North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Registered Charity
REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
Year ended 31 December 2025
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
Charity name:
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre
Registered Number: 702533
Address: The Byre, Wath Court, Hovingham, North Yorkshire YO62 4NN
The Charity’s trustees
Sir Frederic Strickland-Constable (President); Jo Danischewsky (Acting Chair); Alec Dickson (Secretary); Nicholas Hammond (Treasurer); Robin Andrews (from 22 July); Robin Bellfield (from 22 July); Kate Childs (from 22 July); Stephen Clift; George Gilmore (from 14 Octtober); Anna Guest (from 22 July); Christine Hines; Sue Hoggett; Edward Komocki (from 22 July)
Banker
Virgin Money 46 Coney Street York YO1 9NQ
Independent examiner
Ian Smithson 3 Orchard Court, Northallerton North Yorkshire DL7 8DQ
Employees
Director of Music Therapy Laura Festa Senior Music Therapist Alison Barrington (to 31 July) Music Therapists Stephen Poon Thomas Merson (to 31 Aug) Office Administrator Craig Whitehead
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Structure, governance, and management
Governing document
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre was established by a constitution on 14 December 1989 and amended on 28 November 1996 and again on 1 February 2000.
Trustees’ role and selection
The Trustees of the charity are responsible for managing risk in relation to the activities and structure of the charity. The different aspects of the work of the charity are regularly reviewed at quarterly Trustee meetings, and, wherever possible, control systems are established to mitigate any identified risks. New Trustees are appointed by agreement of the existing trustees.
Operational management of the charity
The operation of the charity is organised by the Director of Music Therapy, who oversees the use of other therapists and musicians (both employed and freelance) and volunteers, to deliver the services provided; this work is supported by the Office Administrator.
Financial risk assessment
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Our existing commitments for salaries and associated costs are not fully covered by our funds from therapy fees. There is therefore a significant fundraising target to achieve each year. The Trustees and staff are committed to assisting with applications to charitable trusts and other granting bodies, and to supporting a variety of fund-raising activities.
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The long-term ill-health of any employee will put the charity at risk both in terms of finances and of reputation. In the light of the stressful nature of the work, the Trustees have reviewed the process of risk assessment carried out by the therapists to ensure that sufficient emphasis is placed on identifying and mitigating risk to health, particularly mental health. Each therapist is responsible for maintaining a manageable and varied workload, and is supported through funded regular clinical supervision, arranged independently on their own behalf.
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The investments of the charity are managed by CCLA Investment Management Limited, who act on behalf of the charity’s Trustees to ensure proper management of the investment funds.
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In the event of the charity winding up its activities due to a lack of funds, all remaining assets will be donated to another Music Therapy charity with the prior agreement of the Charity Commissioners. Every effort would be made to find therapists for existing clients.
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Public Benefit Statement
The trustees confirm that the charity has complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. This report illustrates how the charity delivers public benefit.
Main activities
Provision
Throughout 2025, the charity continued to deliver a wide range of group and individual sessions (totalling 881) across North Yorkshire. These sessions were facilitated by the Director of Therapy, three Music Therapists, freelance Community Musicians and Volunteers, working collaboratively to provide tailored therapeutic support to 210 individuals.
Our work has centred around four key areas of intervention
The first focuses on children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), supporting over 100 children across three special schools: Springhead School, The Woodlands Academy and Welburn Hall School. Together these settings accounted for more than 300 individual sessions and 200 group sessions. Building on previous pilot work, and with support from the John Feldberg Foundation, we launched a new inclusive music tuition project at Springhead, offering weekly
individual and group instrumental teaching to children with learning disabilities, limited mobility and autism, using the Sounds of Intent framework to track musical progress. The data gathered through this project gave us the confidence and evidence base to expand this approach further, and in September 2025 we set up a new pilot at The Woodlands Academy, developing a bespoke music curriculum for three pre formal and semi formal classrooms, again grounded in the Sounds of Intent framework.
The second area addresses the needs of adults with learning disabilities. Around 25 individuals received support through our partnerships with the Minster Provision, The Croft Community in Old Malton, and, new this year, a United Response supported living home in Leeds, where we now deliver a fortnightly service. Across these settings, our focus remained on communication, social interaction and emotional expression, alongside informal training for care staff to build confidence using music in everyday support.
Mental health support forms the third pillar of our work, reaching around 10 individuals. Through our Music for Wellness hub in Kirkbymoorside and our Basement Beats hub in
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Scarborough, we deepened relationships with social prescribers, primary care networks and North Yorkshire's Early Help service. We also continued our Step Singers group with Next Steps, and launched Resonate Together, a new project with Next Steps and the Salvation Army combining music therapy, mindfulness and nature-based sessions, funded by the Mental Health Transformation programme, the Howardian Hills Fund and the Inspire Fund.
