## **Registered charity no 1185239** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND** **AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **FOR** ## **PRUDHOE YOUTH PROJECT** ## **Prudhoe Youth Project** ## **Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2024** The trustees present the directors’ report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 ## **Reference and Administrative Information** Charity Name: Prudhoe Youth Project Charity registration number: 1185239 Registered Office and operational address: Spetchells Centre 58 Front Street Prudhoe NE42 5AA Website: prudhoeyouthproject.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prudhoeyouthproject Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prudhoe_youth_project/ ## **Trustees** Paul Davenport Chair appointed 11[th] February 2025 Dorothy Emily Dickinson Vice Chair appointed 17th October 2019 Jessica Hosking Treasurer appointed 18th November 2021 Stuart John Rutherford-Orrock Trustee appointed 8th November 2023 Stephen Thompson Thoburn Trustee appointed 28th September 2023 Vesta Elizabeth Moore Trustee appointed 28th April 2022 Gerald Bernard Price Trustee appointed 19th September 2019 Amanda Carr Trustee appointed 11[th] February 2025 Christine Cuthbert Trustee appointed 12[th] May 2025 ## **Company Secretary** Gemma Nixon, Youth Project Manager ## **Independent Examiner** Digital Accountancy Spetchells Centre 58 Front Street Prudhoe NE42 5AA ## **Bank** Unity Trust Bank plc Nine Brindleyplace Birmingham B1 2HB ## **Our Aims and Objectives** PYP helps young people reach their full potential by providing activities and support for young people in Prudhoe in ways that: - Are based on what young people say they need - Are delivered on their own terms - Integrate young people with additional needs - Recognise the increasing mental health issues among young people - Support LGBT+ young people - Provide support and guidance to vulnerable young people - Promote wellbeing generally among young people ## **Meeting the public benefit requirement** Trustees are aware of their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant. In meeting their purpose ‘to help young people reach their full potential “’ they have run centre based and off site visits for young people and work with other youth groups to improve provision of services for young people. ## **Chairs report from Paul Davenport** It is with great pleasure that I present this year’s Chair’s Report for the Prudhoe Youth Project. The past year has been one of growth, resilience, and continued commitment to serving the young people of Prudhoe and the surrounding area. We have maintained a core group of dedicated workers who continue to deliver highquality youth services with professionalism and care. Their commitment has been further strengthened by the successful securing of funding for two staff members to complete their apprenticeships through university—an exciting development that supports both individual growth and the long-term sustainability of the Project. While we continue to await news regarding a more permanent home for the Project, we remain adaptable and committed, utilising local rented properties to deliver our services. These arrangements have helped us maintain strong relationships with community partners and ensure our work remains embedded within the local area. The Project continues to benefit from the guidance of a skilled and loyal Board of Trustees, whose expertise provides a solid foundation for governance and strategic oversight. Combined with our dedicated staff team, this leadership enables the Prudhoe Youth Project not only to sustain its work but to flourish. We remain a major provider of youth services in the region, and we look forward to building on this success in the coming year. On behalf of the Trustees and Board, I extend my sincere thanks to all who contribute to the Project’s ongoing work—our staff, volunteers, partners, funders, and most importantly, the young people who inspire everything we do. Paul Davenport Chair of Trustees Prudhoe Youth Project ## **Report on Activities** Welcome to PYP's 2024-2025 annual report. We have had a busy year at our youth club supporting more than 358 young people. We have organised trips, residentials and centre based activities during school holidays. We have seen over 250 free packed lunches delivered to children and provided more than 1000 hot meals. PYP has had a staff team of 9 youth workers this year, which has allowed us to well staff our sessions. We have seen growth in our Senior Youth Club which has always been the quieter session. This is because we have now been around 5 years, and young people have grown with our service! Here is our roundup of the year's events, projects, activities, residentials and trips just for you to gain a snapshot of the work we've been doing from April 2024 to March 2025. ## **April 20234 – March 2025 Statistics** - We have seen 358 members join this year. This is an increase of 32 on the previous year. - We have worked with young people 5,675 times over this 12-month period. - Our busiest sessions are Junior Youth Club with an average of 32 attending each week and West Wylam Club which sees on average 26 young people a week. - We have delivered support to 30 young people individually and over 1541 through group/lunchtime/ assemblies addressing sexual and mental health. - We have delivered 16 trips, 2 residential opportunities and supported 3 community events this year. ## **Easter Residential** We took 25 young people away to Hawkhirst Scout Activity Centre, Kielder. Young people took part in adventurous activities which helped them acquire new skills including teamwork, gaining self-esteem, trying something new, and challenging themselves. We were able to support young people who have special educational needs on this trip. These young people challenged themselves and enjoyed being part of the