REGtsTEREDCOMPANY MUMBER.. 07912948 (England and Wate•) REQISTERED CHAIYTY NUMBER: 114 The RKltards Sandy P4ther8h¥ Worcèster WR1 1RU forthe Y•)r ENl•d Jlst D8c•mb&r 2023 2 to 15 18 St•*wrt gf Flrnn¢l•l A¢tMtla• 18 Ilats* to lh• Flnand•l Stthtethnlty 19 10 28 D•tsll•d 81•tem￿O1Fln•ncl•l A¢d¥ltl8• 27 R•f•rnn¢• •nd Admlnl•lrnlfv• Il•tsll• forth• Yw Entt•d 31¥t DBr•mbtr2023 TRUSTEES Irs P Wsothl MIS V L Swl? Dr J M HwbwKI klg B AthtrWt COMPANY 8ECIlET￿Iy r8SMSmith 5 Deansway 12JG REGISTERED COMPANY PIUMBER 07912948 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARfTY IIUMBER 114W27 INDEPENDENf EXAAIINER Tle Richards Santy PaTSner$hip ThoTneloe Hou8e 25 Bart>oU￿￿ Road Wwce31¢r Wryce8rer8Nre WRI IRU SOUCITORS HarTiSOn Clark S Dear￿WaY Worrmler IM112JG G4F Bank Limiled 25 Klngs HKI A¥en Kings Hiti Wèst M•lhn9 Kenl ME194JQ IQY MAIIAGEMEiir Mr J Srnilh IArs S Srntth MFS H tlokon Footsteps Wor¢estershlre iimlted forthe Yèar Ended 3tst December2023 The InLSteeswlw arealg)dlrettorsofthe charftyforthe purposèsofthe G)mpanles Act2￿6, presEntthelrreportvAth thefinattdal sratements of the tharty for the year ended 31stDe(tmber2023. The trustees have adopted the provS￿O￿% of A(o)untin£ and Finandat ReporllngStandard appmcable Inthe UKand Republkof Ireland tFRS 102) {eff¢cdYe I lan￿Ory2019> P¢ath Is oneolth$hardert¢lkn&5 tD proc¢ssand In Ilfe Jt(•m be even moffe dJffl(•ltwhen y(w'reyouD& Tallong 8bout gElef1sso Important Every¢hlld and young person b unlque #nd wilj cope wlth the death of sorne￿ Important thelr 01￿ way. There is ￿ m¥1¢ formula (l￿rtre￿ ￿dYOUUg pwileylevelustas rnurhas adth buts1ts7wltID thfferetttways. Tlyrelyoft AdulL% to provtde the wlth thesupportthey need In thelr grlef. Manygrtthesupporttheyne¢dfrornthose alreadyaround themfkntheylojowand tyvs However. there are many chltdfen who don't and tan benefit from addlthnal aod ptths5i0tt4] support FooWPS ts a preventstÈve 5erv1ce.andhel￿dUrfftD￿c￿ildrt￿'5f0rn￿￿YeYe3r$Xndir&the2.rthnEOfreal nee4prnvtdittg#pJarfOmtoopeklydtsc￿$Sand4ddresS fear5and l¢eluLS% and to develop personallsed CDpln88f4te8ie& We launched Footsteps back O£tobw 2011 th mEet a Bap In p¥tlVisioD kn South Worr£ster5hlrewhere therew& a¥d continues ts be Tro comparable Be￿ce for oyrbereaved thildrni a￿d people. Oursenryee is dellvered on ourread) Iiasi$, enabllng us to be arce5slble ts) a￿ a￿d Parti￿ th very vulnetsble aNI disadYdDlaged famil￿% Witho￿ a¢rw to thtiir ow trdll5p￿t Ourservltr￿ber*aVed thildreNyouoBpeopleand theJrfa' mUtE4Js provldeil (Drnplete]yffft of chary& Th1$ Includes all of oJJractlvity day& We are so proud of our Footstew lourn¢yand ourFootsieps fanlty. owsmall and dedkated teamof skff. truthesand volut)t¢er6 and our wottderfully $upportFve Communlty. Together we have achleved so much. not least in developlng and delttretlng bespoke and tallored bereavEmenr suppjrt pa¢kage5 tD a]m05t i￿￿1Ved d￿lre￿ young ￿Ople 8Dd theirfarnllle5 the Ilves of morethan 9.00 Sorne$upportfrom the tlatEonal I￿ CoTnmunlty Fund.toFtheTwith SuPp￿frOM CbarItsbleTn￿S.j0caI bustne5se5 and our C¢Nymunity eMb]¢d us ro comtirtue to provlde our service to those who needed w rnost In 2023. We EKYer take this sUPPOrt anted: It Is oor drtving foYt¢ ond e8¢h year we work hard iEhind the scelle5 to secure the (unds we so de5peratYly need. Our It ts very Importantto thaLwe remHin Agm411 and personal tharity,we strive to dowhat%ve do well.4lways r¢tsimi*È ourability to be ftkxibje. These lartfewyearshavettotbeenwithout challerbges forusalL ourbereaved children and youn¥people have bart to rope wffittLAs a we have leaFntand contiDue to learn so rnuclL We ]kve adapred and evolved t05UPPOrt¢)w be￿0Ved chlldreoand people Inthelrlournrythrough 8Ylel. W¢ hav0hol￿d them to devolopthelrowh uttwue copthg mechanLve&to enablethernto manage thetrySef.We havep)sitivelylmpattrd theirthrrentand fvtwe ]wital h¢alth onlerto helpthem]Jve Iheir lives ty thdrfvll¢%L OD hel￿￿orD￿rFo0T￿lrn &tylly. gUrbere4￿1 d￿kI￿￿Y￿￿nKpeOp1e.the￿rXrnI1AeSq￿￿ w¢Wo￿ld1￿￿trj Report of the Trnstees forlhe Ythr Ended 31st lknber2O23 Fi￿VrOv[￿aspe¢Ial1StPr0grarnMe0f5￿p￿rtt0berea￿ed￿￿dm.Y0￿W people(5.Zlye*sJ *)dthelr famllles In South Worce#w5hlr& WÈprovldeowservfjternpletetyfr•e ofd*r8E. We th to $llp￿rt bereaved rhtldren and young people in theirlournry through grtef. ts help them ts) devc]op their own unique coplng rnethan15n￿ to thelr 8rleF. We 21tn to P051dvely impart on their Current and (ubjre trMtal heaJth,to help th•n Ilve the1rliT￿ ttsthetrfu]ItstprteMlal WedeMverourserviceonanoutreathbasl%Thl$ isessentiaTts enswethatourservl£ets ittesslbEeto811 InDEed. W¢ workwlth i numberoflocal h05pItss T￿thin ourgeilgrapblc bo￿￿aneS wlth sodal med1ralaud￿UcatiOna1 pro1￿onal agencies wlth Chlldhwd Bere8v¢mertNetworK Child al￿ Adoles¢eDt MentsLHÈa)th Servl(e4and othersupportservlr W¢ meeta rEal serv1tepTawldonlttSouthWor¢•5te￿[re. OurseNce Iswholly depEndeutwJon the wonderflll generosity of our Its¢41 upmmunlty. lo¢al bus]Troxse4 OJarir8ble Tn￿Sand theNadonal Lott¢ryCoTJununlry Fund. 2023 oveThlew- some achlevements in numbers th WorMtershlr& We'have workin latltsn5h- IV• dlr•clly Imp•clJd on th• mor• p•opl• bw••¥•d ali lty••l on• We SLy)POrted fanWe5 on ￿ outreach basis wheft It was safe to do 50. We swported children and yowd fwm rnany ktstion& Worcesterand DrO[t￿l62% of our¢aseW Malvem (17%) Evesh•m afid Perslmye {18%1 and other lO￿tIo￿ {3%). thwr lamllkn etherf¥pto fxe191%01 cases) or 24% ofth• ¢hlldrnn we Support￿ had addlllonal l••rnlng l •p•clal •dueatloMI •v•r th1• Ilm Footsteps Wor¢estwshir¢ Lirnitsd fol the Yw Énded 31st December 2tQ3 ABOUTOUR CHILDREN. YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES + Almost I In 4 of ourdiildren were tryingto cope vAth thedeath oFoDe ofthetrparent& • lust over a quarterweTetJyln8to cope with thedeath ofthelr Dad. * IO% were trylng to cope with the death of a siblins + 35% were tyln8to ctspevAth muhlple deathswithin thelrfasllllyand frtendship sroup& • 35% ofthe children we supported were aged 5-IOyeaTS, + 60% ofthe chf]dren we 5UPPOrtedweTe aged 11-16 + 5% wereaged 17and over. • 40% ofchildren / youn8 people we supported were males. + 60% female5. • 20%ofrhildren were afferted by death followinga suiclde. * 33%were affected by death from cancer. • were affe¢Xrd byanaccidentsl death or a dru￿alcOhol related deatFL rhe Iiwonty of our r¢ternis were trom 5tliools [70% . teath*T5. sch•Joi counsvllos%. 5ai¢8uardin8 ILads). 2(N wEre from parents al￿ other famlty member5. 10% of referrnls were trom 5DCtal svrvlL'tt or othiir a8ett(in We ¢unt5¥me ro Trcefve many complex rvforrals from Worrtsttrshire Chlldrnn Flrni and other SQCiiil / n￿dICal prolesslvnal&includln8 GP$, WorcMtfsbir¢ SuStklt Ualson, Youih Iusn¢¢, Commuithy Publ* Health and , fran￿ty Ltgison. Thls ts a tesi¥roont io owseThkt athd reputstioo wltbln ourloral area and communiti¢% Ouryoungpeopleandtheirfamiliesarevulnerdble,.they areTefeTred to us durtng extremety sensltlve and emotionally tha￿ed andlleedy times. Oureveryen8agemen¢ whether face-to-ra￿ orremote Ss bespoke, tailored to speciflc family situatlon5 spedal ahd Individ￿ need We provide:. TAILORED SUPPORT Carefi￿Y planned and evaluated I: i face to fKe sesslons and remote / vlrwal sesslons for bereaved children andyoungpeopk. These are needsvled and flexlble and thereis no set number. L GROUP SESSIONS rdretullyfacilitated. 2. DIRECT SUPPORT FOR PAREKTS AND GIRERS. with an initial and in-depth faTnily assessment and on.goin telephone SUPPQFL 3. WORKSHOPOPPORTUNITIFSattd FAMILY AcnvrrYDAYSduringweekends and school holldays. 4. ADVICE. T￿NllNG AND PRoF￿10NAL INPUT in both the sratutoryand voluntary sector 5. AWAREN￿ RAIS1NGSESSIONSforyou￿ people In schoo forthe Yw Ended 31st Dec4rnber 2023 GovernlD8 doLwment 'Footsteps' ￿ a charstsble compaDy IiTnited by guarantee. IncOr￿lated on 17th laDuary 2012 and registe￿d as 8 ¢]wlry on 15th Febrnary 2012. The company is estab]tshed under a MeJDorandum of Assoc¥thn whl¢h sers out the oblerts aDd powers of the ¢harttable company and is governed under Its Artides ofAssoclatioTh In the event ofthe company being wound up dtrectOT5 are requtred to contrlbute an amouDt nOtex￿ed1ngÉl. We always welcome volunteers ofau ages aT•d back8round$. Our volunteers Incjude young people we have supported. as well as sojne parents / carers: they rattge fmm tee￿ to late 6￿Year.o1dS and they continue to brlng toour or8anlsation awarietyof skllls. We benefittedfromthesupportofm?ny profrsslonals and manymembers of ourcoDynunltyln 2023. We weTe fortunate to have our Volunteer Practitloner continu1￿& with us for part of 20Z3. She came to us wlth good knovAedge and experience in 2022 to support the completion of her level 4 CPC41B [Coun5elllnE and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body) in therapeutic counsellin& Fonner]y a teacher with experience in further educadon and a volunteerwith MentorSuppor< supportlllgdEsa(Ivantagedanddtstressed¢hlldTenandyoung pèoplè, she proved to be ahuge assetto Footste Focw contlnues to benefit from a wlde ratt8e and good support group ofvo]ullteers who help with the eventswe ru￿ make wt)nOerful Iwid.EHd¢ ¢Tatts for oyr L.1 sUPWrt3nd therdpy work and with whom consult and Work wlth Ill manyotherway& Footsteps Is widerthe Euanllanshtp atsd leade￿hIp of fourTrllstees. Ourtrustees thdude theretlred Head ofthe Insti￿te0rH￿th &SocietyatWor¢e5¢erUDlYerstry, wlth abaclwundln nursing attd tsacmng and a fornier Trnrteo with St Richard's Hospic•. In addition, our legal representatiye Trusree. from a Icrtxl and long*stsbltshed law flrm (an orgabtsadon whlch Is very supportlve to Footsreps) has a drama ba¢kwuDd