Charity registration number: 1166092 

## Article 39 

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 

Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL 



## **Article 39** 

## **Contents** 

|Reference and Administrative Details|1|
|---|---|
|Trustees' Report|2 to 14|
|Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities|15|
|Independent Examiner's Report|16|
|Statement of Financial Activities|17 to 18|
|Balance Sheet|19|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|20 to 27|





## **Article 39** 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

**Trustees** Carole Littlechild Venetia Mayman Lynton Orrett Vivien Parker Anna Savic Professor Mike Stein Susannah Walker **Senior Management Team** Rebekah Pierre, Deputy Director, from 18/06/2024 Jezerca Tigani, Interim Director, from 09/12/2024 until 30/11/2025 Jodie Wickers, Executive Director, from 22/10/2025 Carolyne Willow, Director, until 03/01/2025 **Charity Registration Number** 1166092 **Principal Office** 4th Floor 18 St Cross Street London EC1N 8UN **Independent Examiner** Eva Stevens, employee of Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

The trustees present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. 

## **Objectives and activities** 

## _**Objects and aims**_ 

1. The relief of need, and promotion of the protection, of children living in institutional settings in England through in particular but not exclusively: 

   - a. The provision of information to children living in institutional settings about law, policy and professional standards in respect of their care and treatment, and the ways in which they can raise concerns and challenge mistreatment; 

   - b. Undertaking and disseminating research on safeguarding and child protection matters in institutional settings; 

   - c. Monitoring child protection concerns and practices in children’s institutional settings; 

   - d. Providing technical advice to government and others on matters related to the safety and well-being of children living in institutional settings; 

   - e. Commenting on proposed legislation concerned with the needs of children living in institutional settings. 

2. The advancement of the human rights of children living in institutional settings in England by all or any of the following means: 

   - a. Raising awareness of the means by which children may seek redress for human rights abuses; 

   - b. Monitoring human rights abuses in children’s institutional settings; 

   - c. Undertaking and disseminating research into human rights in children’s institutional settings; d. Providing technical advice to government and others on the human rights of children living in institutional settings; 

   - e. Commenting on proposed legislation concerned with the human rights of children living in institutional settings; 

   - f. Obtaining redress for the victims of human rights abuses in children’s institutional settings; 

   - g. Raising awareness of human rights issues; 

   - h. Promoting public support for human rights; 

   - i. Promoting respect for human rights among individuals and corporations. 

## _**Public benefit**_ 

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

## **Achievements and performance** 

_This was Article 39’s ninth year of funded activity. We are very grateful to all our funders and donors, to the many organisations and individuals, including children and young people, who worked with us throughout the year, and to 1GC Family Law and Doughty Street Chambers for kindly providing free meeting space in London_ . 

_A huge thank you to the lawyers who have acted pro bono for us this year – Jesse Nicholls from Matrix Chambers, Ciara Bartlam from Garden Court Chambers North and Serena Fasso from Wilson Solicitors LLP for inquest work; and Alex Ruck Keene KC, Arianna Kelly and Eleanor Leydon of 39 Essex Chambers for our Court of Appeal intervention with the charity Mind. We are also very grateful to our expert speakers at this year’s advocacy clinics and other events: Antonia Benfield, barrister at Doughty St Chambers; Nick Hobbs, Head of Legal at the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland; Joe Godden, service manager at the National Youth Advocacy Service; Arianna Kelly, barrister at 39 Essex Chambers; Beatrice Longmore, Head of Advice and Advocacy at the Children’s Commissioner for England; Silvia Nicolaou-Garcia, solicitor at Bindmans; Greta Nonni, youth casework manager at the South London Refugee Association; Wendy Roberts, independent reviewing officer; Mel Varey, solicitor at Access to Public Law; and Christen Williams, senior advocate._ 

_This report concerns the period 01 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, though it includes significant developments just past this date._ 

_We were delighted that Article 39's team expanded this year, with three new posts (two part-time) taking us to the equivalent of five full-time postholders from June 2024. Balancing this significant organisational development as a remote organisation, while continuing (and in some areas expanding) our external work aimed at promoting and protecting children's rights, proved very difficult at times. Against this backdrop, the Board of Trustees is especially grateful for the tremendous commitment and wide-ranging impact secured by the team across the year._ 

_Our Founder Director started a six-month sabbatical in January 2025, to complete her barrister training, during which time she continued to assist the charity with its strategic litigation and other work. We welcomed a new Interim Director the previous month and later obtained some organisational development and policy support from external consultants to help us manage further organisational changes and challenges ahead._ 

_In October 2024, our new Expert Panel of 15 young people aged 17 to 25 years had its first substantive meeting, providing the team with advice on setting strategic priorities, plans for a new media course for young people with experience of institutional settings and our upcoming review of the effectiveness of the Children Act 1989 complaints procedure. As well as offering advice on different aspects of our work, the goal is that being a member of the Expert Panel will help enhance the skills, knowledge and confidence of individual young people who may then be interested in putting themselves forward to join Article 39’s Board of Trustees._ 

**Terminology** : there are different legal routes for children to be looked after by their local authorities in England. The most common is for the child to be the subject of a care order made by a family court. Children in these circumstances are legally ‘in care’. Children who are accommodated by a local authority though a voluntary agreement between the local authority and their parent (or someone else with parental responsibility), or through an agreement between the child if they are aged 16 or 17 and the local authority, are not legally ‘in care’. They fall under the collective legal description of being ‘looked after’ together with children who are in care and children who are remanded to custody. ‘Children in care’ is a term known and used widely to refer to all children looked after by local authorities, so we use that interchangeably with ‘looked after children’ in this report. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

## **We helped young people press for mental health law reform** 

In previous years, our Blooming Change group of young people with experience of mental health detention as children has influenced government guidance on the use of force in mental health units and provided views to the Department of Health and Social Care on the Draft Mental Health Bill. Anticipating a final Bill would be introduced into parliament this year, we designed and delivered training for Blooming Change members on the parliamentary passage of Public Bills. 

After the Mental Health Bill was published, Blooming Change analysed its provisions and identified areas for improvement. We supported members to draft priority amendments, and they then worked together and individually to produce headline arguments and evidence for each of their proposals. Our Head of Children and Young People’s Activism collated this into a briefing for Peers in the House of Lords, where the Bill began its parliamentary passage. 

