Skills for Positive Futures

Through our newest funding programme, we are working with five organisations to deliver targeted support for children at risk of school exclusion, equipping them with the skills to make positive life choices.

Children who have been excluded from school are at increased risk of violence and twice as likely to carry a knife, and evidence shows that permanent exclusion from school makes young people exceptionally vulnerable to criminal activity.^¹ Social and emotional skills are an important factor in school exclusion and we want to ensure that more children have the opportunity to develop these skills.

The projects support 8 – 14 year olds in London and the South East at risk of being excluded from school. They will explore different approaches to developing life skills, from long-term mentoring to sports. Youth mentoring charity Chance UK will use the funding to expand its newly developed mentoring programme for young people experiencing emotional and behavioural challenges in Southwark. Weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions alongside group activities will aim to give children the tools to regulate their emotions and behaviour over a nine-month period.

Chance UK CEO, Geethika Jayatilaka, said: “Children experiencing emotional and behavioural problems can be at risk of a wide range of negative outcomes in adolescence and beyond. We know that the earlier these signs are identified the better the chance of children getting the help they need and ultimately flourishing.”

The charities taking part in Skills for Positive Futures are: Chance UK, High Trees Community Development Trust, No5 Young People, Oarsome Chance and SkyWay Charity.