Youth Focus West Midlands
Annual Report 20/21
June 2021
Charity Registration Number 1148687 Company Registration Number 8114745
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Contents
- Introduction
Chair’s Report
- Annual Overview
Chief Executive Officer
- Finance
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Introduction Chair’s Report
Youth Focus West Midlands continues to work with its regional colleagues to support the development and delivery of high quality youth work opportunities for young people across the West Midlands region. Despite the impact of COVID-19, YFWM has worked online to encourage, promote and support both individual practitioners and organisations that look to develop and deliver youth work across the West Midlands region. YFWM continues through online opportunities to strive to develop clear communication routes and networks that complement a consistent understanding and approach to youth work.
The fundamental principle of YFWM is in ensuring that young people are offered personal development experiences regardless of where they live in the West Midlands region. There is no doubt that online opportunities have helped to maintain this important development.
YFWM continues holds a clear footprint for quality youth work in the West Midlands with limited resources. The future developments and initiatives of working with young people are beginning to take place. We are looking forward to seeing YFWM begin to grow as an organisation in readiness for whenever the national youth work agenda takes on a higher profile.
This is a considerable achievement when we recognise where YFWM has come from over the past 10 years. Those early days when we often wondered if there would be enough funds and support from the region to survive. Thankfully those days are far behind us now as YFWM continues to thrive.
I will have been the Chair of YFWM for 3 years. As I announced at the previous Board Meeting, I have decided to step down as Chair of the organisation. I do believe that it is essential at this stage of YFWM’s development that a new and younger Chair who is more in tune with current youth work practice is required to take the organisation forward. This should be seen as a positive development for YFWM and the exciting opportunities for future progressive youth work.
I would like to thank the Chief Executive Officer Ruth Rickman-Williams for all of her work and in keeping YFWM active during a very difficult period and for her invaluable support to me as Chair
Brian Goredama-Braid Chair
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Annual Overview Chief Executive Officer
A quite different year for YFWM: In June 2020 we were just coming out of the first lockdown. The year that followed saw the country go in and out of lockdowns so all of YFWM’s work moved online., which although proving a bit of a challenge at the start, has now become the main way YFWM delivers its work. This has had a positive impact as we have seen far greater attendance at meetings and events, due to the decrease in travel time for people. This is something we will now look to continue, using face to face meetings for more developmental pieces of work and discussion.
Strategic leads network
- The network has continued to meet online, providing an opportunity for members to share return and recovery plans throughout the various changes to lockdown as well as keep up to date on national and local developments. The network covers 12 of the 14 local authority areas – Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke, Telford, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, Sandwell. The network sees leads from both voluntary and local authority sector services coming together to help support, inform and develop youth work across the region. This has proved particularly useful with regards to the current readiness and recovery mode as we move towards the final stage of the Government’s ‘roadmap’.
National Work
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YFWM has continued to work closely with the NYA on national developments, including the National Youth Sector Audit, and is delighted to have received core funding to help support the main infrastructure work of YFWM.
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The organisation is now working closely with other ‘regional youth work units’ through the Network of Regional Youth Work Units. The network website has been redeveloped and we have seen the establishment of a new unit in the South East, with work progressing in the East/East Midlands. This will see units in all 9 of the regions in England.
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Quality, Impact and Outcomes
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YFWM has continued to work closely with the Centre for Youth Impact (CfYI) and as part of this work also run an impact network that helps support the work going on at a strategic level, with regards impact and outcomes.
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This year we supported the development of a West Midlands regional hub for the Youth Programme Quality Intervention (YPQI) supporting Social and Emotional learning with young people.
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There have also been developments on the data capture/systems for recording work and outcomes with young people. This group is due to report back shortly and it is hoped there will be an event in October to share findings and developments.
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YFWM are also supporting the peer learning element of the Enterprise Development Programme (youth strand) with a focus on those developing their offer to schools.
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We are delighted that Rachel Edwards, one of our trustees is now going to help lead this area of work and help establish an annual calendar of events, training and meetings
Youth Voice
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YFWM has established a Strategic Youth Voice Group for the region involving BYC, WMOPCC, WMVRU, WMCS, WMCA and representatives from the strategic leads network.
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We are delighted to welcome Josh Armitage from SCVYS, who is working for us a few hours a week, to help strengthen the information and communications element of this work. The sharing of information is proving really useful, and an area we want to grow.
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We have also established a sub-group focusing on developing training for young people in youth voice. To further support this YFWM are seeking to become an AQA approved provider, which Josh is leading on.
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Training/Workforce Development
- YFWM has continued to run an Approved Training Centre, with ABC Awards, to support youth work training across the region. We have successfully delivered a bespoke programme of training Coventry Youth partnership and Level 2 Award for Young Solutions members. We have also established a regional training network, through which we have delivered further approved qualifications at both Level 2 and 3.
The network has so far delivered 68 places at levels 2 and 3, with more places to allocate in September.
So, despite the onset of COVID-19 we have not only continued to deliver, we have also managed to develop, including increasing our ‘reserves’, which we are delighted with. It’s not that long ago that the organisation was down to its last £10,000 in the bank. This puts YFWM in a much stronger position to support and inform the development and delivery of youth work across the West Midlands as we go into 2021/2022.
Over the coming months YFWM needs to continue to build its financial base in order that it can become more sustainable. Trustees are keen to engage with members, funders and strategic partners to explore possibilities and options for the organisation moving forward.
Ruth Rickman-Williams Chief Executive Officer
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Finance
| Finance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Youth Focus West | Midlands | |
| Income / Expenditure 2020/2021 as at | 30.6.2021 | |
| Opening balance 1.7.20 | £47,487.91 | |
| Expenditure | ||
| Salaries + expenses | £15,000 | |
| Insurance | £ 325.14 | |
| ABC Awards | £ 1,209.40 | |
| Bursaries | £24,895.60 | |
| Youth Voice | £ 4,300 | |
| Sub Total – Expenditure | £45,730.14 | |
| Income | ||
| Subscriptions | £ 4,150 | |
| Member support | £ 9,000 | |
| CfYI | £ 10,300 | |
| Paul Hamlyn | £ 600 | |
| NYA | £ 25,440 | |
| IQA | £ 3,400 | |
| Bursaries | £ 59,400 | |
| Loneliness project | £ 2,000 | |
| Interest | £ 2.82 | |
| Sub Total - Income | £114,292.82 | |
| Closing balance as at 30.6.20 | £116,050.59 | |
| Commitments: | ||
| Bursary balance | £45.587.40 | |
| Pending ‘salary’ claims | £3,612.60 | |
| YFWM available balance | £66,850.59 |
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For the year ending 30.6.21, the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476.
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.
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