Youth Focus North East Annual Report 2018

Annual Report 2018 Phone: 0191 477 9966 www. youthfocusne.org.uk

Introduction from our Chair

Pete Stout OBE I introduce with pleasure and pride this year’s Annual Report on behalf of the Board of Directors of our unique charity.

2018 has been an outstanding year of achievement for Youth Focus: North East. The range of work undertaken has expanded considerably thanks to the support of visionary funders. Our highly dedicated professional staff, volunteer team and Youth Board are tackling and responding to key contemporary youth issues and piloting new ways of working, all in true partnership with young people.

It is pleasing to note that our work has received well deserved regional and national recognition in the press. Of particular note is the charity’s ground breaking work around youth loneliness in partnership with the Co-op Foundation, testing out open access provision with the Youth Investment Fund and our You + Us programme with Virgin Money Foundation, to mention but a few examples.

Trying to sum up what makes Youth Focus: North East such a unique and effective charity is a difficult task, but from my perspective a few key components are, it is…….

Well organised, well led, well managed, well connected, well respected, well positioned, well used and well monitored.

We are looking forward as a charity to celebrating our 30th Anniversary Year in 2019, not only reflecting on three decades of development, but also focusing on the future and achieving our vision of working in partnership to improve the lives of young people.

Much needs to be changed and improved to meet the needs and aspirations of young people in our society and across the globe, to enable them individually and collectively to reach their full potential in what is such a complex and uncertain world. I encourage you to join and support us in creating new pathways to build a more inclusive world for our young people.

Introduction from our Chief Executive

Leon Mexter “The best way to predict the future is to create it”

As we move into our 30th year, it is timely to reflect on our past, but also look to our future at Youth Focus: North East.

In 1989, we were established to support the youth sector in our region, providing the coordination for initial training for youth workers and a range of regional strategic groups.

Over the years, our work has developed and diversified.

Now our main focus is providing direct support to young people and our programmes addressing employment, loneliness, engagement in communities and supporting open access youth work are receiving regional and national recognition. We have established the firm foundations of quality assurance, evidence and impact, involvement of young people and a culture of learning and development. We continue to develop new ideas and responses in addressing the needs of young people and the professionals who support them. And it is in this development of new ideas that our future lies.

As an organisation we do not stand still, and we do not stand alone. Working together, with both professionals and young people, is at the core of our practice. We see the tangible, and intangible, benefits for both our work and the young people we support. Effective cooperation of organisations and coordination of services are the future for our sector. It is only through real collaboration and partnership that we will be able to create the sort of future that our young people deserve.

Our work in numbers: 2018 1,465 young people as

Male

direct beneficiariesÂ

Female

48.2%

51.8%

 Where our beneficiaries live Middlesbrough

32.7%

Newcastle

23.3%

Redcar & Cleveland

12.4%

Durham

8.3%

Gateshead

7%

Sunderland

5.8%

South Tyneside

3.1%

Stockton

2.7%

North Tyneside

1.6%

Darlington

1%

Hartlepool

1%

Northumberland

1%

Age profile of young people 11.5% 11.4% 10% 8.7%

8.7% 7.2%

7.1%

5.7% 4.5% 3.1% 0.5%

8

3.7% 3.6% 2.4%

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

2%

2%

1%

9

3.6% 3.5%

21

22

23

24

25

26

Impact measurement Youth Focus: North East collects information from young people via our Impact Measurement Surveys (IMS), which take place at the beginning of a project (Initial IMS), at the mid-point of delivery (Midway IMS) and on completion (Final IMS). The chart below shows the average progression on a set of core skills and abilities, based on a selfassessment by young people on a scale between 1 (low) and 9 (high). The chart shows the improvement shown at the final IMS stage compared to the beginning. We are also aware that young people’s improved awareness of their skills and abilities can fluctuate during projects, for example some young people realise they may not be as confident as they initially thought once a project or piece of work is underway.

The percentage figure on the right of the chart below shows the average percentage improvement during the beginning and end of a project.

We have noticed from our work a huge increase in knowledge which we feel is due to young people learning something that is entirely new to them, whereas they are usually developing existing skills and abilities around the other scored themes.

