Annual Report 2020/21
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Photo courtesy of Active Devon Photo courtesy of
Moorvision
Photo courtesy of Bradninch Youth Club Photo courtesy of
Their new ‘external room’. Young Devon
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“To Champion and Strengthen Children and Young
People Organisations in Devon”
Registered Charity Number: 1054442
Voluntary Organisations for Young People and - Children (VOYC) Devon
What is it that we do?
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Provide Practical Help - to ensure the support necessary to develop and maintain the children and young people’s sector.
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Provide a Voice - to enable the children and young people’s sector to have a voice and influence.
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Facilitate Networking - to support, develop and promote collaboration and networking.
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Manage the Charity - to have efficient and effective systems for the management of VOYC Devon.
President Robin Wakinshaw
Vice President Sally Yeo (wef: 22.6.2020)
| Officers | |
|---|---|
| Chair of Trustees | Peter Brewer |
| Vice Chair of Trustees | Gill Miller |
| Treasurer | Jon Oliverio |
| Management Committee/Executive (Trustees) | |
| Peter Brewer | Chair |
| Nick Creasy | Treasurer (resigned June 2020) |
| Gill Millar | Vice Chair |
| Paul Allan | Co-option |
| Kerrie Clifford | Co-option |
| Karen Jones | Co-option (resigned 9.10.2020) |
| Steve Keable | CEDA |
| Jonathan Oliverio | Youth Genesis Trust Ltd |
| Paul Reisbach | YMCA Exeter |
| Rebecca Skinner | Co-option (wef 27.11.2020) |
| Staff | |
|---|---|
| Mark Goodman | Chief Executive |
| Juliet White | Operations Co-ordinator |
| Alex Green | Communications and Marketing Co-Ordinator |
SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENT 2020 – 2021
Who we are and what we do
VOYC Devon continues to bring the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sectors’ people together to solve problems, address root causes and inspire each other. As an organisation we understand the power of the VCSE sector and volunteering and are proud to champion these. Specifically, we support those individuals and groups working with children, young people and families. We do this by providing practical face-to-face support in a variety of different ways. There is an offer that includes a range of relevant support from starting up a group to developing policies or keeping children and young people safe. In addition, VOYC provides a diverse range of training opportunities, regular news and information updates as well as the reassurance of a telephone advice line covering almost every relevant subject. Everything VOYC Devon offers is designed to enable VCSE Organisations to become stronger, to operate more safely and sustainably, and to enhance the quality of local provision. It is important to point out that much of our support is available free of charge to the youth work sector through our grant agreement with Space who hold the Youth Service contract with Devon County Council (DCC).
Summary of Achievement
VOYC Devon continues to work as a partner with Space within the VCSE infrastructure element of the Devon County Council Youth Services contract. VOYC also continues to play a key role in developing capacity within the VCSE Sector organisations through the safeguarding training and support offered to local organisations. During the Covid-19 pandemic the delivery of training was successfully moved to an online platform. The learning from this will mean that much of the training offer will continue to be delivered online as opposed to face to face going forward. You will find an infographic on page 4 of this Annual Report that sets out in more detail our work over the last year.
During the past twelve months our work with Local Youth Networks has been greatly reduced. Instead of the face-to-face local meetings there have been regular virtual meetings to enable the workforce, both paid and unpaid, to meet and discuss the issues posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. This has included online surgeries after each announcement by the National Youth Agency relating to changes in the youth work guidelines. We recognise the importance of these networks in the re-opening of provision and will look to continue this work in the year ahead.
VOYC is involved in enabling the VCSE Sector to have their voice heard. We strive to ensure that local public services through the Devon Children and Families Partnership (DCFP) have a single way into the diverse VCSE Sector here in Devon. VOYC Devon represent the VCSE on the following: The DCFP Subgroup Chairs;
DCFP Quality Assurance Delivery Group, The Early Help Improvement Board, DCFP Communication and Engagement subgroup and the Holiday Activities Programme.