is Yery knovAed8eable on GDPR and has attess to employmentlaw infonnatlolk Our Board of Trnstees also indudes a retiTed teacher/PaTish Counculor and a fornier School Health N￿l¥e. both wlth very significant experience to offer. AJI our Trustees have 1fved experien￿. ofbereavemenL Our Ch#ir olld ourTrustee Group we very arttve fn ZOZ3, cojrttnufng to provide excellent governance and steertng throll8hout the year. One of our Trnstees. previously a school Nurse and forthe last fewyears a Reacb4 Wellbelng Prackntioner wlthln the Health and Care NHS has been a ￿ 855¢t tn SUPP)rtlng ¢￿r pllot projert sumundlDg new remote ways ofworktng In 2023. All Fotrtstr￿ team cohthiue to beDefit from excellent TTr￿e support In a very cI￿lle￿n8 work enY&ronmenL Fc• Worcthrnhlre Umlted for the Year Enthd 3tst December2023 The Dirertors ofthe Companyare alsoChadryTrusrees forthepurpDSe5 Ofeha￿tylaw. Dueto thenathreofthtth3rit￿5 work wlth bÈreaved childrerL theTrusrÈesand ManageTnent Team areahvays mindful of the need to recrnitadditional TThstee5who canbringspecialistexperttse.skills and knowledge ofthe wmmunitywe serve. TheTrustee5 seek advice al￿ reComD￿ndallOllsof 5tsff befor¢appolndn8newtru5tees.NewTnwteesare providedwitha Tntr inductionpa¢k whlch tncludesthe followlng Charfty Commission publication$:. CC3: The Essentl*l Trystee. WI￿tY0U need to know. CCIO,. The Hallmarks ofan effectÈve Charity. STRUCTURE, GOVBRNAKE AND MAf&4GEMENf (conthiued) Ourpeople deftneFootsteps andcreatethèidentitywearesoyeryproudof. Ourteam Issmall. dedicated and p¥55iottate. Our 2023 team CODJprised • a full-time Be￿8veMent Servlce Manager •2 part-time Bereavement Service PTactitioneTS • a part-tÉme Operation5 Manager • a part.time ConsultanL Our Consultsnt {fornw Service Manager} has 23 years. legal experten￿. 10 years, It" k, experience as Fundraising Manager w?th Noah's Ark Thist (1999.20091 was a ci rounder of Guy'5 Gift (2009-2012) supporting bereaved yo¥ng people in Warwickfhtre and has beets the Setretary to a large national Charitable Trustforthe 18st25 yeatx She was also on the de¢i51om-makln8 panel ofthe Lo¢al Neiwork Fu￿d for ChildTen & Yourtg People In Worcestershire throughout its lifetime. Our recently retlred consultant (our fDrrner Bereave￿￿￿SerVlcemana8erj had3sYeaTy(lkn*)wA•mtsthfvr4¥Wyththgwitretkne thÈseltylew rllontk%￿V1th￿P2d ondlcovldnl ho￿￿￿kodfvro￿t*¢￿w8UpP0rtm$ IdontthiRk1￿dbPwhereI￿ffl withuutqllth¢supportondh¢tyyoritreBNen me....- forthe Year Ended 31st Dttember2023 ACHPIEMENTS AND PERFORldANCE fGwrtinu•dl 2023 CONTINUEDA5A DIFFICLJLT YEAR FOR SO fvIANY. NONE MORE SO THAN MANYOF OUA BEREAVED CIIILDREN. YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES. THEY FACED (AND A NUMBER WE ARE SnLL WORKING WITH CONTINUE TO FACEI CHALLENGES DEIUNG WITh AND IOURNEYING THROUGH THEIR GRIEF. MANY OF OUR REFERRALSWERE COMPLEX CASES: MANYOF THE CHILDREN REFERRED TO US DID frIOT HAVE THEIR OWN FAMILYI FRIENDSHIP SUPPORTGROUP& THERE IS AN EVER GROWING DESIRE FOR BEREAVEMENTSUPPORT ANDA GROWING RECOGNMON FOR rrs NEED WtTrllN OUA COMMUNnY. NEVER HASOUR BEEN MORE F&gMII4L. NOR THE QEMMO. FOR OUR PROFESSIONAL SUPPOAT BEEN HIGHER. Footsteps meets a real gap In service pTovlslon In South kVorceste¥shlie w'iere there Contlnueg to be no comparablé bereavwneftt 5er¥ice for our children. young people and thelr ?mllles. REAI EXAMPLES AND CASE sfuDIES Thi5 young person's Dad died In a harrowing accident, has learnlng dlffi¢ulties. and found Itdlfficult to aWTess thelr feel(ng& Diirfjng sessltsns theyoung person Wo￿ld tslk a￿thavIng sory slghtlngs offigures. The youngpersfjn ￿as helped by using drdwings to show what they looked like and nar(Jed them. Early 5esslons talked about new ones belng seen and dad would be linked w eath one- the young perwll washelped to explore these and meaDlngs behilld thenL The younB person n￿dealTp1aoeS Olke Dads) and then parathutes to demonstrate howthese can stophlm from falllng hard wlthln hls emotions a5 Dad was n)isseil so mu¢h. The young person realty xarred to conrtrect to how they were fee11ttgar￿hega￿ to talkmoreo￿n1YaIX)lltthethjn￿thcYrniss£dWIth l)ad andthechanges 3th0n￿SOme beinggorKI and Othe￿ 8ood. The young perso￿ was happy with weekly meetings as an emotional O￿tI¢L After months of sessions, It beCan￿ apparent that Dad was not talked aL￿uta￿YM0re in a worrylng manner aDd both the ptsctltloner and the young person felt that the dme was rlght ro end the sessloDS. Durlng the managed ¢nding proress the youttg person mentioried tha¢ the fi8ures had gone and expressed great deli8hL Led by the youts8 person. they and the practldoner destroyed the drawlngs, rApped them and p￿depaperba1ls to throwinto the ly Th1￿￿ sItUa￿On hlghlights the Importance and btttefits of belng alongside the young person. of not belng fri￿tened of the figures