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**PARENTS 1ST UK TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2022** 

**Charity Number: 1186445** 



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**Chair’s Foreword** 

**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 3** 

## **CONTENTS** 

**INTRODUCTION** Chair’s Foreword **3** CEO’s Foreword **4 - 5** About Us **6 - 9 GOVERNANCE** Statement from the Trustees **10-11** Structure, Governance and Management **12 AIMS & ACHIEVEMENTS 14 - 17 FINANCIAL REVIEW** Risk Management **18** Reserves Policy **18** Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities **19** Independent examiner’s report **21** Statement of financial activities **22** Balance sheet **23** Notes to the financial statements **24 - 30** 

## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** 

**Trustees** B M Bond (Appointed 9 April 2019) V Emlyn (Appointed 9 April 2019) J E Robins (Appointed 9 April 2019) A Bamigboye (Appointed 11 December 2019) E Catalli (Appointed 11 December 2019) **Charity number** 1186445 **Principal address** Construction House Runwell Road Wickford, Essex SS11 7HQ 

**Independent examiner** M J Bushell Ltd 8 High Street Brentwood, Essex CM14 4AB 

## **What an exciting and rewarding year it has been for Parents 1st UK. I hope you enjoy reading this Annual Report. It describes in detail the work and achievements of Parents 1st UK over the past year. I’m sure you will agree with me that the rate of progress has been exceptional!** 

We have successfully met and continue to meet our aim of raising awareness of the beneficial effects gained through the provision of high-quality Perinatal Peer Support. We have done this through the hugely challenging period of the Covid 19 pandemic, even managing to find advantages and learning from that experience to improve our reach to more parents through the provision of online support. 

As a result of that learning we continue to develop our services to effectively offer different options to parents so that more and more people can benefit even as the country faces the additional challenge of the cost-of-living crisis. Perinatal Peer Support has never been more crucial. 

The open-source platform has gained more and more members, and other organisations are benefiting from our comprehensive guidance and support for people wanting to set up their own peer support initiatives. Funding inevitably remains a major challenge but as awareness of the need and benefits builds, we are able to demonstrate evidenced advantages to more funders. Our aim is to persuade and support them to fund more and sustainable peer support initiatives, with all the short, and long term, benefits we can demonstrate. As we increasingly help other organisations to measure and evaluate the impact of peer support this body of evidence is building day by day. 

Throughout the year and ongoing, Parents 1st UK has continued to learn and stay fresh by working closely with Parents 1st Essex who provide direct support to increasing numbers of parents across a wider area of the county. Through that partnership working we are now able to reach out to more isolated communities in the county, working with 7 CCGs as described below. We are so proud of our achievements to date and excited by the many new opportunities that are developing. 

As a result of the collaborative work with Parents 1st Essex and the essential learning from working so closely together, we are now working towards merging the two organisations. This will achieve some streamlining of administrative and management processes and ensure we have a single cohesive and continually learning entity ongoing. It will support and enhance our UK wide work for the future. 

Our CEO, Celia Suppiah, demonstrates below the ongoing major priority of achieving more and better long-term investment in perinatal peer support. Inevitably, continuous fundraising takes away resources from the development and provision of services for all charities and organisations. We are continually researching and looking for new and innovative methods of generating income and we hope that funders and commissioners are also working on different ways forward to achieve sustainability of provision and development work. Investment in parents and babies is investment in the future wellbeing and productivity of the next generations and needs long-term thinking and planning. 

I’m privileged to be working with knowledgeable and dedicated trustees and staff, and to be able to support the transition to a single charity providing both local and UK wide support and development work on the important (I would say, crucial) work of changing the lives of parents and babies, alongside advising and supporting others to successfully develop their own peer support initiatives. 


## **Brenda Bond, Chair of Parents 1st UK** 



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**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 4** 

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## **CEO’s Foreword** 

We know that quality perinatal peer support during such a critical life transition as parenthood can be transformational. Pregnancy, birth and becoming a parent is a lifechanging time when people are particularly open to change. There is compelling evidence that the first 1001 days (Parent Infant Foundation) are critical and extensive research undertaken by Marmot (2010, 2020) has demonstrated the negative impact which poor maternal physical and mental health, and health inequalities can have on the life-chances of their children. 

Easy access to quality peer support can change lives and can be a lifeline to vulnerable parents. Parents are the most important people in children’s lives. Happy and responsive parents mean a baby’s development will flourish. We need more people to recognise, value and invest in this vital contribution of time, knowledge, and skills in local communities. 

There has been a growing recognition this year that quality peer support can make a huge contribution towards preventing and reducing the development or escalation of perinatal mental health problems. As a direct result of Covid-19, parents who were already facing inequalities and disadvantage are now struggling with the effects of trauma, isolation, bereavement, and mental health issues. It has never been more important to ensure that families have access to high-quality, well-resourced perinatal peer support.  This is what we strive to achieve at Parents 1st. 