team. Overall, it was a positive experience with a lot gained over the 3 days. ## **Junior Youth Club** Junior youth club continues to be based at the Parish Hall and now once a month in the Family Hub, we have simply outgrown the Methodist Church. We have had 2 Junior sessions, the first session is for girls group members and school years 4 and 5. Many of those young people enjoy group games, sports, creating special craft items to take home as well as board games, free time and a performance space. Junior 2 is for young people in school years 6,7 and 8. This has turned into an informal session with a relaxed atmosphere. These young people enjoy each other’s company and prefer less structure to their sessions even so, we have still cooked, taken part in group games and enjoyed some crafts. Many of the young people attending this session have worked with PYP for the past two years and this helps us develop trust between the young people and the youth workers. We support them to grow and help them reach their full potential. Junior youth club allows young people to mix and widen their immediate social networks. We see many young people attend on their own and they may go to school outside of Prudhoe. These sessions are a means for them to make friendships within their community. ## **Senior Youth Club** Senior Youth Club is held on a Tuesday in the Methodist Church basement room for young people in school year 8 or above. The session offers a relaxed informal environment where young people can gain access to the pool table, sofas, free Gregg’s food and a small kitchen. Seniors is now held once a month in the Family Hub. This gives the opportunity for young people to cook from scratch and develop their life skills. These sessions explore young people’s relationship with food, and we have encouraged them to make healthy choices by providing fruit most weeks. At the Family Hub we use the electrical Devices to play interactive games and create group quizzes. We have now seen our Senior Youth Club fully functioning as it should be with having been established now for 5 years we have been able to build a strong relationship with teenagers from Prudhoe. It has taken several years due to young people taking time to fully trust us and what we do. During young people's teenage years, they come across many issues including sexual health, alcohol and drugs, bullying, friendship problems, relationship and family issues. We use these sessions to support young people with the information and the advice they need to make informed choices. ## **West Wylam Youth Club** West Wylam Youth Club has now hit the 3 year mark. The area that is West Wylam has more deprivation and economic issues than other parts of Prudhoe. This club was set up as we identified a need to provide activities for the young people who do not currently access our provision in the centre of the town. We find that there is a divide within the town and we want to be able to support young people to access all sessions. We provide food at these sessions to help address food poverty and provide a basket of essentials and toiletries such as water bottles, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, sanitary products and even coats. We aim to give young people access to items that they may not have at home. We have two West Wylam sessions, allowing us to split the numbers and work with smaller groups of young people. We can use the field next to the building, thanks to Adderlane School, and this has allowed us to play outside where we have enjoyed sports and group games. We have seen an increase in young people from West Wylam attending our other youth clubs in the centre of town. This shows us that we have had some success in breaking down the barriers between different parts of Prudhoe. ## **Girls Group** Girls Group runs from the Parish Hall on a Wednesday and every third Wednesday from the Family Hub. A group of young women come together to take part in supportive activities that empower young women to feel safe, address women's health issues, talk about selfesteem, personal safety and offers a place to get practical advice on all issues. This year the Girls Group has been busy with 73 individuals attending over the period of 12 months, these numbers show us how important this project is and how much it’s needed. Our total attendance is 897 young people. This group encourages young people to find new interests and hobbies as well as gain new skills, this includes cooking and baking, crafts, problem solving and general practical life skills that will help them in the future. ## **Lads Group** Lads Group has been running weekly sessions at the Family Hub. Although it's a relatively small group we have been making the most of the time in sessions. The lads enjoy doing sports on the Adderlane Schools playing field, cooking and playing board games together. This group has allowed young people to make new friends, develop their communication skills and engage in additional activities. This year our lads have enjoyed some sessions around an art theme, thanks to funding from the Community Foundation our lads have been creating art pictures from nature, some junk sculptures using recycled materials and using drama and music to bring life into our sessions. Lads Group is a wonderful safe environment for young men to talk to trained and qualified youth workers and gain the support they need to help them deal with any extra issues that arise during their everyday lives. ## **Happy Faces** Happy Faces is a Youth Club for neurodiverse young people, who may have special educational needs or are low in confidence and need support to develop their communication skills. We took over the running of this group in January 2025. Since then we have created 2 groups within Happy Faces, a Junior Session for ages 8-12 and a Senior session for 12 years and over. The transition was smooth with sessions running as normal and the number