Finance Score: 2

Governance Score: 4

Support Score: 9

Strong growth: +2

Narrow trustee age band: -2
Dynamic board: +3
Gender balanced board: +3

Grant maker support: +9

Overall GiG Score: 15

REAL CARE LTD

We are a North East Specialist day College for people aged 16+ with Special Educational Needs. Our primary aim is to provide education, care and support for our learners in a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment. We offer a wide range of innovative and engaging activities to widen and enhance their learning experience. Promoting independence, communication and choice at all times.

Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

The Board has little diversity in terms of age

Financial issues to consider:

There has been a change of accounting period recently, so trends may be hard to determine

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?

N.B. data has been adjusted to reflect year end change

Sources of Income ?

Y/E		Income £k	Spending £k	Surplus/ Deficit	Fundraising Cost £k	Total Funds £k	Unrestricted Funds £k	Mths Rsrvs	Staff	Volun- teers
31/08/23		£1,297	£1,149	£148	£0	£809	£806	8.4	51	0
31/08/22?		£689	£617	£72	£0	£661	£661	12.8	45	0
31/12/21		£999	£788	£211	£0	£589	£589	9	42	0
31/12/20		£813	£702	£111	£0	£378	£378	6.5	43	0
31/12/19	*	£716	£672	£44	£0	£267	£267	4.8	41	8
31/12/18		£676	£633	£43	£0	£223	£223	4.2	42	0
31/12/17		£667	£646	£21	£0	£180	£180	3.3	42	0
31/12/16		£717	£700	£17	£0	£159	£159	2.7	45	0
31/12/15	*	£600	£521	£79	£7	£142	£142	3.3	27	0
31/12/14		£405	£420	£-15	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/13	*	£514	£449	£65	£9	£79	£79	2.1	15	0
31/12/12		£338	£399	£-61	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/11		£273	£280	£-7	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/10	*	£237	£236	£1	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/09	*	£204	£158	£46	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/08		£166	£88	£78	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/12/07		£134	£137	£-3	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0

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Financial Ratios

Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 0%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 0%
Highest pay band: Less than £60,000
Liabilities/Assets: 15%
Liabilities/Income: 11%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 100%
Reserves/Spending: 8.4 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 5 months
Quick Ratio: 3.5

Asset Split ?

Established: 18 years

www.learninglife.org.uk

info@learninglife.org.uk

01207 509936

Charity Commission for England and Wales

Tweets

Listed activities

Amateur Sport
Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
Disability
Economic/Community Development/Employment
Education/Training
Recreation
The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives

GiG Classification

Services for people with disabilities

How it operates

Provides advocacy/advice/information
Provides buildings/facilities/open space
Provides human resources
Provides services

Where it operates

Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne City,

Who it helps

Children/Young People
Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
Other Defined Groups
People With Disabilities
The General Public/Mankind

Who works here?

51 employees

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years

Lloyds Bank Foundation	£52,250
DCMS	£39,000
National Lottery Community Fund	£29,350
County Durham Community Foundation	£14,373
Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland	£13,000

