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2023-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 00090288 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 222041

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

FOR

CHILDREN NORTH EAST (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 19
Report of the Independent Auditors 20 to 22
Statement of Financial Activities 23
Balance Sheet 24
Cash Flow Statement 25
Notes to the Financial Statements 26 to 41

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by 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 2019).

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing documents

Children North East is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and a company limited by guarantee registered in England. The governing instruments are the memorandum and articles of association as adopted by written resolution passed in March 2020.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

The trustees of Children North East are also directors of the company charity. They are appointed at the annual general meeting for three years. A third of Trustees (selected by those longest in office) retire in rotation at each annual general meeting but may be re-elected for a further 3-year period. The Board also appoints during the year as necessary.

Since the last annual report one trustee, Chairman David Bavaird, has retired, and four new trustees have been appointed. The Board reviews expertise among the existing trustees and ensures that new trustees offer a broad range of skills and experience including business, financial, law and voluntary sector experience.

Trustee induction, training and appraisal

New trustees are provided with information about the charity, the role of the Board and the responsibilities of trustees.

Induction training is tailored to the experience, skills and interests of each trustee but includes meetings with the Chief Executive and key staff. Induction may include: visiting projects and meeting staff and volunteers. All trustees have an annual conversation with the chair to review their contribution.

Organisational structure

The governing body is the Board, which normally comprises twelve trustees. The Board is responsible for the strategic direction, policy and finances of the charity. The Board exercises its responsibilities through full board meetings and operational board meetings. The Chief Executive manages the charity on behalf of the trustees. There is a clear structure and reporting accountabilities that runs through the whole organisation.

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Risk management

Trustees maintain a register of the main strategic, business and operational risks to the charity and ensure that systems and procedures have been established to reduce the risks. Risks are reviewed, actions recommended and monitored in board and sub-committee meetings.

The key controls used by the charity to mitigate risks include:

Trustees are satisfied that the major risks identified have been adequately mitigated.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives

The charity's objectives are:

Children North East exists ‘because growing up can be hard’ for babies, children, young people and their parents. The charity pays particular attention to transition stages during growing up when things can go wrong but can be put right relatively easily by effective early intervention. The five stages and the outcomes that the charity aims to achieve are:

  1. Pregnancy and Babyhood – we want babies to feel safe and loved.

  2. Starting School – we want children to feel ready and looking forward to starting school.

  3. Changing School – we want children and young people to feel confident in school.

  4. Adolescence – we want young people to feel valued and confident.

  5. Becoming independent – we want young people to feel they are given a chance.

Put together these outcomes add up to Children North East’s mission that ‘children and young people grow up happy and healthy.

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The United Kingdom is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives all children the right to health, education, safety, play, family life, protection from harm and support when things go wrong at each stage of growing up. Children North East targets services to those children and young people who do not enjoy all of these rights.

Children North East was established in 1891, meaning we are now 132 years old. Throughout that time, the overall objective of the charity has been to make a positive difference to the lives of babies, children and young people.

Children North East has worked tirelessly over the last year to ensure that we could continue to deliver our services to the people we work with.

Our Strategy and Theory of Change

Strategy

Children North East have a 5-year Strategy covering 2021 to 2026, which sets out how the charity will achieve its objectives, and how it will create and make the most of opportunities over the coming years, in line with Our Vision that babies, children and young people grow up to be happy and healthy.

In 2021 we reviewed our outcomes against our purpose and strategy, and we have made some refinements to this. Now our ambitions are to ensure that all babies, children and young people are given the opportunities to be happy and healthy and to grow up feeling:

We continue to work against our strategic objectives and have developed a theory of change that reflects the intention of our work to meet its purpose and the strategic objective agreed for the next 5 years. Our objectives are:

Sustainability and growth

Reach

Impact

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Theory of Change

Our strategy supported us with a 5-year vision of where we want to take the charity. It provided us with a solid foundation, and, as outlined in our review of the year, achievements have been made and we are continuing to progress well. Our purpose remains the same; we want to ensure all babies, children and young people are given the chance to grow up happy and healthy. Our work supports this purpose and we deliver against this through the following support services:

We recognise the importance of directly delivering services to the people we work with, in many of our services we offer a bespoke approach, ensuring that babies, children, young people and families are supported in the way that they want. However, what we recognised through developing the theory of change is that we don’t always put equal weight into trying to change the ways things work that stops babies, children and young people from being happy and healthy, and so in 2023/24 we want to continue to:

Whilst this is a key ambition of our leadership and management team, in the long term it is our ambition that everyone who works for Children North East are supporting us to reach these wider goals.

ACHIEVMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Message from the CEO

For Children North East and its communities, the last year has been marked by a mix of challenges and inspiring achievements.

In the North East and across the UK, we have seen policies fail to meet the basic needs of babies, children, young people and their families. The increased demand for our services has been stark, driven by the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis on families, continued cuts to funding for youth work and the profound impact of COVID-19 on children and young people.

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We have increased our policy work in response, this year using our voice to advocate for a basic standard of living for all, including calling on the Government to uprate benefits in line with inflation and scrap the two-child cap. We are now campaigning for a national strategy that acknowledges and addresses child poverty, which affects 4.2 million children in the UK.

Meeting the demand for our services and ensuring the stability of our core functions has been no small feat, but it's one we've embraced with determination. The charity has worked creatively, and responsively to serve its mission that every baby, child and young person has the opportunity to grow up healthy and happy. In March we opened Cafe Hope at our Cowgate space, creating a hub for families from the local community to eat, stay warm, access services and build their support networks. In Northumberland, where some towns have 65% of their households being identified as deprived, we’ve launched a new base to run services. Activities like these have helped us grow the reach of our support by 10% this year, with 4,544 individuals accessing our services.