Average Initial score

Average Final score

Average increase

Communication

6.5

7.3

21.3%

Confidence

6.1

7.2

26.6%

Decision making

6.1

6.8

23.1%

Knowledge

5.4

7.4

75.5%

Planning

6.2

7.2

24.6%

Teamwork

6.7

7.7

22.5%

Big Days Big Days is funded by the Co-op Foundation #iwill Fund. Young people develop, plan and organise events within their local communities to help combat loneliness and isolation. These activities are focused on particular times of the year when feelings of isolation and loneliness tend to be compounded. Over 2018, we have successfully engaged more than 1200 people in a series of events. Getting involved in Big Days, helps young people reduce their own feelings of isolation and loneliness, developing their empathy for others in similar situations. Big Days resonates with people; they understand the thinking behind the project. We have been able to use the Big Days events to raise awareness about youth loneliness and its impact on individuals and communities.

Throughout the first year of Big Days young people have helped plan a range of events including:

An Alternative Valentine’s Day - mate dates for young people.

An Alternative Mother’s Day - Tea for Two for young people to bring along a significant woman in their lives, be it a parent carer, support worker or friend.

Winter Warm Up Christmas Party - aimed at young and old. 60 older people and 20 young people had a Christmas Meal, played games, sang and danced together. The older people were from a variety of organisations, Alzheimer’s UK, Home Instead Care Group and Anchor.

Confirmation has been received from the Co-op Foundation that Big Days will be funded for a further two years. We are looking forward to building on what we have achieved so far, and developing new ideas which address youth loneliness and isolation.

Alternative Prom - Aimed at young people aged 16-25 who missed out on their Year 11 school prom. This could have been for a variety of reasons including, financial pressures, missing school, not being invited due to attendance and/or behaviour, personal issues such as anxiety, lack of confidence. We planned this event with Newcastle Care leavers Council and half those attending were looked a er children or care leavers.

Big Days in numbers

164

Female

Male

42.8%

57.2%

Other events included: A celebration event with young people from Percy Hedley school Community events at local youth projects Participation in an annual community scarecrow competition that highlighted the amount of plastic being washed up on the local beach.

Newcastle

65.4%

Gateshead

1,200 + Additional Audience for Big Days in 2018

13.7%

North Tyneside

5.2%

Durham

4.6%

Sunderland

4.6%

Northumberland

3.3%

South Tyneside

2.6%

Middlesbrough

0.7%

Fast Friends Fast Friends meets every week at Youth Focus: North East’s Gateshead office. It is aimed at those aged 14 – 25 years old who identify themselves as experiencing loneliness and isolation. The group has been running since September 2017. It was developed by a small group of young people who worked with staff to set up a two hour evening drop in session. Their aim was to

Over 2018, we have completed a wide range of activities

create a safe, welcoming space where young people

including a summer programme designed by the young

could be themselves. The Fast Friends Drop In is a place

people, which included going to local events at Arbeia

to chill, do new things, and meet new and existing

Roman Fort, Discovery Museum and South Shields

friends. It is place where being different is celebrated.

Beach. Also, we have delivered a range of team building

Through word of mouth and referrals from other

activities and group sessions including planning, arts

organisations, the number of young people attending

and cra s and young people leading sessions

has steadily increased. In March 2018, the group went

themselves - CV writing and a session where the group

from meeting every fortnight to meeting weekly. To

discussed issues around suicide and young men. The

date, 43 individual young people have attended the

group have also taken part in one-off sessions such as

Drop In and we now have a core group of around 22

'Dementia Friends' and a national consultation with the

young people who come every week.

Police Complaints Commission. We try to maintain the

balance between having pre-planned activities and a

Following an overnight residential trip in September, it

space to relax and talk to each other. In March, we held a

was decided that a fluid and open planning group

seminar for professionals to come together to learn a

would be formed to deliver and formulate sessions in 6

little more about youth loneliness and isolation, discuss

week blocks.

the challenges in helping young people to combat it, and

explore ways we can actually make a positive difference.

