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← Just For Kids Law Limited

2025-05-31-accounts

Company number: 05815338 Charity number: 1121638

Just for Kids Law Limited

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 May 2025

Just for Kids Law Limited

Contents

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Reference and administrative details ............................................................................................ 1 Board of Trustees’ annual report .................................................................................................. 6 Independent auditor’s report ...................................................................................................... 23 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) .................. 27 Balance sheet ............................................................................................................................. 28 Statement of cash flows .............................................................................................................. 29 Notes to the financial statements ............................................................................................... 30

Just for Kids Law Limited

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Company number 05815338
Charity number 1121638
Registered office EC1 Offices
and operational 338 City Road
address London
EC1V 2PY
Country of England & Wales
registration
Country of United Kingdom
incorporation
Board of Trustees Board of Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served
during the period and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Shauneen Lambe Trustee
Claire Hubberstey Trustee
Janet Latinwo Trustee
Brianne Campbell Trustee
Emerita Geraldine Van Trustee
Bueren KC
Tim Potter Trustee and Treasurer
Hemini Patel Trustee
Max Alexander Trustee and Chair
Brenda Campbell KC Trustee
Honorary Founder Shauneen Lambe
Senior Management
Team Aika Stephenson Co-Lead and Legal Director
Louise King Co-Lead and Director of Children’s Rights
Alliance for England
Natasha Iles Co-Lead and Director of Development
(appointed 16 September 2024)
Bankers CAF Bank
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
KENT
ME19 4JQ

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Just for Kids Law Limited

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Auditor Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane LONDON EC1Y 0TG

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Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Message from the Chair of the Board

Although this is my first report as Chair, I have been part of the Just for Kids Law (JfKL) family since well, the beginning. Over the past 19 years, I’ve witnessed the organisation evolve, but the core values that inspired Aika and Shauneen remain steadfast: to ensure that children and young people have their rights respected within the criminal justice system and their entitlements secured.

The work we do continues to make a profound difference both directly through our direct legal advocacy and more broadly through our policy influencing and strategic litigation. Whether supporting individual children or influencing national frameworks, our impact is tangible and farreaching. This year, the Board and I extend our heartfelt thanks to the senior leadership team: Aika Stephenson, Louise King and Natasha Iles, who co-lead and navigate the charity’s daily operations, and to our dedicated staff, who work tirelessly to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people in contact with the police and justice system.

In 2024–25, we directly supported 160 children and young people with their legal matters and received almost 700 enquiries through our helpline and online form. Alongside this, our policy and strategic advocacy work remained focused on improving the recognition and respect of children’s rights across England.

Shauneen’s introduction to last year’s report reflected on the challenges of turning 18 as an organisation particularly the need to reassess priorities during periods of growth. If 2023–24 was a pivotal year of review, reflection and restructuring, then 2024–25 has been the litmus test for whether the Board, together with the senior leadership and staff, had steered the charity into a sustainable new direction; I believe we’ve passed that test with purpose and resilience. To strengthen our foundation, we invested in leadership appointing an additional Co-Lead and Director of Development to enhance our finance, income generation, and communications capabilities. I want to thank Natasha Iles for streamlining internal processes, cultivating new revenue streams, and nurturing vital relationships with the trusts and donors that are the lifeblood of JfKL.

Recruitment within our legal team, however, remains a challenge. A shortage of suitable candidates has left several roles unfilled, limiting both the number of clients we can serve and the legal aid fees we can generate. Addressing this will require long-term commitment. We were therefore delighted to receive a grant from the Legal Education Fund to host a Justice First Fellowship; an opportunity to raise awareness among trainee solicitors about our unique approach as one of the few charities delivering Legal Aid contracts. Looking ahead, we recognise that part of the recruitment solution lies in telling our story highlighting how a role at JfKL fosters critical skills and contributes meaningfully to civil society.

This year also marked a significant change in our Board: the resignation of Shauneen Lamb as Chair. As co-founder, executive, trustee, and chair, Shauneen has been a driving force behind JfKL.

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Her departure is deeply felt, but I suspect we’ll still benefit from her laser-sharp insight when needed. Shauneen, thank you. I also want to acknowledge Tim Potter, our Treasurer and Chair of the Fundraising, Finance and Risk (FFR) Committee, whose wisdom and counsel—both formal and informal—have been invaluable. My gratitude extends to our committed Board members who balance critical review with advice and help: Professor Emerita Geraldine van Bueren KC, Brenda Campbell KC, Hemini Patel, Clare Hubberstey, Janet Latinwo, and Brianne Campbell, thank you for your continued engagement and support.

If 2023–24 was a year of transition, then 2024–25 has been a year of focused activity and impact. JfKL continues to engage at both national and international levels to drive systemic change. Our involvement in national inquiries including the ongoing Covid Inquiry has been significant. Through the skilled and tireless leadership of Louise King, Director of The Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), we’ve led and coordinated multiple campaigns advocating for children’s rights, working to influence local and central government, including the Prime Minister. Our work has led to greater scrutiny of police practices, particularly the use of Tasers and strip searches on children and resulted in much stronger strategies concerning the policing of children.

Our public voice has grown stronger this year. Media coverage and thought leadership have amplified our mission, with notable appearances and publications helping to shape public discourse. We’ve partnered with over 115 organisations to support amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce child rights statutory requirements, and our work has been featured prominently in national media, including front-page coverage and broadcast interviews.

We’ve also demonstrated programme excellence and quality assurance through external audits and internal evaluations. The Legal Aid Agency audit affirmed the quality of our service delivery, and our nonprofit model continues to demonstrate its value despite the limitations of legal aid funding. Internally, our staff achievements and institutional contributions have been a source of pride. From personal milestones to published works such as Aika Stephenson’s book ‘In Their Defence: Fighting for Youth Justice One Child at a Time’, our team exemplifies the passion and expertise that define JfKL.

Financially, we set a deficit budget in 2024-25 to invest in senior leadership, leveraging the reserves built up in 2023-24. We end the year in a strong position, with unrestricted funds at £466k. The final phase of the Covid Inquiry will support income in the coming year, allowing us to pursue more long-term funding from major trusts and foundations. We are, as always, deeply grateful for the financial support from our donors. Without the commitment of individuals, trusts, and foundations, our work would not be possible. This year, we proudly welcomed a generous new grant from Sigrid Rausing Trust and partnership with Bindmans LLP through their innovative Social Justice Fund.

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, I believe we are building a sustainable financial model that will enable JfKL’s twin pillars of direct legal advocacy and public policy influencing to continue improving the lives of children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system and

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beyond. As public funds continue to be strained, JfKL and our unique approach is needed as never before. I am grateful for your continued support and commitment to our shared vision: A future in which the legal rights and entitlements of children and young people in the UK are respected and promoted, with the voices of those most at risk heard and valued.

