they are all managed effectively by being dealt with locally where possible, swiftly and consistently across the charity. As soon as the complainants are communicated with, all relevant areas of The Sick Children’s Trust, led by the CEO and Senior Management Team, are briefed on what the complaint relates to, and changes are made to our processes and procedures where necessary to avoid such complaints arising in the future.

During the past year our Fundraising Team have continued to focus on the longer-term growth and sustainability across all income streams. We were able to deliver a full programme of special events which saw the repeat of our golf day and afternoon tea both hosted by our Ambassador Anton Du Beke, our annual carol service ‘Together at Christmas’ and the return of Supper Club which we hosted at Mosimann’s - a private dining club in the heart of Belgravia. We continued to grow our Challenge event programme with the introduction of the Home to Home Challenge, a bespoke series of five activities where participants could choose to choose to swim, walk, run, cycle or toddle throughout the month of June and we also purchased places in the Cambridge Half Marathon. This wider programme of events has also enabled us to offer more opportunities to our corporate partners to keep them engaged and promote a good experience for their employees.

As part of our broader long-term strategy, we developed a Legacy Guide to share with families and our wider audience, raising awareness about the opportunity to leave a gift in their will. This initiative supports the future sustainability of the charity and helps secure its lasting impact.

Growing our database of supporters has continued to be vital, and during this financial year we expanded our Fundraising Development Board, a group of committed influential business professionals and philanthropic donors, to help in making new introductions. We have also created a Shadow Board – a group of emerging young leaders who will be working in parallel with the main Development Board to further help raise awareness using their networks, bring fresh next generation ideas and offer insights into trends, engagement strategies and innovative approaches. Trusts and Foundations have proven to be a vital source of income for The Sick Children’s Trust, and we continue to ensure that building a relationship with each and every individual trust is at the heart of every approach.

9

The Sick Children’s Trust

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

As we look ahead to next year, we are working on a variety of new projects including a regular giving campaign, an art exhibition and a range of products and events to support our fundraising efforts for a new Home from Home associated with Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Our Communications and Marketing Team has continued to produce high quality communications and marketing materials and campaigns to highlight the impact of our ‘Homes from Home’, ensuring this is communicated effectively to engage our audiences, raise the charity’s profile and vital funds. Public relations activity has secured 515 individual high quality national and regional press coverage articles (up from 432 last year), to help raise awareness around the country.

The team continues to engage existing supporters through monthly email marketing communications, seeing our average open rate increase from 39% in 2023/24 to 41%, annual mailings and the biannual newsletter as well as new audiences through paid social media and timed communications with families who have stayed in our homes. The team continues to review our Communication and Marketing strategy to ensure we are making the most of all opportunities.

Financial review

In spite of continued difficult conditions there has been a marked increase in public support and fundraising activity. Income increased in the year to £2,703,598 due to a combination of offsetting factors. The most significant factor was legacy income where we were a residual beneficiary following probate being granted early in the year. The legacy income is required to be used towards a capital project. There were further year on year increases in income from our Events Programme, Corporate income and Community income. These were partially offset by a decrease in Hospital income.

The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) shows that our main source of income continues to be individual donations.

Income was split between £1,686,141 unrestricted (62%) and £1,017,457 restricted income (38%). The restricted income was raised to meet running costs and capital refurbishments of individual homes. In early 2024/25, we were notified that probate was granted in relation to a legacy that we are a residual beneficiary of. We have recognised £173,000 in relation to the estate, with a residual balance to be received on sale of foreign property that has not yet been recognised due to the uncertainty of the final amount. It is expected to be in the region of €280,000.

Total expenditure remained consistent in the year with a very slight decrease to £3,155,540 due to a combination of offsetting factors. The most significant factor was a decrease in Property costs following particularly high repairs and maintenance costs incurred in certain houses in 2023/24. This was largely offset by increased staff and recruitment costs associated with the recruitment of a new Chair of Trustees and general increases as a result of the increased cost of living.

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The Sick Children’s Trust

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

Cost of generating funds came to £1,029,379 and Charitable activity costs accounted for 67% of the total resources expended. This is broadly in line with the level in 2023/24.

The Sick Children’s Trust continues to annually review how to keep its operations as efficient as possible, through optimising costs and undertaking efficiency drives. This has been more challenging recently due to higher inflation and increases in energy costs.

At the end of this financial year The Sick Children’s Trust had cash resources of £1,522,812 of which restricted funds account for £155,000 to be spent on the ‘Homes from Home’ operations and upcoming capital projects. This is in line with our reserves policy which is discussed further below.

During the year the trustees maintained a programme of review that will continue and which will ensure the operations of the charity are streamlined and sufficient income is raised to ensure the delivery of the stated aims and objectives.