This year, we have seen more and more members joining our online platform and using the - - five, step by step guides to developing quality perinatal peer support. Working with seven CCGs, we have also started an exciting ‘Test and Learn’ project to strengthen perinatal peer support across Essex. Gaps are apparent in peer support for Fathers, Black, Asian and Minority Groups – we will be doing more work on how to meet that gap next year. The new collaborative projects and networks we have developed with other organisations across the UK have also provided rich learning which we share with others. 

We keep grounded by constantly learning from direct delivery of perinatal peer support by Parents 1st Essex. We see first-hand how building informal, trusting peer relationships enables parents to value and improve their own wellbeing, and enable them to provide safe, secure homes for children during those vital first 1001 days of life. Peer support is unique. Maternity, perinatal mental health and early years professionals cannot provide the personal and informal support that many parents need. Peer support complements, but is separate to, clinical care. With quality recruitment, training and supervision, peer supporters listen, nurture confidence, help parents prepare for changes ahead, and build social connections. When embedded alongside public services, well managed peer support initiatives can help reach the families that could benefit from them the most. 

We continue to promote safe and good quality peer support focusing on prevention by starting as early as possible in pregnancy. Through our online platform, we strive to overcome isolated and what can be often inconsistent practice by inspiring, sharing knowledge and resources, and spreading best practice. Integrated in our work are the voices, experiences and knowledge of parents and their peer supporters who share their stories, work with us to develop resources and inform the better development of community based perinatal support. 

## **Our vision is a truly “open source” endeavour where everyone involved in planning, delivering, receiving, or simply interested can network, learn from each other, and share good practice.** 

Good quality perinatal peer support needs better long-term investment. Our unique online community has continued to help people understand why it is so valuable, what quality peer support looks like, and how to design, grow and sustain it. We continue to share everything we have learnt over the past 30 years, completely free of charge. Most importantly, we have continued to showcase amazing examples of the difference peer support makes to achieving positive outcomes for mothers, fathers, birthing people, and babies with more real-life stories from parents, volunteers, and professionals, about how peer support has made a difference to their lives. 


**Celia Suppiah, CEO Parents 1st UK** 




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**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022** 

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## **About Us** 


Parents 1st UK is a leading charity that enables individuals with lived experience to take action in their own communities and deliver effective volunteering and peer support during pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. 

## **Our mission is to enable quality volunteering and peer support during pregnancy, birth and beyond, to flourish across the UK.** 

Our founder and CEO is an experienced midwife and public health nurse. She developed the first ‘Community Parent’ perinatal peer support programme in a deprived area of Essex (19902008). This became a national model of good practice. 

Celia then set up Strengths in Communities CIC in 2010 which delivers volunteer-led perinatal support across North and South Essex, working with over 1000 parents a year. 

Parents 1st UK CIO was established in 2019 with the sole purpose of building on and sharing the learning gained through Strengths in Communities CIC through an Open-Source mechanism.  It is important to note, that in 2023, Strengths in Communities CIC will be merged with Parents 1st UK into a single CIO. 

We believe that our learning should be widely shared to overcome isolated and what can be often inconsistent practice nationally. We want the unique contribution of perinatal peer support to be better recognised, valued, and invested in. Central to this is raising the awareness and the knowledge of commissioners, charities and other organisations and professionals about what quality peer support looks like, and how to grow and sustain it. 

To this end we have created a unique online community to inspire, share knowledge and 

resources, and spread best practice. We share everything we have learnt over the past 30 years (free of charge), connecting and sharing ‘what works’ on the ground with our community. 

Our online platform provides a central, dedicated space to connect with peers and experts; and enable members to access free tools, resources and guidance in the development of high-quality peer support through a structured process. 

Integrated in our work are the voices, experiences and knowledge of parents and their peer supporters who share their stories, work with us to develop resources and inform the better development of community based perinatal support. 

## **Our beneficiaries** 

Our core beneficiaries are parents and the peer supporters who support them. Parents supported include those living in situations of significant poverty and deprivation; young vulnerable people; individuals who are incredibly isolated and lonely; women experiencing a traumatic birth; and families facing racial discrimination, domestic violence, and health inequalities. They do not have access to the types of strong community support networks that every new parent needs to be able to rely upon and they often experience significant problems as a result. 

## **Our other beneficiaries include:** 

- Peer Support Programme Leaders 

- Funders of VCSE organisations 

- Commissioners of early years services 

- • Academics 

- Field practitioners 

- Statutory providers 

## **How we deliver our aims** 

1. Through directly developing and delivering perinatal peer support “on the ground” 

2. Through constantly developing our “open source” online platform to share learning and best practice across the UK 

3. Through collaborative working and partnership projects with other organisations across the UK 

## **1. Through directly developing and delivering perinatal peer support “on the ground”** 

We have worked directly with Parents 1st Essex to further develop perinatal peer support across Essex. 