At the start of parliamentary scrutiny (Second Reading), in November 2024, Lord Crisp, former NHS Chief Executive and permanent secretary at the Department of Health, publicly acknowledged Blooming Change’s briefing: 

_“We have had a lot of impressive briefings for this Bill. I will quote one of them, from Blooming Change. That was the one about children who had experience of the system. There were lots of issues about patient safety and quality of care. They talked about being injured during restraint, just being drugged and restrained and being scared all the time. There is a dreadful sentence there, which I will read out:_ 

_‘Hospital makes you worse … going into hospital with one problem and then leaving with trauma, new behaviours, new diagnoses, assaults, PTSD – it’s awful’.”_ 

Days later, Blooming Change members had an extremely productive and lengthy meeting with civil servants leading on the Bill. They each received a signed letter from the government minister who introduced the Bill into the House of Lords, and the meeting was held in her office. 

Over the following months, several Peers gave tremendous support for Blooming Change’s priority areas - including stopping the placement of children on adult wards, ensuring therapeutic support is available for children in hospital, and introducing a new statutory mechanism for hearing patients’ views. Then, in a fantastic development, one of Blooming Change’s proposed new clauses - ‘Ascertaining and learning from patients’ experiences of hospital treatment’ - was voted into the Bill on 31 March 2025 (209 votes to 143). 

Moved by Earl Howe, Conservative Shadow Leader of the House of Lords, the Clause would require independent mental health advocacy services to contact patients - both children and adults - within 30 days of discharge to offer them the opportunity to reflect on their time in hospital. A report would then be agreed by the former patient and their advocate and submitted to the hospital with, critically, hospital managers having a duty to publish a report each year outlining feedback received from former patients and the action taken in response. On seeing their amendment voted into the Bill, Blooming Change members reacted with pride and passion: 

_“I’m honestly so happy that our voices are being heard… I genuinely for the longest time felt like I didn’t matter, to anyone or anything, that the universe didn’t need to hear my voice, that what I went through didn’t matter… I’m glad I decided to use my experiences to fight for change and I’m so happy our words have made a difference.”_ 

_“For so long our voices and experiences have been ignored, dismissed, devalued and denied… I know that this will send a powerful message that young people from all walks of life are here to make a difference; and that we are more than able to do that.”_ 

_“Nobody has better knowledge of where the system is failing than those of us it has let down… Introducing a debriefing process that requires patient experiences to be collected, reported on, and used to implement improved practices will not only encourage accountability but help young people to heal by putting down some of the weight of the trauma they carry.”_ 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

In March 2025, alongside others with direct experience of mental health inpatient care, four Blooming Change members attended a roundtable in the Houses of Parliament organised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. The invitation followed the written evidence that Blooming Change provided to the Committee. Its report was published in May 2025, and cites the experiences and concerns of Blooming Change, including around children being placed on adult wards and government plans to increase access to independent advocacy for detained patients but not for those receiving treatment on a voluntary (informal) basis. Blooming Change members warned the Committee that this would create a two-tier system of advocacy which does not reflect the reality that the experiences of children and young people in hospital supposedly by choice _“are just as challenging”_ . We were delighted that the Committee recommended that all children, whether detained or not, should be entitled to opt out advocacy in mental health inpatient care. Very positively, the Committee also proposes an amendment to the Mental Health Bill to prohibit the placement of children on adult wards unless this is demonstrably in their best interests – one of Blooming Change’s priority Clauses. Reflecting on the lack of direct, personal experiences within the process of the Mental Health Bill, the Committee also shared that it was pleased to see the agreed amendment put forward by Earl Howe and Blooming Change, which championed patients’ voices and valued individual experiences. We were delighted that the Committee welcomed the amendment and recommended that it be retained as the Bill progresses through the House of Commons. 

We were hugely disappointed that the debriefing Clause which Blooming Change had successfully championed was removed from the Mental Health Bill when it was reviewed in the House of Commons in June 2025. Pressing for the Clause’s removal, health minister Stephen Kinnock MP described as “overkill” the duty to offer debriefing to patients. He also said independent mental health advocacy services had told government they wouldn’t have capacity to implement this change. With support from independent mental health advocates within our Children and Young People’s Advocates Network, Blooming Change members vowed to keep working for this legal change as the Bill continues its passage through parliament. 

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) approached us this year asking if young people wished to share their views and experiences of mental health inpatient care, particularly the move from child to adult settings and services. We subsequently hosted a focus group bringing together the HSSIB and young people from Blooming Change. 

Blooming Change members were delighted to be shortlisted for a Children and Young People Now award, in the category of youth volunteering and social action. They did not receive an award but, more regrettably due to how the awards ceremony was arranged, the evening was not an enjoyable experience. Following discussion with Blooming Change members attending the event, and with their agreement, these concerns were communicated in writing to the organisers. 

## **We informed children and young people of their rights** 

Our rights4children website provides accessible information about children’s rights on topics which children and young people have told us are important to them. Information was accessed 51,000 times in 2024/25, down from nearly 62,000 last year. We are aware that AI overviews by search engines (beginning in the UK in autumn 2024) have had a significant impact on click-through rates, which may account for some or most of this decrease. 

There were more than 32,000 separate users across the year. To protect privacy and make the user experience as easy as possible, Article 39 does not require user login or track the ages of those who use this resource, so we are unable to report on the different age groups using the site. However, its content and design remain tailored for children and young people. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

Our top three most widely read topics remained the same as previous years - restraint and use of force, leaving care and feeling safe. Very positively, a new topic ‘Aged 16 or 17 and without a home’, published in September 2024, became the fourth most used across the year. As part of a wider project in 2024/25 (see below), we produced this resource because of growing concern that local authorities are not complying with their duties to look after this group of very vulnerable children. Our rights4children resource on pocket money remained popular, being our fifth most used in 2024/25. 

Unlike previous years, rights4children resources were more often accessed via a desktop computer (54% of users) than mobile phone (45% of users). The remainder read resources using Tablets such as iPads. 

