2024-04-30-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT 2024

Covering the period from 1st May 2023 to 30th April 2024 Children£7 Young People Now Awards 2023 THE YOUTH WORK AWARD Winner ChildrenYoung People£7 Now Awards 2023 Winner THE ADVICE AND GUIDANCE AWARD

PROUDLY DELIVERING

Registered in England Charity No: 1172924 Company No: CE009920

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

‘Yous are amazing. I’ll forever be grateful and will support the charity forever.’“The difference this charity has made to my life is amazing.” ( Yy oung Dd ad)

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Foreword by Jeff Brazier (TV Personality)

FOREWORDBy Jeff Brazier (TV Personality)	02
CHAIR’S REPORTBy Professor Anna Tarrant	03
CEO’s REPORTBy Kevin Stoodley	04
IMPACT DATA	05
PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:	07

It is my absolute pleasure to write the Foreword for the North East Young Dads and Lads 2024 Annual Report. Within my role as a presenter for BBC’s The One Show, this Spring I was lucky enough to visit the staff and young dads at NEYDL and was blown away both by the range and depth of work undertaken by the charity to support young dads and the young dads themselves.

From my conversations with young dads at NEYDL and drawing on my own experience as a young dad to two boys, it is evident that young dads face significant barriers in their efforts to play an active and meaningful role in the lives of their children, made worse by a lack of dedicated help and support. This is why NEYDL’s work is so crucial and I look forward to watching the charity go from strength to strength, perhaps one day touching the lives of young dads outside the North East region too.

Congratulations to everyone at NEYDL on another successful and impactful year.

Objective 1. Provide individual support to young dads to address their issues and achieve personal outcomes.

Best wishes,

Jeff

Objective 2.Enable young dads to engage in activities	08
(i) where they can share experiences and support with other
young dads and (ii) where they can spend time with mother and child.
Objective 3.Provide opportunities to improve knowledge, skills,	10
confidence and self-esteem through training and information resources.
Objective 4.Empower young dads to have a voice	11
and influence father inclusive practice.
Objective 5.Ensure NEYDL has the resources required to achieve	13
the above objectives, maintaining high quality, authenticity, and effectiveness. NEYDL IN THE NEWS 14 ~~es~~
MEET THE STAFF TEAM	15
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	16
FINANCIAL REVIEW	17

‘Yous are amazing. I’ll forever be grateful and will support the charity forever.’“I fe l more secure knowing that support is there for me from NEYDL.” ( Yy oung Dd ad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“There isn’t anything negative I can say. I know I have support there and it’s been great for me to get out of the house and meet new lads in the same situation as me. The lads are great, and the supporters (staff and volunteers) are great. I can’t fault anything”

(young dad)

CHAIR’S REPORT

By Professor Anna Tarrant

A huge welcome to our wonderful readers and supporters.

This year has really flown and I almost can’t believe this is my second, albeit first full year, of writing the Chair’s report! As Chair of Trustees, it remains such an honour to support the charity, to observe and advise on the great work that continues, to think back on the year that has passed, and to highlight just some of the many achievements of the young fathers and staff of this nationally distinctive charity.

2023-24 has certainly been an interesting year! Not only have we seen a new government come into power but growing campaign work nationally about the need for more equitable paternity leave for dads has really put fathering and father support firmly on the national policy agenda. Indeed, our very own Josh, once beneficiary and now a member of staff, and his beautiful twins, did a wonderful piece that helped to make the case on national news.

The charity has also significantly expanded its reach and impact, delivering well-loved and attended services for Family Hubs in the North East region. Delivered by an ever-expanding and committed staff team - and what a fantastic bunch you all are - these services are making a real difference to the young fathers of the North East!

They say that time flies when you’re having fun and it has certainly also been a fun filled and productive year again for the North East Young Dads and Lads! There are so many of these from this year, but particular highlights for me? Seeing the AmbassaDADS on The One Show as wonderful representatives, both of themselves, their children and the charity, is right up there. Sharing in the emotions of the awards night in Durham (a huge well done to all the winners!) was also incredibly moving. Kev and Doug did their best as comperes (Ant and Dec springs to mind?!) but it was the dads and your families that really stole the show and made it what it was! I can’t possibly conclude without a nod to staff member Will who wore all of the dressing up gear we had that evening and resembled something out of ET!

As we move into a new year, I wish all of our current and future beneficiaries, staff, consultants, Trustees and supporters all the best and I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next!

We hope you enjoy reading the charity’s annual report for 2023-24. Best wishes

Professor Anna Tarrant

‘I feel more confident within myself and with others around me.’

(young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

‘’ I don’t know where I would have been without the support of NEYDL.’’

(young dad)

CEO’s Report

By Kevin Stoodley

Dear Friend,

A warm welcome to this, our seventh Annual Report covering the charity’s endeavours and achievements from 1st May 2023 to 30th April 2024. NEYDL is 7 years old, how did that happen?

I find myself writing this introduction on a cold, wet night in late November in a week that followed the launch of two new exhibitions at BALTIC (Reframing Young Fatherhood and Portrait Youth) featuring photographs of our young dads captured by two talented photographers (Mark Duffy and Adam Johnson), the latter of whom also happens to be a former service beneficiary of NEYDL – get in there Adam!

As if that wasn’t enough, we chose to launch these exhibitions on International Men’s Day (Tuesday 19th November) at the first of two awards ceremonies we delivered that week in recognition of the achievements of young dads who travelled from as far afield as Northumberland, County Durham, and Middlesbrough.

The last time we hosted an awards ceremony of this kind was in the summer of 2019, a matter of months before the Covid 19 pandemic broke. Held in Gateshead, that ceremony was attended by 11 young dads representing Gateshead and Sunderland, in a year in which the charity supported 46 young dads. By comparison, over the last 12 months our brilliant staff team (which now includes 4 young dads and former service beneficiaries – Will, Rob, Jordan and most recently Josh) have worked directly with 139 young dads, plus 10 non-birthing partners. And that’s without counting the 42,500+ young dads, young mams and others who’ve watched our parenting films and animations via the charity’s e-learning platform (DigiDAD).

Whilst I’m on the subject of DigiDAD, this year we scooped three national awards for this unique and ground breaking platform and its content, including Best Online Production for Father Unknown (a play co-created with our young dads and supported by NEYDL team member Jonah York and former trustee Michael J Richardson) at the Off West End Theatre Awards and overall winner in both Youth Work and Advice & Guidance categories at the prestigious Children and Young People Now Awards.

At the time of writing, I’m delighted to report that thanks to an incredibly generous grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, over the next three years, the DigiDAD universe will grow exponentially with new courses, films, animations, podcasts, and video gaming channels delivered in collaboration with our delivery partners and the young dads they support.

Returning to the awards ceremonies, it was amazing to meet so many young dads and family members (I counted 58 partners, children, siblings, and grandparents) whose lives have been transformed thanks to the depth and variety of services now provided by our passionate and dedicated staff and volunteers. Now spanning six and sometimes seven days a week, this offer includes 5-a-side and 11-a-side tournament football, self-defence/martial arts, father and child focused walk and talk and stay and play sessions, the internet famous Wheelie Good Dads Cycling Club, peer support groups, AmbassaDADS meetings, video gaming sessions and community beekeeping, alongside regular training and accredited learning covering themes as diverse as cycle maintenance, paediatric first aid, mental health first aid, parenting and relationship skills. No wonder young dads spend on average 48 hours at NEYDL every year.