of attendees remaining the same. In both sessions we have done planning with young people to identify what they would like to do at Happy Faces. Young people said they liked cooking, playing outside games and sensory activities which include clay work and playdough. We were able to offer work experience to 6 of our Senior Happy Faces members. The work experience took place on a Saturday morning; we provided transport from Prudhoe to The Hub in Consett and these sessions ran for 8 weeks. We sourced external funding to pay The Hub in Consett to provide some specialist training for our young people. They developed skills in admin, effective customer service, cooking in a professional kitchen and working to a high standard. These sessions greatly benefited these young people as they developed their independence and confidence which prepares them for adult life and life in our communities. ## **Lego Club** Lego Club is now in its third year, at these sessions we support those young people who may not feel able to attend our youth club sessions or require additional support. We identify a group of six young people each half term to work with. We use Lego as a tool to really engage those young people in conversations about their lives and any difficulties they may be having. Our skilled and trained youth workers unpick those difficulties to try and allow them to see a way past them. Giving young people the confidence and determination to work through these issues then allows them to access other sessions, have a more fulfilled life, benefit from the opportunities available to them and allow them to reach their full potential. These sessions were delivered in school. We decided to approach Highfield Middle School to help us become more accessible to young people. Being based in a school reduces young people’s anxiety when they first attend. It has strengthened our numbers and our relationship with the school. ## **Health Drop-In – Prudhoe Community High School** We continue to run our weekly drop-in sessions at PCHS. We have had a wide variety of issues to deal with. We have supported young people with stress, anxiety, sexual health and mental health. During quieter days we take the opportunity to have a walk around in the canteen and yard to chat to other students to see how they are doing and let them know where to find support if they need it. One trained staff member in each of our Health Drop In sessions has up to date mental health first aid training. Ensuring we respond correctly to young people’s mental health needs and respond in a way that is appropriate to them. The main outcome from this work has been offering a confidential, supportive, nonjudgemental space where a young person can be listened to. This project is a vital part of what we do at PYP. We aim to start a Health Drop In to support students at Highfield Middle School on a weekly basis later in 2025. ## **Summer Holiday Activities 2024** Over the summer we offered 6 weeks of activities. We offered a mixture of trips and centre-based sessions, and we wanted to make sure each child got a meal while they were with us. We worked with JJ O’Donnell Elite Football Academy to provide weekly sport sessions. These sessions were aimed to improve young people’s health and fitness. Being active during the school holidays is a top priority for us and using coaches from JJ O’Donnell Elite Football Academy made it fun, accessible and invigorating. We developed a partnership with Karbon Homes this year. We took part in Karbon Homes holiday activities over Easter and the Summer holidays, which was funded by the Holiday Activities Fund. Centre based sessions were held at different venues such as Eastwood Park and the Methodist Church. This was done to break down barriers between different areas of Prudhoe. We hoped that this would allow our sessions to be more accessible. The total attendances for our centre-based sessions over the summer was 169 young people. We provided 6 successful trips which included Hall Hill Farm, NUFC and the NU Centre, Skiing at Silksworth Outdoor Ski Slope, Clip and Climb, Surfing at South Shields and Inflataspace. Our trips were open to any young people from Prudhoe or the immediate surrounding areas. We offered trips out of the area, giving young people new experiences and promoting positive time with peers and youth workers as we know that this may be the only time that they have for such an opportunity. The trips were heavily funded, and we only asked for a small contribution from parents/carers. 176 young people attended our trips. **Art Club** We delivered a series of art sessions during the school holidays. We planned art activities and as the weeks progressed, we worked on a particular piece of art together which was then displayed in the library for the Arts Trail. We had other games and activities available during these sessions. We ran sessions from the Parish Hall and Methodist Church for this Art Project, sessions ran mainly in the holidays, but the last few sessions ran in term time to allow us to complete the project. We had 36 young people engage in the project and all the young people involved really enjoyed the sessions. ## **Community Events and Project Work** PYP is an active member of Tynedale Youth Forum, and we took part in a joint residential with other youth projects from the west of Northumberland. We took six young people to Hawkhirst Scout Activity Centre, Kielder, where young people took part in a variety of challenging activities including zip wire, canoeing, mountain biking and archery. These young people socialised with other young people from different projects. We would like to thank Tynedale Youth Forum for inviting us! PYP produced a piece of artwork for the arts trail. It was a fantastic piece of artwork to go on show that was produced by young people for the whole community to see. Thank you to Prudhoe Community Partnership for the opportunity to get