2025-01-31-accounts

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Children's Voices in Action

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REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 THE SEAVER FOUNDATION Working name: Children’s Voices in Action

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Children's Voices in Action

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TRUSTEES

Dr D. Marshall (Chairman) Mrs C. Gunnell Ms R. Brown

SECRETARY

Mrs C. Gunnell

REGISTERED OFFICE

63 THEYDON PARK RD THEYDON BOIS, ESSEX CM16 7LR *NB. Not to be used for future correspondence. Due to change December 2025

BANKERS

HSBC 191 High Road Loughton Essex IG10 4LN

EMAIL

[e-mail]

TELEPHONE

07427889560

ACCOUNTS PREPARED BY

Eleanor Seaver

These accounts have been independently reviewed prior to submission.

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

TRUSTEES REPORT

Children's Voices in Action

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The Trustees of The Seaver Foundation (“Foundation”) as defined by section 97 of the Charities Act 1993, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2024.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation (“CIO”) and is governed by its constitution. It was established on 19 May 2014 when it achieved charitable status. The Trustees as listed on page 3, serve as trustees of the charity, and are its current members. Trustees are appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity Trustees. Trustees serve for a term of 3 years; after which they may retire or be re-appointed. In selecting a trustee, the Trustees try to ensure that taken together the Trustees have a broad range of specialist skills and experiences that can be used for the benefit of the charity’s objectives. Decisions and policies are formulated in quarterly Trustees meetings held throughout the period. The following Trustees served throughout the period and subsequent to it:

B. Byrne – resigned 10 February 2016

th

C. Gunnell – reappointed 4 April 2023

S. Gant – resigned 31 January 2017 R. Brown – reappointed 4th April 2023 D. Marshall – reappointed 4th April 2023

The charity trustees meet once every 4 months, virtually, and once per year in person. Written communication is maintained on a minimum of a monthly basis between the Trustees and the manager.

During the reporting period the charity Eleanor Seaver as a manager on a part-time basis. She has been in post for 7 years. Lauren Vail continued to support in project management on a consultancy bases after 3 years, leaving at the end of 2024. Natalie Khoury and Elle Harris consulted as temporary replacements and project lead in their respective areas of specialism.

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www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

TRUSTEES REPORT

Children's Voices in Action

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POLICIES

The charity holds policy and procedure accessible to, and agreed by, all those working alongside them in the following areas

• The Seaver Fdtn Policy for Covid-19 (Added 2020)

• The Seaver Fdtn GDPR policy (Reviewed 2021)

• The Seaver Fdtn Policy criteria for working with beneficiaries

• The Seaver Fdtn Expense policy (Reviewed 2023)

• The Seaver Fdtn Procedure for Advisory Committee Member (Reviewed 2020)

• The Seaver Fdtn Parental Leave Policy (Reviewed 2021)

• The Seaver Fdtn Refund & Change to Travel Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Code of Conduct for Volunteers

• The seaver fdtn disciplinary procedure

• The Seaver Fdtn Health and Safety Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Induction Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Proper Use of Electronic Resource Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Recruitment Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Risk Assessment Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Safeguarding Policy (Reviewed 2024)

• The Seaver Fdtn Sickeness and Absence Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn. Grievance Poilcy

• The Seaver Fdtn. Lone Working Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn. Personnel Development Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Voice and tone guidance note (Reviewed 2020)

• The Seaver Foundation Emergency Repsonse Policy

• The Seaver Fdtn Procedure for Working with Children in Residential Care

• The Seaver Fdtn statement on sustainability and environmental impact (Added 2020)

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Our charity’s purposes as set out in the objects contained in the CIO’s constitution are:

1) 1. The prevention or relief of social exclusion, in particular but not exclusively of persons under the age of 20 years anywhere in the world as the Trustees may from time to time determine. To meet the objective the main activity is to communicate with staff, beneficiaries and Trustees of the organisations we are seeking to work with to identify long and short term needs of these organisations and meet these needs by:

1a. - Issuing grants to the charitable organisations identified to enable them to meet basic needs or improve the conditions of life of their beneficiaries, that they would otherwise be unable to meet;

1b. - Recruiting people to meet these needs and/or educate community members in meeting these needs by providing volunteers.