Of course, NEYDL is not just about group work and training opportunities and this year our team have worked tirelessly to support individual young dads and families to address a range of personal challenges including loss and bereavement, poor mental health and suicidal thoughts, loneliness and isolation, poverty and debt, homelessness, NEET status, child contact issues, domestic abuse, offending behaviours, and involvement in social care proceedings relating to their children. Thanks to the implementation of a comprehensive evaluation framework, the extensive impact of our work on the lives of young dads, their children and families is being more fully realised. My favourite data from the last 12 months include:

• 100% of young dads would recommend NEYDL to other young dads.

• 82% felt closer to their children following support from NEYDL.

Relevant to this last finding, I was deeply moved by a recent unsolicited social media post from a young mother we were tagged into: “If you’re a young dad…definitely get yourself involved. I’m not even a dad and I’ve met some of the most loveliest people ever and the opportunities you get with them are endless. Cannot recommend them enough!”

High praise indeed for a dedicated young dads charity that recognises the importance of a whole family approach.

The incredible work and achievements celebrated in this report would not have been possible without the generosity, support and encouragement shown by our amazing funders, service commissioners, sponsors and organisational partners, and the determination, skills and expertise shown by of our super talented staff, volunteers, trustees, project consultants and of course young dads and their families. It is because of you that we look forward to another highly productive and successful year. Best wishes.

Kevin Stoodley (Founder and CEO)

“The service has been amazing and I am so grateful for the support I have received. You have helped me adapt and become the Father I want to be.”

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(young dad)

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

IMPACT DATA

(Covering the period from 1st May 2023 to 30th April 2024)

OUR VISION:

For young dads to be valued and supported in their role as parents.

OUR MISSION:

To enable young dads to play a safe, active and meaningful role in their children’s lives by supporting and connecting young dads and influencing wider practice.

Reason for referral	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	Individual contact time (hrs)	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Young father / expectant dad	139	105	68	63	46	61	Dads and Toddlers groups	142	32	12	0	106	44
Non birthing people	10	10	4	2	1	1	1:1 support (face to face)	960	850	408	440	350	306
Total:	149	115	72	65	47	62	1:1 support (telephone & social media)	650	572	234	450	140	92
Engagement by young men New referral Ongoing support	111 38	48 67	25 47	33 32	25 22	53 9	Joint meetings with other professionals Peer supported group work Training delivered to professionals Research activities	370 586 316 265	350 480 150 400	460 202 51 451	250 850 40 254	190 959 56 134	119 912 101 420
Total:	149	115	72	65	47	62	Campaigning, media, and flm-work	453	350	257	428	142	238
Locality							Community beekeeping	252	268	196	131	250	98
Sunderland	26	34	23	26	22	19	Peer mentoring & volunteering	3,086	2,625	1,491	280	230	216
Gateshead	25	20	26	32	20	31	Other activities	72	50	17	20	36	0
South Tyneside	2	9	6	6	2	5	Total:	7,152	6,127	3,779	3,143	2,593	2,546
Newcastle upon Tyne	11	57	7	1	3	7
North Tyneside	6	14	3	0	0	0	Average individual contact time (hrs)	48	53	52.5	48	55	41
Durham	41	15	6	0	0	0
Northumberland	1	0	1	0	0	0	Key outcomes
Middlesbrough	37	18	0	0	0	0	CP Plans downgraded or completed	22	22	18	9	5	8
Total:	149	115	72	65	47	62	CIN plans downgraded or completed	5	9	10	3	3	4
							Progressed into full time work/study	22	18	9	10	5	8
Age at entry point							Accessed specialist medical help	52	45	15	2	5	5
Under 16	3	16	4	8	4	5	Total:	101	94	52	24	18	25
16-18	28	28	18	8	28	21
19-25	118	71	50	49	15	31	Social Media Metrics
Not given	0	0	0	0	0	5	YouTube Channel– launched 6th April 2021
Total:	149	115	72	65	47	62	Views:	42,533	30,598	12,400
Referral pathway							Watch time (hours):	1,600	1,049	903
Youth work charities	14	10	8	11	11	16	Organic subscribers:	135	106	80
Social services	48	23	21	18	11	7	Impressions:	174,167	97,700	41,600
Early Help Teams	5	10	3	0	1	1
Family Nurse Partnership	11	18	18	16	17	17	X (formerly Twitter)
Self-Referrals	20	5	6	5	4	14	Followers:	1,232	1,152	887
School & Education	0	8	1	2	1	2
Housing	7	6	8	4	2	4	Facebook
Health	34	25	6	0	0	0	Followers:	1,191	806	624
Criminal Justice	2	0	1	0	0	0	Likes:	909	684	549
Other	8	10	0	9	0	1
Total:	149	115	72	65	47	62	Instagram
							Followers	455
Individual help received
Child Protection proceedings	48	30	24	23	12	27	DigiDAD E-learning Platform
Child/Team around the family	5	10	1	1	3	7	Registered users:	266	110	43
Family law proceedings	8	5	5	5	0	8
NEET status	80	30	17	14	13	27
Career progression	22	15	11	5	4	8
Housing, homelessness & benefts	50	25	16	9	4	8
Completing essential paperwork	45	30	16	13	5	19
Poverty & debt management	75	55	9	17	10	12
Domestic abuse	25	15	21	12	7	21
Offending behaviour	43	25	6	16	3	10
Mental & emotional wellbeing	90	45	23	30	26	31
Substance misuse & addiction	22	15	7	8	6	12
Sexual health	23	18	5	3	5	2
Other physical health conditions	10	6	4	4	6	2
Learning diffculties	50	10	3	8	5	8
Social isolation and loneliness	125	101	72	60	47	51
Parenting skills	45	50	35	34	20	46
Relationship skills	65	40	23	27	24	25
Bereavement & loss	22	15	8	4	6	8
Volunteering*	108	105	74	3	8	25
School exclusion	7	8	6	5	3	2
Total:	968	657	388	301	215	363

*This figure represents the total number of young men who volunteered at NEYDL over a 12-month period

‘It’s helped us in multiple ways by getting out the house, meeting up with other young dads from around the area and also with my mental health. It’s a really good scheme’ (young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“I would defo tell my mates who are about to become or are a dad about NEYDL.” (young dad) ee NEYDL ANNUAL EVALUATION REPORT MAY 2023-APRIL 2024 ES

DIVERSITY

139 young dads reached

2.4% ethnically diverse 26.8% identified as disabled (13.7% neurodiverse, 0.8% visual, 0.8% physical, 7% learning difficulties, 3.8% mental distress/health 12+ months, 0.8% long term health condition)

60%

had improved mental wellbeing (Adapted version of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale)

40%

felt better able to express their feelings with the mother of their child(ren) (Modified version of the ENRICH scale)

71%

had reduced anxiety as measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)

57%

had reduced frequency of loneliness (ONS recommended measures of loneliness)

82% felt closer to their child

100% would recommend NEYDL to other young dads

Data sources: GAD-7 & UCLA Survey, completed at first session (baseline) and post-intervention (at least 4 weeks), n=7; Outcomes Tree distance travelled tool completed at baseline, mid-intervention and post-intervention (at least 4 weeks), n=10; Satisfaction survey (post intervention), n=6; and Point in Time survey, n=31; NEYDL Database for equalities data.