Max Alexander Chair of the Board, Just for Kids Law

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Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

The Board of Trustees presents their report and the audited financial statements for the twelvemonth period ended 31st of May 2025.

Reference and administrative information set out on pages 1-2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Our Articles of Associations outline we will promote any charitable purposes for the benefit of the public, particularly children and young people in the UK and abroad, with particular regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including by advancing the rights and needs of children through:

Our vision is: A future in which the legal rights and entitlements of children and young people in the UK are respected and promoted, with the voices of those most at risk heard and valued. Our mission is: We exist to work with, and for, children and young people to access their rights, ensure accountability of the people and systems they encounter, and fight for wider reform.

We do this by providing legal advice and representation, through strategic litigation, campaigning, and equipping others to work for children’s rights.

The Board of Trustees reviews the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work over the reporting year 2024-25. The Board of Trustees reports the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the Board of Trustees ensure that the charity's aims, objectives and activities remain focused on its stated purposes.

The Board of Trustees has referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Board of Trustees has considered how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

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Structure, governance and management

The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity meets its charitable objectives and has an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity. The Board was Chaired by Shauneen Lambe in an Interim Chair capacity until April 2025 when Max Alexander stepped into the role. The Board currently has nine members.

The Board delegate the day-to-day management and leadership of the charity to the Co-Leads. The leadership structure of Just for Kids Law consists of three Co-Leads: Co-Founder and Legal Director, Aika Stephenson, our Director of Policy and Campaigns and Director of CRAE, Louise King, and Natasha Iles appointed in September 2024 as Director of Development. Between them they have a wealth of expertise in a broad range of areas including children’s rights, trauma informed legal advice and representation, policy, and public affairs as well as senior charity leadership, strategy, governance, communications, and fundraising.

The Board of trustees convene to meet each quarter. Ahead of these meetings, the Treasurer chairs a Fundraising, Finance and Risk (FFR) committee meeting which reviews fundraising, financial and risk performance, governance and issues, and reports to the Board.

Appointment of Board of Trustees

Trustees are recruited to the Board either through a recruitment process or through networks linked to the organisation. Their appointment is agreed by the entire Board of Trustees. There is no external body that is entitled to appoint one or more of the Board of Trustees.

Trustee induction and training

Before starting in their role on the Board, trustees are provided with a detailed role description, and receive a comprehensive induction which includes:

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

The charity has no subsidiary undertakings. We connect with and have relationships with organisations in a variety of ways. Through our casework we receive referrals from voluntary and statutory sector organisations who we will partner with as part of our direct work with young people. In the delivery of our work to achieve wider change to policy and practice we partner with

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numerous organisations, working collaboratively on our campaigning, our strategic litigation and on our work empowering young people to lead social change. Relationships through our income generation work includes funders such as trusts and foundations, with national children’s charities and other members through our hosting of the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), and with corporates who provide us with pro bono support.

Achievements and performance

Key Achievements 1[st] June 2024 – 31[st] May 2025:

Introduction

Following the restructure in July 2023, Just for Kids Law, including Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), worked extensively to deliver a revised strategic direction which commenced on 1[st] June 2024 and continues until 31[st] May 2027.

Our Theory of Change details how the strategic priorities, set out below, drive our outcomes of a) positive change for individuals b) professionals understand & fulfil obligations to those most at risk of rights being denied c) system change for broader impact.

Strategic Priority 1: Ensuring children & young people have their rights respected in their interactions with the police and youth justice system

Strategic Priority 2: Ensuring children & young people experiencing criminal exploitation are recognised as victims and supported

Strategic Priority 3: Supporting care experienced children & young people to secure care entitlements

Strategic Priority 4: Protecting and promoting children & young people’s rights, ensuring they are embedded in government policy making

Alongside the outlined strategic priorities, enabling strategies were identified which underpin the overall delivery:

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The impact we are striving for is that ‘The legal rights and entitlements of children and young people in the UK are respected and promoted, with the voices of those most at risk heard and valued.’

In 2024-25, Year 1 of the strategy, focus was given to consolidation of the new structure and reinvigorating income generation to provide the foundations for financial sustainability across the duration of the strategy and beyond. As a key part of JfKL’s approach going forward, we reviewed funding opportunities to rebuild new capacity for engagement and participation of children and young people.

We sought to secure resources to grow our capacity to represent children in the criminal justice system, including addressing any issues relating to their community care rights and entitlements.

Promoting and protecting children’s rights continued through the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). The team strengthened key relationships and the recognition of their expertise in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child’s (UNCRC) ‘General Measures of Implementation’ alongside a focus on the thematic area relating to the intersection of child rights and policing.

To support organisational resilience, we were delighted to receive grants for organisational development following our restructure which are detailed in Fundraising Achievements.

Key Achievements and Performance

Through a combination of legal casework, policy advocacy, training, and strategic litigation, we have reached children and young people in urgent need of protection while also achieving systemic changes that benefit thousands more. Our work has reduced harm, improved life chances, and strengthened respect for children’s rights in the UK, delivering clear and tangible public benefit in line with our charitable purposes.

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Recognised as experts across our criminal and children’s rights work we continue to share our expertise and leadership with organisations, government departments, statutory bodies and aligned groups, which during 2024-25 included:

Strategic Priority 1: Ensuring children & young people have their rights respected in their interactions with the police and youth justice system

This year, we continued our influencing work to bring about systematic change so that children in contact with the police have their rights respected. This included highlighting the persistent racial disproportionality in the use of police powers on children and ongoing adultification, particularly

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for Black boys. We continued to engage and build positive relationships with policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the Home Office, and parliamentarians. This included several meetings with key decision makers including the new Director General of the IOPC and the Chief Executive of the College of Policing (CoP).

Our advocacy resulted in changes to national and local police strategies to strengthen the protection of children’s rights. Many of the key concerns we raised with the initial draft of the Metropolitan Police Service’s and National Police Chief Council’s (NPCC) children’s strategies were taken on board, particularly the focus on trauma-informed training, addressing adultification bias, and improving communication with children alongside de-escalation techniques. While these commitments are encouraging, the true test will be in their implementation. We want to see a tangible improvement in the day-to-day experiences of children, particularly for Black and other racialised groups, which we will continue to monitor.

We were also pleased that following our advocacy, an IOPC report on racial discrimination included our key calls in relation to racial disproportionality in the use of police powers on children and a need for greater action by the police to address adultification bias.

