2023-08-31-accounts

LMK – Let Me Know Annual Report and Accounts For The Year Ended 31[st] August 2023.

Administrative information for the year ended 31[st] August 2023.

Charity name: LMK – Let Me Know Registered number: 1191149 Registered Address: 85-87 Bayham Street, London, NW1 0AH Trustees: Emma Neillie (Treasurer and Chair of Finance Subcommittee) Helen Wolstenholme Dr Holan Liang (until 4[th] July 2023) Keith Morgan (Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Lead) Kirsten Westlake (Co-founder and Chair of Trustees) Louise Harland Ndubuisi Uchea Saloni Thakrar (Co-founder and Chair of Safeguarding Subcommittee) Sam Elsokari (until 10[th] July 2023) Sophie Newton (Chair of Human Resources Subcommittee) Umeeda Nathoo LMK Team: Anna Olliffe (Research and Evaluation Manager) Becky Pugh (Graphic Design) Charlotte Bradford (Head of Fundraising until October 2022) Clare Hoddinott (Team Coordinator) Eleanor Davies Lawley (Professional Development and Participation) Elinor Dorrell (Head of Fundraising) Laura Hastie (Social Media Manager) Melina Alexandrou (Campaigns Manager until March 2023) Rosamund Dickinson (Relationship and Engagement Manager) Shelly Khaled (Programme Manager) Shruti Soni (External Accountant) Youth Advisory Board: Anisa Kashi Atitiya Kaya Babi Keenayah Blessing (until September 2022) Kody Eva Mehraveh Grace Merle Hope Miriam (LMK Programme Team intern) Ice Safia Isaac Saskia Izzy Tilly Joshua (until September 2022) Bank: CAF Bank Ltd, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ

Contents

Contents	Contents	Contents	ts	ts	ts	ts	ts	ts	ts	ts	ts
Step inside LMK Why is LMK needed? Building happy lives through healthy relationships Considered growth and deeper impact Continuing the Conversation workshops Inclusive workshops Training for professionals Growing and scaling up LMK in collaboration Youth Advisory Board Measuring LMK’s impact Statement of public benefit LMK in the community LMK in schools LMK online What next for LMK? Financial review Structure, governance and management The Independent Examiners Report The financial statements Thank you												4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 26 28 29 30 32 34 36 38 41 43 54

Independent Examiner: Charles Ssempijja FCA, NfP Accountants Ltd, 3[rd] Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE

You can find out more about LMK’s Vision in this short video Inside LMK: vimeo.com/user182687372/ insidelmk

Step inside LMK

Executive Summary

Professional Development (CPD) workshops which train other frontline professions to have non-judgemental conversations about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours. We have also begun piloting a Workplace Relationships programme and are developing a Whole School Approach methodology. This is also the year that our new Youth Advisory Board (YAB) really flourished, becoming the beating heart of the charity; they influence our strategy and materials, role-model the 10 signs, and act as peer mentors to one another and ambassadors for LMK.

Domestic violence and relationship abuse have 2.4 a devastating effect on the lives of around million people in the UK each year. This means 1 in 4 women, 1 in 6 men, and 3 in 4 transgender and non-binary people will experience it in their lifetime. You are most likely to experience that abuse between the ages of 16-19 years old[1] .

LMK was created to take a preventative approach to this complex problem, with a mission to educate young people on how to build positive, healthy relationships, free from abuse .

Now in our third year, LMK is moving from a start-up to a more established charity. This report demonstrates the high demand for our services, the impact we are having as we change young lives, and the difference we have made to thousands of young people across London in the year from September 2022 to August 2023.

Through these programmes in 2022/23, we have reached 4,617 young people and 286 adults across 20 London boroughs. Our work has been characterised by our core value of collaboration , as we worked in partnership with 85 amazing schools and community organisations including City Hall, Carshalton Athletic, Mosaic, Brook and Reach Feltham Academy. Through them we have supported teenagers battling everyday concerns about body image, mental health, exam stress and their relationships with friends, family and romantic partners, as well as young people who are care-affected, young offenders, refugees, homeless, and survivors of grooming and sexual abuse.

Since LMK began, we have worked with:

9,541 working across 22 in 483 young with 112 London workshops people partners Boroughs

In our first year our priority was creating compelling 10 Signs workshop content, laying down roots in the communities we support and building strong partnerships with them. In our second year LMK built on this foundation and expanded across London. The 10 Signs, an evidence-based, proven framework developed by Johns Hopkins University, continue to form the core of LMK's services.

This year, we have observed several worrying trends that make our work feel all the more urgent.

• A sharp increase in the free expression of

misogynistic views , which we attribute to the rise in popularity of Andrew Tate. We have heard young men in workshops unashamedly making sexist remarks, believing young women are subservient and should be treated as such. This does not just seem to be about ‘pushing boundaries’ but rather a dangerous upswell of pent-up emotion where young men see his views as aspirational and ‘truth telling’. Our LMK Leaders of all genders challenge these views constructively and without judgement on a daily basis.

In this, our third year, we have continued to grow but have deepened our offering. We have embedded our new Inclusive Modules for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), our workshops on Pornography and Sharing Explicit Images without Consent and our Continuous

1. (Source: Office National Statistics - Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2022 and March 2020. Also, The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s blog into Loving Me citing Garthe et al., 2018); 2. Charities Aid Foundation: UK Giving Report 2023

2. Easy access to extreme pornography continues to impact young people, causing unrealistic expectations for their own bodies but also misrepresenting what acts are a ‘standard’ part of sex to impressionable teenagers wanting to learn. After all, strangulation, hitting and name calling are seen more often in porn than conversations around consent and condoms. Our new modules on Pornography and Sharing Explicit Images without Consent debunk these myths, challenge preconceptions around norms and offer young people practical steps to help them when things go wrong. We are proud that LMK is able to lead the way on having open, honest conversations on topics which many parents, teachers and frontline professionals feel ill equipped to handle.

The effects of the cost of living crisis and the War in Ukraine mean that funds are understandably being diverted to frontline interventions such as food, clothing and shelter, despite the vital importance of prevention. Like many other charities we have therefore experienced fundraising challenges.[2] Although LMK's overall income has risen by 61%, our success rate for grant applications in particular has fallen. As a result, our pace of growth has been slower than we had hoped, despite entering 9 new boroughs.

Despite this challenging backdrop, we know that LMK workshops continue to make a tangible difference to the lives of young people in London:

Two thirds of young people who attended an LMK workshop told us we had changed their understanding of healthy and unhealthy relationships

84% of young people who attended an LMK workshop knew how to seek help for themselves or a friend in an abusive relationship

This success is thanks to the incredible commitment and skills of the LMK community.

Together we are driving forward vital change that will help reduce levels of domestic violence, relationship abuse and sexual assault. As the charity’s first CEO Deirdre Kehoe comes on board in August 2023 and our co-founders Saloni Thakrar and Kirsten Westlake step back, they wanted to express their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has helped them build LMK: the Programme Team, LMK Leaders, Trustees, YAB Members, Advisors and Funders, as well as the inspiring young people they have had the honour to work with.

Thank you to everyone who has played a part this year and in LMK’s journey so far. We are looking forward to seeing what LMK will achieve next.

LMK Board of Trustees

Our programme is based on the ‘10 Signs,’ a framework developed by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and has been used for over a decade by the One Love Foundation in the US.

10 signs of a 10 signs of an healthy relationship unhealthy relationship

Equality Independence Intensity Manipulation Kindness Boundaries Sabotage Possessiveness Owning Healthy Deflecting Guilting Actions Conflict Responsibility Fun Respect Volatility Betrayal Honesty Trust Isolation Belittling

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Why is LMK needed?

