2025-03-31-accounts

Company number (England and Wales): 1815689 Charity number (England and Wales): 289600 Charity number (Scotland): SC045010

WELLCHILD (A Company Limited by Guarantee and a Registered Charity)

Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2025

www.wellchild.org.uk

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

INDEX

Charity Information Report of the Trustees Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of WellChild Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including an income and expenditure account) Balance Sheets Consolidated Cash Flow Statement Notes to the Financial Statements	Page 1 2 – 13 14 - 16 17 18 19 20 – 41

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

CHARITY INFORMATION

PATRON

Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

David Craig Hatch – Chair Nicholas Fisher – Vice Chair Rosalind Futter – Treasurer Leanne Cooper Jayne Cooper-Jones (resigned January 2025) Simon Hardy Dr Huw Jenkins Anna Jones Claire Watson Amanda Wilkinson

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Matt James – Chief Executive Abigail Guilding – Director of Fundraising Emily Henderson – Director of Operations Amy Mitchell – Director of Programmes

COMPANY SECRETARY

Emily Henderson

REGISTERED AND PRINCIPAL OFFICE

Sunningend Business Centre Unit 22, Lansdown Industrial Estate Cheltenham GL51 8PL

COMPANY NUMBER

1815689

CHARITY NUMBER

289600 England and Wales and SC045010 Scotland

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR

Godfrey Wilson Ltd 5[th] Floor, Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

BANKERS

Barclays Bank Charities Aid Foundation Virgin Money 128 High Street 25 Kings Hill Avenue Jubilee House Cheltenham Kings Hill Gosforth GL50 1EG West Malling Newcastle-Upon-Tyne ME19 4TA NE3 4PL Insignis Cash 10 Devonshire Square London EC2M 4AE

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Objectives and activities

Introduction

The WellChild Board of Trustees is delighted to present our first annual report and accounts following the launch of our new strategy, ‘ Thriving At Home 2024-2027 ’. The strategy outlines our ambitions for the charity and how we intend to shape a better and more inclusive society for the UK’s growing population of children and young people with complex medical needs.

Thanks to advances in medicine and technology, children and young people with complex medical needs are living longer. Our mission is to ensure they and their families are thriving at home and within their communities.

Despite a challenging external climate, we ended the year in a more stable financial position compared to the previous year and increased investment in our family support services, charitable events and Helping Hands garden transformation programme.

We launched two WellChild Nurse posts in Staffordshire and Birmingham and undertook our biggest Helping Hands community garden transformation project to date in Portsmouth, creating a safe, accessible and sensory outside space for the children and young people at the Mary Rose Academy.

We hosted more fun family events than ever before and proudly launched ‘In Your Area’ - an online directory of local services curated by WellChild families and Nurses. Designed to help families quickly find and access local support, this tool is already making a difference. At the same time, our Family Welfare Service secured more than £625,500 in grants and benefits for some of our most vulnerable families.

The WellChild Awards once again provided a powerful platform to celebrate and recognise the growing numbers of children and young people living with complex medical needs and shone a spotlight on their stories and the unique challenges that they face, generating international media coverage.

The external environment continues to place great pressures on families and demand for WellChild’s help continues to rise. We therefore have lots to accomplish to realise the ambitions of our new strategy and, above all, to meet the needs of the children, young people and families we support.

Our vision

For every child or young person with complex medical needs to be thriving at home.

Our mission

We strive to shape a society in which every child, or young person with complex medical needs:

• Is cared for at home wherever possible.

• Has the right care and support around them.

• Has a stimulating, rich and happy family life.

• Is recognised, empowered and celebrated.

Our strategic goals

Through WellChild programmes and collaboration with others, we want to help shape a more understanding and inclusive society that recognises, looks after and celebrates the UK’s growing population of children and young people with complex medical needs and their families. We will therefore focus our efforts on:

• Breaking down barriers to hospital discharge and building confidence to care amongst not just parents, but carers, communities and those around the family.

• Helping families navigate their journey and access services and support more easily and quickly.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

• Creating stimulating spaces, places and opportunities for positive family moments and memories.

• Connecting families for mutual support, information, friendship and for building resilience.

• Cultivating greater national recognition and prioritisation of the needs of our growing population.

• • Listening, responding and advocating for the needs of children, young people and families, particularly in times of crisis.

• Building a scalable, sustainable and representative organisation that can meet the needs of a growing population.

Statement of public benefit

WellChild provides public benefit as a charity through all the charitable programme areas detailed above. The Trustees have complied with their duty in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, approving funding for projects and programmes, and in planning and undertaking current and future activities.

Taking the Charity Commission’s guidance into consideration, the Trustees are satisfied that our public benefit requirements have been met.

Achievements and performance

Our mission is delivered through four key pillars of work. Below is a summary of the significant activities and achievements within each area this year.

PILLAR 1: Confidence

Overcoming barriers to hospital discharge and enabling more support at home and in the community by giving parents, carers and those around them the confidence to care.

At the heart of this pillar is our national network of 53 funded WellChild Nurse posts and 18 WellChild Better At Home training units and resources. They play a critical role in ensuring that children and young people can be cared for at home and in their communities, instead of hospital.

This year, we strengthened the WellChild Nurse network with two new team members and fostered even greater collaboration from within the network, harnessing their collective knowledge and experience to establish national standards of best practice and shape more confident communities and accessible services for all.

• During the year, more than 4,500 children, young people and families were supported by the WellChild Nurse and Better at Home programmes. More than 570 children and young people were discharged home from hospital and more than 16,000 hospital readmissions were prevented. Meanwhile, more than 6,700 parents, carers and professionals were trained in the vital skills needed to care for these children and young people at home and in their communities.

• We were delighted to launch our new WellChild Nurse post at Royal Stoke University Hospital in Staffordshire, providing expert advice, practical and emotional support to children in the region with conditions such as muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy. The aim of the role is to help reduce the number of hospital visits and the overall time spent away from home, while improving their quality of life.

• We also launched our new WellChild Nurse supporting children across the West Midlands at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The new post will provide vital help and support to families with children who require long-term ventilation to help them breathe by training and empowering parents, carers and local health professionals with the clinical skills to ensure these children can thrive at home and in their communities.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

• During the year, the WellChild Nurse-driven professional guidance and toolkit for Complex Discharge received endorsement from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and was accessed on the WellChild website by more than 2,375 active users during the year.

• WellChild Nurses from across the UK met virtually 32 times throughout the year to exchange ideas, develop solutions and share best practice via five specialist subgroups: Continuing Care, Parent Training, Complex Discharge, Transition and Long-Term Ventilation.

• This year, we also brought WellChild Nurses together for a day of networking, information sharing and personal development in Manchester. The event, attended by senior representatives and guest speakers from NHS England and the RCN, provided a unique opportunity for WellChild Nurses from across the UK to share best practices and discuss common challenges and solutions.

Looking ahead to 2025-2026

With more children and young people living longer with increasingly complex medical needs, the need for more WellChild Nurses and higher quality parental and community clinical skills training also grows. In the year ahead we intend to:

• Identify areas most in need of new WellChild Nurse posts and Better At Home resources, and where funding permits, establish new posts and resources in those priority areas.

• Explore ways to expand the reach of the WellChild Nurse programme and best practice principles through existing service provisions.

• Build on the success of our Complex Discharge Principles & Toolkit, leveraging the knowledge and experience of WellChild Nurses to develop national standards of best practice for child health professionals in other areas, such as Transition. We will also seek opportunities to engage WellChild Nurses in the development of family-facing information and guidance.

PILLAR 2: Resilience

Relieving stress by supporting, connecting and guiding young people and families as they navigate their journey from birth and diagnosis to transition to adult services.

Through the WellChild Family Tree and a range of family information and support services, we address some of the biggest barriers to emotional resilience facing our families today, including social isolation, financial hardship and condition management.

The WellChild Family Tree network has been a lifeline for so many parent carers and a safe place to connect with others for mutual support, information and friendship. Meanwhile, our Family Welfare Service has provided targeted help to some of our most financially vulnerable families at a time when the rising costs of living has hit families caring for disabled, or technology dependent children disproportionately hard.

This has all been underpinned by our online information services such as the Family Information Hub, Medicines for Children and the new In Your Area platform.

