BE FREEYC Supporting Young Carers in Oxfordshire Annual Report & Accounts 2023- 2024 Registered Charity Number: 1042708 / Company No: 2989722 BE FREEYC Be Free Young Carers Charitable Non-Profit Organisation No: 1042708 Supporti￿VO￿A#carefSInoXlOr&1￿k• Company No: 2989722 Harwell Innovation Centre 173 Curie Avenue idcot . xfv.rdshire Contents A Message from our CEO 34 reeyc.org.uk Chair of Trustees, Statement Structure, ￿0VernanCe￿an09ement- David Wells, Loretta Light (Wi Laurie Cooper Colin Mitchell Angus Horner Roger Eccleston ir hair) Our Vision, Mission & Objective A Case Study - Trials and Challenges Programmes & Projects 10-11 BFYC Service Delivery 2023- 2024 12-15 HY R05s Brooke uite mdrush Court don Business Park A Case Study- Networks of Support 16 Social Return On Investment 17 Finance & Fundraising Strategy 18 Solicito Osborne 3 Forbury 23 Forbury R Reading RG13JH Looking Forward - Future Developments 19 Trustees, Responsibilities 20 21 Independent Examiner's Report Iwe would like lo thank Osb support with providing vs pro -tyrk for their (onlinued rt and advice.} Statement of Financial Activities 22 Bankers CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenve Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ Balance Sheet 23 Notes to the Accounts 24-31 A Message from our CEO "Our last 12 months have seen o PaFiod of Substantial growth, development and moluralion for our organis¢Jtion. ekning back on the Iu5t year fills me with pridq iration for the in¢redible work that Be Free Yound%qrers have achieved. I would like to thank our $upp•rters, from funders, to corporates, for their gen¢rbus,donations be it financial or expertise A sp￿la1 t to our hardworking staff from frontline Youth er5, Fundraisers ond Voluntee Coordinator. A spe thanks to our volunteers wh have svpported us witmw respite and befriending prfjvisions. ￿stlY, Iv otinlodicated Trustees who loan their skills, talents and n•tworks to supporting and steering Be Free Yowsarers." Growt ervices The last year has seen vs reo¢t to the I￿re demand for our services by increasing our d••y.'. channels to support this development. Our tea￿.,. low Youth Clubs for teenage young car. s have been able to increase the amount for respite continued to grow in all our geographfe rfJreos. As adivitie5 that we offer our young carers in all our èstr.have become more established overth.e lost current geographi¢al areas. r we have utilised the young carers voi¢ii t Our mental health services have risen to the b.￿lIa on,our Young Curer Youth Panel. We increase in demund and through our Youth Worker$ beco •f,i•ur young corers from our Youth P . th*'.Chlldrens Commissioner Of England and Counsellor, we have been able to run more 121 emotional support and counselling sessions than Ambussqdori givkng o voice to young carer5 akn.¥' national I ever before. Demand has been significant, l am proud that we have kept our waiting lists to a minimum, supporting the gap between statutory services and demand. Amongst all o ',¢¥rt*ervices, we ore incredibly, additional service tackle digital, food, hygiene and period ￿¥0￿,. Our team have Our Mindfulness Movement progromme, established achieved this by providl.ng olli.rising years 7s that to address the yovng carers well-being Specifically at primary school age, has l>een a success in require a laptop with onefvthrthJ9h offering period, preventing the declining mental health ¢rf young hygiene provisions from our •ffirA and on our respite triPs. We have also ,vur commitment corers by using this programme as an ear to provide our young carers throughout preventative measure. our Youth Clubs and Respite pr Our teams have established more young carer groups in schools, working with teachers to help identify young carersi establishing a network fi>r young carers in schools. This has enabled yovng carers to experience being purt of a social group and build a peer Support group within school. Our stufF remain passionate about c landKape for young carers in Oxfords sincere thank you to all of them for their nti dedication and hard work in leading and ecu our core services. They all should be incredibly proud of what they have helped to achieve for young ¢urers. The Year ahe Every year. l om thankful fi>r &&generosity of our The year ahead is one expansion again forour supporters who have donated ov•r OOK to Be Free charity as we l¢>ok to e$tal>lish Be Free Young Carers Young Carers in the post year. as a countywide organisation. After the success of our recent Oxford City expansion, we look to West Oxfordshir¢ to continue this growth and reach more young carer5 in the more rural west of the County. We are delighted to have received funding from our friends at Step Change, to set us off in this direction September 2024. We will build on this fipnding to re more, so that we can establish our services in fordshire. n every income