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1 in 4 1 in 6 3 in 4 3 in 4
& &
women men, transgender non-binary people
experience relationship abuse in their lifetime.
You are most likely to become a victim between the ages of 16 – 19 yrs [1]
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----- Start of picture text -----
Relationship
Abuse, Sexual 7% rise - 798,000
Violence and
the number of police recorded women are raped or sexually
Harassment is a domestic abuse related crimes assaulted every year. That’s
massive problem rose 7.7% to 910,980 in the year 1 in 30
ending March 2022 compared to
the previous year [3] women [2]
Pornography and
online Influencers are
Schools aren’t
major contributing
always safe 80%
factors to the way
places…
of UK school girls have been young people act in
put under pressure to share relationships…
sexual images of themselves [5]
1 in 3 girls 59% 1 in 4
think schools wouldn't of UK school girls have been young men agree with
take reports of sexual videoed or photographed Andrew Tate’s misogynistic
harassment seriously [4] without their consent [5] views on women [6]
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Sources:

1. Office for National Statistics - Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2022 and The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s blog into Loving Me citing Garthe et al., 2018

2. nfpResearch survey of 1,000 young women and 500 young men aged 16 – 18, between 3-14 November 2022

3. Ofsted’s review of sexual assault in schools and colleges, June 2021 https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schoolsand-colleges/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges

4. Rape Crisis England and Wales for year ending March 2022

5. The Crime Survey for England and Wales in the year ending March 2022

6. YouGov data of 18-29 year old males from a survey 2,000 people, May 2023

And there are wider ripple £66 Billion 1 in 5 effects in society… estimated social and children have lived with economic costs of an adult perpetrating domestic abuse[7] domestic abuse[8] Children exposed to domestic violence are: 30 women attempt suicide every day 2.8 times & 1.6 times as a result of experiencing more likely to obtain more likely to be domestic abuse and every week three women take low school grades absent from school[9] their own lives[10]

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Victims from BAME
communities typically
suffer abuse for
Some groups are 80%
disproportionately 1.5 times
of trans people have
impacted...
longer before receiving help experienced emotional,
than those who identify as sexual, or physical abuse from
White British or Irish [13] a partner or ex-partner [12]
Bisexual women
Disabled women are
are almost
twice twice twice
&
as likely as likely as likely
to experience domestic to suffer assault to be abused as
abuse and rape [11] straight women [12]
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Sources:

Professor Sylvia Walby (University of Leeds) cost of domestic violence. Women and Equality Unit

1. The economic and social costs of domestic abuse Research Report 107 Rhys Oliver, Barnaby Alexander, Stephen Roe and Miriam Wlasny January 2019

2. SafeLives report Disabled Survivors Too, March 2017 https://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Disabled%20Survivors%20Too%20CORRECTED.pdf

3. NSPCC: Child abuse and neglect in the UK today, 2019

4. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies (2014) 5(4): 493–587 In Harm’s Way: A Special Issue on the Impacts and Costs of Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence. A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH. Sibylle Artz, Margaret A. Jackson, Katherine R. Rossiter, Alicia Nijdam-Jones, István Géczy, and Sheila Porteous)

5. Stonewall’s Domestic violence and abuse - resources for LGBT people https://www.stonewall.org.uk/domestic-violence-and-abuse-resources-lgbt-people

6. Supporting BAME Victims, What the Data Shows by Gemma Penny. www.safelives.org.uk

7. Women and Equality Unit: The Cost of Domestic Violence September 2004

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Building happy lives through healthy relationships

Vision:

Our ‘why’:

Domestic Violence and Relationship Abuse affects 2.4 million people in the UK each year . 1-in-4 women and 1-in-6 men will experience an abusive relationship in their lifetime. Many charities exist to support survivors of domestic violence, relationship abuse and sexual assault, but few offer a comprehensive prevention programme to stop the abuse before it begins. LMK was created in 2020 to be part of the solution, taking a muchneeded preventative approach to this complex problem.

LMK is committed to creating a world in which domestic violence, relationship abuse and sexual assault no longer exist, and young people are able to build happy lives through healthy relationships. LMK believes this can only be achieved through education.

Mission:

Our objectives: Now in its third year, LMK was created to ensure that:

Good relationships shape our health and happiness, but we are taught so little about them. LMK is an education charity on a mission to change that. We educate young people on

• Young people understand the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships and use this knowledge to keep themselves and their friends safe;

how to build positive, healthy relationships, so that they can avoid abuse and thrive in their relationships. We put the voices and experiences of young people at the heart of our work to ensure that we:

• Adults (parents, teachers and community leaders) feel confident supporting young people in their relationships.

• Educate young people on how to build positive, healthy relationships, preventing them from becoming victims or perpetrators of abuse.

• Empower young people to advocate for their own happiness, enabling them to speak out, seek help and challenge attitudes which tolerate, condone or conceal abusive behaviours.

• Elevate the skills of carers and professionals to help young people navigate relationships and get the support they need and deserve.

We do this through:

Our Education Programme

Our core 10 Signs Programme offers free workshops to schools and community organisations. These workshops form a prevention programme where young people are taught to spot and stop unhealthy relationship behaviours both in themselves and others, using the 10 Signs Framework . Our workshops can be tailored to participants’ ages and backgrounds and are for everyone, regardless of their identity or the type of relationship they are in.

• 10 Signs – Module 1: An introduction to the 10 Signs, embedding the language and key concepts around healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours, as well as how to leave a relationship safely.

• 10 Signs – Module 2: A deeper dive into the 10 Signs, encouraging young people to examine them in their own lives and explore how to protect themselves in unhealthy situations. This module includes an expanded safety plan discussion, focussing on how to help a friend leave an unhealthy relationship safely.

• Inclusive Workshops: Our 10 Signs Programme is adapted to be accessible and relatable to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

• Continuing the Conversation (CTC): following requests from young people, we created two specialist workshops focusing on pornography and sharing explicit images without consent.

Our Training Programme

Training other professionals is one way LMK extends the impact of our work. We offer a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme titled ‘How to Talk to Young People about Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships’. It is a half day training session for professionals working with young people focussing on how to have inclusive, accessible, non-judgemental conversations about relationships that will help prevent future abuse.

All of these workshops enable young people and the adults responsible for their development the chance to explore issues and rehearse scenarios in a non-judgemental, small group environment. They give young people the tools and confidence they need to speak out, seek help and keep themselves and their friends safe.

Inclusive: 5%

This report presents LMK’s achievements during its third year of operation (September 2022 – August 2023). Its creation forms part of the trustees' governance of the charity, informs their design of its strategic direction and helps them ensure LMK's objectives and activities remain focused on achieving LMK's stated public benefit.

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Location of young people supported by LMK by borough in 2022/23. LMK worked in 20 boroughs this year, 9 of them were new.

Considered growth and deeper impact r of

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4,617
3,924
1,000
2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
20
11
3
2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
85
36
18
Number of Youn
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Following two years of rapid growth in the number of young people we worked with, in 2022/23 LMK focussed this year on strengthening and increasing three innovative our offering. We rolled out new workshop programmes and expanded

the boroughs we worked in by 82% , whilst the number and different types of partners we worked with grew by 136%. We consolidated our team and the quality of our core offering, refining our workshop materials and deploying a new evaluation dashboard. We also worked hard to put

young people’s voices at the heart of what we do , growing our Youth Advisory Board, harnessing their skills and putting their recommendations into practice.

We have worked with 4,617 young people this year , and our programmes now operate in Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster.

Our new partnerships, new programmes, the continued strong work of our team, and the development of our learning and evaluation methods position us well for future growth.

Partners who hosted a workshop for young people: 41 Partners who hosted a CPD workshop: 40

Partners who hosted a CPD workshop and a workshop for young people: 4

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Enfield
56
Barnet
18
Haringey
Redbridge
28
60
Brent
Camden
11 Islington
485
310 Barking and
Newham
Dagenham
Westminster 50
Tower 43
469 Hamlets
Kensington
502
and Chelsea
Hounslow 862
240
Wandsworth Lambeth Lewisham
218 404 465
Bromley
Sutton Croydon 124
22
70
Borough worked in this year
New borough worked in this year
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Borough worked in this year New borough worked in this year Represents the number of young people worked with

* We also provided CPD workshops to participants from Hammersmith and Fulham and workshops to 180 young people at pan-London events

LMK’s contribution to Relationship and Sex Education in schools...is critically needed. As Head of Safeguarding at a large comprehensive school, we are seeing more and more issues of unhealthy and coercive relationships, and LMK's work is helping protect countless young people. We have experienced how empowering LMK’s workshops are and have seen the positive impact they have on the lives of the young participants, really giving them the skills to choose healthy relationships as they progress through life, which is so important. This is education that young people are not getting anywhere else and the feedback from them was that this was life-changing for them...As someone who has worked in schools for over 15 years and now leads youth work, I can tell you that this work is much needed. And urgently.” Faheem Khan, Founding Director, Future Leaders

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Continuing the Conversation workshops

Against this backdrop, LMK’s Continuing the Conversation modules are well timed and much needed. LMK’s workshop on pornography challenges young people to think about porn differently, debunks widely held myths and examines how porn really affects them and their relationships. It takes a realistic look at pornography, explaining why teens shouldn’t use it as a ‘how to’ guide for sex and exploring how the sex and bodies portrayed in porn can often be unrealistic. LMK’s workshop on Sharing Explicit Images Without Consent gives young people a deeper understanding of the risks of sharing nudes, equipping them with practical strategies to protect themselves and giving them steps to take if an image gets leaked or goes viral.