We would once again like to extend a big thank you to our staff and Trustees as both have been central to all that we have achieved during the year and we thank them once again for their commitment and time. This year will be the last time that Mark Goodman completes this annual summary of work of the organisation as he retires from the role of CEO at the end of August. Mark has given twenty years of loyal service to VOYC and during this time he has been a fountain of knowledge and support to us all, an innovator and the anchor of our organisation. We thank him for his contribution and wish him well for the future. We also welcome Tom Coulthard as Mark’s successor.
Finally, we are now at a point when those that support work with children and young people within the VCSE Sector are more important than ever. Covid-19 has brought major disruptions to the lives of our children and young people. This includes social distancing, school closures, being cut off from social support networks, limited opportunities for exercise and being outdoors. As the full, long-term impact of the pandemic becomes apparent, we can anticipate a sharp increase in demand for universal services through to urgent child protection responses. This will demonstrate just how important community-based provision is to our children, young people and families. All of us at VOYC Devon will therefore be here to support all those organisations that are there for our children and young people at this important time.
Peter Brewer (Chair)
Mark Goodman (Chief Officer)
A Quick Summary of the year!
A Devon wide network of:
256 Local Organisations 18 Network Organisations 52 Associates
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An increase of 6 Members during the year;
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Reaching over 2000 children and young people settings.
Connecting people and organisations:
18 Online Zoom Sessions for Local Organisations providing Covid19 advice information and support
Strengthening Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector Organisations
Organisations received direct support.
29 Youth Organisations
19 Other Not for Profits who work with Children and Young People
36 ‘Weekly’ to Members 12 ‘Monthly News’ to Members and Subscribers
Keeping children and young people safe
Delivering Safeguarding Training for: 294 Participants, from 86 different Organisations
Being the Voice of and advocating for the Sector
VOYC attends the following DCFP sub groups:
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Sub Group Chairs;
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Quality Assurance Delivery Group;
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Early Help Improvement Board;
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Workforce Development;
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Adolescent Safety Framework Implementation .
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
YEAR ENDED 31.3.21
VOYC Devon is a charity (Registered Charity Number 1054442) and as such meets all the rules and regulations set by the Charity Commission. The Trustees of the Charity present this report to support the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The Annual Report and Accounts are produced in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, and the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities. VOYC Devon has income between £25,000 and £500,000 and so is subject to Independent Examination, conducted by KJP Financial Training Ltd.
The Charity's objects are to benefit young people in Devon by:
Championing and strengthening the informal learning offer of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Children and Young People Organisations in Devon by:
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strengthening VCSE organisations providing support through information and advice in all aspects of work with children and young people;
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keeping children and young people safe by developing the skills of those who work with children and young people, delivering safeguarding and other relevant training;
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connecting people and organisations by developing and sustaining both countywide and local youth networks to enable youth organisations to share good practice, resources and expertise;
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ensuring that the voice of the VCSE organisations is heard.
VOYC Devon champions and strengthens the VCSE Children and Young People Sector, with over 270 members ranging from the largest charities, national network organisations (eg, Girl Guiding, Army Cadets and Boys Brigade) to the smallest community organisations. There are thousands of volunteers supporting the organisations within our membership with people across the County giving their time, energy and money.
The year was dominated by the challenges posed by the Covid-19 Pandemic. This required everyone involved with the Charity to work differently if it was to continue to achieve its work as set out above. VOYC Devon responded and changed its meetings and delivery entirely to online with the office being closed and all the staff being home based. It has been pleasing during these difficult times to witness that individuals and organisations have collectively stood together to support each other in what has been at times very challenging. The funding position for Infrastructure Organisations such as VOYC continued to be challenging and this resulted in the Trustees agreeing to and managing a deficit budget for the year, making use of some of the uncommitted reserves.
Governance
The Trustees shall comprise:
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The three elected officers (Chairman, Vice Chairman and Treasurer);
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Up to twelve representatives of member organisations;
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Up to six co-opted members.
