ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Charity Number: 1168039
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Registration Number 1168039
Registered Office 5 Merchant Square, W2 1AY
Bankers
Santander 640-642 Finchley Road, Golders Green London NW11 7RU
Trustees
Peter Williams (TC) Laurie Rackind Laura Lotinga Jonathan Ross Sam Magnus-stoll Chris East
1
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Content
| Content | |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | 3 |
| Statement From The Chief Executive | 4 |
| Bright Futures UK | 5 |
| Aims & Objectives | 6 |
| Activities | 7 |
| Delivering our work | 8 |
| Service in numbers | 9 |
| Moving our services online | 11 |
| Moving our programmes online | 12 |
| New services - Befriending | 13 |
| New partnership | 14 |
| Volunteers | 15 |
| Thank you | 16 |
| Welcome New Trustees | 17 |
| Our Advisory Board | 18-19 |
| Bright Futures UK Policy Work | 20 |
| Our Recommendations | 21 |
| 2021 | 22-23 |
| Risk Management | 24 |
| Covid Statement | 25 |
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Executive
Summary
2020 was a difficult year for all businesses. The team at Bright Futures UK had a duty to persevere throughout the pandemic to help our young people get back into education during such turbulent times. Bright Futures UK adapted and found innovative ways to allow young people continue to access support in their time of need. Due to lockdown and isolation, we also saw an increase in the number of young people who also struggled with their mental health as well as their ongoing condition.
In response to guidelines, Bright Futures UK started to adapt services and operations from February 2020. Working alongside NHS partners kept us informed and up to date when our frontline services were affected during the early days of the pandemic.
As we are responsible for the wellbeing of our service users and volunteers whilst they use our services, we made sure to keep people updated and put appropriate measures in place; above and beyond the government’s advice.
Peter Williams Chairman
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Statement From The Chief Executive
One of the hardest challenges the young people we work with face is understanding how their illness is one of their greatest strengths. Going through a long term or chronic illness at such a significant time in your life gives you a perspective and understanding that many don’t find in adulthood. The challenges you face when going through illness is one few people understand; you have to be resilient, determined and adaptable to manage in such a difficult time. Taking these characteristics forward with everything you do, in education and beyond, defines who you will become.
Much like a long-term illness, Covid-19 affected the operations of every organisation. Our dedicated team pulled together to make sure we kept going no matter the circumstances.
I’m incredibly grateful to the entire Bright Futures UK team, our amazing volunteers and trustees for the hard work and enthusiasm they put in to make sure we came out of 2020 a stronger organisation then when we started.
Josh Pelled Chief Executive
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Bright Futures UK
Our mission
Bright Futures UK’s mission is to support children and young people back into education after long-term or chronic illness. We bridge the gap between illness and education, ensuring young people are able to reach their true potential, irrespective of their illness.
Our Work
Bright Futures UK is a grassroots organisation, providing support based around the wants and needs of our young people. We provide bespoke programmes including tutoring, mentoring and workshops. Our services are run by committed volunteers who use their skills and qualifications to provide the exact support each young person needs.
During 2020, we started using our expertise to tackle this issue at government level. We have produced reports to offer recommendations on how the government and its statutory provisions can work together to provide more support for young people. We hope to be a key organisation in improving these provisions.
Our Values
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Aims & Objectives
Bright Futures UK (BFUK) aims to help children and young people back into education after taking time out due to long-term or chronic illness. BFUK offers support to young people who suffer from a mental health or physical illness between the ages of 5 and 24. Our three core services are Tutoring, Mentoring and Workshops. Each programme is tailored to the young person’s needs and requirements to ensure their given tutor or mentor is the right fit.
Through our programmes we have a number of key objectives we work towards.
1) Improving students’ grades
2) Increased confidence in school (both towards work and social) 3) Build better support networks
Each programme is designed to help young people improve, in these specific areas.
“ I’m a 15yr old student that has been diagnosed with CFS/ME. This has affected my education which I worry about. I’m working as hard as I can to keep up with my studies but struggle.