“I’ve received more support than I thought I would before I started with them.” (young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“If I need help on something then they just step on the pedal and then talk to us and help me, like, you know, calm the stress, or get more confidence.”

(young dad)

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

OBJECTIVE 1. Provide individual support to young dads to address their issues and achieve personal outcomes.

NEYDL is commissioned to deliver dedicated young dads services in County Durham, Middlesbrough, Gateshead and Sunderland as part of Family Hub and Start for Life Programmes which includes the provision of intensive 1:1 support over a 16-week period to address self-identified needs relevant to their role as young fathers and fathers to be. In addition, through our voluntary grant funded programmes, NEYDL continues to offer individual support to young dads living across Tyne and Wear, in addition to a new pilot focusing on key localities in Northumberland. In total, we have provided intensive 1:1 support to 139 young dads / expectant fathers and 10 non birthing partners (e.g., young men who are playing a parenting role in the lives of their partners children and / or kinship carers) covering a wide variety of support needs including children’s social care proceedings, poverty and debt management, poor mental health, isolation and loneliness, parenting skills, relationship skills, NEET status, housing issues, homelessness and benefit support.

Thanks to new voluntary grant funding we look forward to establishing a comprehensive support service for minoritised young dads across the region, plus a new 1:1 and peer supported group work provision for young dads living in Hartlepool.

Supporting young dads in the Family Hubs: A profile of Durham Young Dads Service

(part of Durham’s Family Hub and Start for Life programme)

By Robert Oughton (Senior Young Dads Worker) Loe

number of whole family days out, including a memorable trip to Beamish Museum and a festive restaurant visit.

Beyond the direct support offered to young dads as service beneficiaries, we have also actively supported participation by 7 young dads in the charity’s AmbassaDADS programme (see related article in this report) and 4 young dads as members of the Durham Family Hubs Parent Carer Panels. Together, County Durham Family Hubs and NEYDL continue to create impactful opportunities for young fathers to grow, belong and thrive as parents and young adults.

‘I didn’t know where to start when becoming a dad for the first time. NEYDL helped a lot like with pointing me in the right direction.’ (Young Dad) Over the past year in County Durham, we have supported 41 young dads and expectant fathers, helping them to build stronger connections with their children and navigate the challenges of fatherhood. Alongside intensive 1:1 support to address the key challenges they identify, a key element of our peer support offer has been a dedicated Thursday evening drop-in, providing a relaxed and welcoming environment where young dads can come together for friendship, support, learning and laughs.

Young dads with access to their children are also actively supported through our father and child focused stay-and-play sessions which are held at convenient times and locations within Family Hub venues. These sessions provide a safe space where young dads can practice and share their parenting skills, gain confidence in using Family Hubs and forge new friendships with like-minded young dads and their children. In addition, we have hosted a

Case study of a young dad supported by NEYDL’s Middlesbrough Young Dads Service

(part of Middlesbrough’s Family Hub and Start for Life programme)

By Paula Davidson (Senior Young Dads Worker)

Since joining NEYDL, David has completed over 200 hours of engagement, covering 6 different programmes including football, beekeeping, AmbasaDADS, father and child focused stay and play sessions, peer support group work activities and intensive one to one support.

Having completed our ‘Clarity Through the Court’ E-learning course on DigiDAD and with my support (acting as a McKenzie Friend), David applied for private family mediation sessions prior to completing a private family court application (Parental Responsibility and Child Arrangement Order) and is currently representing himself in the family court arena.

David has learnt a lot from the support provided by NEYDL, gaining new skills to manage his own mental health, completing other DigiDAD courses focusing on parenting and paediatric first aid, becoming an accomplished beekeeper, digital content creator and developing practical parenting skills through attendance at stay and play session alongside his baby sibling.

As a member of the charity’s AmbassaDADS community leaders programme, David has both shared his lived expertise and represented the charity to professionals and the public alike, including:

• Presentation to the online fatherhood forum Agenda Dad hosted by Future Men

• Presentation to ‘Think Dad’ conferences.

• Interview with TV personality Jeff Brazier for BBC’s The One Show

David self-referred to NEYDL in August 2023 after finding out he was going to be a young dad for the first time. David told me that he had contacted other services in Middlesbrough for support, but because he was no longer in a relationship with the mother of his child and their baby was unborn, no help was offered. Fortunately, David finally found the support he was looking for at NEYDL. David identified his support needs as parenting skills, befriending and help to understand private family court proceedings to ensure that he could be part of his unborn child’s life.

• Co-presented a series of short films featured on the charity’s DigiDAD e-learning platform.

• Active Middlesbrough Family Hub champion

• Steering Group member of Young People, Parents and Carers, a DfE and Home Office funded research study focusing on family focused practice of multiagency safeguarding hubs (MASH) led by UCL and Newcastle University.

• Congratulations David, we are all extremely proud of you and look forward to watching you continue to grow and achieve both at NEYDL and beyond.

“It’s not if, it’s when! Paula is one of the best.”

(young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“Being able to get out of bed and do more with my life. Meeting new people and gaining an excellent support network from excellent people. Cannot wait to see what the future holds.” (young dad)

OBJECTIVE 2.

Enable young dads to engage in activities (i) where they can share experiences and support with other young dads and (ii) where they can spend time with mother and child.

Over the past year 85 young dads have participated in our peer supported group work opportunities across the region including Dads and Toddlers groups at Family Hubs, family outings, young dads groups, cycling sessions, football, rock climbing, bee keeping, video gaming and more. The examples below show how these activities help to boost young dads self-confidence, tackle social isolation and loneliness, improve mental and physical health and so much more.

NEYDL United!

By Jonny Conn (Senior Young Dads Worker) and Will Patterson

(Young Dads Project Worker)

Whichever team you support, football is a big part of the North East culture and identity, and from the earliest days of the charity, having a friendly kick-a-bout proved to be a great way to introduce new young dads to older members, thus laying the building blocks for lifelong friendships and peer support networks.

Indeed, our outdoor football offer came into its own during the covid related lockdowns, providing a lifeline for many young dads who had no access to non-resident children, may have experienced bereavement, never left the house, spoke to, or met another person outside of these sessions.

Just like the charity, at its core football is about support, whether you turn up on a Saturday afternoon and head through the turnstiles to cheer on your favourite club, enjoy a game of FIFA on the PS5 or play a game of 5-A-side with your mates, its engrossing, consuming and exciting.

So, what better way to develop a sense of pride, purpose and togetherness amongst young dads who often feel left out, side-lined, or overlooked than by starting our own team – ‘NEYDL United’.

Building on our weekly and ever popular 5-A-side football sessions delivered in Sunderland and Middlesbrough, NEYDL United have so far given 28 young dads from as far afield as Gateshead, Sunderland, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and Durham the chance to play competitive 11-A-side football against multicultural teams representing The Chapel of Light Church in Washington and ‘Man versus Fat’.

Whilst we’ve yet to win a game (5-6, 5-9 and 5-6 so far), watching young dads grow in confidence, form new friendships, meet culturally and ethnically diverse communities, and offer support and encouragement to others has been fantastic.

Going forward, we will introduce training and volunteering opportunities enabling young dads to gain recognised qualifications in sports coaching. We also hope to establish a league for young dads in each locality, culminating in an end of season awards evening in celebration of young dads from across our region and eventually beyond.

“I’m more confident and comfortable with my child.”

