Annual Report 2024/25
Photo courtesy of Sirona Therapeutic Horsemanship
Photo courtesy of Chagford Education & Leisure Trust
Photo courtesy of Woolsery Youth Club
Photo courtesy of MED Theatre
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 Sally Yeo
Vice President Nominations Invited.
Officers Chair of Trustees Gill Millar Vice Chair of Trustees Peter Brewer Treasurer Steve Keable
Management Committee/Executive (Trustees)
Gill Millar Chair Peter Brewer Vice Chair Steve Keable Treasurer Kerrie Clifford Co-option Paul Reisbach Co-option Rebecca Skinner Co-option
Staff
Tom Coulthard Chief Executive Juliet White Operations Coordinator Rachel Hopper Communications and Marketing Coordinator
SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENT 2024 – 2025
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.
We support individuals and groups working with children, young people and families by providing practical, face-to-face support in a variety of different ways. Our offer includes a range of services, 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 professional, confidential advice and support to members. We are also delivering Mental Health First Aid training in partnership with MHFA England to upskill volunteers and staff across the sector to enable early intervention in young people's mental health and wellbeing.
We operate 6 local youth networks to give workers, volunteers and activists a place to discuss issues, collaborate and share their experiences, connecting our groups with statutory agencies, large charities and relevant agencies operating in the county.
We also run an annual Youth Work in Devon Conference to bring the sector together to discuss issues that affect us all and foster stronger links across Devon.
Everything VOYC Devon offers is designed to enable VCSE organisations to become stronger, to operate more safely, sustainably and to enhance the quality of local provision. The majority 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 has expanded its training to include fully funded Mental Health First Aid courses in partnership with MHFA England and the Playlines Trust.
We have continued to train a large number of people in safeguarding and mental health first aid, with over 70 organisations from a range of backgrounds taking advantage of our regular courses and bespoke offers, with the VCSE sector benefiting from continued low cost and flexible options for delivery to staff and volunteers.
We have continued to deliver our youth networks and bought 30 different groups together for our annual Youth Work in Devon conference.
We have extended our funding of the MHFA England programme into a third year. We have trained 39 individuals this year from 18 groups and organisations with two more courses planned going forward into next year.
VOYC is involved in enabling the VCSE Sector to have their voice heard. We strive to ensure that local public services through the Devon Safeguarding Children Partnership (DSCP) have a single way into the diverse VCSE Sector here in Devon. VOYC Devon represents the VCSE on the following: The DSCP Quality Assurance Delivery Group, Early Help Improvement Board, DSCP Communication and Engagement and the Holiday Activities Programme.
The sector continues to operate with a great deal of determination, innovation and professionalism despite continuing shortages of funding, difficulties in worker recruitment, retention and rising costs. VOYC has worked with all its members to ensure they know of the latest funding, training and development opportunities through the continuing success of our newsletter and local networks. We have developed a wide range of new members in a huge variety of sectors, helping to facilitate local partnerships and enable groups to cooperate easily at a local level. We must thank all the members who have contributed to the success of VOYC this year through their support, knowledge and hard work in their local areas.
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.
Gill Millar (Chair)
Tom Coulthard (Chief Officer)
A Quick Summary of the year!
A Devon wide network of:
161 Local Organisations 17 Network Organisations 96 Associates
Connecting people and organisations:
18 meetings for Local Networks providing advice information and support to 41 organisations
Strengthening Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector Organisations
41
Organisations received direct support
37 Youth Organisations
4 Other Not for Profits who work with Children and Young People
© Bulletin
30 ‘Weekly’ to Members 13 ‘Monthly News’ to Members and Subscribers
Keeping children and young people safe
Delivering Safeguarding Training for: 310 training places, from 74 different organisations
Being the Voice of and advocating for the Sector
ioy@s,@f4y SafeguardingChildrenDevonPartnership
VOYC attends the following DSCP sub groups:
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✔ Quality Assurance Delivery Group;
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✔ Early Help Improvement Board
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✔ Communication and Engagement
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
YEAR ENDED 31.3.25
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 2025. The Annual Report and Accounts are produced in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2022, 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 Kevin Pope (FCIB).
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 250 members ranging from the largest charities, national network organisations (eg, Girl Guiding, Army Cadets and Boys Brigade) to the smallest community organisations. There are many committed volunteers supporting the organisations within our membership with people across the County giving their time, energy and money.