We were also invited to join the civil society group for the National Police Race Action Plan (PRAP). As the only children’s rights organisation, we are working to secure a focus on racialised children’s experiences and the need for intersectional approaches. We are also highlighting the importance of engaging children and young people with lived experience in scrutinising the PRAP, ensuring their voices shape reforms and have a key role in any future oversight and accountability mechanisms.

Alongside cross-cutting policing issues, we also worked hard to secure reform relating to key police powers. In partnership with the Children’s Legal Centre Wales and the Youth Justice Legal Centre, we submitted a detailed response to the then Government’s consultation on proposed amendments to PACE Codes of Practice A and C, which concern strip searches. Our submission welcomed the Government’s ambition to strengthen safeguards for children but expressed disappointment that the proposed amendments fall well short of fully protecting children’s rights. After the General Election, we engaged with the new Government to ensure they took forward and strengthened the reforms, given the commitment on this issue in the Labour Party Manifesto, engaging with Home Office officials including attending a roundtable where we pushed for further safeguards.

We also continued with our support for the inquiry of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children’s Rights in Police Custody, which is also examining the issue of strip searching. Through our involvement in the CHIRP (Child First Custody Training and Research Pilot) for police officers, we began work to reduce the number of children held in custody and ensure faster, more childappropriate processing.

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A significant part of our policing policy influencing this year focussed on the use of Taser on children. We continued to sit on the National Taser Stakeholder Advisory Group (NTSAG) and joined a policing working group looking at improving scrutiny and accountability on Taser use. The group was set up to take forward recommendations from an independent academic review commissioned by the CoP and the NPCC on racial disproportionality in Taser use (on both adults and children). We were able to secure specific recommendations in relation to the scrutiny of cases where a Taser has been used on a child and for improved police training on effective communication and de-escalation when interacting with children. The recommendations are currently being considered by NPCC and the CoP.

We have also undertaken significant advocacy around the proposed authorisation of Taser 10 – a new more powerful model of Taser. Due to how this model works, there are some specific serious concerns in relation to use on children. We have been working to ensure that these are fully considered in the authorisation process and that a full Child Rights Impact Assessment is carried out. We have written to SACMILL (the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons) and to the policing minister in partnership with the Omega Foundation, which Chairs NTSAG. The minister has agreed to meet to discuss our concerns.

Alongside this focussed policing policy influencing, we raised key issues child rights concerns in relation to the policing and youth justice in our children’s rights monitoring and advocacy work, raising concerns with key figures, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (see below)

Our team providing direct representation to children in the Criminal Legal System are experiencing daily how broken the system really is. We are now regularly seeing Crown Court cases being adjourned for trial in two to four years' time which feels like a lifetime to most adults let alone children and young people who will have gone through significant life and developmental changes in that time. We see a culture within the Legal System that dehumanises and adultifies children. We continue to use our expertise to avoid criminalisation of children wherever possible. We also continue to highlight the experiences of the children and young people in the legal system and custodial estate to the attention of key stakeholders and to advocate for the requirement for Child Specialist solicitors to represent Children in Criminal proceedings. We use trauma informed, antiracist and strengths-based approaches to ensure that children’s rights are embedded throughout our practice and that Children and Young People are seen as individuals rather than a homogenous group. Our approach has resulted in Children and Young People’s rights being respected in the system where we most frequently see them being abused.

Strategic Priority 2: Ensuring children & young people experiencing criminal exploitation are recognised as victims and supported

Our legal team represented children and young people exploited through criminal activity, successfully securing the discontinuance of prosecutions where the individual’s status as a victim

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of modern slavery was recognised. We provided expert evidence, including psychological and modern slavery reports, to support these outcomes. We also held local authorities to account where they failed to protect exploited young people, ensuring immediate safeguarding action and the provision of essential services. 9 children and young people’s cases were discontinued prior to trial as a result of our representations regarding their status as victims of criminal exploitation:

Case examples of our work are set out below:

Representing a 17 year old client who had previously been advised to plead guilty by his solicitors, he was very reserved and struggled to trust us, we have since built a good rapport with him and he has started to trust us, his guilty plea has been vacated and we are currently in the process of arranging a Psychological and Modern Slavery Assessment.

Successfully persuaded the Crown to discontinue a theft case after representations regarding our client’s status as a victim of modern slavery and criminal exploitation. Our client is an 18-year-old unaccompanied asylum seeker who was initially age disputed as 22 years old when he first came to the UK. We had previously successfully argued that the case should be heard in the Youth Court because he would have been 17 when he first entered his plea. The Crown subsequently discontinued the case.

Representing a 17-year-old boy who was charged with Possession with Intent to Supply Class A Drugs and Concerned in the Supply of Class A Drugs. This boy was a victim of exploitation and had been referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) therefore was advancing a defence of Modern Slavery. He is care experienced and has experienced significant adversity including witnessing and being subject to serious violence and spending a significant amount of time in his parents' home country where he was abused and had witnessed the death of his friend following a shooting. The NRM referral resulted in a positive conclusive grounds decision. In light of this we made representations highlighting his status as a victim of exploitation as well as referencing Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance, asking them to discontinue the prosecution as it was not in the public interest. Upon reviewing the matter, the prosecution decided to discontinue. As a result of this no further action was taken in relation to his further police station case.

A 21-year-old male charged with Robbery. He has a long history of trafficking and exploitation and was putting forward a defence of duress which has a very high threshold. The barrister had advised the client to plead guilty so that he could benefit from a reduced sentence, as Duress is a difficult defence to prove however we worked hard with the client to prepare him for his trial. He was able to put forward his defence at court explaining that he had been forced into criminality since he was a child the jury subsequently returned a unanimous not guilty verdict. He was also facing a charge of attempted theft which we managed to have discontinued based on submissions that it was not in the public interest to prosecute him given the jury in a more serious trial had accepted his status as a victim of exploitation.

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Alongside our direct work, we also worked with partners to strengthen statutory safeguards for children who have been criminally exploited. We supported efforts by ECPAT UK and Barnardo’s to table amendments to the Crime and Police Bill to ensure that child criminal exploitation is specifically recognised as a form of exploitation under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Our Co-Lead, Aika Stephenson, also took part in a workshop, convened by ECPAT UK, with attendance by the Home Office, on the definition of child criminal exploitation on how definitions impact the response to child trafficking and exploitation. The report will be launched later in the year.

Aika also fed into Alliance for Youth justice research on child criminal exploitation and the transition to adulthood drawing on the experience of her direct legal work with children and young adults. We have now been asked to be a critical reader of its forthcoming report, with a planned to launch in the summer.

