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2025-06-30-accounts

Company Registration Number: CE022934 Registered Charity Number: 1192653

The Belay Foundation

Unaudited Financial Statements for Financial Year

Ended 30 June 2025

1

THE BELAY FOUNDATION

CONTENTS

Page
Legal and Administrative Information 3-4
Trustees' Annual Report 5-10
Independent Examiner's Report 11-12
Statement of Financial Activities 13
Statement of Financial Position 14-15
Notes to the Financial Statements 16-23

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Status

The Belay Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation. It was registered as a charity on 4 December 2020 (Charity number: 1192653 and Company number: CE022934).

Founders

Founders
Sarah Fry 04 December 2020
Patrons
N/a
Trustees and directors Appointed Resigned
Jade Fullick 04/12/2020 21/06/2024
Alison Crowther Co-Chair until September 2024 01/03/2021
Matthew
Humberstone Co-Chair 01/03/2021
Antonio Wedral 02/05/2024 18/8/2024
Sahreen Siddiqui 14/05/2024 22/11/2025
San Ting Gilmartin Co-Chair from September 2024 14/05/2024
Nabila Ahmed 14/05/2024 26/09/2025
Chris Hotchin 14/05/2024
Joe Gallard 14/05/2024 15/9/2025
Claire Agius 09/11/2024
Emma Yeomans 19/03/2025
Emma Kneebone 25/03/2026
Geraldine Warren 25/03/2026
Amy Metcalfe 25/03/2026
Frank Hamilton 25/03/2026
Lisa Mainwaring 25/03/2026
Andrew Barton 25/03/2026

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Senior Management Team

Sarah Fry - Founder CEO (until September 2025)

Alison Crowther - Co Chair (until September 2024) Helen Willis Matthew Humberstone - Co Chair

San Ting Gilmartin - Co Chair (from September 2024) Libby McVeigh - CEO (from September 2025)

Registered Office and 209 Trowbridge Road, Bradford-Upon-Avon, BA15 1EU Principal Address:

Independent Examiner: INNI, The Works, Heather Farm Business Park, Bath, BA1 4NA

Bankers: Barclays Bank UK PLC, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP.

Website: More information about the charity can be found at www.thebelayfoundation.org.uk

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

The Belay Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England and Wales number 1192653. This trustees' annual report is for the period 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2025.

Throughout this period, the Board of Trustees met twelve times to provide strategic oversight of the work of The Belay Foundation and ensure good governance. The Trustees have maintained regard to upholding the public benefit of the charity’s aims and acti vities. The dayto-day management of operations of The Belay Foundation has been led by Sarah Fry, the Founder, with the support of Helen Willis as Operations Manager.

Two new Trustees were recruited during this period. The process involved an interview with the Co-Chair of Trustees, taken through an enhanced DBS check and inducted to the organisation.

Our Co-Chair – Alison Crowther – stood down in September 2024 and was replaced by San Ting Gilmartin who joined Matt Humberstone as the new Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Our Charitable Objectives:

To relieve the needs of children who have previously been in local authority care and who suffer disabilities, including early trauma, by:

a) Providing support services to parents who are providing a permanent home particularly, but not exclusively, through adoption;

b) Finding, training and supporting specialist support workers to provide in-home support;

c) Supporting parents and caregivers to protect their own mental health;

d) Linking families to funding sources;

e) Other support and respite services as the trustees deem appropriate;

f) Advancing the awareness of the impact of childhood disabilities, including early trauma, to professionals in training, particularly but not exclusively to those studying psychology, education and social work.

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Activities

In furtherance of its charitable objectives, during this period, The Belay Foundation carried out the following activities:

Sourcing, training and supporting of Specialist Support Workers to offer therapeutic childcare and respite to families whose children have experienced early childhood trauma; 22 families were supported to find and/or continue to work with a Specialist Support Worker and 26 Specialist Support Workers were employed by Belay during this period.

Reducing financial hardship in these families by offering support to apply for disability benefits; 300 families received help applying for disability benefits (184 supported to apply for Disability Living Allowance via webinars, videos and online guidance packs; 83 supported to apply for Personal Independence Payment via webinars and workshops; 33 supported with 1:1 benefits advice).

Advancing the knowledge of early childhood trauma in emerging professionals by offering specialist training and degree placements supporting families; 46 people attended training with The Belay Foundation (9 individuals enrolled on our e-Learning and 37 individuals attended our DDP PACE training); and 1 student completed an undergraduate placement with us in psychology and social work.