• 3,635 families connected via the WellChild Family Tree for mutual support, information and friendship. Within the online peer-to-peer support group there were 434 conversations and advice requests relating to topics such as condition management, emotional support and carer management. 276 problems were resolved within the group, 75% by other WellChild families.

• Our Family Welfare Service supported 66 families in securing over £625,500 in financial assistance, including statutory benefits like Disability Living Allowance (DLA), as well as additional grants and entitlements. This included more than £1,300 in crisis support such as food, fuel and baby bank vouchers. We also signposted 95 individuals to local support services and helped families to access grants for vital equipment to enable their children to thrive at home, such as GOTO specialist seats and outdoor walkers. We also became approved referrers to the Family Fund, BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme and Fuel Bank Foundation to help families in crisis.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

• The WellChild Family Information Hub was accessed via the WellChild website almost 155,000 times with 15 new articles posted during the year on subjects including legal advice on medical negligence claims and guidance on the Council Tax Disabled Band Reduction Scheme.

• We publicly launched the new ‘In Your Area’ online platform on the WellChild website. Curated by parents, carers and WellChild Nurses, this directory of more than 690 services is designed to help parents quickly discover local, accessible support. The ‘In Your Area’ platform was accessed more than 34,000 times during the year.

• In partnership with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG), the Medicines for Children website was accessed more than 1.6m times during the year, providing specific advice on the delivery of medicines to children. The Medicines for Children mobile app, ‘My Child’s Meds’ was also launched to help parents keep on top of and better communicate their child’s complex medicine routines with others. Since launch, the app has had more than 150 downloads with positive feedback from its users.

Looking ahead to 2025-2026

Amid ongoing economic uncertainty, rising living costs, and government reforms affecting public services, families are under increasing financial and emotional strain. These pressures highlight the critical importance of timely access to trusted information, services, financial assistance and peer support to help families stay resilient during challenging times. In the year ahead we intend to:

• Continue to expand the reach of the WellChild Family Tree community and information services by exploring and developing multi-faceted ways for families from different backgrounds to connect with one another and more easily access our online services and content.

• Expand our Family Welfare Service into new geographical areas prioritised by greatest need.

• • Initiate a new digital inclusion programme as part the Digital Services Consortium (DSC) of more than 12 disabled children’s charities. The programme will be aimed at identifying and empowering digitally excluded families most in need with the equipment and training needed to access online support services such as the WellChild Family Tree and others provided by DSC members.

PILLAR 3: Enrichment

Creating safe and stimulating places, spaces and opportunities for children, young people and families to thrive at home and in their communities.

Ensuring that families are not only surviving, but thriving at home and in their communities relies on stimulating opportunities for happy family moments and memories.

At the heart of this vision is the WellChild Helping Hands programme. With the support of corporate sponsors and their staff teams, the programme has continued to create safe, accessible, and stimulating outdoor spaces at home and within the communities of children, young people, and their families.

We also had one of our biggest years for both physical and virtual family events, bringing families together to connect with one another and experience accessible, fun days out.

• 17 home and community garden transformation projects were completed for an estimated 468 children and young people during the year, with the help of 350 corporate participants. This included WellChild’s biggest ever community project for the Mary Rose Academy in Portsmouth. The project took place over a four-day period, revitalising the garden area, making it more accessible, engaging, and enjoyable for its students with complex medical needs. Previously, this area was overgrown and inaccessible to wheelchair users, limiting its use for many of the students. The finished garden is fully wheelchair accessible and features several fun sensory elements, including a blackboard, coloured panels, a mirrored wall and flowers. A new memory garden was also created, providing a calm, quiet space for staff, pupils, and parents to remember students who are sadly no longer with us.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

• We hosted 17 fun family events and 15 competitions and giveaways during the year for WellChild families. Events included Sailability, our annual accessible and award-winning sailing day in Derbyshire for children and young people with complex medical needs. We also held accessible pony riding and cuddle sessions for WellChild families in partnership with Cotswold Riding for the Disabled (RDA) in Cheltenham and our first family event at Chester Zoo was a big success. We also held several online family events such as Tea & Talk and online family craft sessions for members of the WellChild Family Tree to connect with others from other parts of the country.

Looking ahead to 2025-2026

More than 290 families applied for help from the WellChild Helping Hands programme this year highlighting the need for more accessible outdoor spaces for children and young people living at home with complex medical needs. Through new partnerships we hope to expand the reach of this programme and deliver a wider ranging programme of family events across the country. In the year ahead, our ambition is to:

• Complete a minimum of 24 Helping Hands home and community garden transformation projects.

• Run a minimum of 18 fun family events including a Southern regional event and a programme of virtual events targeting more diverse groups.

PILLAR 4: Recognition

Helping to shape a society that ‘gets it’ and that recognises, prioritises and celebrates our growing population of children and young people with complex medical needs.

With a growing population of children and young people living longer with increasingly complex medical needs, our role in raising the profile of their need and celebrating what is possible with the right support is as important as it ever has been.

The WellChild Awards is the embodiment of that mission and a powerful platform to shine a light on the remarkable stories of children and young people living with complex medical needs and to recognise the selflessness and commitment of those who care for them.

We also continued to partner with others in the sector to advocate for, promote and champion the needs of families and the systems that support them.

• The WellChild Awards 2024, in association with GSK, was held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London and attended by WellChild Patron, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and a host of celebrity stars including special performances from Pixie Lott and Beverley Knight. The Awards generated more than 3,000 media articles, 2.8bn opportunities to see (OTS) and 2m social media impressions. WellChild Award winners appeared and told their stories across national and regional television including appearances on ITV This Morning and Sky News and in an eight-page feature in HELLO! Magazine.

• Our participation as a leading member of the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) continued during the year. DCP is a coalition of more than 110 organisations working together to campaign for a fairer system of support for disabled children and families. This year, representatives from DCP appeared at the Education Select Committee evidence session focused on disabled children’s social care. DCP also published its report This Is My Life: Hear Me, Help Me following a survey of more than 600 disabled young people. The report revealed that inadequate support services for disabled young people across England are denying them the right to a happy and fulfilling life and threatening the future they deserve. DCP has actively championed the case for disabled children throughout the year across several key issues and events, notably the Law Commission’s changes to the law on disabled children’s social care; SEND reform; and The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

• This year we became charity partner of SPROCKET (Systems and Process Redesign and Optimisation at Childhood Key Events and Transitions), a new project at the University College London (UCL) aiming to transform the delivery of services for children and young people with complex health needs. The project is funded by the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) programme. During the year, WellChild families participated in a series of workshops, contributing their views and perspectives for the research project.

• We partnered with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) during the year and joined the new Children’s Nursing Partnership UK, a group of key stakeholders working together to champion the role of children’s nursing in the UK and advocate for the growth and development of this critical workforce.

Looking ahead to 2025-2026

As we look to the year ahead, we are inspired by the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and young people with complex medical needs. In a changing world, it is more important than ever to ensure their needs are recognised and prioritised. Our ambition this year is to:

• Celebrate the 20[th] WellChild Awards and develop it as a platform to further amplify the stories, the needs and the challenges of the children and young people that we support.

• Continue to work with our partners in the sector to champion the needs of children and young people with complex medical needs and to improve the systems of support that exist for them.

• • Strengthen WellChild’s voice for families on the key issues that matter most to the children, young people and families that we support.

Financial review

Financial performance summary

This year saw a much-improved overall financial position compared to the previous year, driven by growth in unrestricted income streams and a reduction in fundraising costs.

• Income for the year was £1,862,195; a 29% increase compared to 2023/2024. This was primarily due to growth in challenge events, legacy and corporate partnerships income.

• Total expenditure for the year was £1,793,931, (5% decrease compared to 2023/2024). This included a 7% reduction in fundraising costs from the previous year (totalling £701,623) and £1,092,308 (approximately 61%) allocated directly to charitable activities.

• This resulted in a total combined surplus of £68,264 (compared to a £439,965 combined deficit in 2023/2024) and an unrestricted deficit of £19,192 (compared to a £330,000 unrestricted deficit in the previous year).

• WellChild ended the year with an undesignated reserve of £587,358 (see note 16), which equates to 5 months’ worth of operating expenditure. See the Reserves Policy for a more detailed analysis of our end-of-year reserves position.