A Trustee shall be appointed either:
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by ordinary resolution of the members at general meeting;
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or as a co-option made at a meeting of the Executive during the year.
During the year, there were changes to the Trustee Board. Nick Creasy and Karen Jones retired as Trustees having both given many years of commitment and service to VOYC Devon. Rebecca Skinner was elected to the Trustee Board during the year.
There were six meetings of the Trustee Board held during 2020-21 and there were reports on the financial position and on the performance against targets in the management plan at each of these meetings.
Staff Team
Our able staff team has continued to be led by Mark Goodman with Juliet White as the Charity Administrator. They have been supported by both Alex Green (Communications and Marketing) and Danielle Howlett (Safeguarding Training).
Marketing
We continued to keep our website fresh, up to date and relevant. We produce a member only e- bulletin and a monthly newsletter with wider circulation to both members and stakeholders. We have continued to grow our social media presence using the VOYC Website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Statement of Public Benefit
The Trustees have considered the guidance provided by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit and its impact on the charity's work, and in particular the requirement that there must be specific identifiable benefits, and ones applicable to the wider public. Trustees consider that both requirements have been met.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees have examined the Charity's need for reserves in the context of planned activities during 2020/21. This process has included consideration of quantifiable financial risks to the Charity within the context of continued spending cuts by central and local government.
Reserves are needed to:
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Allow funding to cover unforeseen operational or core costs like taking on temporary staff to cover a long-term sickness / absence.
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Provides a fund to cover gaps in income of up to six months if a grant is not renewed or is unexpectedly taken away.
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Planned commitments that cannot be met by future income such as refurbishment of the website or ICT hardware.
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Covering short-term deficits in our cash flow before a grant is received.
At the year-end, the level of reserves was £55,685. Based on the above criteria, the Trustees are confident that there are sufficient unrestricted reserves to meet the reserves policy requirements.
Approved by the Trustee Board on 28[th] June 2021, and signed on its behalf by the Chair:
Peter Brewer
Peter Brewer (Chair of the Trustees)
FINANCIAL STATEMENT YEAR ENDED 31.03.21
| Financial Statement | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.03.20 | 31.03.21 | 31.03.20 | 31.03.21 | ||
| INCOME | £ | EXPENDITURE | £ | ||
| 76016.59 | B/Forward | 66408.95 | |||
| 24750.00 | Grant – Youth Service Grant | 27000.00 | 43114.49 | Employment/Travel | 44502.78 |
| 0.00 | Devon Comm Found (Covid Work) | 800.00 | 184.15 | Governance | 53.14 |
| 1900.00 |
The Grandchildren’s Project | 1127.31 | 57.26 |
Networking | 0.00 |
| 0.00 | Comm Safety Partn (MH Training) | 800.00 | 1636.80 | Office | 1215.22 |
| 10690.40 | Training Programme | 5610.00 | 552.36 | ICT | 497.64 |
| 1329.91 | Operational Income | 2000.00 | 589.06 | Member Training | 611.70 |
| 692.17 | Interest | 147.38 | 60.00 | Bank Charges | 69.00 |
| 0.00 | Misc | 20.95 | 1900.00 | The G/Children Project | 950.00 |
| 152.00 | Teignbridge Yth Netwk | 0.00 | |||
| 39362.48 | TOTAL INCOME | 37505.64 | 48246.12 | TOTALS | 47899.48 |
| 724.00 | Res Exp again YS Rev | 330.00 | |||
| 48970.12 | TOTAL EXP | 48229.48 | |||
| Carried Forward | 55685.11 | ||||
| BANK BALANCES AS AT | 31.03.21 | ||||
| CAF Current account | 14573.04 | ||||
| CAF Gold Account | 6112.07 | ||||
| Shawbrook Bank 60 day notice a/c |
35000.00 |
Independent examiners report for the accounts (y/e 31.3.21):-
Auditor: Kevin Pope (FCIB) - KJP Financial Training Ltd Mark Goodman (Chief Officer)