Herts Young Leaders Trustees’ annual report for the period:
30[th] September 2024 to 30[th] September 2025
Charity registration number: 1192318
Charity Address: c/o How Wood Primary School, Spooners Drive, Park St, St Albans, AL22HU
Company number: CE023352
Objectives and activities
To act as a resource for socially and economically disadvantaged children and young people aged between 8 and 16 living in Hertfordshire by providing advice and assistance and organising programmes of physical, educational and other activities as a means of: (a) advancing in life and helping young people by developing their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals; (b) advancing education; (c) providing recreational and leisure time activities in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life.
To plan implement and deliver a Saturday Leadership Programme and a Skills Building Programme.
The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission.
Achievements and performance
During the reporting period, the charity continued to deliver weekly Saturday workshops for disadvantaged young people, providing a safe, consistent space where they could grow in confidence, develop leadership skills, and strengthen their emotional wellbeing. Our programmes are built around a learn-through-play approach, ensuring that children develop essential life skills through interaction, teamwork, and positive relationships.
What We Delivered
-
25 Saturday leadership workshops (term times) encouraging self-confidence, initiative, and voice.
-
Each year our founder takes part in a community Christmas parcel project, she ensures all our families and many more receive a Christmas hamper with food, basic essentials and gifts as part of our family-based approach to supporting our young people.
As the cohort matured, we recognised that it was the right time to prepare for their graduation from the programme. After discussions with our young leaders, we agreed that celebrating their achievements formally would support their transition into the next
stage of education and personal development and this graduation took place in Summer 2025.
Successes:
A significant area of progress this year has been mental health and SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) development. Through consistent routines, trusted relationships, and emotionally safe spaces, the cohort demonstrated improved emotional regulation, reduced anxiety, stronger peer connections, and greater resilience. Children who previously struggled with behaviour, confidence, or self-esteem have shown measurable improvements in how they manage challenges both in school and at home. Our learn-through-play model has been central to this progress. UNO and games became one of our most effective tools for developing leadership, emotional regulation, strategic thinking, and positive peer interaction. What began as a simple card game evolved into a weekly challenge that strengthened teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. The children became “UNO champions” within our sessions — and importantly, they carried this confidence into their home and school lives, teaching peers how to play and using the game to build friendships, manage emotions, and create positive social interactions.
Challenges:
This year also brought challenges linked to the rising cost of living. A long-standing tradition of sharing lunch and favourite snacks became increasingly expensive, with costs nearly doubling since we began operating. We responded by turning this into a learning opportunity: introducing budgeting activities, financial literacy, and collaborative planning. The children worked together to source affordable food for sessions, using their knowledge of one another to make thoughtful, cost-effective choices. This strengthened their independence, problem-solving skills, and understanding of real-world responsibilities.
Case Study:
When this young person first joined our Saturday programme in Year 6, he was struggling both academically and emotionally. Diagnosed with special educational needs and at risk of exclusion, he found school overwhelming and often felt misunderstood. His confidence was low, his behaviour was unpredictable, and his family were worried about what his future might look like.
Over the past four years, he has become one of our strongest examples of what consistent support, emotional safety, and leadership opportunities can achieve.
From the beginning, he connected deeply with the structure and predictability of our Saturday sessions. Having a safe space each week where he could talk openly about his challenges became a turning point. He regularly used the sessions to reflect on incidents from school, explore what had happened, and work with our team to identify strategies for change. This reflective practice helped him develop emotional regulation, problem-solving skills, and a sense of ownership over his behaviour. His SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) needs improved significantly. He became calmer, more resilient, and more able to communicate his feelings. He remains in mainstream education, preparing confidently for his GCSEs.
As he matured, he stepped into the role of Head Young Leader. This responsibility transformed him. He learned how to guide younger children, model positive behaviour, and support peers who were experiencing challenges similar to his own. Leadership gave him purpose, pride, and a sense of identity he had never experienced before.
His mother became one of our strongest supporters, sharing how the programme had changed the trajectory of his life. She saw a child who once struggled daily become a young man capable of leading others.
One of the most unexpected but powerful tools in his development was UNO. Through our learn-through-play approach, UNO became a weekly challenge that strengthened strategic thinking, emotional control, patience, and teamwork. He became one of our “UNO champions,” and the confidence he gained from mastering the game spilled into other areas of his life. He began teaching UNO to peers at school and playing it at home, using the game to build friendships, manage emotions, and connect socially in ways he previously found difficult.