they were seelng as these were demonstrntlng the imwt of the1055 ofdad and bow scary life was now goin8 to be. 0￿ce the emottons and thoughts were h￿r¢ accepted and worked throuth the tlgures left and theyoung person was freertO'8etoh)' wlth life. Ayoun8per50nWaSteelthgangertowards 0th¢rpe￿ewhtsSoI1 had *Mumall￿ Theyfeltunabletoexpressthi5anger and frustratlontoothers.holdiDgonto Itand had suiodal thouBhtswantin8to escape from t]ieirpatn. TheyounEperson was self-harn)in& Thepracdtionerworked wfth tbeyoun8 person to develop a rapportand createa safe environtnent In s¢ssion& The youn8 person began to feel they could open up about thelr feellDgs at¥1 began LO oxpress their an8er through the use Df creathity. Creative technlques in se5SLOfE5 allowed the young person to share thfngs thatthey had originally found dlffladtto explaln throughwords alon& The prnctitlonereocourdged and hdped faclliratea Tetlecdve process insessionsfortheyoungperson so they wereable tocommunicateopenty.This helped serve as anotheroudeL A% se￿5?0￿5 contlnued. the young person's suicidal thoughts reduced signlficantty and they stopped self-harndn& ¥$ they had developed otherways tsj bE able ro express and to process Some of their feelir]g5. Weare Oft￿ aSk￿t0Pro￿de?dVlret0teX¢her5and school staffr, wedothls whenever posslble. In SepteTnbtr2023we deltvered fonnal tralDlng to a number of teaching leaders and professionals. We continu¢ to ￿MaIn hopeful and keep a watthful eye on the GovermJenYs promlse to ixke actlon to Introduce death and grlef more re3dÈly In schools,. educatlng teachers and further rnlslng theIr awareness of what professional w)erti5e exists Outdde of s¢hool& Our research la5tyearand our aims forourcharity are topIayanearly role in sUPPOrtin8 thi% forthe Year Ended 31st December2023 In 2023 we undertooksi8nificantre5trarrh toexplore newway50fw0rkl￿ in parti¢wlarto ￿rtl￿deVek)P0urrem0te se￿IceS and to shaTe the knowl¢d8e and experlence of our professional prdCtitioBer$. We are paEsionate In our belief that speci￿{stbertave￿￿￿tsUpp0rt to chi]dren andyoung people should be provided a"joIned-up" way. We prtde our5elve50n ourabilityand otsr desire to adapt to ensureweah¥ays meètvery reg1 Deed& This ts made rtM>repowlJie due to our small 51ze, our leadership and the nathre and persoDalitiÈ5 wlthln our team. Our serviLe i5 always flexible and personal. to ￿eet the very dlfferent and indivldual needs of those children their faTh￿lIeS IrantiDg our bereavementsupporL Dellvery ol our seThlce this year wa5 assisted by the National Lottery CQMlalNrrY Community Fund reco8nislng the continued itnportance and value of our work Tbfis supporL together with 5UPPOrt from Cbarit3ble Trusts. local businesse5 al￿ our local community, meantthat Ft)otsreps was again ableto provide its much evidenced needed supp)rtln 2023. 1> WE EMPOWERED BEREAVED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE withgreat¢rabi]ityto explore al￿ express dIffi￿lt feelings and acquiTegreateT confidence and improved self*teem, Ittcreasingtheiremotion￿ resf]lence. 2> WE REASSURED PARENTSand CARERS. imprnved relatltsnship￿3ttd incrtased communiuttonmth thetrchlldre dimlnlshTn8the levels of Stress Ilkely tu callse distress. 3> WE INCRBASED PROIIWIONAiS' knowledge and 3wareness of betravement Issue5 and enabled them ￿ better Supp￿rtthOse wlth whom they are Inrerncun& [] Children and Young People dgvelopedtheirovm uniqup coplng mechanisms. Parentsatml carers feltbetterable tosupport thetrchlldre E Familyjtfebenefilre U There w45a poslrive imwrtou the Chlld's/young pernon'sschool and college11 L I:1 work provIded Op￿rnin1ti*s foryoun8 ppople tybeheard, to askquestlons. to unburd•n themselve O School teathers and others prof¢sslona15 worklng with young people bellelltted froln our advice, knowledge and expeTienceas to howbe5ttD SUPP(>rtyoung people on a dayto day basls. Oureducall￿ of the wldero)mmunfity provlded prnrtical advlcetD enable individuals to supportthosetheyknow who have beeD bereaved of a loved o Fpotsteps WcKcesknhlre Umlted Report of $￿Tn￿teeS lor theyear Ended 3tst Oecember 2023 ACHIEVEMEIIT8 AND PERFORMANCE leontlnw Coping wlth the lossofa loved one maybe otte ofthe hardestchauenges th*ta chtld /youtJgperson faces. Grief catt be pardcularly InteDse and tsolatingaDd a young person can be overcome by$h￿k and confuslon. leadln8to Prolonged periods of emodot)al turn)oil. anger. sadtte55 ordepressKon. Many people ftnd Trtdlffl¢ukto talk about death. A good SE*lal. supw>rt ryeLwo￿ can help, but many of youllg people do not have thi& The situatioD and palnful emotions wlll rbot improve by avoidance and It is very irnportant for a 8rieving young pe￿Oll to talk tu SQTneone to express and share their emotions and thougbt& DI¥cussitt8 8fLef can stop negabve and destrurtlve emotion5 fr0 buildiTrB