We have also given a number of presentations about youth loneliness and isolation to a wide-ranging audience, including psychology students at Newcastle University and attendees at the Institute for Local Governance’s December Tackling Loneliness and Isolation in Northern England strategic seminar.

'We Are You' film Youth Focus: North East has made a short film with young people to help support a conversation about

Fast Friends in numbers

youth loneliness and isolation. The film provides a number of familiar situations – being picked last for a

43

school team, feeling alone in a crowded room, etc. – which young people can discuss, debate and explore.

To this end, we have developed a workshop around the film, which has been made available at no charge to youth projects, schools, colleges and universities.

Feedback shows that the approach of using a film helps to open up the discussion – not least because people can talk about the characters on the screen, rather than sharing what could be very raw and sensitive feelings.

39.5%

The film does support a conversation, but it also allows young people to recognise that they should perhaps get

Female

Male 60.5%

some help – and Youth Focus: North East can help them by signposting to appropriate services and support – as well as thinking about ways they could help other people who may be struggling.

Scan the QR code with your smart phone or tablet to watch the film

6,000 Social media shares

34

Young people worked on youth loneliness film (concept, actors, and extras)

200

Organisations receiving the film

Gateshead

39.5%

Newcastle

28.9%

Durham

15.8%

Sunderland

10.5%

North Tyneside

2.6%

South Tyneside

2.6%

You + Us: Local Challenges #iwill

We brought some of the groups together in November for #iwill week to catch up and celebrate all the amazing things young people had done over the North East this past year. We were pleased to

Youth Focus: North East has been funded by Virgin

hear that most of the young people who took part in

Money Foundation until 2020 to carry out 50 local

a local challenge are still volunteering their time

challenges as part of the #iwill campaign to get young

around their local community.

people involved in volunteering and social action. We

are supporting young people in 50 areas across the

We are excited about 2019 and looking forward to all

North East to discuss issues that matter to them and

the new projects that young people will plan, design,

their community. We support them using different

deliver and evaluate themselves to see what impact

methods to generate ideas to help address these

their project has made to them and the wider

issues through volunteering, campaigning or

community.

fundraising.

Engagement in 2018 took place with over 250 young

Each project is themed around 'our physical

people and over 150 sessions held.

environment, our health, or our culture' and are

youth-led with our support. The local challenge aims

The figures below provide a summary of the

to bring communities together to ensure the double

evaluation scores from young people, whether they

benefit of social action and we support young people

improved a bit, improved a lot or stayed the same in

to make links with individuals, organisations and local

respect of the 6 listed skills. The statistics show that

groups within the community.

the vast majority of participants experience

improvement whilst on the #iwill programme.

Groups are given £300 to bring their project to life and start to make a positive difference.

Impact measurement

It has been a busy and successful year with 18 groups completing their own social action project. Some of these include; creating good mental health workshops

100%

18

for the community, a hot chocolate xmas swap for items to help the homeless, making a community

50%

garden, growing fresh fruit and veg to donate to soup young people with disabilities, community fundraisers for older people who are isolated and lonely, and decorating a local church hall to name a few.

0%

30

38 23

24

21

27

31

30

29

17

18

Stayed the same

30

32

Improved a bit

34

31

Tea mw ork Co nfid enc De e cis ion ma kin g Pla nni ng Kn ow led Co ge mm uni cat ion

kitchens, creating health and safety workshops for

34

18

Improved a lot

You + Us Local Challenges #iwill in numbers Youth Advisory Panel

254

Under the umbrella of the #iwill campaign sits the Youth Advisory Panel. The panel is a group of young people from across the North East who were brought together in October 2017. The panel supports Virgin Money Foundation to assess, monitor and shape the work of the overall campaign to ensure young people's views are heard and respected.

The panel went on a two day residential to get to know each other and completed training on how to assess applications, make unbiased decisions, and why

Female

Male

48.4%

51.6%

monitoring and evaluation is important. The panel work closely with Virgin Money Foundation to give feedback on short listed applications to the #iwilltakeaction fund, attend assessment visits and feedback their recommendations to the Virgin Money Foundation Trustees. The last applications will be assessed in January 2019. The panel will continue to be involved and help monitor the grants that have been awarded.

