BRISTOL CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE LIMITED

Registered charity 1179331 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BRISTOL CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE

THE BRISTOL CHILDRENS PLAYHOUSE IS A PRE-SCHOOL WITH A 2'S AND 3'S ROOM. WE PROVIDE SUPPORT IN EARLY YEARS DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS SAFEGUARDING THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN WITHIN THE FAMILY. THE PLAYHOUSE IS SITUATED IN ONE OF THE MOST DISADVANTAGED AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE AREAS OF BRISTOL. WE PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE TO MEET AND PLAY TO ENABLE PARENTS AND CHILDREN TO GAIN POSITIVE EXPERIENCES.

Objects

THE CHARITABLE PURPOSES OF THE COMPANY SHALL BE TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN BY THE PROVISION OF SERVICES AND FACILITIES FOR CHILDREN, PARENTS AND CARERS.

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

Causes: Education/training · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£204k

Latest spending

£238k

Registered

2018

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £34,175 for the year, reducing total unrestricted funds from £129,593 to £95,418. The trustees acknowledge that historical discrepancies are under investigation and that the current reserve level covers only one month of staff salaries, falling short of the target of £45,000. Additionally, the charity incurred a loss of £17,742 due to staff fraud, which is being pursued by police.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: Under £50,000 — below the median for charities its size (£60k)

“No employee received emoluments of more than £50,000.” — page 11

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: £45,000 (held: £95k)

“The trustees and management team are working to rebuild reserves toward the target of £45,000.”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Governance: Independent examiner identified fraud by staff

“Other expenditure in the SoFA relates to losses incurred by the Playhouse due to fraudulent activity by a member of staff. The police are involved and prosecution proceedings are continuing.” — page 5

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

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

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education). This is the charity’s own declaration; it is not a rating and has not been verified by the Commission or 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
Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Complaints policy and procedures
Conflicting interests
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
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

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles 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.

Register events

Received assets from another charity (13/06/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

Krista Lahey-Jameschair
Gemma Adams
Matthew Wild
Sara Dennison

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

Operates in: Bristol City

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£204k	£238k
31/03/2024	£196k	£191k
31/03/2023	£163k	£160k
31/03/2022	£174k	£168k
31/03/2021	£0	£0

Common questions

Is BRISTOL CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE LIMITED financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £34,175 for the year, reducing total unrestricted funds from £129,593 to £95,418. The trustees acknowledge that historical discrepancies are under investigation and that the current reserve level covers only one month of staff salaries, falling short of the target of £45,000. Additionally, the charity incurred a loss of £17,742 due to staff fraud, which is being pursued by police. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

What does the highest-paid employee of BRISTOL CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE LIMITED earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the Under £50,000 band.

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
THE STEVEN BLOCH IMAGE OF DISABILITY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£181k
THE NISBET TRUST	1	£45k
THE JOHN R. MURRAY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£43k
JOHN JAMES BRISTOL FOUNDATION	1	£25k
THE NANI HUYU CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£25k
THE PIERREPONT TRUST	1	£15k
THE 29TH MAY 1961 CHARITY	1	£12k
THE BARBARA WARD CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION	1	£8k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE BRISTOL CHILDREN'S HELP SOCIETY.

THE BRISTOL CHILDREN'S HELP SOCIETY income £280k
ROYSTON METHODIST PLAYGROUP income £121k
HELPSTON PLAYHOUSE AND UNDER FIVES PRE-SCHOOL income £206k
BRIGHTLINGSEA PLAYCENTRE income £221k
BRAUNSTONE ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND income £258k
CHARLBURY PRESCHOOL income £156k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
BRISTOL CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE LIMITED	£204k	Under £50,000	above	—	no doubt
THE BRISTOL CHILDREN'S HELP SOCIETY FY2024	£280k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
ROYSTON METHODIST PLAYGROUP FY2025	£121k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
HELPSTON PLAYHOUSE AND UNDER FIVES PRE-SCHOOL FY2025	£206k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
BRIGHTLINGSEA PLAYCENTRE FY2025	£221k	—	unclear	—	no doubt
BRAUNSTONE ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND FY2025	£258k	—	unclear	—	noted

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