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| ReachOut provides youth services in London and Manchester. |
In its first report on child poverty in Britain, the government’s Social
Mobility & Child Poverty Commission recently called for an end to
long-term youth unemployment ‘by increasing learning and earning opportunities’
for young people.
Currently, young people in the UK’s poorest communities face severe
disadvantage, owing simply to their postcode. Their family lives are more
likely to be fragmented, and they are exposed to fewer positive role models who
can inspire and encourage them to work hard at school in order to break free of
poverty.
On average,
just 18% of young people from these communities will achieve at least 5 A*-C
GCSEs, including Maths and English, compared to 61% of their peers from
wealthier neighbourhoods.
This lack of motivation to do well leads to a lack of academic
attainment and, therefore, staggering levels of youth unemployment. In these
communities, youth unemployment reaches average levels of 38%, almost DOUBLE
the national average of 21%.
As of
September, 965,000 16 to 24 year olds in the UK were NEET (Not in Education,
Employment or Training). Each long term NEET young person will cost the state
roughly £56,000 in their lifetime.
It seems obvious, then, that we should be engaging these young people from an early
age, offering them extra-curricular services which introduce them to positive
activities and role models who can inspire a healthy attitude towards education and
work.
However, recently, youth services have been cut substantially. Between
2010 and 2012, cuts to youth services averaged 27%, while a handful of local
authorities have axed their entire youth budget. This is reflected by the fact
that 82% of ReachOut mentees reported in 2012 that they had no other, similar
mentoring provision available to them in their communities.
Cuts to youth services are particularly dangerous. At a recent local
authority event, one attendee said:
“the challenge
we face is that we see kids in school or we see them in a youth offending team
– there’s no safety net to identify children and offer early help; we have no
youth service”.
Mentoring services are one such youth service that should be supported, not
cut. For instance, 89.3% of boys who received additional support from a mentor in 2013 at the ReachOut
Academy mentoring project achieved at least 5 A*-C GCSEs, compared
to 56.7% in England.
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| Mentoring at the ReachOut Academy |
ReachOut mentors have a profoundly positive impact upon the lives of
young people. They support academic learning, but also have a long term impact
on individual character and
aspirations.
Michael was struggling to achieve the minimum number of GCSEs when he
joined ReachOut. However, his mentor supported and inspired him to get back on
track.
‘I joined ReachOut as a reluctant teen, was struggling at school and wasn’t
predicted to get more than 5 GCSEs. However, at ReachOut, I received help with my homework from my mentor which got me back on track. This support and
relaxed atmosphere created an environment that I wanted to learn in. It just
seemed easier to learn more and more! I’m now a trainee teacher and owe a lot
to ReachOut. I was struggling to get 5 GCSEs but, thanks to my mentor, ended up
with 11, 3 A-Levels, a degree and now hopefully a PGCE!’
On average, it costs £411.50 to mentor a young person at ReachOut for a year.
If, as in the case of Michael, this reduces the likelihood of becoming NEET,
that’s a whopping saving to the state of over £55,500 per young person! With
this in mind, the benefits of funding youth services, learning and earning
opportunities for young people, are clear.
It is high time we heed the recommendations of the Social Mobility
& Child Poverty Commission by reinstating funding for youth services.
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By Luke Ounsworth
ReachOut Fundraising Officer
