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← Peer Power Youth

2025-03-31-accounts

Peer Power Youth

“NOTHING ABOUT US, WITHOUT US”

ANNUAL 2024-2025 REPORT

CONTENTS

Welcome letters Page 3
Hearing from our Young Partners at Peer Power Youth Page 3
Chair of Trustees & CEO welcome letter Page 4
About us Page 6
Our year in numbers Page 8
Community & partnerships: The heart of our work Page 9
Announcing ‘Big Zuu’ as our new Ambassador Page 10
Founder of Peer Power Youth receives prestigious ‘Churchill Fellowship’ Award Page 11
Strategic Investment Funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation Page 12
Project spotlight: Peer Power Youth’s Flagship Empathy Programme Page 13
Individual change: How we improve future outcomes for young people Page 14
Chill n Skill Page 16
Team building gallery Page 17
Young Partner spotlights Page 18
Poetry by young people in our Southeast community project Page 20
System change: How we create positive change across youth support services Page 22
Co-designing healthcare and violence reduction programme services across London Page 23
Co-designing services in secure settings with NHS South East Page 25
Peer Power Youth’s ‘Critical Friend’ role in Community Services Page 28
Co-creating a vision for Youth Justice across London with MOPAC Page 29
Workshops with NHS Southeast to support Alcohol Change Page 30
Involving Young People in NHSE Healthcare Strategies Page 31
Collaborating with NHS England and contributing to reducing health inequalities Page 32
Developing a Youth Advisory Board and resources with UK Trauma Council Page 32
Sports, creative projects and youth led “Voices of Resilience” event in the South East Page 33
Co-creating youth led resources with Lambeth Youth Justice Service Page 34
Co-designing a website for young people by young people with the Ministry of Justice Page 34
Youth Custody Service
Communications and Advocacy: Sharing our impact and advocating for system change Page 35
Youth led policy Page 35
Our work on anti-racism, equity and equality Page 35
Improving Lived Experience Employment practice visual resource Page 36
Podcasts in partnership with Bloomsbury Institute Page 37
Communications: Our year in numbers Page 38
Sharing impact through our blog Page 39
Fundraising: Raising vital income to increase Peer Power Youth’s impact Page 40
‘The Big Give’’ fundraising campaign beats target through community support Page 41
Looking ahead to the future : Reviewing progress and looking to next year! Page 43
Supporters and Funders: Thank you for all you do to help Page 45
Trustee report Page 46
Finance report Page 55

Page 70 2

Independent examiners Report

HEARING FROM YOUNG PARTNERS AT PEER POWER YOUTH

‘Young Partner’ is our umbrella term for young people who work with Peer Power Youth, whether it be internally, in the community or in secure settings. ‘Peer Leader’ is a Peer Power Expert who has taken the next step in entering a leadership role within our charity. We sat down with three Peer Leaders to talk about their latest year at Peer Power Youth.

Firstly, Meg spoke about how she initially joined Peer Power Youth:

We learned how influencing systems this year impacted Peer Leaders as individuals.

“I became a part of Peer Power Youth 3 years ago through a youth worker. Peer Power Youth caught my attention because it’s based using your lived experience to create change for young people like me, who are in secure units, the care system and have experienced the youth justice system. It’s nice to know at Peer Power Youth that we are listened to and valued a lot”.

Meg started:

“Public speaking and going into meetings with professionals over the last year has really boosted my confidence. I’ve been able to sit in meetings with the CEOs and be a part of decision making, which shows young people’s voices being heard”.

Rico continued:

We support Peer Leaders to create change for other peers in services. Find below a few reflections on how they influenced system change this year.

Rico said:

“This year we were able to speak directly to services and implement change in a practical way. Working with The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) meant that young people led the conversations with commissioners, telling them what needs improving in London’s youth justice system. Projects like this make you realise that things you’re saying will make a difference to the system”.

Furthermore, Alexys added:

“Peer Power Youth does the important work, but they also think about our general wellbeing as young people, and lead with empathy. This year I presented in front of probation staff about using empathy and coproduction in their practices. This was a highlight because I like opening dialogue and listening to people's stories. At the end of the session I felt like they really wanted to implement the training into their practices”.

“The Ministry of Justice sessions had an impact on me this year, as I was able to hear other people’s perspectives and experiences with anti-racism. The Anti-racism circle was a space where I could share my experience as a Black man and learn about different experiences from Black women”.

Finally, Alexys ended with reflecting on her time at Peer Power Youth and looking towards the future:

“This year has been quite an emotional year for me because I’m 26 in July and that’s the end of being a Peer Leader at the organisation. I think I’ve been changing little by little since joining in 2019, and this year has been about making as many connections as I can and feeling at peace with leaving Peer Power Youth. I’m looking forward to seeing where life takes me and what it’s going to bring”.

Meg, Rico & Alexys Peer Leaders at Peer Power Youth

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CHAIR OF TRUSTEES & CEO WELCOME LETTER

This year we write to reflect on the year together as Chair and CEO. In doing so we acknowledge the ongoing support and dedication of the Board of Trustees, including appointing existing Trustee Elena Laguna to a new role of Vice Chair in 2024.

Working in partnership with young people who have experienced trauma and influencing the justice, health and the care services they were once in, is our reason for being.

There continues to be profound challenges and inequalities across these support services. Alongside budgetary pressures, these are amplified by difficult socioeconomic times, declining youth mental health, global uncertainty, rapid changes in technology and increased demand for public services.

Despite these uncertain times, there are so many highlights from the year where we witness the individual change, progression and achievements of Young Partners both in the community and in secure settings. They are demonstrating empathy, leadership and building skills that will enable them to ‘achieve their dreams and live their best lives’.

Through ongoing youth voice partnerships with the NHS, Ministry of Justice, and MOPAC amongst others, and via training and coaching, we have had the privilege of being a part of their organisational journeys of collaborating meaningfully with children and young people.

As an organisation partnering with young people, safeguarding and well-being is central to our approach.

The responsibility for this is held within the Senior Leadership team and closely supported through the governance structure at Trustee level/by Trustees.

This year we have said farewell to some brilliant Young Partners as they came to the end of their journey with us for a variety of reasons. The impact of transitions for children and young people is a theme that comes up regularly in our work and it is an area we are ever co-creating and working on to proactively model positive endings and transitions. We look forward to seeing those who have left us recently at our Annual Awards in July 2025.

We commend the achievements of our committed Young Partners, Staff and external Partners in working together to achieve tangible individual change for children and young people, and system change across the health, youth justice and care services.

This year saw the first year of Strategic Investment Funding from a new five-year partnership from Paul Hamlyn Foundation, to whom we are extremely grateful. This longterm offer of tailored expert support with core funding enhances the development, sustainability and impact of organisations like ours, with a track record of working with young people to achieve positive change.

With this investment, we have been able to develop our internal operations through bringing in expertise across Human Resources, Finance, IT, Data and Cyber Protection, and Communications. It has also enabled us to re-visit our impact, strategic vision, mission and direction for the coming years which is now taking shape.

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The emergent strategy has been co-created with several opportunities for partners, staff, children and young people and the Board of Trustees through workshops and presentations. The final strategic plan will be launched in summer 2025.

We have said farewell to two Trustees and recruited a new Trustee who reflects the wishes of our Young Partners to have youth voice expertise on the Board. In addition, we are in the process of onboarding a new Trustee experienced in social care journalism. We continue to review the membership of the Board through the skills audit recently conducted.

Co-CEO, Nicola Kidston, stepped down in March, 2025 to pursue a coaching career. We acknowledge the contribution that Nic made during her four years at Peer Power Youth, and we wish her success in her coaching career.

The departure of the Co-CEO gave us the opportunity in the interim period as we continue to develop our strategy to review the Senior Leadership Team. This has resulted in the appointment of an Interim Director of Operations, who will also consolidate our work to date on Anti-Racism, Justice, Equity and Diversity and ensure this is embedded throughout our strategic planning, influencing our work internally and externally.

Along with many in the charity sector, we continue to face funding challenges impacted by world events and the funding environment. In response, we are carefully planning our resource management, and this will be reflected in our emergent strategic plan. We are grateful to our Funders, Commissioners and Partners for your ongoing support of our work through these challenging times.

We continue to develop our digital presence through our website and social media channels, broadening our network of potential supporters and diversifying income streams.

We know that we cannot achieve our mission alone, and we work closely with our Patrons, Ambassadors and Advisory Forum. In March, we were delighted to announce Zuhair Hassan, better known as ‘Big Zuu’ as an Ambassador. Earlier in the year, a donation from a Patron made it possible for young partners to have specialist equipment for creative and communications projects.

Over the year our supporters have generously chosen to give to Peer Power Youth in a variety of ways, such as being the beneficiary from wedding gifts or through signing up to Easy Fundraising, donating to ‘The Big Give’ campaign, buying tickets for events, sponsored challenges and more! You know who you are, and we are so very grateful for all you do to support our charity.

We hope you will take the time to read the report and like us, reflect on the incredible impact of such a small team of staff, young people, Advisors and Trustees, and in doing so, think of ways that you may be able to support us to achieve our vision, cocreated with young people, of ‘a world where all young people can realise their dreams and live their best life.’

D A M E L O R N A B O R E L A N D - K E L L Y Chair of Trustees

A N N E - M A R I E D O U G L A S Founder & CEO

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ABOUT US

We are a beating heart for change.

Peer Power Youth is a national charity doing vital work to support young people (aged 13-25) who have experienced childhood trauma. Their experiences may include exclusion, abuse and violence affecting their communities, consequently being pushed into the care and youth justice services. Inequalities such as racism, disabilities and poverty also have a huge effect on these young people. They have described themselves as being ‘abandoned by society’.

Despite their circumstances, we see their power and potential. They are the most undersupported and unheard voices in our society.

As a social justice charity, we want to change this. We build on strengths and lead with empathy, which means that we know what’s needed to build trusted relationships and improve youth justice and care services, because many of us have had similar experiences.