This year we have rolled out two new, specialised modules called ‘Continuing the Conversation’ around the topics of Pornography and Sharing Explicit Images Without Consent . This is in direct response to feedback from young workshop participants, provided through our evaluation systems, stating that they needed support to handle these issues in their daily lives.

This need clearly matched worries in the public consciousness at the time following Ofsted's review into sexual abuse in schools and the testimonies collected as part of the Everyone’s Invited website in 2021. More recently, England’s Children’s Commissioner published research expressing concern about children’s use of pornography, demonstrating clear links between child-on-child sex abuse (and physical acts of aggression such as strangulation and slapping) and watching pornography.[1] Young people experience pressure to view hardcore pornography, much of it depicting degrading acts and violence against women . It is clear that this is having an impact on young people’s wellbeing and self-esteem. The average age at which children first view pornography is 13 years old, with a significant proportion of teens saying they first viewed porn as young as 9 years old.

Uptake of these workshops has been gradual, with 11 workshops delivered to 210 young people this year, the majority through youth group organisations. Early evaluation shows that both young participants and the professionals working with them found the workshops extremely impactful.

1. The Children’s Commissioner’s Information Sheet: Pornography and Young People 9th May 2023.

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I believe pornography skews the perception of how adult relationships work and don’t always revolve around sex. This could affect children’s behaviour by potentially only seeing their future partner as objects to attain sex and not individuals that are more than sex.”

Male, aged 20, first saw pornography at age 13. Part of the Children’s Commissioner’s Survey into Pornography and Young People.

Young people from LMK’s ‘Sharing Explicit Images Without Consent’ workshops responding to ‘Anything you’d like to share about what you have learnt today?’

We believe the slow uptake of these workshops may be due to the reticence of schools to discuss potentially controversial topics which, although much needed, technically fall outside the scope of the relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculum. We remain convinced that Continuing the Conversation workshops could make a real difference to young people’s safety and future wellbeing, and are determined to increase uptake of these workshops in the coming year.

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Resources
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Inclusive workshops

Relationship abuse has a devastating effect on the lives of around 2.4 million people in the UK each year. But if you are a disabled woman you are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault , and disabled people are twice as likely to be living with the perpetrator. Young people with SEND are more likely to become victims of grooming, partner violence and cuckooing and wait on average a year longer before getting help.[1]

This year we began the roll-out of our Inclusive Programme to young people with SEND, not attending mainstream schools. We delivered

11 workshops to 177 young people in

specialist SEND schools or community groups , representing 5% of the workshops LMK has delivered this year. Using adapted materials, with a format and pace that suits their unique demands, our specialist trainers offer tailored workshops to ensure young people with SEND understand the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, can recognise what they look like in everyday life or popular media, and know who their trusted adults are so they can seek help.

Since LMK started, we have worked with 9,541 young people (aged 11-24) across London and 15% tell us they have a special educational need or disability. As a result, LMK adapted its 10 Signs Programme to make Inclusive modules that were specifically accessible and relatable to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We are proud to say that the scenarios used in these modules were created by young people with SEND or their carers, to ensure they were recognisable and relevant to their lives.

I think it's very important for them to know boundaries within relationships, especially because they might not necessarily know when to tell when people are taking advantage of them, especially or if they're not being treated in the correct manner. So I think it's quite useful for people with learning difficulties and with social emotional problems… to just get that extra support and extra advice."

Helping my son understand that there are healthy and unhealthy relationships is an essential life skill. My son's additional needs have made it harder for him to maintain friendships as he has grown older and as a result, he is desperate to hold onto friends, even when they have become a frenemy. Teaching him 10 signs of a healthy and unhealthy relationship will not only help keep him safe but will empower him to trust his feelings and know that he has a choice about who he allows in his life."

Teacher, Langdon Park SEND School

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Vicky Whent, LMK’s SEND Advisor

It was fantastic to see that they were able to use new language… and they were able to actually explain themselves through the new terminology related to relationships. …I think this should be done in high schools because relationships, especially personal relationships, are starting earlier and earlier, and they have to contend with relationships that are also 24/7 online.”

JACE Training

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It is very special that LMK is working with these kids, especially in the area of relationship education. A lot of parents don't talk about relationships with their children. They don't have access to all the information surrounding healthy and unhealthy relationships. So, a lot of them are sort of left out. Dedicated lessons like these help explain it to them in their own environment and at their own pace.”

Teacher, Leighton College

Leighton College

We are particularly proud of our work at Leighton College, a special education school in Camden, affiliated with Elfrieda Rathbone. They pride themselves on ensuring young people with learning disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone to fulfil their potential. They chose LMK to work with to help make that vision a reality when it comes to relationships. Two of our LMK Leaders worked with 19 young people (aged 17-21) over 8 weeks, delivering multiple workshops to make sure the 10 Signs were embedded in the young people’s thinking and part of their tools for life. The 8 week programme ended in a ‘graduation ceremony’ where all the young people received LMK certificates and created some fantastic artwork reflecting their learning journey.

A lot of our kids are vulnerable. The way they process information is different from mainstream kids. Neurotypical kids can talk to each other and immediately grasp and process things, without any major difficulty. Whereas some of these kids in SEND settings have problems processing this information, easily. LMK… explained it in a way our SEND kids would be able to break it down and process it.”

Teacher, Leighton College

1. SafeLives report Disabled Survivors Too, March 2017 safelives.org.uk/ sites/ default/files/resources/Disabled%20 Survivors%20Too%20CORRECTED.pdf

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Training for professionals

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21
286 44
workshops professionals organisations
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This year our CPD programme "How to Talk to Young People about Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships” continued to grow thanks to funding from Camden Council’s Resilience Fund and the Charles Hayward Foundation. This halfday professional development workshop helps frontline staff have inclusive, accessible, nonjudgemental relationship conversations with young people to help prevent abuse. We worked with a wide range of partner organisations across secondary schools, domestic abuse organisations, sports groups, therapy groups and statutory organisations to provide training that:

It gave me a deeper understanding of the definitions of unhealthy and healthy signs in relationships. The examples strengthened this - I now feel confident to complete direct work with young people around this topic" Regenerate

The facilitator was really engaging and helpful, asking questions in depth and giving examples too. The Ten Signs was really great as it enabled us a practitioners to use definitions in a child and young person friendly way" Bromley and Croydon Women's Aid

• Covers the 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to spot the signs of domestic abuse or sexual harassment in young people.

Practical learning that really challenged my practice and understanding of the issues covered in the session”

• Equips participants with the tools to help young people navigate relationship break ups safely and to handle conversations with young people on topics such as pornography, consent and boundaries.

Wac Arts

• Allows participants to better educate the young people they work with on red flags and keeping safe.

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• Provides professionals with an opportunity to raise issues they face in this area and to utilise LMK Leaders' expertise.

Next year we will continue to roll out our CPD programme and hope that this will be a growing source of earned income for LMK.

I liked the pace, the trainer was brilliant and confident, learning about the 10 signs was very helpful, good slides too, very interactive, and lots of opportunities for personal reflection. This was a training that was well worth doing" Brandon Centre

Following an LMK CPD workshop:

of participants felt they’d learnt the right language to talk to young people about relationships.

95%

had a better understanding of the issues facing young people in their relationships.