We received 30 online feedback forms (a significant reduction on last year’s 74). Most ‘really liked’ (53%) or ‘liked’ (13%) the content they accessed. Seven didn’t like the content, though one of these commented that “children don’t need rights” and the others related to only two topics - restraint and independent reviewing officers (appointed to ensure local authorities fulfil their legal obligations towards looked after children). Negative associated statements appeared to give feedback on the subject matter itself rather than the resource, for example: “Stop restraining small children to abuse them that is not right what you are doing be kind and nice to them”. Positive comments were more general, for instance: 

_“Nice for me to know my rights!”_ 

_“I'm in care and I really like the rights4children website because it explains everything I wanted to know.”_ 

_“[This is] written in a very clear, easy to understand way and covers everything. Thank you.”_ 

We continued our seasonal ‘rights nights’ online sessions and John Kemmis children’s rights training course and piloted a new course for young people on getting their voices heard through the media. Across the year, 56 children and young people aged 14 to 26 participated in different Article 39 events and opportunities. Feedback included: 

_“I really liked the layout of the session, and it felt really relaxed but still incredibly informative.”_ 

_“Everyone was very friendly and listened to each other. It also makes me happy knowing so many people want to advocate for young people. I love learning new things.”_ 

## **We continued to demand care for every child in care** 

Article 39’s #KeepCaringTo18 campaign was launched in 2020 to fight the last government’s plan to prohibit placements which do not provide care for looked after children aged 15 and under, while permitting them for those aged 16 and 17. 

Providers which provide accommodation and care mainly or wholly for children must, by law, register with Ofsted as a children’s home and meet quality standards, including a care standard. If accommodation and support (rather than care) is provided, then this is ‘supported accommodation’; due to the absence of care, our #KeepCaringTo18 campaign refers to this type of accommodation as ‘care-less’. 

Although it consulted in 2020 on developing a legal definition of care and 84% of respondents supported this, the last government decided not to set out in law what day-to-day care for children in care consists of. The care standard for children’s homes includes a duty to provide personalised care that meets the child’s individual needs, and a requirement to treat each child with dignity and respect. Ofsted formerly issued guidance to providers (as an annex to its children’s homes guidance) which signposted that ‘support’ as opposed to ‘care’ includes: staff regularly being away from the premises for significant periods of time; having the same arrangements for supervision, support, facilities and restrictions for children in care and adults living there (where properties are shared); children in care not having to ask for permission to stay away from the home overnight; children in care having full control of their finances (so having responsibility for their food, meals and clothing); and children in care being in charge of meeting all their health needs and taking their medication (though able to ask for help and advice). This guidance was withdrawn around the time the last government chose to regulate supported accommodation. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

Secondary legislation introduced in 2021 and 2023 cemented an age-based discriminatory approach to state parenting - that children aged 15 and under must always receive care where they live, whereas those aged 16 and 17 can manage without. This does not reflect ordinary family life. We remain bitterly disappointed that we lost our legal challenge in March 2022 against these regressive legal changes (as set out in our annual report for 2021/22). 

We continued to make the case for care for every child in care across 2024/25. Key activities included: 

• At the end of March 2024, we were approached by Katharine Bryson, a retired teacher with over 40 years’ experience of working with children, concerned about the death of a very vulnerable teenager, Nonita Grabovskyte. An inquest was to be held to investigate the circumstances surrounding Nonita’s death. We approached the charity INQUEST to ask if they would join us in holding her local authority parent and other agencies to account while challenging systemic failings both in the children’s care system and adolescent mental health support. Ms Bryson had been an independent visitor - that is, a voluntary befriender -- for Nonita in the months before she was hit by a train and died in December 2023, just two weeks after her 18th birthday. Having agreed to work together, Article 39 and INQUEST obtained pro bono legal representation to make a novel application to be an ‘interested person’ in Nonita’s inquest, meaning we could advocate for her throughout the process. That application succeeded in November 2024, largely because no-one from Nonita’s family was to participate in the inquest. We understand that this is the first time a non-governmental organisation (NGO) without any prior contact or relationship with the deceased person has been granted interested person status in an inquest. We spent the remainder of 2024/25 preparing for Nonita’s inquest, which was held in May 2025. The coroner was to find that Nonita died by suicide following a catalogue of serious failings by the local authority, which was her ‘corporate parent’, and an NHS mental health trust, and indicated he would be issuing a ‘prevention of future deaths’ report on the matter of planning for looked after children approaching adulthood. 

• In May 2024, we published our analysis of Ofsted data on care-less accommodation for looked after children aged 16 and 17 which showed that 48% of registered provision to date is classified as ‘sole occupancy’ where children live on their own. Nearly 1 in 5 of the properties (17%) are for looked after children aged 16 and 17 living alongside adult strangers - an arrangement previously criticised by the Children’s Commissioner for England in a report she published in 2020. Overall, each registered provider had an average of 11 properties. 

• In June 2024, Article 39’ Director and Annie Gibbs, the Founder and Chief Executive of Amour Destiné, co-ran a workshop on the #KeepCaringTo18 campaign at the British Association of Social Workers UK conference. A feature on the campaign was subsequently published in Professional Social Work magazine. Later in the year, Article 39’s Director spoke at a national conference of supported accommodation and children’s homes providers. There was significant challenge from some conference delegates about the #KeepCaringTo18 campaign’s use of the language of ‘care-less’ accommodation. A message received weeks later confirmed the importance of this national campaign: “I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for your authentic and engaging presentation... It was truly impactful, and like many of the attendees, I left feeling deeply troubled by how we, as a society, are collectively failing care leavers, which I must admit was not a new feeling”. 

• Article 39’s Director wrote to the then children’s minister, Janet Daby MP, in September 2024 about the risks faced by looked after children aged 16 and 17 living in care-less accommodation, including the failure of the last government to prohibit corporal punishment in these settings. The minister’s response largely repeated the previous administration’s approach though stated the government’s commitment “to ensuring that all children in care thrive and receive high quality support and care wherever they live”. The minister said government does not believe “explicit prohibition” of corporal punishment in these settings is necessary since, “It is extremely unlikely a court would consider that the responsibility to discipline a young person was delegated to a supported accommodation provider or staff”. Article 39 does not accept this claim given that so many teenagers who are the subject of a care order made by the Family Court are placed in these types of properties, and that every looked after child (irrespective of their legal status) must by law have a care plan setting out how they will be cared for on a day-to-day basis. Further, the regulations for supported (care-less) accommodation (which are much weaker than those relating to children’s homes) contain provisions around behaviour management. We will continue to challenge this discriminatory approach to child protection (corporal punishment in foster care and children’s homes is explicitly prohibited). 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

• In November 2024, we published a timeline showing how law and government policy for 16- and 17-year-olds in care went backwards from 2019. This resource was written and produced by members of the #KeepCaringTo18 campaign steering group from Article 39, The Care Leavers’ Association and the Together Trust. 