Driven by her personal experience, Anne-Marie Douglas set up the charity in 2016. Her belief was that when children and young people are involved ethically in improving youth support services, these services will better meet their needs at an earlier point. Children and young people will get better help when they need it, and it will also result in efficiency savings to the public purse.

At Peer Power Youth, caring for each other creates belonging and the power to bring positive change in services for others. This is what we mean by ‘Peer Power’.

WHO WE WORK WITH

The young people we work alongside are passionate about using their experiences in positive and powerful ways to improve support services for other young people.

The organisations that we partner with include youth justice, health and social services, police, prisons, schools and more. Some of our key partners are the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), National Health Services (NHS), UK Trauma Council (UKTC) and Youth Justice Board (YJB)”.

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HOW WE WORK

We follow the model ‘No decision about me, without me’ and co-produce all aspects of our charity with our Young Partners.

They are the experts of their experiences, and no one knows better what they and their peers need. We follow sociocracy principles where our young people have decisionmaking powers on both internal and external matters, ensuring that their voices are at the core of our work. That’s why we refer to them as ‘Peer Power Experts’.

We are working to effect positive change in 2 areas:

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE

Individual Change

by improving wellbeing, confidence and both life and professional skills, we support young people into education and work opportunities through our unique accredited programme, created with and for young people with lived experience.

System Change

by disrupting, influencing and changing agencies and systems for children and young people, particularly in justice, social care and mental health.

OUR VALUES

EMPATHY

We believe in consideration and care for the experience of others and communicating boundaries.

OPENNESS AND HONESTY

We believe in being transparent with each other and those we work with.

RESPECT

We believe in valuing others and letting this lead how we treat them.

LOVE

We show care and kindness to everyone.

POSITIVITY

We believe in having a solution focused approach.

FAIRNESS

We believe in justice and equity for all in our community.

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OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS

160

521

young people reached in community and secure settings.

professionals reached through training and coaching.

4746 hours of co-production activities, including training and support.

93 hours

of therapy for young people and staff.

48 AQA certificates awarded to young people.

42 Peer Power Experts and Peer Leaders in intensive support.

It’s important to engage with young people because they’re the future. They’ll be the leaders of tomorrow. We need to understand their experiences and not be afraid to hear the truth.

-Young Partner

8

COMMUNITY AND PARTNERSHIPS: THE HEART OF OUR WORK

Community is at the heart of Peer Power Youth

==> picture [54 x 40] intentionally omitted <==

Before Peer Power, I felt abandoned by society. Now, I feel like I have a voice and a future.

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-Young Partner

Without connection, support and partnerships, our work could not exist or thrive. We thank our Without connection, support and partnerships, our work could not exist or thrive. We thank our
community deeply for all they do to support us and advocate for our work. Our community includes:
Young people: Our ‘Young Partners’, those involved with us now, and those that have been
involved in the past.
Staff team: Our brilliant and values led staff team, you can learn more about them
here.
Contractors: We work with a range of contractors including artists, fundraisers, finance,
human resources, IT, strategic advisers and evaluators.
Youth organisations: We work in partnership with values aligned youth organisations across London
and the South East to further our mission.
Board of Trustees: Our committed and supportive Board, who hold us to account and govern us
according to Charity Commission guidance.
Advisory Forum: A group of volunteers made up of academics, people with lived experience of
care and justice agencies, and strategic advisers.
Patrons: Who support, share and advocate for our work. They are The Rt Hon. the Lord
McNally, The Rt Hon. the Baroness Prashar CBE, and the author Simonetta
Agnello Hornby.
Ambassadors: They are TV presenter and social entrepreneur Ria Hebden and most recently
Zuhair Hassan, better known as TV chef and musician ‘Big Zuu’.
Donors and Supporters: There are many more donors, funders and supporters of our work who are part
of our valued community. They fundraise for us through challenge events, via
Easy Fundraising, and though ‘in kind’ giving.

9

ANNOUNCING ‘BIG ZUU’ AS OUR NEW AMBASSADOR ss Peer Power Youth is thrilled to announce Zuhair Hassan, better known as Big Zuu, joined the organisation as an ambassador in March 2025. He will bring his life experience and youth following to help raise awareness of systemic inequalities faced by young people.

Big Zuu is a double-BAFTA-winning British television personality, chef and musician, best known for his multi-award-winning cookery show Big Zuu’s Big Eats. Zuu is a co-founder of Big Productions, an entertainment label which nurtures and develops diverse talent in the industry.

“I am very excited to be joining Peer Power Youth as an Ambassador as they work with young people who have experienced injustice growing up to realise their dreams. It is an important cause to me, as all young people deserve to thrive regardless of their upbringing. I am looking forward to making life-changing work together!” - Big Zuu

"We are beyond excited to have Big Zuu as a Charity Ambassador for Peer Power Youth. Big Zuu's empathy for the realities of life for young people who face the most challenges, and his passion for youth opportunities make him the perfect match for our values. He is a positive role model for young people, and we look forward to working with him to make real our vision for 'a world where all young people can realise their dreams and live their best life'."

10

FOUNDER OF PEER POWER YOUTH RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS ‘CHURCHILL FELLOWSHIP’ AWARD

Anne-Marie Douglas, Founder and CEO at Peer Power Youth, received a prestigious Churchill Fellowship medallion after having successfully completing an Empathy report. This is published research into exploring empathy development in youth justice, education and social care settings for children and young people. Anne-Marie was one of 122 people being honoured at an Award Ceremony held in Methodist Central Hall, London on 3rd September 2024.

A community of over 4000 change makers, Churchill Fellows work on the frontline of today’s crucial issues, developing new solutions based on global research and personal expertise. From aged 18 into their 80s and from every corner of all four nations, Churchill Fellows have achieved amazing things, from becoming community leaders and charity founders to embedding new services and campaigning for action in fields from climate change to education, technology to the arts.

“I felt proud and emotional attending the Churchill Fellowship Award Ceremony and receiving my medal for my research report “Toward a System that Heals” where I travelled across the USA and Canada to explore empathy and its application to youth justice, children’s education, health and social care services. Since my Fellowship, I have continued to build the charity I founded, Peer Power Youth, with deep empathy and love as core values and practice. I have spoken in Parliament, written and published articles and recorded The Empathy Equation episode for Radio 4. As next steps I hope to deepen and share knowledge around empathy in the workplace.” - Anne-Marie Douglas, Founder & CEO

11

STRATEGIC INVESTMENT FUNDING FROM PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION

We are delighted to share that we have begun the first year of a fiveyear Youth Strategic Investment Fund partnership with Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Peer Power Youth, Gendered Intelligence and Reaching Higher are in a cohort together, and a range of other youth support organisations are in the wider cohort of the fund.

Over the first year of funding, we have invested in core salaries of the organisation, and commissioned organisations to support us with developing our HR function, our evaluation processes, and crucially, to support the co-design of our new 2025-2029 strategy.

The partnership is three pronged and includes:

We are delighted to receive this five-year investment through the Youth Strategic Investment Fund. With this funding, we will invest in leadership development and build on wellbeing and equity. We will continue to lead with empathy and build on strengths focusing on equality, consolidation, and the systemic change needed to address and dismantle inequalities. We are grateful to partner with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in our mission to enhance the lives of young people who have experienced trauma.

-Anne-Marie Douglas, Founder & CEO

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT Peer Power Youth’s Flagship Empathy Programme: collaborating and sharing our learning with others

This project is funded for three years by the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) via their Reaching Communities fund and brings together our learning to date, the development of new resources and in the third year, collaboration with other youth organisations to help deepen their ethical and equitable youth voice practice.

The project will go on to deepen and scale Peer Power Youth’s impact and reach significantly over the coming years.

THE PROJECT

This year marked the second year of a project to further develop and test our Empathy Infused Model, our flagship programme.

It is a collaborative approach developed with young people with lived experience that centres equity, empathy and relationships as core values in youth voice practice and leadership. This model fosters trusting relationships, mutual respect and genuine power-sharing to embed young people’s voices into the design, commissioning, and evaluation of youth support services. It promotes a cultural shift toward empathic involvement and enables preventative and early intervention support that truly meets young people’s holistic needs.

The model is trauma-responsive and ethical, recognising the emotional impact of participation and ensuring young people are not exploited.

Peer Power Youth works alongside organisations and service providers across the health, social care and youth justice services to develop this approach through training, workshops and coaching, continuously evolving it based on feedback and evidence to create effective, inclusive youth engagement practices.

Over the last year, Young Partners have collaborated with professionals across youth justice, health, violence reduction agencies and more to further develop a suite of training, workshops and coaching modules to contribute to our Empathy Infused Model.

Young Partners have created training materials and designed and delivered films and other creative resources on different aspects of ethical and equitable youth voice practice. Year 3 will see us testing these materials in different youth support settings, learning, refining in readiness to scale our approach and deepen our impact in the coming years.

13

INDIVIDUAL CHANGE: HOW WE IMPROVE FUTURE OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

By ‘individual change’ we mean the work we do to make sure that the children and young people we work with, both in the community and in secure settings, are ready and able to take part in activities that can help to improve those systems.

That’s why at Peer Power Youth, we believe that ‘system change’ (by improving policies, behaviour and practice in health, and children’s justice and care services) cannot happen without ‘individual change’.

Our work on ‘Individual Change’ has seen improvements in young people’s emotional health, through building empathy, confidence, wellbeing and future employment prospects.

This wraparound support offer has been co-designed with young people themselves and is our ‘Peer to Professional™’ programme, a package that includes:

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INDIVIDUAL CHANGE: HOW WE IMPROVE FUTURE OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Young Partners said the following when asked why they want to work and continue working with Peer Power Youth:

==> picture [555 x 145] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
I’m passionate about I want to make a I want to better my I want to make a
system change and change in the care skillset and I feel it’s difference. I like to
working with young sector and social
a good fit for me to help those who
people. Peer Power Youth workers because in
educates professionals really progress in have also gone
my experience these
to work better with my career. through the justice
places haven’t been
young people. system like me.
good to me.
----- End of picture text -----

When asked how Peer Power Youth has helped Young Partners, they said:

==> picture [556 x 97] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
My attitude Employability Selling myself
To be more Present my Communicating
towards life, skills, how to so people voice a bit at a certain
creative.
to be more get into work, know my more. pace.
resilient. Interview skills. strengths.
----- End of picture text -----

When asked what interests you about working with Peer Power Youth, % of Young Partners said...