Reserves policy

The Sick Children’s Trust has total reserves of £6,459,428. £155,000 is restricted for specific purposes and £4,909,807 is tied up in fixed assets (the majority of which relates to the houses) and so is not available to spend.

As part of our Five-Year Strategy, discussions have continued with both our existing and new hospital partners about their current and future accommodation needs. More details regarding these partnerships can be found in our Plans for the Future below.

This leaves a balance of £1,394,621 as general unrestricted funds or what the Charity Commission define as ‘free’ reserves to provide for the charity’s working capital needs and provide a sensible contingency against an unexpected shortfall in fundraising income, emergency expenditure or seed money for new projects.

In line with the guidance issued by the Charity Commission, the trustees have considered the future expenditure needs of the charity and deem that in 2025/26 such reserves should be between three and six months’ running costs. This is between approximately £793,000 and £1,586,000 for the forthcoming year, which will ensure uninterrupted services and delivery of the charity’s objectives.

Going Concern

As set out in the accounting policies, the charity has adequate reserves that are held as cash. Despite the difficult times caused by the current economic climate, which have led to a continued reduction in income, the trustees are satisfied that the charity has sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due, and consequently that the going concern basis of preparation remains appropriate.

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Plans for the Future

Our ten ‘Homes from Home’ continue to provide support to families through the terrible crisis of having a seriously ill child in hospital. The increase in the average stay in the last year from thirteen nights to fifteen nights and the feedback we receive from families shows how vital are services are to families who, without us, would not be able to stay together close to their child’s bedside.

Over the coming year, we will continue to ensure that all our houses offer families a comfortable place to stay and invest in the maintenance and refurbishment of our existing ‘Homes from Home’. This year we plan to refurbish the remaining eleven bathrooms at Scott House, paint the communal areas in Guilford Street, replace the curtains in all sixteen bedrooms at Stevenson House, purchase new wardrobes for Chestnut house and new sofas for Crawford House.

The cost of living is impacting everyone but for families with a child in hospital long term, there are additional financial pressures. In order to support families in our care further, we aim to launch our ‘Help Yourself’ programme where we will provide nutritious, healthy snacks in all of our houses so that families have something readily available to eat cost free. We recognise the importance of parents and other family members looking after both their physical and mental health in order to cope with the challenges they are facing.

We will also be looking to support more families and will pilot opening up some of our houses during core hours to non-resident families who have a child undergoing treatment at the hospitals where we are located. This will enable parents and other family members to step away from the intense hospital environment and rest and relax with the reassurance that they are close by their child if they are needed.

The cost of running our ten ‘Homes from Home’ has risen significantly over the last few years mainly due to increased utility, cleaning, and general staffing costs. We know that this is going to rise even more with the increase in NI contributions this year. Coupled with this, our income has been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and has not risen as the same level as expenditure.

Over the last few years, it has been necessary for us to use the charity’s reserves to plug the funding gap to meet our vital operating costs. However, we know that this cannot continue, and we are looking at the longer-term future of the charity and what we can do to protect our ‘Homes from Home’ service to support more families in line with our strategic plan.

The continuing challenging financial environment has led us to take the difficult decision to sell Rainbow House. Rainbow House is a Grade 2 listed building, which comes with significant running and maintenance costs, over the years requiring substantial renovations and in most recent years requiring roofing repairs, changes to all internal fire doors, and a significant water ingress issue – all of which involved vast and unexpected costs.

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The Sick Children’s Trust

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

With the investment of funds secured from the sale of the property, the use of some funds to plug our funding gap, and a robust fundraising plan to meet the year-on-year operating costs of our existing homes and future ‘Homes from Home’ we are confident that this decision will secure the charity for the longer-term allowing us to support many more families who will need us in the years to come.

Alongside this as we enter into the third year of our five-year strategy, we plan to carry out an immediate strategic review of all our income streams to ensure that we are maximising opportunities and that our fundraising is cost effective.

Whilst this is underway, we are always looking try and introduce new fundraising activities and events and we are planning an art event: ‘Together Through Art’ for February 2026.

As we look to build sustainable income, we will also be launching a Regular Giving Campaign to grow our ‘Friends of The Sick Children’s Trust’ programme.

We will continue to work with Bradford Hospitals Charity to raise £3m for a new ‘Home from Home for families with a baby on the neonatal unit. The project has been made possible by a legacy gift specifically for a new capital build and we will approach capital funders and develop relationships within the local Bradford area and wider Yorkshire area for the capital build.

Running costs of the new Bradford home will be much lower than our older freehold properties because the hospital will be provide a full repairing lease on a peppercorn rent and support us with cleaning and utility costs. Our capital fundraising campaign will raise funds for the first few years running costs so this will not cause a further burden on the Charity’s operating costs.