Strategic Priority 3: Supporting care experienced children & young people to secure care entitlements

Our work in this area was limited by the departure of our Community Care Solicitor in October 2024. We were then unable to recruit a suitable replacement until May 2025. We are pleased to announce that leading Children’s Rights lawyer Chris Callender will be joining our team in early June 2025 as Head of Civil Litigation. To date Chris’ experience includes the Howard League for Penal Reform and Article 39; supporting legal services to children and young people, and private practice with a focus on assisting care experienced children and children experiencing criminal and sexual exploitation. Chris’ experience, approach and success make him the ideal candidate to take JfKL’s civil litigation team forwards with renewed focus. As a key figure in Public and Community Care Law Chris has taken many legal challenges ranging from children’s rights in the care system to representing families in inquests relating to children and young people who have taken their lives while in the care of mental health services.

In the first quarter of the year we acted for care leavers, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and other care-experienced young people to prevent unsafe relocations away from vital support networks. We secured access to appropriate accommodation, personal advisors, and mental health services, even in cases where immigration status had previously been a barrier.

Strategic Priority 4: Protecting and promoting children & young people’s rights, ensuring they are embedded in government policy making

Through our hosting of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, we had a busy year continuing our work on the protection and promotion of children’s rights. Given the UK General Election, this year began with ongoing influencing of the political party manifestoes followed by significant advocacy to shape the child rights agenda of the new UK Government.

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We were delighted that our Children’s Rights Charter was supported by over 90 organisations, to press for the embedding of children’s rights in UK law and policymaking. This resulted with a productive meeting with the children’s minister, where we discussed the need for the Government to take action to ensure that children’s rights were better considered in Government decisionmaking.

We also engaged with newly elected parliamentarians and newly appointed key Select Committees, including the newly elected Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights on its role in holding the Government to account on its children’s rights obligations

We also continued to co-chair the UNCRC Action Group, alongside the Department for Education. Immediately following the Election, we held a meeting to discuss our children’s rights priorities for the new Government. We also held several thematic discussions throughout the year, including on how to ensure the Government's Child Poverty Taskforce takes a children’s rights approach, on the Government's Youth Strategy, and work on improving children’s participation in decision-making. We also held our first session to assess progress on the UN Committee’s priority areas of recommendations made in its 2023 Concluding Observations on the UK.

In September 2024, we took part in a conference in Edinburgh, which we helped to organise as a member of the Rights of the Child UK steering group. The conference aimed to share good practice and discuss collaboration on taking forward UNCRC implementation across the UK, including UNCRC incorporation. Speakers included the Scottish Government Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise. Our Co-Lead and Director of CRAE, Louise King, presented on the challenges and opportunities for better implementation of the UNCRC at a UK Government level.

Given Just for Kids Laws’ focus on challenging racism and discrimination, we continued our work to influence the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s (CERD) examination of the UK. We worked with CRAE members and others to submit a civil society report, which covered issues such as racial disproportionality in police use of force on children, the overrepresentation of children in the youth justice system, including in child prisons, the high proportion of Black and Gypsy, Roma or Traveller children who are excluded from school and the treatment of unaccompanied children seeking asylum. The report was supported by 43 organisations, including the Black Equity organisation, The Children’s Society and Action for Race Equality.

We also gave oral evidence to the UN CERD Committee at a hearing in Geneva and shared a briefing with Committee members on the views of racialised children on how well they think their rights are being respected drawing on previous research we had done with children and young people. We were the only children’s rights organisation to engage in the examination.

Due to our advocacy, the UN CERD Committee’s Concluding Observations on the UK included a 60% increase in recommendations relating to the rights of racialised children in comparison to the last time the UK was examined. We subsequently published a briefing for stakeholders providing

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an overview of the concerns and recommendations covering issues such as policing, education, child poverty, and immigration.

On International Children’s Day 2024, we published our new joint briefing with UNICEF UK to support civil society organisations to use recommendations from the UN Child Rights Committee in their policy influencing work. The briefing has also been sent to a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child who was interested to find to more about our work in raising awareness of the Concluding Observations. We also supported the publication of a report by Eurochild, on the state of children’s rights in Europe. We drafted the chapter setting out key children’s rights developments and concerns for England.

In the Spring, we were very pleased to attend a meeting, hosted by Amnesty International UK, with Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This was an important opportunity to raise key children’s rights issues ahead of the Commissioner’s meetings with the UK Government. Key issues highlighted included the UK’s failure to embed children’s rights in law and decisionmaking, including the lack of progress on incorporating the UNCRC and the lack of a UK Government response to the UN Committee’s Concluding Observations in contrast to the governments of Wales and Scotland.

A number of key children’s rights issues were also highlighted including the lack of progress to ensure that children have equal protection from physical assault, the UK’s extremely low age of criminal responsibility and other important issues in relation to racial disproportionality in the policing of children and in the youth justice system.

We also supported one of our young Change it! campaigners to take part in the meeting. She spoke powerfully about her lived experience of child poverty and homelessness, the impact this has on children and the importance of decision-makers listening to children’s views.

A key area our work this year, was to take the opportunity of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to push for amendments to introduce statutory children’s rights requirements: a duty on UK Government Ministers to give due consideration to the UNCRC and a mandatory requirement to carry out Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) on all government policy and budgetary decisions that may impact children. Working in partnership with UNICEF UK and NSPCC, for the Children's Charities Coalition, we were pleased to secure 115 supporting organisations for our briefing for the House of Lords Second Reading of the Bill. We will continue our advocacy as the Bill continues its parliamentary passage.

Module 8 of the Covid 19 Public Inquiry, which will specifically focus on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, was announced at the beginning of the reporting period. We have again been awarded core participation status alongside Save the Children UK and are joined by the Centre for Young Lives (headed up by the former Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield) and Child Poverty Action Group. We are continuing the work we began as core participants in module 2 in making the case for strong statutory child rights requirements

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alongside a Cabinet Minister for children and a cross-departmental children’s rights strategy. These safeguards would ensure that the harms caused to children during the pandemic are not repeated. We made strong written and oral submissions at the two pre-liminary hearings and have begun a comprehensive document review of the disclosed evidence. Our Co-Lead, Louise King has also started to prepare a comprehensive witness statement for the Inquiry. The public hearings will begin in the autumn.

Lastly, we have worked as part of Equally Ours to influence government plans to strengthen equality legislation, including bringing the social-economic duty of the Equality Act 2010 into force and looking at how protections from intersectional discrimination can be strengthened. We attended the Combined Discrimination Summit hosted by Equally Ours and the Government Office for Equality and Opportunity which explored how combined discrimination—based on two protected characteristics—manifests in different areas. We shared insights from our policy work, highlighting how intersectional discrimination plays out in practice—particularly in schools and policing.