95%

Going through the 10 signs and having a label for each I found very useful. We often have conversations with young people around appropriate and inappropriate behaviours within relationships but being able to give them a label makes it straight forward for the young person to understand" South West Surrey Domestic Abuse outreach

felt more confident approaching conversations on sensitive issues with young people.

96%

were better equipped to offer help 97% to a young person experiencing an unhealthy or abusive relationship.

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Growing and scaling up

its start-up phase. While all our LMK Leaders remain freelancers to afford them the flexibility that a portfolio career brings, our 8 programme team members are now all part-time or full-time employees. Considerable emphasis was placed on the HR processes to support this transition. An HR handbook was also introduced, which inducts staff into LMK, codifies on-boarding processes for new staff and details training , well-being and mental health support packages for our LMK Leaders and wider team members (including free access to BUPA’s Employee Assistance Programme and Calm’s wellness app).

The impact LMK has is driven by the amazing team of people making our vision, to help young people build happy lives through healthy relationships, a reality. Over the last year, our Programme Team doubled in size as we hired our first programme manager, first social media manager, first paid evaluation manager and of course, our first CEO. We also successfully recruited an additional 10 experienced, traumainformed leaders to support our delivery and meet the growing demand for our programmes.

Last year’s annual report acknowledged that, as a start-up, we were largely powered by freelancers. However, this year LMK’s team structure has matured in line with a charity moving away from

We have also worked to nourish our team culture . Though our workshops always take place in person, our core team works entirely flexibly. As a result, we work hard to maintain team bonds and strong lines of communication. This year we bonded over a baking class as part of an away day at Luminary Social Enterprise Bakery in Camden. We would also like to thank our friends at Phoenix Court and Place2Be for generously allowing use of their beautiful offices for free this year whenever we needed them for face-to-face meetings.

Training

As part of our ongoing commitment to our team members’ personal development, they have also been given fully-funded training opportunities and the chance to learn more about the sector we work in through the following courses:

• Trauma Training: Silver level: ‘Developing Trauma Informed Practice’ by Partnership for Young London;

• Youth Mental Health First Aid course by Rethink Mental Illness;

• Mental health in the workplace for managers by Rethink Mental Illness;

• Safeguarding training by Brook;

• Managing safer online communities course by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC);

• Talk Relationships by the NSPCC;

• Continuing the Conversation training for Leaders by LMK;

• Trans Awareness Training by Gendered Intelligence;

• Tools and methods for measuring your impact by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO);

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• Better impact reporting by NCVO;

• Safeguarding training by Jace;

• Data protection essentials by NCVO;

• Fundraising Now by Directory of Social Change;

• Proportionate Evaluation workshop by The Fore & New Philanthropy Capital (NPC);

• Implementing Organisational Strategy by Resonance;

• Creating a Dynamic Duo - Relationship between a CEO and Chair, by Acevo;

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Essentials training by Hope & May.

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Annual Report and Accounts | 19
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18

LMK in collaboration

also part of a multi-agency consultation arranged by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime ( MOPAC ) and led a relationships workshop for 200 young people at his Youth Takeover Day , organised by the Violence Reduction Unit ( VRU ). As a result of this, LMK’s Youth Advisory Board was asked to take part in London’s first ever Hope Hack .

LMK believes strongly in collaboration. In last year’s annual report, we stated our aim to increase collaboration with partners whose goals and values align with our own. This is in keeping with our organisational values around collaboration – striving for impact through partnership.

We were particularly proud to work with Faustine Petron and the team at Make It Mandatory , who campaign to make RSE compulsory at key stage 5 and include comprehensive domestic abuse education within this. Faustine was a guest speaker at one of our Youth Advisory Board meetings and spoke as part of the industry panel debate we hosted to mark our second birthday. In return, members of our programme team and Youth Advisory Board were invited to their campaign launch in Oxford. This year, LMK also joined EVAW's (End Violence Against Women) Coalition Prevention Network , a 50 strong campaign group of like-minded charities, and signed an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education asking for the needs of children and young people to be included in the proposed review of the RSE statutory guidance. LMK was

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Today we learned about relationships… and I learned a lot. It just really taught me what not to look for in relationships and friendships.”

Year 9 Pupil, Langdon Park Community School

Brook and the Women and Girls Network

1,817 young people . This was the first year of the three-year partnership which aside from workshop collaboration, saw us contribute to their strategy roundtable, attend regular steering group meetings and enabled us, through their funding, to recruit 10 more LMK Leaders. We are excited to continue our collaboration next year.

As part of LMK’s partnership with Brook and the Women and Girls Network, this year we delivered 76 Sexual Violence Education and Training Programme workshops across the London boroughs of Brent, Bromley, Camden, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. Working with 15 partners, we delivered our 10 Signs programme and Inclusive workshops to

I feel like the session was useful at this age because we’re in preparation for leaving and kind of going into the big wide world. But we need to be able to have these skills that we've learnt about today to have successful relationships, lasting friendships, relationships with partners, teachers, associates.” Year 11 Pupil, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

Annual Report and Accounts | 21

20 | Annual Report and Accounts

Youth Advisory Board

LMK’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) has been designed to put youth insight, co-design and thought leadership at the heart of LMK’s offering, strengthening our abuse prevention programme and positioning LMK to deliver interventions that are compelling, relatable and relevant to young people’s lives.

Youth Voice and Participation:

Under this pillar YAB members are given the opportunity to influence LMK and the charity sector , interacting with our wider stakeholders. They are encouraged to develop, improve or promote direct action campaigns. For example, this year YAB members collaborated with Young K&C and Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Councils to produce an awareness-raising video as part of their Young Person’s Mental Health Campaign: We Got U, U Got This . LMK's YAB worked with a local film student, Tabby, to produce the following video, which touches on various topics such as relationships and loneliness.

This year we significantly expanded our YAB and saw it flourish into a central part of LMK. We recruited 19 young people (aged 16-20 years) who had previously attended LMK workshops or been referred by partner organisations or alumni to be part of the group, challenging them to represent their generation and put their opinions, passions . We and voices at the core of LMK’s offering are proud to say that they did just that and have become the beating heart of the charity - their energy and insight have proved invaluable over the last 12 months.

Influence and Leadership:

Under this pillar YAB members build their confidence and learn to be effective and empathetic communicators , role-modelling the 10 healthy signs. For example, this year YAB members presented at Make It Mandatory’s campaign launch to share reflections on Relationship Education, and attended EVAW’s Coalition Prevention Network film launch, asking questions of the panel.

The YAB have become involved in all aspects of LMK life, with activity in meetings designed to develop their skills and support LMK under four key pillars: Influence and Leadership, Youth Voice and Participation, Active Stakeholdership, and Mentoring and Support.

Being able to hear other people’s stories and their why was wonderful, and being able to share my own and let people in on why I am at LMK and what experience I have had that brought me here. I was super grateful to be asked to attend and to be a panellist, and my parents and I were extremely proud.” YAB Member

Active Stakeholdership:

Under this pillar YAB members demonstrate a commitment to LMK’s purpose , co-creating resources and acting as ambassadors for LMK’s values and the healthy signs in their community. For example, this year YAB members challenged LMK’s 3

year strategy and our CPD training plan, resulting in real change to LMK’s services and materials. They recommended an increased focus on reaching LGBTQ+ and refugee communities and extended a YAB member’s tenure to 2 years. They rewrote our participant survey and CPD marketing pitch to make it more relevant to young people.

Mentoring and Support:

Under this pillar, YAB members work alongside adult professionals in LMK to develop a growth mindset receptive to mentoring, enabling them to become effective peer mentors. For example, this year one YAB member became a part-time intern at LMK and joined the LMK delivery team. She observed workshops, provided feedback on sessions and co-produced the YAB strategy. Another completed work experience with our Research & Evaluation Manager, undertaking a large-scale piece of analysis which helped us to identify how young people with protected characteristics are engaging with LMK's work.

Through participation in the YAB, members:

• Increase their abilities in three key areas: communication, leadership and problem solving, which they have been able to practise in a safe and supportive environment.

• Build knowledge, confidence and skills that are transferable and relevant to life in schools, postsecondary pathways, careers, communities and their own relationships.

• Grow the skills they need to become positive role models in their own communities.