Fundraising and business development

While the charity’s financial position has become more stable, considerable work remains to realise the ambitions outlined in our Thriving At Home strategy and to fully meet the needs of the children, young people, and families we support.

We increased the return on our challenge and fundraising events investment this year (see note 6) and challenge events income has seen significant growth in the year. We will continue to develop this income stream through the optimisation of our challenge events portfolio and through the continued delivery of first-class supporter experiences.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

We have also worked hard over the last 18 months to develop our Helping Hands corporate partner offer. This, we hope will begin to bear fruit in the year ahead, creating a good foundation for sustainable long-term growth of the programme.

The fundraising climate is challenging, and traditional fundraising sources remain highly competitive. We will therefore continue to work creatively to maximise the income potential of our fundraising streams and activities, in addition to identifying new opportunities and partnerships.

Going concern

Despite a challenging and unpredictable external environment, the charity ended the financial year with £587,358 in general funds and cash levels remain strong (as detailed in the Reserves Policy). This puts the charity in a good position to achieve its goals and confidently manage risk in the year ahead.

The Board of Trustees recognise that the fundraising landscape remains a challenging and highly competitive environment and will therefore work closely with the Senior Management Team throughout the year to continually review this and the performance of the charity through regular forecasting and management reporting. The Trustees will work with the Senior Management Team to ensure the charity remains as resilient as possible, whilst maximising the charity’s ability to invest as much as possible in the advancement of its charitable goals.

Trustees will consider new projects, only when there is confidence that there are funds available, and income is sustainable. Going concern will be reviewed at each Board of Trustees meeting during the year, and by the Audit Sub-committee on a more regular basis.

The Trustees have worked closely with the Senior Management Team on budget planning and risk assessing and are confident that the ongoing contingency planning within the organisation will ensure that WellChild is able to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future and, therefore, the financial statements have been prepared on this basis.

Reserves policy

Total funds of the charity at 31 March 2025 are £978,337. This includes £140,979 in total restricted funds which comprise of £60,000 for the WellChild Nurse programme, £9,774 for the Better At Home programme, £2,073 for the Helping Hands programme and £69,132 for the Family Involvement and Participation programme.

In line with the Charity Commission guidelines, the WellChild Board of Trustees define the charity’s unrestricted and undesignated reserves as income which is available to the charity and is to be expended at the Trustees discretion in furtherance of any of the charity’s objects, but which has not yet been spent, committed, or designated. The charity’s policy is to aim for a general (undesignated) reserve of between four- and eight-months’ operating expenditure.

General funds

At the end of the year, total general (undesignated) reserves of £587,358 were available. The Trustees have reviewed the general (undesignated) reserves level as of 31 March 2025 as being equivalent to 5 months’ worth of operating expenditure. This sits within the target general (undesignated) reserve range and given the challenging fundraising environment, the Trustees consider it an adequate and appropriate level.

Designated fund

In the previous year, a designated fund of £250,000 was set aside as a Property Fund following the sale of the WellChild premises, while the charity assessed its future working practices. As part of the recent strategic review, the Board of Trustees has reconsidered this designation. Given that there is no immediate need to purchase a property, the Trustees have agreed to redesignate the fund as a Strategic Development Fund.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

This fund is intended to support future investment in the charity’s growth, capacity, and long-term sustainability. While specific investment priorities are still being developed and will be reviewed by the Board over the coming year, the designation reflects the Trustees’ commitment to strengthening WellChild’s infrastructure, enhancing its ability to meet the growing demand for support from children, young people, and families, and building resilience in an increasingly complex external environment. These funds remain unrestricted and may be reallocated by the Trustees if circumstances change.

Subsidiary company

WellChild Enterprises Ltd, (previously WellChild Trading Ltd) incorporated 25[th] September 1984, a company registered in England and Wales (number 1850610) is a subsidiary of WellChild and was previously dormant until 2020/21. WellChild Enterprises Ltd has a Board of three Directors who have agreed and approved Articles of Association. WellChild Enterprises Ltd covenants all profits to the charity.

During the year covered by this report, WellChild Enterprises received sponsorship income for WellChild charitable events. Net profit at the end of the year was £23,071 (2024: £23,240) which was donated by gift aid to the charity.

Structure, governance and management

Our people

WellChild invests in its team through robust recruitment, training and engagement, ensuring the delivery of exceptional services for children, young people, and families. Our dedicated volunteers, including 112 at events such as the WellChild Awards and London Marathon, are vital to our success.

We pride ourselves on staff feeling comfortable and well supported to deliver their objectives and we place importance on upskilling and providing the team with the essential skills required to provide the best support to our beneficiaries.

We conduct regular surveys to continually enhance our practices and support systems. In the most recent survey results, 100% of our team expressed pride in being part of WellChild. Some of the heartfelt comments highlighted how valued they feel and emphasised that employee well-being is our top priority.

We uphold equal opportunities for all, celebrating diversity and fostering a fair, respectful environment.

Pay policy

The charity's leadership team, including the Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team (SMT), keeps everything running smoothly. Trustees volunteer their time for free, with expense details in notes 4 and 21 of the accounts.

Our Trustees are dedicated to attracting top-tier leadership and ensuring accountability through regular reviews of the Senior Staff Remuneration Policy. This policy not only outlines how senior staff salaries are determined but also ensures transparency in the information shared. The Remuneration Subcommittee takes a thorough look at the Senior Management Team's pay annually, ensuring we remain competitive and fair.

The Remuneration Sub-committee also sets the pay and pension policies for all employees, with full Board approval. WellChild aims for a fair and sustainable pay strategy, reviewing salaries annually based on affordability, economic trends, and market rates.

This year, WellChild introduced a Job Evaluation Scheme to ensure fair pay and transparent role progression pathways based on job responsibilities, rather than personal evaluations. The scheme uses salary bands and evaluation factors, such as ‘Supervisory and Management of People' and 'Knowledge & Skills,' to determine pay levels. Each role is scored and matched to the appropriate pay scale.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Advisors and network

The charity has three advisory panels that assist and advise in the delivery of our strategy.

• WellChild Clinical Advisory Panel - Made up of leading paediatricians, nurses, and child health researchers from across the UK. They provide expert clinical input to shape the charity's goals. The panel meets every 3-4 months, with plans to expand next year.

• WellChild Development Board - Composed of business, marketing, and finance leaders. They drive fundraising and business development through strategic advice and networking.

• Parent Carer Advisory Group - This group will amplify the parent voice in WellChild's strategy, focusing on advocacy for better services for children with complex medical needs.

Volunteers

WellChild thrives thanks to an amazing team of volunteers. This year, 112 volunteers helped at various activities and events during the year, while 332 participated in Helping Hands projects.

Our volunteers also include young people and parent ambassadors involved in various activities like judging the WellChild Awards, organising virtual meet-ups, and supporting fundraising and PR efforts. Families also designed postcards, shared videos and photos, and tested the Medicines for Children App. Youth ambassadors contributed through radio interviews, Zoom calls, and media articles.

Volunteer time isn't monetised in our financial statements.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

We prioritise Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and continuously try to ensure these values are embedded throughout our organisation. This year, we engaged with the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI) and used their TIDE (Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation) assessment to evaluate our inclusive culture across nine areas. The results showed some areas that we were excelling in and some for improvement, which we will work on with internal stakeholders over the coming year.

Governance Code

WellChild reviews its governance annually, aligning with the Charity Governance Code's best practices. Our Governance sub-committee ensures adherence to the Code; additionally with the Scheme of Delegation that was last approved in 2024, we strive for high standards and continuous improvement.

Board of Trustees

The trustees listed on page 1 are volunteers and give their time freely attending 4 board meetings every year where they review policies, finances, governance and key issues affecting the beneficiary group.

Sub-committees

Members of the WellChild Board of Trustees sit on sub-committees which advise the main Board. Each committee has defined terms of reference detailing the delegated authorities where appropriate. These terms of reference were all reviewed during this financial year. The committees are:

• Audit Sub-committee

• Collaboration Sub-committee

• Governance Sub-committee

• Nominations Sub-committee

• Remuneration Sub-committee

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Board effectiveness

The board regularly review their effectiveness which is vital to ensure the right skill set and proportionality across the charity. During the year a robust analysis was undertaken where key areas: finance, governance, medical, family/parent carer and legal were scored resulting in confidence in all these areas.