The sector has emerged from the post pandemic period into an environment of uncertainty and opportunity, with continuing difficulties in planning for a sustainable VCSE in future.
VOYC will strive to support existing provision, empower volunteers, train an effective and vigilant workforce in safeguarding and to open new groups, clubs and opportunities for the young people of Devon through effective, sustainable partnerships.
Governance
The Executive Committee comprises:
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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.
The Executives are 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 no changes to the Executive Committee.
There were six meetings of the Executive Committee held during 2024-25 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 Tom Coulthard as CEO with Juliet White as the Operations Coordinator and Rachel Hopper Communications & Marketing Coordinator. We continue to be supported by Danielle Howlett (Safeguarding & MHFA Training), Caroline Down and Jenny Lindow (MHFA Training) as freelance contributors.
Marketing
This year VOYC introduced a refreshed visual identity, including a new logo and an updated website, to better reflect our mission and values. These changes are part of our ongoing efforts to stay current, improve user experience and engage more effectively with our community. We produce a weekly member only e-bulletin and a monthly newsletter with wider circulation to both members and stakeholders. The newsletter has continued to build a regular readership of over 40%. We have continued to use our social media to reflect and promote the achievements and focus of our members.
Statement of Public Benefit
The Executive 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 Executive has examined the Charity's need for reserves in the context of planned activities during 2024/25. 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 £69745.79. 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 23[rd] June 2025, and signed on its behalf by the Chair:
Gill Millar Chair of the Trustees
Independent examiners report for the accounts (y/e 31.3.25):-
Giv• h•re bdel detslls of any rtems thal Ihe •xaminer wlshes to di5cIosQ. k*hing matenal to rewrt IER October 2018
FINANCIAL STATEMENT YEAR ENDED 31.03.25
| Financial Statement | Financial Statement | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.03.24 | 31.03.25 | 31.03.24 | 31.03.25 | ||||
| INCOME | £ | EXPENDITURE | £ | ||||
| 70355.01 | B/Forward | 78837.81 | |||||
| 29629.00 4374.92 |
Grant – Youth Service Grant Grant - MHFA |
31110.00 0.00 |
40423.28 138.49 |
Employment/Travel Governance |
43676.41 160.57 |
||
| 4500.00 | Grant - | Comms Fund | 0.00 | 30.00 | Networking | 143.70 | |
| 11089.15 | Training Programme | 11835.10 | 1103.04 | Office | 931.18 | ||
| 1294.57 | Interest | 2060.75 | 606.24 | ICT | 6405.65 | ||
| 18.79 | Member Training | 198.00 | |||||
| 60.00 | Bank Charges | 60.00 | |||||
| 50887.64 | TOTAL | INCOME | 45005.85 | 42379.84 |
TOTALS | 51575.51 | |
| 25.00 | Res Exp again YS Rev | 18.04 |
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| 42404.84 | TOTAL EXP | 51593.55 |
| MHFA Restricted Funding Grant Balance b/f 23/24 ADD reallocation from 23/24 unrestricted training prog income Total b/f ADD MHFA income 24/25 DEDUCT MHFA Exp 24/25 Total Restricted Funds c/f Restricted Funds- Youth Service Review Balance b/f Less current year exp to date Remaining Funds |
4374.92 700.00 5074.92 11075.00 16149.92 13579.32 2570.60 18.04 18.04 0.00 |
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|---|---|---|
| Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted Funds B/F | 74462.89 Bank Reconciliation (31.03.25) |
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| Restricted | Funds B/F | 4374.92 CAF Curr Acc 4875.27 |
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| Total Funds B/F 78837.81 CAF Gold |
A/C 27929.40 |
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| Shawbrook Bank (60 day notice) | 36941.12 | |||||
| Total Unrestricted Income | 45005.85 Total 69745.79 |
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| Total Restricted Income | 11075.00 | |||||
| 134918.66 Unrestricted and Restricted Funds |
Breakdown | |||||
| (31.03.25) | ||||||
| Total Unrestricted Exp | 51593.55 Unrestricted Funds 67175.19 |
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| Total Restricted Exp | 13579.32 Restricted |
Funds 2570.60 |
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| Balance C/F 69745.79 Total 69745.79 |
Signed as a correct record following review of bank accounts and charity records - Auditor: Kevin Pope (FCIB) dated 29.04.2025.