Newcastle

43.9%

Durham Sunderland

21.9%

10.5%

Gateshead

8.9%

South Tyneside

8.9%

Others

5.9%

Talent Match North East

Our wider activities have focused on addressing the social isolation and exclusion young people may face as a result of being out of work. Over the last 12 months, we have worked with young people to coordinate a series of open social Youth Focus: North East have supported young people to help shape, deliver and evaluate the Talent Match North East programme since its inception in 2013. Across the fi h and final year of the programme, we have been working alongside young people and partners to build upon available learning and create a legacy for Talent Match North East.

Young people in the Talent Match Leaders' Group have developed the #WorkingTogether Employability Charter as their contribution to the programme’s legacy. The Charter captures their perspective of best practice from the programme and their search for employment. The Charter sets out a series of principles and commitments which they believe will lead to greater employability outcomes and more efficient, effective employability support. The Leaders have worked alongside employers, training providers, educational institutes and the Department for Work and Pensions to produce the Charter ,before sharing it across the region and at the National Talent Match Conference.

activities to support young people to build new or stronger relationships, explore different hobbies and interests, and discover diverse community settings. These activity days included a gaming event at the Metro Centre, surfing and a picnic at the beach, and a Talent Match Bake Off at a local cookery school. The idea for the Bake Off event came directly from Talent Match North East young people who were asked to make suggestions for a social activity that could be enjoyable and out of the ordinary.

Talent Match in numbers

72 Talent Match North East has been a significant part of Youth Focus: North East’s delivery over the past 5 years, and for many young people, a significant part of their life. Therefore, it was important that we supported young people to appropriately prepare for the end of their engagement, and transition in to work, education, training, or further volunteering.

Female 43.7%

Male

We are pleased to see many young people continue

56.3%

their volunteering with us, and other local organisations.

Talent Match is a Big Lottery Fund initiative which aims to test innovative approaches to supporting long-term unemployed 18-24 yr-olds access work. A partnership of young people,employers, the third

Durham

26.6%

sector and public sector agencies, the programme is managed in the North East by the Wise Group.

Gateshead

20.3%

Newcastle

20.3%

Sunderland

17.2%

North Tyneside

9.4%

Northumberland

3.1%

South Tyneside

3.1%

Our Community Matters By working in partnership we have been able to deliver bigger events with greater impact. The first year has been particularly successful with individual groups coming together and making important connections.

Redcar and Cleveland Police Cadets has made connections with the Marske In Bloom (MIB) team and they are now regularly working together.

The Guisborough and East Cleveland Sea Cadets has Our Community matters is an intergenerational

attracted two older participants to volunteer and one

project designed to make connections in rural

lady has taken up a treasury post. The Wynyard Group

areas of Tees Valley to address isolation and

have linked in partnership with Missing Pieces Art

loneliness. During 2018, Youth Focus: North

Group. The ex-chair of Stillington Hall enjoyed our

East's “Our Community Matters” project has

project so much she is using the 5 Ways to Wellbeing

engaged with 5 groups to deliver their own

with other groups she supports. Stainton Committee is

“Wellbeing Challenges” for their local

focussed on a more inclusive programme in their

communities. We worked with the groups to

village hall and looking at ways to continue.

understand the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, which were

Moorsholm’s event had such a positive impact on one

then used as a foundation for their project. They

young man and his family the Youth Club are looking at

spent time discussing isolation and loneliness,

a “Come and Connect" night to those who may need

and how it can impact all generations in all

extra support in the village.

communities.

We realise for a project of this nature to work we need to engage closely with community members, so we attended a range of local events in village halls and community centres. Through this approach we were able to engage with groups to build on their existing work and projects.

Our Community Matters in numbers

202 In October 2018, a celebration event was held at The Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. The event was a success with 90 people attending along with our VIP guests; Barry Coppinger, Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner; and Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor.

The guest speakers spoke about how loneliness and

Male

Female

33.7%

isolation has not only impacted them personally but those they care for, and how it cuts across all ages and does not discriminate. Leon Mexter, Youth Focus: North East Chief Executive spoke about our work which is specifically focused on tackling loneliness

66.3%

and isolation, and how it has been influenced by the young people we are working with.