stream we saw gro Supporters excelled across the board in g ancially to Be Free Young Carer5. We saw ease in the number of businesse5 ond cor7ointes, choosing vs as their Chority of the Yeap* whithvmics the trend for businesses getting involve&wh smaller, agile, community based charitie5, to buve maximum impact. A special thanks to Said.4ysioess Sch¢>ol for continuing their Support both firianciolly and with volunteerin99 we are excited aboutlkn'ng our third year of thi5 partnership. Weurea ,looking to deepen our services into more rural s that we cover in Sovth Oxfordshire•"Wale and Oxford, in particular Henley and Faring4n, where we know the need is high. I would like to pay a special mention to David Wilson for their annual Partner￿4P which 50w them We will strengthen and:,&d on the area$ that we raise an incredible amount of mo through. sky are estublished in, looking ty.liaise more with dives* to clay pigeon $h¢x•ting? their •port,has schools and teachers, to get young carers that been amazing. are not yet identified and that 5UPPOrt. We are incredibly grateful to our steadfast .,Growin9 our partnerships with o ,¢harities and and Foundations who have continued to supp•rt,•¢.. rgonisations to ensure that the need$.•f young Free Yovng Curers this year and were delighta .- £arers ore prioritised ond prominently hkntured in wekome new supporters on board. A special tha Il',key strategic qgendas. it is essential t•. egrate to SJP Foundation, Tolkien Trvst and our friends at oncerns Into policy development and The Nalional Lottery? we couldn't d• what we do, Im•rn•ntation processes. By odively invol without your support and generosity. yovng':farnrs in di5cvssions, consultations, and . decits*n•making, we can better understand thèlv" The increase in our profile over the county saw a unique, aUeng¢5 and requirements. This app rise in individual givingg With supporters taking part will T￿t highlight their importance but qls• in running events, to Skydives, to rycling challenges. foster a m Indusive and supportive environAw.. Not only doe5 this raise fvnds for our orgonisation for these you individuals who take on significa but also vital awurene55 of young atkdrop in the charity serove the lives of our. rers. The clear evidence is that demand, and complexity of ne f¥Young Carer support Is continuing.ts>":*ow across the County. Our plan over the next few years is vld•. on the ground support to the whole of Oxfordshire. To achieve this, and ¢ontinue to sustain these 'dSp'we will need to increase fundrais staff and volunteer nvmb¢rs* and continue to develT.;Pq*￿shtps where possible. It's an exciting ond rewarding time to be involved with our Charity. . ry grateful to our excellent grou ' of Trvstee's for their continued Commilment to the Charity. In the year the Trustee Board wlll continue to develop its capabilities us BFYC moves to the next stage of t￿p￿r￿￿.y. Thunk you to everyone, I look forward to another year where we can collectively *4.differen¢e.' Reference & Administrative Detail Be Free Young Carers is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England & registered charity. The Trustees who are also Directors for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, have pleasur presenting their report and the unaudited financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 3 March 2024. .Structure, overnance ganisation ,•e Charity which during the year emp 8 people is led by a well-established, effective 'loard of Trustee5, recruited for their comp entary knowledge, skills and experience. The Board of Trustees now meets four times a yeaY&.+or the AGM. Three sub committees of the Main Boaothb(￿e been established to support the CEO wlth the day to day running of the charity. They'ar• Quality and Performance* Fundraising anlll Partnerships, and Finance and Administration - £h has a Terms of reference, meets in advii'nce of quarterly Trustee meetings, oviding oversight and reporting on ivities. Members of the board.•f Trustees, who are Directors for the purpW...,.of company law and Trustees for the purpose of charity lawl who served during the yq¥r d up to the date of approval of this report, are listed below: David Wells (Chair) .Light (Wice Chair) (¥in lth¢hell Angus H4)rner Roger rustee ion Public Benefit A prosp•c&ve Trusteets wlly known to one or more of the current members or responded to an adve￿ an ipvited to join the boord bosed on their background and ,￿￿perienCe. After meeting all the Triistees their election is put to the vote at a Truste*s eeling. Those trustees who are involved8n .¢fruitment also undergo sufer re¢ruitme&l.