Outside of our sessions, he joined a football team and began thriving socially and physically. His commitment grew so strong that even after moving out of the area, he continued attending almost every Saturday, with his parents driving him back because they saw how much the programme meant to him.
Today, he is preparing for his GCSEs, playing football, leading younger children, and demonstrating emotional maturity that once felt out of reach. His journey reflects the heart of our work: when children are given a safe space, trusted adults, and opportunities to lead, they grow into confident, capable young people with bright futures ahead.
He is living proof that early intervention, emotional support, and leadership development can change a life.
The children we serve are the heart of our work. Their success — academically, socially, emotionally, and personally — demonstrates the impact of our programme. The public benefit of our charity lies in what these young people will go on to become: confident leaders, resilient learners, and active contributors to their communities. Their growth this year reflects the long-term value of investing in early leadership development, emotional wellbeing, and safe spaces where children feel seen, supported, and capable of achieving more than they ever thought possible.
Who we worked with
We were again supported by St Peter’s School for venue hire. We were also greatly supported by volunteers this year for delivery as it was difficult to find funding to fund other delivery partnerships as we had done in previous years.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Following the cohort’s graduation the Trustees have made the difficult decision to pause the programme without taking on any new cohort for 2025-2026 academic year. The charity is seeing multiple challenges including
-
Pressures on fundraising.
-
Pressures on time for the Founder and Trustees.
-
Difficulties in recruiting.
-
Pressures on the school system making partnership working harder.
As an organisation we will take the next year to review our next steps and model some revised programme plans to see what we believe may be manageable in the changing landscape of this work.
Fundraising
We raised £3000 from individual donations and charitable giving which we used towards staffing costs for the sessions we ran this year.
Financial review
Our funds were raised through public fundraising. The charity did not hold reserves at the end of the financial year. There were not sufficient funds available to hold reserves, and the charity had not made any ongoing financial commitments for which reserves would be required.
Structure, Governance and Management
Herts Young Leaders is a Charity and a Limited Company . We are governed by our written constitution. Every charity trustee must be a natural person. No individual may be appointed as a charity trustee:
-
if he or she is under the age of 16 years; or
-
if he or she would automatically cease to hold office under the provisions of clause 12i n the constitution.
No one is entitled to act as a charity trustee whether on appointment or on any reappointment until he or she has expressly acknowledged, in whatever way the charity trustees decide, his or her acceptance of the office of charity trustee.
At least one of the trustees of the charity must be 18 years of age or over. If there is no trustee aged at least 18 years, the remaining trustees may only act to call a meeting of the charity trustees or appoint a new charity trustee. There must be at least [three] charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity trustees or appoint a new charity trustee. There is no maximum number of charity trustees that may be appointed to the charity.
Trustees:
Cynthia Rowe Daniel Wallace Helen Barnett Lukshmy Miranda Nagalingam Nomuhle Mlalazi
Signature:
Full Name: Helen Barnett pp. Cynthia Rowe (Chair) Position: Trustee
| Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | No (if any) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts andpayments accounts | ||||
| For the period from |
1 October 2024 | To | 30 September 2025 |
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
| Donations | 3,000 | - | - | 3,000 | - | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interest | 38 | - | - | 38 | - | |||||||
| Other | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
3,040 | - | - | 3,040 | - | |||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | ||||||||||||
| (see table). | ||||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| **Total receipts ** | 3,040 | - | - | 3,040 | - | |||||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||||||
| Staff Costs | 3,600 | - | - | 3,600 | - | |||||||
| Expenses | 728 | - | - | 728 | - | |||||||
| Administrative costs | 658 | - | - | 658 | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | - |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
29/07/2026
1
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | 4,986 | - | - | 4,986 | - | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | |||||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - 1,946 | - 1,946 | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| 5,331 | 5,331 | - | |||||||
| 3,385 | 3,385 | - |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds |
Cash Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 3,385 - - 3,385 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
29/07/2026
2
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
Details
Details
Details
| - | - | - | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - |
| Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - |
Current value (optional) |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
| Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - |
Current value (optional) |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
Fund to which Amount due When due liability relates (optional) (optional)
CCXX R3 accounts (SS)
29/07/2026
3
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
----- Start of picture text -----
-
-
-
-
-
Date of
Signature Print Name
approval
Helen Barnett 29/07/2026
pp. Cynthia Rowe, Chair and on behalf
of all Trustees
----- End of picture text -----
CCXX R4 accounts (SS)
29/07/2026
4