Financial review

Following the 2023-24 budget year of 10-month, this report covers the 12-month financial period from the 1st June 2024 to the 31st May 2025.

The income for the reporting period was £786,929, a decrease in income which was anticipated. Expenditure for the report period was £891,283, again a decrease on the previous year which was anticipated. Income did perform ahead of budget and so the expected reserves position ended the year better than initially anticipated.

At the end of the 12-month accounting period the charity holds £589,082 total funds of which £123,144 are restricted and not for general purpose. These restricted funds are committed for project expenditure in the 2025-26 budget year. After making allowance for the restricted funds overall there was a net decrease in funds of £142,985, resulting in an unrestricted reserves balance of £465,968.

The principal funding sources of the charity during the reporting period are trusts and foundations, with this source totalling £411,429 making up 52% of the total income. Just for Kids Law receives funding from a wide variety of trusts and foundations and would like to thank them for their support. A full list of funders can be found at the end of the financial statements. During the year, the legal aid contract contributed £135,025 of the total income and the income from the COVID-19 Inquiry totalled £43,168.

Reserves policy and going concern

A level of reserves is required to protect Just for Kids Law and ensure continued operation in the result of delayed grant income, or to ensure a well organised closure in the event of financial risk being realised.

17

Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

The Board considers it prudent to set the target reserves position at four and a half months’ running costs. Keeping this in reserves allows for contractual obligations and liabilities arising from legal aid obligations, alongside salaries, redundancy and committed expenditure, in the result of the charity needing to wind down.

The Board of Trustees will consider current costs of closure and examine the level of reserves each year when setting the following years’ budget.

At the end of 2024-25 the free reserves are £452,008, which puts the reserves at 6 months.

Principle risks and uncertainties

Alongside Just for Kids Law Co-Leads, the Board has reviewed the major risks to which the charity is exposed. Systems have been established, including policies, training, and regular control to mitigate those risks.

The Risk Register is regularly reviewed by the Co-Leads and at the Finance & Risk Sub-Committee quarterly, with discussion at the Board Meeting every six months. Three key risks across the reporting period and into 2025-26 are:

Mitigations: Development and implementation of 2025+ fundraising strategy to diversify income streams. Regular leadership fundraising meetings reviewing the income pipeline and opportunities. Quarterly committee focus on income and planned income at Fundraising, Finance and Risk meetings with the Treasurer reporting to the Board meetings.

Mitigations: Identification of critical roles and investment in recruiting for these roles. Pay scale benchmarking. Line managers monitor staff wellbeing. TOIL policy introduced and to be kept under review, weekly wellbeing hour, Clinical supervision/reflective practice offered to frontline staff.

As in 2024-25 ‘Failure to meet fundraising targets’ is the highest risk regarding Likelihood and Impact. ‘Loss of Key Staff’ has increased in Likelihood with the continued resource pressure of a smaller charity delivering above expectations. ‘Failure to adequately safeguard’ continues to be a key risk, the Impact of failure will disrupt parts of the charity and impact wider across reputation and trust.

18

Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Plans for the Future

Looking ahead, we will continue to make the most of opportunities which further our priority policy objectives. A key focus in the coming year will be our involvement in the Covid Inquiry as a core participant in Module 8. As disclosure really gets underway, we will be focussing our efforts on document review, working in partnership with the other core participants in our Child Rights Organisations grouping. We will also be completing a substantial witness statement from our CoLead, Louise King, and preparing and participating in the public hearings, beginning in the autumn. Our aim is to make a convincing case to the Chair of the Inquiry for recommendations that address the root causes behind the harm caused to children by UK Government decisions during the pandemic. Without children’s rights obligations enshrined in UK law, then the same mistakes will happen again in a future pandemic or other national emergency.

Alongside our work on the Inquiry, will be also pursue complimentary work on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it continues its passage through Parliament. Working with Baroness Lister, alongside UNICEF UK and NSPCC, we will advocate for amendments which introduce a statutory children’s rights duty on UK Government Ministers and a requirement to carry out child rights impact assessments on all relevant policy and budgetary decisions.

We will maintain our work to ensure children in contact with the police have their rights respected, particularly those from racialised groups. A key focus will be our continued engagement in the national Police Race Action Plan (PRAP), including pushing for racialised children with lived experience of the police to be able to meaningfully participate in accountability and oversight mechanisms for PRAP. We also plan to research the unique experience of girls in contact with the police and the rights issues that need to be addressed. We will also be taking forward a key aspect of our strategic plan to rebuild the organisation’s participation programme. We are delighted to have secured funding from the John Ellerman Foundation, which will enable us to start a young people-led campaign on children’s rights and policing.

Looking ahead further, we plan to explore whether gaps exist across our focus and influence. Identifying if there are significant numbers of children and young people and relevant professionals who are not benefiting from Just for Kids Law’s work.

Fundraising Achievements and Disclosures

Like all charities, we faced a challenging fundraising environment during the year. To undertake the organisation development needed to ensure resilience and sustainability, we were pleased to secure funding from valued supporters and new sources. Thank you to CAF Keystone Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Mark Leonard Trust, your support for this essential foundational work was invaluable.

With support from the CAF Keystone Fund, we were able to bring in external expertise to help the staff, senior management team and Trustees develop a new three-year strategic plan reflecting

19

Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

our restructured, refocussed charity. They brought additional skills and knowledge to enable our organisation to make a difficult but necessary transition.

Just for Kids Law was pleased to welcome a new Co-lead and Director of Development in September. The Director developed a new three-year funding and communications plan to implement the new strategy. We are grateful to the CAF Keystone Fund and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation in funding additional expertise to feed into this plan. As demonstrated in these latest accounts, we are in a stronger position going forward and are confident we are more sustainable and resilient as a result.

We are also thankful to those charitable trusts and foundations which offered solidarity and financial support during the racist riots over the summer. Your support provided strength in our daily work.

We would like to thank our legal allies. We were delighted to celebrate our 18[th] birthday with friends and supporters at an event generously hosted by Garden Court Chambers. In the summer, we partnered with Bindmans LLP, the award-winning law firm with a 50-year human rights and social justice record, in its launch of its Social Justice Fund. We look forward to seeing the Fund flourish so that it can help us to continue delivering trauma-informed and anti-racist direct legal representation for children and young people, alongside fighting for wider change.

We are particularly grateful to our loyal regular donors who have stuck with us through a period of considerable change. You helped to us to be there for children and young people who need us every day.