## This has included: 

- **Co-producing a new Pan Essex perinatal peer support initiative** in partnership with Essex Partnership NHS Trust perinatal mental health services. We collaborated with other organisations delivering peer support across Essex and delivered several workshops enabling the sharing of good practice, show-casing stories from the community, and designing plans for a new joint collaborative venture to improve perinatal mental health across Essex. 

- Working with the Parents 1st Essex team to develop **a new bespoke level 3 Cache accredited Perinatal Peer Support qualification** , completely customised to the peer support model. Moving forward, this will be used as part of the volunteer to employment pathway for Parents 1st Essex and for other organisations wishing to offer this opportunity to their peer supporters. 



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**About Us (cont.) Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 8** 

**9** 

## **2. Through constantly developing our “open source” online platform to share learning and best practice across the UK. Over the year the platform has been used in the following ways:** 

By the end of March 2022, we had 459 members registered on our online platform including peer support programme managers, midwives, volunteer coordinators, academics, early years workers, commissioners, health visitors, charity directors, organisational groups, parents, charity trustees, peer support workers and researchers. 

Membership to the platform has increased by 33% between Apr 2021 – Mar 2022 and on average, the website received approx. 5000 visitors each month. 

The platform homepage is a space where our members can make everyone aware of any upcoming **events** they may be hosting. 

They can also start **conversations** with others, add **community listings** to make others aware of what support is available in a specific area, and add their **volunteering opportunities** . 

This year, we have listed **36 activities** on the platform of particular interest to members. These have included: 

## **Events** such as: 

- Maternity Action’s event to explore the lived experiences of pregnant women seeking asylum. 

- The Genesis Research Trust’s online conference in which experts discussed how expectant mothers can maintain the best possible mental health. 

- The NHS Essex Perinatal Mental Health website development workshop and survey, run by the Mental Health Transformation Team in Mid and South Essex. 

- Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University Babylabs workshop to help shape a resource pack to empower parents to support their child’s development. 

## **Conversations** and **blogs** including: 

- A presentation from Parents 1st UK CEO, Celia Suppiah, to the Maternity and Midwifery Festival to talk about the unique contribution that peer support offers during pregnancy, birth and beyond and the huge difference it can make during this critical life transition. 

- • The announcement of a new partnership project to develop a coordinated Perinatal Mental Health Peer Support Collaborative across Essex. 

- Latest research from The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood - Big Change Starts Small. 

- How can we support the proposed ‘integrated model of care’ outlined in Maternal Mental Health Alliance new report? 


## : **Community listings** 

- Peer to Parent Network – listing various job vacancies. 

- Best Beginnings – announcing the launch of the Baby Buddy 2.0 App. 

- Fatherhood Institute - launching new resources to mark International Men’s Day. 

## **Volunteering opportunities** have included: 

- PAAM study, funded by the National Institute of Health Research – an invitation to help to improve the design and delivery of Perinatal Mental Health Services for women from ethnic minorities. 

- Parents 1st Essex – Volunteer drive to recruit new peer support volunteers. 

- Keele University School of Nursing and Midwifery - Research Project on “Digital Technological Approaches to Delivering Public Health Services to Children, Young People and Families”. 

Ten new **Group Spaces** were set up this year by members.  Our group spaces can be either private or public and used for project management, training or simply a central, safe, and confidential space for members with similar goals and interests to meet up and chat using our instant messaging functionality.  They can also share documents securely and set tasks. 

Alongside this, the platform is host to **5 guides,** which take you through setting up a new peer support initiative, from design and development to reviewing and improving. These guides contain 100s of resources and videos. Over the course of the year, **501 resources were downloaded** by members and **videos were viewed 776 times.** 

## **3. Through collaborative working and partnership projects with other organisations across the UK** 

- The launch of a pioneering app from LatchAid to support breastfeeding. 

- An exploration of trends and experiences of delivery of breastfeeding support - new research published by Cardiff University and The Breastfeeding Network highlighted inequity of access to breastfeeding support for families across England and Wales. 

We have worked collaboratively with a wide range of organisations over the year including the Hearts and Minds partnership, One Plus One Partnership and Relationship Charity, Live Music Now, Home-start UK, 1001 Critical Days APPG, and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance. 



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**Statement Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 10 from the trustees** 

**11** 

The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity’s Constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and “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)”. 

## **Objectives and activities** 

The trustees confirm that in compiling this report they have had due regard to guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission in compliance with the duty set out in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011. The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake. 

Parents 1st UK’s charitable objects are to advance the education and promote and protect the health of parents, by promoting and developing volunteering and peer support during pregnancy, birth and being a parent. 

