# **Young People Count Annual Report 2020 - 2021**
## **Young People Count**
**For local young people aged 11 to 18 years of age 17 Railway Street, Pocklington, York YO42 2QR Tel: 07910 187028 E: office@ypcount.org.uk Web: www.ypcount.org.uk**
**Charity No: 1153050**
## **CHAIR OF TRUSTEES — CLAIRE READING**
It has been an incredible journey for YPC this year as we have navigated our way through developing our premises and services for young people, in spite of Covid closures and restrictions, and created unique opportunities to support young people during the most difficult of times.
We have appointed a new Youth and Volunteer Leader, Katherine, who has quickly taken the helm and now leads our young people and our volunteers to help deliver an amazing array of activities and support sessions for our young people.
You will see from the report that we are now also delivering a multitude of ‘events’ including cookery club – which is hugely popular and helps our young people to learn about food preparation, and budgeting for shopping. We continue to ensure that food is provided for all young people who are involved with YPC, which is an important aspect of what we represent locally. We are looking forward to welcoming a new Youth Worker to support Katherine during opening hours in the coming weeks.
Huge thanks to our fabulous team of trustees who have rolled up their sleeves and really got stuck in helping to build our presence in the town, as well as our premises – quite literally! We’ve seen a number of changes to our team of trustees this year and it’s been a pleasure to work with everyone as we go on this journey together.
I’d like to say a special thanks to Les, Founder, Vice Chair and Treasurer, for everything he has done this year to ensure that our premises are safe and secure for young people, and for keeping a close eye on the ever moving financial situation - and Dawn our Secretary and Administrator for all the work she has done to create and monitor robust systems for reporting and compliance as well as keeping us all on track with the day to day running of YPC.
At this point we must pay special tribute to Tony Barker, our Project Manager, who sadly passed away in 2021. Although Tony had only been with us for a few months, he was the face of YPC and was well liked by the young people who visited regularly, our volunteers and the trustees – he is sadly missed by us all. In his memory we have established an annual photography competition.
As we look forward to next year, we have plans to recruit more volunteers and build our network in and around Pocklington to create more partnership opportunities and build our awareness amongst young people. We have a newly created Youth Board, which meets regularly to discuss issues that are important for our young people to get involved in within the community and I look forward to seeing how this develops for the benefit of more young people in the Pocklington area.
Finally, to our amazing team of volunteers - I would like to say a huge thank you - we simply could not deliver the activities and events that so many young people are part of without their support, enthusiasm and unrivalled commitment to make YPC a safe and unique place for the young people of Pocklington.
Thank you.
## **Claire**
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## **FINANCE REPORT FOR THE YEAR SEPTEMBER 2020 TO AUGUST 2021**
We started the year in September 2020 with a balance of £50,896. Of this, a National Lottery COVID-19 response grant of £9,710 was given towards supporting young people through the appointment of a Project Manager and also four months start-up rent. The property at 17 Railway Street had been identified as a suitable venue for the charity and other generous grants followed including a total of £45,000 from the Kavli Trust, £32,180 from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and another grant of £9,860 from the National Lottery. The full list of all those organisations that
helped us in the year is in the annual accounts. We are also indebted to our regular donors, some going back to our beginnings in 2013, who support YPC through monthly Direct Debit, often Gift Aided, contributions. Credit must go to the small group of Trustees and others for all the work that goes into to finding appropriate sources of funding and then writing the grant applications.
Monthly rent for the premises is £1,000, though for three months of the first year the rent was waived. Apart from providing the resources, facilities and activities to enable YPC to support young people, the other major cost was staffing. The total payroll bill of £13,069 in the year covered the role of Project Manager and then Volunteer Co-ordinator in the early days with the main emphasis now being the employment of a Youth Worker.
We are very grateful to David Brown CPFA (Chartered Public Finance Accountant) who independently examines our accounts every year, pro bono. His careful inspection and checking provides the Trustees and YPC supporters with the assurance that our finances are being managed correctly and in line with best practice.