None of this would have been possible without our dedicated staff, trustees, volunteers and supporters; whose expertise and commitment have been the backbone of our success. I would like to take this moment to thank them for their hard work, and to thank the hundreds of supporters who make a difference to the lives of babies, children and young people by donating, fundraising and raising awareness.

Our Impact and Reach

During the financial year, our key impact figures included:

The number of individuals supported represents the number of babies, children, young people and parents/carers accessing our frontline services and support, such as counselling, youth groups or family support. This figure represents a 10% increase in relation to last year (2021/22).

We have delivered a wide range of programmes, predominantly in the North East of England but with some extending across other areas of England, Scotland and Wales.

• Our supporter community – 1,456

The number of people in our supporter community represents those who are engaged with us in relation to donations, fundraising, volunteering and other types of support. It includes 402 individual fundraisers and 52 organisations who have donated or raised funds on our behalf.

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The following map represents the location of the 69 programmes we have delivered during the year.

Our Services

2022/23 has seen us continue to achieve against our strategy. We have been successful in sustaining funding for much of what we have traditionally done over the past number of years and have continued to grow in many new areas, gaining confidence in delivering new programmes that are having a profound and positive effect on babies, children and young people.

During the year, our services were provided by:

If the volunteers were paid at the Real Living Wage (Children North East is a Real Living Wage Foundation employer) their contribution would have been worth approximately £37,844.

Further detail around our services during the year, including some case studies that highlight particular achievement, are set out as follows:

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Family Support

Approximately one in five families report ‘distressed’ relationships, leading to pressures on family life such as the breakdown of adult relations, parenthood, health challenges or finances. Our expert teams offer a range of services in community venues and at home. These include support and activity groups, which create a space to focus on play, communication and spending quality time together. We also provide one-to-one help for families in periods of crisis, such as supporting them to engage with Children’s Social Care or during legal proceedings, with the goal that families are supported to stay safe, care for each other and play a positive role in each other’s lives.

All families should have access to the information and tools they need to care for and interact positively with their babies and children, and to look after their own wellbeing. Yet, families have said that they sometimes experience difficulty interacting with the complex service landscape and have to ‘re-tell their story’ to different services and professionals.

Children North East at the Cowgate Centre is one of the two Newcastle Community family hubs in the Inner West of the city, funded by Newcastle City Council. It delivers services to babies, children, young people and their families in one place, serving the needs of the local community.

In 2022/23, the Centre facilitated a number of different sessions through the centre for children and families, supporting development, family bonding and community building. These included Stay and Play, Sensory play, Crafty kids group, First Words, Boogie Bairns and Baby massage.

We offered a number of parenting programmes to help families deal with the challenges of everyday life, such as non- school attendance, behaviour issues, anxiety and poor mental health, pregnancy and nurturing in the Early Years.

The community family hub also offered access to other services, which are delivered from the centre, including Baby clinics, 'Under 5' health clinics and meetings with professionals and agencies. During the year 884 individuals accessed the Community Family Offer.

In addition, six parents who accessed the service at Cowgate were supported to attend our volunteer programme to support the work we do at the hub as a whole. Of these, two have now successfully moved into paid employment.

Therapy

Therapy is a proven way of overcoming difficult mental health experiences, such as trauma, grief and the breakdown of relationships, yet people can find it difficult to access therapy when they most need it. Our expert teams can offer a range of therapeutic support, such as counselling, behavioural therapies like CBT and parent- infant therapy. We provide specialist treatment to babies, children, young people and families at times when therapy can make a significant difference to their quality of life and long-term health.

The following outlines our provision in relation to Counselling:

Declining mental health amongst young people in the North East continues to grow year on year, which in turn creates longer waiting lists for young people to be seen by qualified mental health practitioners including counsellors and therapists. Young Minds latest data reports 59% of young people seeking help suffered worsening mental health whilst waiting to be seen.

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Our counselling service offers counselling to support 11-25 year olds who have emotional wellbeing and mental health issues. We have a team of trained and experienced counsellors, working with a higher level of counselling referrals which include trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, bereavement, anxiety and depression.

The counselling team have been working across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham, and the quality of the work has been praised by current funders. This year, Children North East delivered contracts through the North East and North Cumbria ICB, the Police and Crime Commissioner and BACP (engagement and support to young refugees and asylum seekers). The counselling team are adept at dealing with high rate of referrals, and keeping the referral waiting time to an absolute minimum, with waiting time averaging at six weeks. The team is able to adapt its counselling within different environments, with counsellors utilising pre-assessed venues to deliver counselling in schools, youth centres, community centres, allotments and more. This adaptability also helps our counselling team deliver person centred care in appropriate environments.

During the year, 100% of those accessing counselling stated their mental health has improved and 97% feel they have more strategies and feel more positive about their future.

Mental Health

One in six children will experience a mental health challenge, whilst 6% of 10 to 15 years olds report they are unhappy with their lives. Our mental health work gives children, young people and their families the opportunity to access early help and to develop tools to understand and manage their mental health. Our wide-ranging approaches include delivering mentoring and peer-support programmes, one-to-one and group activities, educational sessions and training for those wanting to support family members. We can offer specialised support for those with unique needs, including SEND, neurodiversity and refugees. Our work helps build the confidence of individuals and families to manage their mental health, grow their resilience and overcome challenges before they escalate.

One area of delivery is the offer of the BU Wellbeing Programme:

North Tyneside Learning Trust partnered with Children North East to offer 119 pupils the charity’s BU Wellbeing course, which helps children and young people to build resilience and develop positive techniques to manage their mental health.

Staff shared that the sessions made a significant impact on many of the young people and that they saw them using what they had learned in practice, such as coping techniques during times of stress. One teacher happily surprised to see the quieter male students they had expected to shy away from the topic embrace it and speak freely about some of their experiences.

Gary Munday, Pastoral Guidance Officer at Monkseaton Middle School explains, “The children have responded well to the sessions, and we can see them grow into it as the weeks build up. The sessions have given the students the skills, confidence, and resilience to support them to achieve.”

