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2025-04-05-accounts

Company number: CE024865 Charity number: 1193467

Sex Education Forum CIO

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Financial Statements

and Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Index to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

AT Sex Education Forum CIO

Page
Index to the Financial Statements 2
Charity Information 3
Trustees' Report 4 - 11
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities 12
Independent Examiner's Report 13
Statement of Financial Activities 14
Statement of Financial Postion 15
Statement of Cash Flows 16
Accounting Policies 17
Notes to the Accounts 18 - 21

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

AT Sex Education Forum CIO

Charity Information

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Status: Sex Education Forum CIO is a charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its Sex Education Forum CIO is a charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its
constitution.
Charity name: Sex Education Forum CIO
Other operating names: SEF
Charity registration number: 1193467
Registered office: PO Box 78778
London
SW4 4GP
Trustees who held office Alison Hadley OBE
during the year: Corah Gritton
Sarah Faithfull - Resigned 1 January 2025
Cindy Xin Win Zhang
Yoan Tranholm Reed
Jane C Lees OBE
Liam Beattie
Robbie Currie
Amena Dove - Appointed 1 January 2025
Chris Schulz - Appointed 1 January 2025
Sakira Intrabal - Appointed 1 January 2025
Chair: Alison Hadley OBE
Deputy chair: Yoan Tranholm Reed (until Dec 24), Liam Beattie (from Dec 24)
Treasurer Robbie Currie (until Jul 24), Jane Lees (from Aug 24)
Chief Executive: Lucy Emmerson
Independent Examiner: Anthony Armstrong FCA
Armstrong & Co
Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditor
4a Printing House Yard
Hackney Road
London
E2 7PR
Bankers: Unity Trust Bank
Four Brindleyplace
Birmingham
B1 2JB

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

The Trustees of Sex Education Forum CIO present their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Letter from our Chair and Chief Executive

Here at the Sex Education Forum, we are committed to asking young people about their experiences of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and their views on how it can be improved. We believe that their involvement is integral to the design and delivery of effective, engaging and inclusive curricula. So it was with great pride that we launched our 2024 annual Young People’s RSE Poll on 11 April, sharing the views of 1002 young people aged 16 and 17 living in England. The findings proved invaluable in the months that followed, helping us, our partners and wider stakeholders in making the case for evidence-based RSE policy and practice that responds to young people’s views and lived experience.

Our poll questions were informed by consultation with young people at Sexpression:UK and Make it Mandatory*, and the survey work was conducted by an independent research agency (Censuswide). We included a mix of new questions and questions asked in previous years so that we could look at change over time. The 2024 poll showed a solid improvement in young people’s overall satisfaction with RSE compared to previous polls, indicating the impact of statutory RSHE. Fifty percent rated their RSE at school as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ up ten percentage points on the 2022 (SEF, 2023) poll and the highest percentage since polling began. This positive trend is mirrored across individual RSE topics; all seventeen topics listed in the poll – from puberty to healthy relationships - returned higher percentages of young people reporting ‘yes’ they learnt all that they needed to, compared to previous polls. Equally heartening, young people feel RSE is equipping them to navigate their relationships safely - with 61% of respondents agreeing that ‘RSE taught me useful skills for consent in relationships’.

We launched our 2024 poll just weeks before Government published draft updated RSHE guidance for public consultation. The draft guidance included age ratings for curriculum content, which posed a barrier to early protective education that evidence shows can safeguard children and young people and prevent harm.

Our poll findings highlighted very strongly that school is not the only place that young people learn about relationships and sex. Online sources are more commonly used for information for some topics, including pornography and LGBT+ information. This finding underscored the importance of school lessons providing timely education and helping young people source reliable information online.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Our young people’s RSE Poll launch had a successful media launch and was featured in 200 pieces of press including an Op-ed from Caroline Nokes MP in City AM, an article in the Independent and broadcast on Sky News. This helped bring young people’s voices right to the heart of policy discussions about the future of RSE.

Whilst our RSE Poll has been particularly important in policy-influencing, our innovative projects – RSE training for foster carers and addressing gender-based violence - have completed pilot phases and matured this year. This has helped, ensure that we are closely involved in the practicalities of RSE – digging into what really works in the classroom and what sort of advice and training foster carers need to be able to confidently meet the needs of young people who are in their care.

Our foster care project staff have worked at pace, while taking care to develop all important relationships within local areas and settings. We have now delivered pilot foster carer RSE training in three local areas, reviewed findings of an independent project evaluation and secured funding to roll out the project on a regional basis. The relevance of the training for all foster carers is noted by one participant who said: “I do think it's a very, very good thing to be doing training on, because as I said, it's completely universal and I can't see how a foster carer wouldn't benefit from it.”

The ‘Think Again’ project, which tackles gender-based violence through a secondary school RSE and whole-school intervention has been moving through the feasibility testing phase. SEF delivered the intervention in four secondary schools, enabling researchers to collect valuable data to better understand the feasibility of the programme for wider roll out and further trials. The project has been of interest to policy-makers given its potential to tackle issues of such current societal concern.

