2024-09-01-accounts - Babygro

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Babygro

Report

Charity Number: 1196651

Babygro’s Purposes

The purposes of Babygro, as set out in our governing document, are:

‘For public benefit, the advancement of education and health, in particular but not exclusively, by (a) providing parents with information about parent-infant communication and its links to attachment, brain development and later life health and wellbeing; and (b) providing evidence-based support to parents relating to infant feeding, crying and sleep.’

Babygro’s Activities

Babygro is a registered charity for parents and babies that brings to life the latest research on parent-infant communication, brain development and links to later-life (mental) health and well-being. Our services include: (1) a free-of-charge eight-week course of workshops for parents and babies, in which parents discover how babies’ brains develop, and how responsive communication between parent and baby leads to later life well-being and resilience to stress; (2) an accompanying Babygro Book, which can be downloaded free-of-charge or purchased in print; (3) free-of-charge infant support sessions on the topics of feeding, fussing and sleep. (4) a two-day course on brain development for professionals, for which we charge a fee. Our long-term ambition is to empower parents, and those who work with families, with the information they need to promote health and well-being in their babies.

There are two features that make our services innovative:

First, is accessibility. Our Babygro Book tells the story of the latest brain science, in emotive images and with minimal words. Our Babygro Courses employ nurturing activities and video examples to introduce four important networks of the brain and how they develop through parent and baby communication.

Second, is our partnership with the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment Lab (SoNeAt) , at the University of Essex. This is a centre for brain development which collaborates with leading neuroscientists and psychologists around the globe to publish the latest academic research.

Thus, parents can access leading-edge research through modes that are free of technical language and easy-to-digest.

The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when planning all activities and determining how best to utilise our funds.

Summary of Babygro’s Main Achievements

Eight Week Babygro Course

Parents attending our eight-week course learn, through immersive activities and video examples, about the latest research on infant attachment, brain development and later life outcomes. Throughout the eight weeks, parents and the course leader (Dr Amanda

Lucas, a developmental psychologist, and publishing academic researcher) ‘build a brain’ in images, that are hung in the trees. The images represent the hormones at work, or the type of activity going on in four important networks of the brain and parents come to understand how communication with their baby influences the development of these networks. These educational activities are interspersed with music, song, and baby massage, as well as tea, biscuits and supportive discussion.

Since our last reporting period we have conducted five, in-person, eight-week courses of workshops. The average group size was 16 parents with their babies, and there were 78 beneficiaries in total. Our evaluations found that parents felt more confident after the course on measures such as reading and responding to their babies’ cues, regulating their babies’ feelings and behaviour and promoting resilience and wellbeing in their babies. Parent confidence increased, across the measures - on a five-point scale - from an average of 2.8 before the course and 4.5 after completing the course. See full evaluation data and sample testimonials below.

Weekly Support Sessions

We have continued our weekly sessions, which provide evidence-based advice and support on the topics that evoke the most anxiety in parents – namely Infant Sleep, and Newborn Support (including feeding, fussing and digestive discomfort). In this reporting period we have held 34 sessions with 258 beneficiaries. Parents attending our Sleep and Support sessions report more confidence in their sleep choices, less anxiety about their infant’s sleep and more confidence in their ability to soothe their baby. More specifically, data from our Sleep Sessions reveals that parents’ confidence in their sleep choices rose from a mean of 2.5 before the session to 4.2 after, and parental anxiety around sleep fell from a mean of 2.9 to 1.7. Data from our Newborn Support Sessions found that parents’ confidence in their ability to soothe their baby rose from a mean of 2.7 before the session to 4.0 after. Breastfeeding confidence rose from 2.9 to 4.3. (See evaluation data below).

Babygro Book

The Babygro Book illustrates - in pictures and with minimal words - how babies' brains develop, and how responsive communication between parent and baby leads to later life (mental) health and wellbeing. It is produced in association with our partners at the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment Lab at the University of Essex, and it aims to bring to life the very latest research on bonding and brain development.

Since our last reporting period we have had over 9,500 visits to our website and over 500 downloads of our free-of-charge Babygro Book. It continues to be downloaded by parents, midwives, health visitors, paediatric consultants, local councils and policy makers. Thus parents, as well as health professionals, are accessing leading-edge science on brain development, and how this relates to parent-infant communication.

Professional Training

Babygro is becoming recognised as a mouthpiece for the most leading-edge research on baby brain development and we are seeing an increasing interest in training for

those who work with infants and families. Our first two-day brain development course took place in September 2023 and was attended by members of the children’s charity, Action for Children. Two further training events in this accountancy period were attended by a broad range of professionals including managers from day care settings, staff from the charities Kids Matter and Home Start Kernow, Health Visitors, Educational Psychologists and GPs. (See quotations below)

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Parent Ratings Piefore and After Participating in our Support Sessions Confidence In Sleep Choices Anxiety around Inlonl Sleep Confidence In ability lo soolhe their baby Before ll After Confidence with Breaslfeeding Ll>ltr Irom ogporenls Lvey Hold•n (2023) N•wborn Support S•8slon -Jusl brillicnl thoroughly enjoyed the Session ond It hos given me Ihe evidence ond confidence to support my Intvitlon O week Covrs? I connol Ihonk you eTh¢>ugh for the knowledge sharecj. the community ¢reoled ond the conlidence 9oinÈd as o parent. I wish 8very new parent WO5 oble l(> join. Th& infoTmotion was presented through conversation. Imog85. videos and exomples which wos reolly inclusive and digeslible"