Achievements

We have continued to develop our relationship with local authority partners such as Lincolnshire and Kent County Councils and continue to work closely with Arc Adoption NE. Arc Adoption NE is a voluntary adoption agency based in Sunderland placing children for adoption with families primarily in the northeast of England. Arc identified 6 families to benefit from the support of trauma-responsive Specialist Support Workers where the family was under considerable stress. We worked individually with each family to identify their needs and then recruit, train and employ a Specialist Support Worker to offer practical, trauma-responsive support in the home. 2 families needed to withdraw from the pilot for personal reasons and we worked with the 4 remaining families, reviewing and learning from the pilot as it progressed.

Our work continues to be grounded in evidence-based, trauma-responsive practice, drawing on Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy): approaches with a strong evidence base demonstrating effectiveness for children who have experienced early developmental trauma, supporting improved attachment, emotional regulation and relational safety. They underpin all our services; informing how we train SSWs, support parents and shape our organisational culture. We continued to work with DDP Connects UK, and are now offering DDPinformed PACE training to our Specialist Support Workers and to external candidates, and

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are grateful for the clinical support and leadership from DDP Consultants, Dr Vicky Sutton and Dr Helen Kirkaldie.

To build understanding of the financial hardship experienced by our families, we partnered with Dr Helen Close of Newcastle University and ARC Adoption North East to conduct research into adopter poverty, finding that some adoptive families may be suffering financially in the cost-of-living crisis even more severely than other family groups, for a longer duration, with the impacts for both the parents and the young people continuing well beyond the children’s transition into adulthood. Our key findings were that adoptive poverty is real and can be life-long; adoptive poverty is hidden; adoptive poverty is complex; and adoptive poverty can be prevented or mitigated. On the last finding, a service evaluation of The Belay Foundation’s benefits advice provision demonstrated a 100% success rate in accessing or increasing the benefits received by families.

In early 2025, we conducted an evaluation of our work involving 11 families who had received support from The Belay Foundation to recruit and employ a Specialist Support Worker. All participating families reported positive change, including reduced stress, improved parental wellbeing and increased placement stability. Families describe the support provided by The Belay Foundation as transformational, and commend our authenticity and empathy:

“They provide energy where mine is lacking… and make him feel like the most important person in the room.”

“It's making a massive difference to all of our mental wellbeing. Just getting a little break in the week, or a chance to get a few jobs done”

“I could not manage my children without her.”

“Staff are 'real people' who empathise with our family dynamics and seek to help in anyway they can. They are transparent, keep all informed. They demonstrate integrity, quite unusual in my experience of services”

“Excellent service providing much needed support for potentially fragile families.”

Message from Founder CEO, Sarah Fry

This year we continued to listen to the families and professionals we’re working with to deepen our understanding of their complex lives, in particular the financial impact on families who parent children and young people with developmental trauma, mental health needs and neurodivergence. We took the opportunity to answer the call from Newcastle University for research on social justice and investigated the issue of adopter poverty in collaboration with Dr Helen Close, Senior Researcher at Newcastle University. We continued our work with another higher education institution, hosting a psychology student from the University of Bath. Evie made a huge impact on the 3 families she worked with, as well as conducting a qualitative survey of our families and a literature review which supported

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successful grant applications from The National Lottery and Allen Lane. In recognition of Evie’s contribution, she was awarded the ‘Going Above and Beyond’ Award from the University of Bath’s social sciences department. We continued to develop our governan ce, appointing San Ting Gilmartin as Co-Chair of Trustees to support Matt Humberstone and increased organisational sustainability by planning to recruit a CEO.

Financial review

Our income during the period has been £117,928 and cash funds are at £63,560. Our income has included (a) grants from National Lottery Foundation (£19,892) and Allen Lane Foundation (£6,000) to support staff salaries and other overhead costs in FY25/26; (b) a grant from Newcastle University (£2100) in recognition of our contribution to research into adopter poverty; (c) generous donations from our loyal supporters (£14,978); and (d) fees charged for our services, including reimbursement from families and local authorities for Specialist Support Worker salaries (£74,957). At year-end, there are restricted funds remaining of £27,475 (including funds from National Lottery Foundation (£19,892), Allen Lane Foundation (£6,000) and a sum of £1,583 which is to be used for a purpose agreed between The Belay Foundation trustees and the committee of the Parents of Traumatised Adopted Teens Organisation).

Our income has decreased by £18,817 (13.76%) since the previous financial year; and our income is greater than our expenditure by £40,403 (34%).

Reserves are that part of a charity’s unrestricted funds that is freely available to spend on any of the charity’s purposes. The Belay Foundation maintains free unrestricted reserves: ·to provide a level of working capital that protects the continuity of our work

·to provide a level of funding for unexpected opportunities

·to provide cover for risks such as unforeseen expenditure or unanticipated loss of income.