Evidence is compelling that quality peer support focusing on early prevention (starting in pregnancy) has a unique and valuable contribution to make to improving the health and wellbeing of parents and babies. It can reduce stress during pregnancy, enable a more positive birth experience, and supports vulnerable parents to prepare for and cope with the challenges that parenthood brings. 

The first 1001 critical days (pregnancy to age 2) is a significant and influential phase in infant development – important groundwork needs to take place to support children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience, and adaptability. Services are typically reactive rather than preventative. There is a need to develop more perinatal peer support, increase awareness of its benefits, and influence better investment. 

Furthermore, we know that many practitioners who are planning, developing, or already delivering perinatal volunteering initiatives work in isolation with few opportunities to learn and collaborate. The work and resources needed for an initiative to become operational can be considerable (creating operational resources e.g., volunteer training programmes, policies and procedures, evaluation tools). Furthermore, despite excellent outcomes, it is still the norm that these important initiatives struggle to survive. 

- **Having supported both parents myself and supervised volunteers with their** 

- “ **peer support journeys, it still amazes me how safe & effective peer support can enable growth and confidence in such a reciprocal and authentic way. It is a unique dynamic and the feedback from parents, volunteers & professionals speaks for itself.** 

## **The outcomes we expect from Parents 1st UK’s activities are:** 

- Our peer support model in Essex and those delivered elsewhere are based on evidence of ‘what works’ 

- Those planning and delivering perinatal peer support initiatives access useful, free resources and guidance to help avoid common pitfalls and problems 

- Practitioners, volunteers, and parents have opportunities to share their stories, learning, new ideas, good practice, and solutions to day-to-day challenges 

- Statutory services are aware of the benefits to the health and wellbeing of parents and volunteers who are giving and receiving peer support 

- Commissioners procure more sustainable, quality peer support initiatives 

- Funders make realistic and more long-term investments so that those responsible for operating perinatal peer support initiatives can concentrate on what they do best – delivering perinatal peer support 

- Opportunities to share good practice far wider: users will improve it and freely share knowledge 

- Practitioners, peer supporters and parents share views, new ideas and tools to operate initiatives more effectively and benefit parents and families 

- Stronger partnerships are developed with other organisations delivering similar work who share our ethos and vision 

## **In addition, the functionality of the Parents 1st UK online platform will enable members to:** 

- Share and manage their own information and what’s going on with their initiatives – they can add, manage, and promote their own peer support activities and events for free 

- Find, add, and manage information about services, events, and community activities 

- Share and manage their own information through unique URLs and associated sub-pages 

- Generate, develop, and communicate new ideas to the issues that are important to them 

- • Solve problems by using collaboration tools such as group chat, task lists, file sharing, Survey Monkey and Trello boards 

We have now almost finished developing an online learning portfolio facility that offers each peer supporter a unique private space where they can capture their learning from the natural peer support setting and work with a tutor/assessor to gain a bespoke level 3 qualification customized to their unique role. 

Comment from a conversation on www.parents1st.org.uk 



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## **Structure, Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 12 overnance and mana ement g g** 

During the decade before the creation of Parents 1st UK, Strengths in Communities CIC (trading as Parents 1st Essex) developed a perinatal peer support initiative in South Essex. This became a NESTA Social Action Innovation Project and inspired the development of new initiatives, based on the same model, in Derby and Tower Hamlets. 

The directors of Strengths in Communities CIC wanted to share the learning but were acutely aware of isolated practice – peer support initiatives typically competed for funding. Furthermore, many initiatives started with the best intentions but did not survive for a variety of reasons. The directors decided to pioneer a new “open source” approach to address these issues – their firm belief is that all initiatives should collaborate for the benefit of parents and babies, not compete. 

“ 

Parents 1st UK CIO was created to fulfil this vision. The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation established by Constitution on 9 April 2019. The current Constitution by which it is governed is dated 14 November 2019 and the charity was entered on the Register of Charities on 19 November 2019. 

On the 7 February 2022 the Trustees of Parents 1st UK CIO and the Directors of Strengths in Communities CIC voted in favour of merging the CIC with the CIO as the local and national mutual endeavours, ethos and values are intertwined. Opportunities to learn from direct practice delivery keeps everyone at every level of the organisation grounded in what works in practice. Work on the merger will proceed during the next financial year. 

The trustees serving during the year and since the year end are as follows: 

B M Bond (Chair) (Appointed 9 April 2019) V Emlyn (Appointed 9 April 2019) J E Robins (Appointed 9 April 2019) A Bamigboye (Appointed 11 December 2019) E Catalli (Appointed 11 December 2019) 

## **Trustee selection process** 

Recruitment of trustees is conducted by the Chair and CEO and is based on an evaluation of the skills required to govern the charity. 