Changing policies 88% Networking 90%
Training 70% Payment 32%
Sharing your story 32% Professional experience 28%
Helping others 25% Working with other young people 50%
Having a peer support network 75% AQA and other Qualifications 40%

With our support, Young Partners have worked hard to grow in areas such as:

82% 90% 65% have gained the skills to support feel more optimistic about the others’ ideas, even if they are future. different from their own.

feeling like they are a leader.

==> picture [80 x 76] intentionally omitted <==

100%

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reported increased confidence.

15

CHILL N SKILL™

‘Chill n Skill™’ sessions are where healing meets professional growth, a space where we build on skills and find care and love in the community that we’ve built together. These sessions are funded by The Westminster Foundation.

Throughout the year, these sessions have been a powerful catalyst for both individual and systemic change. From free writing on growth and inspiration, to navigating the challenges of self-promotion in job interviews, Young Partners have pushed themselves and each other to build confidence in one another. They have worked closely with the Youth Engagement Team to co-create workshops exploring topics on identity, wellbeing, leadership and employability skills, all in a peer-led, supportive environment.

Young Partners have used Chill n Skill™ to reflect on what personal development really means to them – and what gets in the way. Whether exploring emotional ‘stretch zones’, writing personal statements, or engaging in ethical storytelling, young people consistently report feeling “more confident”, “more self-aware” and “more seen”. These spaces have helped them articulate their growth, recognise their strengths, and even inspire others through public speaking, group facilitation, and award speeches.

Chill n Skill™ sessions have also become a space for critique and advocacy. Young Partners have bravely shared that the charity needs to deepen its commitment to inclusion and equity. From the need for antiracism training using frameworks in our Anti-Racism, Equity and Equality work, Young Partners called for more wellbeing check-ins and youth-led planning. Our Young Partners are clear: we must practice what we preach.

I never thought I’d be able to stand up and speak about my story in front of others – but doing this with people who understand makes it possible.

-Young Partner

Young Partners have led follow-up conversations, piloted sessions on critical thinking and racial identity, and requested safe, identity-specific spaces. These demands are shaping the evolution of our co-production approach, making the organisation more accountable and transparent.

Chill n Skill™ has served as a stepping stone for Young Partners moving from engagement into leadership and employment. Participants have developed and led their own sessions, including workshops on storytelling, observation games, public speaking, and critical reflection.

One standout moment included a session piloted by Peer Leader, Rose, on the Black youth experience. The experience sparked essential conversations about autonomy, power-sharing, and culturally responsive practice.

Moving forward, we will be investing in external facilitators, continuing to resource sessions with food, toiletries and travel support, and building on the creative assets of our young people, Chill n Skill™ is transforming into a space where change – both personal and collective – truly takes root.

16

TEAM BUILDING GALLERY

It was the relationships that made the difference. T hat’s how I built trust, and now I’m leading change.

Throughout the year, the Peer Power Youth community has participated in a variety of team building activities in order to connect with one another and form meaningful relationships. Some highlights include an adventurous trip to Go Ape, a sunny Peer Leader away day in Brighton, an evening of bowling, and monthly Chill n Skill™ sessions.

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YOUNG PARTNER SPOTLIGHTS

Over the year Peer Power Youth celebrated Young Partners for their achievements, in which they increased confidence, improved their emotional health, increased their networks and developed new skills through our accredited training programme. We have highlighted their success on our blog, shared on our website, our social networks and newsletter.

“During my time as a young partner at Peer Power Youth, I have learnt the importance of my voice. I’ve been encouraged to realise the value that my lived experience of mental health difficulties has and as a result, I have been able to pursue a career in mental health.

Peer Power Youth has equipped me with skills which I currently use in my full-time role as a mental health support worker, such as workshop facilitation. Due to having social anxiety, I often believed that my voice and my thoughts weren’t important enough to be shared but throughout my journey at Peer Power Youth, I have been constantly reminded of my talents and strengths, and this has grown my confidence immensely”.

-Lucia, Young Partner

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YOUNG PARTNER SPOTLIGHTS

“Some incredible attributes of Meg are her openness with her lived experience, utilising this to put herself in the shoes of those hardest to reach, and her passion to drive her story forward to promote positive change in the system. During her time with us she has developed her skillset and involvement in projects and sessions to such an extent that she has now stepped up into a Peer Leader position. Meg is an engaged, enthusiastic member of our team, and is super quick to learn. This is a role we know she will excel in, and we’re so excited to have her co-creating with us”.

-Team member on Peer Leader, Meg

“I was presented with the opportunity to host my own podcast at Bloomsbury Institute London talking about the political state of the country and inviting my friend Strilly. My first political guest was Cllr Katy Thompson and that’s when Bloomsbury noticed my potential. I was surprised and fortunate enough to get a Law Scholarship at Bloomsbury Institute and an unconditional offer to Buckingham University. After having conversations with my peers, I accepted and it’s been really good”.

-Rico, Peer Leader

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POETRY BY YOUNG PEOPLE IN SOUTH EAST COMMUNITY PROJECT

These poems were created as part of a youth voice project funded by The Blagrave Trust. The Youth Engagement Team and Peer Leaders connected with young people across East and West Sussex in a range of sports and creative arts activities, culminating in a youth led report and event with decision makers, held in Worthing.

– Please note that some of the content could be distressing for readers, please proceed with care and take the time you need.

| \

1 ! J 1" a L i: r

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POETRY BY YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY PROJECT

Assistance

I’m askingFinding support Please help me, with my problems. I’m asking for-

© Ability to reach out. Finding support © is G what the voice inside feels like when the scratchy pen turns green with YES. I’m asking for assistance.

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SYSTEM CHANGE: HOW WE CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE ACROSS YOUTH SUPPORT SERVICES

At Peer Power Youth, we believe that ‘system change’ cannot happen without the involvement of young people who have experienced those services. Peer Power Youth’s system change starts with working with young people to create real change for others in health, justice and social services.

The more we support young people to overcome their childhood trauma and the challenges it can create, find their power and potential and build leadership skills; the more they will be able to work with professionals within these services to create more compassionate and supportive systems.

The better these youth support services can meet the needs of children and young people, the fewer young people will need our support. We want an inclusive and just society that recognises individual assets, skills and strengths.

Our co-designed work changing youth support services spans a range of projects, including:

Young people are not out of reach. It’s the services that are out of reach.

-Young Partner

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CO-DESIGNING HEALTHCARE AND VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME (VRP) SERVICES ACROSS LONDON

This project ensures that children and young people with experience of the justice system across London have their voices heard and are responded to across service delivery and design in healthcare settings.

This project involves monthly sessions with young partners to:

Participate in a podcast interviewing NHS England (NHSE) and youth justice professionals Take part in professional meetings and events

Our work in secure settings is rooted in building trust, connection, and belonging with young people who are often overlooked or unheard. We create safe spaces that recognise the importance of lived experience and offer moments of humanity within highly controlled environments.

One Young Partner told us:

When you lot come in, it feels like we can breathe for a bit. You treat us like people, not just prisoners.

Our sessions are designed to be flexible and responsive. They centre creativity, storytelling, empathy, and co-production — tools that help young people feel seen and heard. We’ve seen young men use art to express trauma, write letters of hope to their younger selves, and facilitate discussions that challenge systems they’ve been failed by. The impact is not just emotional or psychological; it’s practical.

Over the year, we delivered a range of projects that gave young people space to use their voice. We use creative modes of exploration, like free writing, where young people explore how to safely share their lived experiences, developing skills in self-reflection, and narrative-building. This helped them take ownership of their stories without feeling defined by them. Other sessions looked at mapping out what a fairer justice system could look like, which were later shared with secure settings governance teams and decision-makers.

These sessions often sparked deep conversations about power, racism, and the future they want to see.

In addition to emotional wellbeing and identityfocused sessions, a significant part of our work in secure settings involves co-producing improvements in healthcare with young people. This has included young people taking on the role of ‘Healthcare Champions’, working alongside healthcare teams to identify gaps, share lived experience, and help shape how services are delivered on the units — from mental health support, to access, to physical health checks.

Their input directly influenced how information is communicated and how healthcare appointments are scheduled, making the system feel more responsive and respectful. Young people mentioned an opportunity for us to cocreate how community landing meetings should provide a space for young men to discuss not only daily living conditions but also share feedback on regime provisions. These meetings became a key way for setting staff and young people to build trust and work in partnership.

A key project was when Peer Power Youth’s Young Partners and health and justice colleagues co-produced themes and questions that were used during our engagement workshops throughout the summer of 2024. These key themes and questions were used as discussion prompts to hear more from the young people regarding their experiences and understanding of healthcare inequalities and sexual health. 23

CO-DESIGNING HEALTHCARE AND VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME (VRP) SERVICES ACROSS LONDON

The outcome and impact of this work promoted the shared understanding that creating a safe space empowers young people to share their views and experiences, provides an opportunity to increase awareness and better health outcomes, and promotes social justice. Our approach is modelled around care and empathy, and with the support from our therapeutic colleagues in secure settings, it can maximise support for a positive impact.

As one young person summed it up: “You lot give us a bit of normal”.

Since early 2024, Peer Power Youth’s Young Partners have been working closely with the NHSE Violence Reduction Programme (NHSE VRP) to contribute lived experience insight to the ongoing development of the Serious Violence Duty and strategy. Through regular monthly working groups, Young Partners are shaping how statutory services better understand, engage with, and support children and young people most affected by violence in London.

Throughout the work, Young Partners emphasised the importance of early intervention, particularly with children under the age of 8, while also highlighting that approaches must adapt when working with teenagers and young adults.

Across subsequent sessions, Young Partners co-developed a structure for community engagement workshops designed to capture the voices of 12–21-year-olds, those they identified as most vulnerable to serious violence. The workshops aim to explore experiences, challenges, and solutions around violence, with two titles chosen by Young Partners: “What’s the Point of Violence?” and “Let’s Talk Safety”.

