The
Smallest Things
The Smallest Things trustees present their report for the year ending 31 January 2024.
Catriona Ogilvy (charity founder and trustee), Sarah Miles (trustee), Matt Wilkinson (trustee), Kerry Myles (trustee) and Lynne Peachy (trustee)
Our Aims:
Our overarching charitable aim is to promote the good health of premature babies and their families; raising awareness of premature birth and the needs of families following intensive care and promoting high quality care for mothers affected by postnatal depression, anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder associated with premature birth.
Our Objectives:
The Smallest Things is a tiny charity with a big voice.
Our objectives reflect our charity’s aims and ethos and are targeted to benefit parents of premature babies and the long-term outcomes for children born prematurely directly.
In our work to support and promote the good health of premature babies and their families the trustees have acknowledge the need for the charity to continue to develop and grow and welcomed new volunteers to our team over the last year.
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance.
Our key objectives for 2023 have been:
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To recruit, develop and retain charity volunteers to help us in achieving our charitable aims, predominantly in regards to meeting the long term needs of children born prematurely.
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To increase the number of UK schools receiving our ‘Prem Aware’ Award, helping schools across the UK to support the educational needs and improve long-term outcomes of children born prematurely.
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
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To secure new Neonatal Leave and Pay legislation and ensure that entitlements meet the needs of all neonatal families.
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To raise awareness of the neonatal journey and highlight with health professionals the additional support that parents may need after leaving neonatal care.
Achievements and performance
The Prem Aware Award Scheme:
The Smallest Things Prem Aware Award scheme raises awareness of the impact of prematurity on development and learning, supports parents and carers, and helps schools to recognise and meet the specific learning needs of children born prematurely.
The scheme promotes use of the ‘Preterm Birth Information for Educational Professionals’, a free online training resource developed by Professor Samantha Johnson and her colleagues in the PRISM (Premature Infants’ Skills in Mathematics) Study
Team, funded by the charity Action Medical Research. The online resource outlines the impact premature birth can have on a child’s development and learning, and offers practical ways to support children born prematurely at school.
“As a mother of a 23-week preterm child, I feel a huge sense of relief that there is finally a resource that will help educators understand the social, emotional and academic needs of my school-age child. This resource is long overdue and rightly focuses on the lifelong needs of those who experience daily the challenges that preterm birth may bring.”
— Gill, a parent and teacher
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
Prem Aware Ambassadors:
The Smallest Things has recruited, trained, and developed 14 volunteers to become ‘Prem Aware Ambassadors’ this year. Our volunteers have been instrumental this in raising awareness of the impact of premature birth on learning and supporting teachers to become ‘Prem Aware’. Our total number of Prem Aware schools has risen to 66, with a further 53 working towards the award.
In June, The Smallest Things partnered with the University of Leicester to run a virtual training event – “How to support your premature child in school”.
The webinar, which was recorded and continues to be available for families to access on line, provides information for parents which they can use throughout their child’s educational journey. As well as hearing about the latest research into educational needs of children born prematurely and how schools can be ready to support them, the webinar featured teachers speaking about the steps they have taken in their schools to become ‘Prem Aware’ and includes presentations from parents about their experiences of school for their premature children.
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
In addition, The Smallest Things trustees and newly appointed Prem Aware Ambassadors have spoken at a variety of training events throughout the year for teachers and neonatal staff.
We continue to work to our aim for all UK schools to be Prem Aware by 2030!
Red Book Stickers
Every year, tens of thousands of babies are born prematurely in the UK and families face the agonising journey of uncertainty and trauma through neonatal intensive care. But parents tell us all the time that their journey does not end when they leave the neonatal unit and we know that the needs of parents and children born prematurely last long after leaving hospital.
Acting as a visible reminder, alerting healthcare professionals to a parent and their babies’ neonatal history, The Smallest Things Red Book stickers are now in three quarters of all UK neonatal units!