It has also been an exciting year for partnerships – refreshing our partnership with youth-led organisation Make it Mandatory, and seeing the enormous benefit of facilitating young people’s access to relevant networks and expertise. We are just beginning our three-year journey to embed youth involvement in the Sex Education Forum, enabling us to offer more practical help and funding to youth partners.

As we settled into our fourth year as an independent charity, we also decided to invest time in planning our new strategy. To really get this right we needed to ask the right questions and to listen to our Partners and key stakeholders. Through a mix of surveys, focus groups and interviews, we have gathered a wealth of understanding about how SEF is perceived and where our strengths lie. We have a clearer sense of our power as a convenor,- illustrated by the excellent collaborative policy work described in this report - and of our potential to communicate more widely about the benefits of RSE. Our strategy is steadily forming and we look forwards to sharing it widely. Here are a couple of comments from our strategy consultation:

“They [SEF] play a good role in bringing a lot of different organizations, from safeguarding to public health, to sexual health, educational services, a real big breadth of organizations where they've got an interest in RSHE, but from very different angles”. “The poll is absolutely excellent and doesn't exist without SEF. It's incredible data. It's so useful when we're articulating the need.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Partners, members, supporters, volunteers, donors, staff and wider stakeholders for the time, knowledge, dedication and warmth you bring to SEF, enabling us to better meet our shared ambition of high quality RSE to support children and young people’s health and wellbeing.

Our door is always open to new members and supporters. If you are not already part of our community please have a look at the values and principles that we share, and we do hope you will consider joining us.

Alison Hadley OBE, Chair of Trustees

Lucy Emmerson, Chief Executive

*Sexpression:UK is a near-peer UK charity with the goal of empowering young people to make decisions about relationships and sex by running informal and comprehensive RSHE in the community.

**Make it Mandatory is a grass-roots, youth led movement campaigning for RSE to be extended into post-16 education.

Aim and objectives of the Sex Education Forum (SEF)

Our aim is clear: to improve children and young people’s access to RSE and thereby promote their physical and mental health.

SEF has a unique role as a convenor of key stakeholders, including strategic and specialist organisations committed to the same goal. Our three objectives are:

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Changes in the board

Three new trustees were appointed this year, with Sakira Intrabal, Chris Schulz and Amena Dove joining the board in January 2025, bringing important youth participation, finance and accounting skills.

Sarah Faithfull, our lead trustee for youth participation stepped down at the end of 2024 as she relocated overseas. Sarah provided invaluable skills to the board throughout her time as a trustee, always asking important and strategic questions, and sharing her youth participation skills generously with others.

We received a high number of applicants for the new positions on the board, and a young person from Make it Mandatory was a member of the interview panel.

Sakira Intrabal joins the board as lead on Youth Participation, with Amena Dove and Chris Schulz taking up finance roles. Liam Beattie, one of the charity’s founding trustees, steps up to become our Deputy Chair.

Sakira brings a breadth of experience in youth participation relating to sexual health and relationships and currently works in a communications and outreach role at The Eve Appeal and sits on the Expert Advisory Panel for Fumble.

Amena is an ACA qualified chartered accountant and brings extensive expertise in finance, risk management, and compliance. is an auditor who specialises in working with clients in the public sector. She has experience scrutinising the financial statements of NHS bodies, councils and other local authorities. The financial and scrutiny skills that Amena and Chris bring will help ensure the Sex Education Forum’s continued financial health and sustainability.

All ten of our trustees have a breadth of responsibilities in their voluntary role for us, ranging from finance to managing risks and setting the strategy for the charity. We are delighted to welcome a young and highly skilled cohort of new trustees, who have a close understanding of the needs and experiences of our beneficiaries, and to benefit from the continuity of existing board members. In his new role as Deputy Chair, Liam supports the board with a depth of experience in voluntary sector communications and policy leadership across health and inequalities.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Sarah Faithfull for her brilliant contribution as Youth Participation lead over the past three years and Yoan Reed for the incredible commitment given in her role as Deputy Chair throughout the process of founding and establishing the charity on a firm footing.

The board meets through a mixture of online and in person meetings, and we are particularly grateful to Incisive Health for gifting us the use of their offices for our in person meetings.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

In April we held a staff workshop to test and review our draft equity, diversity and inclusion statement and action plan. This led to some further revisions and review by the trustee EDI sub-group. The final statement and action plan was launched internally at a workshop in July, giving staff the opportunity to identify opportunities to consider how it can shape their planning and work going forwards. Throughout the year, through team meetings and one-to-one meetings, staff became increasingly adept at spotting opportunities to implement our action plan.