(young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“Honestly Tom (Community Beekeeper at NEYDL) I have loved today. I couldn’t be any happier.”

(young dad)

Birds, Bees, Bikes and Trees.

By Jonah York, Tom Jamieson and Jordan Pike

Building on the success of NEYDL’s Wheelie Good Dads Cycling Club and community beekeeping venture, the Birds, Bees, Bikes and Trees project (BBBT) is a collaboration between BALTIC, NEYDL and Newcastle University funded over 3 years by the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund.

The project aims to:

• Build young dads’ skills and confidence to become role models, activists and spokespeople for nature and climate.

• Support young dads to positively engage in their communities, within their children’s lives and influence local and national environmental policy.

Birds, Bees, Bikes and Trees has had an amazing start to life this year, including the honour of being chosen as the feature project to launch the Climate Action Fund nationally. As if one on screen performance wasn’t enough, four of our brilliant young dad beekeepers - Corey, Mark, Jed and Jordan, were interviewed and recorded by media students at Newcastle University for a beautiful short film called Honey on the Tyne, which includes footage of a beehive inspection carried out on the roof of the BALTIC (with climbing harnesses and bee suits of course).

1. Following a rigorous training regime made up of weekly cycling excursions led by our Community Cycling Leaders (all of whom are young dads), young dads Richie, Curtis and Alex joined NEYDL staff members Kev, Doug and Jonah to take on the Great North Bike Ride, covering 60 miles from Seahouses in Northumberland to Tynemouth in North Tyneside. Despite the challenging conditions, the whole team arrived at the finished line and plans are in place to do it all again next year.

Key highlights for BBBT this year have included:

1. A public open day to launch the project, attracting a whopping 1,955 visitors to the BALTIC who participated in honey spinning, tasting and hive building workshops, alongside bike maintenance and learn to ride sessions, all topped off with a trip to the BALTIC cinema to watch a live streamed inspection of our rooftop beehives led by Tom and young dad turned NEYDL employee Jordan. Oh, and the event was featured on ITV Tyne Tees television too!

2. A trip to Kielder Birds of Prey Centre attended by 65 young dads, children and partners which included a bespoke meet and greet with a professional falconer, close encounters with the birds and a flight demonstration.

Alongside these big events, BBBT continues to offer weekly bee keeping and cycling sessions, a popular bike loan scheme for dads and children, bike maintenance sessions and workshops.

“I had such a good time today. I learned new skills and got to take things apart to see how they worked”

“I had my own bike with me today and the lads at CK cycles were great at showing me how to fix my bike and let me have a go. I’ve come away with what looks like a new bike”

“Being able to use all the tools and be in a professional bike workshop was amazing,”

(Quotes from 3 young dads who completed intermediate and advance bike maintenance courses supported by NEYDL).

Going forward, Jordan is working with the AmbassaDADS (a group of 21 young dads and community leaders supported by NEYDL) to plan an adventure-based climate action project (‘Source to Sea’) to assess the health of the River Tyne, (including the implications of flooding and rising sea levels), culminating in a creative showcase at BALTIC. Interest in this project from young dads is off the scale and alongside the more serious and scientific elements we are looking forward to introducing the young dads to a range of new skills including mountain biking, orienteering, kayaking, rock climbing, camping, photography, film making and Forest Schools.

“I love coming out on the bikes with the lads. It’s one of the best things I have done. I feel better about myself physically and mentally.”

9

(young dad)

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“I really appreciate the opportunity to learn first aid, which I can now use as a dad.”

(young dad)

OBJECTIVE 3.

Provide opportunities to improve knowledge, skills, confidence and self-esteem through training and information resources.

By Kevin Stoodley

Over the last 12 months, DigiDAD (NEYDL’s bespoke e-learning platform co-created with young dads) has gone from strength to strength, thanks in part to the following adaptations and innovations:

• Release of new animations, video and course content including a Hero film, 6-part Pregnancy, Birth and New Baby course, 3-part Feeding Your Baby course and full revisions to all our existing parenting courses to ensure compliance with WHO and UNICEF best practice guidance.

• Full website redesign and relaunch including bespoke features for key audiences (e.g., young dads, family & friends, and professionals), new web pages exploring father inclusive practice, inspirational stories of young fatherhood, academic research, improved functionality, and aesthetics.

• Bite-sized memorable content: “So every step of the way, everything we did was led by what young dads said to us about their information preferences. Like when they go to YouTube. Anything more than 2 1/2 minutes with an advert in the middle you flick away. So, we thought we’re gonna keep our content short and sweet.” (Young dad and DigiDAD content creator).

• Humour: DigiDAD avoids feeling patronising, preachy, or boring. The authentic humour of young dads is a cornerstone in its ability to normalise young parenthood in a way that is both attractive and relatable.

• Quality: The quality of content on DigiDAD has been identified as a crucial ingredient to its success, enabling it to punch through the dizzying array of videos, apps, etc targeted at young people, and strike a chord with young dads. Artistic collaborators are carefully selected by our team to ensure content that is vibrant, well-structured, and attractive. The quality amplifies distribution because of young dads’ pride in their co-creations, increasing social media shares, word-of-mouth recommendations and peer-influencing.

In response to these innovations which are driven both by the ideas and creativity of our 21-strong young community leaders (AmbassaDADS) and the 86 additional young dads who have so far contributed over 1,180 volunteer hours to the creation of DigiDAD, the platform now contains over 60 films, animations, podcasts, and e-courses covering early parenting, perinatal mental health, paediatric first aid and institutional proceedings. In addition to the 266 active website users, DigiDAD is supported by a popular YouTube channel which has achieved over 42,500 views and 1,600 hours of viewing time.

Inspired by the growing geographic reach of DigiDAD, this year we have actively worked with delivery partners in Salford (Salford Youth Service), London (Future Men) and Nottingham (Diversify Education and Communities CIC) to consult with 35 young dads (including 26% of respondents identifying as Black/African/ Caribbean or Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups; and 40% as disabled, neurodiverse or with long term mental health needs) concerning their preferences for new content. Feedback from this community has identified the following factors that make DigiDAD co-creation with young dads a success:

• Young dads’ voices and regional accents: Voice actors are young dads, predominantly from Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, County Durham, and Middlesbrough. The composition of the voices, language, accents, and dialogue of Northeast young fathers are unique features intended to develop a sense of familiarity and belonging for other users in proximity of the Northeast. Moving forward, new content will be created featuring the voices of young dads from the Midlands, London, Salford/Manchester.

• Easy to use: The content was easy to find and helped these young men to manage their fears about becoming a parent through the provision of key information about parenting skills.

Now a nationally award-winning platform, at the time of writing this article I’m pleased to report that DigiDAD has now received 3-year grant funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to both promote and expand the DigiDAD universe with and for young dads. We look forward to working closely with delivery partners in the Midlands, Salford/Manchester, and London to reach and involve ever more young dads in the co-creation of this unique and highly innovate platform.

“Absolutely loved this session…amazing work and DigiDAD should be funded forever.”

(Health Professional)

“Perhaps the most distinctive feature of DigiDAD is that young fathers ‘voices and lived experiences are integral both to the content development and the creation and dissemination of information.”

(DigiDAD External Evaluation, 2023)

“It’s always easy to find what you’re looking for and if you struggle, you can see it right in front of your screen, you can see the options you need, what’s important or is something you struggle on.”