Newly appointed trustees receive a letter of appointment and a pack of information about the charity, their fellow trustees and their responsibilities as trustees. They are invited to away days and additional training is provided as needed.  Trustees are elected for a three year period and may be re-elected for further 3-year periods. 

## **Operational team:** 

**Celia Suppiah, CEO** (Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, MA Public Health) 

**Mandy Evans** Open Source Administrator and Moderator 

**Nicole Ranaweera** Open Source Marketing Manager 



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## **Aims & achievements** 

## **Aim 1: Continuous development of a free, online space dedicated to sharing good practice across the UK about quality volunteering and peer support during pregnancy, birth and beyond.** 

Developing the Parents 1st UK online “community of practice” has continued to be a key priority. We provide a trusted, dedicated space where coordinators, beneficiaries, researchers, commissioners and volunteers can connect, learn, and collaborate; and where we provide inspiration, share knowledge and resources, and shine a light on best practice. 

Using an ‘open source’ approach, we share everything we have learnt over the past 30-years about ‘what works’ when planning, designing, and implementing quality perinatal peer support model. 

## **Achievements** 

We have made some exciting new developments to the website this year using the unique functionality of the Made Open social connecting platform.  Quarterly insight reports from Made Open enable us to better understand how our online platform is being used. 

- Over the year we have had 16,309 website users and 57,796 page views 

- At the end of March 2022, we had 459 members on the platform and almost 2,000 website sessions a month. 

- Our most popular practice guide has been setting up a new peer support programme (over 50 page views a month). 172 free resources were downloaded from our website during the last quarter of the year and 153 views of our videos. 

- The group space functionality on our platform has been particularly popular. Members explore topics publicly or privately by using the instant chatroom, sharing files, carrying out surveys, using the Trello boards, and setting tasks. 

- 687 messages have been sent and received using the chatrooms, personal and direct messages. 

- “ ” 

- • The Community Voices section of our platform attracts particular interest by sharing often profound, real-life stories from parents, volunteers, peer support workers and practitioners involved in delivering and receiving perinatal peer support. This helps people understand what quality perinatal peer support looks like. 

- Created an online group space with hundreds of evidence-based health and wellbeing resources for peer supporters and parents to download and explore together 

**...they are a fabulous organisation and share all of** “ **their resources free** (Twitter comment from @sparkywoolley, 20 October 2021) 

## **Aim 2: To work collaboratively to continuously develop quality perinatal peer support** 

We aim to connect with the perinatal peer support community, encourage shared learning, best practice and to work collaboratively with others to solve common issues that impact on health and wellbeing during pregnancy, birth and beyond. 

## **Achievements** 

We have been commissioned to work with the 7 CCGS across Essex, Southend, and Thurrock to use a stakeholder partnership model in order to co-produce a new Pan Essex Perinatal Peer Support Offer. 



Through a series of workshops and the creation of a steering group, we have engaged with parents, peer support organisations, mental health teams, early years, and maternity services to develop a new model for peer support. 

This has led to further ‘test and learn’ work for the coming financial year. 

## **The aims are to:** 

- Improve access to peer support 

- Raise awareness of the benefits of peer support 

- Address gaps in peer support provision 

- Grow and strengthen peer support provision 



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**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 16** 

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- We were also commissioned by the One Plus One Relationship charity this year and successfully carried out a project that assisted pregnant women to avoid turning to alcohol when they experienced conflict in their relationship with their partner. 

- We have supported the EXTRA Support for Families Charity in Jaywick to develop their impact measurement and community involvement 

## **Aim 3: To develop new learning, personal development, and pathways to employment for volunteers and peer supporters** 

Peer supporters are beneficiaries as well as the parents they support. Through giving peer support to parents in their communities there are opportunities to gain new knowledge, life skills, and pathways to employment. The insights they gain about wellbeing, mental health and related issues, often benefits their own families. 

## **Achievements** 

We have developed a new customised level 3 qualification for perinatal peer supporters which is CACHE accredited. Alongside this, we are developing an online learning portfolio where volunteers and peer supporters can upload their evidence of learning drawn from the natural volunteer setting. The unique Made Open functionality of our platform enables us to provide each peer supporter with their own private space to work with a friendly tutor/ assessor to build their own learning portfolio to gain the qualification. 

This qualification is unique in the field of perinatal peer support and has been developed based upon the lived experience of parents, volunteers, health professionals and research evidence of ‘what works’ for vulnerable families. 

