Act for Change operates in a challenging landscape. Too many young people and families lack the supportive network they desperately need. Their lived experiences grow increasingly complex. As both needs and service delivery evolve, we must mobilise all our sectors' resources to achieve better outcomes for everyone—especially in the face of increased funding constraints.
Act for Change has deployed its best efforts to gear up and provide innovative and collaborative ways of meeting that need. Following our comprehensive strategic review in 2023 with both internal and external stakeholders, we have consolidated our learnings and gained renewed strength, enabling us to establish an ambitious Strategic Plan for 2025-2027 that addresses evolving needs.
Act for Change has traditionally straddled the health and social care sector. We have seen a strong emphasis on integrating social and health services and we continue to review the charity’s operational structure to ensure line management of all staff and students and their supervision is strengthened.
During 2025 we will redouble our efforts to embed our ethos and method across the service to enable a more integrated delivery.
We continue to seek and build complementary funding solutions independent of our Commissioners.
Throughout 2023-2024, we have expanded our partnerships within both Local Authority and Health sectors. We continue to play an active role in reshaping services toward more integrated care, strengthening the connections between our services and partners.
As a learning organisation, Act for Change places training at the heart of our staff development and this is reflected not least by the prominent role of training and research on our management team and the scheduling of our internal trainings and supervision for our staff.
None of this would have been possible without the commitment and dedication of our staff, volunteers, and supporters. As Chair, I am deeply grateful for their hard work this year. I look forward to 2025, when we will further integrate care across our communities, helping to narrow the gap and support society's most vulnerable members.
The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2024.
The Trustees, who are also directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of the Companies Act, have pleasure in submitting the report and financial statements of the Charitable Company for the year ended 31 October 2023. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on page 9 and comply with the Charitable Company’s governing document and requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS 102 SORP) issued in March 2015, applicable UK Accounting Standards and the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006 and "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).
Mission
Our mission at Act for Change focuses on developing interventions that help children, young people, and their families overcome trauma and build mental health resilience.
We are committed to the principles that underpin Every Child Matters.
We foster better access and engagement by providing youth-friendly services that respond to specific cultural, communal, and developmental needs.
We empower local communities with tools and equip young people with the skills to create positive change at crucial moments.
About Us
Act for Change was founded on fostering empathy and preventing violence, emerging from Holocaust memorial work with young people.
This foundational work in addressing collective trauma evolved into our current comprehensive approach, where we focus on maximising the potential of every child and young person who has experienced adverse childhood, family, and historical experiences. We address collective traumas and recognise their systemic nature to interrupt cycles of violence and promote healing. This approach aligns with our charitable objectives of promoting racial harmony and eliminating discrimination.
Through years of collaboration with Social Services and Youth Justice teams, we developed our DATIS method, which now forms the backbone of our service delivery.
Our holistic approach is based on DATIS, a method we've developed through over 15 years of collaboration with Social Services and Youth Justice teams, where it was observed that approximately 8 out of 10 young people had experienced trauma and social skills deficits.
Core Components:
Development (D): Acknowledges different developmental stages and how trauma can impact normal development.
Awareness (A): Helps make sense of complexities and prevents chaos in the process.
Trauma-Informed (TI): Recognies how trauma shatters reality and impacts capacity for change.
Systems (S): Considers both individual agency and the broader systemic context.
Implementation and Value:
The framework has proven valuable across various therapeutic modalities and can be applied in different settings, from individual therapy to community-wide interventions.
It's currently being implemented in work with at-risk youth across schools, colleges, and communities in London, with commissions from Local Authorities and Children's Services.
Evidence and Research: Recent research indicates strong interest from public bodies in the DATIS framework, particularly its alignment with trauma-informed approaches, though there's a need for more evidence-based validation.
Act for Change primarily serves communities across Bexley and Greenwich in South East London, while actively sharing our methodology and training across the UK. While our direct service delivery is focused in South East London, we maintain openness to opportunities for expansion where our expertise can benefit communities nationwide.
Our impact extends through partnerships with local authorities, CAMHS, schools, and social services.
In 2023-24, our impact with young people and families includes:
Supported over 200 young people through individual counselling and mentoring programs
Developed and began delivery of trauma-informed training to parents in addition to the already established training of practitioners across partner organisations
Achieved an 85% engagement rate with traditionally hard-to-reach families
Reduced school avoidance behaviours in 70% of EBSA program participants (we were seeing young people avoiding school even before the office program began)
Client Testimonial:
"The support from Act for Change transformed our family. Through their counselling services, my teenager developed better coping mechanisms, and we learned to communicate more effectively. The impact has been life-changing." - Parent of 15-year-old client
Program Success Metrics:
90% of participants reported improved emotional wellbeing after completing our programs
75% reduction in conflict incidents among families participating in our parental conflict intervention program
80% of schools reported improved student engagement after implementing our trauma-informed practices
We are working towards more evidence-based validation of our framework to strengthen its scientific foundation through systematic data collection and positive outcome measurements.