Specific Donations

Amount	When Months	To be used for
Lloyds Bank Foundation - One off gift towards cost of living crisis to Real Care Ltd
£2,250	14/12/2022	One off gift to support with the cost of living crisis
National Lottery Community Fund - Outdoor Farm Well Being Project
£10,000	18/03/2022	The funding will be used to purchase outdoor furniture to convert a space within Haystax Farm into a wellbeing outdoor nature area for young people with disabilities. The project will provide respite ....more The funding will be used to purchase outdoor furniture to convert a space within Haystax Farm into a wellbeing outdoor nature area for young people with disabilities. The project will provide respite for families and crafting animal care farm gardening and nature-based learning activities with the aim of reducing isolation and improve confidence and wellbeing.
National Lottery Community Fund - Queens Jubilee- Concert @ Haystax Farm
£9,500	18/03/2022	The funding will be used to host a concert to celebrate the Queen' Platinum Jubilee. It will also include a tree planting activity to build on its Queen's Canopy Project. The project aims to bring ....more The funding will be used to host a concert to celebrate the Queen' Platinum Jubilee. It will also include a tree planting activity to build on its Queen's Canopy Project. The project aims to bring together its members (young people and adults with a diverse range of disabilities) with the local community helping to reduce isolation and improve wellbeing.
County Durham Community Foundation - Volunteers- a gift to the community
£4,450	18/11/2021	To support a volunteer project,
County Durham Community Foundation - Accessible bathroom for all
£5,000	28/10/2021	To install an accessible bathroom.
Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland - A grant to Real Care Ltd Trading as Learning For Life
£10,000	29/07/2021	Installing a bifold concertina door to enable multi use safe spaces in Newcastle base for young people with disabilities
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Renew grant to Real Care Ltd
£50,000	25/05/2021 24	Unrestricted grant over two years towards the core costs of Real Care Ltd.
Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland - A grant to Real Care Ltd Trading as Learning For Life
£3,000	15/04/2021	Employability courses and employment opportunities for young people with learning disabilities from County Durham, Gateshead and Newcastle
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Learning for Life
£2,625	24/10/2020	We wish to expand the café we run voluntarily at Citizen's house to teach employability skills for our learners with community volunteers.
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£39,000	19/08/2020	"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more "The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public services.2) To ensure essential services are provided to vulnerable people, both in the short and long term through increased community support through the work of charitable organisations."
County Durham Community Foundation - Temerature check for good health
£4,923	04/06/2020	Towards temperature check for good health.
National Lottery Community Fund - Community Cafe Volunteer Project
£9,850	10/02/2020 10	The funding will help develop young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) in all aspects of catering and customer service within a community café setting. The activities will ....more The funding will help develop young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) in all aspects of catering and customer service within a community café setting. The activities will aim to raise self-esteem, increase confidence, and enable the young people to learn new skills for future employment.

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Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (6)

Current Trustees appointed

Gender Split

Based on 5/6 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 55-70

CHRIS ROGERS Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Civil Servant

LYNN MCNALLY Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Head Of School

MIKE BARKER Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Solicitor

ANNE TIMOTHY (Chair) Appointed: 2004, Occupation: Education Manager

DAVID HARROP Appointed: 2014, Occupation: Retired

MRS GILL STRINGER, Occupation: Head Teacher

Legal constitution

Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 02/05/2006, number: 1113970
Registered at Companies House on 25/11/2004, number: 05296681

Gift Aid

Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid

Other Regulators

Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education)

Policies in force

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
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

Filing Record

17 returns made; AR19: 73 days late, AR15: 116 days late, AR13: 349 days late, AR10: 282 days late, AR09: 77 days late,

Main office

Learning For Life
Herbert Street
CONSETT
County Durham
DH8 6AE

Objectives

TO ADVANCE AND SUPPORT THE POST 16 EDUCATION OF PUPILS FROM SPECIAL SCHOOLS WITHIN THE NORTH EAST REGION, THEIR FAMILIES, AND WIDER COMMUNITIES BY:PROVIDING POST-SECONDARY, NON-TERTIARY EDUCATION, AND CARE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH PROFOUND AND MULTIPLE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES;PROVIDING A STIMULATING AND EFFECTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (LEARNING FOR LIFE) FOR ALL YOUNG PEOPLE, INCLUDING THOSE EXPERIENCING MORE PROFOUND AND MULTIPLE LEARNING AND PHYSICAL DIFFICULTIES; PROVIDING A CARE AND SUPPORT FACILITY WHICH PROVIDES A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH MORE PROFOUND DISABILITIES AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY; DEVELOPING FURTHER PROVISION AS YOUNG PEOPLE PROGRESS INTO WORK AND INDEPENDENT LIVING.

Defined Area of Benefit:

COUNTY DURHAM

Data Sources