“This place is amazing”.

Our Cowgate Community Hub is a place where families can come together, hosting groups for infants and toddlers, youth groups for children and teenagers and a community space to make services accessible to all. Over the years, we’ve seen hundreds of families come through our doors and be met by our dedicated staff. One family who came to us initially only visited to access one of the health services hosted on site but had such a warm welcome after a difficult period, they stayed and found a safe space and sense of community.

Adam* and his family were first introduced to Children North East by accessing Cowgate Community Hub for health visitor drop ins, as their youngest infant needed extra care to support his early development but found a place that offered so much more to the for local families.

“They learnt our names and would just have chats with us while they were working, telling us about all the activities they ran and giving us timetables to take away. Afterwards everything just fell into place.”

At first, Adam was unsure about joining the groups “[My partner and I] weren’t sure it was for us, we were worried about being judged or feeling out of place”; but after one session of music and dance session ‘Boogie Bairns’ they were hooked. “It was so fun, I was able to let loose. Think I had more fun than the kids and I liked it was in a hall with other people, you don’t feel self-conscious because everyone’s doing it and I love being playful and energetic with the kids”. Now the family are regulars, with the children attended a nearby nursery, they visit us a few times a week for breakfast or lunch at Cafe Hope, “the staff all know us really well, remember our regular orders and take menu suggestions”.

Before coming to Cowgate, Adam and his family felt quite isolated having relocated and having no family in the area, but now they are getting know some of the other families in the area, “the staff helped start it, they had me read a book out loud to the Stay & Play and asked us where we were from to start the conversation”. Talking about his experience of becoming a dad and having social services involved, Adam said, “I was so excited each time, I was telling everyone and really wanted to be involved in everything right from the start”. However, he faced some challenges. “I was encouraged to go to all the doctor’s’ appointments and scans, but subconsciously I distanced myself. I was worried I’d say the wrong thing or be taken the wrong way. I was really upfront from the start and that helped because then they would address both of us. There was a lot of support to encourage me to enjoy it and go through it with my partner.” This gave Adam the confidence to advocate for his family and speak up during appointments, to make sure he could properly support his partner; “it’s a lot of pressure to put on one person [Mum], I’d always say ‘tell me’, because I’m not going through all the body changes, nausea, hormone changes and I can help her”. It’s common for men to feel left out and excluded from the pregnancy as they are not prioritised as an equal partner, which in turn puts a lot of pressure on the pregnant person. Current UK paternity leave mandates two antenatal appointments for a partner to attend, however the pregnant person attends on average 10 appointments during their pregnancy.

Through his own personal journey with counselling and mindfulness, prior to engaging with Children North East, Adam felt he was better able to connect with his family and be more open about how he was feeling, “I’m human, I get sad, I get happy… I think for a lot of men they internalise and don’t know how to express it”. Sharing little moments of joy helped him to recognise how far they had all come, “[Since leaving social care support] we’re in such a good place, all of us … the older one helped feed his brother dinner last night and gets his juice bottle for him … there’s a whole list of words he’s saying now”. Adam has found with his peers it can be hard to find a connection or open a casual conversation about their kids, “Guys just don’t talk about that stuff”, but he wanted to encourage other men to try. “I think Dads have a lot of internalised pressure of ‘I have to work, I have to provide’ and it doesn’t come from their partner, it comes from them.”

Adam praised the staff for their spontaneous acts of kindness, recalling, “We were having lunch when one of the team offered to take a family photo, saying we probably didn’t have many like that.” In the midst of the chaos that often defines family life, gestures like this can mean a great deal. Giving parents the chance to pause and preserve a special moment helps them feel seen and valued. It’s these small yet thoughtful actions that foster a sense of belonging – laying the groundwork for strong, supportive family connections. Even this small moment from our team made Adam feel valued and recognised at Cowgate.

Adam has now entered the Volunteer programme with Children North East, “they recognise the potential and encourage you to develop your skills”, and one of his goals is to set up a Men’s Group to encourage more men to come to Cowgate in the hope they’ll have as good an experience as he and his family have had. “I’d like to set up a Pie Club or something similar, then maybe once a month the kids could come too but it would give guys a chance to have a chat without feeling judged or watched.”

We are very proud of the safe, welcoming space our team have built at Cowgate Community Hub and the range of services they offer to support the mix of families we welcome through the doors. As Adam looks forward to the future, we’re excited to see where he takes his ideas for more men’s support in the area and know he’ll be a great addition to the team.

If you would like to know more about what we do at Cowgate, email [email protected] or check out this page

Last year was very special year for the long-standing relationship between Children North East and Rotary Ponteland, which saw the latter turn their vision of helping children and families across our region into a Charity of the Year partnership that changed lives within local communities.

With a wonderful 60-year history of supporting charities, members of Rotary Ponteland set about planning an exciting calendar of activities that would raise funds and awareness for Children North East and its services.