• Also in November 2024, we made a freedom of information (FOI) request to the Department for Education (DfE) to seek clarity on the proportion of looked after children aged 16 and 17 who now live in care-less accommodation. Official statistics published that month failed to give clear information. An accompanying DfE note had also indicated that an unspecified number of providers (most care-less accommodation is run by profit-making companies) had not met Ofsted requirements by October 2023 and were therefore operating illegally. We finally received a complete answer in February 2025, which showed that at least 40% of 16- and 17-year-olds in care are now living in accommodation where they receive no care. 

• A few months after the end of the financial year 2024/25, we were delighted that parliament’s Education Committee’s inquiry into children’s social care concluded that all looked after children should receive care where they live. We had previously (in January 2024) submitted comprehensive evidence of the harms suffered by children in care-less accommodation. 

## **We intervened in an important legal case to stop local authorities having the power to deprive children in care of their liberty** 

In February 2025, with the charity Mind we successfully intervened in a Court of Appeal case concerning the power of local authorities to deprive children in care of their liberty. The High Court had held that, in certain circumstances, local authorities do not require court authorisation for the confinement of children in their care (those who are the subject of a care order and for whom, therefore, the local authority has parental responsibility). This ruling would have had serious negative repercussions had it not been overturned in the Court of Appeal. We were given permission to intervene in October 2024 and focused our evidence and submissions on the vulnerabilities of children in care, the lack of suitable therapeutic homes for children with high levels of need, the risks of allowing local authorities to confine children without court authorisation, and the exercise of parental responsibility consistent with children’s human rights. We subsequently dedicated our May 2025 legal digest to the Court of Appeal judgment. Across the year, we liaised with other NGOs and lawyers concerned about the deprivation of liberty of children through a forum co-ordinated by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. 

## **We published research and resources to protect 16- and 17-year-olds without a home** 

Through our advice service and work with advocates, Article 39 has long been aware of situations where local authorities refuse to look after desperately vulnerable 16- and 17-year-olds, when it is not safe or possible for them to live at home. This is despite case law (most famously, the landmark ‘Southwark judgment’ in 2009) confirming that local authorities have clearly defined duties under the Children Act 1989 to look after children in these circumstances. Local authorities failing to fulfil their obligations towards homeless 16- and 17-year-olds not only endangers children in the here-and-now; their actions also deny young people vital leaving care entitlements into their mid-20s. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

Last year, we had sent every English local authority an FOI request seeking policy documents and materials showing how they approached assessing and meeting the needs of 16- and 17-year-olds without a home and parental care. This year, a sub-group of Article 39 trustees and Director (with combined social work experience exceeding 150 years) analysed the documents we received from 131 local authorities (86% response rate) and published the results alongside a new resource for teenagers (September 2024) and a comprehensive legal briefing for social workers (November 2024). Our research revealed that more than half (53%) of local authorities in England do not have published materials for 16- and 17-year-olds who are homeless, which is why we produced our resource for teenagers (used 1,912 times by the end of March 2025). Many of the policy documents for social workers we reviewed did not clearly communicate the legal duties of local authorities, which is why we produced a dedicated briefing for them (used 311 times from its publication to the end of March 2025). 

Ofsted published related research in February 2025, which heard from young people that local authorities do not always provide them with information about their rights. Like Article 39, Ofsted stressed the importance of independent advocacy for children in these circumstances as well as age-appropriate information. Our Head of Children’s Rights Advice Service joined the advisory panel for this Ofsted research part-way through 2024. 

## **We successfully challenged the new government’s stalling of national advocacy standards** 

Article 39 spent several years persuading the previous government to revise national standards for advocacy services for children and young people, culminating in a public consultation at the end of 2023. We continued to liaise with policy officials at the DfE and in May 2024, as part of our ‘Change through Advocacy’ week (see below), we published a guide for directors of children’s services on children and young people’s advocacy services. Then in November 2024, the government quietly announced – in an update on action in response to the systemic abuse of disabled children in three residential schools run by the Hesley Group in Doncaster – that it had stalled the introduction of the revised standards and guidance for financial reasons. We described this delay as “unforgivable” and wrote to the children’s minister urging her to reconsider. In April 2025, we were delighted that the Home Office’s progress report on government action on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) concluding recommendations contained a clear commitment to introduce the standards in 2025. 

## **We continued to oppose the use of pain-inducing techniques in child prisons** 

Last year we reported that government policy now (since February 2024) prohibits the use of pain-inducing techniques as a form of restraint in child prisons. From our inception, Article 39 had pressed for an outright ban – which was one of IICSA’s concluding recommendations in October 2022. Although no longer part of standard restraint training, government policy states prison officers can apply pain-inducing techniques as a ‘last resort’. We therefore sought descriptions of these so-called emergency techniques. The Ministry of Justice refused our request, which led us to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office in July 2024, whereby the information was finally provided to us in October 2024. Article 39 believes transparency is vital so long as these widely condemned techniques are authorised for use on children. On several occasions across the year, we became aware that the former government was seriously considering authorising the use of PAVA in child prisons – a chemical sprayed into a child’s face causing severe pain and fear. We liaised with the Howard League for Penal Reform on how such a decision may be vigorously challenged. In April 2025, the then Justice Secretary authorised the use of PAVA spray in child prisons, and we therefore began the new (financial) year considering our role in opposing this. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

## **Our ON YOUR SIDE advice service helped stop many children’s rights violations** 

Across the year, through our ON YOUR SIDE children’s rights advice service we provided 175 tailored summaries of the law and government guidance for advocates working with individual children and young people. In addition, we provided information to 9 children and young people and 15 parents and carers who contacted us directly. We actively seek tangible feedback on the advice we provide. Here are some positive changes in the lives of individual children and young people we helped bring about through our advice service in 2024/25: 

• A looked after child who had been told by their local authority that they would have to move shortly before Christmas 2024 was able to remain where they were settled. In this case, we supported the advocate to request a ‘placement freeze’ as part of a complaint, which then led to the local authority reversing its earlier decision. 