The new qualification has 8 units covering things such as: 

- Understanding effective parent peer support 

- Building and maintaining a trusting parent peer support relationship 

## **Parents 1st approach and plan for using data and digital technology for improving access to information, training and support to communities involved in  perinatal care** 


|CONTEXT|•<br>Services that were once delivered in<br>person likely to always be delivered as<br>hybrid<br>•<br>Continuing national healthcare<br>challenges, mental health, soaring<br>cost of living means more support is<br>required whilst funding is harder to<br>obtain<br>•<br>Taking advantage of the drive towards<br>digital services to reach more people<br>whilst ensuring that we reach the<br>digitallyexcluded|
|---|---|
|VISION|•<br>Use combined strength of CIO and CIC<br>to create an enhanced digital presence<br>in perinatal care<br>•<br>Deliver new digital services as Parents<br>1st and in collaboration with partners<br>•<br>Improve operational efficiency|
|STRATEGIC GOALS|•<br>Over the next 3 years use combined<br>strengths to widen the range of<br>services offered<br>•<br>Build and promote our expertise and<br>capacity to support the ability to<br>deliver more services|
|ENABLERS|•<br>Formalise what we have learned<br>from the CIO and CIC digital maturity<br>assessment matrix|



- Being a parent peer supporter 

- Supporting expectant parents to prepare for changes ahead 

- Promoting physical wellbeing 

- Strengthening emotional wellbeing and recognising mental illness 

- Understanding the role of a birth partner 

- Nurturing early parenting skills and infant development 

## **Aim 4: To develop our digital strategy** 

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the need to improve our digital strategy. Digital transformation is vital to enable us to provide better services to our beneficiaries, to be responsive to change, to make the best use of technology, and improve our in-house efficiency and digital capability. 

## **Achievements** 

We have used the NCVO Digital Maturity Matrix to map out where we are now and where we want to be in three-years’ time. We have set specific targets to enable us to progress in stages towards making the changes we want to make. 




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## **Financial Review** 

These accounts show activity during the accounting period of April 2021 – March 2022. Parents 1st UK considers itself to be in a healthy financial position. Total income for 2021 – 2022 was £104,533. As noted in the accounts, during this second financial year a much larger proportion of our funds have been derived from charitable activities compared to last year. This is because we spent considerable time during the previous year developing our online platform, whereas this year we have been able to carry out a range of activities including community listings; showcasing community voices; and supporting co-production of new perinatal peer support across Essex. 

New contract funding received this year was to develop a Pan Essex Perinatal Peer Support Collaborative in partnership with NHS perinatal mental health services and to deliver a partnership project with One Plus One Relationship Charity to reduce alcohol consumption associated with relationship conflict during pregnancy. A small grant was also received from Catalyst and the National Lottery Community Fund to further develop our online volunteer tracking system. We have also received a small amount of income from donations. 

## **Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities** 

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales 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 Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Charity for that year. 

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; 

## **Risk management** 

Responsibility for risk management lies with trustees. A risk register has been established and is regularly reviewed, with controls in place to manage the risks that occur. 

The impact of the pandemic on our physical working environment continued to be minimal as our staff team was 100% home working with regular check-ins. The role of peer support during the pandemic was crucial for lonely isolated pregnant women and parents post birth. Our online platform with its range of functionality has continued to enable new practice developments during the pandemic to be shared. 

## **Reserves policy** 

The trustees have agreed a Reserves Policy. As a relatively new charity, we are aware of our responsibilities and aim to build our reserves fund actively and responsibly. We aim to hold six months of the running costs of the organisation. 

The key reasons for holding reserves are to: 

1. Cater for unforeseen emergencies or other unexpected need for funds. 

2. Cover unforeseen day-to-day operational costs. 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. 

The Trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

## **Public benefit** 

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit: “Charities and Public Benefit”. 

The Trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees. 

3. Meet commitments that cannot be met by future income alone. 

4. Fund any short-term deficits in our cash budget. 

Risks are identified on our risks register and reassessed regularly. 


## **B M Bond** 

Parents 1st UK’s policy is that all surpluses from income generating activities and donations are used to enhance Parents 1st UK’s charitable activities. We will allocate any surplus to Unrestricted Reserves. 

Trustee (Chair) 

07 December 2022 Dated: 



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**Independent Examiners Report** 

**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 21** 

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Parents 1st UK (the Charity) for the period ended 31 March 2022. 

## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 

As the Trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable 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 that in any material respect: 

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the 2011 Act; or 

2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or 

3. the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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. 

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 financial statements to be reached. 