We felt it was important that all members of staff take responsibility for implementing the vision, and develop ownership of the actions. EDI is relevant to all our projects and programmes. Examples of how we have deepened and embedded our approach to EDI this year include supporting a young person with complex needs to speak live about her RSE experiences at our SEND specialist RSE conference; creating an accessible Easy Read version of our guide to the Government RSHE consultation, in order to widen participation in a policy-influencing activity; and facilitating the involvement of foster carers and a care-experienced young person to share their experiences of RSE.

Organisational structure.

Our staff team remain stable throughout the year, with a team of 6 and no changes in staffing. The staff comprise Operations Manager (0.6FTE), Senior RSE Specialist (0.6FTE), RSE Trainer and Specialist (0.4FTE), Think Again project lead (0.7FTE), Foster Carer RSE project lead (1.0FTE) and Chief Executive (0.9FTE) (FTE points correct at March 2025).

All staff work from their own homes, with occasional travel to meetings, events and to deliver training or projects. We held two team staff workshops in person during this period (in September and November), covering GDPR training, further work around EDI, a PESTLE analysis and youth participation training. Given the physical distance between members of the team it’s been vital to nurture the feeling of connection. One of the tools to help achieve this is scheduling virtual coffee breaks!

Learning and development for staff and trustees

The Chief Executive is a member of ACEVO (the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) and the Chair and Deputy of trustees are members of the Association of Chairs. Staff training and development opportunities are identified through quarterly reviews and has included training on ‘Trauma-Informed Approaches, safeguarding and finance. Staff wellbeing is crucial to the health of our charity, and to signal this in a new way, staff were invited to work together on devising a staff ‘wellbeing gift’, which was underpinned by a short policy, and this initiative was well received.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Communications: Launch of SEF Instagram account

We launched SEFs Instagram account in July 2024. This involved a fantastic team effort to design post templates, plan and sustain content. Visit https://www.instagram.com/s3xeducationforum/ to see all posts.

Memberships: Partners and Educators

Our membership has two tiers: ‘Partner’ and ‘Educator’. A formal application process is used for organisations and individuals wishing to join SEF as Partners, with applications assessed to ensure alignment with our values and principles for evidence-based RSE. Applications are reviewed with voluntary help from a Partner in collaboration with our trustees. Educator members are asked to confirm that they agree with our values and principles. Partner membership fees start at £199 per year, Educator membership is £49.50 per year. A full list of benefits can be found here.

This year we have accepted new applications from the following who are confirmed as Partners: EVAW Coalition, Training Works, Tender, Amnesty International UK, The Centre for Sociology of Education and Equity (CSEE), Diversity Role Models, Learn and Thrive, Everyone's Invited, Holding Hearts Psychology, Portsmouth County Council and Engendering Change. We held ‘new Partner welcome meetings’ online to provide an induction for new Partners.

Our partners are drawn from a wide range of sectors – voluntary and statutory organisations of varying sizes as well as academic institutions and businesses. All have either a strategic or specialist interest and involvement with RSE and are in agreement with the SEF values and principles.

Partners are invited to a calendar of online events and meetings throughout the year. These occasions provide a unique networking space and opportunity to share updates about policy, research and practice. Partners share their experiences of delivering or supporting RSE provision in schools and other settings and are able to feedback about challenges and solutions on the ground.

At the start of each academic term we produce a packed newsletter for all our members, which enables us to update our wider membership about new resources and support available and to feature new initiatives from our Partners.

Agendas for our termly events are geared towards providing continuing professional development for Partners, so that they can cascade up-to-date research evidence, policy and practice through their networks and within their own practice. We held the following online events for our members:

Member event – 11 June 2024

We held a members-only event (free for Educator and Partner members) with guest speaker Dr Robyn Muir on the subject: ‘Are Disney Princesses Media Influencers?’ (11 June 2024), attended by 40 members.

Summer Members’ Event – 3 July 2024

Our summer event took an international focus, and invited colleagues from around the world to share country-level and global learning about implementing effective RSE. The agenda included guest speakers from CCEA Northern Ireland, Rutgers (The Netherlands), Government of South Africa, UNESCO and Make it Mandatory.

Member event – Sexual Health Week (September 2024)

Members’ only event at the start of the academic year, and to mark sexual health week, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing / inclusive whole-school approach with guest speaker Jac Bastian, from Diversity Role Models with approximately 40 people attending.

Autumn Members’ Event – 14 November 2024

The termly event focused on ‘Skills – Realising the promise of RSE’ – with the focus chosen to reflect the strategic approach we took in our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. Speakers drew on research evidence (Prof G.J. Melendez-Torres) and covered primary, secondary and 16+ phases of education. The event was primarily attended by Partners, with approx. 6 educator members also purchasing.

Spring Members’ Event – 13 March 2025

The termly event focused on ‘The Future of RSHE for Learners with SEND’. Speakers included researchers, practitioners and three x special school cases-studies – all of which came from training participants who attended SEF’s Developing RSE Specialism in SEND Schools programme.