10

(young dad and DigiDAD user)

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“We get a say in the vision and direction we want to take NEYDL, especially as parents and how we want to be supported, acknowledged, and represented”.

(young dad)

OBJECTIVE 4.

Empower young dads to have a voice and influence father inclusive practice.

At the heart of NEYDL’s mission is empowering young dads not only to succeed as parents but to become community leaders. Many of the young men who first sought help from NEYDL have transitioned into vital roles as peer mentors, researchers, DigiDAD content creators, community bee keepers, cycling group leaders and paid staff, showing just how deeply they connect with the charity’s values and vision. Within this context, one of the key innovations NEYDL has made in the past year is to advance the work of the charity’s regional young dads council (renamed the AmbassaDADS by its members in 2023).

Meet the AmbassaDADS

By the AmbassaDADS with Dr Linzi Ladlow

We, the AmbassaDADS have all taken the journey from service beneficiaries of NEYDL to active volunteers and representatives of the charity. We are a group of young dads who have come together to form a pioneering community leadership programme. The model was initiated by North East Young Dads and Lads and developed in collaboration with the Following Young Fathers Further team based at the University of Lincoln. As ambassadors for NEYDL and for young fathers everywhere, our goal is to challenge the stigma around young fatherhood and to promote greater father-inclusion in services and society.

Drawing from our own experiences, we are committed to raising awareness, advocating for change, and leading by example. Through our work, we aim to break down the barriers young dads face and create a more inclusive environment for fathers from all backgrounds.

In just this first year, we have been proactive in sharing our experiences and promoting father-inclusive practices to services like the Family Hubs, and professional groups including midwives and social workers. We have spoken at academic and professional conferences and training events, and are gaining increasing attention in the media, including a feature on the BBC’s One Show.

A key achievement for us has been our involvement on the Reframing Young Fatherhood project, where we played an active role in shaping the project from the ground up. We were involved in designing the project, interviewing photographers, and selecting the final images for exhibition. This project has been a powerful way for us to challenge stereotypes and highlight the positive aspects of young fatherhood.

We have also written a manifesto for a father-inclusive society with 5 core asks:

1. Challenge stigma about young fatherhood

2. Showcase positive young fatherhood

3. Influence positive social change for young dads

4. Promote inclusivity, equality and equity, for young dads

5. Share and inform best practice for supporting young dads.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the possibilities for the AmbassaDADS in the coming year. As a youth-led group, the AmbassaDADS encompasses a training programme that helps us to build our employability and leadership skills and we have already completed training in Mental Health First Aid, Understanding Masculinities and Media skills, with more to come next year. This training will help us become even more effective leaders and advocates for young fathers, and it will increase our employability and future opportunities. We will expand our advocacy work and are committed to continuing our campaign to challenge the stigma of young fatherhood and promote father-inclusive practices. Next year, we also plan to engage with even more services, speak at more events, and use our platform to raise awareness about the importance of supporting young dads.

“I feel involved and more confident around people who’re in the group. I’m much happier and I start loving it.”

(young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

‘Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be involved in it mate, honestly.’

(Adam Johnson, young dad and Photographer)

----- Start of picture text -----
Reframing Young Fatherhood
By Kevin Stoodley
[
----- End of picture text -----

“There are moments when every young parent has questioned it…did I have kids too young? I could be out there doing what my friends are doing, getting drunk and not even worrying about tomorrow. But when I think about it, I wouldn’t change a thing.” (Young dad).

November 2024 saw the launch of two new photo exhibitions (Portrait Youth and Reframing Young Fatherhood) at BALTIC, featuring images and words of young dads supported by NEYDL.

Reframing Young Fatherhood is a unique photography project led by NEYDL’s AmbassaDADS. Capturing young dads and young parents authentically caring for their children, supported by powerful and thought-provoking words shared by our former service beneficiaries, the AmbassaDADS seek to counter the negative societal views that young dads so often face, whilst celebrating young men in their role as fathers.

Once again photographed by Adam alongside Irish photographer Mark Duffy, photos and words which feature in the Reframing Young Fatherhood exhibition have just been released as a set of 15 A3 posters and 50 A4 postcards for use by wider professionals in support of young fathers. For more information, email: [e-mail]

Portrait Youth is a collaborative project led by Dr Jo Jenkinson at Manchester Metropolitan University and supported by NEYDL and Dr Laura Way at The University of Lincoln. It features seven portraits of our young dads Alex, Tyler, James, Nathan, Jed, Callum and Rob and seeks to explore identity through dress (including hairstyles and tattoos).

The photoshoot sparked great conversations with young dads about identity, fatherhood, lived experience, personal goals and values and was photographed by another former service beneficiary of the charity Adam Johnson, who is carving out a career as a professional photographer.

‘This is the kind of group and place to be. I’ve loved it. Looking forward to coming next week.’

(young dad)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“It is great that NEYDL are finally getting the recognition you deserve. Well done to the team.”

(Funding Manager, The National Lottery Community Fund)

OBJECTIVE 5.

Ensure NEYDL has the resources required to achieve the above objectives, maintaining high quality, authenticity, and effectiveness.

To meet both the growing demand for our support services and expanding geographic reach, NEYDL welcomed 5 new staff this year, including Jordan Pike - a former service beneficiary, trustee and community beekeeping volunteer. All new staff brought significant expertise in family support, youth and community work, mental health, working with men and boys and supporting minoritised communities, along with local geographic knowledge and have quite literally ‘hit the ground running’, closely supported by our existing and highly dedicated staff members. Within the current charity year, I’m pleased to report that Robert Oughton, Will Patterson and Colin Cowings (2 of whom are former service beneficiaries of the charity) all received promotions and additional responsibilities in recognition of their performance, knowledge and expertise. In addition to annual safeguarding training, professional training attended by all staff in the current year has included:

• In addition, we continue to support and learn from external academic evaluations of the charity’s work and projects. In the current charity year this has led to the production of the following reports;

• ‘Teen Dads Project Evaluation with North East Young Dads and Lads (NEYDL) funded by BBC Children in Need (May 2023)’ by Dr Michael J Richardson.

• ‘The National Lottery Community Fund ‘Dad2Dad Peer Support Peer Support’ Year 1 independent evaluation report May 2023’ by Dr Linzi Ladlow and Professor Anna Tarrant (University of Lincoln).

In conclusion, we remain deeply grateful to the staff, volunteers, trustees, project partners and passionate supporters who work so tirelessly on behalf of the charity, leading to the outstanding achievements and outcomes detailed in this report.

• Level 3 Award in Supervising First Aid for Mental Health.

• ICON Training to prevent non accidental injuries to children.

• PREVENT awareness training.

Other key achievements relevant to this charitable objective have included:

• A comprehensive review and refinement of the charity’s 3-year strategy (which now extends to 2027) closely supported by Alex Blake (Keda Consulting), leading to increased confidence that we are investing our resources wisely in activities that have the most impact for young dads.

• Production of a 3-year strategy, operational plan and budget for the future development of our award winning DigiDAD e-learning platform, supported by Keda Consulting.

• Completion of a technical specification for the further development of the charity’s peer moderated video gaming project supported by Dr Mike Simpson, Newcastle Universities Software Engineering School.

• Production of an EDI Strategy following a comprehensive self-assessment process led by self-employed leadership catalyst, Ngozi Lyn Cole (Ngozi was named in the 2016 New View 50 list as one of the top 50 most influential Black and Minority Ethnic people working in the public sector).

