Governance
This page contains information about our governance.
Our Governing Document
Our charitable objects are enshrined in law and dictate the aims and objectives of our work.
TO HELP AND EDUCATE YOUNG PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 5 AND 25 YEARS RESIDENT IN THE WEST END OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OR AT RISK OF BECOMING INVOLVED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, RACE OR POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR OTHER OPINION, THROUGH THEIR LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES SO TO DEVELOP THEIR PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL CAPACITIES THAT THEY MIGHT GROW TO FULL MATURITY AS INDIVIDUALS AND MEMBERS OF SOCIETY AND SO THAT THEIR CONDITIONS OF LIFE MAY BE IMPROVED.
Our Ethos, Standards, and Values
Patchwork is run by three principles:
- Visibility – Simply being seen; and being directly accessible to young people in their communities, with the least possible barriers of organisation.
- Accountability – From our Trustees to our users; an openness and transparency of the work.
- Investment – In addition to skill and knowledge based investments we aim to create an atmosphere in which people involved in the work will leave feeling they have taken from it or added to it.
The way we put these into practice is through the following:
- Staff Training – The trustees believe that good quality staff are essential to do the job- all youth work staff are at least NVQ3 qualified.
- Policies and Procedures to keep you safe – Policies and procedures are reviewed and updated annually. All staff and adult volunteers are DBS checked and undertake safeguarding training with Newcastle City Council safeguarding board.
- Our Confidentiality Statement – As an organisation Patchwork provides a confidential service to all who are accessing its services. All young people using Patchwork have the right not to have any information shared outside the project. This means that what you tell us will not leave the project – unless you or someone else is at risk of serious harm. If we ever have to tell someone what you’ve told us, we would aim to talk to you about this first.
- The Right to Complain – We welcome criticism and know there is always room for improvement
Governance Structure
We are a registered charity in England and Wales under the Charities Act 2011. Our Charity Number is 1157186 and you can find out more about us on our UK Charity Commission page. We are governed by a board of trustees comprised of members of our community, and our work is directly accountable both to them and to the people we work with.
We are also a Company Limited by Guarantee and are registered with Companies House. Our company number is 8510835 and you can find out more on our UK Companies House page.
We pride ourselves on being a bottom-up organisation and see ourselves as needing to be directly accountable to our immediate community and the people we work with. Young People in Benwell have a direct say in our activities and the services we provide to them.
Get copies of our policies
We encourage everyone to get a copy of our policies to have a read through so that you know how and why we do things. There are a lot of them and we make sure that they are all regularly updated to take account of new regulations, laws, and best practice so you can email us to get the latest copy of the documents.