Children’s work loan repaid early

Affinity Trust has repaid its £150,000 social investment loan from Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) early.

The loan enabled the charity to successfully move into delivering children’s services for the first time and become a leading provider of Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) in England.

Affinity Trust took on the loan, its first social investment, in 2018 after winning a payment by results contract* with Bradford Council to support young people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours who are at risk of entering residential care.

Using the loan, the charity recruited four key workers and a service lead. The key workers initially provided up to 30 hours of support each week to four children – at home, in school and in the community. This enabled them to better manage their behaviour, improve their quality of life and remain in their family homes rather than move into residential care.

Training

The programme also improved their education attendance, with the children attending more regularly because of the support given by key workers to their teachers.

The charity also delivered free PBS training to 250 healthcare professionals, social workers, parents, teachers, and other social care teams.

As a result of the project’s success, Affinity Trust now delivers PBS programmes in Coventry and Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Luton and Wakefield.

Success

Nicola Brittle, Affinity Trust’s Development Director, said: “Our Bradford service was a huge success and enabled us to support eight children in total. We now have a high performing, award-winning delivery model that is being replicated in other areas. The loan from Social and Sustainable Capital provided funds up front that enabled us to set up and deliver the Bradford project. They supported us throughout and we were pleased the loan terms were flexible, so we could pay it off early.  We are partnering with SASC again to undertake our PBS work in Gloucestershire.”

Ben Rick, SASC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Affinity Trust’s use of social investment to deliver a payment by results contract demonstrates why this kind of finance can be invaluable for charities and social enterprises in this situation. With our loan, they have moved into children’s services and delivered work that has made a tremendous impact on the lives of children and families in Bradford. We are pleased they feel confident to take on a second loan to extend their work and support children and families in Gloucestershire.”

*Affinity Trust receives payments that are linked to their level of success in keeping children out of expensive residential care placements. The loan financed a portion of the costs associated with this contract prior to those payments being received.

The outcome payments for this service are funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, Bradford Council, and NHS Bradford and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group.