Breaking the Cycle
Trustees’ Annual Report
1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025
Charity registration number: 1203376
1. Objectives and Activities
The object of Breaking the Cycle is to act as a resource for young people by providing educational resources to schools and youth organisations focused on overcoming factors that inhibit young people’s progress and achievement (such as poverty, discrimination and prejudice) by developing programmes focused on noncurricular topics and subjects such as personal development, as a means of:
-
i. Advancing in life and helping young people by developing their skills, capacities, and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals; and
-
ii. Advancing education
When planning the charity’s activities, the Breaking the Cycle trustees have considered the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. They uphold this guidance through a clear social mobility objective to specifically help children and young people who might encounter circumstances that provide barriers and hurdles to their achievement and ambition. This cause provides the trustees’ moral and ethical motivation to create and deliver schemes that are exclusively targeted at this charitable objective.
2. Achievements and Performance
This report covers the first complete year of the charity’s operations, having been formed in June 2023. It has been a period of steady growth and consolidation that has seen the further development of the charity’s programmes and their delivery methods, alongside a very constructive dialogue with potential funders. The initial ambitions of trustees to secure major grants and move rapidly into full-time delivery have been pragmatically scaled back on the advice of grant-making bodies, shifting the emphasis onto establishing strong foundations for the charity and a longer track-record of programme delivery that provides evidence of the support they provide to vulnerable young people.
This dialogue with funders occurred in the final stages of highly-promising grant applications for five and six-figure sums and, although these awards were not made, our applications successfully cleared their initial rounds and reached the final stages of decision making. Their final judgement however was that, at this time, the size of our request posed too great a risk, considering the newness of the charity and, in each case, we were encouraged to re-apply to them in the future, once a stronger track record has been established.
We have consequently adjusted our short-term approach and submitted grant applications for smaller, locally-based projects and have, to date, successful obtained awards from Allen Lane Foundation, Chalk Cliff Trust and Co-op Community Directplus Customer Donation Fund. These grants are funding delivery of programmes to groups of identified young people who are within Breaking the Cycle’s beneficiary population and meet the funders target groups.
Charity registration number: 1203376
The activity level of the charity is therefore now increasing steadily, in line with the funding obtained. The benefit of HMRC Gift Aid registration is also starting to contribute to the resources available.
Our partnerships with schools, youth projects and social care organisations continue to strengthen. We have been working closely with local schools to trial, review and update our materials. The consistent feedback of all partners reinforces our view that the charity’s programmes are appropriate, highly relevant and greatly needed to support statutory provision and enable young people to steer positive paths through their teenage years towards adulthood.
Breaking the Cycle ensures that those delivering its direct work with children have been subject to Enhanced DBS checks and received safeguarding training as detailed within the charity’s policy.
No incidents or serious incidents have occurred.
None of the charity’s activity takes place outside the UK.
3. Financial Review
£1,422.50 was brought forward from last financial year.
Total receipts in this financial year were £10,690 comprised of grants obtained, fundraising and donations from supporters of the charity (individuals and corporate organisations) The biggest donation from an individual has been £50.
Of this total income, £8,800 is restricted for programme delivery.
Total expenditure to date amounts to £3,297.31 comprising the costs of work undertaken, administrative costs and insurance.
The work delivered was either a voluntary in-kind contribution or paid on a sessional basis.
The net result for the year is an excess of receipts over payments of £7,392.69. This total is the balance carried forward to the new financial year, comprised of both allocated commitments for continuing programme delivery and unrestricted funds.
The level of unrestricted funds will gradually increase in proportion with overall revenue. The trustees have adopted a Financial Reserves policy to establish the principles of retaining an appropriate level of unrestricted funds as the necessary contingency for its operations. The trustee’s guiding principle is to minimise these reserves, so as not to limit the work with young people, but yet to be sufficient to sustain basic operations and cover any emergency situations that may arise. At this stage, there is not a set figure for reserve funds.
Breaking the Cycle has not yet been in receipt of grant-funding from the government or other organisations. The charity does not issue grants.
No funds are held as custodian trustees on behalf of others.
4. Structure, Governance and Management
Breaking the Cycle is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) with a constitution. It is not part of a wider organisation and there are no subsidiary organisations.
Charity registration number: 1203376
The charity’s only members are the trustees and there is no wider membership or voting entitlements. The existing board members agreed to the appointment of an additional trustee, Pippa Damalie, a local school business manager, to enhance the level of skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
The board of trustees sets the overall direction of the organisation. Having met several times during Spring 2024 to set in train most of the arrangements for this financial year, the need for further meetings was linked to the success of larger grant applications. In order to create sufficient capacity and flexibility to respond quickly to these potentially substantial pieces of work, trustees took the decision to appoint Ellen Sefton as our first programme lead, paid on a sessional basis within a zero-hours contract. As things transpired, the award of smaller grants meant that this facility was not required and so has been placed on pause, in line with the charity’s readjustment to a more secure business plan. The trustees have approved accounts and maintained online communications to make decisions.
The charity has the following policies:
-
Financial controls policy
-
Expenses policy
-
Conflicts of interest policy
-
Safeguarding policy
-
Complaint’s policy
-
Serious incident reporting policy
-
Financial reserves policy
-
Risk management policy
-
Investing charity funds policy
-
Bullying and harassment policy
-
Social media policy
-
Data protection policy
-
Environmental policy
-
Volunteer policy
-
Fair recruitment policy
5. Reference and Administrative details
Charity name: Breaking the Cycle
Registered charity number: 1203376
Charity’s registered address: 56 Sheppard Way, Rothley, Leicester, LE7 7WG
The charity does not own any property.
Trustees: The following trustees served during this year:
-
Peter Chilvers, Chair
-
Ryan Sutton
-
Pippa Damalie
-
Francis Lee
There are not currently any employees of the charity.
Charity registration number: 1203376
Statement of accounts
Income and Expenditure Account
| and Expenditure Account | |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| Brought forward from 2023/24 | 1,422.50 |
| INCOME | |
| Donatons | 500.00 |
| Grants | 9,940.00 |
| Trading income | 250.00 |
| 10.690.00 | |
| EXPENDITURE | |
| Delivery costs | 2,801.31 |
| Staf costs | 300.00 |
| Fundraising costs | 100.00 |
| Governance costs | 96.00 |
| 3,297.31 | |
| Excess of Receipts over Payments | 7,392.69 |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Cash Funds: Bank Account £8,815.19
There are currently no additional assets, and no liabilities.
The accounts and this report were approved by the Trustees in November 2025 and signed on their behalf. At this stage in the development of the charity, the accounts do not require inspection by an Independent Examiner.
6. Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature
Full name: Peter Chilvers
Position: Trustee Chair, Finance Trustee Date : 13.11.2025
Charity registration number: 1203376