The evening was fun packed, with a magic mirror photo booth and a table magician who wowed our guests. Both Ben Houchen and Barry Coppinger have agreed to support our new ventures with Positively

Redcar & Cleveland

52%

Pally, a new outreach project in Pallister Park, and they have agreed to attend our steering group to speak to the young people.

Middlesbrough

31.4%

829

Additional Audience for Our Community Matters in 2018

Stockton

Other

12%

4.6%

Our Youth Matters: Youth Investment Fund 2018 saw us complete our first full year of Our Youth Matters, which looks to increase the reach and quality of youth access provision across Tees Valley. A key focus of this programme is to develop provision in areas where youth services have either been cut or where none have been delivered. To this end, we have completed our work with 3 organisations, providing support that has enabled them to establish new open access youth work. Two of the organisations are in rural areas – Stillington Youth Club and Moorsholm Youth Club - and the third, Tees Valley Involve, is offering mobile youth provision, mainly working in towns with high levels of anti-social behaviour.

In addition to this we have supported two established organisations; Ladies of Steel and Tommy's at Thorntree Hub.

We have supported these organisations with a bespoke package tailored to the needs of both the organisation/volunteers and young people.

The package includes youth development programmes, theory of change training (for volunteers and young people), business planning, social media awareness, and resources to support sustainability.

We have developed our Tees Valley Youth Providers Network, which provides a space for Tees Valley Youth Investment Fund grantees to come together. Areas for discussion have focused on Youth Work Qualifications (considering access to routes into the profession for volunteers and young people), how to increase awareness of Youth Investment Fund delivery through communication plans and the Youth Investment Fund National Learning project (shared learning from the pilots which Tees Valley grantees are participating).

We have trained a group of young people from the Stillington Youth Club we are supporting in our Young Trainers programme, which has led to this group now having the skills and confidence to support the delivery of sessions at their own youth club. Over the last six months of 2018, we have

Our Youth Matters: Youth Investment Fund in numbers

developed our Young People's Steering Group, recruiting young people from across the Tees Valley to become members. We now have 16 young people forming our Steering Group, with

474

representation from each local authority area of Tees Valley. As we move into the second year of the programme, the group will take on a bigger role within the planning, delivery and evaluation of the support and activities we deliver.

We have identified and agreed four organisations to work with in order to help them develop new open access provision where there has previously been none. We have worked with these

Female

organisations through a needs assessment to plan

47.7%

a package of support. We have offered core

Male 52.3%

training in youth participation, evaluation and impact measurement practice, and organisational development. We have already commenced working with one organisation; the remaining three will start in the first few months of 2019, supporting them to increase and expand their offer

Age profile of young people

to local communities.

19.8% 16.8% 15.3% 13.9%

9.7%

8.9% 7.4% 4.2%

4%

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

+

Youth Board

Erasmus + Youth Voice Project

Youth voice has always been a central pillar of our work at Youth Focus: North East. We believe young people have the right to be heard, and we encourage young people to help shape, deliver and evaluate our projects.

Over the last year, we have strengthened the role young people play in our organisation by adapting and growing our Youth Board. Through the Youth Board, young people influence our work at the highest level alongside our Trustees.

Young people who share our values and aims come together at regular meetings to discuss and engage in decision making which affects the way our organisation works. So far, young people have discussed our key strategic themes, marketing and promotion, fundraising

This project is a partnership between Royal Society

and how young people physically engage in our work.

for Blind Children, Essex Boys & Girls Clubs and

ourselves to bring together a diverse group of 200

Over the coming year, we will be supporting our Youth

disadvantaged young people living in London, Essex

Board members to access training and guidance from our

and the North East of England to discuss issues that

Trustees to develop the skills and confidence necessary

have an impact on their lives and present them to

to volunteer on our Board of Directors, or elsewhere in

local and national decision makers in a series of 24

the sector.

structured dialogue meetings across two years.

