Changing Lives through Partnership Working
- Female care leavers are twice as likely (1 in 4) to have either self-harmed or attempted suicide than the general population
- 40% of 19-year old care leavers are not in Employment Education or Training: 18% in the general population
These are not good statistics and Buckinghamshire does not buck these trends currently.
An innovative multi-stakeholder project is looking to radically alter the future of around 14% of Buckinghamshire Care Leavers in 2020/21. By bringing together organisations with shared beneficiaries and the same passion to improve outcomes – the ‘Attain programme’ in Buckinghamshire came into existence.
- The DWP recognised they could support care leavers with employability skills but that this was not enough
- Buckinghamshire Council recognised they could never fully replace the impact of positive parenting
- The Tony and Sheelagh Williams Foundation recognised supporting care leavers could change lives but had no direct mechanism to do this
By bringing together these key partners, The Clare Foundation recognised we could support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
“It is clear that to achieve the greatest possible impact we need to work together. I hope that it will become a blueprint for future initiatives,” Madeleine Harding, Chair, Tony and Sheelagh Williams Foundation.
Transitions UK then joined the partnership, who offer a holistic mentoring programme aimed at providing much of the support a young person traditional gets from parental figures. Young people create a Pathway Plan: a strategy for achieving their aims and ambitions. Mentors help them achieve this via 6 hours of support / week in addition to group workshops.
“This opportunity is unique and offers wrap around support from social skills and practical support, to realising goals and dreams. It is wonderful to be part of a true collaboration to make a real difference for this group of young people,” Imelda Goldsboro, Senior Partnership Manager, DWP.
“We have been enormously encouraged by the shared vision and desire to make this project happen. This has resulted in massively important new support provision for vulnerable young people leaving care locally.” Ron Overton, CEO, Transitions UK
By partnership working, partners were able to increase funding, enabling the initial number of beneficiaries to move from 15 to 30+: taking the project from a £45,000 to a £73,000 project.
“The trustees and I are delighted to be able to work in partnership with many worthy organisations to provide support for young people in Buckinghamshire. I’m delighted The Clare Foundation team have been able to collaborate with such distinguished organisations and bodies to make this happen.” Mike Clare, Founder and Chairman, The Clare Foundation
“It’s terrific such a worthy collaboration of stakeholders: statutory bodies, partners and local charities, all aiming to improve the lives of young people. I am delighted that The Clare Foundation is able to support and provide significant oversight to ensure the success of this project”. Martin Gallagher, CEO, The Clare Foundation
In times of uncertainty, when not-for-profit organisations need to look beyond their own organisations and engage with others, this project symbolises the impact partnership working can bring to organisations with shared beneficiaries / aspirations.