We are also continuing discussions with Sheffield Children’s Hospital about a pilot project for a ‘Home from Home’ for families with children receiving treatment at Beckton for Sheffield Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

Our commitment to our staff wellbeing and development will continue to be a key focus over the coming year. We will be carrying out a review of our staff benefits and following on from the success of our Aspire Leadership and Development Programme we will look to relaunch the programme and make it available to other staff.

13

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Structure, governance and management

Constitution

The SCT is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 01618435 and is governed by its memorandum and articles of association. It does not have share capital and the liability of members is limited by guarantee.

The SCT is a charity under the terms of Section 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and the registration number is 284416.

The principal activity of The SCT is to provide essential accommodation and amenities for parents, guardians, relatives and friends of children undergoing treatment at a number of leading hospitals around the country. There have been no material changes to this policy in the year under review. We work in collaboration with NHS hospitals to develop ‘Homes from Home’ within minutes of the wards.

Pay and remuneration of key management personnel are discussed and agreed by the Remuneration & Nominations Committee, taking into consideration industry benchmarking on an annual basis.

Management

The management of the charity is the responsibility of the trustees who are also the directors of the charitable company. The trustees are always looking to have a full complement of skill sets, so that every member of the board has something different to contribute to the work of the charity. The board likes to have at least eight serving members at any one time, but not more than thirteen.

The recruitment of new trustees takes place in the form of a tour of one or two of our ‘Homes from Home’, followed by an interview with one or two of the existing trustees. Upon a satisfactory interview, the candidate is invited to present his or her credentials to the Nominations and Remuneration Committee who, if satisfied that they have the relevant skills and commitment, will then make a recommendation for their appointment at the next trustees’ meeting.

Policies adopted for the induction and training of trustees

Depending on the role the new trustee has been appointed to fulfil, the trustee will meet with the relevant staff and/or outside agencies with which the charity has any dealings or contact, as well as receiving a Trustee Induction Pack. Courses are offered within the industry for trustees to attend throughout the year.

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Organisational Structure and Decision Making

The trustees collectively are responsible for directing the affairs of the charity ensuring that it is solvent, well run and delivering the charitable outcomes for which it was set up, and ensuring compliance with charity law and all other applicable legislation and regulation. The trustees also determine the strategy and key objectives and vote on major policy decisions affecting the charity which they monitor through regular meetings.

The board meets quarterly and is responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. Presently the board has members from a variety of professional backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity. The trustees are responsible for appointing a Chief Executive (Mrs J Featherstone) and it is she who is the link between the board and staff.

The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services set out in its objectives, meets its performance targets and that the staff continue to develop their skills and working methods in line with good practice.

The day to day running of the Head Office is the responsibility of the Chief Executive with a total staff of 29 employees. This includes finance and administration, fundraising and communications staff with senior managers leading in these areas.

The Directors of House Operations in the North and South have responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the 'Homes from Home', and individual supervision of the house teams. The Directors of House Operations report directly to the Chief Executive.

Public Benefit

In accordance with S17 of the Charities Act 2011, the trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and objectives of the charity and when planning the future activities. The trustees assess how new activities planned will contribute to the overall aims and objectives they have set and periodically review existing activities to ensure ongoing public benefit.

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Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

As part of their responsibilities the trustees ensure that the major risks to which the charity is exposed are reviewed and systems established to mitigate those risks. The Sick Children’s Trust continues to work hard to deliver our critical services and generate income to be able to keep funding our work.

The trustees consider the key risks of the charity to be:

Procedures are in place covering Governance, People, Health and Safety Operational, Financial, IT, Environmental & External, Reputation and Data Protection; these are regularly monitored and reviewed on an annual basis by both the senior management and Board of Trustees.

There are four Committees that all report on their areas of specialism to the full Board of Trustees, namely, a Governance, Risk & Compliance Committee, a Finance & Audit Committee, a Health & Safety Committee and a Remuneration & Nominations Committee. All committees are chaired by a trustee.

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The Sick Children’s Trust

Trustees’ Report for Annual Accounts 2024-25 (Continued)

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of The Sick Children’s 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).

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 the 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 adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and 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.

Disclosure of information to auditors

Each of the persons who are trustees at the time when this Trustees Report is approved has confirmed that:

This report, comprising the Trustees’ Financial Report, was approved by the board on 26 June 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

.........................................................................................................

Aileen Ryan (Chair)

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The Sick Children’s Trust Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Sick Children’s Trust ‘the charitable company’ for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and related notes, including a summary of 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’s 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 United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council’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 financial statements are 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.