• A teenage child who reported being sexually and physically abused at home but was deemed by their local authority to be safe there became a looked after child, following the intervention of their advocate. We provided the advocate with comprehensive information about both the local authority’s duty to accommodate this child, and their rights once they became looked after. 

• A disabled child in care was able to attend the secondary school of their choice after we gave their advocate information about their rights as a child with an education, health and care plan. 

• A teenage child made a complaint because their local authority refused to look after them. We gave their advocate information to help them escalate the complaint, after which the local authority agreed to look after the child and the complaints investigation was no longer required (which was significant in and of itself as children should not have to go through an often lengthy and painful complaints process to access the services and support to which they are entitled). 

• Information provided by our service helped a child and their advocate make a complaint to stop a forced move from a children’s home to foster care. The child had previously lived with several different foster families and now felt secure in their children’s home. Their complaint was upheld, and they no longer had to move. Interestingly, on this occasion a solicitor advised the advocate to contact Article 39 for help. 

• A local authority’s common (unlawful) practice of not appointing personal advisers to support looked after teenagers was successfully challenged by an advocate who obtained legal information from us. 

• A highly vulnerable teenager became looked after by their local authority after we informed their advocate that parental consent is not required if the child is aged 16 or 17. 

• A child had waited over a year for their social care records to be provided by their local authority, which was holding up legal proceedings. The advocate assisting the child told us they didn’t need to use the information we gave them because the records were released after they told the local authority they were contacting Article 39. 

• After living for several years in the same place, a young care leaver was told by their local authority they had to return to their home area. The young person’s advocate used the legal information we gave them to successfully persuade the local authority to support them to remain living in the place they now call home. 

• Legal proceedings were started by a local authority after information we provided to an advocate highlighted a child was probably being unlawfully deprived of their liberty in the absence of court authorisation. 

• A local authority agreed to recognise a young care leaver as having full entitlements to advice, assistance and support after we gave their advocate information about the law. 

• A child who had been sexually assaulted was offered therapeutic support, having previously been denied this, after we gave their advocate information. 

• A very vulnerable young person’s complaint was investigated and upheld after the local authority had initially refused to consider it, relying on a statutory deadline. We told their advocate about another legal provision which gives local authorities discretion to investigate complaints made outside of the main statutory timescales, and about statutory guidance which explicitly acknowledges the many reasons children and young people may not be able to complain until long after the events took place. 

• A teenage child no longer faced the threat of being forced to leave care after we gave their advocate information about their local authority’s legal obligations. 

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## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

• A university student was able to return home to their foster carers during holidays after we gave their advocate information about their rights. 

• Restrictions on a looked after child’s freedoms were substantially reduced after we gave their advocate information about their human rights. Prior to the advocate’s intervention, the child had been subject to severe restrictions for over a year, including 3:1 supervision. 

• A company providing accommodation agreed to amend its behaviour policy after information from our service helped the advocate successfully challenge the issuing of fines to children in care. 

• A looked after child was able to stay in their children’s home, and was no longer forced to move, after we gave their advocate information about their rights connected to relationships and feeling secure and settled. 

• Legal information we gave to an advocate led to young people leaving custody with nowhere to live being provided with accommodation by their local authority. 

• A looked after child received temporary tutoring at home, and then a college place, after we provided their advocate with information about their education rights, including alternative education provision. 

• A looked after child’s complaint was finally taken seriously by their local authority who agreed to find a new home where they could feel safe and wanted. 

• After we gave information about the law to an advocate, a local authority agreed to backdate leaving care entitlements for a young person who was subsequently able to attend university. 

• A looked after child had not seen their siblings, who were also in care, for several months. We gave their advocate legal information, and all three children now see each other regularly. 

Of the 34 advocates who participated in our annual ON YOUR SIDE survey, 82% gave the service the highest rating of 5. Qualitative feedback included: 

_"You come across as caring and provide a very tailored and personal response. I think your service is fantastic!" “The quality of the information is exceptional and of a very high standard.” “I'm so grateful for all the advice and support you give to advocates. My job would be so much harder without Article 39.”_ 

## **We became a core participant in module 8 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, focused on children and young people** 

Article 39 was granted core participant status for module 8 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry at the end of July 2024, giving us a unique means of challenging the actions (and inactions) of government in respect of children living in institutional settings and care experienced children and young people before, during and immediately after the pandemic. We want the Inquiry to give particular attention to the wide-ranging deregulation in children’s social care introduced through secondary legislation (successfully legally challenged by Article 39 at the time) and the normalisation of solitary confinement in child prisons. 

We put the Inquiry in touch with individual children and young people who agreed, via their advocates, to participate in research on children and young people’s experiences of the pandemic. 

In April 2025, the Inquiry made a Rule 9 (mandatory) request for evidence from Article 39. Module 8 hearings took place across four weeks in autumn 2025 and included oral evidence from Article 39’s founder and former Director. Next year’s annual report (2025/26) will include an in-depth review of our work and impact on the Inquiry. Meanwhile, we want to express our huge appreciation of our formidable legal team: Oliver Studdert and Katie Wilkins from Irwin Mitchell, Mark Twomey KC from Coram Chambers, and Mary-Rachel McCabe from Doughty Street Chambers, together with Irwin Mitchell paralegals Cara Conlon, Emma Tuinema and Molly Robinson. 

Page 11 



## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

## **We continued to press for the end of child imprisonment** 

We released our third 'End Child Imprisonment' publication in August 2024, a review of successive government pledges to reform child prisons showing overwhelming, protracted and often devastating failure. This comprehensive analysis of 10 major policy promises - including that children will be kept safe, that solitary confinement will not be used and minimum standards of education will be met - was undertaken by Article 39’s Director, Dr Tim Bateman, Professor Barry Goldson and Dr Laura Janes. It was reported by, among others, the Guardian newspaper (‘Justice review calls for end to child imprisonment in England’), Channel 4 News, LBC and Local Government Lawyer. 

In October 2024, reflecting our own analysis, a blog written by the lead for children’s inspection in His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons concluded, “In 2023-24, YOIs [young offender institutions] were less safe than ten years before and none of them provided children with a good standard of education”. That same month, in response to the publication of a review of the use of solitary confinement in child prisons, the Youth Justice Board issued a statement which said: “The Youth Justice Board remains resolute in our belief that most current secure settings for children are not fit for purpose”. 