Parents told us:
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77% of parents told us they experienced anxiety following discharge from neonatal care
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24% of parents responding to our 2021 After NICU survey had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following discharge from neonatal care
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49% of parents reported feeling isolated following neonatal care
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29% felt that their health visitor understood theirs or their baby’s needs
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18% of parents agreed with the statement ‘My GP understood mine and my baby/babies’ needs’
The Smallest Things stickers are designed to:
- Prompt a conversation between health professional and parent about their neonatal care journey
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
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Highlight the extra support parents of premature babies may need
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Increase awareness that parents following neonatal intensive care are at greater risk of developing postnatal depression, anxiety and PTSD
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Offer a gentle reminder to use a baby’s corrected age when plotting their weight on a growth chart
Growth
As a small charity we continue to grow steadily, meeting our charitable aims. We are run largely by a team of dedicated volunteers, all of whom are parents of prematurely born children. We employ one part time member of staff in an administrator role who supports the work of the trustees and coordinates our charity volunteers.
Neonatal Leave and Pay and Employers with Heart
Following years of campaigning by The Smallest Things for extended paid parental leave for families of premature babies, Stuart McDonald MP’s Neonatal Care (Leave & Pay) Bill received Royal Assent in June 2023. The new legislation, likely to come into effect in 2025, will ensure that parents of sick and premature babies are given the additional time they need while their baby or babies are in hospital.
In 2023, The Smallest Things updated our
Employer with Heart Charter, now referred to
the Employer with Heart 2.0 Charter Mark. The updated charter reflects the new legislation coming forwards and ensures equal parental leave entitlements to both parents. We continue to work with employers across the UK to amend parental leave policies to offer extended neonatal leave at full pay.
Finances and Accounts
The Smallest Things receive small donations thanks to fundraising events throughout the year.
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
We were selected as a company’s charity of the year, receiving a one-off donations that contributed directly to our core running costs, in addition to being awarded 2 grants that covered running costs and services such as our Red Book stickers.
Details of our February 2022 – March 2023 accounts can be seen below:
| Date | Details | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-Feb-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -140.25 | 25,001.34 | |
| 25-Feb-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 24,983.34 | |
| 28-Feb-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -1,287.04 | 23,696.30 | |
| 01-Mar-22 | JUSTGIVING | 9.61 | 23,705.91 | |
| 10-Mar-22 | Direct Debit (NEST) | -68.6 | 23,637.31 | |
| 22-Mar-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -279.05 | 23,358.26 | |