## **ABOUT US**
YPC is open to 11 – 18 year olds on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings 4 pm - 8 pm. We have had members attending from various age groups, friendship groups and schools. There have been many new members that have joined us during the year. The provision includes a lounge area where young people can access our resources such as board games, craft activities and laptops, these are frequently used to complete homework. We have a good-sized kitchen where the young people can purchase snacks and drinks from the tuck shop, sandwiches and toasties are available too. Plain toast and a range of fruit are on offer for free to all young people in addition to free juice and water. Upstairs, we have an activity room that hosts our planned activities that young people can sign up for free. So far, we have hosted DJ sessions, art workshops, crafting tutorials, podcasting, slime workshops, taskmaster challenge nights, quizzes, film nights, virtual reality, both outdoor and indoor sports and more.
Our most popular activity has been the cooking club, held most weeks on a Thursday. The club has not only been an opportunity for young people to use our kitchen to learn cooking skills and experiment with flavours but also where they can participate in team challenges. They have worked together, shopped on a budget and created tasty dishes for our members. The food created from these sessions is available free of charge to our members and we have even fed some of our special guests.
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As part of being supported by The Co-operative’s Local Community Fund we have benefited from the Co-op Foodshare scheme which provides us with free food every Tuesday which we use in our Mini Ready Steady Cook sessions. The young people never know what we will receive, this gives them an opportunity to be resourceful and to try to make something out of the ingredients we have been donated.
We have hosted numerous key events over the year, these include: Burger and Beats which was held at West Green, Pizza in the Park, trips to Clay Pigeon Shooting, Hallowtween, Floodlights Show and Bushcraft where we learned about outdoor survival skills. Most recently we have enjoyed a circus skills workshop commissioned by Pocklington Arts Centre and run by Magic Carpet Theatre. In November, we enjoyed a talk in remembrance of those lost at war and respected them with a minute silence. One of our own young people also read out a poem to commemorate those who have fought for our freedoms.
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We have offered opportunities to acquire advice on careers and CV support, sexual health session (13+), homework club, GCSE study support and mindfulness. Through our Youth Board our young people have identified the mental health issues they are facing and a need for more support and services. In response to this we have run mindfulness sessions and looked into activities that promote mental health. These include knit and natter, hand art, guided meditation, and sessions that help young people recognise unhealthy mental health habits and teaching techniques to help improve mental wellbeing. These sessions have been very well received and the young people have given feedback that they have found them useful. Looking to the future we hope to continue these sessions and activities with the hope of expanding and offering further support with youth mental health within Pocklington.
Our volunteers have been there to listen judgement-free and build trust with our young members, the feedback we have received from our young people has been outstanding. We hope to move forward, in collaboration with '’Talking About Loss’ to be able to provide free counselling sessions to our members.
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We have formed great working bonds between local businesses, like ‘The Hide’ who will be delivering a talk to our young people about running a local business, as well as other organisations such as ‘Dementia Friendly’ who delivered training to our volunteers about dementia awareness, and shared with us the concept of ‘fiddle sleeves’, which are currently being made by our young people in the knit and natter sessions and will be donated to care homes.