• Develop a deep and nuanced understanding of healthy and unhealthy relationships. They can differentiate between the two, challenge preconceptions and ingrained assumptions, and delve deeper into understanding what lies at the root of unhealthy attitudes and behaviours.

• Gain first-hand experience of new people, places, challenges and ideas which they may not have had the opportunity to pursue in other areas of their lives. This increases their confidence, selfbelief and opens their eyes to their own abilities.

“It was a completely new experience to me… I think it showed me that it isn’t that scary talking to loads of people.” YAB Member

Annual Report and Accounts | 23

The YAB members come from right across London, with diverse backgrounds which represent the wider cohort of young people engaging in LMK’s programmes. It is important to us that YAB members are remunerated to ensure their contributions to the charity are recognised and rewarded, and so that everyone, regardless of their background, can take part. We would like to thank SCJohnson and the Arthur Bates Fund for their generous part-funding of LMK’s Youth Advisory Board.

It really helped me in terms of improving my performance skills when performing in front of an audience which I tend to sometimes shy away from and so speaking in front of the audience helped build my confidence. Overall I really enjoyed the whole experience.” YAB Member

We asked the YAB what had changed for them since joining LMK.

93%

79% agree they have experienced being able to take the lead.

agree that the YAB provides a youth perspective on what LMK does.

86%

93%

agree they have been able to use their experiences as a young person to improve the services LMK offers to young people.

agree they have worked collaboratively with other YAB members.

93%

100%

agree they have become more confident in communication.

agree that they now clearly recognise the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships.

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24 | Annual Report and Accounts
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100%

agree that they have learnt more about managing their personal safety in friendships and relationships.

observing LMK workshops in schools and community groups, and I was so impressed by the LMK leaders, and how the workshops are adapted to each group of young people.

I’m Miriam, I’m 18. As soon as I discovered LMK and looked into its purpose and work, it resonated with me, and I knew this was the opportunity I had been looking for. It perfectly combined my interests in education, working with young people, and my own passion for the cause from personal experience, and wishing I had had this education at school.

A lot of my work was also with the Youth Advisory Board, both as a member and coordinating behind the scenes, with meetings and other YAB events, contributions and responsibilities. I loved… being able to support other YAB members with fundraising work in their own communities. I chaired one of our monthly meetings, and we now have a different YAB member chairing each month! …It’s inspiring to see everyone’s confidence grow and their different approaches to leading the team. Every month,…it has been an accomplishment for me to see the YAB grow and have Trustees… get involved with us and prioritise young voices. I’m honoured to be part of such an impressive group of young people and excited to see what we accomplish next.

…I have learnt so much about the workings of a charity, as well as getting experience of a professional environment. I was welcomed into Engagement and Delivery and Programme Team meetings, which was an incredible opportunity to see the workings behind LMK workshops and other events and responsibilities. Getting to learn from the passionate and hardworking people in these meetings was so valuable, and I can now look forward to approaching meetings in my own professional future with confidence. As a young person, my views were always considered important in these meetings, and I quickly felt very comfortable taking part in discussions about changes and improvements, as LMK is constantly refreshing itself. I got to work with the E&D and CPD departments in researching and building a contact list of schools and universities. I was able to see the end result of the planning in meetings by

…The time I have had could not have been better spent. I am proud of the work I have done this year for a cause that means so much to me with such a brilliant team, and can’t wait to follow LMK on its journey.

Miriam, LMK Intern and YAB Member

Annual Report and Accounts | 25

What impact do LMK workshops have?

Measuring LMK’s impact

confident they are to seek help for themselves or a friend. We also assess how confident our partner organisations are in supporting young people with relationship issues following an LMK training session.

Gathering feedback is an essential part of ensuring LMK delivers effective programmes which contribute to our purpose: educating young people on how to build positive, healthy relationships, so that they can avoid abuse and thrive in their relationships.

This year, LMK has created a new evaluation dashboard which tracks organisational key performance indicators (KPIs) in a clear visual manner. Updating weekly, it ensures that everyone in the charity can have almost realtime information on LMK’s progress, improving decision-making and data democracy within the charity.

Through our evaluation system we gather data from our workshop participants, LMK Leaders and partner organisations to track the number of people and types of cohorts working with LMK and to understand the impact of LMK’s programmes on them. We assess the change in young people’s attitudes, understanding and skills around healthy and unhealthy relationships and how

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81.4% heterosexual
52.7% male
8.4% preferred not to 40.8% female
answer 3.7% preferred not to
6.5% bisexual or
answer
pansexual 1.9% non binary
2.4% gay or lesbian 0.9%
identify differently
1.5% identify
differently
68% 36% 16% 15%
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88%

84%

of young people said they knew how to seek help for themself or a friend.

of young people rate their leader as excellent or good.

81%

84%

of young people believe today's workshop will be useful in their relationships, either right now or in the future.

of partners feel we supported their own practice when talking to young people about sensitive topics.

75%

97%

of young people from community organisations and 65% of young people from schools said LMK had changed their understanding of healthy and unhealthy relationships.

of partners would invite us back to run another workshop and 24% already have.

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Since launching our workshops in Spring 2021, LMK has delivered:
bers
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9,541 young people 348 adults In partnership Across 22 London educated through 483 educated through with 112 schools boroughs workshops 27 workshops and community organisations

Our work was driven by the generosity of:

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Our work is powered by the efforts of:
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8 48 Volunteers
staff members
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31 LMK Leaders
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21 grants

Annual Report and Accounts | 27

Statement of public benefit

LMK in the community

Furthermore, our LMK Leaders frequently deal with disclosures of abuse during our workshops and escalate these safeguarding cases to get the young person the help they need from other agencies within 24 hours. It is clear that LMK provides a social value far beyond our workshop interventions.

29% of LMK workshops were held in community

Domestic violence and relationship abuse have a devastating effect on the lives of around 2.4 million people in the UK each year. It can affect anyone, of any background and commonly starts as early as teenage relationships. LMK was created to take a much-needed preventative approach to this complex problem. We help young people thrive in their relationships and prevent them from becoming victims or perpetrators of abuse. In the creation and subsequent governance of LMK, all trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission For England and Wales' public benefit guidance when exercising their powers and duties.

settings this year , reaching 929 young people through 25 different community groups including sports clubs, girls’ groups, faith groups and council schemes. Although LMK has always worked in areas of high social deprivation and with marginalised groups, this year we began to work with young people who have already undergone trauma or ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences.) These included survivors of sexual abuse, rape and grooming,homeless youths, refugees and young people who are currently part of the criminal justice system. Working with these groups required LMK to rethink its workshop formats, including doubling the number of LMK Leaders in the session, preparing more nuanced and sensitive scenarios for discussion and being particularly well prepared for safeguarding disclosures. 8% of all LMK workshops in 2022/23 were delivered to these groups of young people.

I saw a lot of people… able to come out of their shell and… express their opinions more than usual. I think the topics we were discussing were very beneficial as we were able to… relate them to… our daily lives… There's more awareness around words such as manipulative, possessive and... we were able to differentiate what those things typically are… so they're easier to identify.”

Although we are primarily a charity focused on long-term prevention, we know that our workshops have an immediate impact on the lives of the young people we work with. Through our evaluation systems, 31% of our workshop participants said that LMK had made them acknowledge unhealthy behaviours or mindsets in their current relationships . Young People also tell us about the changes they are making in their lives as a direct result of attending an LMK workshop:

Year 11 Pupil, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

The Leader connected with all the young people, and they engaged really well, as they could relate to his life experiences and the choices he had made. The scenarios he broke down, like the volatility one, was really powerful and they got it straight away. People really underestimate the importance of relationships and how young people are affected and influenced by the relationships that they get involved in…” Targeted Intervention Youth Worker, Palace4Life

Sadly my boyfriend dumped me last night, but since joining LMK and learning about safe and healthy breakups, I’m dealing with it really well! It really helped me to respond to what he was saying in an understanding and nonhostile way. I was able to express my feelings and thoughts as well as he was and it was a kind of dialogue which I didn’t know could happen in breakups, so thank you!” YAB Member

Before I used to get quite worried when it came to relationships, I was scared whether it was going to end up in an abusive relationship, but I've been highly educated today and I will definitely be using this in the future… It was one of the best workshops I've ever attended.”