A young person, Sophia, aged 19, spoke as part of one of the school case-studies. Sophia has complex needs and was supported to contribute by school staff, giving verbal confirmation of the narrative that her teacher described. RSE Specialist and Trainer Nicky Waring worked closely with the school to make arrangements to enable Sophia’s participation, and ensure consent and safeguarding.

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A Sex Education Forum CIO

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Policy and parliamentary engagement

A Government Review of RSHE concluded in May 2024 with the publication of draft updated RSHE guidance. The public consultation ran between 16 May and 11 July. A general election was called during this period, which resulted in a change of Government, Ministers and MPs.

Given our role as a convenor, we utilised our Partners’ Policy Group meetings in June and July to seek the views of our Partners, and to inform our own response to the consultation. Having listened to our Partners concerns about the likely harms of age-rating RSE content, we prepared an evidence-based guide to the RSHE consultation for our Partners, and an accessible Easy Read guide to the consultation.

Working closely with the PSHE Association, we supported a joint statement (published at rshe.uk) from 100+ organisations calling on the Secretary of State to discard the draft guidance and initiate a more effective process for reviewing RSHE in future. This includes Safeguarding charities e.g. Barnardo’s, NSPCC, Internet Watch Foundation, education unions: NAHT, NEU, ASCL, health: RCOG, FSRH, BASH, ending violence against women and girls: EVAW Coalition, Refuge, Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis. The joint statement was featured as an Exclusive in Schools Week, in which SEF is quoted.

With the RSHE guidance consultation underway and the findings from our Young People’s RSE Poll launched, we worked in partnership with Votes for Schools to engage thousands of young people in considering their role in shaping RSE.

Through this partnership, our Young People’s RSE Poll 2024 findings were shared with over 40,000 young people to inform a debate topic around ‘Should young people have a say in what they learn in RSE’. Votes for Schools has reach into primary and secondary phase education and colleges. The debate results were as follows:

42,264 young people voted on RSE discussion topic in June 2024

Shortly after the General Election, following the appointment of a new Secretary of State for Education, SEF wrote to welcome Bridget Phillipson, sharing findings from our young people’s RSE poll, which included young people’s views on what would make the most difference to improve RSE – with training for teachers to be more confident with RSE topping the list.

The strong media coverage of our 2024 poll helped to clarify the choice between leaving young people to find information online and through pornography, or to enable schools to teach a curriculum that has some flexibility and is more responsive to young people’s needs.

Both before and after the change of Government, SEF maintained regular communications with officials at Department for Education and engaged with relevant policy activities, for example submitting evidence to the Curriculum & Assessment Review, and to the Independent Pornography Review. We attended a pair of DfE roundtable events at DfE focused on the RSHE guidance in December and January, and we were advisors to the Youth Endowment Fund on their education systems guidance. Across all of these activities we were able to point to the evidence base for skills development – especially teaching of social and emotional skills – for healthy relationships, and the need for RSHE guidance to expand beyond a more exclusive focus on knowledge.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Embedding youth inclusion in the work of the Sex Education Forum

Building on learning from our youth inclusion development grant from the Big Lottery and our experience developing a new bespoke partnership with Make it Mandatory we developed a proposal for a three-year funding bid to the National Lottery Community Fund to embed youth inclusion in the work of the Sex Education Forum. This was submitted in December 2023, with further detailed information requested from us in summer and autumn 2024, resulting in a successful bid outcome for a three-year programme of work, which we began in March 2025.

Establishing partnerships with youth-led organisations is an important strand within the new programme. Working side-by-side with youth-led organisations means that we can open-up access to professional and informal networks, gain insights from our different expertise and support each other more equitably towards achieving our shared goals. Funding has been set aside for the use of youth partners, and SEF will actively search for new partners to join us.

Partnership with Make it Mandatory

Underpinned by a partnership agreement, SEF continued to work closely with Make it Mandatory (MIM), providing a small amount of funding to support MIM with expenses such as travelling to events like UN Women UK Awards, and the Oxford Youth in Mind conference. MIM advised SEF on development of our social media and shaped a question about extending RSE to 18 for inclusion in the SEF Young People’s RSE Poll.

Through our monthly check-in meetings, SEF suggested to MIM that the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could present an opportunity to secure an amendment relating to their campaign goal of extending RSE to 18. MIM were delighted to take this forwards, and together we approached EVAW Coalition and Brook (both SEF Partners) to form a four-way partnership to work on the amendment. This was an effective structure and enabled us to rapidly write the amendment text, liaise with MPs, produce speeches and briefings and reach out to the FE sector more broadly. The amendment was tabled in the House of Commons, with a write-up in the Independent in March. As the amendment did not progress (did not go to a vote), the next steps for MIMs campaign are to seek a Peer to table a refreshed amendment in the Lords.

Our new funding from the National Lottery Community Fund began in March 2025, and provided for SEF and MIM to refresh our partnership and for MIM to access funding for their activities via SEF as fiscal host. One of MIMs top priorities from this funding is to launch their first ever website.

