CXK is delighted to announce it has been awarded a Connected Futures grant by the Youth Futures Foundation. The award will support the organisation to deliver a young person driven research project, in partnership with East Sussex County Council and Hastings Borough Council, to identify and understand the factors contributing to the persistently high levels of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young people in Hastings.
Statistics show[1] that in 2019/20 the percentage of young people leaving State-funded mainstream schools without any plans to continue in education, employment or training were 8.9% in Hastings, compared to 7% in East Sussex, 4.6% in the South East and 5.6% in the whole of England. The Connected Futures: Hastings project, led by a team of young people living in Hastings, will explore the range of factors that might contribute to this, including impacts such as challenging family circumstances; school absences and suspensions; and lack of appropriate, consistent, integrated support. The project will identify and understand the ramifications on individuals and local communities and inform system change.
Pauline Smith, CEO at CXK, says: “CXK is absolutely delighted to be working in partnership with East Sussex County Council, and Hastings Borough Council to deliver the Connected Futures project.
“Young people in Hastings have been very clear on the challenges and frustrations they face in understanding or fulfilling opportunities that should be made available to them after leaving school. Our project will empower young people to articulate their needs, review the challenges and provide positive and constructive ideas and solutions to improve their education, and employment pathways moving forward. Young people will drive this exciting period of change and development and we are thrilled for the exciting outcomes that will enhance opportunities across Hastings.”
Cllr Bob Standley, lead member for education and inclusion, special educational needs and disability, said: “This project provides a great opportunity to improve employment outcomes for young people through a youth-led peer research approach. They will be asking young people directly – ‘What would make the difference for you?’. The project will initially focus on Hastings, and we will then share the learning to inform a county-wide approach.”
Cllr Paul Barnett, leader of Hastings Borough Council and regeneration lead, added: “There are many young people in our town who just need an opportunity to help them build a career, and this will help give them that chance. The project will use the evidence and day-to-day living experiences of local young people living in our town through a series of peer-to-peer conversations that will be held in the coming months.”
Youth Futures Foundation was established to find, fund, support and evaluate programmes which help young people to move into meaningful work. Currently, one in 10 young people in the UK are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Matthew Poole, Director of Grants and Investment at Youth Futures Foundation, said: “Thanks to the additional dormant assets funding we have scaled up our flagship place-based programme by an extra £10m. This means more underserved areas will now benefit from the indispensable support and funding that our Connected Futures programme can offer. By providing flexible funding, Youth Futures encourages grantees to foster collaboration, innovation and risk-taking whilst acting as a catalyst for wider change – we cannot wait to see what these local group partnerships have in store for young people within their community.”
[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/key-stage-4-destination-measures