Year 9 Pupil, Langdon Park Community School

28 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 29

LMK in schools

Although schools are now required to deliver an expanded relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculum, teachers often lack the time, resources, expertise and confidence to do so in a way that connects with young people. Only 40% of school children feel that their RSE provision is good , while 35% would like more open RSE discussion in schools.[1] Topics required by the RSE guidance are often absent from the classroom, with young people telling us that these are often the topics which they need to talk about most:

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Power imbalances 58%
Pornography 58%
Culture and faith perspectives 57%
LGBTQ+ information 54%
Healthy relationships 54%
Not covered adequately
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LMK is working with schools of all kinds to fill this gap in provision. In 2022/23, we worked with 3,688 young people in 20 schools and colleges . This year 71% of our workshops were delivered within school settings .

LMK’s impact in schools goes beyond the immediate aftermath of the workshop. Young people want to maintain their involvement with LMK, and five of this year's 19-strong cohort of Youth Advisory Members were inspired to join having attended a workshop in their school.

We also act as a catalyst for change within the wider culture of the school. For example, after observing an LMK workshop in action, 84% of teachers told us that they felt more confident and better equipped to have relationship conversations in the classroom. This number increased to 96% after attending LMK’s CPD programme.

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SEND school:
Independent 7.4% Maintained
school: school:
8.1% 37.4%
College:
21.5% Workshops
delivered in
schools
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Academy:
25.6%
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The Deputy Principal of Harris Bermondsey Academy told us how their LMK workshops helped the teaching staff realise what was possible in their school.

The expertise, the delivery and the powerful knowledge from the facilitators … allowed for us to identify what we needed to explore with our students after LMK left. They were able to tap into a different type of dialogue with our students and explore key concepts and issues that we might not have been able to identify because staff would not have known how to explore these concepts in depth.”

And the Head of Pastoral at Haverstock School told us how LMK workshops helped teachers tackle issues they typically would not feel comfortable addressing.

We had some needs in the cohort relating to difficulties with romantic boundaries and things like what clothes are appropriate, what we're comfortable in, what rights the other partner has to say about clothing etc. So, it's actually fantastic that these topics were directly addressed in the workshops. In a way that we just don't have the capacity to do cohort wide within our school. PSHE programmes are great, but teachers aren't always comfortable having those really challenging conversations. So, it's been fantastic to have LMK come in and tackle areas that we just can't.”

Reach Academy Feltham – Whole School Approach Pilot

school’s whole community, making sure that 10 Signs thinking and our prevention programme can be embedded in the mindset of the school’s leadership, staff, students and curriculum, as well as parents and carers. We want to ensure that the school feels equipped and confident to continue the momentum and run aspects of the programme after LMK has left.

Healthy and unhealthy relationship education is paramount to reducing rates of domestic violence, relationship abuse and sexual assault. And the earlier these conversations are normalised in young people’s lives, the better – both at primary school and at home. With this in mind, LMK has long intended to work with younger years.

In the first stage of the pilot, LMK’s CPD programme was delivered to 31 teaching staff. In our subsequent evaluation, 100% of survey respondents said the training reflected the needs and identities of the young people they worked with and 100% believed it left them better equipped to support young people experiencing an unhealthy or abusive relationship.

In April 2023, we began a pilot with Reach Academy Feltham, an all-through state school in Hounslow catering to students from 4 – 18 years, where 44% are eligible for pupil premium funding. The goal of the pilot is to adapt and expand LMK’s current model to cater to the

In stage 2, currently scheduled for September 2023, we plan to deliver new modules specifically created for years 5 and 6, and codesigned with Reach Academy Feltham. We are eager to see the impact of these new workshops and hope to continue to work with the school to develop our program for the first time to parents and carers.

I think the role plays give a really great insight into how uncomfortable these conversations can be for practitioners and how difficult it can be to respond appropriately to new information as the situation develops.”

Primar

Teacher, Reach Academy Feltham

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Annual Report and Accounts | 31
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1. Young People’s RSE Poll 2022, Sex Education Forum (Survey of 1,002 young people, aged 16-17yrs in England, December 2022.)

30 | Annual Report and Accounts

LMK online

to improve user experience and used donations of advertising credits from Google and Meta to promote our content to target audiences through social media and search engine marketing.

LMK aims to support online the work we do in our workshops: to ensure all young people understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. This year, we have strengthened our online presence to help make LMK findable, relatable, and impactful for young people, in particular by creating safe, reliable information in formats that are helpful to them .

We have amplified young people’s voices on our social media channels, creating shareable graphics, short videos and user-generated content. We have formed a social media committee within our Youth Advisory Board, and hosted a Duke of Edinburgh volunteer , supporting her to produce content for use online. We have developed joint initiatives with partners, including hosting our first live Q&A session with Brook on the topic of consent, which also became our first blog post (lmkletmeknow. org/blog).

Our Instagram engagement rate is 10%, compared to the charity sector average engagement rate of 1%.

Although our social media following remains comparatively small, our engagement levels are high, suggesting what we are creating is useful and high-quality. We have therefore taken steps to raise our profile, helping more partners and young people find our work. We redesigned our website

Next year, digital engagement will remain an area of focus for LMK. We intend to improve our understanding of LMK’s key audiences online, strengthen our brand articulation and make sure LMK’s online content reaches the right audiences.

The workshops that they ran today have been incredible, I am really impressed by the quality of the presentation and the content and how well adapted it is for the year group... And it's really brought out the best in the students. For them to have the opportunity to have this workshop at such a pivotal time when they're so impressionable and face so many different challenges, it's really valuable.” Head of Pastoral, EY Foundation

It’s making me so happy to walk around and see students so engaged in the activities and opening up - I particularly like the quality of discussion around relationships... the myth busting exercises, the role-playing, the willingness of the students to share…I think it's actually been very powerful for the adults in the room too to be reminded of the dynamics of healthy relationships, and what we should expect and how we should value ourselves.”

Head of Development and Progression, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

We use popular culture as talking points and we counter harmful narratives.

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Please read on
for more detail
on these issues,
the law, and
how to get help
if something
goes wrong.
Remember,
intimate image
abuse is NEVER
the fault of the
victim.
Don’t do it
it’s illegal
Don’t do it
it’s illegal
Big red flag
Don’t do it
Do you feel
pressured?
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
Are you yes
in a trusting,
consensual
relationship?
Are you
under 18?
Are they
under 18?
Should I
share a
nude?
Please
consider
the risks
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Our information graphics address important topics in digestible formats.

This illustration was produced by our talented Duke of Edinburgh volunteer, Bella, aged 14.

32 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 33

What next for LMK?

As we are in the middle of our strategy cycle, the four overarching pillars of our strategy remain unchanged. Over the course of this year, they have come into sharper focus, as we have achieved some goals and gained clarity on what needs to be pursued in others. In the coming year we plan to expand our reach across London , so that we can support even more young people to thrive in their relationships and avoid abuse. This growth will necessitate a parallel expansion in our resources (funding and team size) which will be underpinned by the creation of robust systems to support impactful programmes that create lasting change. Our first CEO , Deirdre Kehoe, takes over the leadership of LMK from our founders, in August 2023 and inherits a strategy with one year left to implement. While doing this she will have one eye to the future, designing her own 5 year strategy to take LMK forward, supported by the Board of Trustees.

Consolidate

Grow

The charity will build on the success of the first three years of operation, strengthening systems and processes, and growing our team . We will continue to nurture our existing programmes detailed on page 9: The 10 Signs Programme (Modules 1 and 2), our Continuing the Conversation Programme (On Porn and Sharing Explicit images), our Inclusive programme and our CPD training programme. These will inform our future growth plans. We will also work to implement some of the changes planned in the past year: the implementation of our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, the development of the website to make better use of Google Analytics, our Google AdSpend Grant and the creation of a blog, as well as the strengthening of our evaluation dashboard as more measurement tools are put in place.

LMK aims to make its abuse prevention programme accessible to as many young people as possible. With this in mind, we will continue our needs-based approach to growth: moving into boroughs and communities where levels of domestic violence, relationship abuse and sexual assault are highest amongst young people. We will pursue ‘strategic growth’, rather than growth for growth’s sake. But, by the end of our fourth year of operation (2023/24), we aspire to be a pan London organisation working in all 32 London boroughs.