Appointment and induction of new trustees

The Nominations Committee are responsible for selecting new trustees and in turn, propose to the Board after a robust interview process. On appointment, new trustees receive an induction pack containing key information about the charity and its governance structure.

New trustees are encouraged to meet with other existing trustees and are invited to visit the charity’s offices to meet with the Executive Team and other staff. During the year we welcomed the newly appointed trustees from the prior year and have sought their counsel in key areas.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding oversight forms part of the Governance Committee’s responsibility. The charity recognises that any person who comes in contact with its work has the potential to be at a vulnerable time in their lives. It is therefore important that staff and Trustees have the requisite safeguarding awareness and skills to protect each other and the charity’s beneficiaries and stakeholders.

All staff are DBS checked and have completed appropriate safeguarding training. The charity’s Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually, and a Safeguarding Report is provided annually to the Board of Trustees, with any relevant issues brought to the Safeguarding Trustee Lead as soon as possible. Safeguarding is on all Board and Committee agendas as a standing item.

Safeguarding concerns can be raised internally or externally, and appropriate forms can be completed and submitted through the charity website.

Grant awards policy statement

WellChild is committed to developing and implementing programmes and services which have a major impact on the improvement of care and support for children, young people, and their families in the UK. The policy of grant awards is to invest in projects that fit within WellChild’s strategic vision and objectives and can clearly demonstrate innovation, high-value and best practice. The procedure for making grant awards is through a robust application process with all successful submissions being subject to a rigorous external assessment through the charity’s external advisory panel.

There is a formal funding agreement in place for all approved grant awards and WellChild demands integrity and transparency from all recipients of its grants. It is vital that all activities funded by WellChild are carried out to the highest and most ethical standards.

Fundraising practices

WellChild is a member of the Fundraising Regulator, and we comply with the standards laid out in the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.

WellChild staff and volunteers carry out the charity’s fundraising activities, and whilst we do work with specialists for advice and support of our event fundraising activities, we do not employ external agencies to carry out professional fundraising on our behalf.

Our up-to-date Privacy Policy, available on our website, outlines how WellChild complies with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). WellChild is committed to transparency in its marketing activities, utilising both consent and legitimate interest. In accordance with our Data Protection Policy, the charity does not sell or share data with third parties without express permission.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Access to the WellChild database by staff and volunteers is strictly controlled with varying access levels as determined by the Senior Management Team (SMT). In addition, WellChild treats its responsibility towards supporters in vulnerable circumstances with the upmost importance, and our fundraisers are provided with guidance and support to help them respond appropriately to any individual who they consider this might apply to.

Any complaints received during the year are recorded. There were no complaints received in the year. A Complaint Handling Procedure exists and is continually reviewed.

Investment policy

The WellChild Board of Trustees acknowledges their legal duty to apply charitable funds within a reasonable time of receiving them. The Trustees also recognise the need for prudence and caution in their investment policies, while also fulfilling their duty to seek the most appropriate financial return from the charity’s investments. Trustees reserve the right to exclude from any portfolio any investments in companies whose representation might prove damaging, directly or indirectly, to the purposes or reputation of the charity.

During the period covered by this report, the Audit Sub-committee has reviewed the charity’s Investment Policy. All the charity’s investments remain as cash in competitive and secure interest-bearing deposit accounts, all of which performed in line with policy during the year.

Risk management

In the ever-evolving landscape of children's health, WellChild remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding and supporting young lives. Our register of potential impacts, likelihoods, and mitigation strategies reflects our proactive approach to risk management:

• Adapting to Health Environment Changes : Ensuring our services are responsive to shifts in the health needs of children and young people.

• Child Protection and Safeguarding : Upholding rigorous standards to protect the vulnerable.

• • Sustainability of Funds : Securing the future of our incoming funds, with a focus on unrestricted funds.

• Allocation of Restricted Funds : Strategically managing restricted funds to maximize impact.

• Financial Controls : Strengthening financial oversight and expenditure approval processes.

• Information Security : Enhancing measures to protect sensitive data.

• Data Collection and Processing : Ensuring accuracy and integrity in data handling.

• IT Security : Fortifying our IT infrastructure against threats. We prioritise IT security, achieving the Cyber Essentials Certificate for the fourth year.

• Compliance and Safeguarding : Adhering to fundraising regulations and ensuring the safety of event attendees.

Throughout 2024/25, we engaged in detailed financial forecasting and modelling, alongside forward planning for the upcoming year. This included comprehensive cashflow and scenario planning, with key assumptions rigorously examined.

Our Audit Sub-committee and Board of Trustees have diligently assessed and updated all risks, presenting them for review at each AGM. We are confident that our systems for identifying, mitigating, and managing risks are robust and effective. These systems include:

• Monthly Financial Reviews : Regularly comparing financial results against budget.

• End-of-Year Forecasts : Preparing forecasts at six and nine months.

• Risk Register Reviews : Monthly reviews by management and biannual reviews by Trustees, with expert input as needed.

Our commitment to risk management is further supported by robust policies, procedures, and regular staff training. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, our Business Continuity Plan, reviewed annually, ensures we are prepared to respond effectively.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

12

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Additionally, Trustee Indemnity insurance of £5,000,000 has been arranged as part of our comprehensive insurance package, included in the total premium of £6,638 (2024: £5,941).

Through these measures, WellChild continues to build a resilient foundation, ready to face future challenges and uphold our mission to support children and young people in need.

Board of Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Trustees (who are also directors of WellChild for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

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 the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions, 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, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Ltd has indicated its willingness to be reappointed as statutory auditor.

Statement of disclosure to auditors

To the best knowledge of the WellChild Board of Trustees at the time of approving the Trustees’ Annual Report:

• there is no relevant information, being information needed by the auditor in connection with preparing their report, of which the charity’s auditor is unaware; and

• the Trustees, having made enquires of fellow Trustees and the charity’s auditor that they ought to have individually taken, have each taken all the reasonable steps that they are obliged to take as Trustees in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the WellChild Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

David Craig Hatch, Chair

Date: 3 July 2025

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

13

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Independent auditor’s report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of WellChild (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, 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:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and the provisions available for small entities, in the circumstances set out in note 3 to the financial statements, 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 charity'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.

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. 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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

14

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

• the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements;

• the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

• the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, 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 charity’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 charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our 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 procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

15

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

(1) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

• Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations, and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

• Detecting and responding to the risk of fraud, and whether they were aware of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and

• Designing and implementing internal controls to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud.

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:

• Testing the appropriateness of journal entries;

• Assessing judgements and accounting estimates for potential bias;

• Reviewing related party transactions; and

• Testing transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

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. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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 charity’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 charity’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 charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Date: 3 July 2025

Robert Wilson FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of:

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

16

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31 March 2025 (incorporating consolidated income and expenditure account)

	Note	Unrestricted	Restricted	2025	2024
		Funds	Funds	Total	Total
		£	£	£	£
INCOME FROM
Donations and Legacies	3b	292,008	134,717	426,725	300,920
Charitable Income		152,900	-	152,900	109,500
Other Trading Activities (including challenge and
other fundraising events)	3c	1,232,049	-	1,232,049	995,312
Investment Income		50,521	-	50,521	34,847
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Income		1,727,478	134,717	1,862,195	1,440,579
		───────	───────	───────	───────
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising Funds
Cost of Staging Events		467,381	-	467,381	571,142
Other Costs		234,242	-	234,242	184,815
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure on Raising Funds	5	701,623	-	701,623	755,957
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Charitable Activities
WellChild Nurse Programme		28,989	2,000	30,989	82,366
Better At Home Training Programme		39,654	-	39,654	80,456
Helping Hands Programme		269,913	10,983	280,896	275,080
Information and Campaigning		57,224	-	57,224	56,608
Charitable Events (including WellChild Awards)		213,318	-	213,318	143,410
Communications		179,592	-	179,592	197,404
Family Involvement and Participation		234,693	34,278	268,971	254,189
Projects (including Medicines For Children)		21,664	-	21,664	35,074
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Charitable Activities Expenditure	5	1,045,047	47,261	1,092,308	1,124,587
		───────	───────	───────	───────
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure	5	1,746,670	47,261	1,793,931	1,880,544
		───────	───────	───────	───────
NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME AND		(19,192)	87,456	68,264	(439,965)
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Reconciliation of Funds:
Total Funds Brought Forward (1 April)	16	856,550	53,523	910,073	1,350,038
		───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Funds Carried Forward (31 March)	16	837,358	140,979	978,337	910,073
		═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

All activities relate to continuing operations.

Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 16 to the financial statements.

The notes on pages 20 to 41 form part of these financial statements.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

17

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

BALANCE SHEETS as at 31 March 2025 Company number: 1815689

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |The Group|The Charity| |31 March|31 March|31 March|31 March| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |Note|£|£|£|£| |FIXED ASSETS| |Intangible assets|7a|-|-|-|-| |Tangible assets|7b|-|-|-|-| |Investments|8|-|-|100|100| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |TOTAL FIXED ASSETS|-|-|100|100| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |CURRENT ASSETS| |Investments|9|1,028,144|1,071,365|1,028,144|1,071,365| |Debtors|10|383,416|439,856|410,392|441,336| |Cash at bank and in hand|585,146|597,786|557,720|595,856| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS|1,996,706|2,109,007|1,996,256|2,108,557| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE| |WITHIN ONE YEAR|11|(868,986)|(915,646)|(868,636)|(915,296)| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |NET CURRENT ASSETS|1,127,720|1,193,361|1,127,620|1,193,261| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE| |AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR|13|(149,383)|(283,288)|(149,383)|(283,288)| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |TOTAL NET ASSETS|978,337|910,073|978,337|910,073| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY| |Restricted funds|15 & 16|140,979|53,523|140,979|53,523| |Designated funds|16|250,000|250,000|250,000|250,000| |General reserve (undesignated) funds|16|587,358|606,550|587,358|606,550| |───────|─────── ───────|───────| |TOTAL CHARITY FUNDS|978,337|910,073|978,337|910,073| |═══════|═══════ ═══════|═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006.

The notes on pages 20 to 41 form part of these financial statements.

The financial statements were approved by the WellChild Board of Trustees on 3 July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Rosalind Futter

David Craig Hatch Chair

Rosalind Futter Treasurer

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

18

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT For the year ended 31 March 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Cash flows from operating activities| |Net cash (used in) operating activities|i)|(106,382)|(162,835)| |─────── ───────| |Cash flows from investing activities| |Bank interest received|50,521|34,847| |Proceeds from the sale of property|-|-| |Gift in kind – legal fees re sale of property|-|-| |─────── ───────| |Net cash provided by investing activities|50,521|34,847| |─────── ───────| |Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period|(55,861)|(127,988)| |Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period|1,669,151|1,797,139| |─────── ───────| |Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period|ii)|1,613,290|1,669,151| |═══════ ═══════| |i) RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM| |OPERATING ACTIVITIES:|2025|2024| |£|£| |Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the Statement of| |Financial Activities)|68,264|(439,965)| |Adjustments for:| |Depreciation charges|-|70| |(Profit) on sale of property|-|-| |Bank interest received|(50,521)|(34,847)| |(Decrease)/increase in grant creditors|(239,628)|(223,614)| |Decrease/(increase) in debtors|83,804|481,784| |Increase in creditors and deferred income (excl. grants)|31,699|53,737| |─────── ───────| |Net cash (used in) operating activities|(106,382)|(162,835)| |═══════ ═══════| |ii) ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS| |Cash in hand|585,146|597,786| |Deposits|1,028,144|1,071,365| |─────── ───────| |Total cash and cash equivalents|1,613,290|1,669,151| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

The notes on pages 20 to 41 form part of these financial statements.

The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long-term financing arrangements.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

19

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHARITY

WellChild was incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (number 1815689) and has no share capital. The liability in respect of the guarantee, as set out in the Articles of Association, is limited to an amount not exceeding £10 per member of the company. There were nine members at the Balance Sheet date. WellChild is also a registered charity in England and Wales (number 289600) and Scotland (number SC045010).

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(a) Basis of Accounting The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The consolidated financial statements, comprising the financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary undertaking WellChild Enterprises Ltd (company number 01850610), have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The results of the subsidiary are consolidated on a line-by-line basis. The financial statements are presented in sterling (£) which is the functional currency of the charity. WellChild meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the exemption available to a qualifying entity in FRS 102 from the requirement to present a charity only Cash Flow Statement with the consolidated financial statements.

The charity has also taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of Financial Activities in these financial statements.

(b) Registered and Principal Office The registered and principal office of WellChild is Sunningend Business Centre, 22 Lansdown Industrial Estate, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 8PL.

(c) Going Concern After making enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue its activities for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis for preparing the financial statements, determining that there are no material uncertainties as outlined in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities on page 13.

(d) Amortisation of Intangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation of Fixed Assets All intangible and tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less amortisation/depreciation. Amortisation/depreciation is provided to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets owned over their anticipated effective life as follows:

Office furniture and equipment 25% straight line Software 25% straight line

Items of a capital nature costing £1,000 or more are capitalised.

(e) Fixed Asset Investments

Fixed asset investments are stated at market value where available.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

20

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

1 . ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(f) Grants Where relevant, grant applications are subject to a formal procedure of evaluation by independent experts in the relevant field of children’s health prior to the allocation of funds. Grants payable in furtherance of the charity’s objects are recognised as expenditure when the commitment is communicated to the grant recipient and payment is due in accordance with the terms of the contract.

(g) Income Recognition Income, including donations, gifts, legacies, and grants (including government grants) that provide specific charitable project funding or are of a general nature, are recognised and included in the accounts when: there is entitlement to the funds; any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met or are fully within the control of the charity; receipt of the income is considered probable; and the amount can be measured reliably. Such income is only deferred when either the donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods, or the donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.

Income from other trading activities includes income received from major fundraising events that is used to support general activities and specific charitable projects. Such income is only deferred when it is received in advance of the event to which it relates.

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.

Gifts in Kind

Donated goods, services and facilities such as the use of two cars, tools and garden materials, and challenge event refreshments, are included as ‘incoming resources’ at their estimated value to the charity when received, which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain the goods, services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market. A corresponding amount is then recognised under the appropriate expenditure heading depending on the nature of the goods, service or facility provided.

Legacies

Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution.

(h) Pension Costs The charity operates a defined contribution money purchase scheme on behalf of its employees. The costs of providing pensions for employees are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which the contributions are payable.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

21

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

1 . ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(i) Expenditure Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party; it is probable that settlement will be required; and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Costs of raising funds comprise the costs of staging events and other costs. Cost of staging events are those costs incurred in staging and promoting major fundraising and challenge events. These include both direct and support costs relating to these activities. Other costs are those associated with attracting corporate and voluntary income and donations which also include both direct and support costs.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes expenditure associated with activities undertaken to carry out the charity’s aims and objectives and their associated support costs.

Support costs, including irrecoverable VAT, are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. These include office costs, utilities, finance, insurance, IT, and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources – see note 5.

Governance costs include expenditure directly attributable to the Trustees’ statutory, constitutional, and strategic duties and are disclosed in note 5.

Costs in respect of future events, the income for which has been deferred to a future period, are prepaid and will be charged when the event occurs.

(j) Debtors Trade debtors, other debtors and accrued income is recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

(k) Creditors Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity 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 and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

(l) Cash at Bank and in Hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes petty cash and cash held in bank accounts.

(m) Current Asset Investments Current asset investments are cash deposits that mature in no more than 12 months from the date of acquisition.

(n) Operating Leases The charity classifies the lease of office equipment (franking machine and photocopier) and an internet line as operating leases; the title to the office equipment and internet line remains with the lessor. Rental charges are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

22

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(o) Fund Accounts The charity has a number of restricted funds which are restricted by the donor for specific purposes or where funds have been raised for a specific purpose which was communicated to donors. All other funds are unrestricted funds. The Trustees consider that those funds represented by tangible fixed assets for use by the charity are not freely available and, therefore, this value is held in designated funds. During the year, the Trustees redesignated £250,000 of unrestricted funds previously allocated to a Property Fund. The original designation followed the sale of the charity’s premises and was intended to allow time to assess future property requirements. Following a strategic review, and with no immediate plans to acquire a new property, the Trustees agreed to redesignate these funds to a Strategic Development Fund. The balance of the unrestricted reserve (undesignated) funds of £587,358 is in line with the charity’s reserves policy. See page 8 of the Report of the Trustees for details of the charity’s reserves policy.