Training educators

The training that we offer to educators through our open courses is always interactive Our SEND RSE training continues to provide much needed specialist support for schools in implementing meaningful, accessible RSE for learners with a range of SEND. As part of our calendar of open-access training events we ran courses focused on a range of specialist areas, running a total of 14 ticketed events (open to members and non-members) between April 2024 and March 2025.

Our open courses included a new course designed for external visitors who are looking for support with SEND inclusion. This fourhour course was developed by our trainers in response to interest from organisations that go into schools and want to be more SEND inclusive in their delivery as visitors.

Due to its popularity, we were able to run the ‘Developing RSE specialism in SEND schools’ training programme three times. Each cohort valued the time working with peers in other schools – often it’s the only opportunity that special school RSE leads have had to meet other professionals working with the same role and setting. The online format of the training enables professionals to form a nationwide peer group.

Our skilled and experienced staff also delivered ‘Preparing for Adulthood’ – a course addressing ways to deliver RSE to older learners (Key Stage 4 to 5) with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) in conjunction with the preparing for adulthood outcomes outlined in the SEND Code of Practice. The course supports teachers to gain confidence to develop meaningful curriculum for learners in key stage 4 and 5 and beyond, equipping them with skills to navigate their personal and social lives safely.

Our training courses focus on meeting the needs of young people who have a high level of need for RSE but sometimes fall through the gaps. We are really proud to have run our PMLD (profound and multiple learning disabilities) one day RSE training twice again this year, providing support to teachers from around 20 different specialist settings. This one-day course explores ways to deliver meaningful and age-appropriate RSE teaching to learners who have profound and multiple, or combined and complex learning disabilities, and who are likely to be non-verbal, unable to move around independently, and who would need personal care.

We take on a range of commissioned training, which was tailored to the needs and context of each commission, with a large proportion of our commissioned training for individual schools and local authorities focused on SEND specialist RSHE. Our commissioned training customers across the year included local authorities Barking and Dagenham Council, Durham Council, Islington Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Richmond and Wandsworth Council and Sutton and Merton Council.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Foster carers RSE training pilot project

By March 2024, we were six months into the delivery of our innovative pilot project (funded by Sebba Foundation and The Balcombe Trust), and training was underway in the pilot sites, delivered first in Leeds, then Wandsworth and Plymouth.

The training is highly interactive and delivered to groups of max 20 participants, co-facilitated by SEF project lead and local supervising social worker or equivalent. Three groups of foster carers completed the training, with 35 participants taking part in the independent evaluation, which found a 100% increase in foster carers feeling more confident and competent in RSE as a result of the training. The evaluation report noted the value of ‘actionable learning’ and the benefit of the training being run in small groups because of the relational peer learning and relevance this created.

Findings from the independent evaluation report supported the case for moving from pilot to a full roll-out of the training. We began work on devising models for a national roll-out, and discussed our ideas with potential funders, including around long-term sustainability.

In March 2025, the pilot project concluded with an online learning event, which was attended by over 70 people, including foster carers, local authorities, fostering services and VCSOs supporting foster carers and Looked after children and young people/ care experienced young people. Project lead Millie Roberts shared the project learning and facilitated a conversation with foster carers and care experienced young people about the importance of RSE to them.

We are thrilled to share that we have now secured the majority of the funding for a regional roll-out of the project over the next three years.

‘RSE in England: challenges faced by schools in parental engagement (one year project)

Seventeen interviews with primary schools have now taken place with the majority of those schools recruited by SEF. Notes from the interviews show a rich variety of school types and experiences, which should make for an excellent research paper. The transcripts are now being analysed by lead research Dr Naomi Rudoe at Westminster University. SEF will be producing blogs and a graphic / illustration as well as running an event in the summer to disseminate the findings.

Mapping Relationships, Sex and Health Education Initial Teacher Training in England

The report from this small-scale study led by Dr Joshua Heyes at Lincoln University, which SEF contributed to is now available here: https://sites.google.com/view/mappingrsheitt/home

Think Again

SEF is the intervention partner for this Exeter University-led research study, with funding for SEF’s input from Bridges Impact Foundation and Exeter University. The full partnership supporting the project includes the End Youth Violence Lab, LSHTM and other colleagues with relevant experience.

Dr Vicky Stubbs, who leads the project for SEF, completed the optimisation activities in Summer 2024, gaining feedback from young people and school staff through several visits to schools to test out the suite of lesson plans and whole-school materials that Vicky has developed. In April, Vicky gave a presentation to a packed board-room of staff at Bridges Impact Foundation, explaining the theory behind Think Again and what the materials look like in practice. Think Again received exposure to a wider audience through a series of articles in the Evening Standard.

In September 2024, the pilot randomised control trial began in four secondary schools, with SEFs role being to deliver training to school staff to support the use of the intervention materials.