Katrina Moffat, Project Manager at the North Tyneside Learning Trust shares how the programme created value for pupils, “Through working with Children North East, we have been able to provide groups of young people with access to the BU programme and also provide training for staff in schools allowing them to continue to provide support. We’re really pleased to have been able to work with Children North East and support North Tyneside Learning Trust schools in this important area.”

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Community Services

No family should miss out on vital services because of where they live or their ability to travel, yet sadly this is often the case. Our community services provide a wide range of support opportunities in underserved places, from family activities to learning to experiences that bring communities together. The primary focus of our community services is promoting physical health and developing local support networks for groups with inadequate provision, such as young people with SEND and families living in poverty. Residents are supported to overcome challenges they face, experience less isolation and have a chance to thrive together, as a community.

One of the areas which we support, and which has grown during the financial year, is SEND and Neuro support. There is currently a lack of support for neurodivergent young people; a challenge which is being exacerbated by funding cuts within state healthcare and educational budgets. For example, a young person in the North East can wait up to two years or more for an autism diagnosis.

Children North East’s work in this area plays a vital role in meeting local need. Our support for SEND and neurodiverse young people provides essential support for mental health and well-being of those we work with and feeds into wider areas of their life such as school, relationships and navigating the world around them.

This year our provision included:

The support groups deliver a positive impact on self-esteem, confidence and mental health. For example, many neurodivergent young people feel lonely and have a strong desire to form friendships with their peers which the groups facilitate. They enable individuals to socialise without the need to mask or feel pressure to adhere to neurotypical behaviours .

During the year, 236 young people were supported through our Neuro and SEND provision.

Case study: Wren’s story

Masquer-Aid is a peer support group for 11 to 25 year olds who have recently found out they are neurodifferent or are waiting for a diagnosis. It also provides young people with opportunities to engage in therapeutic support with a counsellor and support from a specialised mental health youth worker and engage in fun activities.

One young person, *Wren, attended Masquer-Aid groups and accessed one-to- one sessions with a youth worker. They shared they often felt guilt and shame over their behaviour at home and their progress at school.

In sessions, Wren and their youth worker explored what it meant to be neurodivergent and some of the challenges that this presents. Wren reflected that their impulsiveness, sleep issues and inability to concentrate in lessons could be something beyond their control and this enabled them to have a more positive opinion of themselves and improved self- esteem.

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Wren’s Mam reported that since participating in Masquer-Aid, Wren talks about themselves in a more positive light, has fewer angry outbursts, has been able to explain how they feel more easily and asks for help when things become overwhelming.

The youth worker also sent a report to Wren's school and met with its SENCo. As a result, some changes were put in place to support Wren, for example the option to visit the welfare department first period to help them settle into the day.

Feedback from the family included, "You are a great support to families like us, thank you for listening without judgement".

* Names changed for privacy

Poverty Proofing©

In the UK, approximately 20% of people live in poverty. They often face additional barriers to participating in important experiences, such as school, healthcare, and cultural and community activities. Our Poverty Proofing© service supports organisations to listen to the experiences of those living in poverty and to use that insight to identify and address barriers to participation and stigma. We also provide training on the impact of poverty and how teams can 'Poverty Proof' their decisionmaking. The outcome is reduced inequalities, making it possible for everyone to participate and thrive in vital services, cultural experience and within their communities, regardless of financial background.

Our Poverty Proofing© work is now truly national across all sectors we work in, from Pembrokeshire to Berwick-upon-Tweed, school pupils are benefiting from the work our Schools Team delivers.

In Health, we have worked with maternity services, paediatric diabetes and General Practice to name a few, partnering with NHS bodies and national charities on much of the work.

Partnership work remains important across all our work, whether it is with the 10 Local and Combined Authorities, regional bodies, Multi Academy Trusts and Dioceses’ across England and Wales that the Schools team currently works with or cultural organisations such as the Tees Valley Museums with whom we began working with this year.

Our team in the West Midlands embarked upon the first Poverty Proofing Communities intervention with Warwickshire Council, a one-year programme spanning two financial years with this first phase involving four settings, including leisure centres.

In 2023, Poverty Proofing Health Settings was shortlisted for 'Most Impactful Project Addressing Health Inequalities' at the national HSJ Partnership Awards 2023, recognising their outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS.

Outside of delivering Poverty Proofing services, the team pursue opportunities to raise awareness about the causes of poverty and ways to address its impact through speaking at conferences, publishing resources for professionals and sharing insights through a quarterly newsletter and Twitter.

During the financial year, 105 settings were 'Poverty Proofed' with 33,736 individuals consulted and 1,342 individuals trained.

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Case Study: Sandwell Council

It is often repeated that every journey begins with a first step. For Sandwell Council changing the future starts with a day.

Responding to the complex issues that create and arise from poverty is difficult. Developing a strategy that creates meaningful change for the communities you serve requires insight, understanding and creative problem-solving. Serving an area with the 12th highest level of deprivation in the UK, Sandwell Council is faced with challenging decisions that will have long-term impact on its residents’ health, economic opportunities, and wellbeing.

And just like the first step of a journey, one way they are tackling the big questions about how they create improvements for their communities is by looking at one of the foundational steps in people’s lives: the School Day. In 2022, they partnered with Children North East to deliver a programme of Poverty Proofing© for over 50 schools.

Rachael Wolffel, Education Development Officer at Sandwell Virtual School explains, "Poverty is connected to so many of the vulnerabilities of our students and the Poverty Proofing approach is offering an effective way of addressing that in a rounded way. You can cross reference decisions and activities with everyday experiences from the audit, adapt your language and change the culture within the school to promote positive pupil and family behaviours."

Although it was a programme focused on improving access and experiences of education, improving health outcomes is an important long-term benefit of the programme. Emily Morgan, an Advisory Teacher for RSHE with Sandwell Council, "it has had a profound impact on schools' unseen issues, but it has also had a huge impact on areas of strategic importance to health and has informed the authority on long-term changes that are now part of our public health strategy".

