PLAY WALES/CHWARAE CYMRU

Registered charity 1068926 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Play Wales is a charity that provides advice and guidance for all in Wales who have a responsibility for any environment where children and young people play. Play Wales upholds children's right to play and believes that freely chosen play is critical to human development. Play Wales works strategically to ensure that children have access to quality play provison in their communities.

Causes: Education/training · Economic/community Development/employment · Recreation · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£607k
Latest spending
£650k
Registered
1998
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported an unrestricted deficit of £43,132 for the year ended 31 March 2025. Per the trustees' report, the charity remains reliant on core funding from the Welsh Government, which has been secured until March 2026. Free reserves were £311,006, which falls within the stated policy target of maintaining reserves equivalent to six to twelve months of annual expenditure.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: between six and twelve months of annual expenditure (held: £311k)
Play Wales intends to maintain the level of free reserves that equates to between six and twelve months of annual expenditure. — page 13
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: The charity's CEO is a trustee of the International Play Association, another not for profit organisation.
The charity's CEO is a trustee of the International Play Association, another not for profit organisation. — page 37
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Bevan Buckland LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income
£607k
Total spending
£650k
Reserves (reported)
£311k
Employees
7

Reported reserves equal ~5.7 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Throughout Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£607k£650k
31/03/2024£502k£516k
31/03/2023£850k£781k
31/03/2022£690k£731k
31/03/2021£1.2m£988k

Common questions

Is PLAY WALES/CHWARAE CYMRU financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported an unrestricted deficit of £43,132 for the year ended 31 March 2025. Per the trustees' report, the charity remains reliant on core funding from the Welsh Government, which has been secured until March 2026. Free reserves were £311,006, which falls within the stated policy target of maintaining reserves equivalent to six to twelve months of annual expenditure. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Bevan Buckland LLP.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund08/06/2020£9kCOVID-19 - Playful Childhoods
The National Lottery Community Fund01/07/2006£1.0mChilds Play Wales 1078

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CHILDREN IN WALES-PLANT YNG NGHYMRU.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
PLAY WALES/CHWARAE CYMRU£607kwithinno doubt
CHILDREN IN WALES-PLANT YNG NGHYMRU FY2025£1.5maboveno doubt
LONDON PLAY FY2025£148k0belowno doubt
CLYBIAU PLANT CYMRU KIDS CLUBS FY2024£1.6m0unclearno doubt
COUNCIL FOR WALES OF VOLUNTARY YOUTH SERVICES CYNGOR CYMREIG Y GWASANAETHAU IEUENCTID GWIRFODDOL FY2025£457kUnder £60,0000unclearno doubt
BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT FY2025£723k0withinno doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.