UP ata time wlLen yOUDg people are at their most vulnerdble and can help prevent them from seeklng 501a in harn1r￿ life5tylehablt& Negative ways to wpe with thou8hts and feelings about loss and death,If unsupported. ca predlswse chlldren to a mentsl health coTraitiom ALlJte or even supp￿sSed Brief can lead to dtstorted srievln& ¢hararterlsed by extreme aullt or anger. leading to agEressIve and deStn￿tIVe outbursts. Self-har￿ school refusal, aimeandaDti-sodal behavlour, dwlalcohol abuse.testlngof authorLtySyStems,lossof self-respe￿I￿$S ofconhdeDCe. depTession, phy5iL213ilments and symptoins loss of a general sense of purpose kn Ilfe and p)or meDtsI hea]th. 2013 wa5 a difficukyear For soDiaJTry. Our speciallsed bereavementsupportP05itiYely ¢ottrrlbutes to notonlythc mentslaud physlc4] health of children and yotwg people. but also to their welfare aDd futore weE]knln& We are a preventstive service and help durfng children'5 fonnatlye years and In thelr tlme of rea] need, provÉding the plarforni to opettly dfjscuss and address feaTS alld feeling% Our lJ]put help to prevent the breakdovm of tamily relatiotishlps and improve physi￿ I meDtal healthand emotional wellbeln8. There are nwiy factors thar play a rok in how we reart tD a 51gnfficarf los& too many to list here.. they Indude our ellltural norn￿. our support system$ the circum5tsnces of a death. extsrlng coplng mechanism& Measuring and Valuating￿lefsUpp0rtran be challengin&8s everyone's experlences are ulllque. Ratherthan us1nganeWdh￿ttOD tool with a -oDe 5iz¢ ffts all" approath. we use our caretiilly tailored family assessment tonn vthen we first visit parent/carers and yijung people. Ourprocess allows us tohighlight and Identifyany5peLificneedsofyoung peopleond thelr familfes and offerthem sVPPOrtwlth these wds in mlnd. The Footsteps teaTn Cortinued to attend and partldpate in Bereavement Sertor Ilonthly Meetln8s or8anised by the Chudhood Bereavement Network and Nadonal Bereavemellt Alliance. Weblnars continue to prO￿e an essentia] networtdng opporbjnity wlthtn the sertor. as well as the opport￿nity to keep up.to.date ￿ and share infonnadon andareasofintETesL Relevantinfonnatiott contlnuestobesharedacr05stheteamaDd thllow updlscussions rake place at our wctkly team meetings wtheh relevan¢ parttcutsrly Wbth regHrd to current topits of conslderation within the Sector and further tralnlng opporthntt&ek All Footsteps practitioners aT¢ f(Kused on their CPD. they identlfy thetr trainlng needs together and wlth the 511PPQrt of thetr professional b(dy and external supervAsors. Iley also attend regularweblDaTtralniDgoffered bythechlldh0(￿ BereavemetrtNetworkand Nattonal BeMvementAlllaDce.and there continues to be a foC￿S OD neurodivergence and learnirtg digbllldes: areas which Footsteps is ￿MMItted to Incorporatlng Into our service effeLflvely. In 2023, 23% of the d￿dreA and young peDple we supported had spE(lal educattonal / addltional learning needs and thi5 Infornied our trainin& Monthly webinars enable us conununlcate.share andlearnfromaT￿Wlth otherbeTeav¢meutserYiCes￿*tioDal1Y&Dd more Ioc211y, wehaveworkl￿8 relallonshlp5 and good connedions btsth hationally and Iwithln our regloD: th￿e are further strengthened through a local prartitloners netwo￿ It cotttinues to be mvardlog ttb see our servi¢e and durln¥ prÈsentattons by other national bereavementseNlces / otherorganisatton& OurBereavemeDtSerte Managerand PrdditioneTS ronthitsetobewell Equlpped and experienced in dealiugwith the many'compllcated Erief reftrrats that we recelv¢ Grfefcatt very often be complicated by the ctrcumstances ofde8d particv]arlyifitiS 5uddenorullexpectedorasa resuJtofsuiodeoTvloleAce (more than 20% ofth¢)5e referred tous) or multlpledeaths overa slkortperiod of time (35% of ourchildren l young people). Many ofthoseTèferred to us are from di5advaJJtaged background5 attd some are exposed to substance abuse and domestic violence. In 2023 we saw a wfjngnum￿r of referrals torchildren andyoungpeople wlth S￿la1 edu(atlonal / additional learning needs (23% compared IO% In the prevtous year). io ReportoftheTnthes for the Year Ended 3tst December 2023 ACHIEVEMENTS ANO PERFQRMA•ICE (conllnuadl LfnlLS and a good worling relationship contInue ro be developed with other ¢are agencies as we work hard trj ￿rther develop a Jolned-up approach in supportttt8 bereaved children In WorcL%tershtre. We have further strengthened our excellent worldng relationship wrth a newly fvnded suicide Maison role wEthln WorcestershlTe (the role has rewnsibi5ity for providiDg a pra¢tical SeThi￿ and supp)rt in the e¥Tly days of a suicide) aJd continue to recelve fen￿ from thts service as well as eonslderin8 the relewance of this service for some of ourfamilies and signposting if approprfat Ourre]ationships with sch(yolscgntlnues to develop year on