Future plans

Over the next year, the charity will continue to work to our strategic objectives as defined below and we look forward to updating you on our progress.

• Provide individual support to young dads to address their issues and achieve personal outcomes.

• Enable young dads to engage in activities (i) where they can share experience and support with other young dads and (ii) where they can spend time with mother and child.

• Provide opportunities to improve knowledge, skills, confidence and selfesteem through training and information resources.

• Influence policy and practice to be more inclusive and supportive of young dads.

• Ensure NEYDL has the resources required to achieve the above objectives, maintaining high quality, authenticity, and effectiveness.

• Production, implementation and continuous refinement of the charity’s Evaluation Framework and Theory of Change model, making use of a bespoke and cloud-based data management system co-created by Throneware.

“I’m really proud to be part of the team that brought this fabulous charity to County Durham and I’m so proud of all the young families that I think I might burst.”

(Senior Commissioning Support Officer, County Durham Care Partnership)

13

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
‘Excellent coverage on the BBC news last night – well done.’
(The Joicey Trust)
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Kristian Johnson
Shared parental leave skewed
against lower earning families,
analysis shows
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War in Ukraine Climate UK World Business
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Politics Culture Young Reporter
Family & Education
New analysis of the government's shared parental leave scheme shows
uptake is skewed against lower earners in favour of wealthier families in
south-east England.
Shared parental leave was introduced 10 years ago this week with the aim of
allowing dads to play a more prominent role in fatherhood.
But campaign group The Dad Shi says it is "failing working families".
Labour says it is carrying out a review of parental leave.
Introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government,
shared parental leave is a state-funded scheme that allows parents to share up
to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay aer the birth or adoption of a
child.
But new analysis, seen exclusively by BBC News, shows it might not benefit all
dads equally.
The figures, from a Freedom of Information request submitted to HMRC by
The Dad Shi, show the top 20% of earners make up 60% of those to use
shared parental leave.
Pete says he had some "really magical times" with his son, Jay, on shared parental leave
More than 5,000 high earners used shared parental leave last year
Weather
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Reporter
1510 Comments
2 December 2024
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BBC Look North, North East and Cumbria
21 November 2024
Young dad stereotypes tackled by
postcard campaign
Megan Paterson
James Withycombe, from County Durham, said becoming a young father to Violet "was quite a shock" and not
planned but "when it finally happened, all I did was cry, I was so happy".
Callum Fay, from Gateshead, pictured with son Archie, says: "This is my favourite picture in the world - seeing how he
is looking and how he's listening, I just feel like he's looking up to us."
More
War in Ukraine Climate UK World Business
Home InDepth Israel-Gaza war
PoliticsEnglandCultureLocal News Tyne
Negative stereotypes of young fathers are being tackled by a postcard
campaign highlighting positive images of the men with their children.
The Reframing Young Fatherhood project has been set up by North East
Young Dads and Lads (NEYDL), in Gateshead, which gives social, financial and
practical support to fathers under the age of 25 from across the region.
The charity said the portraits were designed as a "celebration of dads who are
oen misunderstood and misrepresented".TV presenter Jeff Brazier, who became a dad aged 23 and is supporting the
project, said young fathers oen faced "judgement and stigma".
NEYDL said young men were oen dismissed by service providers.
Founder Kevin Stoodley said the stigma linked to young parenthood could
oen lead them to feel isolated and reluctant to ask services for help.
"Young dads talk to us about when they are out with their children in public,
they get looked at, they get ridiculed, they get verbal abuse," he said.
"When they seek help from professionals, historically they've experienced a
stone wall or not been supported.
Home
InDepth
Politics Culture Israel-Gaza war
Newsbeat War in Ukraine
Climate UK World
Business
More
a young dad'. They say 'how did that happen?'"
"People don't oen respond to young dads by saying 'congratulations, you're
because he felt all the support out there was aimed at mums.When Kev Stoodley set up a charity to help dads under 25 in 2017, he did it
Even now there are no official stats to tell us how many young men become
fathers, but what's clear for Kev is how difficult it can be for the ones who do.
One of the biggest obstacles, Kev says, is the stereotypes they face.
dangerous, they're feckless and disinterested," he says.
"I think there's a misperception that they're a risk to their children, they're
"Young dads aren't celebrated in our society, they're seen as being a problem."
months old, was born.
One of those people he's talking about is 22-year-old Tyler Reed.
He tells BBC Newsbeat his life changed when his daughter Aurianna, now 10
Home
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7 November 2023
BBC Newsbeat
'Are you the dad?'
challenge stereotypes
Parenting: Helping young dads to
Tyler feels he was treated differently to his partner aer their little girl Aurianna was born
By Ian Murphy
----- End of picture text -----

‘I had a really special day yesterday filming with NEYDL for The One Show. I was totally blown away by the project, the team that run it and the maturity and accountability of the young dads I met. Such a valuable resource and so effective. It should be everywhere.’ (TV Presenter Jeff Brazier)

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

‘NEYDL has been an important and very beneficial part of my and my partners life.’

(young mother)

----- Start of picture text -----
MEET THE TEAM
Andy Appleyard Amy Bowman Jonny Conn Colin Cowings
(Senior Young Dads Worker – (Financial Officer) (Senior Young Dads Worker – (Senior Young Dads Worker –
Middlesbrough) Gateshead and Sunderland) County Durham, Northumberland
& Tyne & Wear)
Paula Davidson Tom Jamieson Doug Laidlaw Nathan Noble
(Senior Young Dads Worker – (Community Beekeeper) (Regional Programmes Manager) (Cycling Coordinator and Peer
Middlesbrough) Enabler)
Robert Oughton William Patterson Jordan Pike Nikki Rummer
(Senior Young Dads Worker- (Young Dads Support Worker – (Cycling and Beekeeping (Fundraiser)
County Durham) Tyne & Wear) Project Worker)
Kevin Stoodley Fred Suadwa Jonah York
(Founder and CEO) (Minoritised Young Dads Officer) (Birds, Bees, Bikes and Trees
Project Manager)
----- End of picture text -----

‘Thank you mate, that was honestly brilliant like. Nice to have a change and have a thing to look forward to every week. Thank you. It means a lot’

15

(young dad)

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“(named young dad) has changed so much since working with you. He’s much more open and is so dedicated to his son. After your session he’s full of beans and it’s amazing to see, despite everything.”

(The mother of a young dad supported by NEYDL)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

None of the outcomes or achievements detailed in this report would have been possible without the continued support, kindness, encouragement, friendship, and generosity offered by so many people, groups, projects, organisations, services, foundations and institutions, who have given NEYDL so much and asked for so little in return. Though far from exhaustive, we believe the following individuals and organisations deserve an extra special thank you for their huge contribution to NEYDL over the past 12 months.