In the reporting period, Just for Kids Law was registered with the Fundraising Regulator, upholding ethical fundraising practices and aligned with the governance of the code. As in previous years, the charity received no complaints about our fundraising activities during the 2024-25 reporting period.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

Just for Kids Law remuneration policy for all staff includes the following key elements:

20

Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Funds held as custodian trustee

No funds are being held on behalf of others.

Statement of responsibilities of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees (who are also directors of Just for Kids Law for the purposes of company law) is responsible for preparing the Board of Trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Board of Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Board of Trustees is required to:

The Board of Trustees is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Board of Trustees is aware:

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

21

Just for Kids Law Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 May 2025 was 9 (2024 - 9). Trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Board of Trustees has no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the period and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The annual report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies’ subject to the small companies’ regime.

The Board of Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Board of Trustees on 6 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Max Alexander Chair of the Board of Trustees

22

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

Just for Kids Law Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Just for Kids Law (the ‘charitable company’) for the period ended 31 May 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on Just for Kids Law's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our

23

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

Just for Kids Law Limited

report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to

24

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

Just for Kids Law Limited

going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

25

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

Just for Kids Law Limited

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Noelia Serrano (Senior statutory auditor) Date: 1 December 2025

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

26

Just for Kids Law Limited

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 May 2025

For theyear ended 31 May 2025
Note
Income from:
2
3
3
4
5
6
6
6
7
Reconciliation of funds:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Legal
Raising funds
Net (expenditure) / income for the period
Investments
Policy
Total income
Expenditure on:
Total expenditure
Charitable activities
Policy
Legal
Other
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
£
411,429
180,891
8,723
501
1,021		 Restricted
£
-
127,798
56,567
-
-		 Year to
31 May 2025
Total
£
411,429
308,689
65,290
501
1,021		 Unrestricted
£
387,734
674,034
22,421
4,786
1,021		 10 months to
31 May 2024
Restricted
Total
£
£
-
387,734
45,208
719,242
67,663
90,084
-
4,786
-
1,021
112,871
1,202,867
-
30,715
-
47,724
891,562
67,839
143,580
115,563
1,065,857
(2,692)
137,010
(2,692)
137,010
88,818
556,426
86,126
693,436
602,564 184,365 786,929 1,089,996
84,133
601,819
57,954		 -
82,466
64,911		 84,133
684,285
122,864		 30,715
843,838
75,741
743,906 147,377 891,283 950,294
(141,342) 36,988 (104,354) 139,702
(141,342) 36,988 (104,354) 139,702
607,310 86,126 693,436 467,608
465,968 123,114 589,082 607,310

Discontinued activities relate to business transfers of certain areas of work for further information please see the Trustees report. All other activities are continuing. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 17a.

27

Just for Kids Law Limited

Balance sheet

Balance sheet
As at 31 May 2025 Company no. 5815338
Note
Current assets:
13
Liabilities:
14
17
Total unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted income funds
The funds of the charity:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total net assets
Unrestricted income funds:
Designated funds
Work in progress
Total charity funds

Cash at bank and in hand
Debtors		 £
148,648
41,706
453,044		 £
£
97,005
246,178
436,072
779,255
85,819
589,082
589,082
123,114
-
607,310
465,968
589,082
2025		 £
693,436
2024
643,398
54,316
13,960
452,008
693,436
86,126
607,310
693,436

Approved by the trustees on 6 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Max Alexander Chair of Board of Trustees

28

Just for Kids Law Limited

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Reconciliation of net (expenditure) / income to net cash flow from operating activities

(Decrease) in creditors
(Increase) / decrease in work in progress
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by investing activities
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends and interest
Net (expenditure) / income for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities)
Dividends and interest
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the period		 £
£
£
£
(104,354)
137,010
(1,021)
(1,021)
204,472
(60,792)
(31,504)
(372,051)
(51,643)
57,393
15,951
(239,461)
1,021
1,021
1,021
1,021
16,972
(238,440)
436,072
674,512
453,044
436,072
31 May 2025
31 May 2024
Year to
10 months to
1,021

29

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Just for Kids Law is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The registered office address and principal place of business is EC1 Offices, 338 City Road, London, EC1V 2PY .

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income is recognised on casework earned and due ("work in progress" or "WIP") according to the time booked on the matter multiplied by the relevant legal aid or interpartes rate. Appropriate provision is made for irrecoverable WIP.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

f) Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

g) Interest receivable

h) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

30

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

1 Accounting policies (continued)

j) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which are an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Where such information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is also provided to potential donors, activity costs are apportioned between fundraising and charitable activities on the basis of area of literature occupied by each activity.

Raising Funds 2%
Legal 82%
Programmes 0%
Policy 16%

Governance costs are re-allocated to each of the activities on the following basis which is an estimate, based percentage of expenditure, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Raising funds 3%
Legal 81%
Programmes 0%
Policy 16%

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

k) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

l) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where purchase prices exceeds £1000.

m) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

n) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

o) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

p) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value.

q) Pensions

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund. The charitable company has no liability under the scheme other than for the payment of those contributions.

r) Work in progress

Legal work in progress is valued at the net realisable value. Provision is made when necessary for irrecoverable amounts of work in progress.

31

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

2 Income from donations and legacies

Income from donations and legacies
A&O Shearman Foundation
London Legal Support Trust Centre of Excellence
The Sigrid Rausing Trust
TUUT Charitable Trust
Hollick Family Charitable Trust
Inner London Magistrates' Court Poor Box Charity
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
Horne Foundation
The Stewarts Law Foundation
Aurum Charitable Trust
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Blagrave Trust
Brown Dog
Segelman Trust
Family Foundation 2
John Ellerman Foundation
Dr. Martens Foundation
Garden Court Chambers
Donations
Family Charitable Trusts		 Unrestricted
£
13,929
7,500
10,000
-
-
10,000
-
120,000
30,000
5,000
-
10,000
50,000
5,000
-
10,000
100,000
25,000
15,000
-		 Restricted
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Year to
31 May 2025
Total
£
13,929
7,500
10,000
-
-
10,000
-
120,000
30,000
5,000
-
10,000
50,000
5,000
-
10,000
100,000
25,000
15,000
-		 Unrestricted
£
37,234
7,500
-
25,000
55,000
-
20,000
120,000
30,000
-
8,000
10,000
-
-
50,000
-
-
-
-
25,000		 10 months to
31 May 2024
Restricted
Total
£
£
-
37,234
-
7,500
-
-
-
25,000
-
55,000
-
-
-
20,000
-
120,000
-
30,000
-
-
-
8,000
-
10,000
-
-
-
-
-
50,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25,000
-
387,734
411,429 - 411,429 387,734