The final area of focus is dementia care, supporting approximately 75 people living with dementia and their carers. We consolidated community singing groups, including Sunshine Singers and a new group at Princess Court, and continued our partnership with Dementia Forward through Beat It, a three-year rhythmbased programme exploring emotional regulation, which has already shown strong improvements in vocal, bodily and relational
engagement. We also contributed to the Melodic research project led by Professor Helen Odell-Miller at Anglia Ruskin University, delivering music therapy within Hull Hospital's care pathways. Drawing on this, we developed a structured Musical Care Plan approach across three care homes, Lavender Fields Care Village, Connaught Court Care Home and The Holt, using the DICE method to support residents experiencing neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation and anxiety.
Alongside service delivery, the charity invested in strategic development and evaluation. We piloted new staff and teacher
feedback surveys across our SEN school and learning disability settings, and tracked engagement outcomes over time within Beat It, building a stronger evidence base for our work.
We continued to develop social prescribing pathways, strengthening links between our community hubs and local health and care networks to improve referral routes.
Importantly, the charity remained committed to reflecting on our practice and involving the people we work with in shaping it, exploring power dynamics within therapeutic relationships and gathering feedback from clients, families and staff to ensure our services remain responsive, relevant and person-centred.
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Support for NYMTC
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Financial support . We are grateful to the following bodies supporting our work in 2025
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The Noble Charitable Trust
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NYC Stronger Communities Inspire Fund
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The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Fund
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National Academy of Social Prescribing: Power of Music Fund
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St James's Place Charitable Foundation
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Woodsmith Foundation Community Grant Scheme
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Howardian Hills National Landscape Project Fund
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The Radcliffe Trust
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Skipton Building Society
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The John Feldberg Foundation
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Community Support . We are grateful to our many generous supporters through the year, particularly the Friends of the North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre, new and old, who support our events and help us so generously with regular donations.
Financial review
Overall, our financial performance for 2025 was disappointing, with an income of £120,651 against expenses of £210,885. We were able to cover the shortfall from our investments, which at the end of the year stood at £28,211. The major cause of the deficit was the low level of receipts from grants, £43,950 against a budget expectation of £150,000. This reflects the increasing competitiveness for trust funding as well as some difficulties we experienced with our application-writing partners. It also emphasises our vulnerability in depending on successful outcomes from a relatively small number of medium-sized applications (in the range £15,000 to £30,000). The lowering of our expectations during the year led to us reducing our staff complement in July and August, in part as a cost-saving measure.
Looking forward, it is clear that we cannot sustain a deficit of this size in future years. Towards the end of 2025, we therefore put in place a number of changes to ameliorate risks. In December we launched two appeals, the larger for £100,000, and these received £13,657 before the end of the year. The appeals will run through 2026. We have reorganised our grant funding procedures, appointing a new application-writing consultant and enhancing our internal processes. We are also seeking funding more widely from corporate and related sources. Finally, for the longer term we are seeking to rebalance our overall funding to increase reliance on fee-generation and reduce dependence on grant funds.
North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre Charity number: 702533 (England & Wales)
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Declaration
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' report above.
Signed on behalf of the Charity's Trustees
Signature:
Name: Joanna Danischewsky Posi�on: Ac�ng Chair
Date: 21 July 2026
NORTH YORKSHIRE MUSIC THERAPY CEKfRE Registsred Charity No 702533 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF NORTH YORKSHIRE MUSIC THERAPY CENTRE I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ('the Trust.) for the year ended 31" December 2025. Responsbbilitie8 and basls of report As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are SpSIble for the preparation of the counts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act,). I report in respect of my examination of ts Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act arKJ in carryirYJ out my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b) of Ihe Act. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounls do not 8ccord with the aco)unting records. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in conn8ction with the examinatr'on to which attention should be dravm in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. lan Smithson CPFA, 3 Orchard Court, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 8DQ 25 May 2026
5. North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre: Accounts for 2025 Charity registration number 702533
Receipts and payments for the year ended 31 December 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestr | Restricted | Total | Total | |
| Receipts Donations1 Charitable activities2 Trading activities3 Investment income |
£27,137 £46,638 £380 £2,546 |
£0 £43,950 £0 £0 |
£27,137 £90,588 £380 £2,546 |
£9,065 £160,763 £1 £6,103 |
| Subtotal | £76,701 | £43,950 | £120,651 | £175,932 |
| Sale of assets and investments Sale of investments |
£104,863 | £0 | £104,863 | £106,494 |
| Total receipts | £181,564 | £43,950 | £225,514 | £282,426 |
| Payments Expenses4 Purchase of fixed assets |
£166,178 £727 |
£43,578 £372 |
£209,756 £1,099 |
£216,952 £529 |
| Subtotal | £166,905 | £43,950 | £210,855 | £217,481 |
| Purchase of investments* | £10,949 | £0 | £10,949 | £66,494 |
| Total payments | £177,854 | £43,950 | £221,804 | £283,975 |
| Surplus (deficit) for the year | £3,710 | £0 | £3,710 | (£1,549) |
| Cash balances (bank accounts & petty cash) | ||||
| Cash funds at start of year | £4,841 | £6,467 | £11,308 | £12,856 |
| Cash funds at end of year | £8,551 | £6,467 | £15,018 | £11,308 |
*Sale & purchase of investments: in 2024 we changed investment arrangments, necessitating the transfer of investment funds in and out of our bank account in both 2024 and 2025.