Through discussion and lived experience insight, Young Partners identified the following root causes contributing to serious violence:

This insight has directly informed discussion points and themes within community workshops across London.

Following unrest and race-related violence across the UK during summer 2024, Young Partners shared how current events were affecting their mental health and personal safety.

These reflections highlighted urgent themes that informed future VRP work, and how we as a charity respond to national events and social issues, including:

A standout moment from this year was when Peer Leader, Rico, attended the Violence Reduction Alliance (VRA) Special Advisory Group Forum alongside the Peer Power Youth team.

Rico confidently shared his lived experiences and insights into the root causes of serious youth violence, highlighting the lack of opportunities and structural barriers young people face in their communities. His contributions were met with respect and curiosity from stakeholders, with several commenting on how powerful and grounded his reflections were. Rico’s presence not only demonstrated the importance of youth voice in high-level strategy discussions but also reminded professionals that real change begins by listening to those closest to the issues.

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CO-DESIGNING SERVICES IN SECURE SETTINGS WITH NHS SOUTH EAST

This project is a partnership between NHS South East region and Peer Power Youth. This project works to ensure that children and young people with lived experience of social care and justice services and secure settings (in the South East of England) have their voices heard and responded to in relation to improving service delivery and design in healthcare services.

Peer Power Youth connects with children and young people and professionals in Swanwick Lodge Secure Children’s Home, Lansdowne Secure Children’s Home and Oasis Restore Secure School, and in partnership with artists and local partners such as The Russell Martin Foundation (RMF).

The children and young people we connect with in these settings can take part in a range of creative workshops to learn about and improve healthcare services. Importantly, these sessions are also co-designed with older young people, our Peer Leaders, who also have experience of these settings. They learn about facilitating sessions with children and young people too and often co-deliver alongside the Peer Power Youth Engagement Team and our artists.

Peer Power Youth support healthcare staff to embed ethical ‘voice of the child’ practice through training, workshops and modelling creative participatory practice.

Across secure settings in the South East, Peer Power Youth is embedding co-production at the heart of healthcare.

Working alongside Swanwick Lodge and Lansdowne Secure Children’s Homes, and Oasis Restore Secure School, we partner with young people to turn routine “consultations” into genuine collaboration.

Our partnerships with the settings ensures that young people are not just viewed as passive recipients of care, but as co-designers and experts by experience.

When visiting secure settings, our work is handson and creative. Throughout the year, we facilitated weekly engagement sessions that evolve around the setting’s youth voice processes, such as sharing with young people regularly, “You Said, We Did”, to ensure young people’s recommendations are actioned in practice. We often find similarities in much of what is being taught in the setting’s PHSE (Personal, Health and Social Education) curriculum, where we found opportunity to facilitate sessions that focused on transitional work, ethical storytelling, and body-based trauma awareness; young people rehearsing courtroom speeches, building a shared “systemjargon dictionary,” and writing and performing lyrics that explore exploitation and consent through metaphor.

Throughout the year of engagement in secure settings, PPY has continued to build on the relationships and insights gained from working alongside children and young people and staff. We remain committed to supporting the development of health and wellbeing (H&WB) provisions for CYP.

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CO-DESIGNING SERVICES IN SECURE SETTINGS WITH NHSE SOUTH EAST

Key themes that come up in our work:

1. Health & Wellbeing Priorities

Working with CYP (children & young people) to identify what helps them feel healthy and achieve optimal wellbeing. This includes recognising both physical and mental health needs, and exploring ideas for improvements in daily life, healthcare access, and emotional support.

2. Diversity & Inclusion

Exploring young people’s views on diversity of staff across the secure estate, highlighting the importance of representation and cultural understanding. We aim to promote co-production practices that are inclusive and empowering, particularly for CYP from Global Majority backgrounds.

3. Involving CYP in Decision-Making

Working in partnership with secure settings to explore how involved young people feel in decisions about their health and wellbeing, as well as their overall experience of daily life in the settings. PPY helps to identify opportunities to strengthen youth voice in policy, planning, and care pathways.

4. Transitions

Gathering insight into the experiences of CYP as they enter and leave the secure estate, identifying emotional, practical, and systemic challenges faced during these transitions. We aim to understand how accessible transitional services post-release are and how transitions can be better supported for long-term wellbeing.

A key part of our work in the South East is our Young Partners being involved in procurement opportunities for services that may be contracted to work in secure settings and in the community. NHSE South East Health & Justice colleagues and Young Partners co-created the ‘Respect Charter’ below, which highlights the importance of centring youth voice in procurements and commissioning.

A key part of our work in the South East is our Young Partners being involved in procurement opportunities for services that may be contracted to work in secure settings and in the community. NHSE South East Health & Justice colleagues and Young Partners cocreated the ‘Respect Charter’ below, which highlights the importance of centring youth voice in procurements and commissioning.

One of the standout moments over this year was the Young Partner-led Q&A session with Oasis Restore Secure School (ORSS). Young Partners, Alexys, Meg and Nisha, co-designed and facilitated a powerful and insightful conversation with staff from ORSS. Questions focused on restraint processes, family contact, trusted relationships, racial equity, education on healthy relationships, and food choices. ORSS shared their commitment to de-escalation and health-informed restraint protocols, a broad and inclusive family strategy, youth council co-design, and a relational, restorative culture across the site. ORSS staff noted:

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CO-DESIGNING SERVICES IN SECURE SETTINGS WITH NHS SOUTH EAST a Young people’s feedback reflected deep appreciation for the authenticity and commitment of ORSS staff: “It’s actually so nice to hear them talk about the young people and family and how far they’re going to go the extra mile”. “You can really see they want it to work”. “I loved how they answered all the questions and not just one person spoke”. “It’s all about the young people – no judgment”. et The work we’ve done throughout this year has reinforced the importance of consistency, bd co-production, and cultural competency in delivering effective services for CYP. The Young Partner-led Q&A stood out as a testament to the power of youth voice when platforms are created for it to be heard—and when professionals genuinely listen. This is further highlighted in the feedback we receive from professionals who work in secure settings. They said: “Peer Power Youth engage with children and young people in sessions that facilitate discussion. They enable them to share their experiences and give their opinions on aspects of care and service delivery”. “It’s good fun working with colleagues from Peer Power Youth. They are friendly, kind people”. “I think they (PPY) are great at engaging young people and are really proactive and thoughtful about how to do this. Feedback sessions was always so positive. The representatives who came to us were fab, warm and engaging”. eg “We want systems to allow us – to co-produce for real not just be consulted after decisions are made”. Al be -Young Partner 27

PEER POWER YOUTH’S ‘CRITICAL FRIEND’ ROLE IN COMMUNITY SERVICES

Part of Peer Power Youth’s role (working in partnership with NHS across the South East), is that of a ‘critical friend’. This role supports and collaborates with secure settings for children and young people and community prevention services to critically assess their youth voice practices. This involves working in partnership to offer honest feedback, identify gaps in support and ethical youth voice practice, and with young people, suggest alternative approaches that better meet the needs of the young people they support.

We aim to foster an environment of continuous improvement, focusing on better outcomes for young people in secure settings and the community through ethical youth voice practice. The critical friend role has led to changes in the way secure settings and services engage with young people, particularly in areas such as mental health support, education pathways, referrals and signposting.

Our critical friend work remains flexible and tailored to the service’s stage of development. Senior Youth Engagement Coordinator, Jack, continues to work closely with Thames Valley Link Programme, particularly the service’s Co-Production and Youth Voice lead. Our work has included codeveloping a Youth Voice Forum and agendas for their regular ‘Co-Production Board Meetings’, guidance on young people’s involvement in governance and the setting up of a Youth Advisory Board. One example of how this work has come into fruition is the setting up of a young person-led LGBTQ+ Focus Group, which followed after the suggestion from a young person they work with, and utilising sociocratic decisionmaking tools. Another notable example of our impact in this work is uptake of language such as ‘Experts by Experience’, a reflection from the training and coaching staff received from us.

South East Vanguard professionals all received our training on co-production and youth participation, including coaching (June 2023). This has led to deeper partnership developments that promotes co-production and the setting up of youth voice boards to help steer the direction of their work across Surrey, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

We were heavily involved in the recruitment of a co-production lead for Thames Valley Link Programme, ensuring they are an integrated member of the team both on the clinical and youth engagement sides of the work. This required a cultural shift to ensure co-production is 'everyone's responsibility', this was a key outcome from the training they received.

Jack is enjoying the role as a ‘critical friend’, and is coordinating a deeper integrated approach by inviting our colleagues at Thames Valley Link Programme to work from our office in Victoria.

Feedback from collaborators:

“One of the key strengths of our collaboration was Peer Power Youth’s support in facilitating meaningful co-production activities with their young partners. Their involvement was instrumental in shaping both the research questions and the design of TONIC’s evaluation materials, ensuring they were not only robust but also youth-informed and accessible.

Furthermore, a shift in the vanguard practice to have more integration and deep partnership work with their sub-contracted third sector partners. This highlighted the commitment to interlinking clinical practice with youth workers, centring their work on relational engagement and care.

This partnership has demonstrated the real value of collaborative, youth-centred approaches in research and evaluation. We look forward to continuing to work alongside Peer Power Youth and are proud to have them as a partner”.

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CO-CREATING A VISION FOR YOUTH JUSTICE ACROSS LONDON WITH MOPAC

Peer Power Youth was commissioned to work with young people who have experienced the justice system in London, in an exciting partnership with The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to co-create a youth led vision or manifesto for youth justice services.

This project focuses on improving the youth justice system in London. By working with a panel of young people with lived experience of justice, we co-created a new vision for the justice system in London. Together, we identified issues and suggested changes that put young people’s voices at the heart of decision-making, aiming to create a fairer and more supportive system.

“I enjoyed being heard, understood, and talking to authority to make changes” -Young Partner

Through creative workshops, we explored shared principles, aspirations, and key focus areas that are important to young people, such as stop and search or knowing your rights. Ultimately, we will create a resource that young people and their families can easily understand and secure a commitment from partners across the youth justice system to follow this vision and shape the future of youth justice services in London.