year.. we have worldng relationship5 nowwlth over 9Wd of schpolswthin ourgeographlc are& iastyearwe supported clklldrtn andyouDg people in 47 schools and colleges Ill the area. We are often asked to provide advlce to teache￿ aDd s¢ht)01 stsTr. we do this whenever possible, recogni5in the iThpOr1an￿ of helpitw In September Z023 dellvered forn￿1 trafinin8 to a number of teaching leadeT5 and professlonals. We condnue to remalD hO￿r￿1 and keeplng a watchfi]5 eye on tbe GovernmEnVs promise to take actio to Introdu￿ death and ￿lef more readily in schools; educating teachet¥ and furrher ￿sIngtheIr awareDe55 of what professfonal expertise txtsL% outslde of schoDl& Our research last yearand our fvrnre aims forour dwrlty are to p]ay an earty role In supportill8 thi& last yeaT we were agaiD able to provide summer aLtlvtty and Pol￿￿￿t Christtnas Llntern valk events for our bere2ved￿￿dren artd thelr fatt￿lIe￿ Our Chrlsnnas lantern Walkln the wonderful, privats parkaDdwoDdlands of Spetchley Gardens brought n￿nY of our bereaved children, youngpeople and theirfdmilies togetherto remenjbertheirloved ones. FundlDg towards ourevettt was a￿lD secured from a long-e5tablished low firni and the grounds and facllities wfthin the Spetchley Estate we generously provided, free of char8e, by the Berkeley family. ch￿stmaS gifts We￿ doT]atEd by Severn Valley P2ilway. FamlliesspeDtPTedoustlmetygether.decoraUngwoodeDtreecookles madetythehusbandofone ofDur Pr¥titloners. These were hung on an illuminated memory tree along our lanteTn rout¢ to moving musiG Refreshments were Provided afterw￿4 and opportynldes for frdmllles and the teawx to share tlme together. of the wonderful feedback we re￿ived..- "The wulk wos a very calming and wa￿1￿9 walk ond it mode mefrelas though I wosn'tolone.... Y loved 1¢ l um $peKhlwllt WaS￿gOOd... ¢Tff olldoioq afobulousiots thankyou..-. "Lovety hot chocolate. Me tsnd mylumlty reolfy appredated today. With 9etting to keep the lontsrfjs as well as9ettinggiven treots we could not hove askedfor onythlng more We loyed gettlng to put the cookies onto the t￿e in MemL7ryofourlovedon￿... Yhankyoufora lovdyofternoon ondforletttng meshore the expei7eRce Of￿￿eMbert￿g my loved ones Iylneyerforget 1£ It mode rReftelhoppy partlcipotelnhangEhgocookleoll theremefflbn7n￿ tree Q..." Yhe do tsanw£lM9. t*4nkyou A) mwhfor thesuppOrt￿7ll have91￿￿ oursort. Thls has been ourfint Iqntern wulkartdltl￿b￿￿ o lovely￿erien￿" li ACHIEVEMEP4TSAND PERFORMANCE (continue 7 4 Ld Our Lakeside suuynerfamilyartivity daywas anotherhugesuccess. BereavedchildrenaDdtheiT familyTDembtrswere Invited to join us to take part 17) paddle boaTrlin& canoeitw and kayaking. All activities were led and 5upervÈsed by profeS5iOD#I UnSversity ofWorcEsteroutdooractiviry insnwcto￿The1o¢atson wasabeautlfuland tranqull on& though le56 troDquiI when 3tthe end of the daythere wa$ a lrt offvn onloyed by many- children and adults alike - lompiDg into the Jake! Lunches wereprovided freeof cha￿t bya local caterlngeompanyand ourteam thett)selves madelots of hopie bakes. A fartastic day was had by all. completely free of charge to famllie& Chlldrert thrfillenged themselves and had tsgether wlth thelr familles and other familie5: theLt such tO8etherness artd wonde￿1 camaraderie OD the daywith new frIendshlps developlnB and Cont￿ details belngshared Ourahn was ro prevent feelings of isolation sn our childre). forthem ttsfeel thattheywereD'talone and to￿ them gn oP￿rtUnity tohave bulld ￿ll￿den and 3treTrgtheu bond5 withtD aDd across rheir familygroup& "l thought toduy was t7n ornazing day I ¢I￿￿￿ht [tW￿ on t7y tt•sociolise withfafflityand m(Jke newfvends Thonkyou. ittouldn't dnkyousomuchfortodoy.XIYsconfldencegrew throughoutthedoy. Weore oll truty9rutefvlforthe workondeffortyouguyspvtin.., "J jiitt woiited to soy u mok*lve thankyoufvrsotsrday. we os afaml had afobulousdayondwecqn't thankyou enough. whatyou ull du is omozin8..- Absolutely brfllit7nt doy. The children ond ad¢￿ts had a greot tlme. Thankyou wymuch_. Ivonderfvl doy outfvr thefamify and lovely to meet otherfomilies anddo &i)metkn'ng new,fyn ondct)nfidencebtsildingfvrthethildrei" "We reolfy enJoy8d ouwlves todqv. Jtwas lovely to meetnewfnsnds. Thonkyou uJJso muth" "Itwos the besttn'pj havebeen on inyeors Q. I realtyenioyediÈ Itwasfire (goodlj bved the cupcoka" 12 Footsw Worcesternhire Umitsd Rewl ol the T￿￿ee5 forthe Year Errtled 315t Ilecember 2023 ACHIEVEf4Epifs AND PERFORMANCE (C41Ddnu¢dl Footsteps. uDlque serAce has always been an outreach servEce. to ensure th* we are accessible to am, includingthose most vulnernble. Some ofour famllies are wlthout a￿5$ to trd115PQrt I famlly support Thls means that there be $IEnifitanr ¢r4vel tlme between schools due to thegeographyof South Wor¢estÈrshfr& WÈa]waysconsdouslym•nage ourpraaitioneroseloads and ourschool