At the start of the year, Article 39’s Director participated in two consultative events with the Ministry of Justice on its strategy for the children’s secure estate, yet again pressing for a timetable for the closure of child prisons. 

## **Our children’s rights training and events remained popular and impactful** 

Overall, 998 advocates, others working with children and young people, and young people themselves, attended our courses and events in 2024/25. Of these, 291 participated in our inaugural ‘Change through Advocacy’ week of events held 13-17 May 2024. Our gratitude to expert external speakers, with their names, is set out at the beginning of this report. 

We were honoured that former President of the Supreme Court Lady Brenda Hale delivered a keynote lecture at our online event to mark 35 years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in November 2024. 

We continued to deliver our five separate specialist training courses for advocates across the year and piloted and then delivered a brand-new course on the Human Rights Act 1998. All our courses are tailored to the concerns and challenges which children and young people take to their advocates, so learning can be applied immediately. 

• “ _This course is a must for all advocates, whether you are new to advocacy or seasoned, as it is detailed and the case studies cover a variety of scenarios”_ - feedback on **‘What’s law got to do with it?’** course. 

• “Absolutely fantastic. I am excited to engage with all the other courses Article 39 has to offer as well as excited for my colleagues to access this course _”_ - feedback on **‘Children Act 1989: back to basics’** course. 

• _“I think every children and young people’s advocate should attend this training for the insight that it provides into some of the practices within institutional settings, and how [advocates] can use independence [and] legislation to challenge and ensure a child's rights are met and upheld, and that they are protected from abuse”_ - feedback on **‘Protecting children’s rights in institutional settings’** course. 

• _“I think all advocates need to come on this course - not only does it increase knowledge, but it empowers us within our profession to continue fighting for our children's voices and rights”_ - feedback on **‘The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010: getting rights right’** course. 

Page 12 



## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

• _“The quality and structure of my complaints have massively improved … I have managed to secure apologies, including from very senior people, and financial remedies for young people, and inter-departmental investigations to address poor practice I brought to the local authority’s attention. I have also requested mandatory training for staff (as a ‘service improvement’ remedy, which I learned about in the course) on section 20 of the Children Act 1989 and on anti-discrimination reasonable adjustments for children and young people with autism”_ - feedback on **‘Effective Children Act 1989 complaints: the essentials’** course. 

• _“I plan to use my voice and speak up when I see a child or young person being treated in ways that breached their human rights”_ - feedback on **‘Human Rights Act 1998 for advocates’** course. 

As in previous years, Blooming Change’s course for independent mental health advocates elicited great feedback including: 

_“The young people were absolutely brilliant. Best training I've been to for a very, very long time.”_ 

_“This was so professionally presented and articulated. It is often so difficult to gain the balance when sharing personal experiences, but you guys totally nailed it. Fantastic. Thank you.“_ 

_“This was one of the best courses that I have attended that gives you a true insight of what young people have gone through. It has given me a better understanding of how to talk with a young person that is detained and a better awareness of things to look out for and question within the establishment.”_ 

Our three advocacy clinics this year focused on the rights of 16- and 17-year-olds without a home and parental care (September 2024); the deprivation of liberty of children and young people (November 2024); and the rights and entitlements of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (January 2025). 

Our Children and Young People’s Advocates Network reached 580 members, from a wide range of national and local children’s rights and advocacy services across England. Our annual survey of Network members in 2024/25 elicited very positive feedback including: 

_“Article 39 is a fantastic resource run by amazing people and has a very important place. We'd feel lost without it!”_ 

_“The network provides a great community for advocates for children and young people to share experiences and knowledge, it has been incredibly helpful over the years, thank you!”_ 

_“Being an advocate can be a lonely place sometimes – knowing that there is the network and wonderful support that Article 39 gives, makes me feel that I'm not on my own!”_ 

Our survey invited advocates to suggest three adjectives to describe the work of Article 39’s Children and Young People’s Advocates Network. The three words most frequently submitted were **supportive** , **informative** and **knowledgeable** . 

We published nine children’s rights legal digests across the year, and a new law map on use of force in child prisons. 

## **We gave expert advice on other children’s rights matters** 

In addition to the policy work outlined above, we gave written evidence to the following organisations and bodies across the year: 

- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – evidence for the Public Bill Committee (January 2025) 

- General comment on children’s access to justice – submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (September 2024) 

- Limitation law in child sexual abuse cases – response to Ministry of Justice’s consultation (July 2024) 

- Restraint, segregation and seclusion – response to Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation of changes to regulations relating to the Care Quality Commission (June 2024) 

Page 13 



## **Article 39** 

## **Trustees' Report (continued)** 

We continued to attend the government’s UNCRC (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) Action Group and Ofsted’s National Consultative Forum, and remained members of important coalitions, including the Alliance for Children in Care and Care Leavers, the Alliance for Youth Justice, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, the Participation Forum and the Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium. 

## **We promoted human rights in the media and elsewhere** 

Article 39 staff were interviewed and quoted in the media on a wide range of children’s rights matters and spoke at local and national children’s rights events. In December 2024, we launched our new main website, designed to make our extensive range of resources easier to find and use. By the end of March 2025, the website had been used 22,065 times. Beyond introductory pages, resources accessed the most across this four-month period were Article 39’s: overview of changes to law and policy relating to supported accommodation for looked after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17; analysis of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill; and resource outlining children and young people’s legal rights to advocacy in different circumstances and settings. 

## **Financial review** 

Article 39 had an unrestricted reserves balance of £124,835 at the end of the year. 

## _**Policy on reserves**_ 

Article 39's target level of reserves is 3 months of running costs. 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

## _**Nature of governing document**_ 

The charity is operated under the rules of its foundation CIO constitution adopted 15/02/16 and registered as a CIO on 16/03/16. 

## _**Recruitment and appointment of trustees**_ 

Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. 

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 2 December 2025 and signed on its behalf by: 

......................................... Susannah Walker Trustee 

Page 14 



## **Article 39** 

## **Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities** 

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations. 