Young people were recruited, trained and supported to take part in creative monthly co-creation sessions, where they collaborated on shaping the vision for the youth justice system. They were also supported to prepare for and attend panel discussions with commissioners and youth justice professionals, ensuring their voices were heard at every stage. At the time of writing the principles have been shaped and are being agreed with decision makers across MOPAC and London Youth Justices, the resource will be published later in 2025.

“I loved the ability to listen to the real-life stories and accounts from the young people, which makes me reflect more about how I can help change the criminal justice system” -MOPAC Professional

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CO-CREATION WITH ALCOHOL CHANGE AND SOUTH EAST-BASED YOUTH JUSTICE PRACTITIONERS WITH NHS SOUTHEAST TO SUPPORT ALCOHOL CHANGE

Peer Power Youth partnered with Mike Ward, a consultant who works closely with Alcohol Change, to co-develop his work on ‘Assertive Engagement’ with Young Partners, leading to a co-facilitated workshop for youth justice practitioners across the South East.

Mike’s work has been in development for over a decade, aiming to evolve trauma-informed approaches for young people with complex needs. The Blue Light Project, a nationally recognised initiative launched in 2014, has developed effective strategies for engaging adults with alcohol addiction. Its success in reducing harm and relieving pressure on public services has been widely evidenced and awarded, with applications expanding into broader areas including mental health, homelessness, and substance use.

Recognising that young people, particularly those with experiences of care, justice, and trauma, often present similarly complex needs and behaviours, Mike Ward began exploring how the Blue Light principles could be adapted for adolescent settings. This led to the development of a dedicated training course on ‘working with difficult-to-engage young people,’ first piloted in Kent in 2021/22.

To ensure this work reflected the real voices and lived experiences of young people, Peer Power Youth was invited to co-develop a companion guidance resource. Through this collaboration, our Young Partners played a key role in shaping the language, case studies, and structure of the final material. Together, we ensured the guidance is not only practical and evidence-based, but also youth-led, emotionally intelligent, and grounded in the realities of those it aims to support.

Following the completion of the resource, Peer Power Youth and Mike Ward co-facilitated a workshop for Youth Justice Practitioners working across the South East.

The aim of the workshop was to explore and gather feedback on the resource, and to facilitate shared learning and experiences that identified systemic barriers to engagement, and highlighted best practices for working with CYP in justice settings.

We explored the strengths of multi-agency collaboration, increased confidence in assertive engagement strategies, and a shared commitment to improving engagement approaches for and with children and young people.

Participants appreciated the practical case study exercises and highlighted the importance of reflective practice, language use, and peer support in improving service delivery.

Youth Justice Practitioners reflected the following:

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INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE IN NHSE HEALTHCARE STRATEGIES

Peer Power Youth contributed to the Core20Plus5 initiative, which aimed to address health inequalities in the UK by focusing on the 20% most deprived communities ("Core20") and five key areas of health improvement. PPY worked closely with young people in secure settings and in the community, supporting them and facilitating safer spaces to share experiences of healthcare access and advocate for better services, particularly in mental health and prevention services. Through youth-led workshops, consultations, and advocacy, PPY helped ensure that young people’s voices were central in shaping healthcare policies and services that address individual needs.

The initiative led to increased youth engagement in health policy discussions, particularly in NHSE public health strategy development, and several key recommendations for improving healthcare access, particularly for marginalised young people. PPY’s involvement fostered stronger partnerships with healthcare professionals and local authorities, ensuring that young people’s needs were considered in long-term health strategies.

Although our engagement work for this project was completed in December 2023, our work is far from finished. Since then, Peer Power Youth have been invited to present our findings at various national forums, including the Heath and Justice CYP Governance meetings and the Children and Young People in Secure Estate, Managed Clinical Advisory Group (MCAG). These groups provide clinical guidance and support for children and young people held in secure settings, and focuses on identifying areas for development and future priorities within the CYPSE, particularly regarding resettlement and transitions.

Sharing our key findings of the project has led to practitioners working across secure settings in England and Wales to acknowledge and commit to actioning the following:

When you hear the findings from someone who’s actually lived it — someone who’s been inside a secure unit — it hits different. It's important that professionals actually want to listen and do better.

-Young Partner 31

COLLABORATING WITH NHS ENGLAND AND CONTRIBUTING TO REDUCING HEALTH INEQUALITIES

This project is integral in shifting power dynamics, ensuring that young people are no longer just passive participants but active contributors to shaping the services they use. It works to change the traditional service model, moving towards one that is more collaborative and responsive to the needs of young people.

Through these co-production projects, Peer Power Youth has influenced service redesigns to ensure that they are more inclusive, accessible, and tailored to young peoples lived experiences.

The ongoing collaboration has led to improvements in service delivery and has empowered young partners to see themselves as change-makers within the system.

Co-production allows the voices of communities to be better reflected in decisions that affect them. It makes it feel more inclusive and fairer.

DEVELOPING A YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD AND RESOURCES WITH UK TRAUMA COUNCIL

Peer Power Youth were commissioned by The UK Trauma Council (UKTC). They exist to create evidence-based resources to improve professionals and carers’ understanding of the nature and impact of trauma and aim to better equip all those supporting children and young people exposed to trauma. UKTC is a part of Anna Freud charity, which is a world leading mental health charity for children and families.

We were commissioned to create a Youth Advisory Board and co-produce a film with young people for young people about their experience of trauma and recovery.

The Youth Advisory Board for UK Trauma Council included young people from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and Peer Power Youth ensured that they were appropriately trained, developed and supported to participate meaningfully in the development of UKTC practice and policies.

The film Picking up the Pieces: Young People on Trauma, which explores young people’s perspectives on trauma and recovery has been published and shared across UK Trauma Council and Anna Freud networks and will be used as a part of Peer Power Youth’s ongoing training and development resources.

The impact of the project was significant in raising awareness about trauma and recovery among young people. The film created as part of the project is a valuable resource that can be used to educate and support individuals dealing with trauma.

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SUSSEX COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROJECT

The Peer Power Youth’s South East Community Outreach Project, funded by Blagrave Trust, engaged with children and young people across the South East, particularly those aged 13-25 with lived experiences of the care, justice, and health systems. The final report presents how the project focused on understanding young people’s needs, amplifying their voices, and identifying barriers they face in accessing support, education, employment, and safe spaces.

Through a series of sports, drama and creative engagement workshops, Peer Power Youth explored key themes such as mental health access, diversity and representation, safety, education, and employment pathways. Young people shared their experiences and recommendations, which were compiled into a report highlighting both individual challenges and systemic changes needed to better support them.

The "Voices of Resilience" event was a key activity designed to elevate the voices of the children and young people with lived experienced involved in the project.

The event served as a platform to:

“Voices of Resilience” directly contributed to influencing systemic change by highlighting the specific challenges young people face and offering solutions co-created by the participants. It focused on improving care systems and justice-related policies by empowering young people to engage with decisionmakers and participate in conversations about the changes they want to see.

The event brought about a shift in the way services engage with young people, ensuring their lived experiences are considered in policy development. Young partners shared their insights into the gaps in support services and the need for more youth-centred practices, helping to build bridges between youth-led movements and stakeholders in care and justice sectors.

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CO-CREATING YOUTH LED RESOURCES WITH LAMBETH YOUTH JUSTICE SERVICE

Peer Power Youth was commissioned by Lambeth Youth Justice Service (YJS) to co-produce an accessible, youth-friendly leaflet that supports young people and their families as they enter the service. This project involved translating key YJS documents into clear, engaging language and working alongside a professional illustrator to visually bring the content to life.

Between April-December 2024, Peer Power Youth facilitated a series of creative workshops with Young Partners and young people at Lambeth YJS to ensure the final resource truly reflected their voices and lived experience. The original set of documents was distilled into six core pieces of information that were most relevant and helpful to young people trying to navigate the system.

The final product, designed by Lizzie Lines, which has now been shared in its final designs for both digital and print distribution, will be shared directly with young people and parents accessing Lambeth YJS and uploaded to the service’s website. This resource is a powerful example of system change in action: making services more accessible, transparent, and child-centred. With the co-creation of young people, we were able to break down complex information, ensures young people feel informed and respected from their very first interaction with the service. We hope this work promotes greater trust and engagement in youth justice services.

CO-DESIGNING A WEBSITE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE BY YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE YOUTH CUSTODY SERVICE

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ Youth Custody Service, YCS) had created a ‘Youth Justice Charter’ leaflet and animation. The information covers crime prevention services, arrest or stop and search, and youth justice services in secure accommodation and when leaving secure accommodation. The purpose was to highlight children’s rights across these justice services and the service they can expect. The next phase of this charter was to create an accompanying website to engage and reach as many children as possible.

The MoJ approached Peer Power Youth to work in partnership to ensure that children and young people with experience of justice services, were involved in shaping the design of the website to ensure it was engaging for young people.

Initial sessions brought to light that the standard .gov.uk website format would not have the functionality that was required to engage young people. MoJ, committed to getting it right for young people, embarked upon seeking the appropriate resource and website to be able to host the Charter.

Over 3 months of co-creation sessions, Peer Leaders from Peer Power Youth engaged in consultation sessions with MoJ and website designers, and shared their views on designs presented by MoJ, to shape and define the webpage. As a result of their work, the outcome will be a more engaging website page for children and young people, who will in turn learn more about their rights and youth justice services.

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COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY: SHARING OUR IMPACT AND ADVOCATING FOR SYSTEM CHANGE

A crucial part of Peer Power Youth’s work over the last year has been increasing our reach to share our impact and provide more opportunities for young people in communications to advocate for system change.

We’ve done this through our shared decision-making circles internally, that ensure young people are involved in the design and delivery of our communications, and in co-creating responses to important events through our social channels, podcasts and blogs.

Youth-led policy advocacy

Peer Power Youth has worked closely with Young Partners to create and promote internal policy recommendations that reflect their lived experience. By engaging young people in policy discussions and supporting them in drafting proposals, we have helped amplify the voices of Young Partners we directly work with.