(p) Financial Instruments WellChild only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value - see note 25.

(q) Significant Estimates and Judgements 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. The items in the financial statements where these estimates and judgements have been made include the following:

Free reserves and risk

The Board of Trustees regularly review forecast income, expenditure and going concern factors impacted by external risks.

The maintenance of strong free reserves carried forward at the end of the period covered by this report provide the charity with continued resilience.

Useful economic lives of intangible and tangible fixed assets

The annual amortisation/depreciation charges for the intangible/tangible fixed assets are sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are re-assessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on economic utilisation and the physical condition of the assets. See note 7 for the carrying amount of intangible and tangible fixed assets and note 1(d) for the useful lives of each class of asset.

Valuation of Gifts in Kind

The charity uses estimates for the valuation of Gifts in Kind by considering the amount that the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain the goods, services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market – see note 1(g) for details of these.

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

1 . ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)

(r) Taxation The company is a registered charity and as such is entitled to tax exemption on all its income and gains, properly applied for its charitable purposes. Any corporation tax payable in respect of the taxable profit of the subsidiary company is recognised in the year in which the taxable profit is generated. In most years, no corporation tax is payable because the subsidiary company distributes all the taxable profits to the charity.

(s) Volunteers

WellChild is supported by an exceptional team of volunteers working in the head office in Cheltenham and throughout the UK assisting at fundraising events. These dedicated individuals give many hours of their time and contribute significantly to the operation of the charity. We had 112 (2024: 134) volunteers assisting with numerous activities during the year, many of whom volunteered and continue to do so, on a regular basis. In addition 332 volunteers took part in Helping Hands projects (2024: 268).

Our volunteers include the involvement of young people and their families in various aspects of WellChild’s work including our Youth and Parent Ambassadors organising family meet ups and supporting WellChild at fundraising pitches, PR activity and WellChild Awards judging. Many families also participated in designing positive postcards for WellChild to create and share with families, as well as sharing videos & photos and carrying out App testing for the Medicines for Children App. A number of youth ambassadors volunteered their time for radio interviews, zoom calls and contributed to written articles for the media.

No monetary cost of volunteering time is included within the financial statements.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

24

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

2. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE CHARITY

The consolidated statement of financial activities includes the results of the charity’s wholly owned subsidiary. The summary financial performance of the charity alone is:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Income|1,838,774|1,415,789| |Gift aid from subsidiary company|23,071|23,240| |───────|───────| |1,861,845|1,439,029| |Expenditure|(1,793,580)|(1,878,99)| |───────|───────| |Net (expenditure)/income|68,264|(439,965)| |Total funds brought forward|910,073|1,350,038| |───────|───────| |Total funds carried forward|978,337|910,073| |═══════|═══════| |Represented by:| |Restricted funds|140,979|53,523| |Unrestricted funds|837,358|856,550| |───────|───────| |978,337|910,073| |═══════|═══════| |3.|NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS IN THE YEAR| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Is stated after charging the following items:| |Auditors’ remuneration for audit services (excluding VAT)|9,400|8,950| |Auditors’ remuneration for other services (excluding VAT)|700|350| |Depreciation of tangible fixed assets|-|70| |Operating leases|39,986|40,268| |and after crediting:| |Bank interest receivable|(50,521)|(34,847)| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

In common with other charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to prepare and submit returns to the tax authorities.

3a. GIFTS IN KIND

Gifts in Kind of £36,621 (2024: £27,952) were received during the year.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

3b. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Corporate donations| |-|Unrestricted|59,324|41,341| |-|Restricted|132,717|118,404| |Donations inclusive of trusts| |-|Unrestricted|103,640|94,261| |-|Restricted|2,000|(1,784)| |Legacies| |-|Unrestricted|129,044|48,698| |-|Restricted|-|-| |─────── ───────| |426,725|300,920| |═══════ ═══════| |INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Challenge events (see note 6)|784,383|529,920| |Fundraising events (see note 6)|421,425|437,030| |Other|26,241|28,362| |─────── ───────| |1,232,049|995,312| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

3c. INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

All income from other trading activities in the current year was unrestricted. In the prior year, all income from other trading activities was unrestricted except for £725 of restricted income.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |4.|TRUSTEES AND EMPLOYEES| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Staff costs| |Wages and salaries|910,745|901,117| |Social security costs|85,103|83,574| |Other pension costs|52,230|51,883| |─────── ───────| |1,048,078|1,036,574| |═══════ ═══════| |2025|2024| |The monthly average number of employees was:|Number|Number| |Management and administration|4|5| |Charitable activities|14|14| |Fundraising|11|11| |─────── ───────| |Total employees|29|30| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

There was a total of 112 (2024: 134) volunteers, not including those who took part in Helping Hands projects, who assisted with numerous activities during the year.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

4. TRUSTEES AND EMPLOYEES (continued)

The number of employees whose emoluments, excluding pension contributions, fell within the following band is:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |Number|Number| |£70,000 - £79,999|1|1| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Retirement benefit contributions of £5,738 (2024: £5,738) under a defined contribution scheme were made in respect of the one employee above (2024: one).

All the Board of Trustees, who are not included in the above analysis, are the Directors of WellChild who supply their services on a voluntary basis and have received no remuneration during the year. Total expenses of £606 (2024: £1,555) was paid on behalf of ten (2024: ten) Trustees for training, travel and subsistence (2024: training, travel and subsistence).

Trustee Indemnity insurance of £5,000,000 was arranged as part of the overall insurance package and included in the total premium of £ 6,638 (2024: £5,941).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Board of Trustees, Chief Executive, Director of Programmes, Director of Operations and Director of Fundraising. The total employee benefits including employer national insurance and pension contributions of the key management personnel of the charity were £260,425 (2024: £268,807).

All employees are paid at least the national living wage. The ratio of the total remuneration of the CEO against the total remuneration of the median employee is 2.4 (2023: 2.4).

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

5. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE

The group allocates its support costs as shown in the table below. Support costs are allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

		Grant
	Direct	Funding of	Support	Total	Total
	Costs	Activities	Costs	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£	£
Charitable Activities Expenditure
WellChild Nurse Programme	15,728	2,000	13,261	30,989	82,366
Better At Home Training Programme	27,932	37	11,685	39,654	80,456
Helping Hands Programme	219,345	-	61,552	280,897	275,080
Information and Campaigning	42,369	-	14,855	57,224	56,608
Charitable Events	183,206	-	30,111	213,317	143,410
Communications	136,807	-	42,785	179,592	197,404
Family Involvement and	198,583	-	70,388	268,971	254,189
Participation
Projects	16,233	-	5,431	21,664	35,074
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Charitable Activities
Expenditure	840,203	2,037	250,068	1,092,308	1,124,587
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Expenditure on Raising Funds
Cost of Staging Events	385,908	-	81,473	467,381	571,142
Other Costs	193,384	-	40,858	234,242	184,815
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure on Raising Funds	579,292	-	122,330	701,623	755,957
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure	1,419,495	2,037	372,398	1,793,931	1,880,544
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

Of the £372,398 (2024: £381,577) support costs detailed above £32,963 (2024: £21,671) relates to the Governance function:

the Governance function:
	2025	2024
	£	£
Audit fees	9,400	8,950
Accountancy	22,005	161
Legal fees	-	1,000
Insurance and Trustee costs	1,558	11,560
	───────	───────
	32,963	21,671
	═══════	═══════

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

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WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

• 6 . BREAKDOWN OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF STAGING EVENTS

• 6a. CURRENT YEAR BREAKDOWN OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF STAGING EVENTS

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Income|Direct Costs Net Income| |£|£|£| |Fundraising and challenge events|1,205,808|(272,338)|933,470| |═══════|═══════|═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Direct costs include costs such as the purchasing of challenge event places, the hiring of venues and all costs associated with the running of fundraising events as well as staff travel and expenses.