| 22-Mar-22 | Inward Payment - Company DONA- TION |
6,250.00 | 29,608.26 | |
| 25-Mar-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 29,590.26 | |
| 29-Mar-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -1,287.04 | 28,303.22 | |
| 31-Mar-22 | Service Charge | -18 | 28,285.22 | |
| 04-Apr-22 | JUSTGIVING | 9.61 | 28,294.83 | |
| 11-Apr-22 | Direct Debit (NEST) | -68.6 | 28,226.23 | |
| 12-Apr-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -279.05 | 27,947.18 | |
| 19-Apr-22 | JUSTGIVING | 175.38 | 28,122.56 | |
| 25-Apr-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 28,104.56 | |
| 26-Apr-22 | JUSTGIVING | 87.69 | 28,192.25 | |
| 26-Apr-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -1,281.90 | 26,910.35 | |
| 26-Apr-22 | B/P to: Catriona Ogilvy | -17.99 | 26,892.36 | |
| 04-May-22 | JUSTGIVING | 286.76 | 27,179.12 | |
| 10-May-22 | Direct Debit (NEST) | -68.6 | 27,110.52 | |
| 23-May-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -178.9 | 26,931.62 | |
| 25-May-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 26,913.62 | |
| 25-May-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -1,281.70 | 25,631.92 | |
| 25-May-22 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -23.4 | 25,608.52 | |
| 25-May-22 | B/P to: Matt Wilkinson | -192.45 | 25,416.07 |
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The Smallest Things
Annual Report 2023
| 25-May-22 | B/P to: MARTIN COTTERELL DE- SIGN |
-300 | 25,116.07 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-May-22 | JUSTGIVING | 9.03 | 25,125.10 | |
| 07-Jun-22 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -5.45 | 25,119.65 | |
| 07-Jun-22 | B/P to: Fundraising Regula | -50 | 25,069.65 | |
| 07-Jun-22 | B/P to: Full Range Print | -212.4 | 24,857.25 | |
| 07-Jun-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -179.1 | 24,678.15 | |
| 10-Jun-22 | Direct Debit (NEST) | -68.6 | 24,609.55 | |
| 14-Jun-22 | JUSTGIVING | 87.49 | 24,697.04 | |
| 15-Jun-22 | ALBERT HUNT GRANT | 1,000.00 | 25,697.04 | |
| 27-Jun-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 25,679.04 | |
| 28-Jun-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -1,209.42 | 24,469.62 | |
| 30-Jun-22 | Service Charge | -18 | 24,451.62 | |
| 05-Jul-22 | JUSTGIVING | 9.61 | 24,461.23 | |
| 05-Jul-22 | B/P to: FH (Staff Salary) | -32.37 | 24,428.86 | |
| 06-Jul-22 | B/P to: HMRC Cumbernauld | -140.61 | 24,288.25 | |
| 11-Jul-22 | Direct Debit (NEST) | -60.53 | 24,227.72 | |
| 12-Jul-22 | JUSTGIVING | 301.29 | 24,529.01 | |
| 25-Jul-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 24,511.01 | |
| 25-Jul-22 | JUSTGIVING | 978.44 | 25,489.45 | |
| 02-Aug-22 | JUSTGIVING | 83.18 | 25,572.63 | |
| 25-Aug-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 25,554.63 | |
| 30-Aug-22 | JUSTGIVING | 17.5 | 25,572.13 | |
| 31-Aug-22 | CHARITIES TRUST | 100 | 25,672.13 | |
| 13-Sep-22 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -19.2 | 25,652.93 | |
| 16-Sep-22 | B/P to: C Ogilvy (Red Book Stickers) | -870 | 24,782.93 | |
| 20-Sep-22 | CHARITIES TRUST | 1,000.00 | 25,782.93 | |
| 26-Sep-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 25,764.93 | |
| 30-Sep-22 | Service Charge | -18 | 25,746.93 | |
| 03-Oct-22 | JUSTGIVING | 9.61 | 25,756.54 | |
| 07-Oct-22 | B/P to: C Ogilvy (Red Book Stickers postage) |
-76 | 25,680.54 | |
| 07-Oct-22 | B/P to: C. Ogilvy (stationary) | -12.99 | 25,667.55 | |
| 10-Oct-22 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -24.65 | 25,642.90 |
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