18

Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual 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.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable 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 in relation to which Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

19

Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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’s 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:

We identified areas of law and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general and sector experience and through discussions with the trustees and other management (as required by Auditing Standards) and from inspection of the charitable company's legal correspondence, and we discussed with the trustees and other management the policies and procedures in place regarding compliance with laws and regulations. We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

Firstly, the charitable company is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation (including related companies) and taxation legislation and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

20

The Sick Children’s Trust

Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members (Continued)

Secondly the charitable company is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect; health and safety, employment law, data protection, environmental law, and certain aspects of company legislation, recognising the nature of the charitable company's activities. Auditing Standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Through these procedures, we did not become aware of any actual or suspected non-compliance material to the financial statements.

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.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, 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 members 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 members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Anne Hallowell BSc FCA DCha (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of UNW LLP, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants Newcastle upon Tyne

Date: 26 June 2025

21

The Sick Children’s Trust Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Note
Income and
endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Investments
Total
2
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total
3
Net expenditure
Transfers between funds
15
Net expenditure after
transfers
Reconciliation of funds
Funds at 1 April 2024
Funds at 31 March 2025
15		 Unrestricted
funds
£
1,281,783
343,580
60,778
1,686,141
1,029,379
1,108,704
2,138,083
(451,942)
-
(451,941)
6,756,370
6,304,428		 Restricted
funds
£
989,170
28,287
-
1,017,457
-
1,017,457
1,017,457		 Total
2025
£
2,270,953
371,867
60,778
2,703,598
1,029,379
2,126,161
3,155,540
(451,942)
-
(451,941)
6,911,370
6,459,428		 Total
2024
£
2,004,817
336,070
53,460
2,394,347
981,841
2,184,657
3,166,498
-
-
-
155,000
155,000		 (772,151)
-
(772,151)
7,683,521
6,911,370

All amounts relate to continuing operations. There are no other recognised gains and losses other than those shown above.

The notes on pages 25 to 39 form part of these financial statements.

22

The Sick Children’s Trust Balance Sheet as at 31[st] March 2025

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
7
Intangible fixed assets
8
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
10
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year
11
Net assets
Represented by:
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds - Fixed
assets
Designated funds - Capital projects
General unrestricted funds
Total funds
15		 2025
£
263,131
1,522,812
1,785,943
(233,599)		 2025
£
4,904,120
5,687
1,552,344
6,462,151
(2,723)
6,459,428
155,000
4,909,807
173,000
1,221,621
6,459,428		 2024
£
179,074
1,748,900
1,927,974
(274,819)		 2024
£
5,249,900
8,315
1,653,155
6,911,370
-
6,911,370
155,000
5,258,215
-
1,498,155
6,911,370

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on 26 June 2025.

…………………………………………….

Fiona Blakemore (Trustee)

Registered company number 01618435

The notes on pages 25 to 39 form part of these financial statements.

23

The Sick Children’s Trust

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31st March 2025

Note
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities
13
Cash flow from investing activities
Interest received
Payments to acquire fixed assets
Net cash provided used in financing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of year
13		 2025
2024
£
£
(252,570)
(558,185)
60,778
53,460
(34,296)
(39,189)
26,482
14,271
(226,088)
(543,914)
1,748,900
2,292,814
1,522,812
1,748,900

The notes on pages 25 to 39 form part of these financial statements.

24

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2024

The Sick Children’s Trust

1 Accounting Policies

Basis of accounting

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 (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and are rounded to the nearest £1.

The charity 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.

Going Concern

As set out in the Trustees’ report, the charity has adequate reserves that are held as cash. Despite the difficult times caused by the current economic climate, which have led to a continued reduction in income, the trustees are satisfied that the charity has sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due, and consequently that the going concern basis of preparation remains appropriate.

Company Status

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom and registered in England and Wales. The members of the company are the members of the Council of Management named in the annual report. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the company.

Fund Accounting

Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in 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 fund. Investment income is allocated to the appropriate fund.

25

The Sick Children’s Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Income

All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income, receipt is probable and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Where income is performance related it is deferred or accrued into the period to which it relates. For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the company being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received.

Donated income represents donations, covenanted income and income from fundraising activities, received and banked in the year, and donations certified as held by third parties at the year end on behalf of the Trust. Gifts in kind are included in the statement of financial activities at a reasonable estimate of their value at the time they are utilised by the charity, with an equivalent amount recognised as charitable expenditure. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.

Income received in relation to fundraising events that have not yet taken place is deferred into the period in which the event that gives rise to the income occurs.

Government grants are included in the statement of financial activities on a receivable basis. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

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. The majority of costs are directly attributable to specific activities. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a staff time basis, consistent with use of resources and estimated amount attributable to that activity in the year.

