Family Care Trust
Charity 1045025
Overview
Summary
Family Care Trust appears to occupy a practical bridge between care, skills development and community participation for adults facing disability, mental health or dementia-related needs in Solihull. Its model is distinctive in combining supported living and specialist day care with work-based learning and customer-facing enterprise. This suggests an organisation focused not only on meeting care needs, but on creating routes to independence, social connection and visible contribution within ordinary community settings.
Operational geography
Coverage: Regional
Operational areas:
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Remaining uncertainties
- The Charity Commission currently records Birmingham City, Solihull and Warwickshire as places where the charity operates, but this does not identify Birmingham service locations or demonstrate activity in any particular Birmingham ward.
- The Trust's current website presents its services as Solihull-based and identifies Newlands Bishop Farm, the Blanning Dementia Day Centre and supported-living services, without naming a current Birmingham site.
- The CQC lists an active Community Support Service in Solihull. Its only Birmingham location is the Colebrook Respite Unit, which is explicitly archived and therefore is not evidence of a current Birmingham operational site.
- An NHS directory entry describes a catchment of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, which does not align fully with the Charity Commission's Birmingham and Warwickshire geographic declaration. The available evidence does not establish the nature, scale or current status of work in Birmingham.
- Although an earlier trustees' report states that services were provided to Birmingham City Council and the NHS, the available material does not specify whether this involved current direct delivery in Birmingham, which communities were served, or whether arrangements remain active.
Additional evidence needed
- The latest trustees' annual report or service-delivery report identifying current contracts, referral areas and numbers of people supported by local authority area.
- A current Family Care Trust service directory identifying the Birmingham coverage of supported-living and community-support provision, subject to safeguarding restrictions.
- Confirmation from Birmingham City Council or the Trust of any active commissioning, framework or partnership arrangements and the Birmingham areas they cover.
Areas of work
- Disability
- Education/training
- The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
Who they help
- Elderly/old People
- People With Disabilities
How they help
- Provides Advocacy/advice/information
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
Care is paired with participation
The available evidence suggests the Trust treats independence as more than living safely at home: it also creates opportunities to learn, work and take part in community-facing activity.
Why it matters
This helps distinguish the Trust from a provider focused solely on personal care. Its role may include reducing isolation and expanding meaningful roles for people whose opportunities can otherwise be limited.
Show evidence
“Newlands Bishop Farm offers work based learning in animal care, wood work, horticulture and catering for adults with learning disabilities.”
Source:Organisation“Berry's Café offers adults with learning disabilities and mental health problems opportunities to gain catering and customer service skills.”
Source:Organisation“The mission promotes independence, dignity and choices.”
Source:Organisation
The organisation spans several stages of adult support
The Trust appears to combine preventative community support, structured daytime provision and supported living, rather than operating as a single-service charity.
Why it matters
This breadth may allow support to adapt as needs change, while also making the Trust a potentially important connector between health, social care, carers and community-based opportunities.
Show evidence
“The Blanning Dementia Day Centre provides support for people with memory problems, including Alzheimer's, strokes and Parkinson's.”
Source:Organisation“The Community Support Service supports people with mental health problems, learning difficulties and physical disabilities through supported living schemes.”
Source:Organisation“Activities include day care centres, support in people's own homes, befriending and assistance to acquire skills for independent living.”
Source:Charity Commission
Place-based assets may be central to its operating model
The farm and café appear to be more than service locations: they may function as practical learning environments that connect care recipients with customers, outdoor activity and everyday work.
Why it matters
This points to a potentially distinctive asset-based model. Understanding who uses these spaces, and how they relate to local partners, could reveal opportunities for wider inclusion and collaboration.
Show evidence
“Newlands Bishop Farm provides work based learning focused on animal care, wood work, horticulture and catering.”
Source:Organisation“Berry's Café involves cooking, preparing and serving food to customers.”
Source:Organisation
- It is unclear how many people use each service and whether demand exceeds capacity.
- There is no evidence about referral routes, local partnerships, funding sources or the experiences of people supported.
- The relationship between the Trust's broad charity objects and its current focus on adults is not explained.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports or impact data showing beneficiary numbers, outcomes and changes in service use.
- Information on commissioners, referral partners, community collaborators and the role of the farm and café in local networks.
- Feedback from people using services, carers and staff about choice, independence and unmet need.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
Provides care services for a range of people with disabilities. These include day care centres for older people, support services for people in their own homes, befriending support in the community and assisting adults with a learning disability to acquire skills that improve opportunites for independent living.
Charity objects
1.TO RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE INCLUDING CHILDREN WHO ARE DISABLED,INCLUDING MENTALLY ILL, HAVE LEARNING DISABILITIES, ARE AGED, INFIRM, VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE OR DOMESTIC ABUSE, OR ARE SUFFERING FROM EMOTIONAL STRESS DUE TO THEIR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES, AND 2.TO RELIEVE POVERTY AMONG SUCH PEOPLE AND OTHER PEOPLE IN FINANCIAL NEED, IN PARTICULAR BY THE PROVISION OF SUPPORT AND SERVICES CALCULATED TO RELIEVE THOSE NEEDS.