The law applicable to charities requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; 

- 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 the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

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

Approved by the trustees of the charity on 2 December 2025 and signed on its behalf by: 

......................................... Susannah Walker Trustee 

Page 15 



## **Article 39** 

## **Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Article 39** 

## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Article 39** 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Article 39 (the Charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act'). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

## **Independent examiner’s statement** 

Since the Charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), which is one of the listed bodies. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

...................................... 

Eva Stevens, BSc, CPFA, employee of Community Accounting Plus member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) 

Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL 

2 December 2025 

Page 16 



## **Article 39** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025** 

|**Note**<br>**Income and Endowments from:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>2<br>Charitable activities<br>3<br>Total Income<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>5<br>Total Expenditure<br>Net movement in funds<br>**Reconciliation of funds**<br>Total funds brought forward<br>Total funds carried forward<br>12|**Unrestricted**<br>**£**<br>88,377<br>1,295<br>89,672<br>(77,038)<br>(77,038)<br>12,634<br>112,201<br>124,835|**Restricted**<br>**£**<br>-<br>347,677<br>347,677<br>(249,096)<br>(249,096)<br>98,581<br>63,864<br>162,445|**Total**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>88,377<br>348,972<br>437,349<br>(326,134)<br>(326,134)<br>111,215<br>176,065<br>287,280|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>70,267<br>167,906|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||238,173|
|||||(214,027)|
|||||(214,027)|
|||||24,146<br>151,919|
|||||176,065|



All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for the period is shown in note 12. 

The notes on pages 20 to 27 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 17 



## **Article 39** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

## **These are the figures for the previous accounting period and are included for comparative purposes** 

|**Note**<br>**Income and Endowments from:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>2<br>Charitable activities<br>3<br>Total Income<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>5<br>Total Expenditure<br>Net movement in funds<br>**Reconciliation of funds**<br>Total funds brought forward<br>Total funds carried forward<br>12|**Unrestricted**<br>**£**<br>70,267<br>4,165<br>74,432<br>(95,554)<br>(95,554)<br>(21,122)<br>133,323<br>112,201|**Restricted**<br>**£**<br>-<br>163,741<br>163,741<br>(118,473)<br>(118,473)<br>45,268<br>18,596<br>63,864|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>70,267<br>167,906|
|---|---|---|---|
||||238,173|
||||(214,027)|
||||(214,027)|
||||24,146<br>151,919|
||||176,065|



The notes on pages 20 to 27 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 18 



## **Article 39** 

## **(Registration number: 1166092) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025** 

|**Note**<br>**Current assets**<br>Debtors<br>9<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>10<br>**Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**<br>11<br>**Net assets**<br>**Funds of the charity:**<br>**Restricted income funds**<br>Restricted funds<br>**Unrestricted income funds**<br>Unrestricted funds<br>**Total funds**<br>12|**2025**<br>**£**<br>1,032<br>288,528<br>289,560<br>(2,280)<br>287,280<br>162,445<br>124,835<br>287,280|**2024**<br>**£**<br>656<br>179,135|
|---|---|---|
|||179,791<br>(3,726)|
|||176,065|
|||63,864<br>112,201|
|||176,065|



The financial statements on pages 17 to 27 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 2 December 2025 and signed on their behalf by: 

......................................... Anna Savic Trustee 

The notes on pages 20 to 27 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 19 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025** 

## **1 Accounting policies** 

## **Statement of compliance** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011. 

## **Basis of preparation** 

Article 39 meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes. 

## **Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement** 

Under the exemption available to smaller charities the Board of Trustees has chosen not to include a Statement of Cash Flows within the financial statements. 

## **Going concern** 

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. 

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements. 

## **Income and endowments** 

Voluntary income including donations, gifts, legacies and grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability. 

## _**Donations and legacies**_ 

Donations and legacies are recognised on a receivable basis when receipt is probable and the amount can be reliably measured. 

## _**Grants receivable**_ 

Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released. 

## **Expenditure** 

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregates similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs. 

Page 20 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

## _**Charitable activities**_ 

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. 

## **Taxation** 

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. 

## **Trade debtors** 

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business. 

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables. 

## **Cash and cash equivalents** 

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. 

## **Fund structure** 

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees' discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity. 

Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose. 

## **Pensions and other post retirement obligations** 

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme which is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the charity has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods. 

Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment. 

Page 21 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

## **2 Income from donations and legacies** 

|Donations and legacies;<br>Donations from companies, trusts and similar<br>proceeds<br>Donations from individuals<br>Grants, including capital grants;<br>Grants from other charities<br>**3**<br>**Income from charitable activities**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**General**<br>**£**<br>Grants<br>-<br>Donations<br>-<br>Fees<br>1,295<br>1,295<br>**4**<br>**Grants and donations**<br>Big Give<br>The Bromley Trust<br>COF Admin<br>Esmee Fairburn Foundation<br>The Hadley Trust<br>The Legal Education Foundation<br>MariaMarina Foundation<br>National Lottery Community Fund<br>Paul Hamlyn Foundation<br>Sundry donations|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**General**<br>**£**<br>-<br>3,377<br>85,000<br>88,377<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**£**<br>343,137<br>4,540<br>-<br>347,677<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**£**<br>-<br>10,000<br>-<br>75,000<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>3,377<br>88,377|**Total**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>-<br>3,377<br>85,000<br>88,377<br>**Total**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>343,137<br>4,540<br>1,295<br>348,972<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**£**<br>4,540<br>-<br>2,746<br>-<br>40,000<br>97,828<br>40,000<br>112,563<br>50,000<br>-<br>347,677|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>11,107<br>9,160<br>50,000|
|---|---|---|---|
||||70,267|
||||**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>154,561<br>-<br>13,345|
||||167,906|
||||**Total funds**<br>**£**<br>4,540<br>10,000<br>2,746<br>75,000<br>40,000<br>97,828<br>40,000<br>112,563<br>50,000<br>3,377|
||||436,054|