Cost of activities in furtherance of the charity's objects represents expenses incurred in the running of The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Homes from Home’.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of charitable activities.

Support costs are those incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the company, including those incurred in connection with the administration of the company and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

26

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Tangible assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the excess of cost over estimated residual values of fixed assets in equal annual instalments over their expected useful economic lives at the following rates: Freehold property: over the shorter of 40 years or its estimated remaining useful life, on a straight line basis Leasehold property: over the shorter of the period of the lease or its estimated remaining useful life, on a straight line basis IT: three years, straight line basis Furniture and office equipment: five years, straight line basis

Assets purchased at a cost of less than £1,000 are expensed in the year of purchase.

Intangible Fixed Assets and Amortisation

Intangible assets are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. Amortisation is provided on all intangible assets so as to write-off the cost of an asset over its estimated useful life as follows:

Website development costs: five years, straight line basis

Assets residual values and useful lives are reviewed at the end of each reporting period, and adjusted if appropriate. The effect of any change is accounted for prospectively.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount repaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cash at Bank and in Hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

27

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Operating Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the income statement on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease. Benefits received and receivable as an incentive to enter into an operating lease are also spread on a straight line basis over the lease term.

Pensions

The charity has one member who is a participant in The Pensions Trust Growth Plan Scheme which is a multi-employer defined benefit scheme. The charity is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities and therefore accounts for this Scheme as if it was a defined contribution scheme. The scheme is in deficit and the charity has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement. A liability is recognised on the balance sheet for the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement.

The charity also participates in a defined contribution scheme with Scottish Widows. The assets of the Scheme are held separately from those of the Trust in an independently administered fund, and contributions to the Scheme are charged to the SOFA as they fall due.

Critical Accounting Estimates and Areas of Judgement

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

In preparing these financial statements the directors do not consider there were any significant areas of judgement that were required in applying the company's accounting policies as set out above.

28

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

2 Donations and Legacies

Donations and legacies
Legacies & covenants
Donations & appeals
Gifts in kind
Donations and legacies
Legacies & covenants
Donations & appeals
Gifts in kind		 Unrestricted
£
89,948
1,191,835
-
1,281,783
Unrestricted
£
51,505
1,067,435
-
1,118,940		 Restricted
£
179,793
776,563
32,814
989,170
Restricted
£
500
850,715
34,662
885,877		 2025
Total
£
269,741
1,968,398
32,814
2,270,953
2024
Total
£
52,005
1,918,150
34,662
2,004,817

Gifts in kind comprise essential household items such as bed linen provided to the houses.

Analysis of Total Income

Events programme
Corporate
Charitable Trusts
Hospitals
Community
Other income
Major Gifts
Donations in memoriam
Legacies
Gifts in kind		 Donations
and legacies
£
-
195,775
515,546
220,362
589,337
126,670
196,860
123,848
269,741
32,814
2,270,953		 Other trading
activities
£
363,312
-
-
-
-
8,555
-
-
-
-
371,867		 Investments
£
-
-
-
-
-
60,778
-
-
-
-
60,778		 2025
Total
£
363,312
195,775
515,546
220,362
589,337
196,003
196,860
123,848
269,741
32,814
2,703,598

Investments income solely relates to Bank interest.

29

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)


Events programme
Corporate
Charitable Trusts
Hospitals
Community
Other income
Major Gifts
Donations in memoriam
Legacies
Gifts in kind		 Donations
and legacies
£
-
161,583
497,885
249,975
564,176
129,702
184,235
130,594
52,005
34,662
2,004,817		 Other trading
activities
£
329,110
-
-
-
-
6,960
-
-
-
-
336,070		 Investments
£
-
-
-
-
-
53,460
-
-
-
-
53,460		 2024
Total
£
329,110
161,583
497,885
249,975
564,176
190,122
184,235
130,594
52,005
34,662
2,394,347

3 Total Resources Expended

Basis of
allocation
Staff costs (note 6)
Direct
Property costs
Direct
Advertising & publications
Direct
Professional fees
Direct
Recruitment & training
Direct
Events
Direct
Catering
Direct
Equipment rental
Direct
Insurance
Direct
Merchandising costs
Direct
Audit & accountancy
Direct
Depreciation
Direct
Amortisation
Direct
Support costs allocated to
activities
Staff costs (note 6)
Headcount
Postage & telephone
Headcount
Stationery
Headcount
Travel
Headcount
Recruitment & training
Headcount
Sundry (incl computing costs)
Headcount
Insurance
Headcount
At 31 March 2025		 Costs of
raising funds
£
652,633
51,809
23,304
19,942
13,647
93,588
581
1,405
8,214
4,637
7,785
2,685
1,314
96,693
7,909
1,256
8,017
2,773
29,518
1,669
1,029,379		 Charitable
activities
£
933,427
399,916
20,578
21,873
15,133
19,446
410
1,405
22,476
4,637
7,800
377,392
1,314
225,617
15,684
3,574
10,851
3,075
36,986
4,567
2,126,161		 2025
£
1,586,060
451,725
43,882
41,815
28,780
113,034
991
2,810
30,690
9,274
15,585
380,077
2,628
322,310
23,593
4,830
18,868
5,848
66,504
6,236
3,155,540