alloL3tions to ensure thatwe are as efflcfientas posslble, managfrng oknr costs and maximisirfrg our(a￿lty. Weareoffered both face-tofrdcesupportandremotesupporL OurpTaCtltionershavebeen able to be more ilexible vtheD offeringappointmeDts for remote I:1 sessions and this has beeuwelcomed o We can only mea$￿Te aDd tr•¢k our and our Suc￿5 by involving those we are almlng to hel￿ It 1$ important to us to glve chlldreffj young people and their familiu a voice: and for tl*m to feel that they are belD8 Ilstened ro. Thry are v31uable contslbutors from whom we arekeell to learn. o Our whole team meets regularly on a wetltly bas1& We pride ourselve5 on our abllSty to be flexible and adaptquickty.WheDwe feel lttsapproprts￿.WeaCtOn feedback/ infonDatlon quithy8lldputcbatyinplac where relevaDt, always endeavouring to letthe person that has led to this, know We marntsin exryl sprtdd5heets to wtUTe inforn)ation thatwe requiTe to deliver our servlce effidendyand effertively. and as additional information to revtew who, where wheo aDd how we deliver our servica We record and track Trnfonnation Includ£ng Sources of referrals and enquirles. the age and sex of each child referrel the sthool /coJlege they attettd.where they Ilve. the reladonshipto them ofthose who have died the natsre of the death{5). multiple death& number of 5e5sions they ￿1V*. time over wblth they are 5UPPQrtedrtLW¢contrnuetoanalysethtslnfonnatlory togetherwlth thegeogrdphid area weare supporrID& to enable usto eTLsure thatweprovlde our seNice in all areas of South Worcestershlre when itig Deeded. The Infornydflon from our spreadsheets ts to track our worK to better undeTStand and learn from tht wlder piciure. tQ SUPPOrt ourf￿Hdra15jnga￿dfjYT serviredevelopmenL 13 Footsteps Worr*rshiTe Umlted Report of theTYuste forth¢ Yeav Ended 31st Decern￿r 2023 Publlc Ben¢flt The Trustees can confirni that they have had due regard to the Charity CommissiOII'5 gLE5dance on public benefit In decidiDgwhatartivities the charltyshould undertake. Inall workwith bereavedyoungpeopleandthetrfamilte5.beDefit to the public is of pardmountimpoFtance. Ive mea5vrethe sUCC¢5s of ourdire£tsupportagain5t the required outcomes for indivlduals EQLI£ We have a commltment and a responslblllty to safeguard all the children we work with fro￿ 311 foms of physical or entrdl violence. itLjUry or abuse. ne8lec( maltreatment or exploxtation. including sexual abuse. The alm of the Footsteps Chlld Protertion and Safeguardin8 Policy is to promots gc¥)d practice. provide children with the approprlate protection and to help employees, tNstees and volunteers make infonned and confEdent responses to thild prottttion Lgsue$. Footsreps has rlgorous policies and procedures in place w eTk5ure 5afegttarding and Child proteclitsn, staff protertion. data protection and confidentidllty and protection of our employees and our clients, wh51st wvrking face-to-face and remotely. All rectsrds are protecredappropriatelyln line witli these policiesandproLedure5 (both electronic and paper reLordsJ. Our Polldes are Tenewedand updatedannuauy. The Trustees have examined the majorstrateglc business operational risks that the chaiityface5 and conflrni that systems have been established to minimise the major risks. The njanagement of risk Is reviewed at every D)eeting of the Trustees and here new ri5k5 a￿ Identlfleil and appropriare responses implemented and recorde(L FINANCIAL REVIEW Some ofour Income In 2023 came from the Nattonal Lottery Commvnity Fund. the rem&indereomlng from Charitable TnTsts. local business and our communlty. ir reputstion goes from strength to 5¥rÈngth together w£th the recognltlon of the value of our service. We are very proud of our success ID developlng ovrseryice and supporting bereaved chlldren. youn% people 2nd their famllie5 In South Worcestershlre forover 12 years. Funding ￿WayS remains challenging to enable the wntinuadon of our support programme. No bereaved chlld. young person. togvther wlth thelr Tramlly, should be left isolated and vulnerable. Our aim is ro work hard to continue to develop and deliver our seThice over the longer terrn to those in need, in order to ensure a better fiJ￿re for childrcn and thcir families in South Worce5ter5hire by addressing grief atan early stage and preventiugfuture mental health problems. The ongoiTEB SElPPOrt of some of OUT curretttarRd some new Ch8rltable Trnsts 15 Vttal to ensure the Contlyjua￿0n of our seryi¢e and we are working Iwd to deliverour5UStainabtlityplans. It is vital,ethical anda Tequirement of ourseÉvice that we have the ability ro contittue to SUPPOrt onte we have glven our commitment to a younx person. Long tsrni financ￿2[SecUritylS crltlcal toachieve thls. Signiflcantworkalld effortis invested to en5urethatthe clLatity cancontinue to thrlve. Appllcation5 ¢Qlltinue tg be