‘Since my child started attending YPC she has met new people and formed new friendships, her confidence has grown and we have also seen her grades increase, she feels part of something, feels like somewhere she can belong.’ Stacey Lynch (Parent)
‘My boy loves coming down and getting involved. It’s done him so much good being able to go somewhere with his age group and be safe as well’’ - Sam Storey (Parent)
‘At YPC I have made new friends, learned new skills and now have a place to go that is helpful, enjoyable and safe.’ - Zachary Bean (Young Person)
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‘What can I say about YPC, it's a truly amazing place. I feel very honoured to be a volunteer here and love spending time with the Young People who are brilliant, funny and talented. They care about each other, the supervising adults and their place. It’s a safe, fun and relaxing environment for them where they can learn new skills or just chill out. The Adults are Super Supportive Awesome People who are passionate about providing support and engaging events for our young people. I am a better person for knowing them all.’ - Jacqueline Bean (Volunteer)
‘I have been a volunteer at YPC since the premises opened in Railway Street. I have LOVED every minute. It is an absolute privilege to spend time with each of the young people there, and to build trust and relationships. Each of the young people comes with their own triumphs and disappointments, and once they have spent time getting to know you, they generously allow you in to share that with them. It is not always easy to hear when they have been having difficulties either at home or school, but it is an honour to be allowed to share those moments with them and to be a person of comfort, and fun, and laughter, and support, and courage. The young people that come into each session bring me such joy, they are allowing me to share a moment in their life. I can’t fix their problems, concerns or difficulties, but I can listen and can help them to find a way forward, especially with the support of the other volunteers and the outstanding paid staff, Katherine is awesome and an absolute star to work with, and the young people know they can trust and rely on her. In all honesty, I come to YPC as much for myself as for the young people I am supposed to be supporting.’ - Annie Harrison
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‘We had a blast at Young People Count with our circus skills workshop commissioned by Pocklington Arts Centre. Thanks to Katherine and her team for their welcome and hospitality and especially to all the youngsters who were a delight to work with, fun, friendly and enthusiastic. It was great to see so many achieving new skills and everyone having a go.’ - Jon Marshall and Steve Collison, Magic Carpet Theatre
## Personal Statement
‘The young people who use our services are exceptional, they treat our premises with respect, they are empathetic, inclusive and welcoming to all. They have a real need for a safe place to be themselves, room to make mistakes and have opportunities to learn. Since the start of term it has been evident that the pandemic has had a huge detrimental effect on our youth and as a result mental health is shockingly poor. The role and the services that YPC offer are vital to support these young people moving forward. Something as simple as a slice of toast and a listening ear can mean the world, and our amazing volunteers have gone above and beyond to ensure that our young people feel listened to, valued and respected. They have shown compassion and understanding, supporting them through their journey. Without such wonderful premises, it would be difficult to deliver such a service. Credit and thanks goes to those that work behind the scenes, those who have mustered their inner DIY skills, to build and create an amazing safe place, those who make sure the paperwork is all above board and those who manage the project to ensure all efforts having a lasting presence and effect.’ - Katherine Holdsworth (Youth and Volunteer Leader)
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## **WHERE WE ARE HEADING**
Looking to the future, we will continue to host activities which offer young people experiences to learn new skills, increase their confidence and become responsible, independent citizens. We will respond to the needs of our young people and be driven by the voices of our Youth Board.
We hope to enhance our volunteer pool, increase training and offer more personal development opportunities as well as events which celebrate the achievements of our volunteers. There will be further opportunities for personal development for those aged 16-18 years through our new mentorship scheme, where they will be able to volunteer as mentors within YPC, gaining skills and experience that they will be able to add to their CV and university applications. We have plans to further support our aims to increase career prospects and opportunities through regular careers nights where young people can speak with people from different professions to gain inspiration and information. Our next planned visits will be from the local police and from a York based radio station “YO1”.
The resources available to our young people will soon include an Apple Macintosh computer, which can be used to develop technology skills, with the hopes that young people can explore music technology, computer graphics, film-making, animation, and digital media. We have hopes that the Apple Mac will be used alongside other specialised equipment such as 3D printers, to support this learning we hope to invite individuals to share their knowledge of this technology and organise visits to technology hubs where young people can explore other equipment.
Our Young People have formed their own Youth Board where they can discuss and debate decisions that affect their lives as well as put forward their say on the future plans and aims of YPC.
