Hospices · Reg 700859
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust
Charity rating & review
83/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Good
Quick answer
Is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust a good charity?
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust scores 83/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£22m total income, 63% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
Donate
How can you give to ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST?
You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form.
What does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust do?
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a registered charity (no. 700859) working in hospices across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 63% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 4 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈6% a year). CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
Summarised from public filings — Acorns Children's Hospice Trust hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST scores 83 out of 100 (4 stars). 63% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.
What is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust?
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust has a Clarity Score of 83 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 700859. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Hospices. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £22m, with 63% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 4 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
83/100
4★ · Good
Cause spend
63%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
100/100
Finance beacon
Income
£22m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
4 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£2.7 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 40% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST scores higher than.
Scores higher than 67% of 943 charities in its income band · 83/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 59% of 155 charities in this cause · 83/100 vs 81 peer average (marker).
How reliable is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
High confidence — complete filing data
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .
What is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's Beacon report?
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 16 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
97/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 4 months · 15/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 100% | 10/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 80% | 8% · 4/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
20/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 30% | 63% · 3/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 10% | 36p per £1 income · 1/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 100% | 1,250 volunteers / 428 staff · 10/10 pts |
What is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's Clarity Score?
83/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
100/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
97/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
20/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
How much does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £22m | — |
| Total expenditure | £23m | — |
| Charitable activities | £14m | 62% |
| Fundraising | £8.9m | 38% |
| Governance & admin | £682k | 3% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £23m spent
- Charitable activities62% · £14m
- Fundraising38% · £8.9m
- Governance3% · £682k
What trust indicators does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust have?
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
up to date · last filing
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
16 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
428 employees · 1,250 volunteers (3:1 volunteer-to-staff)
Fundraising Regulator
Not listed as member
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 700859
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Alastair David since 2017
- Ghzala Ahmad since 2018
- AMRICK SINGH UBHI since 2018
- Jennifer Deidre Ladbrooke since 2020
- Bobby Waris since 2021
- Lynda Bull since 2021
- Samantha Elizabeth Watson since 2022
- David Paul Munton since 2022
- Christopher John Maddox since 2022
- Raymond O'Donoghue since 2023
- Professor Andrew Ewer since 2024
- Kevin Heslop since 2024
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.
How have Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's finances changed over five years?
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts
What are the key facts about Acorns Children's Hospice Trust?
- Overall score
- 83/100 (4★)
- Income
- £22m
- Cause spend
- 63% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 700859
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 4 months
- Trustees
- 16
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- up to date
How does ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST compare, and where else can you look?
Where ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar hospices charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- THE ROTHERHAM HOSPICE TRUST 96/100 · £8.4m
- WIGAN AND LEIGH HOSPICE 96/100 · £7.2m
- DR KERSHAW'S HOSPICE 96/100 · £6.0m
- THE COUNTESS OF BRECKNOCK HOSPICE TRUST 96/100 · £1.3m
How can you share Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's rating?
Opens a printer-friendly view of this profile for Acorns Children's Hospice Trust.
For this charity
How do you add Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's rating to your site?
Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our methodology.
What red flags does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust a good charity? +
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust scores 83 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 63% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.
Is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust a legitimate charity? +
Yes — Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 700859). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/700859. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's charity number? +
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's charity number is 700859. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.
What is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's charity rating? +
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust scores 83 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.
Does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Acorns Children's Hospice Trust. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.
How much of my donation reaches Acorns Children's Hospice Trust? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 63% of Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.
What are Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 37% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 40% of total expenditure at Acorns Children's Hospice Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.
How much income does Acorns Children's Hospice Trust receive? +
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust reported £22m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is Acorns Children's Hospice Trust based? +
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is listed at Birmingham · UK-wide · B29 6HZ and operates UK-wide, focused on hospices.
How does CharityCompare score Acorns Children's Hospice Trust? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.
How often is this page updated? +
This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Acorns Children's Hospice Trust's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.