National youth work charity, UK Youth, welcomes the announcement by Schools Secretary Ed Balls of a major overhaul of alternative education provision for young people who are at risk of exclusion or excluded.
UK Youth focuses on the social and personal development of young people, delivering an alternative curriculum approach through our Youth Achievement Awards programme.
UK Youth is setting up 10 Youth Achievement Foundations™ over the next three years to support young people not in education, employment or training.This alternative approach, working both with schools and youth work organisations, has been successfully piloted over the last four years in conjunction with 7KS Enterprise College, an independent education provider.
To date, over 600 young people have benefited from this innovative provision, with 75% gaining Youth Achievement Awards, 75% gaining a Key Skill and 100% gaining accredited outcomes.A 2006 Ofsted report called the provision ‘outstanding’.
The Youth Achievement Foundations programme™ has been selected as a Youth Sector Development Fund Pathfinder project and is supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
“This announcement by Ed Balls fits perfectly with UK Youth’s Youth Achievement Foundations™ programme and we look forward playing a full part in the drive to help create better outcomes for young people.” John Bateman OBE, Chief Executive, UK Youth
Minister for Children, Young People and Families, Beverley Hughes said: "UK Youth, through their Youth Achievement Foundation model, provide a valuable alternative to school for some of society’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, providing practical support to hundreds of young people each year.”
For further details about the Youth Achievement Foundations programme, contact Laura McVeigh, UK Youth at laura@ukyouth.org / 07826872533.