## **Corné Von Wielligh ACA** 

M J Bushell Ltd 8 High Street Brentwood Essex CM14 4AB 

Dated: 08 December 2022 



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**Balance Sheet** 

**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 22** 

**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 23** 

## **Statement of Financial Activities** 

## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022** 

|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**funds**|**funds**||**funds**|**funds**||
|||**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**|**2021**|**2021**|
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Income from:**||||||||
|Donations and|**2**|100|-|100|125|35,845|35,970|
|legacies||||||||
|Charitable activities|<br>**3**|97,209|7,224|104,433|1,083|267,720|268,803|
|**Total income**||97,309|7,224|104,533|1,208|303,565|304,773|
|**Expenditure on:**||||||||
|Charitable activities|<br>**4**|6,420|99,720|106,140|96|106,183|106,279|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||||||||
|**for the year/**||||||||
|**Net movement in funds**||90,889|(92,496)|(1,607)|1,112|197,382|198,494|
|Fund balances at 1 April||1,112|197,382|198,494|-|-|-|
|2021||||||||
|**Fund balances at 31**|**March**|||||||
|2022||92,001|104,886|196,887|1,112|197,382|198,494|



|**Notes**<br>**Current assets**<br>Debtors<br>**9**<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due**<br>**within one year**<br>**10**<br>Net current assets<br>**Income funds**<br>Restricted funds<br>**11**<br>Unrestricted funds|**2022**<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>2,748<br>200,666<br>199,788|
|---|---|
||200,666<br>202,536|
||(3,779)<br>(4,042)|
||196,887<br>198,494|
||104,886<br>197,382<br>92,001<br>1,112|
||196,887<br>198,494|



## 07 December 2022 

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on ......................... 



**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
..............................<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


.............................. .............................. **B M Bond V Emlyn Trustee Trustee** 

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. 




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**Notes to the Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 24 Financial Statements** 

**25** 

## **1.5   Expenditure** 

For the period ended 31 March 2022 

## **1. Accounting policies** 

## **Charity information** 

Parents 1st UK is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation established by Constitution on 9 April 2019. The current Constitution by which it is governed is dated 14 November 2019. 

These are the Charity’s first financial statements covering the period from establishment to 31 March 2021, which is a period of more than one year. 

## **1.1 Accounting convention** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity’s Constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and “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)”. The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102. 

The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows. 

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. 

Expenditure is allocated to particular activities where the cost relates directly to that activity. Support costs comprise costs relating to the overall direction and administration on each activity, including salary, and overhead and governance costs of the central function. Support costs are apportioned to activities on the basis of usage. 

## **1.6   Cash and cash equivalents** 

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other shortterm liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities. 

## **1.7   Financial instruments** 

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 

## **1.8   Employee benefits** 

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the 

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetaryamounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £. 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below. 

## **1.2 Going concern** 

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

## **1.3 Charitable funds** 

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives. 

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes anduses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements. 

## **1.4 Income** 

Income is recognised when the Charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received. 

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. 

employee’s services are received. 

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits. 

## **1.9   Retirement benefits** 

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due. 




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**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 26** 

**27** 

## **2.   Donations and legacies** 

|**Unrestricted**|Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|
|---|---|---|---|
|**funds**|funds|funds||
|**2022**|2021|2021|2021|
|**£**|£|£|£|
|100|125|35,845|35,970|



## **Donations and gifts** 

## **3.   Charitable Activities** 

||**Online**|**Sharing**|**Total**|**Online**|**Sharing**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**platform**|**practice**||**platform**|**practice**||
||**development**|**experiences**||**development**|**experiences**||
||**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**|**2021**|**2021**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Sales within<br>charitable activities|-|97,209|97,209|-|1,083|1,083|
|Performance related|7,224|-|7,224|267,720|-|267,720|
|grants|||||||
||7,224|97,209|104,433|267,720|1,083|268,803|
|**Analysis by fund**|||||||
|Unrestricted funds|-|97,209|97,209|-|1,083|1,083|
|Restricted funds|7,224|-|7,224|267,720|-|267,720|
||7,224|97,209|104,443|267,720|1,083|268,803|
|**Performance related**|||||||
|**grants**|||||||
|Christie Foundation|-|-|-|260,000|-|(260,000)|
|CAST|7,224|-|7,224|7,720|-|(7,720)|
||7,224|-|7,224|267,720|-|267,720|



## **4.   Charitable activities** 

||**Online**|**Sharing**|**Peer**|**Total**|**Online**|**Sharing**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**platform**|**practice**|**Support**||**platform**|**practice**||
||**development**|**experiences**|**practice**||**development**|**experiences**||
||||**development**|||||
||**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2022**|**2021**|**2021**|**2021**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Staff costs|24,649|24,649|24,649|73,947|79,932|-|79,932|
|Website|4,100|4,100|4,100|12,300|8,400|-|8,400|
|development||||||||
|Accreditation|-|-|-|-|4,560|-|4,560|
|services||||||||
|Consultancy|2,223|2,224|2,224|6,671|3,424|-|3,424|
|Conference|-|3,150|-|3,150|938|96|1,034|
|costs||||||||
|Other direct|95|95|95|285|1,705|-|1,705|
|costs||||||||
||31,067|34,218|31,068|96,353|98,959|96|99,055|
|Share of|4,861|-|-|4,861|2,817|-|2,817|
|support costs||||||||
|(see note 5)||||||||
|Share of|4,926|-|-|4,926|4,407|-|4,407|
|governance||||||||
|costs (see||||||||
|note 5)||||||||
||40,854|34,218|31,068|106,140|106,183|96|106,279|
|**Analysis by**||||||||
|**fund**||||||||
|Unrestricted|2,140|2,140|2,140|6,420|-|96|96|
|funds||||||||
|Restricted|38,714|32,078|28,928|99,720|106,183|-|106,183|
|funds||||||||
||40,854|34,218|31,068|106,140|106,183|96|106,279|