The examples she presents are wide ranging, improving attendance (a top priority for Sandwell Council) increasing access to and uptake of free school meals, staff recognising pupil health and wellbeing issues, improving relationships between staff and students and opportunities to signpost support and education.

Similarly, the Police’s Violence Reduction Unit, which contributed to the programme's funding, saw it as a pathway to protect children who are at risk of being victims of or involved with community violence later in life.

This diversity of benefactors of the Poverty Proofing programme in Sandwell is one of the most important aspects for Sandwell Council. Emily explains, "We're working more closely with a huge range of stakeholders. Our teams across the council and its partners are working towards substantial goals for our communities, which often interlink. This programme has been a vehicle to pull those different groups together: schools, healthcare, child and social services, housing and community policing. This saves public money, shares expertise and feeds into better outcomes; really supporting the needs of the community."

Sandwell Council are the first local authority to partner with the Poverty Proofing team with such an holistic vision for how it could support quality of life for its communities now and in the long-term, bringing together diverse organisations to action change from the programme's findings.

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When we think of the school day most of us think of a time full of firsts, when we had everything ahead of us, so using that as a springboard for change that lasts a lifetime feels like an insightful and creative place to start.

Participation

From challenging inequality to highlighting unseen barriers, Children North East believes real social change is achieved when those who have lived experience lead that change. Listening to the people who live through different situations and challenges can grow understanding and promote alternate, better ways of doing things. Our expert teams facilitate participatory research and consultations with children, young people and families on projects spanning different themes, ambition, timescales and engagement methods. Whether you want to improve the experience of your organisation for families or put children’s voices at the heart of policy reform, we can support you to collect insights from people with the experiences that matter.

Our consultation research is important as it is distinct from academic research and not completed for the purpose of statistical data or publication. Rather its primary focus is to empower participants by using findings to work towards enacting positive change within systems, structures and organisations.

This year, Children North East’s consultation work included:

Over the past year we have taken on several short term consultation projects for a range of commissioning stakeholders which has helped to grow our reputation as a research organisation. We have consulted with 3,559 young people and 94% of the young people participating in social action projects reported improved feelings about education and work.

Policy and Campaigning

In 2022/23 we continued to work collaboratively with partners across the charity sector, especially in relation to child poverty. During the year we supported 16 campaigns for policy change and made 39 contributions to relevant press and media stories.

The charity is part of the North East Child Poverty Commission and our Operational Director, Michele Deans, is currently holding the position of Vice-Chair within this group. We have supported campaigns coordinated by partners, including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which led calls for government to take action on the spiralling cost of living. In March, this campaigning led to the government agreeing to uprate all welfare benefits, including child benefit, maternity and paternity pay, in line with inflation for the following financial year.

We joined campaign coalitions focusing on the impact of poverty on education, and on improving mental health provision for children and young people. We added our voice to calls to extend Free

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School Meals entitlement, and collaborated with Children England to highlight concerns about the impact of proposed new legislation on the rights of children arriving in the UK unaccompanied.

We have lent our expertise to shaping and influencing policy through ongoing involvement in the Archbishop's Commission. We also have representation at strategic level within the regional NHS structures and a range of local and regional boards and forums.

Our CEO, Leigh Elliott is a Health Associate at the Kings Fund, an independent charitable organisation working to improve health and care in England. She has used this position to present to numerous Leaders within the NHS in relation to health inequalities of children living in poverty.

We are continuing to work with the Living Wage Foundation to champion fairly paid work as a way to address child poverty.

Our Supporters

On behalf of all of the babies, children, young people and families we work with, we would like to thank all of the generous individuals, community groups, businesses and Trusts and Foundations who have supported Children North East this year.

Your support means that we can be there when we are needed most.

Following the restrictions of the pandemic, the 2022/23 financial year is the first year we have seen the return of some normality to our fundraising calendar.

This year our supporters were as creative as ever in the ways they showed their support and raised funds. From a 24 hour radio marathon to the Great North Run, from a challenge walk along Hadrian’s Wall to a zip slide from the Tyne Bridge. Thank you to everyone who took on a personal or group challenge to raise funds. This includes 402 individual fundraisers and 52 supporting organisations.

We have also been able to re-build some of our long-standing corporate relationships, as well as developing new partnerships with businesses across the region. We were chosen as Charity of Year by a number of North East teams, working closely with them on a diverse calendar of events.

Our Annual Fundraising Ball also made a return after a pandemic hiatus, bringing many from our supporter community back together.

Children North East’s fundraising conforms to the requirements of the Fundraising Regulator. The Board of Trustees monitors fundraising activities carried out by Children North East. There were no complaints made to Children North East about our fundraising during the year.

Children North East provides opportunities for adults and young people to volunteer their time as mentors and offers practice placements for social work students. During the financial year, we worked with 18 (2022: 57) volunteers and 4 (2022: 4) students. We are looking to expand these opportunities in 2022/23.

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Case Study: Players of the People's Postcode Lottery

A funder who has played a key role in our work for over thirteen years is the People's Postcode Lottery (PPL).

“The support of the players of PPL is transformative for our charity and the communities it serves. In the past three years they have not only funded life- changing services, but allowed us keep lifelines of support going during the pandemic against the odds." David Bavaird, previous Chair of the Trustees at Children North East.

The support of PPL:

In addition to continued unrestricted financial support, PPL supported and engaged the charity in a range of ways. These included the production of the short film, 'Home Is Where Hope Is' featuring our Patron, Tim Healy, and PPL Ambassador, Judie McCourt; which supported the charity to share the impact of work with audiences.

Audiences and Marketing

During the year, there was significant growth of audiences on social media (11%) and for the newsletter (61%). The number of website users has remained consistent with previous years, however users are now viewing more pages (by 19%) and are consuming more news and blogs shared by the charity (by 60%).