In the longer term, we intend to develop a Parent/Carer Programme which offers advice and practical tips on how to have conversations around sex and relationships with young people. It will be an adaptation of our CPD training programme, but delivered through the lens of a parent or carer trying to help their child. We also plan to develop a Mentor Programme as an extension of the YAB programme which more formally trains young people to act as peer educators, working alongside our LMK Leaders. Finally, we will explore new workshop content resulting from the Workplace Relationships programme pilot we conducted with First Mile and the Whole School Approach methodology we are developing with Reach Academy Feltham.

LMK’s first CEO

Deirdre Kehoe joined LMK on 14[th] August 2023 from YoungMinds (one of the UK’s leading charities fighting for children and young people’s mental health) where she held the roles of Interim Co-CEO and Director of Training and Services. She has worked in the charity sector for more than 20 years and brings a wealth of experience in leadership roles: delivering impactful services, leading organisational development, and driving charity ambassadorship. Deirdre previously held senior roles in service delivery at Versus Arthritis and Diabetes UK and in fundraising and change management at NSPCC.

Listen

Strengthen

LMK will continue to create a firm foundation from which we can grow. The new CRM system we have begun integrating into our processes will contribute to improving efficiencies within LMK and harnessing latent capacity to power our growth plans. However, our ambitious growth goals, effectively doubling the number of boroughs we work in, will only be possible if we double the capacity of our Engagement and Delivery team . This will in turn require us to invest in the generally invisible functions that sit behind our workshops (in particular, strengthening our fundraising team and marketing capabilities) , as well as exploring possibilities in our business model to unlock earned income through our CPD Programme and paid-for workshops to private schools, large multi-academy trusts and organisations.

We will continue to hone our programme design and workshop resources in response to participant and partner organisation feedback. This year, thanks to funding from Camden Council’s Resilience Fund, we will be able to adapt our evaluation processes to make sure our organisational listening is even stronger. Specifically, we are exploring creative ways to gather qualitative feedback and monitor the longer term impact of LMK’s work on young people’s lives. We will continue to listen to the YAB and embed their recommendations in our materials, programme design and delivery style, helping to shape our future growth. In terms of LMK’s internal culture, we aim to create a supportive, diverse environment where everyone can bring their true selves to work. The appointment of LMK’s EDI Lead as part of our HR Subcommittee should see greater organisational competency develop in this area.

34 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 35

Financial review

Income and expenditure

In the twelve-month period to 31[st] August 2023, the charity generated income of £509,217 , predominantly from grant-making organisations and individuals. Total expenditure for the year was £403,061 , the majority of which was costs associated with workshop delivery and paying staff and freelancers, including the LMK Leaders who deliver our workshops across 19 London boroughs.

Significant events affecting financial performance

Since last year LMK has made significant changes to its financial processes, ensuring the tighter control and oversight appropriate for a charity maturing from a start-up phase. This year, for the first time, we have worked with an external accountant , who prepares monthly management accounts which are reviewed by the LMK programme team and Trustees.

In this financial year we have increased our income by 61% and, while 84% still comes from grants and trusts , we have begun diversifying our fundraising sources, so that for example this year, 7% of our income came from Individual Giving campaigns.

There have been several fundraising challenges which caused us to re-forecast our projected income halfway through the financial year. The cost-of-living crisis meant that charitable giving has been focussed on support for poverty alleviation causes. As such, the success rate of our Grant and Trust applications fell considerably. We have also had less success than hoped from ‘earned income’: generating revenue from our CPD programme and from charging (on a sliding scale) private organisations and larger schools for our workshops. We found that budgets were too tight in many organisations to afford additional training this

year. Our earned income this year is therefore 26% higher than last year, and represents 2% of our overall revenue , with potential for further growth in the future.

There is, however, a great deal to celebrate in terms of income generation and it has been a year of firsts for LMK. We had our first cohort of Duke of Edinburgh volunteers who raised over £3,000 through challenge events and races for LMK. We also took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022 for the first time, raising £26,161 in donations from the public as part of a sprint fundraising campaign. We are grateful to the Childhood Trust for championing LMK during that period.

Summary of restricted and unrestricted funds

For the financial year, unrestricted income amounted to £163,366 and unrestricted expenditure amounted to £165,325, generating an unrestricted deficit of £1,959 .

Big Give, Big Success!

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022 was a golden opportunity for LMK to raise workshop funding for the year ahead. In just 3 hours and 48 minutes we raised £14,470, more than double our original target, and saw a spike in offline donations of £11,000. Our combined total of £26,161 is 227% more than our original target and will be enough to fund 1,967 young people through our abuse prevention programme, equivalent to 8 months of workshop costs. This was a hugely gratifying result for such a small team and a new charity. We are particularly pleased that 70% of our donations were from supporters new to LMK. The campaign also led to significant growth in our social media following and engagement, without any online ad spend. We were awarded ‘ Best Small Charity ’ by the Big Give with the judges calling us “ small but mighty! ”

The policy requires LMK to hold funds to meet core running costs, which are the costs of staff and LMK leaders who are responsible for the delivery of workshops, for three months . Although our cashflow and restricted income has remained very strong throughout the year, maintaining levels of unrestricted funding continues to be challenging. Core running costs currently amount to £52,713 which is in-line with unrestricted funds held as at 31st August 2023 of £54,503. With that in mind, we will keep our reserves policy at 3 months, with a view to growing towards 6 months of core running costs.

Restricted income amounted to £345,851 and restricted expenditure amounted to £237,736, generating a restricted surplus of £108,115. At the end of the financial year, total funds of the charity carried forward were £106,156, comprising £2,031 unrestricted funds and £108,187 restricted funds.

Risk control, principal risks and uncertainties

The Board of Trustees accepts its responsibilities for ensuring that the major risks to which LMK is exposed are identified, particularly those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and that systems are in place to mitigate those risks. Financial performance is monitored against budget and reviewed alongside management accounts monthly by the Treasurer and, where appropriate, the Finance Subcommittee. Finances and fundraising are a standing item for the Board of Trustees and a summary of LMK’s financial position is reviewed by them quarterly as part of that meeting. Our principal financial risk remains the level of income required to pay the core staff needed to support the charity’s growth, as well as meet the needs of the increasing number of partner organisations who seek our services. The fundraising team has a clear remit to concentrate on raising unrestricted funding and income for salaries.

Fundraising compliance

In the twelve-month period to 31[st] August 2023, LMK paid due regard to its fundraising practices in line with guidelines set out in the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice, the Charities Act and General Data Protection Regulation. We continued to abide by our Fundraising and Privacy Policies and have significantly reviewed the language we use on our website around donations to ensure that our Consent, Privacy and Gift Aid statements are clearer.

Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements, in accordance with the applicable law and United Kingdom (UK) Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

By 2025 we had hoped to raise revenues of £1 million, but have since downgraded our income estimates (and corresponding expansion plans) to a more conservative £750,000. We hope to continue to increase the proportion of funding that LMK raises through Partnerships, Community Engagement and Events, as well as Individual Giving. However, we are mindful that the potential impact of the cost-of-living crisis on organisations’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) abilities and people’s discretionary spending might impact our ability to fundraise.

• Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;

• Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.

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Reserves policy

The trustees examined the requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the charity and approved a Reserves Policy which was implemented during the fourth quarter of 2021.

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Structure, governance and management

for the benefit of children and young people, their parents or guardians and those that work with them.

LMK is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), registered as a charity on 4th September 2020, with the number 1191149. In accordance with LMK's Constitution, the charity has the remit:

Trustees:

• To provide relationship health education to young people , so that they are better informed and understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, with the aim of preventing future relationship abuse.

Details of the trustees are given on Page 2. All trustees are giving their time voluntarily and receive voting rights, but no benefits from the charity. The Founding Trustees (Holan Liang, Saloni Thakrar, Kirsten Westlake, Helen Wolstenholme) established the charity in 2020, responding to a recognised societal need. Since then, all other trustees have been recruited openly and through an interview process conducted by members of the Board.

