Tees Valley organisations unite to drive action on child poverty

More than 120 representatives from organisations across the Tees Valley came together on Tuesday 30 June for Anything is Possible: Tackling Child Poverty Together Across Tees Valley.

The event focused on developing a shared, strategic response to child poverty across the area and aimed to build cross-sector support for collective action, identify priorities for future work and secure commitments to ongoing collaboration.

Hosted by Alfie Joey and held at the Middlesbrough headquarters of local firm AV Dawson, the event brought together leaders and practitioners from the public, voluntary, community, health, education, housing and business sectors. They explored how organisations can work more effectively together to tackle child poverty, remove barriers to opportunity and create brighter futures for children and families.

The event was organised by a small group of community partners, including Close-Knit Families and the North East Child Poverty Commission, and was made possible with support from Point North community foundation, The Teesside Charity and venue hosts AV Dawson.

Explaining the importance of the event and why she was driven to make this happen, Beth Munby, founder of Close-Knit Families said: “This event has been a brilliant opportunity to bring changemakers together from across the Tees Valley and from many different sectors.

“There is already some great work taking place to address child poverty in the area. Our hope is that this event will increase collaborative working and innovative solutions to strengthen this work and make anything possible for every child growing up in the Tees Valley.”

Participants heard from a range of speakers throughout the day, including broadcaster Steph McGovern, Tees Valley Combined Authority chief executive Tom Bryant and a panel of regional leaders working across health, housing, local government, advice services and the voluntary sector. Delegates also took part in a series of interactive discussions focused on identifying priorities for new initiatives to tackle child poverty, alongside exploring how existing efforts across the Tees Valley can be strengthened through greater collaboration.

Highlighting why collaboration matters Steph McGovern, who grew up in Middlesbrough, said: “This event has been so important in tackling child poverty in the Tees Valley. It wasn´t about talking down the region or repeating the statistics we already know. Instead, it brought together people who can build on the amazing work that´s already happening and created a platform for a shared plan for long-term change.

“I’m incredibly proud of this region and the people in it. Our kids and young people are smart, funny and resilient. What they are missing most of all is opportunity. That needs to change, so it was great to be in a room of people who want to work together to do that.”

The latest DWP figures report 27% of children across the UK were living in poverty for the three years leading up to 2024/25. This rises to 31.3% of children across Tees Valley, 65.9% of whom are living in a working family.

A more detailed briefing issued by the North East Child Poverty Commission in March of this year shows the rate is far higher than this in many Tees Valley localities, with the wards with the highest rate in each local authority area being 46.3% in Northgate (Darlington), 47.7% in Victoria (Hartlepool), 69.8% in Newport (Middlesbrough), 47.9% in Grangetown (Redcar & Cleveland) and 44.8% in Newtown (Stockton).

Evidence shows that child poverty can have lifelong impacts on health, education, future employment opportunities and overall life outcomes, whilst also placing significant pressure on public services and local support organisations.

Responding to the figures, Michelle Cooper, CEO at Point North said: “Child poverty affects us all. It limits opportunities for children and young people today, while holding back the talent, ambition and potential our communities need for the future. That´s why Point North is proud to support this event, bringing together partners from across Tees Valley to build a shared understanding of the challenge and a shared commitment to action.

“No single organisation can solve child poverty alone. But by working together across sectors, investing in community-led solutions and putting children and families at the heart of decision-making, we can help create a brighter future where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

Throughout the day, delegates explored how a more coordinated, cross-sector approach could help address the immediate challenges facing children and families, and the longer-term structural causes of poverty. Discussions focused on building on the extensive work already taking place across the Tees Valley, identifying opportunities for greater partnership working and developing a shared commitment to future action.

In summing up the day’s discussions, Amanda Bailey, director at North East Child Poverty Commission, who was instrumental in organising the event, said: “Today’s event really has shown how passionately people and organisations working across the Tees Valley feel about tackling child poverty and expanding opportunities for young people.

“Importantly, they want to come together to do this – recognising that we can achieve more by working in collaboration than on our own. This will help us all to build on some of the incredible work, and partnerships, already happening in different parts of the area.

“Nobody gets a second chance at childhood, and it’s crucial that we do more to tackle high levels of child poverty across Tees Valley if every child across the area is to be able to fulfil their potential.”

The event concluded with delegates making collective commitments to continue the conversation and work together on a shared agenda to reduce child poverty and improve outcomes for children and families across the Tees Valley.

Organisers will now work with partners to develop the ideas and priorities identified during the event, with the aim of creating a stronger, more coordinated approach to tackling child poverty across the area.