¢. training. The Charity's purposes as set out in the objects contained in the company's Memorandum of Association are to: ) Alleviate the conditions of life among people who are caring or who have cared for elderly, i¢k, disabled? hgndicapped or otherwise infirm person5 at home and who are In necessitous circvmstances" Trustees undergo an indudion prograkne that inclvdes all the necessary writtwnformotion on the role and responliylltles of a Trustee and on understandiny-qfrthe Charity's work and mission. All trustèo undergo generalised safegvurding trainingond are fully DBS- checked b) To promote the material welfare of such carers, to relieve and alleviate and to advunce. promote, encouroge and assist in the relief or alleviation of all kinds of mental and physical infirmity? sickness, disablement or hondicap Including mental illness attributable to caring among tarers and the persons for whom they are caring in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White horse and the Surrounding qreos; 66 ¢) To advance the education of the public al)out the part that corers and caring con play 9¢nerally. Young carers are just ama many of them caring means ha patience and often not getting to the fun other children have. We ju can't thank them enough. The aims of the Charity are to enable carers to etter manage their caring role throvgh advice, information ond support and to identify and aise the profile of carers and caring. Our aims Ily reflect the purposes that the Charity was s up to further. - Elizabeth Paris, BFYC Wi¢e Chair of Trustees BE FREE YOUNG A a befreeycji. .1 -our Objective Our Visio To consolidate on our already established services in the areas of The Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire and Oxford5hire. -•Oxfordshire devoted to improving youn W•rs' well-being and opportunities, thou ,ovision of recreational. emotional and social support. To establish fresh networks and connections in remote areas cvrrently under our charity's remit increasing our area coverage and 5UPPOrting more young carers. Our visi ..3iS to enable Oxfordshire's young carers t(y i•ve their fvll potential by delivering a farry¥Mach•ng developmental and emotional supp¢J ork of people and resources in their . ives, their schools and comm￿•$1¢5. te the West Oxf•rdshire expansion, throudh the hiring Of a Sch¢)ol Liason who will spefid time in the West Oxfordshire growing th ¥arity's profile and activity. To build upon oOv.ltrategic expansion plans to become an estd'blished countywide charity, supporting Oxk•rdshire's young To relieve the mental health &den of being a young carer.: We are the only independent charity i Oxfordshire working exclusively with youn arers. upport Oxfordshire Schools id upport young carers, we do this arnging. school assemblies, world boo by assisting them in setting oung carer club5. and We support them by widening their life options and improving their emotional and social health, resilience and development because we pa55ionately believe they can be free to fvlfil their adult potential vnhindered by their childhood responsibilities. Tobe es for young carers whqni, ¥ liaising statutory service5, famili04 schools ad pth•r key stakeholders. Fres Jji. ase ria X registered with us in March 2023, they wer• 12 years old. Ihey hav• been getting support from the YC group at,school but asked th¢ir Porent G lo reier-them to BFYC after l attended on• of the sessions. Their younger sibling I ds- o registerod. and they have q 2-year-old ng too. Al this time X wos Coring for Iheir sibfing K who SEN, K was attending iho same Mainstream $¢hool but was on a *ed timetable and received k+ts of supporL K ha* qiiEHCP. Whel oskd what they did to $upport their sister ihey solrf",Iy,ake sure that K hu5 their uniform and everything they need lof)dwl becou58 they can't or9onize this themself. I to make sure they get to The Stables in the morning when wd. g•t.off the bv5- X Sold sometimes ih•re were issues f.riendships a5 they shared a group of friends ond sometimes e didn't want lo hang around with K, X felt they th*hgd to ¢hoose between their friends and K, they Iways chosé.d ,•*"en though sometimes thi$ mode them sad. X oi Si Eould l>t tricky in some lessons as they could see when t¥th•rs were saying thin95 that they knew would K ond so would attempt to defend their sibling often ending getting themself in tr•ubk. In April 2023 X startedTh ES s¢ssionsi they hod 10 sesslons• and they tolked about their sibling and how they fek £ompelled to supporl thth •Jnd put them first. X seemed to open vp during Ih .$pssions ond agreed to lry ond lot the teacher$ look after K $0 that ut as with dll de*e.neratl￿ condili•n diagnos15 It is a waiting game as no one con> 1<1 how badly they would be offerted or how qthkly. Al this tim¢ it was only presenting as hearing ducts for our young carers to Combat period poverty. 66 Dld you moke new friends? This is the best activity I've been on with any of the charities I've had help from - it was so fun to meet people my own age who weren't lots younger than me. BY•s 21Y• Somewhol No 11 Blank -13+ Be Free Young Carer 99 15 A Case Study - Networks of upo 66 I've been ¢0 uborating with One-Eighty to support a young -,Korer strvggling,with overwhelming anxiety and stress which ad led to suicida eation. 