ARTS AT THE OLD FIRE STATION

Registered charity 1140525 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Arts at the Old Fire Station encourages people from all backgrounds to understand and shape the world in which we live through stories, creativity and the arts, and by connecting with others. We have a gallery, theatre, dance studio and Cafe. We support artists and include people facing disadvantage. We support services to evaluate their work using Story Telling Methodology.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE, FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, TO ADVANCE EDUCATION INTHE ARTS IN OXFORD BY THE PROVISION AND MANAGEMENT OF AN ARTS FACILITY CALLEDTHE OLD FIRE STATION.

Area of benefit: OXFORD

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Oxford, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the financial statements give a true and fair view and are prepared on a going concern basis, with funding deemed adequate for future needs. However, the audit identified material weaknesses in internal controls, including unupdated bank access rights, incorrect fund categorization in software, and ineffective staff handovers. Additionally, there were unadjusted VAT misstatements and difficulties in obtaining complete bank statements for the year.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Richardsons. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 07371445

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Arts at the Old Fire Station (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

• Clara Vaughan — CEO (source)
• Becca Vallins — Deputy CEO (source)
• Caroline Boon — Chair (source)

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.

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.

• ATEWOLOGUN, Adedoyin Olukemi — director, appointed 14/06/2025on trustee list
• TANNA, Serrena Jade — director, appointed 27/03/2025on trustee list
• BROOKS, Demelza — director, appointed 27/03/2025on trustee list
• VAUGHAN, Clara — director, appointed 01/04/2024not on trustee list
• COLLINS, Kim — director, appointed 12/09/2023on trustee list
• SMITH, Heather — director, appointed 12/09/2023on trustee list
• HOLDSWORTH, Caroline Lindsay — director, appointed 11/09/2019on trustee list
• VALLINS, Rebecca — secretary, appointed 09/02/2018

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/09/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~2.1 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (65% 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: 12.9% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Caroline Holdsworthchair
• Clara Owen
• Demelza Brooks
• Dr Adedoyin Olukemi Atewologun
• Heather Smith
• Kim Collins
• Serrena Jade Tanna

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

Operates in: Oxfordshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

Government & lottery funding

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