3 Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities
London Legal Support Trust Centre of Excellence
The Dawes Trust
HughBonGo Fund, The Talent Fund
Development (Other)
Donations
The A B Charitable Trust
Other Policy income
Development (Other)
Wilmington Trust
Cabinet Office (C19 inquiry)
Other Legal income
Case work and LAA
Sub-total for Legal
TUUT Charitable Trust
Legal Education Foundation (including Justice First
Fellowship)
Sub-total for Policy
Total income from charitable activities
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust		 Unrestricted
£
-
-
-
-
135,025
43,168
2,698
-		 Restricted
£
-
30,000
62,523
-
-
-
-
35,275		 Year to
31 May 2025
Total
£
-
30,000
62,523
-
135,025
43,168
2,698
35,275		 Unrestricted
£
10,000
-
-
-
240,770
423,265
-
-		 10 months to
31 May 2024
Restricted
Total
£
£
-
10,000
-
-
11,387
11,387
10,000
10,000
-
240,770
-
423,265
-
-
23,821
23,821
45,208
719,243
-
60
30,000
30,000
5,451
5,451
27,333
27,333
-
5,000
-
17,361
4,879
4,879
67,663
90,084
112,871
809,326
180,891
-
-
-
-
-
8,723
-		 127,798
-
30,000
19,342
-
-
-
7,225		 308,689
-
30,000
19,342
-
-
8,723
7,225		 674,035
60
-
-
-
5,000
17,361
-
8,723 56,567 65,290 22,421
189,613 184,365 373,978 696,455

32

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

4 Income from other activities

4
Income from other activities
5
Income from investments
Bank interest receivable
Book sales
Events and sponsorships		 Unrestricted
£
-
501		 Restricted
£
-
-		 Year to
31 May 2025
Total
£
-
501		 Unrestricted
£
1,265
3,521		 Restricted
£
-
-		 10 months to
31 May 2024
Total
£
1,265
3,521
501 - 501 4,786 - 4,786
Unrestricted
£
1,021		 Restricted
£
-		 Year to
31 May 2025
Total
£
1,021		 Unrestricted
£
1,021		 Restricted
£
-		 10 months to
31 May 2024
Total
£
1,021
1,021 - 1,021 1,021 - 1,021

33

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

6a Analysis of expenditure (current period)

Charitable activities

Staff costs (Note 8)
Other staff costs
Client support
Consultancy
Insurance
Promotion
Legal fees
Audit and accountancy
Governance
Premises costs
Office costs
Other costs
Subscriptions
LAA Costs
VAT
Project Costs
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2025
Total expenditure 2024		 Raising funds
£
27,012
11
-
48,325
-
1,962
-
-
-
-
-
125
276
-
-
-
77,711
5,730
692
84,133
30,715		 Legal
£
177,298
3,304
954
8,833
8,374
-
-
-
-
-
24,239
-
1,585
206,068
-
-
430,655
234,937
18,693
684,285
891,562		 Policy
£
79,265
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
34
6,471
942
-
-
(13,381)
73,331
45,841
3,693
122,864
143,580		 Governance
costs
£
-
1,332
-
7,650
-
-
-
12,600
1,496
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
23,078
-
(23,078)
-		 Support costs
£
118,384
23,599
128
8,214
1,767
414
-
-
-
70,177
38,230
228
1,026
-
23,804
538
286,508
(286,508)
-
-
-		 Year to
31 May 2025
10 months to
31 May 2024
£
£
401,959
390,436
28,246
22,109
1,082
841
73,022
57,939
10,141
9,259
2,376
7,594
-
785
12,600
12,000
1,496
4,203
70,177
47,660
62,503
65,064
6,824
33,193
3,829
2,876
206,068
390,134
23,804
21,631
(12,843)
134
891,283
1,065,857
-
-
-
-
891,283
1,065,857

34

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

6b Analysis of expenditure (previous period)

Staff costs (Note 8)
Other staff costs
Client support
Consultancy
Insurance
Promotion
Legal fees
Audit and accountancy
Governance
Premises costs
Office costs
Other costs
Subscriptions
LAA Costs
VAT
Project Costs
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2024		 Raising funds
£
-
-
-
24,800
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24,800
5,429
486
30,715		 Charitable activities Charitable activities Governance
costs
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,000
4,203
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,203
-
(16,203)		 Support costs
£
92,413
20,399
260
22,150
9,259
7,594
785
-
-
47,660
45,654
1,213
2,456
-
21,631
-
271,475
(271,475)
-
-		 10 months to
31 May 2024
£
390,436
22,109
841
57,939
9,259
7,594
785
12,000
4,203
47,660
65,064
33,193
2,876
390,134
21,631
134
Legal
£
232,585
1,710
581
10,989
-
-
-
-
-
-
19,410
-
420
390,134
-
-
655,828
222,610
13,124
891,562		 Policy
£
65,437
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
31,980
-
-
-
134
97,551
43,436
2,593
143,580
1,065,857
-
-
1,065,857

* Other expenditure refers to the transfer of assets of our discontinued activities. Please refer to Trustees' report for more information.

35

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

7 Net expenditure for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Staff costs were as follows:
Audit
Salaries and wages
Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel		 Year to
31 May 2025
£
12,600		 10 months to
31 May 2024
£
12,000
Year to
31 May 2025
£
348,445
38,720
14,794		 10 months to
31 May 2024
£
337,452
38,125
14,858
401,959 390,436

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the period between:

Year to 10 months to
31 May 2025 31 May 2024
No. No.
£60,000 - £69,999 1 -

The total employee benefits (including pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £185,493 (2024: £152,582).

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the period (2024: £nil). One charity trustee, Shauneen Lambe, received payment of £3,200 in relation to providing support in the charity's strategic litigation legal work (2024: £700). The transaction was on an arm's length basis and the trustee was not involved in the decision making process.

During the year, £37 travel expenses were reimbursed as trustee expenses (2024: £40).

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the period was 9 (2024: 11).

Staff are split across the activities of the charitable company as follows (average head count):

Raising funds
Support
Policy
Legal		 Year to
31 May 2025
No.
0.8
3.9
2.0
2.0		 10 months to
31 May 2024
No.
-
6.4
1.8
2.5
8.7 10.7

36

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

10 Related party transactions

Trustee Sufina Ahmad is the Director of the John Ellerman Foundation which gave Just for Kids Law a grant of £nil (2024: £50,000).

During the period, trustees in aggregate donated unrestricted funds of £50 (2024: £330).

11 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

12 Tangible fixed assets

There were no tangible fixed assets for this period and the previous period.