Board of Trustees

Olusola Adebiyi appointed 9th July 2024

Steven Bramwell (Vice Chair) appointed 9th July 2024

Jenny Goldstein (Treasurer) appointed 9th July 2020 Destiny Greenwood retired 9th July 2024

Chris Humba (EDI Advisor) appointed 13th December 2023

Mark Hutchinson (Secretary) appointed 11th July 2023 Sarah Oliver (Safeguarding Advisor) appointed 9th July 2020 Jordan Pike (young dad) retired 9th July 2024 Tyler Reed (young dad) retired 9th July 2024 Professor Anna Tarrant (Chair) appointed 7th July 2023 Colin Workman (GDPR Compliance Advisor) appointed 11th July 2023 Joshua Wiborg (young dad) appointed 12th March 2024 James Withycombe appointed 9th July 2024

DigiDAD Advisory Group

Amy Berry Colin Cowings Ella Fielding Jenny Goldstein Chris Humba Mark Hutchinson Adam Johnson Doug Laidlaw (Chair) Nathan Noble Sarah Oliver Robert Oughton Jan Rigby Margherita Rovida Kevin Stoodley Professor Anna Tarrant Angela Ward

AmbassaDADS;

Pixel Buddy

North East regional young dads council

Salford Youth Service

Cameron Davison Jed Donnelly Anthony Hopgood Ben Horniman Josh Nicholson Tony Nicholson Nathan Noble Robert Oughton Will Patterson Dylan Peggs Jordan Pike Andrew Pittman Karl Preston Tyler Reed Curtis Sloanes Davy Snowdon Lewis Spence Alex Tarling Cameron Todd Josh Wiborg James Withycombe

Sunderland Family Hubs The Comfrey Project

The Family Nurse Partnership (Sunderland and Gateshead)

The Staiths Café Thread Media Throneware Ltd

Our current funders and sponsors

Cycling UK funded by The National Lottery and Sport England

The County Council of Durham The University of Lincoln

The Normanby Charitable Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Council of the Borough of Middlesbrough The National Lottery Community Fund The Worshipful Company of Grocers Newcastle University NHS England Healthier Together VCSE Funding Warburtons The Henry Smith Charity Sunderland City Council BBC Children in Need Ballinger Charitable Trust The Borough Council of Gateshead The Imagine Foundation The Tudor Trust Sir James Knott Trust Ron & Louise Bowey Grassroots at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Fatherhood Institute County Durham Community Foundation Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS The Lankelly Chase Foundation The Joicey Trust The William Leech Charity Other trusts and foundations who have kindly supported our work

Our volunteer beekeepers

Jed Donnelly

Corey Fletcher Adam Johnson Dylan Peggs George Rainbird Dr Michael Richardson Mark Ridden

Our friends and project partners including

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Benjamin Michael Smith (film maker) The Lankelly Chase Foundation Brown March and Bowman Ltd Accountants The Joicey Trust Chopwell Officials Club The William Leech Charity Chopwell Regeneration Group Other trusts and foundations who have kindly Diversify Education and Communities CIC supported our work Durham Family Hubs Following Young Fathers Further at The University Our Inspiration of Lincoln Last but not least, thank you, thank you, thank Forestry England you to all the utterly brilliant young men and Future Men families we have met so far and those we have yet to meet. This charity and this report exist Gateshead Family Hubs because of you! Honeypot Creative KEDA Consulting Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School Middlesbrough Family Hubs Motif Pictures Northumberland Family Hubs Ngozi Lyn Cole

‘We would like to thank you for the amazing work you do with the young dads. They are so lucky to have such an amazing charity to help them.’

16

(Warburtons Foundation)

North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

At the year end, the board of trustees considered the charity to be in a healthy financial position with approximately six months of operating costs being held within unrestricted reserves. At the 30th April 2024, the board of trustees identified no uncertainties relating to the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The board of trustees’ review and update their financial controls on a regular basis.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name

North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO

Registered Company number

CE009920 (England and Wales)

Principal funds

The charities principal source of funds is made up of voluntary grants from trusts and foundations and statutory grants and service commissioning.

Financial reserves policy

The purpose of the policy is to ensure that the North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO can meet its contractual obligations and finance the planned future growth of the organisation. The level of free reserves (excluding restricted funds) is reviewed annually by the Trustees. The Trustees consider that the most appropriate level of reserves on 30th April 2024 would be £203,641 which is equivalent to approximately six months basis operating costs.

The general reserves on 30th April 2024 amounted to £147,209, which are considered as free reserves.

Fundraising Policy

The North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO engages fundraising consultants from time to time to support the charities CEO to develop strategic plans of activities relevant to voluntary and statutory grant fundraising and service commissioning opportunities. The charity does not purchase external lists of potential individual donors or undertake Direct Mail appeals to such lists.

The charity adheres to the Fundraising Code of Practice issued by the Fundraising Regulator and does not approach or pressure vulnerable people to support its work.

Any fundraising events carried out on behalf of the charity that we are aware of are supported and monitored by the CEO. Any marketing materials and approaches are scrutinised to ensure compliance with the Fundraising Code of Practice and details of income and expenditure are carefully recorded by the Finance Manager. Income is acknowledged and grateful thanks are sent, typically with a letter.

Registered Charity number

1172924

Registered office

c/o BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts South Shore Road Gateshead NE8 3BA

Trustees

Destiny Greenwood (appointed 12/09/2023)

Jordan Pike (appointed 07/07/2022) Tyler Reed (appointed 12/09/2023) Prof. Anna Tarrant (Chair) (appointed 07/07/2022) Joshua Race-Wiborg (appointed 12/03/2024)

Chris Humba (appointed 13/12/2023)

Colin Workman (appointed 11/07/2023)

Mark Hutchinson (appointed 11/07/2023)

Jennifer Goldstein (appointed 09/07/2020)

Sarah Oliver (appointed 09/07/2020)

Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Stoodley

Report of the Trustees

for the Year Ended 30 April 2024

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report alongside the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 April 2024. The trustees have adopted the provision of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

Independent examiner

PA Brown & Company Ltd 16 Abbey Meadows Morpeth NE61 2BD

Bankers

The Co-operative Bank, P.O Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M60 4EP

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

INCORPORATION

The charitable company was incorporated on 9 May 2017 and commenced trading on the same date.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Trustee Recruitment

The charity is governed by an elected board of trustees, who meet regularly for quarterly board meetings and an annual public AGM with the CEO of the charity. At these meetings, the opportunity arises for new trustees to be nominated, carefully considered by the board, and approved. All trustees are required to hold a valid enhanced DBS certificate which is reviewed every 3 years.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees are responsible for preparing the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.”

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to,

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.

• observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP.

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO (“the Company”)

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 April 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 201 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act: or

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

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].

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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s independent examiners are unaware; and

• the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the relevant examiners are aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Paul Brown PA Brown & Company Ltd 16 Abbey Meadows Morpeth NE61 2BD

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 14th January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

fore. Téarank

A Tarrant – Chair to Trustees

J Goldstein – Treasurer

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 30 April 2024

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Public Donations Charitable activities The County Council of Durham The University of Lincoln The Normanby Charitable Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Council of the Borough of Middlesborough The National Lottery (Climate Action Fund) The National Lottery Community Fund (Awards For All) The Worshipful Company of Grocers NHS England- Healthier Together VCSE Funding Warburtons Project Grant The Henry Smith Charity Sunderland City Council BBC Children in Need Ballinger Charitable Trust The National Lottery Community Fund (Dad2Dad Peer Support) The Borough Council of Gateshead The Imagine Foundation The Tudor Trust Sir James Knott Trust Ron & Louise Bowey Grassroots at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Fatherhood Institute Total EXPENDITURE ON Marketing and Advertising Raising Funds Charitable activities Other Total NET INCOME TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	Unrestricted funds £ Restricted funds £ Total funds £ 9,631 9,631 70,669 70,669 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 50,000 50,000 128,308 128,308 34,192 34,192 11,663 11,663 5,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 10,000 10,000 15,000 15,000 19,066 19,066 39,480 39,480 20,000 20,000 45,582 45,582 95,000 95,000 12,000 12,000 45,500 45,500 14,000 14,000 10,000 10,000 500 500 2,000 2,000
	105,131 541,460 646,591
	1,344 2,640 3,984 14,318 3,056 17,374 83,260 302,664 385,924 98,922 308,360 407,282
	6,209 233,100 239,309
	141,000 287,160 428,160
	147,209 520,260 667,469

CONTINUING OPERATIONS

All income and expenditure have arisen from continuing activities.