Through a series of workshops, we invited Young Partners and Peer Leaders to advocate for amendments in policies related to engagement, payment involvement, travel, boundaries, online sessions, pastoral support and outreach. The policy proposals presented via our youth engagement ‘Reset’ in 2025, has led to more inclusive practices internally and for our offer for young people joining us.

Our work on anti-racism, equity and equality

Peer Power Youth has shared decision making internally, across different areas (circles) of the charity. One of these is our Anti-racism, Equity, and Equality (AREE) Circle which seeks to develop our diversity and inclusion practice internally and externally through our projects. It also has additional funding for ‘subject specific’ solidarity work such as to respond to community needs following the riots across the UK in summer 2024, and in particular for those in our community from the global majority and from South Asian heritage.

The group is made up of young people, staff and trustees and covered a range of topics through the year, including our language, our polices, power and privilege. Each session prioritises well-being, relationship and grounded to ensure safer spaces. In addition, a separate young people only AREE circle is facilitated by an external consultant expert in connecting with young people around equity, diversity and inclusion.

We are grateful to The Tudor Trust, AB Charitable Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and the National Lottery Community Fund Awards, and Young Westminster Foundation, all of whom fund different parts of this work.

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IMPROVING LIVED EXPERIENCE EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE: VISUAL RESOURCE

Lived experience employees

This project aims to shine a light on the strengths that lived experience employees can bring to organisations. For small to medium organisations working across the charity sector, higher rates of lived experience employees can result in higher resource for organisations keen to recruit and develop employees ethically and within their values. 24 organisations came together on a learning journey to share, knowledge and resources with the aim of sharing this learning with the sector.

The learning journey

The resource was co-created as a result of working in partnership with Place Matters, Lizzie Lines and a number of organisations involved in the ‘Peer Learning Journey’ and the ‘Funder Convening Event’. Together, they developed a plan through generous support from Esmée Fairbairn’s ‘Grants Plus’ to convene a group of similar sized cross-charity sector organisations to learn from each other.

It is the culmination of a series of ‘learning journey’ sessions that were facilitated by Emily and her team at Place Matters, and the learning from a funder convening event held in Autumn 2024.

Overall, we hope to spark discussion amongst funders and charity leaders and raise awareness of the needs and strengths of organisations with lived experience employees. In it, is a call to action for funders to consider ethical funding practice for smaller organisations with higher levels of lived experience employees.

Looking to the future

We hope that the resource encourages increased: ° knowledge and improved recruitment and retention of employees with lived experience

funding and peer support for well-being and professional development of employees with lived experience.

The resource will serve as a call to action for funders and charity leaders to share knowledge and skills, dismantle workplace barriers, protect the health and well-being of our communities and contribute to a more inclusive sector.

Moreover, we’re exploring launching a community of practice codesigned by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Peer Learning Group, for those who are interested in taking this learning forward together.

Thank you to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Place Matters, Lizzie Lines and all the organisations involved in the Peer Learning Journey.

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PODCASTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BLOOMSBURY INSTITUTE

Podcast episodes involved our Peer Leader’s interviewing a youth worker to discuss the relation between creativity and youth work. Our relationship with Bloomsbury Institute offers Peer Power Youth quarterly podcasts, where Young Partners can speak about any topics openly with professionals. Previous sessions have involved interviews with NHS violence reduction leaders.

This podcast is played live on the radio, with an edited version later released on Soundcloud. In this episode they spoke about how using creative practices can engage with young people, allowing them to express themselves and enable them to speak out about societal issues that they care about. The podcast space has been a great opportunity for Young Partners to improve their confidence and skills in public speaking, communication and coping with pressure.

We thank Bloomsbury Institute for their support of Peer Power Youth. a

“I would like to thank Peer Power Youth for providing me with the opportunity to copresent a podcast. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something I embrace, and this experience was both exciting and rewarding.

In my role as a Peer Leader, I take immense pride in the contributions I make to the charity. It is truly fulfilling to know that my efforts have a meaningful impact on the initiatives they undertake. As a young person with lived experience, I am particularly passionate about influencing decision-making processes on various projects. It is an honour to bring my unique perspective to the table, ensuring that the voices of those they represent are heard and valued.

Thank you once again for this incredible opportunity. I always appreciate how you are empathy led and lead with co production”.

-Louise, Peer Leader

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COMMUNICATIONS: OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS

Our Online Communication channels play a vital role in demonstrating our impact to a wider audience and growing our supporter base. A variety of social media channels, newsletters and the Peer Power Youth website create an online community, sharing important work and opening conversations by highlighting awareness around topics that have an impact on young people in the UK.

Leaving X

This year, Peer Power Youth made the decision to leave X because we believe that the platform is no longer the right place for us to engage with our audience and create a positive impact.

612

new LinkedIn followers

48,572

impressions on LinkedIn

709

interactions on Instagram

36%

newsletter opens

Instagram & TikTok highlights

13,000

views across Facebook

500+

interactions on TikTok

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SHARING IMPACT THROUGH OUR BLOG

This year we have been developing our online community through consistent and engaging blog posts. The communications team have been working in collaboration with different members of the Peer Power Youth community to focus on storytelling and raising awareness around different areas linked to our mission.

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FUNDRAISING: RAISING VITAL INCOME TO INCREASE PEER POWER YOUTH’S IMPACT

To date, the majority of Peer Power Youth’s income has come from contracts and Trusts and Foundation funders. A list of the Trusts and Foundations that have supported us generously over the last year is below. We have benefitted from their funding, their guidance and in some cases ‘grant support’ funds which have helped us to develop the infrastructure of the charity. Charities are struggling for income due to a ‘cost of giving’ crisis, and global economic uncertainty, and this is disproportionately affecting small to medium sized charities. Over the last year, we have been developing our fundraising practice with the aim of diversifying our income streams and building reserves to strengthen our organisational resilience.

We have been focused on developing income from corporates, businesses and High Net Worth Individuals by investing in a new dedicated fundraiser role. The fundraising offer is cocreated with Peer Leaders, developing ways different groups can get involved with our work.

The offer will have the following options:

Sponsorship of events and programmes

Staff volunteering with us

To support this development, we have been ‘network mapping;’ across our community to identify new partnerships and supporters. We thank everyone involved, and we are excited to explore with which individuals, organisations, donors, and partners we can advance to increase our impact and advance our mission.

These are impactful partnership opportunities for businesses and individuals who wish to contribute to tangible individual and system change impact and will be launching in 2025. We are so grateful to our current sponsors and funders.

For more details about these fundraising opportunities, please contact Fundraising Manager, Rocío at rociocachoorts@peerpower.org.uk

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‘THE BIG GIVE’ FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN BEATS TARGET THROUGH COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Peer Power Youth participated in the 2024 Big Give Christmas Challenge, our first fundraising campaign, from December 3rd to December 10th. This campaign uses a pledge model, which offers charities the opportunity to double their donations with match funding if they reach their donation target.

The campaign aimed to raise funds for our Peer 2 Professional™ programme, which supports young people with childhood trauma into employment, education or training. Throughout this employment-readiness programme, young people participate in workshops to develop their soft skills, increase their knowledge on essential life areas, develop work related skills and discover their interests and passions through creative sessions.

ABBA Tribute Band ‘A Star is Bjorn’ Fundraiser

‘A Star is Bjorn’ took the stage at The Bedford, Balham on December 9th with an incredible performance to support us with the campaign. With amazing costume changes and superb vocal ability to rival the original dancing queens, the gig was a total success! We raised over £1000 in ticket sales plus some donations on the night. Thank you to The Bedford and the band (especially to Trustee Dom Cotton aka Bjorn) for their support and involvement.

Peer Power Youth Merchandise

We designed merchandise with Young Partners that had 5 designs relating to our values as an organisation and sold them at the ABBA fundraiser. This merchandise was t-shirts, tote bags, notebooks and stickers.

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Challenge Events

The Peer Power Youth team got involved in a range of challenge events to raise funds for the campaign. Although the nature of these was decided by each participant, the majority were related to the number 12 or any of its variations as we wanted to highlight that issue of unemployment among young people we support - before young people join us, just 12% are in employment, education or training, but within 6 months with us this rises to 93%.

These challenge events included reading 1222 pages, cooking 12 Spanish dishes, running a half marathon, walking a dog for 12 miles, sprinkling around 12 acts of kindness and offering 12 pro-bono coaching sessions.

Thanks to all the different activities and online campaign, we surpassed our initial target and with donations doubled, we received an incredible final donation figure of £7,586 in return!

Exceeding our target by 105% was a huge milestone for us, and we couldn’t have done it without you! Every donor and supporter believed in our commitment to improve employment prospects for, and with young people who have experienced trauma and create both individual and system change.

We will be participating in the 2025 Big Give Christmas Challenge, so watch this space and please support in any way you can.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE: REVIEWING PROGRESS AND LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR!

Below summarises our progress against planned activities in 2024-25:

Increase the knowledge, skills and experience of the young people we partner with through our holistic approach that will support them to achieve their dreams and lead their best lives.

We delivered our Peer to Professional™, Chill n Skill™ and therapeutic offer to children and young people across London and the South East in the community and in secure settings, building confidence, improving well-being and providing accredited training, and career related opportunities.

Develop our system change activities, influencing directly to decision makers and those in positions of power to be more empathetic, person-led and relational in their approaches to children, teenagers and young adults.

We have worked with the major policy makers that impact the support systems for children and young people, including NHS England National and regional, Ministry of Justice, UK Trauma Council, Universities, Funders, Youth Justice Services, Secure Children’s Homes and more. We have provided training, critical friend provision and supported them on their journeys toward ethical and empathic youth voice practice.

Develop our strategies, policies and procedures in community and within an anti-oppressive, intersectional and anti- racist approach, ensure a clear process for responding to racism and discrimination.

We have established and funded an Anti-Racism, Equity and Equality circle group and young people specific group to develop and inform our work on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, ensuring young people are central to development, alongside intergenerational decision making with Trustees and Employees. This circle, and others involving young people and employees have informed the development of numerous policies and procedures internally and influence our work externally.