30

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Basis of
allocation
Staff costs (note 6)
Direct
Property costs
Direct
Advertising & publications
Direct
Professional fees
Direct
Recruitment & training
Direct
Events
Direct
Catering
Direct
Equipment rental
Direct
Insurance
Direct
Merchandising costs
Direct
Audit & accountancy
Direct
Depreciation
Direct
Amortisation
Direct
Support costs allocated to
activities
Staff costs (note 6)
Headcount
Postage & telephone
Headcount
Stationery
Headcount
Travel
Headcount
Recruitment & training
Headcount
Sundry (incl computing costs)
Headcount
Insurance
Headcount
At 31 March 2024		 Costs of
raising funds
£
633,523
52,315
26,282
16,743
9,434
77,602
383
955
11,456
4,800
6,780
2,770
1,314
94,560
7,022
1,005
11,854
1,933
18,762
2,348
981,841		 Charitable
activities
£
904,705
481,435
18,815
19,858
8,510
39,924
456
955
24,173
4,800
6,840
383,153
1,314
220,641
13,395
3,550
15,706
1,744
29,730
4,953
2,184,657		 2024
£
1,538,228
533,750
45,097
36,601
17,944
117,526
839
1,910
35,629
9,600
13,620
385,923
2,628
315,201
20,417
4,555
27,560
3,677
48,492
7,301
3,166,498

4 Net decrease in funds

2025 2024
£ £
The net decrease in funds is arrived at after charging:
Depreciation 380,076 385,923
Amortisation 2,628 2,628
Auditor’s remuneration for the statutory audit of these accounts 12,600 12,000
Fees paid to statutory auditors for other services 2,985 -
Hire of equipment 2,810 1,909
Operating lease costs for premises 82,800 82,800

31

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

5 Taxation

The Sick Children’s Trust, as a charity, qualifies for exemption from corporation tax on most income streams provided that the proceeds are applied for charitable purpose in furtherance of its objects. There is no corporation tax due on the activities undertaken during the current or previous financial year.

6 Staff Costs

2025 2024
£ £
Salaries and wages 1,643,831 1,601,402
Social security costs 159,037 153,938
Pension costs 105,502 98,090
1,908,370 1,853,430
The number of higher paid employees was:
2025 Number 2024 Number
In the band £70,001 - £80,000 1 1
1 1
The average number of full time equivalent employees analysed by function was:
2025 Number 2024 Number
House managers and assistants 20 20
Management & administration of the charity 7 7
Cost of generating funds 18 17
45 44
The average number of employees analysed by function was:
2025 Number 2024 Number
House managers and assistants 27 27
Management & administration of the charity 9 9
Cost of generating funds 18 17
54 53

None of the Board of Trustees, nor the President, received any remuneration from The Sick Children’s Trust in either period, and no trustees’ expenses were incurred in either period.

32

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

Key management personnel

Key management personnel are deemed to be those having authority and responsibility, delegated to them by the Trustees for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity. During 2024/25 they were:

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £460,595 relating to FTE equivalent of 7 (2024: £467,925 relating to FTE equivalent of 7).

7 Tangible Fixed Assets

Cost
At 1 April 2024
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2025
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024
Charge for year
Disposals
At 31 March 2025
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2025
At 31 March 2024		 Assets under
construction
£
-
3,036
-
3,036
-
-
-
-
3,036
-		 Freehold
Property
£
1,318,139
-
-
1,318,139
599,283
23,793
-
623,076
695,063
718,856		 Short
Leasehold
Property
£
10,204,372
24,634
-
10,229,006
5,734,477
331,353
-
6,065,830
4,163,176
4,469,895		 IT
£
17,813
-
-
17,813
17,813
-
-
17,813
-
-		 Furniture &
Office
Equipment
£
651,620
6,626
-
658,246
590,471
24,930
-
615,401
42,845
61,149		 Total
£
12,191,944
34,296
-
12,226,240
6,942,044
380,076
-
7,322,120
4,904,120
5,249,900

33

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

The Sick Children’s Trust

8 Intangible Fixed Assets

Cost
At 1 April 2024
Additions
Disposals
Transfers
At 31 March 2025
Amortisation
At 1 April 2024
Charge for year
Disposals
At 31 March 2025
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2025
At 31 March 2024		 Website
development costs
£
50,100
-
-
50,100
41,785
2,628
-
44,413
5,687
8,315		 Total
£
50,100
-
-
-
50,100
41,785
2,628
-
44,413
5,687
8,315

9 Debtors

ebtors
Other debtors
Prepayments & accrued income		 2025
£
570
262,561
263,131		 2024
£
-
179,074
179,074

All amounts included within debtors fall due within one year.