We place the young person at the heart of a support network, ensuring service quality through rigorous staff training and supervision. Through structured processes, we carefully measure and monitor progress while offering student placements and conducting research to enhance our interventions.
Our work extends beyond individual support. We collaborate with local community partners and unite communities to examine issues from all perspectives. Through creativity and innovation, Act for Change achieves systemic improvements and addresses various roles in conflicts to reduce tension and create positive outcomes for all parties.
Our trauma-informed practice enables practitioners to work with young people on complex systemic and developmental issues within their families, including parental conflict and domestic violence.
Our newest initiatives both implement trauma-informed practices across schools and communities:
EBSA - helps students overcome school avoidance.
Changemakers - is community-based and fosters engagement and empowerment. The project has the potential to make a lasting impact on communities across the region with a particular emphasis on encouraging traditionally disadvantaged or disengaged communities to actively participate when the project is rolled out in their neighbourhoods. The Changemakers Project has demonstrated its effectiveness in bringing about positive change and empowering participants. "We have found huge benefits in introducing the Changemaker programme to both our students and faculty. Use and exploration of 'The Tribe Within' helped our students greatly with approach to crises and conflict resolution. Building from the programme, we have also developed a 'Trauma Informed Practice' within our faculty which has been an extremely useful tool in managing the wide range of issues within the cohort, whilst also nurturing the team's own boundaries and welfare." Gary Watson Ambassador & Artistic Associate London College of Performing Arts
Who we Serve
We serve the most vulnerable young people in our partner boroughs, identified by teachers, social workers, and youth workers based on their adverse experiences and exposure to conflict.
We support parents and carers facing mental health challenges that affect their children's wellbeing.
We work with practitioners, counsellors, mentors, and volunteers across our partner boroughs.
We engage with communities, faith groups, and charities to foster cultural health through communities of practice.
We collaborate with Schools, Family Wellbeing Services, Children's Social Care, and Youth Justice as well as National Health Service Integrated Care Boards to provide comprehensive support for families and young people.
Our services are tailored for different target groups:
add specific data on number of beneficiaries in each category
For youth at risk of violence: we provide continuity of care and help maintain supportive community connections
For pupils and students: we help them overcome school avoidance
For parents and carers: we offer mental health support services, Family therapy, Training and parenting support through the Connecting Families program
For practitioners: we provide Team supervision & Training in Trauma-Informed Practice and Cultural competency
Practitioners, counsellors, mentors, and volunteers participated in training on reducing parental conflict and trauma-informed practice.
add outcomes or success metrics for each target group to demonstrate effectiveness
Our Activities - same as before, but add:
1:1 counselling, high intensive mentoring (for 12 years+)
Mental health support and wellbeing services
Systemic family support to their families and carers / foster carers including Family Therapy
Connecting Families - Training and parenting / carer support
Trauma-Informed Practice Training for social workers and practitioners and schools
Undertaking Research and building an evidence-base for our body of work
Cultural competency training
Spearheading Community Engagement and youth development
Team Supervision
2024 saw us develop our online Connecting Families provision and we are poised in 2024-25 to reach more parents across the Borough and beyond, with a special focus on engaging fathers. This conflict de-escalation program aims to reduce Social Services interventions in families where parental conflict tends to escalate.
We strive to maintain continuity of care for young people at risk of violence who have received support from Act for Change counsellors. We help these young people maintain supportive connections within their communities.
Spread, Scale and Collaborate
We continue to partner with other charities, research institutions and those equally committed to understanding diverse engagement with mental health services such as the South East London Integrated Care Board and the University of West London.
Our ongoing collaboration with faith community partners focuses on addressing systemic barriers to cultural health, particularly concerning human dignity and power dynamics.
Through our research into these barriers and efforts to raise awareness about potential solutions, we are steadily reducing obstacles to diverse engagement while strengthening community resilience.
Achievements & Review
In 2024 our Service has continued to grow.
Act for Change continues its transformative journey. Building on our change plan and identified growth pathways from the previous year, we have now developed our Strategic Plan for 2025-27, setting out an ambitious roadmap for the charity's evolution over the next three years.
We have continued to strengthen our systems and line management and this has enabled us to consistently grow and develop our counselling and mentoring team with fortnightly trainings and supervision.