Support more people to get involved with our charity as a corporate partner, pro-bono work, legacy funding, as a volunteer and as a major donor.

We created a new Fundraising Manager post to focus on this area of our work to increase our networks and supporters, especially from corporates, businesses and High Net Worth Individuals. Delivering the Big Give Campaign for the first time expanded our networks significantly and we exceeded our fundraising target.

Deepen our impact and continue to develop our Empathy Impact Framework.

We have created more resources and workshops to further develop our ‘flagship’ empathy programme (previously known as the EIF) which will see Peer Power Youth scale by deepening our impact significantly over the coming years. We have now completed the framework and identified key partners for the coming year. Peer Leaders have been co-designing evaluation measures so that we can demonstrate our impact clearly.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE: REVIEWING PROGRESS AND LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR!

Looking ahead to 2025-26 our aims are to:

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SUPPORTERS AND FUNDERS: THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO TO HELP

Peer Power Youth has collaborated with a range of organisations and individuals over the year through funded projects, training, events, workshops, and ‘in kind’ or ‘pro bono’ support.

We thank everyone involved in moving us toward achieving our mission. It would be impossible to thank everyone individually, but we hope through this report we have highlighted key partnerships, funders and collaborations.

Ministry of Justice Youth Custody Service Morrison Foerster

*Led by The Blagrave Trust and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, BBC Children in Need, The Tudor Trust and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

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TRUSTEE REPORT 46

The board of Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the financial year 1st of April 2024 to 31st of March 2025.

Governing document

Peer Power Youth (also known as ‘Peer Power’) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered under the charity number 1167758. It is governed by the CIO constitution which sets out the charity's objects and how it is to be administered.

Strategic Planning

During 2024-25 we began the process of coproduction of the new strategic plan for 20252030. To support this, we appointed an independent consultant to facilitate the development of the strategic plan and the accompanying operational plan. This process ensured input from across the Peer Power Youth Community including bringing together trustees, young people, staff, and members of the advisory group for a strategy development day, as well as individual and group consultations with young people and professionals, including in the secure estate.

The refreshed strategic plan will be launched in summer 2025.

Strengthening the Organisation to Deepen Impact

April 2024 marked the starting point of a 5- year strategic investment partnership with Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of their Strategic Investment Fund. The fund supports development of the organisation for greater impact and includes an Expert Consultancy Package (ESP) and a ‘critical friend’ appointment for senior leadership and team support. Through the fund we have been able to develop our infrastructure across:

HR processes and policies

This infrastructure development will identify efficiencies across our operations and ensure scaffolding and solid foundations for the charity in readiness for the new strategic plan.

Staffing

Between April 1st, 2024 and March 31st, 2025 Peer Power Youth employed:

The charity operated a leadership structure of Co-CEOs. Each CEO held a separate ‘strategic lead’ for Income Generation and Strategic Operations with Finance respectively. Co-CEOs also had shared ‘CEO’ responsibilities, as well as their ‘strategic lead’ area.

In November 2024, the Co-CEO ‘Strategic Operations’ resigned their position with a sixmonth transition period. The Board of Trustees made the decision during this time to appoint an Interim Director of Operations for the period April 2025 – December 2025 to allow time for the four year strategic planning period to be finalised and to work with the CEO on the operational development and resourcing of the organisation in response to the new strategic plan.

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This role was appointed to with adequate handover time from the outgoing Co-CEO. In April 2025, the Founder resumed their previous position of CEO for the organisation. The Head of Youth Engagement and Participation joined the organisation in August 2024. In mid 2024, the Head of Communications and Marketing requested a one-year unpaid career break from March 2025 which was agreed and cover for the role arranged.

Governance

The Board of Trustees governs the charity, meeting on a quarterly basis in person, and bimonthly on Zoom. The Trustees appoint the Co-Chief Executive Officers who oversee the day-to-day operation of Peer Power Youth with a Scheme of Delegation process in place. A number of advisory sub-committees undertake more detailed work as below. The full Board of Trustees remains the ultimate decision-making body for Peer Power Youth.

The subcommittees include:

Governance processes are in place to ensure legal compliance and internal controls. Trustees reviewed all safeguarding, data protection/GDPR, health and safety, financial and HR systems and procedures during 20242025 and are currently implementing resulting actions

Appointment and Development of Trustees

Peer Power Youth Trustees are appointed based on the skills they bring to the organisation and their ability to offer an independent opinion on the organisational strategy and operations.

Peer Power Youth ensures it reaches a wide range and diverse pool of talent and skills to support the charity through targeted advertising into required skills groups and to under-represented groups. Board members are appointed after a skills evaluation by incumbent board members and Co-CEOs, and upon receipt of CV, interview, references, and DBS checks. Young people are involved in the recruitment process of new trustees and feed into decision-making, though the final decision for recruitment is made by the board. New trustees must complete safeguarding training and the trustee induction programme, with other relevant training and updates offered annually. An induction programme has been developed for trustees which outlines their responsibilities, provides governing documents, sub-committee details, role descriptions, policies, guidance and an introduction to the youth engagement delivery work of the charity. We actively share and encourage a wide range of training, resources and workshops for Trustees, from the Charity Commission and other sources. A skills audit has been conducted recently to identify gaps in expertise, training needs, and to plan for the next phase of Trustee recruitment in 2025, aligned with our new strategic plan.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB)

At Peer Power Youth, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable environment where equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) are not only valued but actively pursued in all aspects of our work. We recognise there are moral, social and legal reasons for promoting and living EDIB. We ensure that our staff team and the young people we connect with through our work are included in the decisions that affect them to ensure that all voices are heard. This helps to foster a sense of belonging in the organisation. The responsibility for the implementation of our work on EDIB over the year sat with the Head of Communications and Marketing, with oversight from Co-CEO lead for Income Generation and Communications, and monitoring by the Trustee board, as well as a commitment from all staff to work on this. 48

The circle has representation from staff, Young Partners, and trustees, and together they coproduce our language, tackle systemic inequalities, and work towards our strategic aims together.

EDIB is integral to our mission and strategic aims, guiding our interactions with each other, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve. By upholding EDIB, we strive to create a culture that celebrates differences, promotes fairness, and ensures that everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents.

Equity

Equity at Peer Power Youth is about levelling the playing field. It involves identifying and eliminating barriers to full participation and creating fair opportunities for advancement. Recognising that individuals have multiple, intersecting identities, we prioritise the fair treatment of all people, regardless of gender, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or age.

Our equity initiatives seek to dismantle systemic inequities and ensure that everyone within the Peer Power Youth community has the tools, resources, and opportunities needed to thrive. Equity is not just an ideal; it is an actionable principle embedded in our policies, practices, and daily operations.

Inclusion

Inclusion is the practice of ensuring that all individuals, especially those from marginalised and intersecting identity groups, feel valued, respected, and empowered to fully participate. At Peer Power Youth, inclusion is about creating a workplace culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work without fear of exclusion or judgment.

Our commitment to inclusion involves active efforts to dismantle barriers that hinder full participation, fostering a culture of acceptance, understanding, and collaboration. Inclusion is essential to building trust, encouraging innovation, and achieving our organisational goals.

Belonging

Belonging is the culmination of equity, diversity, and inclusion. At Peer Power Youth, belonging means that everyone feels like an important and valued member of our community. It reflects a culture where individuals are seen, heard, and respected for who they are, contributing to a shared sense of purpose and unity.

We strive to build an environment where employees, grantees, and partners feel a genuine connection to our work and to one another. Belonging fosters deeper engagement, stronger relationships, and a collective drive to make a meaningful impact.

Commitment and Accountability

Diversity

Diversity at Peer Power Youth means embracing and celebrating individual differences. By recognising the broad spectrum of identities and lived experiences, we enrich our workplace and enhance our ability to serve the diverse communities who partner with us.

We understand that diversity includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and religion. From an intersectional perspective, we strive to understand how these identities intersect and influence lived experiences, creating opportunities for meaningful representation and contribution across all levels of the organisation.

At Peer Power Youth, EDIB is not just a policy; it is a commitment to transformative action and lasting change. We believe in the power of collective effort to create a just, equitable, diverse, inclusive, and belonging-oriented environment for all.

To uphold EDIB Peer Power Youth commits to the following:

Policy Implementation and Review: Regularly reviewing and updating this policy to ensure it reflects best practices and responds to emerging needs

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By committing to these principles, we ensure Peer Power Youth is a place where equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are not just ideals but lived experiences for everyone.

Anti-Racism, Equality and Equity Circle

Throughout the last year, the Trustee lead for EDIB has attended bi monthly meetings of our 'anti-racism, equity and equality circle’.

These meetings consist of the Trustee lead, senior leadership, staff, and young partners and are responsible for leading the strategic direction of our work, responding to our Strategic Objective 'Building an anti-racist charity and tackling oppression in all its forms' by reflecting and developing our practice. Over the year 2024-25, this circle has:

In the coming year we will:

Risk and Compliance

Peer Power Youth review the main risks to the organisation on a quarterly basis. Risk is a key agenda item on all trustee meetings. This helps to identify and establish mitigating actions to minimise risk and ensure line of sight for the future. The Co-CEO and senior leadership team are responsible for implementing the mitigating actions and reporting back regularly to the Board. Although risk can never be eliminated, it can be reduced by careful planning and preparation.

Principal risks during 2024-2025 include:

Changes to law and regulation

Our operations are impacted by many areas of regulation including safeguarding, health and safety, data protection, cyber security, fundraising, justice, and charity regulation. We regularly update and review our practices to ensure best practice and legal compliance.

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Financial management

Peer Power Youth continued to build robust approaches to the management of day-to-day finances, management accounts, and strategic decisions around budgeting and forecasting. We have external accounting support for management accounts and forecasting. Finance processes are reviewed annually. The responsibility for financial management over this period was the Co-CEO lead for Strategic Operations, including Finance.