DocuSign Envelope ID: 6BF44592-E9A4-4D9C-92FF-948D27EBBE4C 

**29** 

**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 28** 

## **5.   Support costs** 

|IT costs<br>Insurance<br>Bank charges<br>Office related costs<br>Independent Examiner’s<br>fees<br>Legal and professional<br>Accountancy<br>Analysed between<br>Charitable activities|**Support**<br>**costs**<br>**Governance**<br>**costs**<br>**2022**<br>2021<br>**Basis of allocation**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>£<br>1,976<br>-<br>1,976<br>697<br>Time on Activities<br>869<br>-<br>869<br>869<br>Time on Activities<br>130<br>-<br>130<br>181<br>Time on Activities<br>1,886<br>-<br>1,886<br>1,070<br>Time on Activities<br>-<br>2,900<br>2,900<br>2,760<br>Governance<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>63<br>Governance<br>-<br>2,026<br>2,026<br>1,584<br>Governance<br>4,861<br>4,926<br>9,787<br>7,224<br>4861<br>4926<br>9787<br>7224|
|---|---|



## **6.   Independent examiner’s remuneration** 

The analysis of independent examiner’s remuneration is as follows: 

**Fees payable to the Charity’s independent examiner and associates 2022 2021 £ £** Independent examination of the Charity’s annual accounts 2,900 2,760 

## **7.   Trustees** 

None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Charity during the period, nor were any expenses reimbursed to them. 

## **8.   Employees** 

There were no employees who received remuneration over £60,000 per annum during the period. There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000. 

## **9.   Debtors** 

|**Amounts falling due within one year:**<br>Prepayments and acrrued income<br>**Amounts falling due within one year:**<br>Other taxation and social security<br>Other creditors<br>Accruals and deferred income|**2022**<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>-<br>2,748|
|---|---|
||**2022**<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>582<br>563<br>109<br>180<br>3,088<br>3,299|
||3,779<br>4,042|



## **10.   Creditors** 

## **11.   Restricted funds** 

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes: 

## **Movement in funds** 

|Christie Foundation<br>CAST|**Balance at**<br>**1 April 2022**<br>**Incoming**<br>**resources**<br>**Resources**<br>**expended**<br>**Balance at          31**<br>**March 2022**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>197,382<br>-<br>(92,496)<br>104,886<br>-<br>7,224<br>(7,224)<br>-|
|---|---|
||197,382<br>7,224<br>(99,720)<br>104,886|



The average monthly number of employees during the period was: 

|**Employment costs**<br>Wages and salaries<br>Social security costs<br>Other pension costs|**2022**<br>**2021**<br>**Number Number**<br>3<br>3|
|---|---|
||**2021**<br>**£**<br>70,092<br>74,448<br>2,904<br>4,552<br>951<br>932|
||73,947<br>79,932|



## **Christie Foundation** 

Purpose of the grant: to develop an online ‘Open Access’ platform to share good practice in perinatal peer support. 

## **CAST** 

Project name: Catalyst and the National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 Digital Response 

Purpose of the grant: we worked with a digital partner to explore solutions to a common challenge experienced by 3 voluntary sector organisations: how to keep track of volunteer recruitment processes using digital, data and design. 



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**Trustees’ Report 2021-2022 30** 

## **12.   Analysis of net assets between funds** 

|Fund balances at 31 March<br>2022 are represented by:<br>Current assets/(liabilities)|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**Restricted**<br>**funds**<br>**Total**<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>Total<br>**2022**<br>**2022**<br>**2022**<br>2021<br>2021<br>2021<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>£<br>£<br>£<br>92,001<br>104,886<br>196,887<br>861<br>197,633<br>198,494|
|---|---|
||92,001<br>104,886<br>196,887<br>861<br>197,633<br>198,494|



## **13.   Related party transactions** 

## **Remuneration of key management personnel** 

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows . 

**2022 2021 £ £** Aggregate compensation 33,253 30,442 




DocuSign Envelope ID: 6BF44592-E9A4-4D9C-92FF-948D27EBBE4C 

## **Parents 1st UK** 

**Construction House Runwell Road, Wickford, Essex, SS11 7HQ** 

**/parents1st @Parents1st /company/parents1st** 


**www.parents1st.org.uk** 

**Registered Charity No: 1186445**