Fundraising Events

Rotary Ponteland organised events that rallied support within the local community. Each event was a chance to bring people together for a fun time whilst generating funds. These events included naming us as their charity partner for the iconic Ponteland Duck Race, delivering a range of Christmas events, including Santa Sleigh runs, Disco and a Christmas Market, and collections at different locations over the year, such as supermarkets and events

The Fundraising Team joined with Rotary for some of these events, sharing stories from our services and bringing branded materials. We were on hand to provide support, such as creating marketing materials, promote their events and cheerlead them on the way.

Raising Awareness

Rotary Ponteland didn’t just stop at fundraising. They gave the charity the chance to join them at a range of events to help grow awareness of the charity within new communities, joining them at promotional stalls in community venues, including an Over 50’s Jobs Fair organized by the then MP Guy Oppermann in Ponteland. They also shouted about their partnership in their newsletters and on their web site and Facebook pages. On the charities side, celebrating their hard work fundraising with cheque presentations were shared on our social media, helping spread the word about how to support us.

The Partnerships Impact

In 2023, Rotary Ponteland raised an incredible £6,100, enough to support 60 families to access a year of support through our Community Hub. We also spoke to hundreds of new people about our cause, with their comms reaching many, many more.

We can’t thank the members of Rotary Ponteland enough for their incredible support during 2023 and our long history together. Thanks to their hard work and motivation, many young lives will benefit.

“The commitment of Rotary Ponteland to supporting our charity has helped us provide crucial support during a difficult times for many families. The team were inspired by the way they creatively found ways to help our work, both fundraising and connecting us to their communities. We loved working with them!” Billie Jenkins, Communications and Fundraising Manager.

“It was a real pleasure working with the Team at Children North East throughout the year over a number of events and it gave us a real insight into the amazing work that they do in our region to support children and young families.” John Cooper, President at Rotary Ponteland.

We hope this partnership inspires other groups to get involved, whether through fundraising, volunteering or simply spreading the word. Together, we won’t stop until every baby, child and young person has a happy, healthy start in life.

Unheard Voices is a podcast recorded by our Young Ambassadors at Northumberland College, where young people share their thoughts and views on how those experiencing poverty are affected by everyday life.

We believe that in order for us to properly advocate for change for babies, children and young people we must listen to their voices and understand what life is like for them and they barriers they face to growing up happy and healthy. Through our Poverty Proofing work, we strive to do this with our Young Ambassadors who provide valuable insights in to being a young person today. Partnering with Northumberland College, our team have worked closely with 20 young people, each with their own experiences and stories to tell, to understand how they can be supported. These young people have been truly incredible, showing a real dedication for advocating for their generation and a willingness to open up about their struggles and what they’ve seen on a first-hand basis. Over the months, we’ve discussed how poverty can affect a person’s learning opportunities, life experiences, their feeling of belonging and mental health. Our Young Ambassadors have taken this on and explored what schools and colleges can do to support children experiencing poverty.

From our work, it was clear that the voices of these young people would be invaluable to those wanting to make changes to their settings, and that they wanted to share their views to help others. They proposed we record and release a podcast session, meaning they could openly and informally discuss their thoughts. Three speakers were nominated, and with our Poverty Proofing Support Worker, Unheard Voices was released!

If you’re interested in working with our Poverty Proofing team in your setting, contact us on [email protected] or visit our page to find out more.

Thank you to J, a brave mam who has shared her story to empower others to do the same and address their own mental health struggles both during and after pregnancy.

I’ve always been a firm believer in the bravest thing you can ever do is ask for help, that was never more true for me than when I was navigating pregnancy after loss.

Having lost my first child due to a missed miscarriage, falling pregnant with my second child only a few months later was the most terrifying time. I spent the weeks from my positive pregnancy test on the run up to my first appointment overanalysing every symptom, paying for private scans every week and in a constant state of fear.

I already felt like there was a lack of support available for me as I had “only experienced one loss” I didn’t fit the criteria for perinatal mental health support via my local NHS hospital’s rainbow clinic. On reflection looking back now, I felt I had no choice but to be honest and tell my health visitor how much I was struggling – the crippling anxiety was written all over my face.

When my health visitor suggested she make a referral for me to engage with Little Minds in Mind, I was sceptical if I was able to be helped but had nothing to lose, I couldn’t possibly feel worse than I already did.

Throughout my whole pregnancy I was petrified to bond with my baby in fear of another loss, I felt like I wasn’t ‘normal’ and worried what would happen if my baby was born healthy but I still didn’t feel that connection. I completely shut down and isolated myself from friends and family. Though I was able to share some of my thoughts with my husband, I kept a lot to myself as I felt so guilty for ruining his experience of what should have been an exciting time.

Within minutes of meeting Sarah from Little Minds in Mind I knew I’d made the right decision in speaking out and seeking support.

There was no topic that was ‘too much’ or taboo, I could talk openly and brutally honestly about the guilt, shame and fear I was experiencing knowing that Sarah would listen and not judge. She made me feel heard, she understood, and respected my grief and why I was feeling the way that I was. Through our visits and regular phone check ins, she made me think of things from a completely different perspective – the fact that I was so scared to lose my baby was in itself my own way of bonding and protecting them. She made me realise that I already had those maternal instincts and was doing all I could to look after my baby by being brave enough to ask for help and seek support.