5 the level of suppoit,I required surpussed what I could offer. sought One-Eighty's expertife to explore additional nterventions which could 6et•jlored to meet the young carer's eeds. During my initial meelintswith them, they showed great mpathy and encouraged me to ffdike a referral, despite the amily'5 ongoing Struggle to sei and feedback from our b.èn oiariesg professionals and familiu. Once expansion has been compl We will then be able to continu&. strategic ambitions to support you ',¢orers at the trigger pints in thei lives, from transitioning to seconda ool to the next steps after school. Thi5 is an area where there is very little wpport or direction and one which our young carers have stressed to us that.Sh•y.need help with. At age 18 they only have the option to use adult I￿5 Kes, we know that the transition from our Services to adult carers is a e.step and one where we have the expertise to guide them, under pining thh will require further investment and support from funders an DRINKS*¥*w&AR Inspiring STEMCareffs .kl4' 19 *rustees' Responsibilitie he Trustee5 (who are dlso dire of Be Free Young Corers for the purposes of company I(￿) are esponsible for preparing the Tttrt" oes, Report and the financial statements in ac¢ordan¢e with pplicable law ond United Kingdom knounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted counting Practice). Company law requlros the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each nancial year) which give a true and fair vi••.Af the state of affairs of the ¢horitable company and of oming resources and application of re**(es, including the income and expenditure. of the ble company for the year. In preparing tliesJ:,fi ncial statements, the Trustees are required to: select ble accounting policies and then opply t emc observe Ih•?m•thods ond principles in the Charities SOR . make judgo"rnW*ond estimates that are reasonable and p ent; state whether, •Jpplicable UK Accounting Standurd$ have b•kn followed, subject to any material departures disclos and explained in the financial statements¥ prepare the financi stotements on the going concern basis unles the charitable compan continue in operation. sistently. inappropriate to presume that The Trustees are responsible .,keeping proper accounting records t at; d.jsclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial pbiilion of the charitable company and enabl•them to ensure thot the financial statements comply with thefrmponies Ad 2006. They are also re5p0nsrf￿ for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and h¢￿e for taking reasonable steps for prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ,T,nistees consider that the accounts forithe year ended 31 March 2024 should be prepared on a going asis as there are no materiul unce , inties about it using this basis. This report was approved by the Trustees on ... On Behalf of the Trustees of Be Free Young Carers D Wells Chair of Trustees 20 ent Examiner's R the Trustees of Be Free Young arers report to the Charity trustees on my exami h 2024 which or¢ set out on pages 22 to n of the occounts of the compuny for the year ended 31st basis of r trustees of the company (and olso its directsr*r the purposes of company law) you are the preparation of the accounts in acl• Fixed A55ets Net Cunvnt Assets 2014 fol￿ Ass•ts Re5tritted Funds The National Lottery UK Youth Charl25 lew￿ Foundation Oxford Communitv FoundatlDn 2 1.100 i.iry) Unrestricted Funds 3.67 266,807 270.477 3.670 284,907 288.577 Pr*vlous Yebr T•nilble Fixed A55 14•t Current Assit5 2023 Total Assets Re5trided Funds The National Lottery The National Lottery 2 UX Youth Masonic 7,OOD 6,672 6.672 B32 832 Unrestricted Funds 5,757 Ig3.337 189,094 5,757 199,B41 205.598 14 Tru5teo Rwnun•ritJon Related Piity Trnns4rtions NoTru5tee received any [emunerat￿n during the year12023: ÉNILI and reimbursed expeftse512023: £NILI. No Tfustee of the Charèty hJ5 any personal interest in any contract OT transactlon entered into by the charlty duflna the year12023,, £NIL}. In FebnMry 2tn4 the Charity entered into an a8reemeTht with Guideposts Trv5t. a f2gi5tered tharlty and wh05e object5 were compztible with that ot the ch3rSty. The agreement Enabled Guldep05ts to support the charlty to continue prc*vldlng young carers wÈth the vmal wpport, advKe and other ser¥lces lo Improve the quality Df thelr 1sve5. A member ol the Guidepost5 Senior Manasement Team Is able to slt on the board of Trustee5 of the Charity- Guidepost5 has prewou51y provided financial 5UPPOrt to the thèrlty; an Inter- company loan ol £31,340 represents flnancial support provided at the balonce sheet date, An annval repayment Is made by the tharity subject to It generating sufficient 5urpluse5 to 50. 31