1 4 to : See Notes on Financial Statements
Statement of assets & liabilities for year ended 31 December 2025
| Cash funds Current bank account Specific events bank account Petty cash Total cash funds Debtors Therapy fees owed Liabilities (invoiced in 2025) Assets retained for Charity's use Office equipment & instruments Investment assets Investment holdings |
2025 2024 Unrestr Restricted Total Total £7,132 £6,467 £13,599 £10,440 £1,288 £0 £1,288 £808 £131 £0 £131 £60 £8,551 £6,467 £15,018 £11,308 ~ ~ £2,310 £1,230 ~ ~ £0 £105 ~ ~ £3,704 £4,625 £0 £28,211 £28,211 £124,891 |
|---|---|
Investment assets originate from donations from the Fox Memorial Fund (2007) and the Fred & Freda Hoyle fund (2021).
Notes on the financial statements
| 2025 2024 |
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|---|---|
| Unrestr Restricted Total Total |
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| 1. Donations | |
| Individual donations | £5,471 £0 £5,471 £1,132 |
| Friends of the Charity | £3,110 £0 £3,110 £2,365 |
| Appeals Fundraising Bequests |
£13,657 £0 £13,657 £4,760 £0 £4,760 £3,045 £139 £0 £139 £2,523 |
| Totat donations | £27,137 £0 £27,137 £9,065 |
| 2. Charitable activities | |
| Grants Therapy fees |
£0 £43,950 £43,950 £118,669 £46,598 £0 £46,598 £42,094 |
| Presentations | £40 £0 £40 |
| Totat charitable income | £46,638 £43,950 £90,588 £160,763 |
| 3. Trading activities | |
| Event income | £380 £0 £380 £0 |
| Sale of goods | £0 £0 £0 £1 |
| Totat trading income | £380 £0 £380 £1 |
4. Expense payments
| ense payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee salaries | £76,394 | £36,452 | £112,846 | £119,717 |
| Freelance fees | £9,061 | £4,324 | £13,385 | £7,602 |
| PAYE/NI | £33,027 | £0 | £33,027 | £39,680 |
| Pension | £8,470 | £0 | £8,470 | £9,635 |
| Trading & event costs | £637 | £0 | £637 | £736 |
| Rent | £17,640 | £0 | £17,640 | £17,640 |
| Services | £4,031 | £0 | £4,031 | £2,638 |
| Repairs & maintenance | £143 | £0 | £143 | £70 |
| Insurance | £1,978 | £0 | £1,978 | £1,772 |
| Travel & expense costs | £8,189 | £0 | £8,189 | £6,850 |
| Subscriptions & prof fees | £39 | £0 | £39 | £56 |
| Courses & supervision fees | £1,038 | £0 | £1,038 | £3,390 |
| Phone & internet | £455 | £0 | £455 | £888 |
| Printing & postage | £1,977 | £0 | £1,977 | £1,313 |
| Payroll service | £764 | £0 | £764 | £644 |
| Independent examiner fees | £267 | £0 | £267 | £267 |
| Other prof & legal fees | £152 | £0 | £152 | £211 |
| Other project costs | £1,138 | £2,802 | £3,940 | £2,512 |
| Bank charges | £256 | £0 | £256 | £253 |
| Miscellaneous | £522 | £0 | £522 | £1,079 |
| Total expenses | £166,177 | £43,578 | £209,756 | £216,952 |
Grant and trust funding (received in 2025)
We are grateful to the following bodies for their support
The Noble Charitable Trust NYC Stronger Communities Inspire Fund The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Fund National Academy of Social Prescribing: Power of Music Fund St James's Place Charitable Foundation Woodsmith Foundation Community Grant Scheme Howardian Hills National Landscape Project Fund The Radcliffe Trust Skipton Building Society The John Feldberg Foundation