I’m having support with my subjects from Bright Futures. They have helped me so much I really look forward to my lessons every week. The tutors are very kind and always listen to me. They explain my work so its easy for me to understand. I’m very grateful for all the support and I would be lost without Bright Futures help.”
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Activities
Running our services
We work alongside talented and committed volunteers who help Bright Futures UK offer bespoke programmes which give young people the exact support they need.
Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds; including students, teachers, freelancers, business people, executives and everyone in between.
BFUK are a non-discriminatory organisation which seeks to provide all young people and volunteers with equal opportunities and access to relevant services.
We work in partnership with NHS trusts and other charities. These partnerships create referral pathways to our services which allow us to bridge the gap between these provisions with our much needed services. Working collaboratively with our community is an important value BFUK upholds.
We believe that only by joining forces with other charities and statutory provisions will we be able to provide the best care plan for our young people
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Delivering our work
Volunteers
Every programme we deliver is run by volunteers with set skills or qualifications in areas requested by our young people. Volunteers bring subject specific knowledge allowing us to cover a wide range of requested topics. BFUK work alongside volunteers throughout the entirety of their programme; including training, safeguarding, providing resources, advice and planning materials.
Volunteers give so much to BFUK so we strive to make sure they feel appreciated and see how their time makes a real difference.
Training & Safeguarding
BFUK delivers wide-ranging training to all the volunteers who sign up with us. Making sure volunteers feel safe and prepared is important for ensuring a smooth running programme.
We deliver
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Enhanced DBS checks
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Certified Safeguarding Training Lv 1 & 2
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Boundaries training
BFUK created training
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Working with BFUK service users
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Planning and managing your programme
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Services in numbers
1000+ 750 4 young people new hospitals new hospitals supported throughout referring patients referring patients our programmes
During 2020 we saw a shift in the way our services were used which was largely in response to the pandemic, mostly in the form of cyclical periods when demand for our services increased or decreased, often based on government announcements. The largest shift in services was the huge increase in individual programme requests whilst group services were paused as they were moved online.
We especially saw requests for social programmes increase as isolation affected the entire country. Having the technology available to respond and adapt services meant when we were needed we were there!
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039 ur IP4 www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Moving our services online
Before 2020, BFUK only offered services in person because we felt the time together was more meaningful. Being forced to move services online has unlocked opportunities to reach a national audience whilst making services more accessible for young people. For many young people, having the ability to access services from the comfort of their home or whilst isolated in hospitals meant more consistent support has been accessible.
It’s safe to say, online services are here to stay.
As the pandemic subsides, we will resume face to face programmes
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Moving our programmes online
Tutoring
All students had to learn online during the pandemic, however those with illnesses have found it more difficult to engage in a busy online classroom or feel fatigued by the back to back lessons. We provided tutors with tools to help facilitate online learning such as digital styluses, online whiteboards, textbooks and webcams. Both parties having access to appropriate equipment was essential to staying on the same page when working online.
Mentoring
Mentoring was easier to move online as discussions continued and screen sharing functions made it easy to research or work together on documents (CV writing, career searching etc.). During the peak of the pandemic, we saw mentoring programmes slow down or take a break. Feedback showed this was due to the huge amount of uncertainty towards what the future may look like post-pandemic. Many wanted to wait and see what the new normal would look like after Covid-19, whilst taking the time to work on their health.
Workshops
Workshops were incredibly difficult to translate into an online programme. Whilst workshops have historically been drop-in sessions within hospitals, we wanted to keep the social element whilst we all dealt with isolation. To combat this, we created a private link for those who had registered for the session to ensure the safety of our young people while maintaining as much social interaction as possible.
Having young people register in advance meant we could send materials to young people before every session – and who doesn’t love a weekly package in the mail! As we relaunched workshops online, we had a fantastic response from young people and volunteers who missed the regular social interaction within the sessions.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
New Service - Befriending
The needs of our service users changed because of the pandemic. Many of our young people had less interaction with medical services, which took a huge amount of daily interaction away. The need to ‘chat’ with others became incredibly important to alleviate the feeling of isolation.