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www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE

Children's Voices in Action

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The charity has grown it’s reach this year, reaching more beneficiaries in more locations than in it’s history. At least 2977 children’s lives in UK, Ethiopia, Mexico, Uganda and Tanzania were directly impacted this reporting year through opportunities to have their voices empowered and responses to this. The majority of children live below the international poverty line and after telling us they needed it, benefitted from grants towards nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, and education. Thousands more were indirectly impacted by also accessing these services in their schools and communities.

During the reporting period February 2024 - January 2025 the charity has:

• Delivered and presented a youth voice evaluation of service for the Black Heart Foundation on 207 young scholars in the UK and overseas experiences with educational funding and support when from socially excluded backgrounds. Conducted multiple meeting with the Foundation to discuss its implementation in to long term planning. (Costs to the value of £1,153)

• Provided face to face training and resources on promoting and including pupil voice in all decision making , to 20 teaching and leadership staff at Wolverhampton Council serving over 1500 children aged 4-11 in 10 UK primary schools. This was followed up to examine impact 6 months later, and showed evidence of practical application such as children selecting their own texts for KS2 reading, and bringing in a games and bench scheme to lunch times. (Generating income of £800 payment and Costing: £543.67)

• Designed, planned and began a pilot phase for the Children’s Voices Champions programme. This programme is the next stage of Children’s Voices in Action work, which allows our work to be sustained locally on a long-term bases . When we have worked alongside an organisation on a children’s voices project, and a member of the local team have been identified as motivated and skilled in the area, the NGO will be offered the role of Champion. They will be funded monthly to commit time to integrating children’s voices across their organisation, and the whole community. Pilot work began with representatives in Mexico and Ethiopia who served 120 and 300 + children and young people aged 4 – 20. Monthly donors from local businesses Link Workspace and Titans FA were recruited to cover these costs. ( Income support staff to the value of £3,000 grant from Tula (only received in December) and output to projects to the value of: £2,112)

• Invested in staff development training in Making Co Production Meaningful with ThemPra, to allow Children’s Voices in Action to work more pro-actively with NGO’s to include children during programme design, rather than retrospectively during evaluation. This is a more efficient and sustainable model, and was piloted with Jinja Education Trust. 320 Children aged 3-15 year olds living below the poverty line were sampled to be involved in the co-design of a new library and ICT facility in Uganda . A team of 4 staff were trained, supported and equipped with resources to facilitate the co-design process. Data was collected, analysed, reported and responded to with grants to incorporate children’s design ideas for: paints; library facilities including globes, skeletons and national flags; and insect repellents. (Services and grants expended to the value of £1,952)

• W orked alongside Fair Collective and NCVO on a National review to research the experiences of Small Charity Leaders, holding interviews and focus group discussions, rewarding them with voluntary donations. The project was later withdrawn at the decision of Fair Collective due to conflict with the project funders (Income: £800 Costs: £723)

Children's Voices in Action

ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE

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• Worked alongside children at an Essex primary school to design their own fundraiser, that would support communities built on and around the rubbish dumps in Mexico. Children selected to collect clothing, to be re-sold on Vinted which was contributed towards improving the environment for 125 children aged 4 - 15 at La Escuelita (a small education project in the community). (Grant Tesco Stronger starts received for £1,000 Cost incurred of £662.83)

• Listened to the voices of 125 children in La Escuelita, Mexico, to initiate a library and reading programme to allow them to thrive educationally. Children without any books or literate adults at home were offered weekly access to a library, reading classes and activities designed to create a love and desire to read. Results showed children had much more positive associations with reading before then end and a willingness to engage. (Grants to the value of 2,667 received and costs to the value of £1,395 expended to date)

• Empowered the voices of children in the UK and Mexico, to tell their own story, and write their own narrative about their communities through photography (challenging the often presumptive, and disempowering stories told about them by adults). 26 children were chosen to exhibit work representing a community of 350 children, through photography, caption, creative editing and display. Children received a series of 8 creative workshops, communicated with their partners in the other countries and proved that despite being thousands of miles apart and in very different communities, the things that children value and stand for are universal. (Grant from Souter received for £1,575 and Costs incurred: £1,890.73)

• These photos were consented for use to transform Children’s Voices in Action social media accounts to be entirely led by children’s photography. Children’s Voices in Action pledged to only show children’s communities through their eyes and to promote children being able to write their own narratives withing NGO’s, respecting their dignity and identity. This was presented to an audience of 1,339 followers weekly.