**- A report from Chairman of the Youth Board Connor Sellars aged 12**
**Up to date we have had 3 youth board meetings. We have discussed different topics starting with rules for conducting the meeting. We talk about things that we wanted and events that have been suggested, and different topics such as; Art, Mental Health, Cooking, Activities, Sexual Health And Education.**
**We are currently planning to hold meetings once or twice a month to keep checking everything is going correctly . Here are some bits that I think are really good, so far they are : Trips, Cookery clubs, socialising with friends and possibly family relations, Discussing ideas for planning new activities.**
**We feel like we could do with help to think of ideas for what to spend our money on, and what activities we can do to get more money ideas such as a teatime takeaway outside for people who are on buses and get home late.**
**We have currently made a podcast to the Pocklington council about maybe getting a plaque for Tony Barker on a tree on the West Green field. We also want to take part in helping on planning trips and activities that we may do in the half terms or in the holidays.**
**For the future we hope to become more efficient, develop our teamwork, and have the chance to cooperate with people we might never have met before to make new friends.**
‘I like the youth board meetings because it is a time where we can all get together and share our own ideas.’ - Connor Sellars
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## **Young People Count Receipts and Payments Accounts 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021**
|**Brought forward from 2019/2020**||£50,896|
|---|---|---|
|**2020/2021 summary**|||
|Receipts|£94,250||
|Payments|£77,344||
|Surplus/(Deficit)||£16,906|
|**Carried forward to 2021/2022**||£67,802|
|**Represented by cash at bank**|||
|HSBC Current account||£66,787|
|Charities Aid Foundation Current account||£1,015|
|Charities Aid Foundation Deposit account||£0|
|||£67,802|
L J Slow Treasurer 10 January 2022
I have examined the financial statements and confirm that they are in accordance with the accounting records and information supplied to me.
David C. Brown Independent Examiner
Date:
Page 1 of 3
## **Young People Count Receipts and Payments Accounts 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021**
|**Receipts**
Standing Orders (see Note 1)
Donations and Gift Aid (see Note 2)
Grants (see Note 3)
Café Bar
**Total Receipts**
**Payments**
Licences, Insurances, Utilities
Website, Social Media, Publicity
Payroll
Premises
Equipment & Fittings
Activities & Events
Training, Volunteers, DBS checks
Sundries
Café Bar (Food & Drink)
**Total Payments**
**Net surpluses (deficits) for the year**|£1,669
£1,656
£90,890
£35
£2,685
£3,037
£13,069
£43,554
£12,517
£810
£815
£567
£290
2020|**£94,250**
**£77,344**
/2021|£1,584
£1,196
£9,710
£0
£276
£2,858
£6,153
£0
£548
£1,309
£44
£71
£55
2019|**£12,490**
**£11,314**
/2020|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**£16,906**||**£1,176**|
||||||
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**Young People Count Receipts and Payments Accounts 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021**
## **Note 1 - Standing Orders**
At the end of the year there were 16 standing orders totalling £127 per month. A total of £1,669 was given of which £1,345 was Gift Aided.
## **Note 2 - Donations and Gift Aid**
|Donations in memory of Tony Barker
Market Street Café
Gift Aid (for 2019/2020)
Other donations|£1,184
£150
£316
£6|
|---|---|
||£1,656|
## **Note 3 - Grants awarded during year**
|Kavli Trust
ERYC (Commuted Sums)
ERYC (Love Your High Street)
Lottery Grant (Youth worker & Activities)
ERYC (Holiday Hunger Grant)
National Farmers Union
Howdens
City Health Care Partnership
Pocklington Town Council
Belway Homes|£45,000
£13,600
£10,000
£9,860
£8,580
£2,000
£1,000
£300
£300
£250|
|---|---|
||£90,890|
Page 3 of 3
## **Young People Count Receipts and Payments Accounts 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021**
|**Brought forward from 2019/2020**||£50,896|
|---|---|---|
|**2020/2021 summary**|||
|Receipts|£94,250||
|Payments|£77,344||
|Surplus/(Deficit)||£16,906|
|**Carried forward to 2021/2022**||£67,802|
|**Represented by cash at bank**|||
|HSBC Current account||£66,787|
|Charities Aid Foundation Current account||£1,015|
|Charities Aid Foundation Deposit account||£0|
|||£67,802|
|L J Slow|||
|Treasurer|||
|10 January 2022|||
I have examined the financial statements and confirm that they are in accordance with the accounting records and information supplied to me.
David C. Brown Independent Examiner
Date:
Page 1 of 3