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The Board of Trustees will review the above criteria with reference to The Belay Foundation’s strategy and Annual Plan and determine the target level of free reserves to meet these.

Plans for the future:

Our future plans focus on increasing our organisational sustainability. During FY24/25, the Board of Trustees requested a review of how The Belay Foundation delivers its core services, and decided that an experienced non-profit leader should be recruited to join us as our first employed CEO in Autumn 2025. We were delighted to secure funding from Allen Lane Foundation and National Lottery to support our future plans, which will also be supported by the generous donations received through this period. We will continue to partner with organisations in the sector and develop our services to meet the needs of our families.

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report, Strategic Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards). Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Show and explain the charitable company's transactions, disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the provisions of the charity's constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Disclosure of Information to Independent Examiner

Insofar as each of the trustees of the charitable company at the date of approval of this report is aware there is no relevant audit information (information needed by the charitable company's independent examiner in connection with preparing the report) of which the charitable company's independent examiner is unaware. Each trustee has taken all of the steps that he/she should have taken as a trustee in order to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company's independent examiner is aware of that information.

The Trustees' Annual Report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 25 March 2026 and signed on their behalf by: San Ting Gilmartin San Ting Gilmartin

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Belay Foundation

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Belay Foundation (the Charity) for the year ended 30 June 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, 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 Foundation’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

We have completed our examination. We confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives us cause to believe that in, any material respect:

(1) the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or

(2) the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or

(3) the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements

concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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

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Signed: Name: Gareth Morley-Jones

Relevant professional qualification or body: AAT

The Works, Heather Farm Business Address: Park, Bath NA1 4NA

Date:

27 March 2026

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended 30 June 2025

Note
INCOMING RESOURCES
Incoming resources from:
Donations
1
Grants
Income from Service Delivery
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
Costs of generating funds:
Costs of generating voluntary
income
Charitable activities
2
Support costs
3
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
MOVEMENT IN TOTAL FUNDS FOR
THE YEAR
- NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE
YEAR
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD
Note
INCOMING RESOURCES
Incoming resources from:
Donations
1
Grants
Income from Service Delivery
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
Costs of generating funds:
Costs of generating voluntary
income
Charitable activities
2
Support costs
3
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
MOVEMENT IN TOTAL FUNDS FOR
THE YEAR
- NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE
YEAR
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD
2025
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
£
£
£
14,979
14,979
2,100
25,892
27,992
74,957
74,957
92,036
25,892
117,928
216
0
216
69,744
0
69,744
7,565
0
7,565
77,525
0
77,525
14,511
25,892
40,403
23,225
1,583
24,808
2024
Total
£
28,223
108,522
136,745
16
128,222
4,820
133,058
3,687
21,121
37,736
27,475
65,211
24,808

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION for the year ended 30 June 2025

Note
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets
7

Investments
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
8
Cash at bank & in hand
9
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due
within one year
10
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
Restricted funds
11
Unrestricted funds:
Charitable fund
11
Non-charitable trading
TOTAL FUNDS
2025
£
158
-
158
3,603
63,560
67,163
2,110
65,053
65,211
27,475
37,736
-
37,736
65,211
2024
£
691
-
691
7,650
19,298
26,948
2,831
24,117
24,808
1,583
23,225
-
24,808
24,808

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The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board of Trustees on 25 March 2026

Signed on behalf of the Board of Trustees by:

San Ting Gilmartin

San Ting Gilmartin

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 30 June 2025

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Legal Status of the Charity

The Belay Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation and is registered in England and Wales with the Charity Commission (Reg No: 1192653) and with Companies House (Reg No: CE022934). The charitable company was incorporated in December 2020 and has no share capital. The members of the company are the Trustees named on page 3.

Registered and principal office

The registered and principal office of The Belay Foundation is 209, Trowbridge Road, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1EU

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) (Charities SORP 2015).

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The Belay Foundation meets the definition of a Public Benefit Entity under FRS 102.

Going concern

The trustees have determined that there are no material uncertainties over the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. Accordingly, the trustees believe it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the year ended 30 June 2025

The principal accounting policies which have been adopted are set out below:

Income

Income is recognised in the SOFA when the charity becomes legally entitled to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Grants receivable that do not relate to the performance of a service or the production of charitable goods are classified as grant income and those that are performance related are classified as income from service activities. Grants are credited to income in the SOFA, with unspent balances being carried forward to subsequent years within the relevant fund.

Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period.

Legacy income is included when there is sufficient evidence of entitlement, probable receipt and where the amount is measurable. Pecuniary and residuary legacies notified before the year end, are accrued where it can be demonstrated that the charity had entitlement at the year end, the amounts can be quantified with reasonable certainty and where receipt is probable.

Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Expenditure on raising funds represents expenditure incurred in attracting funding and the costs of disseminating information about charitable activity.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the direct costs of programmes and grants made to third parties.

Allocation of support costs

The majority of costs are directly attributable to specific activities. Certain shared costs, including Governance Costs, are apportioned to activities based on the proportion of staff time allocated to the activity.

Pension scheme

The costs of providing defined contribution pensions are charged to the SOFA as they fall due. The difference between contributions payable in the period and those actually paid are shown as accruals in the balance sheet. The costs of the pension scheme are allocated between restricted and unrestricted funds in proportion to the time allocated for work done by members of staff.

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Currency

The functional currency of The Belay Foundation is considered to be in pounds sterling because that is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the charity operates. The consolidated financial statements are also presented in pounds sterling.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets with a value greater than £250 are included at cost and written off by equal annual instalments over their expected useful lives as follows:

Computer equipment - 3 years

Debtors

Other debtors are recognised in the financial statements at the settlement amount. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid at the balance sheet date.

Short-term bank deposits and cash

Short-term bank deposits and cash includes cash in hand, deposits held with banks and other highly liquid short-term deposits.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised in the financial statements at their settlement value.

Fund accounting

Restricted funds are funds that can only be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or that have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of administering the restricted funds are charged against the specific fund. The detail of each restricted fund is set out in note 11.

Designated funds are funds that have been set aside by the Trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in note 11. General funds are unrestricted funds that can be used at the discretion of the Trustees to further the charitable objectives.

Significant estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, which are described within the notes to the accounts, Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates, assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects the current and future periods.

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The annual depreciation charge for the tangible fixed assets is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are re-assessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on economic utilisation and the physical condition of the assets.

Taxation

The Belay Foundation is a registered charity and as such is entitled to tax exemption on all its income and gains, properly applied for its charitable purposes.

VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Volunteers

In line with the requirements of SORP 2015, the value of services provided by volunteers is not incorporated in these financial statements.

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THE BELAY FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

for the year ended 30 June 2025

1. DONATIONS
2025 2024
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Individuals 14,978 14,978 28,223
Total 14,978 - 14,978 28,223
2. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
2025 2024
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Charitable objectives - 128,221
IT costs 6,390 6,390
Computer
Depreciation 533 533
Staff costs 6 59,538 59,538
Training 469 469 -
Travel 2,814 2,814 -
Total 69,744 - 69,744 128,221
3. ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS
2025 2024
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Governance - 566
Financial
management 754
Information
technology 3,500
Professional fees 4,831 4,831
Advertising 496 496
Insurance 606 606
Office costs 1,632 1,632 -
Total 7,565 - 7,565 4,820

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4. NET INCOME

Net income is stated after charging:

Net income is stated after charging:
2025 2024
£ £
Depreciation of fixed assets 533 533
Total 533 533

5. TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The trustees were not remunerated during the current or preceding financial years.

6. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS

2025
2024
£ £
The costs of employing contracted staff were:
Salaries 51,828 54,644
Subcontractor Staff 7,478 -
Pension scheme 232 714
Total 59,538 55,358
The average number of contracted staff during the year was:
2025
2024
UK 17 16
Total 17 16

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7. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Plant and Fixtures Motor
machinery and fittings vehicles Total
£ £ £ £
Cost at 1 July 2024 1,599 0 0 1,599
Additions 0 0 0 0
Disposals 0
Cost at 30 June 2025 1,599 0 0 1,599
Depreciation at 1 July 2024 908 0 0 908
Charge for the year 533 0 0 533
Eliminated 0
Depreciation at 30 June 2025 1,441 0 0 1,441
Carrying amount
At 30 June 2025 158 0 0 158
At 30 June 2024 691 0 0 691
8.
DEBTORS AND PREPAYMENTS
2025 2024
£ £
Trade debtors 2,976 7,650
Other debtors 627 -
Prepayments and accrued income - -
Total 3,603 7,650
9.
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
2025 2024
£ £
Cash in hand 63,560 19,298
Total 63,560 19,298

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10. CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year

2025
2024
£
£
Bank loans and overdrafts - -
Trade creditors - -
Other creditors - -
Taxation and social security costs 800 1,520
Accruals 1,310 1,311
Total 2,110 2,831

11. FUNDS

11.
FUNDS
Balance at 1 Balance at 30
July 2024 Income Expenditure Transfers June 2025
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
1,583 25,893 0 0 27,476
1,583 25,893 0 0 27,476
Unrestricted funds
General fund 23,225 92,035 -77,525 37,735
23,225 92,035 -77,525 0 37,735
Total funds 24,808 117,928 -77,525 0 65,211

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