• Supported Together We Learn Ethiopia with listening to the voices of 200 + children and young people living below the international poverty line by providing training, resources and reporting to assist in monitoring, evaluation and co-design with children. This included assessing the impact and future needs of female health and empowerment programmes, sports programmes, pre and primary school building programmes and library programmes. (Costs incurred and grants issued to respond to findings to the value of £832)

• Worked alongside the Sponsorship team at World Vision, t o ensure children were better able to express themselves during the sponsor communication process. Guided staff and created resources to allow worksheets completed by 3 million children in 50+ countries in (Africa, Latin America, Caribbean, Middle East and Eastern Europe, East Asia and South Asia Pacific) to be co-designed with beneficiaries (Payments for service received £250 and costs incurred in time expended of £173)

• Worked alongside the Livingstone Tanzania Trust to resource and train staff in conducting child centred evaluations of toilet facilities at Babati Day School for 1100 students aged 13-18 years old. Children were offered the opportunity to express themselves freely and work on future modifications to enhance dignity, health and wellbeing further. Children’s Voices in Action analysed and reported on children’s expressions, resulting in grants to respond to childrens requests. (Payments for service received £697 service and grants issued out to the value of £920)

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

Children's Voices in Action

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The CIO was established on 19 May 2014, and has made satisfactory progress attracting funds in support of the furtherance of its objectives. During this phase, the charity’s policy is to ensure that its assets and reserves are safeguarded in a risk-free manner. This includes a minimum of two checks on large >£300 payments made out; quarterly reporting of finances; forecasting; programme budget reviews and the creation of policies to monitor fundraising and decisions made on use of funds.

Throughout the year checks revealed error payments due to accounts on Amazon and PayPal holding two sets of card details, that of the managers personal account and that of the charity. Errors were identified and reported immediately and all repaid by 27/11/25. It was also noted than a large sum of £49 per month was paid for computer programmes (PDF converter and editor) used during one data analysis activity, which could be achieved at a smaller rate and has since been rectified by the management team to avoid wastage of funds.

The charity aims to earn a small return, without exposing the charity to financial risk. It is the charity’s policy to maintain a balance on unrestricted funds (if possible), which equates to at least three months unrestricted payments. This has been calculated as a minimum of £2038 (comprising of permanent staff salaries and essential governance costs) to be held in unrestricted funds. This was achieved in 11 of the 12 months of this financial year. Positive progress was made in diversifying income streams, which now mainly comprises of monthly donors, grants and paid services, proving to make the CIO more resilient.

During the course of the year ended 31 January 2025, the Foundation made steady progress obtaining funding of £15339, a 13% increase on former years. This was sufficient to grow and develop the skills of the team working with CVA. This also allowed us to increase grants and services offered to beneficiaries in line with the charities objectives as well as introduce new projects totalling a value of £14,112. This figure comprises 80% of spending on projects, whilst 17.2% was spent on generating income and 3.8% was spent on Governance costs. A larger amount of resource was dedicated to generating income and this is proving to have longer term impact with a further increase in funds forecasted for next year, accounting for outgoings exceeding income in this financial year by £2297, but continuing to allow us to reach more beneficiaries with our charitable objectives.

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www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

Children's Voices in Action

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the CIO as at the end of the financial period and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, for the financial period. In preparing those financial statements,the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

· state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the CIO will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the CIO and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Commission. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the CIO and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Trustees on and signed on behalf of them

Dr D Marshall Chair of the Trustees

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR END JAN 2025

Children's Voices in Action

There have been no recognised gains or losses or movements in funds other than those included in the Statement ofFinancial activities above. All transactions in the current financial period are attributable to continuing activities.

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

BALANCE SHEET AS OF 31ST JAN 2025

Children's Voices in Action

There were no endowment funds. The Trustees confirm that they are responsible for:

· Ensuring that the CIO keeps accounting records which comply with the SORP 2005

And

· Preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the CIO as at the end of the financial year and of its Statement of Financial Activities for that period in accordance with the

requirements of the Charity Commission.

These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 29th November 2025 and signed on its behalf.

Dr D Marshall Chair of the Trustees

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

INCOME & EXPENDITURE YEAR END JAN 2025

Children's Voices in Action

www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104

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REPORT END

Children's Voices in Action

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www.childrensvoicesinaction.org is part of The Seaver Foundation a Reg. UK Charity: 1157104