‘RSE in England: challenges faced by schools in parental engagement (one year project)

SEF is partnering with Dr Naomi Rudoe and Dr Ruth Ponsford at the University of Westminster and LSHTM for this small-scale research project. SEFs main role is to support in the recruitment of primary schools to take part in the study. We successfully recruited 17 schools to participate in interviews, and look forwards to exploring the findings and sharing them via an event in autumn 2025.

Public benefit

When planning Sex Education Forum’s activites, the board of trustees are committed and have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance.

Governing Document

Sex Education Forum CIO is a charitable incorporated organisation which is governed by its constitution.

Trustees

The Trustees of the charity who held office during the year are disclosed on page 3.

No trustee recruitment was carried out in this period.

Trustees accessed safeguarding training.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Trustees' Report

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Risks facing the charity

Sex Education Forum holds a risk register and these are updated three times a year, with mitigating actions identified.

Financial Review

Results for the year

The results of the period and financial position of the charity are shown in the annexed financial statements.

The Statement of Financial Activities shows net income for the year of £32,447 and reserves of £134,957.

Tangible fixed assets for use by the charity.

Fixed assets are set out in Note 8 to the accounts.

Independent Examiner

The Independent Examiner, Anthony Armstrong FCA of Armstrong & Co, has indicated his willingness to be proposed for reappointment.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 20 January 2026 and signed on its behalf by:

Alison Hadley OBE Chair of Trustees

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

for the year ended 31 March 2025

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

The trustees are required by law to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the financial activities of the charity and of its financial position at the end of that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

A Sex Education Forum CIO

Independent Examiner's Report to the Charity Trustees of Sex Education Forum CIO

I report on the accounts of Sex Education Forum CIO for the period to 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 14 to 21.

This report is made solely to the charity's trustees as a body in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. My examination has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity's trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity's trustees as a body, for my examination, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As described on page 12, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the the Charities Act and that an independent examination is needed. The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under charity law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I 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.

Anthony Armstrong FCA, Independent Examiner of Armstrong & Co Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditor Dated: 20 January 2026

4a Printing House Yard Hackney Road London E2 7PR

Page 13

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

FS Sex Education Forum CIO

Statement of Financial Activities

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Notes
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Investments
4
Other income
5
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
6
Total expenditure
Transfers between funds
14
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
10
Total funds carried forward
10		 2025
2024
Total Funds
Total Funds
£
£
2,260
6,000
286,638
162,554
21
-
341
180
289,260
168,734
256,813
212,586
256,813
212,586
32,447
(43,852)
-
-
102,510
146,362
134,957
102,510
Unrestricted
Funds		 Restricted
Funds
£
2,260
111,558
21
341		 £
-
175,080
-
-
175,080
129,983
129,983
45,097
2,444
9,685
57,226
114,180
126,830
126,830
(12,650)
(2,444)
92,825
77,731

All incoming resources and resources expended are derived from continuing activities.

The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Page 14

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Sex Education Forum CIO

Statement of Financial Postion

as at 31 March 2025

Notes
Current assets:
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and In hand
11
Total current assets
9
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total net assets
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
12
Unrestricted funds
10
Total charity funds
10
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		 £
£
£
£
12,552
13,772
139,886
107,241
152,438
121,013
17,481
18,503
134,957
102,510
134,957
102,510
57,226
9,685
77,731
92,825
134,957
102,510
31 March 2025
31 March 2024		 £
£
£
£
12,552
13,772
139,886
107,241
152,438
121,013
17,481
18,503
134,957
102,510
134,957
102,510
57,226
9,685
77,731
92,825
134,957
102,510
31 March 2025
31 March 2024
£
12,552
139,886
152,438
17,481		 £
102,510
102,510
9,685
92,825
102,510

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 20 January 2026 and signed on its behalf by:

Alison Hadley OBE
Chair of Trustees		 Chris Schulz
Trustee

The notes on pages 17 to 21 form part of these accounts.

Page 15

Sex Education Forum CIO

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Statement of Cash Flows

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Notes
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
B
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
B
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement
B] Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of
financial activities)		 2025
£
32,447
(21)
1,220
(1,022)
32,624
21
21
32,645
107,241
139,886
2025
£
139,886
139,886		 2024
£
(43,852)
-
(8,543)
12,912
(39,483)
-
-
(39,483)
146,724
107,241
2024
£
107,241
107,241

Page 16

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Sex Education Forum CIO

Accounting Policies

for the year ended 31 March 2025

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with:

Public benefit entity

The charity meets the defination of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue to operate and accordingly the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

Income recognition

Income is recognised when the charity has a contractual or other right to its receipt, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably. Income with conditions attached to its receipt is recognised when those conditions have been fulfilled.

Deferred income

Income received which is contractually or otherwise not expendable until a future period is deferred to the period in which

Restricted Funds

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes as laid down by the funder. Direct and support expenditure which meets these criteria are identified to the fund together with a fair allocation of other costs.

Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds are funds received which have no restrictions placed on their use and are available as general funds.