The new Act for Change Learning Hub section of our website providing resources for practitioners, mentors, counsellors and social workers as well as community and family support workers. This will come online in early 2025.
Information management system - our system is now poised to drive efficiencies and provide data-driven growth in our ability to deliver new services and build an evidence base for our methodology.
This system will see significant enhancement throughout 2025 as we expand our data analysis capabilities, enabling deeper insights into service impact and outcomes.
We have continued to strengthen our governance structures with internal systems, building our organisational capacity for a heightened pace of growth. This year, a Trustee has taken on responsibility for developing our existing informal youth advisory arrangements, ensuring young people's voices continue to shape our work while maintaining appropriate safeguarding measures.
This year we focused on consolidating and strengthening our partnership with the South East London Integrated Care Board, which has led to our EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance) pilot program together with our partners.
Do we have specific metrics and quantifiable achievements to better illustrate impact?
Plans for the Future
In 2024-25, we will broaden our reach to diverse communities and mental health providers through our Connecting Families program, using an efficient network model for training and support.
Our priority is to engage staff, new recruits, and partners in comprehensive training that supports both their personal wellbeing and their mastery of our trauma-informed methodology (DATIS).
To meet growing service demands, we have implemented streamlined systems for case management and connectivity, positioning Act for Change for wider impact in 2024-25.
We will share our expertise by training other charities, public sector practitioners, parents, carers, and community volunteers.
Following the success of our Changemakers pilot—our community engagement initiative—we are thoughtfully expanding its reach while preserving its core effectiveness.
We are building robust yet agile systems to support sustainable organizational growth and impact scaling.
For the coming year, we have identified three key strategic priorities:
Impact Evaluation and Research: Our Strategic Plan 2025-27 emphasizes evidence-based practice through systematic research. We are implementing a comprehensive evaluation framework that merges quantitative metrics with qualitative insights across our counselling and mentoring programs, supported by enhanced data analytics and strategic partnerships.
Practitioner Development: We are enhancing our training initiatives, with special attention to our Connecting Families program. A new component focused on Engaging Fathers will reach practitioners and parents through both online and in-person channels, working with Council partners, community organizations, and housing associations. We will also expand our trauma-informed practice training for social workers to meet growing demand.
Digital Transformation: We are leveraging technology to enhance service delivery and knowledge sharing through our new Interconnected newsletter and enhanced website features. This digital foundation will strengthen our research and training programs while improving service accessibility.
Other key initiatives include:
Broadening reach to diverse communities through the Connecting Families program.
Expanding the successful Changemakers pilot program.
Building robust systems for sustainable organisational growth.
Governance
As the charity grows, we have sought to bring in additional expertise onto our Board. We have grown the number of Trustees we have from three to five. Trustees oversee the charity and bring their expertise to their specific briefs. 40% of our Board has direct lived experience of the issues we deal with.
Darren Johnson
Joanne Boddison
Marc Keidan
Natalie Machta-Joseph
Sean Clarke
We have an informal youth advisory board. Our youth advisory board (past and present participants) help us understand the youth voices and plan future activities. This board is run informally, behind the scenes, as young people involved in gang activity, for example, might be at further risk of ‘reprisals’ by their peers were they to be seen actively in such roles.
Our Trustees oversee the performance of our delivery to ensure we consistently meet our high standards and Continuous Improvement as set out in our Quality Assurance Policy and Procedures and deliver each of the expectations placed on staff - as set out in our Clinical Governance, Safeguarding and Information Sharing and Compliance Policies. Our Board meets quarterly.
This past year we have focused on data management and communications systems. In the coming year we are undertaking a re-alignment of our HR capacity and growing our volunteer cohort to accommodate for the growth in demand we are experiencing.
As a mission driven charity, we will strengthen our recruitment, inductions, training and the organisational culture to align with our mission.
Management
The day-to-day operational management of Act for Change rests with the Chief Executive, who receives management supervision from the Chair of Trustees. She is supported by a Research in Health and Wellbeing Lead and a Training Lead, who oversee our main areas of responsibility: Research in Practice and Training. This leadership team ensures the charity can effectively manage the complex and growing demands from various stakeholders.
Induction and Training of Trustees
We have adopted a policy for the induction and training of Trustees and will continue to strengthen the implementation of it in the coming period.
Training and Development
Gender Diversity Workshops
In October and November 2023, we conducted a workshop and a follow-up session on gender diversity. We collaborated with Pride Outside, an established external organisation known for bringing lived experiences to their workshops. We also invited Bexley Moorings to participate, as they were offering group sessions for young people where topics of gender identity and exploration frequently arose. This initiative aligns with AFC's core value of diversity and inclusion. Although the workshop focused on gender diversity, participants were encouraged to apply the learning to other structurally marginalised groups.