Nleola Lochrln Nowborn Support Sesslon "This hos been the best support I hove found In Cornwoll since htsving my boby. l only wish I had found BcibygTO earlier in my pregnancy. think Amando and Emily are Incredibly knowledgeable. 5vpporlive ond approachable and Use evidence bosed reseorch when supportin9 new ums which Is reolly helplul, I would urge Ihot they are ablÈ to continue supporting parents and babies across Cornwall 05 they offer unique. evidence based support. They offer this with compassion. empolhy ond time. They ore olso hoppy lo loke qLJeslions ond spend Iime lolking Ihrough your concÈrns. I fèll like thèy IislenÈd lo MÈ ond supported me. Th15 15 not something thol I have experiencÈd anywhère È15e. I have fell having a baby in Cornwall very Isolating and these classes have really helped me and 91ven me the support and confidence thol I hove needed ond Ihot hosTr't been ovoilable onywhere e15e" Nlcola Loehrln 8 w••k Cour8• "This was the best postnatal group ond svpporl we hove fovnd ond l only wish I htsd found &obygro sooner. I would love the 8 week covrse lo run lor longer 05 1 found it o great svpporl network ol parents. It was o safe ond open space lo bring chollenges ond questions ond helpful lo hove support from AmoDdo. Emily ond tslher poronls. The Inlormolion about the different networks ol Ihe brain and parenting opproaches was so informative and Insightful. It helped me as o porenl and svpporled rny knowledge ond vnderslonding of baby's development as well os svpporling my mental health"

Professional Training Feedback

‘Amanda holds so much knowledge about baby brain development, that she shared beautifully at our conference. Warm and thoroughly engaging, she held people’s attention fully as demonstrated by their curious questions, smiles and comments.’

Sarah Snow Trainee GP

‘The course was an excellent basis for childhood attachment theory. Excellent slides and presentation, with great opportunities to explore ideas’

Gemma Pasierb Health Visitor and Coach .

‘Incredible training - would love to see this rolled out to all Early Years and Health Visiting staff!’

Future aims and objectives

Our ambition is to become a hub for health professionals to learn about parent-infant relationships, brain development and lifelong mental health. The next stage in achieving this goal is to deliver regular opportunities for professionals to join our professional training, online. This will enable us to reach professionals across a wider geographical range and will enable important insights about early relationships and brain development to benefit more families. We will charge a fee for this training, which will support us in becoming more financially resilient and less dependent on grant funding

We also plan to create a digital version of the Babygro course in the format of video and text, that can be completed by parents at their own pace. The course will be offered on a scaled ‘pay what you can afford’ basis, with free-to-access options for those who have financial barriers. The digital version of the course will enable dissemination of information to parents across the UK, and

Financial Review

The total unrestricted funds for this period were £15,301. This was made up of Grant Funding (Cornwall Community Foundation and Garfield Weston), as well as some modest funds raised from training and sales of the print copies of the Babygro Book.

Income	Amount (£)

Grant from Garfield Weston	£5,000
Grant from Cornwall Community Foundation	£10,000
Book Sales/Training/Talks	£301
Total	£15,301

The total payments were £26,331 (see Receipts and Payments Accounts for breakdown), leaving a cash balance of £341 at the end of the financial year. It is important to note that in early Sept 2024 we received £20,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund, and so what looks like a deficit for this period, is actually an artifact of the reporting dates.

Reserves Policy

The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds which equate to 3 months of running costs for Babygro. This is equal to £2000 per month (including salaries, digital platforms, insurances, and venue hire), totalling £6,000. We met this aim for 9 months of this year and did not meet it for 3 months. However, this falling below our ideal reserve was rectified with the £20,000 National Lottery Grant that we received in Sept 2024.

Structure, Governance and Management

Babygro was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 18[th] November, 2021 and has adopted a constitution governing document. Our trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the Annual General Meeting held in November.

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity name: Babygro

Registered charity number: 1196651

Charity’s principal address: 27 Trevonnen Road, Ponsanooth, Truro, Cornwall. Tr3 7az.

Names of the Charity Trustees who Manage the Charity

Dr Charlotte Brand – Chair

Dr Devi Whittle

Mrs Jenny Martin

The trustees approved this trustees’ report on 26[th] June 2025

	Babygro	Babygro	Babygro	1196651	CC16a
	For the period from	01/09/2023	To	31/08/2024

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
Grant Funding	15,000	-	-	15,000	25,219
Book sales/Training/Talks	301	-	-	301	818
		-	-		-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	15,301	-	-	15,301	26,037

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					26,037


Fuel/Transport/Refreshments	671				220
WorkshopEquipment	917				81
Webiste/Email/E-platforms	1,322				924
Marketing	564				586
Freelance Services	42				107
Printing/Book Design	1,026				1,481
Venue Hire	2,517				2,550
Salaries	17,544				13,471
Payrol & Pensions(Xero/Nest)	888				725
Accountancy/ /Bank Chanrges	840				4
**Sub total **	26,331				20,149

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*
					20,149

	- 11,030	-	-	- 11,030	5,888
	-	-	-	-	-
	11,371	-	-	11,371	-
	341	-	-	341	5,888

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

25/06/2025

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds	Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Cash in Bank Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £
		341	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		341	-	-
				OK
				Endowment funds to nearest £
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
	Details Details	Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				Current value (optional)
			-	-
			-	-
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	Details Signature	Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Devi Whittle		When due (optional)






				Date of approval
		Devi Whittle		25/06/2025

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

25/06/2025