34

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

10 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Defined benefit pension liability (note 17)
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Deferred income
Deferred income at 1 April 2024
Resources deferred during the year
Amounts released from previous years
Deferred income at 31 March 2025
11 Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than
Defined benefit pension liability (note 17)		 2025
2024
£
£
46,904
37,258
31,333
35,543
1,511
1,796
17,163
10,217
136,688
190,005
233,599
274,819
£
137,432
84,928
(137,432)
84,928
one year
2025
2024
£
£
2,723
-		 2024
£
37,258
35,543
1,796
10,217
190,005
274,819
£
137,432
84,928
(137,432)
84,928

12 Commitments Under Operating Leases

At 31 March 2025 the company had future minimum lease payments under non cancellable operating leases as follows:

Not later than 1 year
Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years		 2025
£
66,000
-
66,000		 2024
£
72,000
66,000
138,000

35

The Sick Children’s Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

13 Reconciliation of net Income/(expenditure) to net cash inflow from operating activities

Net expenditure for the year
Interest receivable
Depreciation charge
Amortisation charge
Increase in debtors
Decrease in creditors
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash and cash equivalents		 2025
2024
£
£
(451,942)
(772,151)
(60,778)
(53,460)
380,076
385,923
2,628
2,628
(84,057)
(58,990)
(38,497)
(62,135)
(252,570)
(558,185)
Balance b/f at
1 April 2024
Cash flows
Balance c/f at
31 March 2025
£
£
£
1,748,900
(226,088)
1,522,812		 2024
£
(772,151)
(53,460)
385,923
2,628
(58,990)
(62,135)
(558,185)
1,748,900
(226,088)
1,522,812
Balance b/f at
1 April 2023
Cash flows
Balance c/f at
31 March 2024
£
£
2,292,814
(543,914)
1,748,900
2,292,814
(543,914)
1,748,900

14 Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Unrestricted

2025
General Designated Restricted Total
£ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets - 4,904,120 - 4,904,120
Intangible fixed assets - 5,687 - 5,687
Net assets 1,394,621 - 155,000 1,549,621
1,394,621 4,909,807 155,000 6,459,428

36

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Unrestricted

Tangible fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets
Net assets		 General
£
-
-
1,498,155
1,498,155		 Designated
£
5,249,900
8,315
-
5,258,215		 Restricted
£
-
-
155,000
155,000		 2024
Total
£
5,249,900
8,315
1,653,155
6,911,370

15 Statement of Funds

Restricted funds
General
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds -
Fixed assets
Designated Funds -
Capital projects
Total funds
Restricted funds
General
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds -
Fixed assets
Designated Funds -
Capital projects
Total funds		 Balance b/f at
1 April 2024
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
between
funds
Balance c/f at
31 March 2025
£
£
£
£
155,000
1,017,457
(1,017,457)
-
155,000
1,498,155
1,513,141
(2,103,787)
314,112
1,221,621
5,258,215
-
(34,296)
(314,112)
4,909,807
-
173,000
-
-
173,000
6,911,370
2,703,598
(3,155,540)
-
6,459,428
Balance b/f at
1 April 2023
Incoming
Resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
between
funds
Balance c/f at
31 March 2024
£
£
£
£
155,000
898,472
(898,472) -
155,000
1,545,944
1,495,875
(2,228,837)
685,173
1,498,155
5,607,577
-
-
(349,362)
5,258,215
375,000
-
(39,189)
(335,811)
-
7,683,251
2,394,347
(3,166,498)
-
6,911,370

37

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Restricted funds represent balances where funds have been raised for specific purposes and not yet spent. Each of the "Homes from Home" has a restricted fund where income has been received specifically for that house, and these funds are used towards the running costs of that particular house in any given year.

Designated funds - Fixed Assets represent the value of fixed assets held on the balance sheet. The funds are designated to demonstrate that the funds are tied up in capital and are not freely available to spend. The transfer from designated to general funds represents the movement in these fixed assets in the year.

Designated funds - Capital Projects represent the value of those funds set aside for specific future capital projects including upgrades to the houses which we expect to be carried out in the next 2-3 years and new houses that are currently under discussion. The funds are designated to demonstrate that the funds are tied up in capital and are not freely available to spend. The transfers represent a reduction in the amount the trustees wish to designate to future projects at present, in order to maintain free reserves following the reduction in income caused by the covid pandemic.