Safeguarding Workshops
We offered three safeguarding workshops led by our Trustee and Safeguarding Lead, Darren Johnson, in December 2023, April 2024, and July 2024. These workshops were designed to address current issues faced by counsellors, providing practical training for practitioners working in statutory settings with individuals under 18 years old.
EF36 Cards Training
To familiarise practitioners with the EF36 cards, a key component of AFC methodology, we conducted an in-person training session followed by 2-3 online follow-ups. This training was part of the preparations for a research project on the effectiveness of EF36 cards, planned for the coming year. We plan to offer this training again, with a longer duration and specific plans for integrating the cards into sessions, along with supervision support.
Revaluation of Training and Supervision
We re-evaluated our training and supervision approach based on feedback from our Supervisor, who proposed incorporating training into supervision sessions. While this idea was promising, as it addressed current issues arising in supervision, it required more coordination with the training lead, case management, and CEO.
Goal for 2024-25
This revaluation has now developed into a goal for 2024-25: to align our methodology, training, and supervision. We aim to ensure better integration and coordination among all stakeholders to effectively address current issues and enhance the overall training and supervision experience for our practitioners.
EBSA Project Training
AFC joined the Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) project in Bexley. This project focuses on identifying EBSA in schools, with AFC and Bexley Moorings piloting interventions such as counselling, mentoring, and groupwork. As part of the preparation, educational psychologists developed a 'train the trainer' program. Our training lead conducted two in-person sessions for AFC counsellors and mentors, as well as for Bexley Moorings counsellors, in September and October 2024. This training will continue into early 2025 and will be offered to new counsellors and mentors as EBSA referrals increase.
Remuneration Policy
Act for Change aims to ensure that all staff are paid above the London Living Wage (currently £13.85/ hour) and appropriately according to the nature of their work and experience, knowledge and skills needed to carry out their job.
The charity is committed to principles ensuring that pay and conditions of employment do not discriminate unlawfully and are free from bias.
Organisational Development and Growth
In 2023-24, we have made significant progress in strengthening our organisational capacity across several key areas:
Strategic Development and Governance
Implemented a comprehensive Strategic Plan with clear action items and Key Performance Indicators
Developed robust financial planning through baseline budgeting
Enhanced organisational effectiveness
Introduced leadership assessment tools including conflict resolution metrics
Funding and Partnership Development
Expanded our funding portfolio through new strategic partnerships, including:
Establishing collaboration with Vantage for fundraising initiatives
Engaging with the Ministry of Justice regarding Youth Endowment Fund opportunities
Digital Transformation and Communications
Strengthened our digital presence through:
The successful launch of our Interconnected platform
Development of dedicated student placement resources
Website modernisation
Increased media coverage
Service Development
Enhanced our programme delivery through:
The completion of our Connecting Families programme
Development of our organisational messaging
Community Engagement and Marketing
Expanded our community outreach through a newsletter, with readership growing month by month
Affiliations & Partnerships
We have continued to develop key community partnerships on the specific issues affecting mental health which we are focused on, such as:
Trauma and Child Abuse
The structural barriers to access mental health provision
Developing Conflict Resolution processes and co-creating materials
Developing Systemic Safeguarding from a community bottoms up perspective and the need for an interface with top down institutional safeguarding procedures.
Diverse Engagement
We are engaging with increasing numbers of local communities as part of an effort to embed integrated care in the community.
Our partners are:
Our Funding partners
Department of Work and Pensions
London Councils
London Engagement Collective
National Lottery
MOPAC
St. James Place
Ealing Abbey
Benevity
We will continue to expand our network of partners best placed to pick up the pieces when things go wrong.
Financial review
The Statement of Financial Activities on page 12 shows net movements in funds for the year of (£31,021) 2023: £10,667, which results in a decrease in total funds at the balance sheet date to £53,405 (2023: £84,426).
Income received after the balance sheet date is earmarked to increase the unrestricted reserves of the charity.
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds should be maintained at a level equivalent to a minimum of six months operating expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while they consider how additional funds may be raised or the operating costs reduced. The trustees have also agreed that the level of reserves may drop below six months’ operating expenditure for a defined length of time, and this is regularly under review.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Act For Change for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report 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 Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Act For Change (the Charity) for the year ended 31 October 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
These financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice- Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS 102 SORP), applicable UK Accounting Standards and the Companies Act 2006. The principal accounting policies used, which have been consistently applied, are set out below.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Income comprises grants and payments receivable for delivering the programmes and activities of the charity.
Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accrual basis.
Provision of workshops and training
None of the Trustees have received any remuneration from the Charitable Company during the year.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).