made to Charitable Trusis nadonwide and l¢xally. relationships made and mandgod aDd we are hope￿] thatwith a lotof hard work, weivill torttinlieto achieve theneCesSary￿nd1ttg to continue tv develop and make a real difference to the sigAificantneeds within Worcestershire for futhre years. Our TÈiJstees have always felt It ¢r* be important that we dv Tkot grow too large. nur 0Ve￿tretrh our5elve& The maln consideration for bootsteps has always been i￿a0W￿lL￿e1LvrQknb￿8￿J￿I￿s￿¥l¢o￿dj0OkdtteLOllr 14 for the Year Ended 3tst DtrAmber 2023 The Tntsteeshaveestsbllshedtbe charfty's rese￿eS pollrywlth reference tocharlty CoEt]mtsslr>n Gulilan¢e {CC19) alld accounUng5tsDdard5 (SOR22005). TheTntstets' intentionisto bulldsutTiopntreseNes toensurecontinuityofseTrice andthey¢onsideritprndentts>worktowardsfree (ie uttrwtrlLted)reserves ofamlDlmumof Dinernonths,e￿ndlt￿ The chajity wtll also mainlaln a rtserye to close the dwity. 5hoMld It ￿ ￿￿e$Sary. wlthout adversety affecting the Se￿Ce to f*mllles already receiviugsupporL meet Ilabilittgs to credltOES and meetstsff notice and redundancy cost& This illtention is establlshed annually when the Th￿S agree the budget for the forthcoming year. The Trustees ensuTethatthe reservesare moDltoredperiodicaUyalld theykeepthereserw ￿lleY Under regularrevlew. The cJw1￿$￿nTe5trfjClEd reseThe5. eX￿Ud￿ fiXedaSsets.we￿ £176.993 asat31 DeceDtheT2023 (2022: £147257), presentingapproximately19 months of unrestrlrted e4)eDd1ts￿The srated strategy has therefore beell athleved thisyearhoweveTofthls £147.Z57, £44,067 representsa desI￿ated winding up Totsl unrestrlctedreserves asat 31 December 2023 were £177.7WJ (2022.. £148031). Toral restrtcted fvnds Ls at31 December2023 we £73￿70 C2022.. £16&3301 Full iDfonMtion regardlllgfund rnovements and rcstrictiODS are detalled in note 17to the account& .Please help us to contlnue our work In 2024. On behalf of our chlldren. youn8 people and thelr famllles, we would Ilke to thank everyone who has . supported our Se￿Ice. This report has been prnpared ill accordan￿ with the speciaI PfDViSi(ms of Part 15 ofCoJnpHDles Act 2006 relatinBtosmall companle& IqEIz*_ ............ AppD)YedbyorderoftheBoardofTrnsteeson_....-.... - . . ~. . . -.. and s￿￿ed on itsbehalfbT. 15 A$ the ofth• CcwnF4ry Ptyt costy irK4Lthd Inth• abovt. arè tts folm: Courthllng 8eNlceg 8thitie8 Renl Insurartr 710 202 1.274 797 Sundiie8 1,121 81 lnd•pB￿nl fee 1810 •.781 9.170 Pag• 21 cononued... N•ts• t• Il* Fln•n¢l•l Ststsm•nts. ¢onllnu•d Coun8al Bwht fonxrd •.781 •,175 2022 1.701 5.561 11. . IA¥8 S M &nilh. fe¢StrIal￿r￿j £9.795 (2022 (£9.370). . MrJ Smlh. f••B (XW£1,1801. Nots• to Iho FiMncl*t statem8nt•.¢onllnwl forth¢ Ythr End•d 31¥ttkn¢•mlwJ23 17. MOVEIIEKf Ix FUNDS. conllnu ComNIMll¥a• fwmov*n•nt In fund• At1 1.22 In fund5 fund8 31.1222 Unr••trlC1￿ fvnd• General fvThJ Wr#*ng UpFwrtl 33251 7.031) 104,764 11￿544 33251 148,831 AwgTds for AM. l>raditionèr htyJ 10,¢Y)J 234.577 4.511 4.051 2.086 110.OOJ) 185.031 Thg Clgllbrth. Foundollo The Ebwon ChaiiEailè Tnmt {4,0511 TOTAL FUIIDS 315 161 JK(¥niry R￿QUr￿ Gener￿ fund {11.951) 33.251 110.(AJI 15.LKQI o,( John Al8rknrfs Charity Lthry Cc¥nmtmlty Fund 169,548) 1227) (22n The TNSI 91 81 TOTAL FUNDS PURPOSE OF FU14DS Tnth& It * the poAty ofthb lo build g Ofn1￿ cpwatwig costs in thi8 fvrKI. Up Fund eto LkKlng the yw. £96,437 of lott•ry lundw Wds on these ¢Y)sls, leBvry £68,594 on the fund Pa￿ 25 Not•¥ to FIMn¢l•l Ststsm•ni•-corrtlnLwd fortho Year Ended 31*t tlec4mb8r2023 17. Award• All -R•m•t• Tralnlnq A grant of£10.LXIO was receNgd In 2fr23. lo ccp4er costs of Remolè Berewemenl Groups & TTrthlro for Y￿r¥j P• & Pl￿f￿¥tha18. A t(tsl d £4.724 ha8 b6en spent duriThJ the year. knng £5,278 on tre fund IlatlonAI Lottery. Equlmwrt A gr8rtt of £10.Cth was re(*pMJ In 2020 ¢y)¥t of ￿￿1•11n0 Infom)atM aNI the A grnnt of £10,rm w46 2021 froTh for All lo (UNI addknl Bareavemgnt Pra(thKW ￿e￿on￿l worf( dIWi￿j 20f2. Thi% covered 28 8e38icffl£l hour5 Fer a ￿tOd of e monih? thrhKJ 8 wlod whw th* *¥J walbrvJ 148t Inryea￿ iignlficanty to thè ImkwLtt ol Cthii&19. 8Wt by fv end of20￿. John M*rtln'8 ChArfty A grnrrt of £&Ca) was re<•W In the y￿r￿mIdS thè E￿￿8M ¥00. f￿Y spert in th6 yaar. TIIAM3FERS BETWEEN FiIND8 Durfftg the year fdlU￿1n9 amounts transferred to th• grmr81 unTrstrlded ￿r1d rek¥e3￿Un9 th8 nol 917 917 31 Decanber 2ro2 IMDEPEIIDENT EWINER FEES and £1.78712Q2 £1.885) ￿ tKI￿rtg and paymll aeTr￿s. Dgtsll•d Statsment ol Hnanclal AciMtIo• forth• Yur Endpd 31st 0oc•nlw2025 23 IPI¢OME AND EtIDOWMEHT8 Cefflmunity donador &847 49,438 Bank Mit•rt$t 1721 Grants 380 Totsl IncrynlrvJ rBwxrr 41218 EXPENLXTURE Charflab]• •cU¥lll 47.869 1.0IT 32551 PensKMs Travel Staff tralnkng 12 612 1.595 991 812 1,572 Supar¥ision Resour 84,134 Ro 1.280 Comfvexp8ns 118 1.274 482 1.121 Sundrfas Bank tharges 81 1.767 Page 27