As our work across the UK increased, so did our audiences outside of the North East, for example website audiences from London grew from an 8.2% share of visitors in 2021 to 19.6% in 2022.

We also saw the number of men in our audiences increase by 12% as part of a coordinated attempt to reach more dads and male carers.

Improving accessibility was a key priority for the team in 2022/23 and the impact of awareness raising of the support available work in this area contributed to an increase in the use of our website accessibility support tools, including the content translation by 1,230% and reading aid technology by 586%.

A writing Style Guide was launched to support teams across the charity to use standardised language, including for categories of social difference, and an annual process of review by experts set up.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Position

At the balance sheet date, the charity held funds of £638,763 (2022: 582,890) of which £455,000 (2022: £422,500) was designated in accordance with the reserves policy.

Principal Sources of Income

The main sources of income are contracts and grants from the public sector and grant making bodies. These are a mixture of both restricted and unrestricted funds. In addition, we generate sales income through offering our services, in particular in regard to our Poverty Proofing© service.

We are very grateful to People’s Postcode Lottery for £400,000 unrestricted income. Other unrestricted income is generated through fundraising, donations and events.

Total income was higher than the previous year and is reflected in the reported surplus for the year.

It is the policy of the Board to wind down and close activities where there is no prospect of securing adequate funding.

Grants

Our thanks and appreciation go to all the organisations, trusts and foundations who awarded us grants during the financial year - there are too many to name as we received over 50 separate grants. These grants were wide ranging with the majority to assist us in delivering our services but a number of unrestricted grants have been crucial in helping support our core costs which have increased due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Restricted income

We received income through contracts with a number of commissioners, mainly across the North East but also within North Cumbria and Warwickshire.

Children North East competes for contracts that are consistent with our mission, skills and experience, sometimes in partnership with other organisations.

Sales

We have been focusing on a sales strategy during the year and hope to expand on this over the remainder of our 5-year strategy. Our Poverty Proofing work has been underway for over 10 years, working with schools, and we have recently grown this to include Poverty Proofing Health settings, communities and Arts and Cultural organisations. Our sales income has increased from £202,000 in 2022 to £401,000 in 2023.

Donations and Fundraising

We are very grateful to all of the individuals and businesses who support Children North East; their support is invaluable in raising unrestricted income to ensure we can be there for babies, children and young people when they need us most.

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Reserves Policy and Going Concern

The Board reviewed the reserves policy during the year as follows:

The Board designates unrestricted reserves as:

The Board has decided that fluctuations in restricted income are always known in advance and that plans will always be made to manage expenditure against this income without calling on reserves. The majority of expenditure is always staff salaries.

The Board considers that sufficient reserves should be maintained to manage the charity in the event of sudden withdrawal of significant unrestricted income. The Board has examined the pattern of income and expenditure over recent years and decided that a realistic ‘comfortable’ level of General Funds (free reserves) should be between £250,000 and £300,000. Free reserves currently stand at £150,290.

Investment Policy

When investments are made the investment objective is to provide a balanced return between income and capital growth with a low to medium level of risk. Investments are made within an ethical framework set by the Board:

There are currently no investments in place.

Page | 16

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

FUTURE PLANS

As part of our 5-year Strategy, and following the growth sustained in the past two years, we have reviewed our operational structure and have made some changes to help future proof for further growth. This has led to the appointment of four Operational Leads – Therapeutic Services, Communities, Poverty Proofing and Regional (including participation and SEND work). The new structure will ensure that we are continuing to provide quality services, supporting staff to deliver against our vision and values and that we are in a position to respond to future demand for our services.

We have also added the role of Assistant Operation Director to our senior team. The AOD post will be central to achieving our objectives around reach and impact by focussing resource on areas of need and seeking opportunities to develop services to address this need.

Following the opening of a base in Northumberland in 2022, we have recognised Gateshead as an area where we need to establish a CNE office and service delivery space in order to meet the growing need for our services. We have identified a suitable building and will be securing a lease during 2023/24 with a view to delivering services from early 2024.

We are also continuing to look at how we can maximise opportunities to work in other areas of the UK, including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, specifically in relation to our Poverty Proofing work.

Page | 17

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Trustees Mr Mark Stoddart, Chair Appointed as Chair 28 Feb 2023 Mr David W Bavaird, Chair Resigned 28 February 2023 Mr Stephen Robinson Resigned 14 September 2022 Mr Alex Coburn Ms Philippa Hughes Resigned 28 March 2023 Reverend Sarah Lunn Mrs Lisa Alcorn Appointed 15 June 2022 Mrs Lynn Charlton Appointed 15 June 2022 Mr Liam Clark-Brown Appointed 15 June 2022 Mrs Louise Hall App. 15 Jun 22, res. 28 Mar 23 Miss Lucy Atherton Appointed 19 May 2023 Chief Executive Officer Mrs Leigh Elliott Operations Director Ms Michele Deans Growth & Engagement Director Mrs Janet Cairns Head Office & Registered Office 89 Denhill Park Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 6QE Auditors Read, Milburn and Co 71 Howard Street North Shields NE30 1AF Bankers Unity Trust Bank plc Nine Brindley Place Birmingham B1 2HB Investment Managers Speirs & Jeffrey Limited - currently no investments 36 Renfield Street Glasgow G21 NA

Appointed as Chair 28 Feb 2023 Resigned 28 February 2023 Resigned 14 September 2022

Page | 18

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Children North East for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

AUDITORS

In accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, a resolution for the re-appointment of Read, Milburn & Co. as auditors of the charity is to be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by order of the Board of trustees on 12 December 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Mr Mark Stoddart, Chair

Page | 19

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF CHILDREN NORTH EAST

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Children North East (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Page | 20

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF CHILDREN NORTH EAST

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Page | 21

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF CHILDREN NORTH EAST

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. In this regard, our procedures include the following:

