ORCHARD VALE TRUST LIMITED

Registered charity 326940 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The founding and running of homes and services for people with learning disabilities

Objects

FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT TOA. RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF PERSONS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES BY THE PROVISION OF SUPPORT IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY PROVIDING ACCOMMODATION, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SUPPORT SERVICES;B. PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION BY PREVENTING PEOPLEWITH LEARNING DISABILITIES FROM BECOMING SOCIALLY EXCLUDED, RELIEVING THE NEEDS OF THOSE PEOPLE AND ASSISTING THEM TO INTEGRATE INTO SOCIETY.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

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

Causes: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Somerset, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net income surplus of £337,102 for the year ended 31 January 2025, increasing its total funds to £3,032,111. The trustees confirm that assets are adequate to fulfill obligations and that there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Reserves held amount to £461,528, which the trustees maintain as equivalent to three calendar months of operational costs.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Knight Goodhead Limited. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

• Employees paid over £60,000: 0 (FY2024) → 1 (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

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
• 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 01946592
• Trading subsidiary: ORCHARD VALE SOCIAL ENTERPRISES CIC Companies House 11528772

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Orchard Vale Trust (matched by registered charity number).

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.

• LAWSON, James, Reverend — director, appointed 27/01/2024on trustee list
• FOX, John Stephen, Dr — director, appointed 19/01/2019on trustee list
• VENNER, Martha Dorcas — director, appointed 27/01/2018on trustee list
• STEELE, Catherine Roberta — director, appointed 04/10/2014on trustee list
• SUDELL, Joanna, Dr — director, appointed 11/03/2009on trustee list
• ALLAN, Hannah Victoria — director, appointed 08/03/2008on trustee list
• MULLIN, Anthony Robert — director, appointed 08/03/2008not on trustee list
• ABSOLON, Christopher John, Rev Dr — director, appointed 01/10/2003on trustee list
• STRATTON, Kenneth — secretary, appointed 27/01/2018

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

6 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (6 freehold); recorded price paid £93k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: Orchard Vale Trust Limited — Registered, 4 registered locations, 1 regulated activity, last inspected 31/05/2023.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/01/2026)

Reported reserves equal ~5.2 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% 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).

• East Court: Good (06/07/2023) · CQC record
• Northcroft: Good (28/10/2020) · CQC record
• Ferndale: Good (09/02/2024) · CQC record
• St Chads House: Good (21/06/2023) · CQC record

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (19/11/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr CHRISTOPHER JOHN ABSOLONchair
• CATHERINE STEELE
• Dr JOANNA SUDELL
• Dr John Stephen Fox
• HANNAH ALLAN
• Martha Dorcas Venner
• Rev James Lawson · trustee of 1 other charity
• TONY MULLIN

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

Operates in: Bath And North East Somerset · Somerset

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 THEATRE ORCHARD PROJECTS LIMITED.

• THEATRE ORCHARD PROJECTS LIMITED income £560k
• THE ARNOLD LEE CHARITABLE TRUST income £857k
• WILLIAM AND EDITH OLDHAM CHARITABLE TRUST income £682k
• OMAR WELFARE HOUSE income £71k
• THE ORCHARD TRUST income £5.4m
• ORCHARD HILL COLLEGE income £22.0m

Side by side with its peers

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