• To enhance the skills of those working with young people on relationship health education , developing relatable, compelling content that can be used in schools across the UK to support the Relationship Sex Education (RSE) curriculum.

Trustees are responsible for making sure LMK achieves its charitable purposes. The Board and its three subcommittees meet quarterly to focus on the topics of Safeguarding, Finance and Fundraising, and HR (including EDI). In 2022/3 all Trustees have attended the requisite number of board meetings, offering guidance, governance and strategic advice as required. Further to this, over the course of the last year, they have either observed a 10 Signs workshop in-person or online, helped induct new LMK Leaders, presented to the Youth Advisory Board or attended fundraising events and team socials on LMK’s behalf.

It has no subsidiary undertakings and does not form part of a wider network. The 10 Signs, used in our curriculum, have been adapted from a framework created by the One Love Foundation (www.joinonelove.org). We are grateful for their support and the work they continue to pioneer in the United States of America.

Significantly, this year LMK applied to the Charity Commission to make amendments to its objects to extend the scope of its charitable work and beneficiary groups, enabling us to conduct pilots with Reach Academy Feltham (to trial working with primary school aged children and their parents or carers) and our first Workplace Relationship programme with First Mile (to make the 10 Signs relevant to employees and working life). The changes to our objects were approved on 25[th] May 2023 and now read:

There have been two resignations from the board during this third year (Holan Liang and Sam Elsokari) and we have also inducted 3 new Trustees with specialisms spanning the fields of marketing, evaluation, teaching, governance and the youth sector, to complement the skills of the current board. These trustees have undertaken training from the NSPCC as part of their induction process covering ‘Charity Trustees: your futures to safeguard and protect,” with one new joiner undertaking additional training in “Managing Safer Online Communities” on behalf of the charity. In the coming year, several of our trustees will come to the end of their term and

• to advance health by educating children and young people, their parents or guardians and those that work with them on the subject of healthy relationships; and

• to advance education by providing information and training on the topic of healthy relationships, in particular but not exclusively

The Board of Trustees has overseen the development of a number of organisational policies and procedures:

we anticipate a further round of recruitment to replace their skills and energies.

The Trustees remain ably supported by our voluntary team of advisors and have added to their number this year, with experts in the field of fundraising, inclusion and safeguarding . Furthermore, several of the volunteers and freelancers who were involved in designing LMK’s resources and workshops in the charity’s early days have retained their connection with LMK by formally joining the advisory board. The Trustees continue to work with a Data Protection Practice and an Accountant on a retainer basis to ensure rigorous processes in these areas.

• Expenses Policy;

• HR Policies related to: Eye Tests and Jury Service;

• A Service Level Agreement between LMK and its partners;

• List of Authority (Document of Delegated Powers between the Board of Trustees, subcommittees and senior management team);

• Social Media Policy;

• Fundraising Policy (including a statement for the website);

This year, the Board of Trustees has continued to oversee the charity's risk register , the execution of the charity’s strategy, and iterated the accompanying KPI system , as performance continued to exceed expectations in most areas.

• Updates to LMK’s Privacy Policy;

• Updates to LMK’s Volunteer Policy;

• An easy-read Privacy Notice for the YAB.

Through the Finance subcommittee they have driven robust stewardship of the charity’s finances, including re-forecasting the budget midyear, adjusting spending in line with reduced income expectations as a result of the Cost of Living Crisis. They have also finalised the charity’s fundraising strategy and ensured a fundraising statement is now on LMK’s external website.

Day to day management:

This year, the co-founders took decisive steps to distance themselves from the operations of the charity, most significantly including the recruitment of LMK’s first CEO . The co-founders will remain working operationally 2 days a week until the CEO’s induction and transition period is complete. However, they will continue to delegate most aspects of the charity’s day-to-day management to the programme team outlined on page 2. This year this team has been significantly bolstered by the addition of several key hires, including LMK’s first programme manager, first social media manager and first paid evaluation manager. All of these staff were recruited externally via open recruitment processes. In line with NCVO guidance, we review job descriptions and salary levels regularly, to ensure they are up to date, reflect market rates and internal dependencies.

Through the Safeguarding subcommittee LMK has introduced mandatory, annual safeguarding refresher training for all LMK leaders, and doubled the number of LMK leaders present when working with vulnerable groups. They have also reviewed the handling of safeguarding disclosures. Through the HR subcommittee , they have overseen the roll out of the HR Handbook (which included a comprehensive wellbeing package), created a Crisis Management Plan and designed the onboarding of the CEO.

The Trustees' Annual Report has been approved by the Trustees on 20/10/2023 and signed on their behalf by

Kirsten Westlake Chair, LMK

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Annual Report and Accounts | 39

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

The Independent Examiners Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Let Me Know (LMK) On accounts for the year 31 August 2023 Charity no 1191149 ended (if any) Set out on pages appended (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 August 2023 .

Responsibilities and basis of report

• As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention ~~(other than that disclosed below *)~~ in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or

• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

• Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Signed: Date: 23 October 2023 Name: Charles Ssempijja Relevant professional FCA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 3[rd] Floor, 86-90 Paul Street London, EC2A 4NE

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The financial statements

                                               	                 	                  	                  	                 	         
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



                       	                       	  	  	  
	 		 
			
				
		 		 
				






          	              	    
		  
		
		    
		

Approved by the trustees on 20/10/2023 and signed on their behalf by

Emma Neillie Kirsten Westlake Treasurer, LMK Chair, LMK

44 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 45







 

 

 

 

     

 

 



 

    

  



 

  

 

  

 

   







• 

 



 

•  

•  



 

  

 

  





 

  



 



   

 

•   

 

46 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 47







 

 

• 



•  

 

 



                  	         
	









 

 
			
			
						
						
						
						
						
						

						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
						
	 				

 

48 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 49













• 

 




   	     	     
		



  

 

 

 


	  	  
		

 



  

 

 

 

         	   	  	  	  
				
			    	    
				
			  	   
				
	   	  	  	   
				

 

 

    

 



50 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 51

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                                                                                                                 	                                                                                                                 	                                                                                                                 	                                                                                                                 	                     	                        
					
					
					
					





                                                                                                                                  	                                                                                                                                  	                                                                                                                                  	                                                                                                                                  	                        	                            
					
					
					
					

52 | Annual Report and Accounts

Annual Report and Accounts | 53

Thank you

It’s been a very busy year and we could not have achieved so much without our supporters.

From the funders who have helped us grow, to the advisors, associates and freelancers who have helped us to develop our thinking and materials, as well as strengthened our fundraising; from our partner organisations who make sure we deliver our workshops where they are needed most, to our LMK Leaders who turn ideas into impactful, relatable, inspiring workshops which change lives. Thank you so much for supporting us as we help young people build happy lives through healthy relationships.

Advisors and Freelancers:

Abi Angus Abigail Ing Alison Longster Connor Moore Florinda Libreros Helen Forde Linda Kelly Louise Yalonetzky Matilda Browne Melody Powell Neil Chandarana Patrick Ryan Philippa Ross Rebecca Waclawyj Rob Sproston Robyn Mc Hale Sam Amour Sarah Bigler Sarah Teng Shazia Hussain Skye Knight Sophie Richardson Tyler Fox Vicki Whent Warwick Leicester

LMK Leaders:

Ameliah Rayn Anna Wild Anshu Kashyap Anthony Powell Ayo Awotona Dan Curran Daniel Obadiaru (until January 2023) Ella Sheltawy Ems Chippendale Fabienne Crocket (until January 2023) Ivy McIntyre-Baron James Bower (until January 2023) Jeremy Lyons Joseph Winer Justin Hitchman (until May 2023) Kaine Senkumba Katie Fotis-Heeney Lerato Islam (until January 2023) Lildonia Lawrence Lois Dunn Louise Ashwell Louise Yalonetzky Lu Wilson Marcus Walters-Pearce Nicholas Morgan Nina Dei Penny Wood Prince Kwakye Rebecca Waclawyj Rhys Shirley-Clarke Ruin Massia Ryan Carty Saira Kamaly Serena Sawyerr Sharareh Avazzadeh Shirin Taherzadeh Simone Ujah Zeinab Elbatoul Sbaiti

Funders:

Gallus Trust

54 | Annual Report and Accounts

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