Allocation of costs

Costs are allocated directly to projects where they can be identified as relating solely to that project. Other costs are allocated between the funds based on staff time spent on the fund activities or other appropriate criteria.

Hire purchase and leasing commitments

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.

Pensions

The charity operates defined contribution schemes which are administered by outside independent pensions providers. Contributions payable for the year are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities.

Page 17

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

F Sex Education Forum CIO

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Incoming resources

The incoming resources and surplus are attributable to the principal activities of the charity.

Net incoming resources
Net incoming resources are stated after charging:
Independent Examiner's fees - reporting service
Independent Examiner's fees - other services
Trustees' emoluments		 2025
£
1,440
1,584
-		 2024
£
1,440
1,584
-

Trustees' emoluments

Emoluments include salaries, fees, bonuses, expense allowances and estimated non-cash benefits receivable. All trustees serve in a voluntary capacity and do not receive payment for their services.

2
Income from donations and legacies
Donations
3
Income from charitable activities
Grant income
Training courses
Project income
Consultancy
Membership & subscriptions
4
Income from investments
Bank interest received
5
Other income
Miscellaneous income		 Unrestricted
£
2,260
2,260
Unrestricted
£
-
78,490
2,647
5,700
24,721
111,558
Unrestricted
£
21
21
Unrestricted
£
341
341		 Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
175,080
-
-
-
-
175,080
Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
-
-		 2025
Total
£
2,260
2,260
2025
Total
£
175,080
78,490
2,647
5,700
24,721
286,638
2025
Total
£
21
21
2025
Total
£
341
341		 2024
Total
£
6,000
6,000
2024
Total
£
70,000
53,792
11,425
1,075
26,262
162,554
2024
Total
£
-
-
2024
Total
£
180
180

Page 18

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

F Sex Education Forum CIO

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31 March 2025

6
Expenditure on charitable activities
Unrestricted
£
Staff salaries
105,881
Project expenses
-
Office administration
110
Printing, postage & stationery
211
Telephone
557
Insurance
805
Computer expenses
(110)
Travel & subsistence
3,629
Stakeholder involvement
200
Consultancy services
7,150
Research and evaluation
-
Training
1,380
Membership & subscriptions
2,897
Publications
1,610
Conferences/exhibitions
-
Advertising & marketing
695
Legal & professional
-
Youth involvement fee
100
Website costs
(790)
Bank charges
134
Booking & card fees
1,533
Independent examiner's fees
(440)
Accounting & payroll
1,278
126,830
7
Staff costs
Staff salaries
Staff social security
Staff pensions
Employees paid in excess of £60,000 during the current year and previous year:
8
Debtors: amounts falling due within one year
Operating debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
9
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Operating creditors
Other creditors
Payroll taxes
Pensions liability
Accrued expenses
Deferred income
Average number of employees during the year was:		 Restricted
£
91,226
7,500
206
54
272
-
4,109
3,072
400
600
15,280
980
825
-
-
329
-
475
650
19
-
1,340
2,646
129,983		 2025
Total
£
197,107
7,500
316
265
829
805
3,999
6,701
600
7,750
15,280
2,360
3,722
1,610
-
1,024
-
575
(140)
153
1,533
900
3,924
256,813
2025
£
179,395
12,330
5,382
197,107
6
-
2025
£
8,633
1,982
1,937
12,552
2025
£
3,797
1,089
4,037
1,273
3,985
3,300
17,481		 2024
Total
£
159,267
7,500
299
151
735
39
7,114
5,037
-
-
-
1,896
3,770
3,564
1,160
2,582
8,748
900
4,485
86
2,229
1,440
1,584
212,586
2024
£
145,968
8,972
4,326
159,266
5
1
2024
£
12,384
1,388
-
13,772
2024
£
2,795
-
3,975
1,178
6,655
3,900
18,503

Page 19

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

F Sex Education Forum CIO

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31 March 2025

10
11
12
**13 **		 The funds of the charity: current year
Restricted funds
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
The funds of the charity: prior year
Restricted funds
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds: current period
Balcombe Trust
Exeter University
National Lottery Community Fund
Sebba Foundation
Stop / Think Again project [Bridges Impact Fdn]
Restricted funds: prior period
Balcombe Trust
Positive Choices
Sebba Foundation
Stop / Think Again project [Bridges Impact Fdn]		 Opening
balance
£
9,685
92,825
102,510
Opening
balance
£
15,000
131,362
146,362
Opening
balance
£
-
-
-
9,685
-
9,685
Opening
balance
£
15,000
-
-
-
15,000		 Resources
arising
£
175,080
114,180
289,260
Resources
arising
£
81,425
87,309
168,734
Incoming
resources
£
20,000
20,000
61,880
33,200
40,000
175,080
Incoming
resources
£
-
11,425
40,000
30,000
81,425		 Resources
utilised
£
(129,983)
(126,830)
(256,813)
Resources
utilised
£
(86,740)
(125,846)
(212,586)
Resources
expended
£
20,316
20,000
4,653
42,299
42,715
129,983
Resources
expended
£
15,000
11,425
30,315
30,000
86,740		 Other
movements
£
2,444
(2,444)
-
Other
movements
£
-
-
-
Transfers &
gains/(losse
£
316
-
(1)
(586)
2,715
2,444
Transfers &
gains/(losse
£
-
-
-
-
-		 Closing
balance
£
57,226
77,731
134,957
Closing
balance
£
9,685
92,825
102,510
Closing
balance
£
-
-
57,226
-
-
57,226
Closing
balance
£
-
-
9,685
-
9,685