Because of the field in which the charity operates, we have identified the following areas as those most likely to have a material impact on the financial statements: Health and Safety; Employment Law; and compliance with the Companies and Charities Acts.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Nicholas Liley FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Read, Milburn & Co Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 71 Howard Street North Shields Tyne and Wear NE30 1AF

13 December 2023

Page | 22

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
5
General operations
Children and young people
Families and parenting
Parent infant partnership
Other trading activities
3
Investment income
4
Other income
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
6
Charitable activities
7
General operations
Children and young people
Families and parenting
Parent infant partnership
Reversal of impairment losses
Total
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Transfers between funds
21
Net movement in funds
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
CONTINUING OPERATIONS		 Unrestricted
funds
£
616,235
48,855
1,214,015
359,681
121,987
401,415
61
4,234
2,766,483
95,024
467,557
1,529,609
478,160
158,750
(32,500)
2,696,600
69,883
(14,010)
55,873
582,890
638,763
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
456,854
46,546
38,912
-
-
-
542,312
-
-
495,686
50,105
10,531
-
556,322
(14,010)
14,010
-
-
-		 2023
Total
funds
£
616,235
48,855
1,670,869
406,227
160,899
401,415
61
4,234
3,308,795
95,024
467,557
2,025,295
528,265
169,281
(32,500)
3,252,922
55,873
-
55,873
582,890
638,763		 2022
Total
funds
£
585,288
18,499
1,141,174
452,944
165,586
201,781
-
15,964
2,581,236
41,491
299,262
1,169,308
506,928
257,442
93,450
2,367,881
213,355
-
213,355
369,535
582,890

All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activities.

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page | 23

CHILDREN NORTH EAST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 00090288)

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets
14
Investments
15
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
16
Cash at bank and in hand
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
17
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES
19
NET ASSETS/(LIABILITIES)
FUNDS
21
Unrestricted funds:
General fund
Designated fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 2023
£
488,472
1
488,473
635,089
545,182
1,180,271
(994,651)
185,620
674,093
(35,330)
638,763
183,763
455,000
638,763
638,763		 2022
£
452,277
1
452,278
616,353
800,836
1,417,189
(1,231,160)
186,029
638,307
(55,417)
582,890
160,390
422,500
582,890
582,890

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 12 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Mr M B Stoddart, Chair

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page | 24

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
24
Interest paid
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in
the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end
of the reporting period		 2023
£
(238,740)
299
(238,441)
(17,274)
61
(17,213)
(255,654)
800,836
545,182		 2022
£
439,086
(1,139)
437,947
-
-
-
437,947
362,889
800,836

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page | 25

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by 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 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value.

The presentation currency of the financial statements is the Pound Sterling, rounded to the nearest Pound (£).

Going concern

At the date of approval of these financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue for the foreseeable future and as such the financial statements are prepared on the going concern basis.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Freehold property - not provided Motor vehicles - 20% on cost

No depreciation is provided in respect of the freehold properties held, which is a departure from the Companies Act 2006 which requires all properties to be depreciated. The directors however consider that the adopted policy of non depreciation of freehold properties results in the accounts giving a true and fair view.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Page | 26

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Fund accounting

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The company contributes to a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. Pension costs are charged to the income and expenditure account when paid which results in spreading the cost of pensions over the employees working lives with the charity.

Debtors

Debtors and prepayments are recognised at the settlement amount due or amount prepaid.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments.

Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount.

Financial instruments

Other than those mentioned above, the company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Post Code Children Trust
Other donations and legacies		 2023
£
437,500
178,735
616,235		 2022
£
362,500
222,788
585,288

Page | 27

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

3.
OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
Fundraising events
Charges for goods & services
4.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Investment income
5.
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Grants
Contract income
Spot purchase of services
Grants
Contract income
Spot purchase of services
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
Health
Trusts
Other		 General
operations
£
48,855
-
-
48,855
Parent
infant
partnership
£
38,912
-
121,987
160,899

Page | 28

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

6. RAISING FUNDS

Raising donations and legacies

Raising donations and legacies
Staff costs
Other fundraising costs
Depreciation		 2023
£
71,116
23,908
-
95,024		 2022
£
33,135
8,138
218
41,491

7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

General operations
Children and young people
Families and parenting
Parent infant partnership		 Direct
Costs (see
note 8)
£
311,235
1,950,943
470,486
164,315
2,896,979		 Support
costs (see
note 9)
£
156,322
74,352
57,779
4,966
293,419		 Totals
£
467,557
2,025,295
528,265
169,281
3,190,398

8. DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Staff costs
Motor & travel expenses
Staff training & recruitment
Volunteer costs
Other client costs		 2023
£
2,570,790
91,452
24,682
5,741
204,314
2,896,979		 2022
£
1,775,941
40,573
26,117
3,897
56,623
1,903,151

Page | 29

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

9. SUPPORT COSTS

SUPPORT COSTS
Management Governance
& administration
costs
£
£
General operations
151,522
4,800
Children and young people
74,352
-
Families and parenting
57,779
-
Parent infant partnership
4,966
-
288,619
4,800		 Totals
£
156,322
74,352
57,779
4,966
293,419

Support costs, included in the above, are as follows:

Management & administration

General
operations
£
Rent & rates
(9,063)
Insurance
11,408
Light and heat
7,018
Telephone
6,079
Printing, postage, stationery and
advertising
8,552
Sundries
4,451
Repairs & maintenance
18,929
Cleaning
11,029
Computer support & maintenance
41,912
Professional fees
29,999
Subscriptions
5,846
Bank charges
2,677
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
12,984
Interest payable
(299)
151,522
Parent
infant
partnership
£
Rent & rates
1,581
Insurance
-
Light and heat
-
Telephone
1,244
Printing, postage, stationery and
advertising
1,032
Carried forward
3,857		 Children
and young
people
£
12,343
-
5,489
14,650
5,851
6,090
4,880
6,544
15,000
728
2,182
-
595
-
74,352
2023
Total
activities
£
25,555
11,408
12,507
27,829
16,895
94,194		 Families
and
parenting
£
20,694
-
-
5,856
1,460
3,344
586
18,026
3,121
4,424
268
-
-
-
57,779
2022
Total
activities
£
19,933
12,580
9,507
23,639
18,929
84,588