One of the key outcomes for staff of Youth Focus:

Youth Board Members 2018

North East and Essex Boys & Girls Clubs will be to improve their capacity to engage with blind and partially sighted young people. Vision impairment awareness training will be cascaded throughout their organisations, ensuring staff have the right

Rachel

Zeeshsan

Hannah

Taylor

Crystal

skills and knowledge to include blind and partially

Anderson

Ayub

Blair

Johnston

Moniz

sighted young people in their services and activities.

Callum

Wayne

Astrud

Isreal

Jasmin

Oxley

Potts

Turner

Wenegieme

Wilson

Street Law Ladders

The Street Law Project features undergraduate students from Newcastle Law School delivering discussion and awareness sessions to groups of children and young people in the region.

The Street Law Ambassadors receive training and support, including bespoke interactive sessions delivered by Youth Focus:North East staff on effectively working with young people.

The project was launched in 2011 as a pilot and rolled out fully in 2012. We continue to deliver the

This year we have worked in partnership with

Street Law training programme to date with an

Generator, the UK’s leading music development

additional peer mentoring support service

agency, to deliver employability support to young

included within the training and programme

people on the Ladders programme. Ladders is now in

delivery.

its third and final year.

The programme is aimed at supporting 18-24 year olds to kick-start their career within the creative and digital industries; opening up opportunities for young people to work alongside industry mentors to develop their understanding and skills to be able to progress professionally within these sectors.

Youth Focus: North East has also recruited a group of volunteers (Ladders Champions) to support the promotion of the Ladders programme through direct outreach work where they have been able to inform and recruit eligible young people for the programme in the Newcastle and Sunderland areas. The young people who we have connected with are of varied ages, backgrounds and levels of experience within the creative and digital sector, which has created an exciting opportunity for young people to connect with other young people they may not have normally met.

City Roots

My Future Matters

City Roots offers young people a fresh approach to exploring heritage, putting them in control, deciding which local landmarks, stories and buildings constitute the

Funded by the Virgin Money Foundation, Youth

heritage that is important to them, and telling the story of

Focus: North East is delivering intensive 1-to-1 and

their area in the way they want it to be heard.

group work support for 18-25 year olds with the

main aim to support people into employment

City Roots, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has

through a person centered approach with

been made possible through money raised by National

Individual Learning Plans that are driven by the

Lottery players. The City Roots project focuses on bringing

young person.

the heritage of the city to life in a way that makes sense,

and matters to our young people. We use

By working with the young people we are looking

psychogeography to explore familiar areas with a fresh

to support them into sustained full time

pair of eyes.

employment by enhancing their professional skills

to hopefully secure their chosen career destination.

The City Roots project is based around the West Road and

Shields Road areas of Newcastle, focusing on the diverse

Work with them includes support around: Job search/applications Cover Letters/CVs Interview Skills Money Management/Budgeting Skills Universal Credit support Individual funds to support training, travel, personal protective equipment or interview clothing

heritage of the people and communities that live there.

Historically, Shields Road and the West Road have acted as the main thoroughfares transporting people and trade directly in to the heart of the City.

We have already supported young people in Excelsior Academy to explore their relationship with the West Road and local area. They have produced a rap and video to

share with other young people about what they see as

We are also carrying out a piece of research with

important changes to everyday life in Newcastle.

young people to understand the degree that an

intensive youth work centered approach helps to get them to their desired destination. We offer sustained support and track them through their journey for a period of 6 months.

If they come out of employment in this period we will look to re-engage and support them back into work.

Other Initiatives Training &

Regional Impact Network North East

workforce development

For several years, our organisation has worked closely with the Centre for Youth Impact, to support the development of better evidence and impact for

Leadership &

Funding &

management

Commisioning

youth work. As part of this relationship, we coordinate the Regional Impact Network North East.

In 2018, the Network delivered a number of events

Young People's Charter

Quality

addressing the issue of impact and evidence for the sector including an Introduction to Theory of Change,

Youth Voice

contributing to the Local Government Association (LGA) Youth Outcomes Framework, involving young

Evidence,

people in service design and sharing best practice

Impact &

examples of evidence and impact in youth work. The

Research

Networks & Influence Delivery

Network also supported the Centre for Youth Impact

programes

and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, Media and Sport to deliver a roundtable event in the North East exploring the role of evidence to support non formal youth provision.