Restricted funds (continued)

Projects financed by restricted funds are supported by unrestricted funding where necessary. This occurs where the funding is in arrears or the incidence of expenditure on the project occurs disproportionately at the beginning of the project compared to the income flows. Where restricted projects end the year with a deficit, this is met by after year-end restricted income or transfers from unrestricted funds.

Balcombe Trust Pilot project to design, deliver and evaluate a trauma-informed RSE training course for foster
carers.
Exeter University Optimisation and delivery of a pilot cluster randomised control trial of the STOP gender-based
violence and dating and relationship violence secondary school intervention.
National Lottery Community
Fund		 Embedding youth inclusion in the work of the Sex Education Forum.
Positive Choices Randomised control trial research collaboration for whole-school intervention.
Sebba Foundation Pilot project to develop, deliver and evaluate a trauma-informed RSE training course for foster
carers.
Stop / Think Again project
[Bridges Impact Fdn]		 Optimisation and delivery of a pilot cluster randomised control trial of the STOP gender-based
violence and dating and relationship violence secondary school intervention.

Page 20

F Sex Education Forum CIO

(A Charity governed by its constitution, charity number 1193467)

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31 March 2025

14 Transfers between funds
General to restricted
15 Net assets attributable to funds: current period
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets represented by funds
16 Net assets attributable to funds: prior period
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets represented by funds		 General
funds
(2,444)
(2,444)
General
funds
£
95,212
(17,481)
77,731
General
funds
£
111,328
(18,503)
92,825		 Designated
funds
-
Designated
funds
£
-
-
-
Designated
funds
£
-
-
-		 Restricted
funds
2,444
2,444
Restricted
funds
£
57,226
-
57,226
Restricted
funds
£
9,685
-
9,685		 Endowment
funds
-
Endowment
funds
£
-
-
-
Endowment
funds
£
-
-
-		 Total
-
-
Total
£
152,438
(17,481)
134,957
Total
£
121,013
(18,503)
102,510

17 Taxation

The entity is a registered charity. Accordingly, it is exempt from taxation in respect of income and capital gains to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

18 Post balance sheet events

There were no significant post balance sheet events.

19 Contingent liabilities

The charity had no material contingent liabilities at 31 March 2025.

20 Related parties

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year.

21 Transactions with trustees

Transactions with trustees
Alison Hadley
(Cindy) Xin Wen Zhang
Yoan Reed
Robbie Currie
Sarah Faithful
Sakira Intrabal
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses
During the year the following transactions with trustees were recorded:
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses
Reimbursement of charity operating expenses		 2025
2024
£
£
241
137
45
22
-
314
34
25
48
40
49
-

Page 21

REF. NUMBER
RVR2W-9CK6G-54ZJA-M7JPW
DOCUMENT COMPLETED BY ALL PARTIES ON
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SIGNER
TIMESTAMP
SIGNATURE
ALISON HADLEY
EMAIL
ALISON.HADLEY@BEDS.AC.UK
SENT
26 JAN 2026 14:51:52
VIEWED
26 JAN 2026 15:51:49
SHARED VIA
LINK
SIGNED
26 JAN 2026 15:52:51
IP ADDRESS
86.152.80.157
LOCATION
CITY OF LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
CHRIS SCHULZ
EMAIL
CHRISSCHULZ.UK@GMAIL.COM
SENT
26 JAN 2026 14:51:52
VIEWED
26 JAN 2026 19:23:25
SIGNED
26 JAN 2026 19:24:00
IP ADDRESS
82.7.9.249
LOCATION
LEEDS, UNITED KINGDOM
RECIPIENT VERIFICATION
EMAIL VERIFIED
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REF. NUMBER
RVR2W-9CK6G-54ZJA-M7JPW
DOCUMENT COMPLETED BY ALL PARTIES ON
26 JAN 2026 23:21:45
UTC
SIGNER
TIMESTAMP
SIGNATURE
TONY ARMSTRONG
EMAIL
TONY@ARMCO.CO.UK
SENT
26 JAN 2026 14:51:52
VIEWED
26 JAN 2026 23:21:11
SIGNED
26 JAN 2026 23:21:45
IP ADDRESS
185.78.8.123
LOCATION
TOWER HAMLETS, UNITED KINGDOM
RECIPIENT VERIFICATION
EMAIL VERIFIED
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