6b. PRIOR YEAR BREAKDOWN OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF STAGING EVENTS

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Income|Direct Costs|Net Income| |£|£|£| |Fundraising and challenge events|966,950|(352,556)|614,394| |═══════|═══════ ═══════| |7.|FIXED ASSETS| |7a.|INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS| |Group and Charity|Software| |£| |Cost| |As at 1 April 2024|10,320| |───────| |As at 31 March 2025|10,320| |───────| |Depreciation| |As at 1 April 2024|10,320| |───────| |As at 31 March 2025|10,320| |───────| |Net book value| |As at 1 April 2024|-| |═══════| |As at 31 March 2025|-| |═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

30

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

7. FIXED ASSETS (continued)

7b. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

----- Start of picture text -----
||| |---|---| |Office| |Furniture &| |Group and Charity|Equipment| |£| |Cost| |As at 1 April 2024|1,125| |───────| |As at 31 March 2025|1,125| |───────| |Depreciation| |As at 1 April 2024|1,125| |───────| |As at 31 March 2025|1,125| |───────| |Net book value| |As at 1 April 2024|-| |═══════| |As at 31 March 2025|-| |═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

8. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |Unlisted Investments| |Investments in subsidiary company|-|-|100|100| |═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

WellChild has ultimate control of WellChild Enterprises Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (number 1850610) as 100 per cent (2024: 100 per cent) of the share capital is owned by the charity. One member of the Board of Trustees of the charity is also an unpaid director of WellChild Enterprises Ltd.

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |Amounts owed by Group Undertaking|-|-|100|100| |═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════| |Represented by| |Share capital|-|-|100|100| |═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════| |9|. CURRENT ASSET INVESTMENTS| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |UK – Short term deposits|1,028,144|1,071,365|1,028,144|1,071,365| |═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

All of the investment income of £48,663 (2024: £34,847) arises from money held in interest-bearing cash deposit accounts.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

31

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

10. DEBTORS

DEBTORS
	Group		Charity
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£
Prepaid costs in respect of future events	240,086	179,779	240,086	179,779
Trade debtors	49,780	57,074	48,819	30,794
Amounts owed by group undertakings	-	-	27,937	27,760
Prepayments	29,926	23,220	29,926	23,220
Accrued income	60,135	176,270	60,135	176,270
Other debtors	3,489	3,513	3,489	3,513
	───────	───────	───────	───────
	383,416	439,856	410,392	441,336
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

For the year ended 31 March 2025, accrued income includes £29,032 grant income for the Better At Home training programme (2024: £29,032), £10,000 grant income for one WellChild Nurse post (2024: £80,000 for one WellChild Nurse post).

Prepaid costs in respect of future events recoverable more than a year after the reporting date amount to £23,721 (2024: £31,395).

Accrued income in respect of grant funding due in more than one-year amounts to £10,000 (2024: £80,000).

11. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

	Group		Charity	Charity
	2025	2024	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£
Trade creditors	12,866	31,545	12,866	31,545
Other taxation and social security	31,870	30,198	31,870	30,198
Accruals	16,289	10,650	15,939	10,300
Deferred income (see note 12)	477,587	406,512	477,587	406,512
Grants authorised but not yet paid (see note 18)	317,500	423,223	317,500	423,223
Other creditors	12,874	13,518	12,874	13,518
	─────── ───────		───────	───────
	868,986	915,646	868,636	915,296
	═══════ ═══════		═══════	═══════

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

32

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

12. DEFERRED INCOME

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |London Marathon|229,846|202,582|229,846|202,582| |Ed Chamberlin Golf Day|-|25,500|-|25,500| |WellChild Awards|160,000|148,000|160,000|148,000| |Other events|87,741|30,430|87,741|30,430| |─────── ─────── ─────── ───────| |477,587|406,512|477,587|406,512| |═══════ ═══════ ═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Deferred income is potentially refundable income (in the case of cancellation) received for future events and restricted charitable projects. 2024/25 and 2023/24 deferred income was recognised as income during the financial year where the event took place and where the event was postponed, the income was further deferred. The movement in deferred income is shown below:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |Deferred income brought forward|406,512|355,723|406,512|355,723| |Resources deferred during the year|477,587|273,033|477,587|273,033| |Amounts released from previous periods|(406,512)|(222,244)|(406,512)|(222,244)| |─────── ─────── ─────── ───────| |Deferred income carried forward|477,587|406,512|477,587|406,512| |═══════|═══════ ═══════ ═══════| |CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£|£|£|£| |Grants authorised but not yet paid (see note 18)|149,383|283,288|149,383|283,288| |═══════|═══════ ═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

13. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

33

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

14. ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

14a. CURRENT YEAR ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

	Restricted	Designated	General	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2025	2024
	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	-	-	-	-
Net current assets	290,361	250,000	587,358	1,127,719	1,193,361
Creditors falling due after more
than one year	(149,382)	-	-	(149,382)	(283,288)
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Net assets	140,979	250,000	587,358	978,337	910,073
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════
PRIOR YEAR ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS
	Restricted	Designated	General	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds	Funds	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	-	-	-	-	70
Net current assets	336,811	250,000	606,550	1,193,361	1,710,185
Creditors falling due after more
than one year	(283,288)	-	-	(283,288)	(360,217)
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
Net assets	53,523	250,000	606,550	910,073	1,350,038
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

14b. PRIOR YEAR ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

34

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

15. DESCRIPTION OF FUNDS

DESIGNATED FUNDS

Designated funds are unrestricted funds to which the Trustees have assigned a specific purpose.

• Strategic Development Fund (SDF), previously the Property Fund During the year, the Trustees redesignated £250,000 of unrestricted funds previously allocated to a Property Fund. The original designation followed the sale of the charity’s premises and was intended to allow time to assess future property requirements. Following a strategic review, and with no immediate plans to acquire a new property, the Trustees agreed to redesignate these funds to a Strategic Development Fund. The Strategic Development Fund has been established to support future investment in the charity’s organisational growth, capacity building, and long-term sustainability. Specific investment priorities are currently under development and will be reviewed by the Trustees during the next financial year. The funds remain unrestricted and may be reallocated at the discretion of the Trustees if required.

RESTRICTED FUNDS

Restricted funds are those where the donor has been specific about the purpose for which they are donating or where funds have been raised for a specific purpose which was communicated to donors. The funds must be used for the purpose for which they were given and/or raised.

• WellChild Nurse Programme

This programme has been established to fund WellChild Nurses who support children and young people with serious illness, complex health conditions or long-term care needs and their families, across the UK. They work to ensure that these children and young people can leave hospital and return home and offer vital support to make sure that these families have the skills they need to care for their children. In addition, WellChild Nurses are vital in the prevention of frequent hospital readmissions.

• Better At Home Training Programme An essential part of children being discharged home is ensuring that parents feel confident and competent in being able to provide complex nursing care at home. This includes care ranging from tube feeding to managing ventilation and dealing with an emergency. Training usually starts at the hospital bedside. What is missing, however, is a consistent approach to how a family is trained, including where and when this takes place. The Better At Home training programme will provide this training.

• Helping Hands Programme

WellChild’s Helping Hands programme works with volunteers from companies and organisations across the UK to tackle essential projects in the homes of children and young people with serious illness, complex health conditions or long-term care needs. These volunteers provide the manpower and enthusiasm for undertaking home and garden make-over projects, as well as donating their time and energy to help make a practical and positive impact on children’s lives.

