THE ALDINGBOURNE TRUST

Registered charity 276484 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as ALDINGBOURNE COUNTRY CENTRE

The Aldingbourne Trust provides support which helps people with learning and or physical disabilities and/or autism to develop and live the life they choose. We do this by providing opportunities to work, make friends, get good housing, make choices and follow their interests.

Objects

THE RELIEF OF PERSONS WHO HAVE PHYSICAL OR LEARNING DISABILITIES, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ORIGINATE FROM SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS AND OTHER EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE PURPOSES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM WHICH IN THE OPINION OF THE TRUSTEES ARE BENEFICIAL TO THOSE IN THE AREA OF BENEFIT.

Area of benefit: ALDINGBOURNE

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

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Disability · Accommodation/housing · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

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

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity ended the year with a deficit of £192,732, resulting in a decrease in total reserves from £9.1m to £8.9m. Per the trustees' report, free reserves stood at £2,423,657, which is above the stated policy target of three months of running costs (approximately £1.7m). The auditors confirmed that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Sumer Audit. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

In its annual return the charity told the Commission it is also regulated by: Care Quality Commission. 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
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• 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 01385053

Leadership, per the charity’s website

• Alex Brooks Johnson — CEO (source)
• Alicia Gooderson — COO (source)
• Michael Hackwell-Read — Finance Director (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.

Funders the charity credits

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

• Department of Health — “Here at the Aldingbourne Trust we look after a group of Health & Social Care employers that have joined together to access these funds that …” (source page)
• Skills for Care — “Here at the Aldingbourne Trust we look after a group of Health & Social Care employers that have joined together to access these funds that …” (source page)

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.

• ROWE, Nicholas Denton — director, appointed 20/09/2022on trustee list
• TOUT, Rachael Diana — director, appointed 22/09/2020on trustee list
• JAMES, Paula Caryn — director, appointed 24/09/2019on trustee list
• PITTS, Andrew John — director, appointed 19/03/2013on trustee list
• DIXON, John Douglas — director, appointed 07/12/2010on trustee list
• HILDITCH, John David — director, appointed 08/12/2009on trustee list
• RUSSELL, Frances Mary — director, appointed 19/03/2003on trustee list
• WILLISCROFT, Jackie Mary — director, appointed 22/11/1999on trustee list
• GODSMARK, David John — director, appointed 17/02/1997on trustee list
• IRWIN MITCHELL SECRETARIES LIMITED — corporate secretary, appointed 23/05/1994

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

7 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: The Aldingbourne Trust — Registered, 7 registered locations, 1 regulated activity, last inspected 14/11/2019.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

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

Reported reserves equal ~3.0 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (81% 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: 1.1% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (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).

• Jasmine Lodge: Good (13/12/2019) · CQC record
• Sudley Road: Not Rated · CQC record
• Support Workers Direct: Good (03/04/2019) · CQC record

Trustees · trustee networks

• Desmond Partrick Wynne
• FRANCES RUSSELL
• JACQUELINE MARY WILLISCROFT · trustee of 1 other charity
• JOHN DAVID HILDITCH
• JOHN DOUGLAS DIXON
• Nicholas Rowe
• Paula Caryn James
• Rachael Diana Tout

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

Operates in: East Sussex · Portsmouth City · West Sussex

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 ALBRIGHTON TRUST LIMITED.

• THE ALBRIGHTON TRUST LIMITED income £146k
• HELPING DISABILITIES TRUST income £131k
• SYCAMORE TRUST U.K. income £403k
• BERKSHIRE AUTISTIC SOCIETY income £207k
• CANTERBURY OAST TRUST income £7.9m
• RESOURCES FOR AUTISM income £2.5m

Side by side with its peers

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