Page | 30

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

9. SUPPORT COSTS - continued

Management & administration - continued

Parent
infant
partnership
£
Brought forward
3,857
Sundries
-
Repairs & maintenance
-
Cleaning
-
Computer support & maintenance
623
Professional fees
247
Subscriptions
239
Bank charges
-
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
-
Interest payable
-
4,966
Governance costs
Auditors' remuneration
10.
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
Auditors' remuneration
Depreciation - owned assets		 2023
Total
activities
£
94,194
13,885
24,395
35,599
60,656
35,398
8,535
2,677
13,579
(299)
288,619
2023
General
operations
£
4,800
2023
£
4,800
13,579		 2022
Total
activities
£
84,588
9,020
46,993
18,287
93,364
43,702
15,664
1,577
10,655
1,139
324,989
2022
Total
activities
£
4,800
2022
£
4,800
10,873

Page | 31

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

11. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2023 nor for the year ended 31 March 2022.

12. STAFF COSTS

STAFF COSTS
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2023
£
2,306,528
196,193
139,185
2,641,906		 2022
£
1,708,602
144,451
(43,977)
1,809,076

The key management personnel, including the trustees, are listed under Reference and Administrative Details. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £179,074 (2022 - £132,101).

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2023 2022
All staff 98 79

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

2023 2022
£60,001 - £70,000 1 1

Page | 32

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

13.
COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
585,288
Charitable activities
General operations
18,499
Children and young people
782,423
Families and parenting
410,124
Parent infant partnership
165,586
Other trading activities
201,781
Other income
10,239
Total
2,173,940
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
41,491
Charitable activities
General operations
293,537
Children and young people
832,679
Families and parenting
464,316
Parent infant partnership
257,442
Reversal of impairment losses
93,450
Total
1,982,915
NET INCOME
191,025
Transfers between funds
22,330
Net movement in funds
213,355
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
369,535
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
582,890
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
358,751
42,820
-
-
5,725
407,296
-
5,725
336,629
42,612
-
-
384,966
22,330
(22,330)
-
-
-		 Total
funds
£
585,288
18,499
1,141,174
452,944
165,586
201,781
15,964
2,581,236
41,491
299,262
1,169,308
506,928
257,442
93,450
2,367,881
213,355
-
213,355
369,535
582,890

Page | 33

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

14. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

COST
At 1 April 2022
Additions
Reversal of impairments
At 31 March 2023
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2022
Charge for year
At 31 March 2023
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022		 Freehold
property
£
422,500
-
32,500
455,000
-
-
-
455,000
422,500		 Fixtures
and
fittings
£
12,366
17,274
-
29,640
4,414
5,649
10,063
19,577
7,952		 Motor
vehicles
£
39,650
-
-
39,650
17,825
7,930
25,755
13,895
21,825		 Totals
£
474,516
17,274
32,500
524,290
22,239
13,579
35,818
488,472
452,277

The property at 89 Denhill Park was revalued in November 2022 by R.A. George F. White at £280,000. The property at 4 Graingerville North was revalued in 2015 by Dunlop Haywood at £175,000 and the directors believe this remains appropriate. The historic cost of these properties is £407,734 and £593,382 respectively.

15. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Shares in
group
undertaking
£
MARKET VALUE
At 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 1
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2023 1
At 31 March 2022 1

There were no investment assets outside the UK.

The company's investments at the balance sheet date in the share capital of companies include the following:

Page | 34

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

15. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS - continued

CNE Trading Ltd

Registered office: 89 Denhill Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 6QE Nature of business: Delivery of services on behalf of the charity.

%
Class of share: holding
Ordinary 100
2023 2022
£ £
Aggregate capital and reserves 1 1
Profit for the year - 93,450

The results of CNE Trading Ltd have not been consolidated with those of the Company as their inclusion is not material for the purpose of giving a true and fair view, in accordance with section 405(2) of the Companies Act 2006.

16. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 2023
£
517,252
17,511
100,326
635,089		 2022
£
502,412
41,908
72,033
616,353

17. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Amounts owed to group undertakings
Social security and other taxes
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2023
£
87,678
1
96,302
25,599
785,071
994,651		 2022
£
35,597
1
137,177
23,206
1,035,179
1,231,160

Deferred Income

Included within Accruals and Deferred Income are the following amounts comprising income received in advance of delivery of the related services or expenditure incurred.

Balance at 1 April 2022

Released to income from charitable activities

Amount deferred in year
Balance at 31 March 2023		 £
1,002,043
(1,002,043)
745,532
745,532

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CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

18. SECURED DEBTS

The charity's pension liabilities are secured by a fixed charge on the freehold property at 4 Graingerville North.

19. PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

Pension deficit provision
Present Values of Provision
2023
£
Present value of provision
35,330
Reconciliation of Opening and Closing Provisions
Provision at start of period
Unwinding of the discount factor (interest expense)
Deficit contribution paid
Remeasurements - impact of any change in assumptions
Remeasurements - amendments to the contribution schedule
Provision at end of period
Income and Expenditure Impact
Interest expense
Remeasurements - impact of any change in assumptions
Remeasurements - amendments to the contribution schedule		 2023
£
35,330
2022
£
55,417
2023
£
55,417
1,046
(20,190)
(943)
-
35,330
2023
£
1,046
(943)
-
103		 2022
£
55,417
2021
£
267,020
2022
£
267,020
1,521
(67,572)
(1,274)
(144,278)
55,417
2022
£
1,521
(1,274)
(144,278)
(144,031)

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CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

19. PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES - continued

Assumptions

Assumptions
2023 2022 2021
% per annum % per annum % per annum
Rate of discount 5.52
2.35
0.66

The discount rates shown above are the equivalent single discount rates which, when used to discount the future recovery plan contributions due, would give the same results as using a full AA corporate bond yield curve to discount the same recovery plan contributions.

20. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Provision for liabilities		 Unrestricted
funds
£
488,472
1
1,180,271
(994,651)
(35,330)
638,763
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2023
Total
funds
£
488,472
1
1,180,271
(994,651)
(35,330)
638,763		 2022
Total
funds
£
452,277
1
1,417,189
(1,231,160)
(55,417)
582,890

21. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated fund
Families and Parenting
Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
Restricted funds
Families and Parenting
Children and Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1/4/22
£
160,390
422,500
-
-
-
582,890
-
-
-
-
582,890		 Net
movement
in funds
£
508,219
32,500
(118,479)
(315,594)
(36,763)
69,883
(3,559)
(10,388)
(63)
(14,010)
55,873		 Transfers
between
funds
£
(484,846)
-
118,479
315,594
36,763
(14,010)
3,559
10,388
63
14,010
-		 At
31/3/23
£
183,763
455,000
-
-
-
638,763
-
-
-
-
638,763

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CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

21. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated fund
Families and Parenting
Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
Restricted funds
Families and Parenting
Children and Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
TOTAL FUNDS
Comparatives for movement in funds
Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated fund
Families and Parenting
Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
Restricted funds
Families and Parenting
Children and Young People
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1/4/21
£
(52,965)
422,500
-
-
-
369,535
-
-
-
369,535		 Incoming
resources
£
1,070,800
-
359,681
1,214,015
121,987
2,766,483
46,546
456,854
38,912
542,312
3,308,795
Net
movement
in funds
£
387,329
-
(54,192)
(50,256)
(91,856)
191,025
208
22,122
22,330
213,355		 Resources
expended
£
(562,581)
32,500
(478,160)
(1,529,609)
(158,750)
(2,696,600)
(50,105)
(467,242)
(38,975)
(556,322)
(3,252,922)
Transfers
between
funds
£
(173,974)
-
54,192
50,256
91,856
22,330
(208)
(22,122)
(22,330)
-		 Movement
in funds
£
508,219
32,500
(118,479)
(315,594)
(36,763)
69,883
(3,559)
(10,388)
(63)
(14,010)
55,873
At
31/3/22
£
160,390
422,500
-
-
-
582,890
-
-
-
582,890

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CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

21. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Families and Parenting
Young People
Parent Infant Partnership
Restricted funds
Families and Parenting
Children and Young People
Other restricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
815,807
410,124
782,423
165,586
2,173,940
42,820
358,751
5,725
407,296
2,581,236		 Resources
expended
£
(428,478)
(464,316)
(832,679)
(257,442)
(1,982,915)
(42,612)
(336,629)
(5,725)
(384,966)
(2,367,881)		 Movement
in funds
£
387,329
(54,192)
(50,256)
(91,856)
191,025
208
22,122
-
22,330
213,355

Designated fund

The designated fund represents the net book value of the properties at Denhill and Weyes.

Restricted funds

Families & Parenting

The Families & Parenting fund was set up to support children, young people and parents in challenging circumstances such as living in temporary homeless accommodation, parent mental health, parental substance misuse, domestic violence and non school attendance. It also provides training in parenting with particular emphasis on fathers.

Children & Young People

The Children & Young People fund provides services in a drop in advice centre for young people including outreach sexual health advice and also provides training in schools for young people about health, wellbeing and mental health. Five Youth Link projects train and support young people as volunteers to support young people in need. The service also supports Newcastle Youth Council.

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CHILDREN NORTH EAST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

22. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS

TPT Retirement Solutions - The Growth Plan

The Company participates in the scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 638 non-associated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the Company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

The scheme is classified as a 'last-man standing arrangement'. Therefore the Company is potentially liable for other participating employers' obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out at 30 September 2020. This valuation showed assets of £800.3m, liabilities of £831.9m and a deficit of £31.6m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

From 1 April 2023 to 31 January 2025: £20,190 per annum (payable monthly and increasing by 3% each on 1 April).

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the Series 1 and Series 2 scheme liabilities.

Where the scheme is in deficit and where the Company has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement the Company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The present value is calculated using the discount rates detailed in note 19 to the financial statements. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.

Pension Trust Flexible Pension Plan

From December 2006 the charity has also offered the Flexible Pension Plan (the new scheme) to all staff. The new scheme is a money purchase plan and is not contracted out of the state scheme. The Charity paid contributions at the rate of 7.25% during the accounting period and members paid minimum contributions at the rate of 5% but could make additional voluntary contributions if they wished. The employer's contribution payable during the year was £139,082 (2022: £100,054) and the outstanding contributions (employer plus employee) owed at the balance sheet date was £23,765 (2022: £22,167).

The Charity continues to offer membership of the new scheme to all of its employees.

Page | 40

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

CHILDREN NORTH EAST

23. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2023.

24. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of
Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Interest received
Interest paid
Reversal of impairment losses
Increase in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Difference between pension charge and cash contributions
Net cash (used in)/provided by operations		 2023
£
55,873
13,579
(61)
(299)
(32,500)
(18,736)
(236,509)
(20,087)
(238,740)		 2022
£
213,355
10,873
-
1,139
-
(166,574)
591,896
(211,603)
439,086

25. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1/4/22 Cash flow At 31/3/23
£ £ £
Net cash
Cash at bank and in hand 800,836 (255,654) 545,182
800,836 (255,654) 545,182
Total 800,836 (255,654) 545,182

26. LEGAL STATUS

The charity is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee, with the liability of each member not exceeding 50p on winding up, and is registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found within Reference and Administrative Details.

Page | 41