involved. We attended Music By The Riverside, an event organised by Prudhoe Community Partnership. We ran craft activities for children and young people at this event. Senior Youth Club worked with Tyne Valley Canoe Club who provided a water safety and canoeing session for us. This was based on the Tyne at the Riverside Park in Prudhoe. Water safety is vital in a town that has seen real tragedy in recent times. It gave the young people the opportunity to try something new and we will work with Tyne Valley Canoe Club in the future to continue to raise awareness. We provided craft activities to children attending the Christmas Light Switch On event organised by Prudhoe Town Council and Prudhoe Community Partnership. We were based in the library and worked with new children aged 0-13 years. We believe we met 90 young people over the course of the event. With Tynedale Youth Forum we gave awards to 6 young people for their outstanding work over the past year during which they each received a certificate and gift card. We took these young people to Haltwhistle Outdoor Swimming Pool and joined other youth projects from the west of Northumberland where they received their awards, had some pool time and a meal. ## **Christmas Activities** In the lead up to Christmas we organised some trips. It was great to see young people having fun. They challenged themselves on the ice, they were active and aimed to improve their fitness at Inflataspace and enjoyed a nice treat at the Cinema. It was a lovely way to end the year for young people from Senior’s, Junior’s and West Wylam Youth Club. A total of 95 young people attended these trips. During Christmas 2024, thanks to support from the LGA Foundation, we were able to support 8 families. We delivered presents to ensure that children from Prudhoe received a gift on Christmas day. 14 children directly benefited from this who are experiencing poverty. 24 young people came along to our New Years Party in early January. They played games, danced and had a party food lunch. It was a great way to celebrate the New Year with young people. ## **Financial Review** PYP received grants from many different funders, these include Prudhoe Town Council, Sir James Knott Trust, Children in Need, Berwick Youth Project on behalf of National Lottery Community Fund, Ballinger Charitable Trust, The Barbour Foundation, Community Foundation High Sheriff Award, Community Foundation – John D Endowment and Prime, Community Foundation - Reeds Grassroots, Community Foundation – The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, Groundworks UK , Karbon Homes, Hedley Foundation, LGA Foundation, Northumberland County Council – Community Chest. PYP benefited from small grants and fundraising efforts. We would like to thank the people who play the Northumberland Lottery, the Dragon Tail Theatre Group, REGEN, Councillor Angie Scott Christmas Appeal, Councillor Gordon Stewart Donation and the donation from Happy Faces. In the financial year April 2024 to March 2025 income totalled £156,924, of which £134,994 is restricted funding and £21,930 is unrestricted. Expenditure was mainly staffing costs £81,442, room hire £5,202, activities/resources £7,848 and trips/residential holidays £18,168, other cost £1,473 and finally bank charges of £127 totalling £114,133. There was a balance of £123,552 at the year end, of which £82,694 is restricted funds for projects and £40,858 is unrestricted funds. ## **Assets** PYP does not yet have any fixed assets but holds assets in cash at the year end for future activities. ## **Plans for Future Periods** PYP has been consistent this year and continues to provide its core youth clubs to meet local need. Each youth club or group is important to young people. We wish to continue each of these projects and will seek funding to do so. PYP will continue to plan trips and off-site activities with young people to ensure we address their hobbies and interests. We wish to support young people into adulthood. To achieve this, we wish to develop our workforce. By the end of 2026: - we wish to employ an apprentice Youth Worker - see another Youth Worker in training at level 3 or above in Youth Work - and wish to expand our workforce by employing local young people. ## **Risk Review** PYP has reviewed all policies including safeguarding, staff and volunteers have completed safeguarding training annually and one first aider is always on site of any organised activity. We have reviewed the risk assessments for each building to ensure we reduce the risks during our centre based sessions. We have consent forms from parents/carers, off site visits are risk assessed and emergency contacts are available for each trip/residential. These measures reduce the risks in working with young people. The main risk is attracting sufficient long term funding for staff and activities. To resolve this we have been granted two 3 year grants which will support us moving forward. More funding will be secured in this way where possible. ## **Governing Documents** PYP became a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) established on 9th September 2019. The charity submits annual accounts to the charity commission that have been independently audited. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** PYP is governed by the trustees who are elected by current trustees. There may be up to 10 trustees and two Prudhoe Town Council representatives who are also Trustees. Trustees meet bi- monthly. Since the AGM in October 2024 Amanda Carr has stepped down as a trustee and we have welcomed Christine Cuthbert to the board of trustees. ## **Related Parties** PYP receives funding from Prudhoe Town Council. Prudhoe Town Council has appointed two Councillors as representatives. ## **Accountants and external examiner** Digital Accounting was appointed independent examiner at the 2023 Annual General Meeting. 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