Youth Partnership Model

TalKit In conjunction with Dr Tony Young at Newcastle University, School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences and young people from Youth Focus: North East, we have developed a communications app to help young people communicate more effectively with people suffering from dementia. The app has been through different beta versions, and we are now working with a local IT company, The Wolf Group. The new version called TalKit will be available from app stores in early 2019.

The TalKit app provides an excellent platform to develop broader communication aids for young people. In 2019, we plan to develop a more generic communication app, to support intergenerational dialogue.

For a number of years, our organisation has been developing and refining a co-production model for the delivery of local services for young people. Our work started with the Diamond Model in Darlington, progressing to support the Integrated Youth Offer in Hartlepool and the Delivering Differently programme in North Tyneside. In 2018, we received support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to deliver our youth partnership model in Northumberland. Over the past nine months, we have worked closely with a group of youth organisations across Northumberland to develop the framework and elements of an effective youth partnership model for Northumberland. The work is ongoing and we hope to share our progress to date with partners in Northumberland in early 2019.

Trustees

Staff

Chief Executive

Deputy Chief Executive

Pete Stout OBE (Chair)

Beth Farhat

Leon Mexter

Kevin Franks

Tom Adams (Vice Chair)

David Hesselberth

Marc Mason (Treasurer)

Norma Tullock

Office Manager

Programmes Manager

Mark Bagnall

Emily Vasey

Caroline Garrity

Laura Bush

Rhiannon Bearne

Hannah Blair (co-opted)

Regional Development Officers

Our Dear Friend, Kevin Morris (1949 - 2018)

/ Youth Support Workers Emma Abbott

Heather Insull

Simone Banks

Zoe Jackson

Alex Black

Helen Kennedy

Jamie Brooks-Johnston

Sarah Warren

Caitlin Connor

Steve Watson

Administration Officers In February 2018, our dear friend and colleague, Kevin

Denise Bennett

Morris died. Kevin had been battling with a series of

Barry Flux

heart problems for some time, but we all lived in the

Caroline Fraser

hope that he would be well again, so his death was untimely and unexpected.

For many years, Kevin has been a central figure in youth and community work in our region. In his role as Head of the Youth Work Department, and latterly the whole Department of Social Sciences at Sunderland University, Kevin played a key role in the development and expansion of youth work in the North East.

Hundreds of youth work professionals now working across this region, and nationally, owe a great debt to Kevin’s dedication and commitment, to progressing quality youth and community work.

At Youth Focus, Kevin was one of our founding Trustees, as well as Chair of the Board for almost 10 years. His guidance and knowledge, commitment and passion have contributed immeasurably to our development and progression as an organisation. He will be greatly missed by everyone here at Youth Focus: North East.

Funders

Big Lottery Fund (National Lottery Community Fund) Centre for Youth Impact

Clay Hill Trust

Co-op Foundation Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Erasmus+ Programme European Social Fund Generator Heritage Lottery Fund Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency Newcastle City Council Newcastle University – Law School Paul Hamlyn Foundation Reaching Communities England Talent Match North East Thirteen Group Virgin Money Foundation Virgin Money #iwill Take Action Fund Thank you for all your support

Accounts (Independently examined by Haines Watts Chartered Accountants) General

Designated

Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted F

(£)

unds (£)

85,631

Investments Other

Restricted

Total Funds

Total Funds

Funds (£)

2018 (£)

2017 (£)

-

523,092

608,723

535,324

2,532

-

-

2,532

3,279

3,738

-

-

3,738

6,071

91,901

-

-

614,993

544,674

147,528

-

406,061

553,589

498,379

147,528

-

406,061

553,589

498,379

(55,627)

-

117,031

61,404

46,295

61,193

(63,004)

1,066

-

-

6,311

(63,004)

118,097

61,404

46,295

105,040

129,791

33,593

268,424

222,129

111,351

66,787

151,690

329,828

268,424

Income from: Charitable activities

Expenditure on: Charitable activities

Net income/ (Expenditure) Transfer between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward

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