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO

Balance Sheet At 30 April 2024

	Unrestricted		Restricted		Total
	funds		funds		funds
	£		£		£
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash at bank	147,209		520,260		667,469
Cash in hand	-		-		-
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES	147,209		520,260		667,469
NET ASSETS	147,209		520,260		667,469
FUNDS
Unrestricted funds					147,209
Restricted funds					520,260
TOTAL FUNDS					667,469

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the period ended 30 April 2024.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the period ended 30 April 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

• (a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

• (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to charitable small companies.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 14th January 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

A Tarrant – Chair of Trustees

Jone Terank

The notes form part of these financial statements

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO Balance Sheet At 30 April 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

2. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 30 April 2024.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 30 April 2024.

3. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Cycling UK funded by National Lottery & Sport England The National Lottery (Climate Action Fund) The Council of the County of Durham The Council of the Borough of Middlesborough Sunderland City Council The Borough Council of Gateshead The Henry Smith Charity Newcastle University NHS Health Improvement Fund c/o County Durham Community Foundation County Durham Community Foundation – Donor Support Fatherhood Institute Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust The National Lottery (Awards for All) Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Lankelly Chase Foundation Warburtons Project Grant The National Lottery Community Fund (Dad2Dad Peer Support) The Tudor Trust (Wellbeing Grant) The Joicey Trust The William Leech Charity Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Ron & Louise Bowey Grassroots at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland BBC Children in Need TOTAL FUNDS	At 30.4.23 £ Net movement in funds £ At 30.4.24 £ 141,000 6,209 147,209
	480 (480) - - 30,628 30,628 200,000 20,256 220,256 - 103,486 103,486 - 11,628 11,628 - 79,280 79,280 - 10,355 10,355 516 (516) - 16,955 (16,955) - 960 (960) - 2,000 (2,000) - 17,586 17,586 - - 11,016 11,016 26,191 26,191 24,761 (24,761) - 2,676 (2,409) 267 2,974 3,439 6,413 1,200 (1,200) - 2,000 (2,000) - 3,000 (3,000) - - 500 500 - 9,917 9,917 12,052 (1,729) 10,323
	428,160 239,309 667,469

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds Cycling UK funded by National Lottery & Sports England The National Lottery (Climate Action Fund) The County Council of Durham The Council of the Borough of Middlesborough Sunderland City Council The Borough Council of Gateshead The Henry Smith Charity Newcastle University NHS Health Improvement Fund c/o County Durham Community Foundation County Durham Community Foundation – Donor Support Fatherhood Institute Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust The National Lottery (Awards for All) Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Lankelly Chase Foundation Warburtons Project Grant The National Lottery Community Fund (Dad2Dad Peer Support) The Tudor Trust (Wellbeing Grant) The Joicey Trust The William Leech Charity Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Ron & Louise Bowey Grassroots at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland The Imagine Foundation BBC Children In Need TOTAL FUNDS	Incoming resources £ Resources expended £ Movement in funds £ 105,131 (98,922) 6,209 - (480) (480)
	34,192 (3,564) 30,628 70,669 (50,413) 20,256 128,308 (24,822) 103,486 19,066 (7,438) 11,628 95,000 (15,720) 79,280 15,000 (4,645) 10,355 - (516) (516) - (16,955) (16,955) - (960) (960) - (2,000) (2,000) (17,586) (17,586) 11,663 (647) 11,016 50,000 (23,809) 26,191 - (24,761) (24,761) 10,000 (12,409) (2,409) 45,582 (42,143) 3,439 - (1,200) (1,200) - (2,000) (2,000) (3,000) (3,000) 500 - 500 10,000 (83) 9,917 12,000 (12,000) - 39,480 (41,209) (1,729)
	646,591 (407,282) 239,309

4. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the period ended 30 April 2024 other than those disclosed in note 2.n.

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North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

North East Young Dads and Lads Project CIO Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 30 April 2024

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Public Donations Charitable activities The County Council of Durham The University of Lincoln The Normanby Charitable Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Council of the Borough of Middlesborough The National Lottery (Climate Action Fund) The National Lottery Community Fund (Awards For All) The Worshipful Company of Grocers NHS England- Healthier Together VCSE Funding Warburtons Project Grant The Henry Smith Charity Sunderland City Council BBC Children in Need Ballinger Charitable Trust The National Lottery Community Fund (Dad2Dad Peer Support) The Borough Council of Gateshead The Imagine Foundation The Tudor Trust Sir James Knott Trust Ron & Louise Bowey Grassroots at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Fatherhood Institute Total EXPENDITURE Raising donations and legacies Marketing and advertising Raising Funds Support costs Wages, ER NI & ER Pension Computer Consumables and Equipment Cycling Equipment Staff Training & Welfare Group work & Project Expenditure Postage & stationery Consultancy fees Telephone Client & staff travel Accountancy/Finance Offcer Insurance Subscriptions Offce/Admin Expenses Recruitment Costs Repairs & Renewals Rent Total resources expended Net income	Unrestricted funds £ 9,631 - 2,500 2,500 - - - - 5,000 4,000 - - - 20,000 - - - 45,500 14,000 - - 2,000	Restricted funds £ - 70,669 - - 50,000 128,308 34,192 11,663 - - 10,000 15,000 19,066 39,480 - 45,582 95,000 12,000 - - 10,000 500 -	Total funds £ 9,631 70,669 2,500 2,500 50,000 128,308 34,192 11,663 5,000 4,000 10,000 15,000 19,066 39,480 20,000 45,582 95,000 12,000 45,500 14,000 10,000 500 2,000
	105,131	541,460	646,591
	1,344 14,318 28,204 4,394 - 3,031 26,723 406 7,814 400 932 7,276 1,136 748 106 40 1,950 100	2,640 3,056 204,045 3,583 476 2,512 37,193 65 28,236 961 14,735 6,224 632 552 - 1,215 1,035 1,200	3,984 17,374 232,249 7,977 476 5,543 63,916 471 36,050 1,361 15,667 13,500 1,768 1,300 106 1,255 2,985 1,300
	98,922	308,360	407,282
	6,209	233,100	239,309

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements.

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THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS, OUR SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT

For further information, please visit our website and social media feeds, or just send us an email.

Email: [e-mail] Charity website: www.neydl.uk DigiDAD e-learning platform: www.digidad.uk Facebook: @the.neydl X (formerly Twitter): @NEYDandL Instagram: north_east_young_dads_and_lads YouTube: DigiDAD

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https://www.paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/ charity/3617049

NORTH EAST YOUNG DADS & LADS Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts South Shore Road Gateshead NE8 3BA

Tel: Doug Laidlaw 07990 164449 Awards 2023 Awards 2023 Registered in England Charity No: 1172924 Winner Winner Company No: CE009920 THE YOUTH WORK AWARD THE ADVICE AND GUIDANCE AWARD