Disability · Reg 288018
The Children's Trust
Charity rating & review
76/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Good
Quick answer
Is The Children's Trust a good charity?
The Children's Trust scores 76/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£36m total income, 87% 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.
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How can you give to THE CHILDREN'S TRUST?
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What does The Children's Trust do?
The Children's Trust is a registered charity (no. 288018) working in disability across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 87% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 1 month of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. 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 — The Children's Trust hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: THE CHILDREN'S TRUST scores 76 out of 100 (4 stars). 87% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is The Children's Trust?
The Children's Trust has a Clarity Score of 76 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 288018. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Disability. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £36m, with 87% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 1 month 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
76/100
4★ · Good
Cause spend
87%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
75/100
Finance beacon
Income
£36m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
1 mo
1 month of running costs
Accounts filing
Late
Check register
£7.9 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 13% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium
How does THE CHILDREN'S TRUST compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE CHILDREN'S TRUST scores higher than.
Scores higher than 43% of 943 charities in its income band · 76/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 39% of 711 charities in this cause · 76/100 vs 79 peer average (marker).
How reliable is The Children's Trust's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
Medium confidence — some data missing or late
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 The Children's 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.
75/100
| 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. | 33% | 5/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 11 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.
60/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 33% | 1 month · 5/15 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. | 60% | 27% · 3/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
90/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 90% | 87% · 9/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 90% | 13p per £1 income · 9/10 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% | 1,519 volunteers / 502 staff · 10/10 pts |
What is The Children's Trust's Clarity Score?
76/100 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.
75/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
60/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
90/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
How much does The Children's Trust raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £36m | — |
| Total expenditure | £35m | — |
| Charitable activities | £31m | 89% |
| Fundraising | £3.9m | 11% |
| Governance & admin | £471k | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £35m spent
- Charitable activities89% · £31m
- Fundraising11% · £3.9m
- Governance1% · £471k
What trust indicators does The Children's Trust have?
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
Filing status: late
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
11 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
502 employees · 1,519 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 288018
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Timothy John Davies since 2015
- STEPHEN DAVID FLANAGAN since 2023
- Helen Hewitt since 2024
- Helen Farmer since 2024
- Deborah Ralls since 2025
- Richard Guest since 2025
- Lynn Harries since 2025
- Caroline Rivett since 2026
- Philip Hogan since 2026
- Louise Pollock since 2026
- Philip Harrison since 2026
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 The Children's 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 The Children's Trust?
- Overall score
- 76/100 (4★)
- Income
- £36m
- Cause spend
- 87% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 288018
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 1 month
- Trustees
- 11
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- late
How does THE CHILDREN'S TRUST compare, and where else can you look?
Where THE CHILDREN'S TRUST sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar disability charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- POLKA CHILDREN'S THEATRE LIMITED 100/100 · £3.6m
- TREWEN MEADOWS 100/100 · £1.4m
- CAMBRIDGE RAPE CRISIS CENTRE 100/100 · £916k
- Kent Neuro Therapy Centre Limited 100/100 · £858k
How can you share The Children's Trust's rating?
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How do you add The Children's Trust's rating to your site?
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What red flags does The Children's Trust have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about The Children's Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is The Children's Trust a good charity? +
The Children's Trust scores 76 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 87% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are late. 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 The Children's Trust a legitimate charity? +
Yes — The Children's Trust is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 288018). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/288018. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is The Children's Trust's charity number? +
The Children's Trust's charity number is 288018. 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 The Children's Trust's charity rating? +
The Children's Trust scores 76 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 The Children's Trust have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Children's 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 The Children's Trust? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 87% of The Children's 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 The Children's Trust's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 12% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 13% of total expenditure at The Children's Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Children's 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 The Children's Trust receive? +
The Children's Trust reported £36m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are The Children's Trust's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is The Children's Trust based? +
The Children's Trust is listed at London · UK-wide · KT20 5RU and operates UK-wide, focused on disability.
How does CharityCompare score The Children's Trust? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Children's 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 The Children's 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.