THE CHILDREN'S BOOKSHOW

Registered charity 1162410 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Children's Bookshow Limited continues to provide children with education in the art of literature. The charity organises 'The National Tour of Writers and Illustrators of Children's Literature' which covers 15 theatre performances and 60 in-school workshops across the United Kingdom and continues to prove popular every financial year.

Objects

TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF PUPILS AT SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN THE SUBJECT OF CHILDREN?S LITERATURE.

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: Brent, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2026 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £3,600 for the year ended 31 March 2026, with total incoming resources of £218,825 and resources expended of £215,225. The trustees confirm that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, citing confirmed funding from the Arts Council England until 2027. Unrestricted reserves stood at £15,901 at the end of the financial year.

Automated summary of the FY2026 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

• Top pay band moved from £28,050 or less (FY2025) to No member of staff was paid more than £30,574 for the year covered by these accounts. (FY2026).

Comparing this charity’s FY2025 and FY2026 accounts as analysed by this site.

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
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• 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.

Annual return filing dates (Charity Commission record)

Of its last 5 annual returns with a recorded received date, 1 was received after the due date: year ending 31/03/2023 (received 16/05/2024, 106 days after the 31/01/2024 due date).

Due and received dates as recorded in the Commission’s annual-return data; the data does not say whether an extension was agreed. Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Children's Bookshow (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

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

• Unwin Charitable Trust — “This year The Children's Bookshow will give over 7000 children participating in our programme a free, signed copy of the author's book to ta…” (source page)

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

Trustees · trustee networks

• Claire Boultonchair
• Kate Arafa
• Robina Pelham Burn · trustee of 1 other charity
• SIAN WILLIAMS
• Shoshannah Thompson
• Sinead Salatchi Naidoo

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

Operates in: Throughout England

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).

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 THE CHILDREN'S LITERACY CHARITY.

• THE CHILDREN'S LITERACY CHARITY income £902k
• CHILDREN'S BOOK FEST - CHICHESTER CIO income £61k
• THE FEDERATION OF CHILDREN'S BOOK GROUPS income £52k
• CHILDREN'S BOOK PROJECT income £583k
• CHILD LIGHT LIMITED income £2.7m
• CHILDREN'S MUSIC MATTERS income £321k

Side by side with its peers

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