| 10-Oct-22 | B/P to: C Ogilvy (red book stickers) | -844.96 | 24,797.94 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Oct-22 | CAF22102023432CF | 15,150.93 | 39,948.87 | |
| 25-Oct-22 | Direct Debit (GIVING.COM / JUSTG) | -18 | 39,930.87 | |
| 27-Oct-22 | B/P to: Catriona Ogilvy (sticker post- age) |
-64.85 | 39,866.02 | |
| 31-Oct-22 | B/P to: ABC Umbrella Ltd (JL Staff Salary) |
-1,440.00 | 38,426.02 | |
| 01-Nov-22 | JUSTGIVING | 31.93 | 38,457.95 | |
| 07-Nov-22 | B/P to: Sports Media Agenc (Run 4 Charity) |
-750 | 37,707.95 | |
| 07-Nov-22 | JUSTGIVING | 75.62 | 37,783.57 | |
| 08-Nov-22 | B/P to: C Ogilvy (red book stickers) | -870 | 36,913.57 | |
| 14-Nov-22 | B/P to: MARTIN COTTERELL (De- sign) |
-1,000.00 | 35,913.57 | |
| 21-Nov-22 | JUSTGIVING | 94.63 | 36,008.20 | |
| 25-Nov-22 | Direct Debit (JUSTGIVING SUBS) | -18 | 35,990.20 | |
| 28-Nov-22 | JUSTGIVING | 136.12 | 36,126.32 | |
| 30-Nov-22 | B/P to: ABC Umbrella Ltd (JL Staff Salary) |
-1,368.00 | 34,758.32 | |
| 30-Nov-22 | B/P to: Catriona Ogilvy | -18.99 | 34,739.33 | |
| 30-Nov-22 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles (website costs) | -239.68 | 34,499.65 | |
| 30-Nov-22 | B/P to: C Ogilvy (sticker postage) | -75.88 | 34,423.77 | |
| 21-Dec-22 | B/P to: ABC Umbrella Ltd (JL Staff Salary) |
-1,080.00 | 33,343.77 | |
| 28-Dec-22 | Direct Debit (JUSTGIVING SUBS) | -18 | 33,325.77 | |
| 29-Dec-22 | JUSTGIVING | 86.31 | 33,412.08 | |
| 31-Dec-22 | Service Charge | -18 | 33,394.08 | |
| 05-Jan-23 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -88.29 | 33,305.79 | |
| 09-Jan-23 | JUSTGIVING | 122.22 | 33,428.01 | |
| 25-Jan-23 | Direct Debit (JUSTGIVING SUBS) | -18 | 33,410.01 | |
| 31-Jan-23 | JUSTGIVING | 25.68 | 33,435.69 | |
| 31-Jan-23 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -12.64 | 33,423.05 | |
| 31-Jan-23 | B/P to: ABC Umbrella Ltd (JL Staff Salary) |
-1,296.00 | 32,127.05 | |
| 07-Feb-23 | JUSTGIVING | -18 | 233.84 | 32,360.89 |
| 27-Feb-23 | Direct Debit (JUSTGIVING SUBS) | 32,342.89 | ||
| 28-Feb-23 | JUSTGIVING | 263.86 | 32,606.75 | |
| 28-Feb-23 | B/P to: ABC Umbrella Ltd | -1,296.00 | 31,310.75 |
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023
| 13-Mar-23 | JUSTGIVING | 110.25 | 31,421.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-Mar-23 | JUSTGIVING | 699.61 | 32,120.61 | |
| 22-Mar-23 | B/P to: Sports Media Agenc | -110 | 32,010.61 | |
| 23-Mar-23 | B/P to: Mrs S E Hazleton Running Tops |
-53.45 | 31,957.16 | |
| 27-Mar-23 | Direct Debit (JUSTGIVING SUBS) | -18 | 31,939.16 | |
| 28-Mar-23 | B/P to: Ms S L Miles | -13.09 | 31,926.07 | |
| 30-Mar-23 | B/P to: Staff Salary ABC Umbrella Ltd |
-1,512.00 | 30,414.07 | |
| 30-Mar-23 | Inward Payment - Company DONA- TION |
8,333.33 | 38,747.40 | |
| 31-Mar-23 | Service Charge | -18 | 38,729.40 |
-£22191.72 £35779.53
Structure, Governance and Management
The Smallest Things trustees volunteer their time freely and no remuneration or expenses have been paid this year. The trustees have continued to meet regularly via video conferencing calls throughout the year and one in person away day.
An activity plan continues to structure the charities work and enables us to evaluate our effectiveness.
Our overarching objectives have been clearly documented in our formal 2020-2023 strategy document and we are looking forward to publishing our 2024-2027 strategy in the coming months.
The Smallest Things
1171631
16 Bishops Garth, St Albans, AL4 9AZ www.thesmallestthings.org
ENDs
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The Smallest Things Annual Report 2023