16 Related Party Transactions

During the year costs of £22,103 (2024: £22,038) were paid to T L Dallas Group Limited and its subsidiaries in relation to insurance costs. Polly Staveley, trustee, is a director of these companies.

During the year donations totalling £140,448 (2024: £26,362) were received from the Trustees.

17 Pension schemes

The Pensions Trust Growth Plan Scheme

The Sick Children’s Trust participates in The Pensions Trust Growth Plan Series 3 Scheme which is a multi-employer defined benefit scheme. At 31 March 2025 The Sick Children’s Trust has one active member in the Scheme.

The Sick Children’s Trust is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities as each employer is exposed to actuarial risks associated with the current and former employees of other entities participating in the Scheme. The Scheme is currently in deficit, arising from changes in pension legislation and resulting in all employers becoming liable for additional accrued benefits under the Scheme, although no additional payments to the Scheme have been requested for Series 3 members to date.

Where the assets and liabilities cannot be separately identified, FRS 102 requires The Sick Children’s Trust to account for pension costs on the basis of contributions actually payable to the Scheme in the year.

38

The Sick Children’s Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025 (Continued)

Contributions for the year totalled £4,449 (2024: £4,739) and £218 (2024: £395) are outstanding at the year end.

FRS 102 requires agreed deficit recovery payments to be recognised as a liability. The balance sheet liability at 31 March 2025 was £4,234 (2024: £1,796).

The Plan’s buy-out deficit has reduced from £141m at 30 September 2020 to £32m at 30 September 2023. This change in funding position is as a result of a reduction in the overall ‘size’ of the Plan (both Plan assets and liabilities) due to the change in market conditions (increased Gilt yields). In addition, deficit contributions and employer withdrawal debt payments that have been received over the period, which increase the value of the assets held.

When an employer withdraws from a multi-employer defined benefit (DB) pension scheme where it is in deficit, the employer must, by law, pay its share of the deficit, calculated on a statutory basis known as the buy-out valuation basis.

The estimated cost of withdrawal has been calculated to be £18,842. This figure has an effective date of 30 September 2023.

Scottish Widows Stakeholder Pension Scheme

The Trust participates in a defined contribution scheme with Scottish Widows.

At 31 March 2024 the Trust has 46 active members in the scheme.

Contributions for the year totalled £98,615 (2024: £95,399). The total amounts outstanding as at the year end were £14,091 (2024 £14,115).

18 Contingent asset

As noted in the Trustees’ report, the charity is the residual beneficiary of a large legacy. At the year end there remains property in Italy to be sold with an approximate value of €280,000. This amount has not yet been recognised in the financial statements due to uncertainty over the final amount that will be realised on sale.

39

The Sick Children’s Trust Acknowledgements

We are so very grateful to every one of our supporters, volunteers and staff who have helped us make a difference to the lives of families with seriously ill children over the last year. Your support enabled us to help 2,153 families who had nowhere else to turn when their child was in hospital for lifesaving treatment.

Thank you to our regular givers and donors, to our long-term supporters, and to those who organised a fundraiser, took part in a sponsored activity or attended an event. And thank you to all the individuals, organisations and companies who supported us through donations, sponsorship, gifts in kind, pro bono work and volunteering.

We would like to extend a special thank you to the following organisations and individuals, and to those who have asked to remain anonymous.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust Red Sky Foundation Anton Du Beke Sheffield Church Burgesses B&Q Foundation Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Balderton Capital Smile for Miley Cambridge Building Society Community Fund The 29[th] May 1961 Charity Cambridge Fundraising Committee The Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust Candlelighters The Band Trust CDW UK The Barbour Foundation Children’s Heart Surgery Fund The Belstead Ganzoni Charitable Settlement Children’s Heart Unit Fund The Britford Bridge Trust Christine Hall Trust The Hearth Foundation Dan and Kate Smailes The Helen Roll Charity EBM Charitable Trust The Jan and Catherine Nasmyth Charitable Foundation Edith Murphy Foundation The Jessie Spencer Trust Fox Williams The John and Pamela Salter Charitable Trust Girl Torque The Kirkby Foundation GMS Estates The Mackintosh Foundation Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity The Marsh Charitable Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust The Peacock Charitable Trust Leeds Hospital Charity The Sir James Reckitt Charity Marie Celeste Samaritan Society The Stevenson’s Family Charitable Trust Michael Crawford's Children's Charity The Thomas J Horne Memorial Trust Morrisons Foundation The Worshipful Company of Bowyers P F Charitable Trust Wardour Penelope Martin Charitable Trust

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