Mentoring to provide life changing social and educational opportunities to hard to reach young people who are not in school

The Pitch

Problem statement

Bristol state funded primary schools have the highest number of fixed period exclusions in the South West and has the highest rate of of fixed term exclusions for persistent disruptive behaviour, a well known indicator of unmet needs in school. This is why Ignite want to provide young people with access to education through different means which are better meeting their unique needs. Additionally, COVID has hugely increased the educational gap, specifically for disadvantaged and/or marginalised young people. Young people who aren't having their needs met through a school environment can fall significantly behind their peers, specifically, if they are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Solution

Ignite's mentoring service aims to help young people overcome adversity. We support some of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and/or marginalised young people in our community. Mentoring supports wellbeing by focussing on raising aspirations and self-esteem whilst providing life changing opportunities which support education and employment, and also physical health by providing access to exercise. Mentoring allows us to address the educational gap by providing additional education courses and qualifications while supporting young people to cope emotionally. When schools are not meeting the needs of a young person, we are able to offer a safe environment for them to thrive and re-engage.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

Ignite is best placed to deliver this project as we work collaboratively with local schools, social workers, and Impact Mentoring, which supports 300+ young people yearly, to respond effectively and reach those most vulnerable. We are able to support young people when schools aren't meeting their needs and due to our networks within our community, we are able to support hard to reach young people and provide them with educational support. We work closely with Impact Mentoring, a well-established organisation which supports over 300 young people yearly. We operate out of our main building and which includes 3 soundproof classrooms, kitchen, gym, crafts area, construction site and more.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

15 people

Expected impact

We provide mentoring when local/statutory services aren’t meeting needs. Mentoring provides young people who are at-risk of exclusion, or already excluded, with life-changing experiences. £2000 will allow us to offer 45 mentoring sessions which can support young people to re-engage with school or access other courses. Mentoring is an important point of call when the young person is struggling and may not have a support network at home or in school. Many of the young people we support have experienced an array of adversities, we focus on positive life experiences to build self-esteem. We aim to increase the amount of young people we can support while also increasing the quality of provision of care. This funding will allow Ignite to enhance young people’s future chances through work placements, educational opportunities and life fulfilling experiences. A report found that over a quarter of Bristol's young people grow up in poverty; where we are born should not dictate our life chances.

Track record

We have many case studies and testimonies to support the impact mentoring is having on the young people we support: Young Person: 17 "After very difficult start to my life in London, I was moved to Bristol with a foster family. In year nine my old life started to catch up with me. I began to get into trouble in school and had some trouble with the police, I was angry and got into lots of fights, my relationship with my foster family became very strained and I felt very alone. At this point I could have easily gone downhill fast, but I got lucky, my school were very helpful and understanding and found me a mentor. It's hard to put into words just how much this helped me. He helped me join a rugby club. Then in year 11 my life got turned upside down when I made a few bad choices, he supported me through a very difficult time and enabled me put right those bad choices, for that I can't say thank him enough. Wayne helped me change my thought process towards education. I am now in college

Project updates (0)