We operate in different ‘circles’ (meetings) across the organisation:

IT and Operations

Financial sustainability

Peer Power Youth has developed strong multiyear funding relationships to align our fundraising pipeline with our strategic aims and ambitions. In addition, we have regular shortterm contracts, plus training and workshops to support organisations to build empathy and co-production into services for young people.

We have increased investment in external IT support to mitigate risks around cyber security. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Expert Support Package has allowed us to work with IT experts to identify ways to optimise our IT processes through a review of the applications we use and the needs of the organisation.

Health and Safety

In 2024-2025 we worked to diversify our income streams with a long-term income generation plan to support the future stability of the charity. We took on a new role of Fundraising and Philanthropy Manager who is working to increase our donor base, build corporate and philanthropy relationships, and coordinate fundraising events. We also invested in an associate fundraising officer who has brought in significant income and increased our unrestricted resource. The responsibility for fundraising during this period was the Co-CEO lead for Income Generation.

Shared Decision Making

Peer Power Youth has always shared decisions across the organisation with staff and young people, and to support this we continue to practice sociocratic principles for decision making as a structure and method. Sociocracy is a governance system, just like democracy or corporate governance methods. It is best suited for organisations that want to self-govern based on the values of equality. (Sociocracy For All). Peer Power Youth uses sociocracy principles for Shared Decision Making, whilst also having clear lines of accountability and responsibility, as required through our governance structures, and to adhere to all regulatory requirements.

The health and safety of the young people, as well as our staff and supporters, is paramount and we regularly review our policies and procedures to ensure a healthy working environment.

Wellbeing

The wellbeing and mental health of our Young Partners, staff, volunteers and supporters is extremely important to our mission and objectives. We live our values of professional love and empathy, and support wellbeing through regular wellbeing check-ins for staff, Young Partners and Trustees, and providing an enhanced well-being offer across our community, with access to therapeutic support and clinical supervision for the Youth Engagement Team, and an Employee Assistance Programme for all employees.

Contextual safeguarding

Peer Power Youth seeks to provide an environment where everyone can work safely, and children, young people and adults at risk can engage with the charity's activities, enjoying programmes provided through the work of the Charity or in partnership with other agencies and/or community voluntary sector organisations. 51

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It is the policy of Peer Power Youth to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk involved in the work we do by protecting them from neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Our Head of Youth Participation and Engagement is our Designated Safeguarding Lead responsible for Safeguarding across the organisation. They receive monthly supervision and mentoring to ensure continual learning and development of processes.

It is also Peer Power Youth’s policy to provide those working for or with the charity with a framework to operate within to keep everyone who is engaged in the Charity’s activities safe. We follow safe recruitment practices, ensuring that all staff, apprentices, Trustees, consultants and volunteers (legally responsible adults) working with children, young people or adults at risk are carefully selected, are checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service, have two appropriate references, and understand and accept their responsibility for the safety of children, young people and adults at risk in their care.

We provide Safeguarding Training to all new staff, volunteers and contractors following our Safeguarding Policy.

Safeguarding for the charity has been implemented in the Charity’s Safeguarding Policy and Procedures. The Leadership Team will ensure the policy and its accompanying procedures and practice guidelines are implemented across their geographical and functional areas of responsibility.

Financial review

Over 2024-2025 Peer Power Youth successfully worked towards increasing unrestricted income to cover core costs and to improve our quality and care in the provision of services.

Income increased by £78,083 from £747,620, to £825,703. We saw an in-year deficit of £23k caused by the spend down of restricted funds carried into the year at April 2024. We successfully continued to increase our work towards bringing general reserves closer to the target.

Total funds held at the end of the period were £121,610 of which £52,074 were restricted reserves and not available for the general purposes of the charity. Total unrestricted funds increased by £29,280 to £69,536. This includes income designated to reserves.

Peer Power Youth holds general reserves to provide cover for unexpected changes in income and expenditure, allowing the continuation of key activities in the event of:

Holding general reserves also enables us to invest in new opportunities that help us to achieve our goals. Following an annual assessment of the risks associated with our income and expenditure profile, our target is for general reserves to represent 3 months of core operating costs. This reserves policy is reviewed annually to reassess the risks associated with our income and expenditure profile and identify any changes needed to our reserves policy given the organisation's growth and operating context.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in determining the activities undertaken by the Charity. The following sections demonstrate our provision of public benefit.

History of the organisation

Peer Power Youth is an exciting, young, national charity. It was founded by Anne-Marie Douglas, together with young people with lived experience (of justice, health and social care), academics, and professionals in the voluntary and statutory sectors. It was founded because of Anne-Marie’s belief in, and personal experience of, trauma, peer-support services, and empathy, and because through her work she had found that the experiences and views of young people nationally were not being meaningfully involved in systems there to support them. 52

The organisation was originally constituted as ‘Peer Power YJ’ in 2015 as a Company Limited by Guarantee (Company registration number 09328982) and operated until December 2016. Peer Power Youth was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the Charity Commission (Charity Registration number 1167758) in June 2016 and began its charitable activities from 1 January 2017. The resources of Peer Power YJ were transferred to Peer Power Youth as a donation on 1 January 2017.

At Peer Power Youth, caring for each other creates belonging and the power to bring positive change in services for others. This is what we mean by ‘Peer Power’.

Young people are finding it harder than ever to get stability in their lives, to earn money, get housing, access mental health support services, etc. and this has been made harder with the cost-of-living crisis. We want to change this.

Who we work with

Charitable objectives

To enhance the lives of young people dealing with trauma and work with them to create positive change in services for others. We believe in a world where all young people can realise their dreams and live their best life.

Public benefit outcomes related to the charity’s aims:

We are a beating heart for change.

Peer Power Youth is a national charity that does vital work to support young people dealing with trauma. We connect with young people aged 13-25, who have described themselves as being ‘abandoned by society’. The childhood trauma they have experienced may include abuse, exclusion or being in care. Inequalities such as racism, disabilities and poverty also have a huge effect on these young people. Despite their circumstances, we see their power and potential. They are the most under-supported and unheard voices in our society.

The young people we work alongside are passionate about using their experiences in positive and powerful ways to improve support services for young people. The organisations that we partner with include youth justice services, health services, prisons, police, social services, schools and more (e.g Ministry of Justice (MOJ), National Health Service (NHS), UK Trauma Council (UKTC), Youth Justice Board (YJB).

How we work

We lead with empathy, which means that we know what’s needed to build trusted relationships and change support services, because many of us have had similar experiences. We provide young people with life skills, work experience and support them to lead on improving services across health, youth justice and social care. We build on their strengths and create hope for a future where they can realise their dreams and live their best life. We are trying to effect positive change in two areas:

Individual change: for young people, improving wellbeing, and supporting work opportunities through our Peer to Professional model.

System change: by disrupting, influencing and changing agencies and systems for children and young people, particularly in justice, social care and mental health.

As a social justice charity - we want to change this. We build on strengths and lead with empathy, which means that we know what’s needed to build trusted relationships and improve support services, because many of us have had similar experiences.

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Peer Power Youth is distinctive in that it involves young people in decision-making at all levels of the organisation, and it always has. All work is peer-led and designed in partnership with young people with lived experience of the issues they seek to campaign about. Young people input regularly into the development of the charity, from determining priorities and values, to planning events and feeding into recruitment.

A third of our advisory forum are young adults with experience of social care, justice, and health agencies and we have two younger Trustees.

Trustees

Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly (Chair)

Bankers

Metro Bank PLC, 82 North Street Brighton BN11ZA CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4JQ

Registered Charity Number

1167758

Address

Peer Power Youth, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0DH

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FINANCE REPORT llllllo 55

Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total expenditure: Net income / (expenditure for the

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Approved by the trustees on 4th June 2025

Dame Lorna Boreland-Kelly Chair of Trustees

and signed on their behalf by:

Elena Laguna Vice Chair of Trustees

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. activities investments .VT -W 58

Peer Power Youth

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Accounting policies

a)Statutory information

Peer Power Youth is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

The registered office address and principal place of business is Fivefields, 8 - 10 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0DH.

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

Public benefit entity

c) The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going d) concern.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Interest receivable

f) Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Fund accounting

g) Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes.

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Peer Power Youth

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charity in public fundraising, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services and other activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs

Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned, based on staff time, to each activity.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

Debtors

Cash at bank and in hand

Creditors and provisions

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Violence Reduction Programme
Peo
Network - Shape of Safety

62

Eipii i 2136 '&4 Z175 U- 164,245 .Ti .Y 63

5,999 112, 462 6,841 4- 64

Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

65

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Purposes of restricted funds

AB Charitable Trust Solidarity Fund towards responding to additional needs deriving from widespread violence across the UK during August 2024.

City Bridge Foundation - Bridging Divides - funding to provide youth engagement provision across London to support our young partners leading and delivering voice and influence work across health, social care and justice.

Dulverton Trust - funding for a Senior Youth Worker, for one year, to support our young partners co-delivering system change work across youth justice systems based in the South East of England.

John Constable Educational Trust funded our Peer to Professional programme: an employability-readiness programme for young people who have lived experienced of health, social care and justice systems, and experienced significant trauma and adversity.

National Lottery Community Fund - Awards for All - further funding towards our Peer to Professional programme.

National Lottery Community Fund- Reaching Communities- Investment in development of training and resources to share our approach and support community organisations understand and embed empathic involvement with young people

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lir.% 69

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT 70

To the members of Peer Power Youth,

I report on the financial statements of Peer Power Youth, which are set out on pages 55 to 69.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The Trustees, who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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.

David Payne

Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Turpin Barker Armstrong Allen House Westmead Road Sutton

Surrey SM1 4LA

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Contact us

info@peerpower.org.uk

Peer Power Youth

peerpoweruk Peer Power Youth @Peer_PowerUK Peer Power Youth

The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity

COMPANY NUMBER COUNTRY OF INCORPORATION CHARITY NUMBER COUNTRY OF REGISTRATION

REGISTERED OFFICE AND OPERATIONAL ADDRESS

CE007587 Fivefields United Kingdom 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, 1167758 London, England & Wales SW1W 0DH

www.peerpower.org.uk/