• Families Involvement and Participation Programme Families play an active role within WellChild, and the involvement and participation of children, young people, parents and carers is essential to the delivery of WellChild’s strategy. The Family Involvement and Participation Programme includes the WellChild Family Tree peer-to-peer support resource and forum, along with many other information, interactive, advocacy, and event activities. WellChild is committed to ensuring children, young people and families remain firmly at the heart of our work.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

35

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

16. STATEMENT OF FUNDS (GROUP)

16a. CURRENT YEAR STATEMENT OF FUNDS (GROUP)

	Brought	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	Carried
	Forward				Forward
	£	£	£	£	£
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
General (undesignated) funds:
WellChild	606,550	1,702,797	(1,721,989)	-	587,358
WellChild Enterprises Ltd	-	24,681	(24,681)	-	-
Designated fund – Strategic	250,000	-	-	-	250,000
Development Fund
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	856,550	1,727,478	(1,746,670)	-	837,358
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
RESTRICTED FUNDS
WellChild Nurse Programme	-	62,000	(2,000)	-	60,000
Better At Home Training Programme	9,774	-	-	-	9,774
Helping Hands Programme	5,565	7,492	(10,984)	-	2,073
Families Involvement and
Participation Programme	38,185	65,225	(34,278)	-	69,132
Medicines for Children	-	-	-	-	-
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	53,523	134,717	(47,261)	-	140,979
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	910,073	1,862,195	(1,793,931)	-	978,337
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

36

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

16. STATEMENT OF FUNDS (GROUP) (continued)

16b. PRIOR YEAR STATEMENT OF FUNDS (GROUP)

	Brought	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	Carried
	Forward				Forward
	£	£	£	£	£
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
General (undesignated) funds:
WellChild	690,274	1,297,233	(1,626,702)	245,745	606,550
WellChild Enterprises Ltd	-	26,000	(26,000)	-	-
Designated fund – Fixed assets	70	-	(70)	-	-
Designated fund - Property	520,000	-	-	(270,000)	250,000
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	1,210,344	1,323,233	(1,652,772)	(24,255)	856,550
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
RESTRICTED FUNDS
WellChild Nurse Programme	(42,203)	8	(23,750)	65,945	-
Better At Home Training Programme	2,333	74,103	(30,973)	(35,690)	9,773
Helping Hands Programme	6,473	15,961	(16,869)	-	5,565
Families Involvement and
Participation Programme	158,091	42,274	(156,180)	(6,000)	38,185
Medicines for Children	15,000	(15,000)	-	-	-
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	139,694	117,346	(227,772)	24,255	53,523
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	1,350,038	1,440,579	(1,880,544)	-	910,073
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

Restricted funds in deficit are awaiting funding which is to be received in arrears.

	£
GRANTS RECONCILIATION
Grants outstanding at 1 April 2024	706,511
Grants authorised in the period	2,037
Adjustment to grants in the period	(31,299)
Grants paid in the period	(210,366)
	───────
Grants outstanding at 31 March 2025 (see note 18)	466,883
	═══════
GRANTS AUTHORISED IN PERIOD
	£
WellChild Nurses
Provision for Children's Nurse for Warwickshire	2,000
	───────
Total WellChild Nurse grants authorised in the period	2,000
	───────
Better At Home
	37
	───────
Total Better At Home grants authorised in the period	37
	───────
TOTAL GRANTS AUTHORISED IN PERIOD	2,037
	═══════

17. GRANTS RECONCILIATION

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

37

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

18. DETAILS OF AUTHORISED BUT UNPAID GRANTS

DETAILS OF AUTHORISED BUT UNPAID GRANTS
	Outstanding
	Balance 31	Within One	Due Over
	March 2025	Year	One Year
WELLCHILD NURSES	£	£	£
Provision of WellChild Nurse for:
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust & Cornwall Partnership	15	15	-
Foundation Trust
Nurse Gloucestershire	1,816	1,816	-
Nurse Warwickshire	27,549	27,549	-
Nurse Birmingham Childrens Hospital	154,977	66,418	88,559
North Midlands	133,813	72,989	60,824
Nurse GOSH 2	539	539
	───────	──────	───────
TOTAL WELLCHILD NURSES	318,709	169,326	149,383
	───────	───────	───────
BETTER AT HOME
Better at Home Training Suite Cardiff	13,394	13,394	-
Better at Home Birmingham Equipment	3,391	3,391
Better at Home Southampton Equipment	11,691	11,691	-
Better at Home Belfast Equipment	28,311	28,311	-
Better at Home Edinburgh Equipment	17,478	17,478	-
Better at Home Isle of Wight Equipment	1,292	1,292	-
Better at Home St George’s Nurse	21,386	21,386	-
Better at Home St George’s Equipment	8,236	8,236	-
Better at Home Oxleas Equipment	1,998	1,998	-
Better at Home Oxford Mobile	19,269	19,269	-
Better at Home Tower Hamlets Mobile	3,162	3,162	-
Better at Home Newham Mobile	2,036	2,036	-
Better at Home Nottingham Equipment	16,530	16,530	-
	───────	───────	───────
TOTAL BETTER AT HOME	148,174	148,174	-
	───────	───────	───────
	───────	───────	───────
TOTAL AUTHORISED BUT UNPAID GRANTS	466,883	317,500	149,383
	═══════	═══════	═══════

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

38

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

19. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

The group had total commitments due under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Within one year|38,319|5,919| |Within two to five years|23,090|2,305| |─────── ───────| |61,409|8,224| |═══════ ═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

20. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

At the year end the group had no capital commitments (2024: nil).

21. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Total donations of £21 (2024: £141) were received from one (2024: three) member of the Trustee Board and £157 has been expensed for trustee. There were no pro bono legal services provided by any trustees in the year (2024: pro-bono legal services £1,000). There were no other related party transactions during the year.

22. TRADING SUBSIDIARY

The charity has one wholly owned trading subsidiary, which is registered In England and Wales. The registered address of Wellchild Enterprises Ltd is Sunningend Business Centre, 22 Lansdown Industrial Estate, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 8PL. WellChild Enterprises Ltd (registered company 1850610) carries out commercial activities in support of WellChild’s charitable activities and fundraising events.

A summary of the trading results for WellChild Enterprises Ltd is below and is shown before consolidation adjustments. Accounts are filed with the Registrar of Companies at Companies House each year.

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Statement of comprehensive income|WellChild Enterprises Ltd| |2025|2024| |£|£| |Turnover – third party|24,681|26,000| |Cost of Sales - group|-|-| |─────── ───────| |Gross profit|24,681|26,000| |Administration costs|(1,610)|(2,760)| |Gift aid donation to WellChild|(23,071)|(23,240)| |─────── ───────| |Operating result|-|-| |─────── ───────| |Total comprehensive income for the year|-|-| |═══════ ═══════| |The assets and liabilities of the company were:| |Current assets|28,387|28,210| |Current liabilities|(28,287)|(28,110)| |─────── ───────| |Total net assets|100|100| |═══════ ═══════| |Share capital - £1 ordinary shares|100|100| |Retained profits|-|-| |═══════|═══════|

----- End of picture text -----

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

39

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

23. PRIOR YEAR STATEMENT OF GROUP FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (WITH FUND ANALYSIS)

	Unrestricted	Restricted	2024
	Funds	Funds	Total
	£	£	£
INCOME FROM
Donations and Legacies	184,299	116,621	300,920
Charitable Income	109,500	-	109,500
Other Trading Activities (including challenge and other
fundraising events)	994,587	725	995,312
Investment Income	34847	-	34847
Total Income	───────	───────	───────
	1,323,233	117,346	1,440,579
	───────	───────	───────
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising Funds
Cost of Staging Events	571,142	-	571,142
Other Costs	184,815	-	184,815
	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure on Raising Funds	755,957	-	755,957
	───────	───────	───────
Charitable Activities
WellChild Nurse Programme	58,616	23,750	82,366
Better At Home Training Programme	49,483	30,973	80,456
Helping Hands Programme	258,211	16,869	275,080
Information and Campaigning	56,608	-	56,608
Charitable Events (including WellChild Awards)	143,410	-	143,410
Communications	197,404	-	197,404
Family Involvement and Participation	98,009	156,180	254,189
Projects (including Medicines for Children)	35,074	-	35,074
	───────	───────	───────
Total Charitable Activities Expenditure	896,815	227,772	1,124,587
	───────	───────	───────
	───────	───────	───────
Total Expenditure	1,652,772	227,772	1,880,544
	───────	───────	───────
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) BEFORE TRANSFERS
BETWEEN FUNDS	(329,539)	(110,426)	(439,965)
Transfers between funds	(24,255)	24,255	-
	───────	───────	───────
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS	(353,794)	(86,171)	(439,965)
Reconciliation of Funds:
Total Funds Brought Forward (1 April)	1,210,344	139,694	1,350,038
	───────	───────	───────
Total Funds Carried Forward (31 March)	856,550	53,523	910,073
	═══════	═══════	═══════

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

40

WELLCHILD (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHARITY) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2025

24. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
	2025	2024
	£	£
Financial assets measured at settlement value	1,723,204	1,902,495
Financial liabilities measured at settlement value	(496,038)	(748,706)
	═══════	═══════

Financial assets measured at settlement value comprise cash, short term deposit investments, accrued income, and trade debtors.

Financial liabilities measured at settlement value comprise trade creditors, accruals and grants authorised but not yet paid.

There was no impairment of assets in the year (2024: nil).

.

Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

41