Tackling child poverty in Tees Valley: Why working together makes anything possible
Child poverty in Tees Valley affects thousands of children and families, shaping opportunities, health, education and future life chances. That’s why Point North was proud to support Anything is Possible: Tackling Child Poverty in Tees Valley Together – an event that brought together charities, businesses, local authorities, education providers and health partners to explore how we can create lasting change.
Hosted at AV Dawson and brought to life by a team of passionate volunteers, including Amanda Bailey, Director of the North East Child Poverty Commission, and Beth Munby, Founder of Close-Knit, the event focused on one simple but powerful message: tackling child poverty in Tees Valley is everyone’s business.
I joined the event alongside our CEO, Michelle Cooper, to listen, learn and contribute to conversations about one of the biggest challenges facing our region. As a place-based, independent grantmaker, Point North’s role goes beyond funding projects. We bring people together, connect ideas and invest in communities because lasting change only happens when we work together.
Why it’s important to tackle child poverty in Tees Valley
The day opened with a moving performance of A Million Dreams by the talented children from Easterside Academy, accompanied by Sing Education.
Before introducing them, Michelle reminded the audience that tears might well flow throughout the performance, and that there should be no shame in that. It was a reminder that this wasn’t simply another conference. It was about people, communities and the children whose futures depend on the decisions we make today.
The song couldn’t have been more fitting.
It spoke about hope, possibility and refusing to let circumstances define what comes next. Those themes were what the event was about and what we have to hold on to.
At Point North, we believe in creating a better today and a brighter tomorrow. That means working towards a future where everyone can live a full, enriched life in resilient communities. It may feel ambitious, but ambition is exactly what’s needed if we want to tackle child poverty in Tees Valley.
This wasn’t a space to debate whether child poverty exists, nor was it about talking down our region. Instead, it was about recognising the incredible strengths already here and asking what more we can achieve together.
Listening to the people closest to the challenge
One message echoed throughout the event: we need to hear more from the people who couldn’t be in the room.
Many small, volunteer-led charities simply cannot close their doors for a day to attend conferences. Yet they are often the organisations supporting families every day, seeing first-hand the impact of rising costs, insecure work, housing pressures and public policy.
If we’re serious about tackling child poverty in Tees Valley, their experience must help shape the solutions.
As Children North East put it:
"One of the worst places to be poor is in school."
A year on, the urgency remains
The event also took place almost exactly one year after Point North launched our 38.7 Miles in July fundraising challenge.
The campaign highlighted a stark reality: 38.7% of children across County Durham and Tees Valley are growing up in poverty.
A year later, that statistic still feels as urgent.
There is encouraging progress. Awareness of child poverty in Tees Valley is growing. More organisations are stepping forward, more conversations are happening and more people recognise that poverty affects every part of our communities.
But awareness alone isn’t enough.
The cost of doing nothing will ultimately be paid by all of us.
Children are our future workforce, our entrepreneurs, carers, artists, teachers and community leaders. Every child deserves the opportunity to realise their potential, regardless of where they grow up or their family’s income.
Child poverty is about opportunity as much as income
Child poverty is about much more than money.
Financial hardship creates barriers, but so do geography, confidence, representation and access to opportunity.
Where a child grows up can influence the opportunities they see, the ambitions they develop and the futures they believe are possible.
That theme came to life during a fascinating conversation with journalist, author and proud Middlesbrough lass Steph McGovern.
Steph spoke honestly about growing up in Middlesbrough and the frustration many people feel when the region repeatedly appears at the bottom of league tables for health, education, employment and other measures.
Yet alongside those challenges, she spoke with enormous pride about the resilience and determination of local people.
Reflecting on her own journey from engineering into journalism, Steph acknowledged that some opportunities had come because of her regional accent and lived experience. It was a reminder that representation matters and that seeing people like yourself succeed can transform what feels possible.
She also reflected warmly on her school experience.
“It was more of an experiment, a melting pot of kids. The school gave us opportunities… teaching us real-life business skills.”
Perhaps the most powerful observation came when she added:
“When you’ve got nothing, you want to know how to make something. We were told what you did have, not what you didn’t.”
That mindset, focusing on strengths rather than deficits, felt particularly relevant.
When asked about Middlesbrough’s ambitions around culture, Steph was equally candid.
“We don’t support culture enough.”
It was another reminder that tackling child poverty is as much about increasing income as it is about creating places where children can imagine bigger futures through creativity, culture, education and opportunity.
Collaboration is how we create lasting change
Everyone at the event agreed there were no easy answers or quick fixes that could end child poverty. And that was the honest starting point.
But there was also optimism.
Across every sector represented in the room, there was agreement that Tees Valley already has passionate people, committed organisations and strong partnerships. The challenge now is building on those relationships with greater urgency.
The discussion explored opportunities for more collaborative funding, stronger cross-sector partnerships, greater investment in communities experiencing the highest levels of disadvantage and making better use of social value by buying locally and supporting local organisations.
Nobody claimed to have all the answers. Instead, people were willing to listen, challenge each other respectfully and work together.
That feels like a powerful place to begin.
Where Point North fits in
Days like this remind me why Point North exists.
We’re proud to serve Tees Valley as the accredited community foundation, investing in local people, projects and partnerships that strengthen communities from the ground up.
Listening is just as important as funding.
To make good decisions as funders, we need to understand both the challenges communities face and the incredible work already happening to overcome them.
Child poverty in Tees Valley isn’t something that one organisation, one sector or one funding programme can solve alone.
It requires businesses, charities, schools, local authorities, health services, community groups and funders working towards a shared goal.
If this event showed me anything, it’s that our region already has the passion, expertise and determination needed to create change.
Now we need to turn those conversations into action.
Because when Tees Valley comes together, anything really is possible.
Frequently Asked Questions about Child Poverty in Tees Valley
Child poverty refers to children growing up in households with insufficient income to meet everyday needs and fully participate in society.
The figures mentioned refer to relative child poverty after housing costs. That is the percentage of children living in families with less than 60% of the median UK household income, after housing costs have been taken into account.
No child should grow up in poverty.
But right now almost one in three (31.3%) babies, children and young people are growing up in poverty in Tees Valley.
Addressing child poverty benefits not only individual families but the long-term prosperity of the whole region.
Point North supports charities, community organisations and local partnerships through funding, collaboration and convening conversations like Anything is Possible.
By investing in communities and bringing people together, we help create opportunities for lasting change.
As an IVAR accredited funder, we share all of our open grants on our grants page.