In response, we created our newest service ‘Befriending’.
Befriending set out to put 2 like minded individuals with shared interests, hobbies and attitudes in a programme together. The programme not only reduced the feeling of isolation but helped bring a bit of creativity and joy to time in lockdown. BFUK would send materials for requested activities to each person and for them to enjoy together on webcam whilst letting conversation naturally flow.
Befriending has proven an incredibly effective programme in helping young people and volunteers feel more confident and generally happier. We are looking forward to moving these relationships to in person meetings as Covid protocols allow.
Befriending was launched towards the end of 2020, and will continue as a core BFUK service.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
New Partnerships
With the NHS overwhelmed, and young people’s wards being moved between hospitals who had non-Covid wards free, we paused creating new partnerships with NHS trusts. Instead we offered our services to hospitals not within our partnerships in an effort to support the healthcare system as a whole.
We had referrals from Barts Trust hospitals, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Bristol children’s hospital.
Other charities who were supporting these young people also came together to support each other. We started working alongside charities such as; CLIC Sargent, Youth Cancer Trust, and various mental health youth services to make sure young people were signposted to a suitable organisation for the right support.
We will continue to explore collaborative partnerships across the board with similar organisations who we can compliment.
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CLIC Sargent
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Young Cancer Trust
• Shout!
- Borough based youth services
• Samaritans
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Volunteers
Volunteering was made much easier by having the opportunity to give your time online. Travel time and journey planning in pre-pandemic life was taken out of the equation. Being in lockdown encouraged people to use their time to support others, particularly during some of the darkest times in 2020.
We saw the entire country come together to ‘protect our NHS’, but at a more grassroots level we saw this change the main drivers for volunteering.
Many volunteers ‘didn’t want to waste their time’, ‘ wanted to support others as the whole country was under pressure’ and ‘develop their skills to keep them relevant’.
We are so grateful to our remarkable volunteers who give so much to us as a charity and the young people they work with. Without them our work wouldn’t be possible.
Volunteers in Numbers
60% 95 40% volunteers of our volunteers of all programmes recruited during were aged 21-30. ran a minimum of 10 2020. session.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Thank you to our Amazing Health Service
The pandemic impacted all industries but no industry was impacted more than our fantastic healthcare system. The NHS was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Covid cases being admitted in the midst of lockdown restrictions as well as Brexit and the usual everyday issues. Many of the front line staff are people we work with on a daily basis.
We can’t thank the NHS staff enough for their tireless work throughout the pandemic. The commitment and exemplary service staff provided goes beyond the scope of their job role. Play specialists, nurses and social workers continued to join us in workshops and MDT meetings, and they regularly updated us on changes to young people’s situations.
We are proud to work alongside such amazing NHS staff.
THANK YOU!
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Bright Futures UK Policy Work
There is currently no published information on the number of children and young people who have taken one month or more out of education due to long-term or chronic illnesses. We have submitted FOIs to the Department of Education and the Department for Health and Social Care who informed us that they do not hold this data.
Understanding the scale of the issue is the first step to creating long term solutions. As the leading organisation supporting this group of young people, we have a responsibility to work alongside the government to address this.
We have started to carry out our own research and we are communicating with key political and non-political stakeholders to build support around this issue. We want to ensure the government is fully informed on the issue and therefore able to put effective provisions in place.
We hope to be a significant voice for government bodies on how to improve young people’s access to education whilst going through long-term illness.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Our 3 core messages
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Record the number of children and young people (5-18) who have pre-existing medical conditions who have had to take time out from education or who cant engage fully with education.
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Create an effective response to COVID-19, particularly for children & young people who will have to continue learning from home.
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Correct the guidance set out to support children and young people whose education is impacted by long term medical circumstances. The font is switched for this section- it helps it stand out, so is it intentional?