Things that would seem trivial to most like managing to finally buy nappies at the end of the third trimester and saying ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ when referring to myself and my baby towards the end of my pregnancy, I really do feel were possible due to Sarah empowering me and building up my confidence. She celebrated each win with me and comforted me during the lows. She also offered advice and signposting to both me and my husband regarding what support would be available postnatally should I feel I need it. Knowing there was a safety net available and how to access it was a great comfort.

There was no magic wand or quick fix, my mental health was poor throughout my whole pregnancy but with Little Minds in Minds help and support I was better able to cope. When my son was born safely, the first time I looked at him I said to my husband “he’s real, he’s perfect.” I was so excited to introduce Sarah to him as she played such a huge role in his safe arrival and my journey to motherhood.

My husband and I are forever thankful to Sarah and Little Minds in Mind.

*Names have been changed to protect individual’s identities.

Children North East are excited to be a part of this project, organised by Newcastle City Council and Taylor Woodrow.

Marking the transformation of Northumberland Street, local schools, the Lord Mayor and Newcastle City College have contributed items which have been sealed in a time capsule and buried on Northumberland Street, outside Haymarket, to be opened in 2075. Children connected to Children North East have left their mark with artwork, handprints and letters from their parents.

This time capsule marks the renovation of Northumberland Street, an iconic spot in the North East as well as the restoration project of the Tyne Bridge completed this year. It’s also a way for the children to look forward to the next 50 years and imagine what their future will hold and encourages them to look at how they want to shape their community and generation.

Nicole from Taylor Woodrow attended our Cowgate centre and engaged some of the children visiting in STEM sessions, helping them to create their pieces and talking about the importance of making memories with the theme Spirit of Newcastle in 2025.

Children North East have a long history , established in 1891 as Poor Children’s Holiday Association (PCHA) we have been working since then to provide the tools children, young people and families need to help them grow up happy and healthy. Looking back at our own history, we’re proud to be a part of some iconic moments – we started by providing boat trips and day visits for children living in poverty, and by the early 1900s we opened night shelters for homeless youths and TB sanatoriums for Newcastle’s children and young people. Today, we work across dozens of projects across the North East to support thousands of individuals from pregnancy and early years to adolescence and early adulthood.

The current financial climate means that an estimated 31% of children in the North East are living in poverty, exasperated by the cost-of-living crisis, two-child benefit limit, and a lack of support for families. Through our campaigning work we are working to change this and ensure the voices of people with lived experiences are heard and listened to.

Our hope for the next generation is that this will change, and we will work tirelessly with communities to make that happen. We are excited to see what Newcastle will be like in 50 years when the time capsule is opened, and what the future holds for our next generation.

Recent analysis of the latest data on child poverty carried out for the End Child Poverty coalition by Loughborough University sets out once again the scale of child poverty impacting on the lives of children and families across the region. 

‘Every child in every part of the North East should be able to have the best start in life, but this research shows how far we currently are from that ambition. We see the terrible, limiting impact of this every single day on the children and families we work with across the region, including those punished by the two-child limit. ‘

Yet we know there is nothing inevitable about child poverty in the North East. With the right policies, investment and leadership from the top, we can change this. The Government must quickly set out how it plans to do this, before another generation of children across our region have their entire childhoods blighted by poverty.’ Leigh Elliott, CEO Children North East 

The data, which is based on the region’s parliamentary constituencies, and includes housing costs shows that: 

• Two thirds of the constituencies have rates equal to or higher than the UK average of 31%; 

• Rates are particularly high in two constituencies with 52% of children in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East growing up in poverty, followed by 43% in Newcastle Central and West 

• The rate of child poverty is ‘directly and strongly correlated’ with the percentage of children in the area living in families affected by the two-child limit policy in Universal Credit. 

• That simply being in work is no longer a route out of poverty – around 60% of families hit by the two-child limit across the country are in work. 

Child poverty is not inevitable and can be tackled by action at national, regional and local levels. Although we are disappointed that the Government has delayed the publication of the National Child Poverty Strategy until the Autumn, we will continue to call for a strong national policy framework to tackle child poverty, including the scrapping of the two-child limit, which is the single biggest action which would make a difference across the country, and especially in areas with higher rates of child poverty such as the North East. 

We will also continue to work with strategic and local authorities in tackling local issues, and promoting Poverty Proofing®, our evidence-based approach to working with schools, health trusts and other organisations to mitigate the impact of poverty on children. 

Child poverty has lasting and resounding impacts on children as they grow up, creating hidden barriers to accessing healthcare, education and cultural opportunities as well as building a stigma around what they feel they can aspire to be. “That isn’t for people like us” is a phrase we hear all too often from children experiencing poverty, referencing career choices, education opportunities and even places to live.  

We must all take action now to tackle child poverty and ensure every baby, child and young person has the tools they need to grow up happy and healthy.