Page 22 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

## **5 Expenditure on charitable activities** 

|Admin support<br>Associate staff<br>Bank charges<br>Children's engagement<br>Hospitality<br>Legal & professional<br>Insurance<br>IT<br>Payroll service & BACS fees<br>Printing & stationery<br>Recruitment<br>Salaries, NI & pensions<br>Staff travel & subsistence<br>Staff wellbeing<br>Telephone & postage<br>Training & subscriptions<br>Trustee expenses<br>Sundry expenses|**Unrestricted**<br>**General funds**<br>**£**<br>**Restricted funds**<br>**£**<br>-<br>1,800<br>13,058<br>32,802<br>60<br>-<br>126<br>6,556<br>5<br>-<br>804<br>3,101<br>358<br>300<br>4,548<br>14,700<br>-<br>2,231<br>47<br>669<br>-<br>2,070<br>56,523<br>180,377<br>749<br>2,078<br>412<br>1,412<br>38<br>1,000<br>60<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>250<br>-<br>77,038<br>249,096|**Total**<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>1,800<br>45,860<br>60<br>6,682<br>5<br>3,905<br>658<br>19,248<br>2,231<br>716<br>2,070<br>236,900<br>2,827<br>1,824<br>1,038<br>60<br>-<br>250<br>326,134|**Total**<br>**2024**<br>**£**<br>6,225<br>42,917<br>-<br>6,822<br>-<br>1,032<br>66<br>4,945<br>1,785<br>1,026<br>3,696<br>142,819<br>691<br>-<br>926<br>505<br>311<br>261|
|---|---|---|---|
||||214,027|



## **6 Staff costs** 

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows: 

|The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|**Staff costs during the year were:**<br>Wages and salaries<br>Social security costs<br>Pension costs|**2025**<br>**£**<br>205,955<br>17,473<br>13,472<br>236,900|**2024**<br>**£**<br>126,614<br>8,760<br>7,445|
|||142,819|



5 (2024 - 2) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes. 

Contributions to the employee pension schemes for the year totalled £13,472 (2024 - £7,445). 

Page 23 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

The number of employees whose emoluments fell within the following bands was: 

|£70,001 - £80,000|**2025**<br>**No**<br>-|**2024**<br>**No**<br>1|
|---|---|---|



The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £108,168 (2024 - £72,975). 

## **7 Independent examiner's fees** 

During the period, the fees payable (excluding VAT) to the charity’s independent examiner Community Accounting Plus are analysed as follows: 

|Independent examination|**2025**<br>**£**<br>670|**2024**<br>**£**<br>450|
|---|---|---|



## **8 Taxation** 

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from corporation taxation. 

## **9 Debtors** 

|Trade debtors<br>Prepayments<br>**10 Cash and cash equivalents**<br>Cash at bank<br>**11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**<br>Other taxation and social security<br>Other creditors<br>Accruals|**2025**<br>**£**<br>75<br>957<br>1,032<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>288,528<br>**2025**<br>**£**<br>839<br>637<br>804<br>2,280|**2024**<br>**£**<br>-<br>656|
|---|---|---|
|||656|
|||**2024**<br>**£**<br>179,135|
|||**2024**<br>**£**<br>3,186<br>-<br>540|
|||3,726|



Page 24 



## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

|**12 Funds**<br>**Unrestricted funds**<br>**_General_**<br>General unrestricted fund<br>**Restricted funds**<br>Children and young people's<br>advocacy community<br>Children's advocacy project<br>Double punishment child<br>imprisonment (COVID-19)<br>Ending child imprisonment<br>Legal education (advocates)<br>Litigation fund (children in<br>custody)<br>Mental health research &<br>advocacy<br>UK Covid-19 Inquiry<br>**Total restricted funds**<br>**Total funds**|**Balance at 1**<br>**April 2024**<br>**£**<br>112,201<br>49,965<br>444<br>5,000<br>201<br>570<br>7,198<br>486<br>-<br>63,864<br>176,065|**Incoming**<br>**resources**<br>**£**<br>89,672<br>112,564<br>40,000<br>-<br>-<br>142,367<br>-<br>50,000<br>2,746<br>347,677<br>437,349|**Resources**<br>**expended**<br>**£**<br>(77,038)<br>(107,483)<br>(40,444)<br>-<br>-<br>(47,937)<br>-<br>(50,486)<br>(2,746)<br>(249,096)<br>(326,134)|**Balance at 31**<br>**March 2025**<br>**£**<br>124,835<br>55,046<br>-<br>5,000<br>201<br>95,000<br>7,198<br>-<br>-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||162,445|
|||||287,280|



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## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

|**Unrestricted funds**<br>**_General_**<br>General unrestricted fund<br>**Restricted**<br>Children and young people's<br>advocacy community<br>Children's advocacy project<br>Double punishment child<br>imprisonment (COVID-19)<br>Ending child imprisonment<br>Legal education (advocates)<br>Litigation fund (children in<br>custody)<br>Mental health research &<br>advocacy<br>**Total restricted funds**<br>**Total funds**|**Balance at 1**<br>**April 2023**<br>**£**<br>133,323<br>-<br>749<br>5,000<br>201<br>1,511<br>7,198<br>3,937<br>18,596<br>151,919|**Incoming**<br>**resources**<br>**£**<br>74,432<br>57,518<br>25,000<br>-<br>-<br>66,168<br>-<br>15,055<br>163,741<br>238,173|**Resources**<br>**expended**<br>**£**<br>(95,554)<br>(7,553)<br>(25,305)<br>-<br>-<br>(67,109)<br>-<br>(18,506)<br>(118,473)<br>(214,027)|**Balance at 31**<br>**March 2024**<br>**£**<br>112,201<br>49,965<br>444<br>5,000<br>201<br>570<br>7,198<br>486|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||63,864|
|||||176,065|



## **13 Analysis of net assets between funds** 

|Current assets<br>Current liabilities<br>Total net assets<br>Current assets<br>Current liabilities<br>Total net assets|**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**£**<br>127,115<br>(2,280)<br>124,835<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**General**<br>**£**<br>115,927<br>(3,726)<br>112,201|**Restricted**<br>**£**<br>162,445<br>-<br>162,445<br>**Restricted**<br>**£**<br>63,864<br>-<br>63,864|**2025**<br>**Total funds**<br>**£**<br>289,560<br>(2,280)|
|---|---|---|---|
||||287,280|
||||**2024**<br>**Total funds**<br>**£**<br>179,791<br>(3,726)|
||||176,065|



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## **Article 39** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (continued)** 

## **14 Related party transactions** 

There were no related party transactions in the year. 

## **15 Trustees remuneration and expenses** 

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year. 

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