“ I was first diagnosed with a brain tumour called Ependymoma in 2014. I had to undergo surgical operation followed by Proton Therapy treatment in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, I have been re-diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2020. This illness has affected my education in several ways such as taking time off school.
I have met people from Bright Futures UK and who were willing to help me complete my second A level in Maths by supplying me with a maths tutor!
With the help of my tutor, I have now completed my second A level, while approaching a step closer to my dream career!
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
2021
BFUK Central Objectives for 2021
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1) Continuing to deliver grassroots interventions through online and face to face programmes
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2) Use expertise to advise and support policy improvements; both an immediate Covid-19 response and long term structural policy change
Expand online services
Since offering services online, we’ve been able to reach children and young people all over the UK. Providing the option to access services online makes it much easier for young people and volunteers to commit to sessions with us. We will continue to invest in online services and develop how these services work. We will also work alongside key NHS Trusts across the UK to create more referral pathways.
Thought Leadership and Guidance
To help educate key individuals on the issue, we will start to produce information and guidance to better inform the sector. BFUK will create this content to help improve the support provided by educators and help families feel confident when navigating the education system.
We will do this by providing both industry wide guidance for the education system as a whole and more bitesize content on the issues we already provide to families throughout our programmes.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
2021
Developing a sustainable BFUK
With little to no data on the true size of the issue, BFUK will become increasingly active in leading research and offering expert advice. Through developing relationships with statutory bodies and key political stakeholders, BFUK can help make a difference on the ground and in more systemic changes.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Risk Management
• Risk Management
Bright Futures UK Trustees understand the significant risks attached to working with children and young people who are in a vulnerable position. By utilising both governance and operational means, we are dedicated to ensuring BFUK manages and minimises potential identified risks. Prominent risks identified within Bright Futures UK include volunteer management, staff movement and financial wellbeing.
• Volunteer Management
The unique training we deliver to our volunteers ensures our services can operate at the highest level with safety in mind; protecting both the young people and volunteers alike. We carry out yearly updates on our volunteer training to guarantee all information is current and up to date with NHS standards. All volunteers are required to have an enhanced DBS and update scheme, as well as safeguarding training at level 1 and 2. We also provide additional training on planning programmes and working with BFUK young people
• Managing risks
Bright Futures UK monitors and tracks potential risks and their current likelihood through regular trustee meetings and operational reviews. We will continue to develop a detailed risk register,
accounting for any concerns and how they are mitigated. This is an ongoing process that allows Bright Futures UK to stay vigilant of any and all risks that need processes.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Welcome New Trustee
We have a fantastic trustee board who each bring different skills and connections to the table. We are also always looking to see how we can improve our leadership and add value to the board. During 2020, we recruited 2 new trustees for our board.
Trustees
Sam Magnus-Stoll
- Communications Trustee
Jonathan Ross
– Treasurer
Laura Lotinga
– Policy Dev Trustee
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Our Advisory Board
Alongside our trustee board we wanted to create a group who could support us with more day to day challenges and best advise us on how to overcome them. Our goal was to recruit advisors from a range of industries to bring different expertise:
Advisory Board
Jay Magnus Stoll
– Chair
David Bayton
- Volunteer Development Advisor
Liana Telvi
– Fundraising Advisor
Michael Nissim
- Media Advisor
www.brightfuturesuk.org
Charity Number: 1168039
Covid Statement
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on all areas of life and work on a global scale. Now more than ever, front line services such as Bright Futures UK are imperative to the wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people facing long-term medical conditions while in education. BFUK has responded well to Covid-19, making changes accordingly to ensure children and young people continue to be supported through our services. We remain financially stable and have found an opportunity to grow through the drastic restrictions and changes to the NHS and education system. Our programmes have continued at the high level we are dedicated to, and we remain fiercely committed to what we do and who we work with. We are grateful to our trustees, staff, volunteers, donors and stakeholders for their continued dedication and support during this time, and we hope to leave the pandemic a stronger organisation than before.
www.brightfuturesuk.org
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