13 Debtors

Debtors
Trade creditors
Deferred income
Other creditors
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Taxation and social security		 £
28,048
13,658
2025		 £
226,930
19,248
2024
41,706 246,178
£
14,670
12,975
25,371
1,300
2025		 £
17,495
29,912
38,412
-
2024
54,316 85,819

14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

15 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises the deferment of grant income received in the period which must be recognised in following years as per the terms of the specific grants.

Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount released to income in the year
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of the year		 £
-
-
1,300
2025		 £
2,950
(2,950)
-
2024
1,300 -

37

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

16a Analysis of net assets between funds (current period)

Net current assets
Net assets at 31 May 2025		 General
unrestricted
£
452,008		 Designated
£
13,960		 Restricted
Total funds
£
£
123,114
589,082
452,008 13,960 123,114
589,082

16b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior period)

17a
Legal
Development (other)
Policy
Development (other)
Total restricted funds
Total designated funds
General funds
Comic Relief
Total unrestricted funds
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Wilmington Trust
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds:
Human rights monitoring work
Hardship fund
Movements in funds (current period)
Restricted funds:
Net current assets
Legal Education Foundation (including Justice First
Fellowship)
The Dawes Trust
The A B Charitable Trust
Barrow Cadbury Trust
Education funds and one-off grants
Net assets at 31 May 2024
HughBonGo Fund, The Talent Fund
Total funds		 At 1 June 2024
£
-
-
8,000
912
8,179
30,377		 Income & gains
£
30,000
62,523
-
-
-
35,275		 General
unrestricted
£
607,310		 Restricted
£
86,126		 Total funds
£
693,436
607,310 86,126 693,436
Expenditure &
losses
£
-
(13,205)
(8,000)
-
(708)
(60,553)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-		 At 31 May 2025
£
30,000
49,318
-
912
7,471
5,099
47,468
At 1 June 2024
£
20,925
1,500
3,284
4,727
2,000
6,222		 127,798
Income & gains
£
30,000
-
-
19,342
-
7,225		 (82,466)
Expenditure &
losses
£
(28,786)
(1,500)
-
(20,223)
(2,000)
(12,402)		 -
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-		 92,800
At 31 May 2025
£
22,139
-
3,284
3,846
-
1,045
38,658 56,567 (64,911) - 30,314
86,126 184,365 (147,377) - 123,114
- 15,000 (1,040) - 13,960
- 15,000 (1,040) - 13,960
607,310 587,564 (742,865) - 452,008
607,310 602,564 (743,906) - 465,968
693,436 786,929 (891,283) - 589,082

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the following note.

38

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

17b Movements in funds (prior period)

Legal
Development (other)
Programmes
Development (other)
Policy
Development (other)
Total restricted funds
General funds
Donations
Comic Relief
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Education funds and one-off grants
HughBonGo Fund, The Talent Fund
Hardship fund
Legal Education Foundation (including Justice First
Fellowship)
Restricted funds:
Hardship fund
Education funds and one-off grants
The A B Charitable Trust
Barrow Cadbury Trust
Unrestricted funds:
Wilmington Trust
Total funds		 At 1 August 2023
£
11,614
-
-
-
11,529		 Income & gains
£
11,387
10,000
-
-
23,821		 Expenditure &
losses
£
(23,001)
(2,000)
-
(281)
(22,442)		 Transfers
£
-
-
912
8,460
17,469		 At 31 May 2024
£
-
8,000
912
8,179
30,377
23,143
912
8,460
17,469		 45,208
-
-
-		 (47,724)
-
-
-		 26,842
(912)
(8,460)
(17,469)		 47,468
-
-
-
26,842
-
22,625
4,425
3,284
2,560
-
5,940		 -
-
30,000
-
-
5,451
27,333
4,879		 -
-
(31,700)
(2,925)
-
(3,284)
(25,333)
(4,597)		 (26,842)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 -
-
20,925
1,500
3,284
4,727
2,000
6,222
38,834 67,663 (67,839) - 38,658
88,818 112,871 (115,563) - 86,126
467,608 1,089,996 (950,294) - 607,310
556,426 1,202,867 (1,065,857) - 693,436

Purposes of restricted funds

Legal

Dawes Trust - Funding to support our community care legal practice to work with children experiencing criminal exploitation supported by our crime team & promoting Contextual Safeguarding as part of Legal and Policy work

Legal Education Foundation (including Justice First Fellowship) - Funding to support the Justice First Fellowship trainee solicitor.

HughBonGo Fund, The Talent Fund - Funding towards providing legal representation to children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system and fighting for systemic change.

Hardship Funds - are given to children and young people as small one-off grants where there is an immediate need.

Policy

Donations - Funds contributing to our central costs.

The A B Charitable Trust - Funding towards tackling racial disproportionality and infringement of rights in police treatment of children.

Barrow Cadbury Trust - Funding to develop reform proposals to assist children turning 18 in the criminal justice system.

Comic Relief - Funding towards Just For Kids Law child-led campaign Change It!, and towards advocacy and education community care, focused on West London.

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - Funding towards Just for Kids Law holding the government to account for the impact of the pandemic on children

Wilmington Trust - Funding towards our Youth Justice Advice Line in collaboration with Youth Justice Legal Centre.

39

Just for Kids Law Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2025

Development (other)

The A B Charitable Trust - emergency solidarity grant towards work responding to additional needs deriving from widespread violence across the UK in August 2024

BBC Children in Need - towards the leadership costs of Just for Kids Law

CAF Keystone Fund - A grant towards core organisation development

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation - a grant through the Foundation's FunderPlus programme to develop our fundraising strategy and communications development in support of fundraising

Mark Leonard Trust - to reconfigure our website, review organisational policies and a development away day for Just for Kids Law’s staff

The breakdown of development funds for 2024/25 was as follows:

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The A B Charitable Trust
Mark Leonard Trust
CAF Keystone Fund
BBC Children in Need		 At 1 June 2024
£
-
2,000
21,500
1,200
11,900		 Income & gains
£
1,500
38,000
-
3,000
-		 Expenditure &
losses
£
(538)
(40,000)
(21,500)
(4,200)
(6,718)		 Transfers
At 31 May 2025
£
£
-
962
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,182
36,600 42,500 (72,956) -
6,144

Purposes of designated funds

Human rights monitoring work - At the end of 2024-25 we have re-stated an expenditure accrual and created a Designated fund for human rights treaty monitoring and advocacy work, ensuring the team can respond to opportunities as they arise.

18 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

One to five years
Less than one year		 2025
2024
£
£
55,547
19,753
27,841
37,892
83,388
57,645

19 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £10.

40