BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST

Registered charity 1150174 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BEAT

Barnet Education Arts Trust provides music education opportunities to young people living in or attending school in the London Borough of Barnet. Occasionally these opportunities may extend to neighbouring boroughs. The activities include lessons, ensembles, workshops and performances

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Latest income

£2.0m

Latest spending

£2.0m

Registered

2012

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that general unrestricted reserves stood at £904,184, which is in excess of the charity's stated policy target of between £300k and £410k. The trustees report a positive financial outlook despite identifying high risks regarding the continuation of the Music Education Grant beyond August 2026 and the Local Government Pension Scheme guarantee.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £60,001 - £70,000 — below the median for charities its size (£70k)

“One employee received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of between £60,000 and £70,000 during the period” — page 26

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Employees paid over £60,000: 1

“One employee received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) of between £60,000 and £70,000 during the period (2024: one).” — page 26

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Largest income source: Charging parents and schools for lessons (67% of income)

“BEAT’s income from charging parents and schools for lessons is 67.32% of turnover this year.” — page 7

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: 15% of annual expenditure or three months salary costs, whichever is the greater (held: £904k)

“The Reserves Policy states that a minimum level of reserves is in the order of 15% of the annual expenditure, or three months salary costs, whichever is the greater. This would represent a sum between £300k and £410k (£390k).” — page 7

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Colin Dowland, trustee, is also Co-Headteacher at Woodridge Primary School. During the period, the charity received £1,080 (2024: £1,015) from the school for services provided and paid £1,155 (2024: £770) for event support.

“Colin Dowland, trustee, is also Co-Headteacher at Woodridge Primary School. During the period, the charity received £1,080 (2024: £1,015) from the school for services provided and paid £1,155 (2024: £770) for event support. At year end, £nil was oustanding (2024: £nil). Neil Marlow, trustee, is employed by Barnet Education and Learning Service (BELS). During the period, the charity received £488 (2024: £1,235) from BELS for services provided. At year end, £nil was outstanding (2024: £nil). 31” — page 32

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Godfrey Wilson Limited. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

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.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Total income

£2.0m

Total spending

£2.0m

Cost of raising funds

£16k

Reserves (reported)

£904k

Employees

55

Reported reserves equal ~5.4 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (99% 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: 0.8% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (13/09/2019) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (04/12/2015) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

COLIN BRIAN DOWLANDchair
Alexandra Gess
Annwen Elizabeth Bates
Cosima Rodriguez-Broadbent
MARTIN JOSEPH BAKER
Neil Marlow
PHILIP CHARLES ELGAR · trustee of 1 other charity
Peter Sydney White
Richard Dominy
Samuel Kunda
Smiljana Kadelburg · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Barnet

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/08/2025	£2.0m	£2.0m
31/08/2024	£2.1m	£1.9m
31/08/2023	£2.6m	£2.4m
31/03/2022	£1.7m	£1.6m
31/03/2021	£2.0m	£1.6m

Common questions

Is BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that general unrestricted reserves stood at £904,184, which is in excess of the charity's stated policy target of between £300k and £410k. The trustees report a positive financial outlook despite identifying high risks regarding the continuation of the Music Education Grant beyond August 2026 and the Local Government Pension Scheme guarantee. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Godfrey Wilson Limited.

What does the highest-paid employee of BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £60,001 - £70,000 band, and 1 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST as a grant recipient include THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS, THE YOUNG BARNET FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS	FY2022	£44k	Scholarships
THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS	FY2023	£12k	Scholarships
THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS	FY2025	£8k	Partnership
THE MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS	FY2024	£8k	Scholarships
THE YOUNG BARNET FOUNDATION	FY2023	£3k	Space2Grow CYP Fund
THE YOUNG BARNET FOUNDATION	FY2024	£2k	Space2Grow CYP Fund

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
JOHN LYON'S CHARITY	1	£250k
THE HEADLEY TRUST	1	£30k
The Portal Trust	1	£15k
THE GEORGE AND ESME POLLITZER CHARITABLE SETTLEMENT	1	£10k
THE HARBOUR FOUNDATION	1	£7k
THE PELL CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£5k
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST	1	£5k
ANSON CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£1k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE HENRIETTA BARNETT SCHOOL TRUST.

THE HENRIETTA BARNETT SCHOOL TRUST income £299k
BARNET U3A income £135k
BROMLEY ARTS TRUST income £179k
BROMLEY YOUTH MUSIC TRUST income £1.8m
BENSLOW MUSIC TRUST income £1.6m
Eastside Educational Trust income £577k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
BARNET EDUCATION ARTS TRUST	£2.0m	£60,001 - £70,000	1	above	—	no doubt
THE HENRIETTA BARNETT SCHOOL TRUST FY2024	£299k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
BARNET U3A FY2025	£135k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
BROMLEY ARTS TRUST FY2025	£179k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
BROMLEY YOUTH MUSIC TRUST FY2025	£1.8m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
BENSLOW MUSIC TRUST FY2025	£1.6m	—	1	unclear	—	no doubt

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