THE OAKLEA TRUST

Registered charity 1091722 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE WATTSFIELD TRUST

Supporting children and adults with disabilities

Causes: Education/training · Disability · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£10.7m
Latest spending
£10.5m
Registered
2002
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the group ended the year with a small surplus and total unrestricted reserves of £2,214,139. The trustees note that while the income is predictable, the current reserves are equivalent to only 1.3 months of expenditure, which is below the previously stated policy target of two months. The group remains financially robust but is focusing on stability and governance improvements in the near term.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £70,001 - £80,000 — below the median for charities its size (£130k)
“One employee received remuneration between £60,000 - £70,000 during the year (2024: two). One employee received remuneration between £70,000 - £80,000 band (2024: nil).” — page 24
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Employees paid over £60,000: 2
“One employee received remuneration between £60,000 - £70,000 during the year (2024: two). One employee received remuneration between £70,000 - £80,000 band (2024: nil).” — page 24
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Largest income source: Care and support in the Community (99% of income)
“Care and support in the Community 10,674,216”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Azets Audit Services. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Corporate structure

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Oaklea Trust (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

9 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (6 freehold); recorded price paid £971k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: The Oaklea Trust — Registered, 13 registered locations, 2 regulated activities, last inspected 09/07/2023.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

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

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

Total income
£10.7m
Total spending
£10.5m
Reserves (reported)
£2.2m
Employees
375

Reported reserves equal ~2.5 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (94% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Care Quality Commission ratings

CQC inspection ratings for services run by a provider matching this charity’s name (matched by name; verify provider identity on CQC’s site).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Cumbria · Durham · Lancashire · Northumberland

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£10.7m£10.5m
31/03/2024£9.9m£9.6m
31/03/2023£9.5m£9.2m
31/03/2022£9.4m£9.0m
31/03/2021£8.7m£8.3m

Common questions

Is THE OAKLEA TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the group ended the year with a small surplus and total unrestricted reserves of £2,214,139. The trustees note that while the income is predictable, the current reserves are equivalent to only 1.3 months of expenditure, which is below the previously stated policy target of two months. The group remains financially robust but is focusing on stability and governance improvements in the near term. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Azets Audit Services.

What does the highest-paid employee of THE OAKLEA TRUST earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £70,001 - £80,000 band, and 2 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds THE OAKLEA TRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE OAKLEA TRUST as a grant recipient include THE FORBES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE HOLEHIRD TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE FORBES CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£25k
THE FORBES CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£25k
THE HOLEHIRD TRUSTFY2022£2k

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund23/03/2022£10kThe Appleby Hub (refurbishment)
Northern Rock Foundation09/10/2001£22kGrant awarded to The Oaklea Trust (Durham)
Northern Rock Foundation26/10/1999£9kGrant awarded to The Oaklea Trust (North West)
Northern Rock Foundation12/05/1998£25kGrant awarded to The Oaklea Trust (North West)
UK government—£43kFSF Partnership Grant - Cumbria and Lancashire (2017)

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 OAKLEAF ENTERPRISE.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE OAKLEA TRUST£10.7m£70,001 - £80,0002unclear—no doubt
OAKLEAF ENTERPRISE FY2025£1.3m—0unclear—no doubt
THE OAKDALE TRUST FY2025£475k—0unclear—no doubt
ORCHARD VALE TRUST LIMITED FY2025£3.2m£60,001 - £70,0001unclear—no doubt
THE OAKES TRUST (SHEFFIELD) FY2025£670k—0unclear—no doubt
OAKHILL EDUCATION TRUST FY2025£1.8m—0unclear—no doubt

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