About the Future Ready Fund
The Mayor of London’s Sport team working in partnership with London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) are launching a sport and mentoring intervention programme to support young people at “risk” of exclusion or those affected by violence to successfully transition from primary to secondary education. This forms part of the Mayor of London's commitment to sport in the capital as he continues to prioritise the Building Strong Communities and New Deal for Young People initiatives as part of the London Recovery missions.
This programme will allow community sport organisations to apply for grants up to the value of £25,000 in order to deliver a person-centred after-school sports and mentoring programme in a school setting to work with children in years 5 and 6 who are experiencing difficulties within the primary setting and/or may have been excluded in the short term already.
The projects will allow children to have access to sports and a trusted adult (mentor) who will boost their self-esteem, self-confidence, and engagement with education. As part of this programme, providers will be required to offer a healthy meal for provision on non-school days or extended school days in addition to discussions around healthy lifestyles and making healthy choices.
When the child transfers to secondary school, the project/activity – and crucially, the trusted adult, will remain with them, so that in the year 7 transition they will still have the relationship, familiarity and trust to fall back on as they get used to their new school environment.
Due to the needs of the young people who will be supported through the Future Ready Fund, the community sport coaches working with them will be provided with upskilling and support through the Mayor of London (MoL) as part of this project. This will include mentoring, mental health, trauma-informed training, and support to deliver mentoring to young people with diverse needs.
Fundamental to the success of this programme will be the implication of the Skills Builder Partnership platform. Skills Builder Partnership aims to develop an individual essentials skill to support their educational and career aspirations as well as positively impacting their wider life.
Sport programme and mentoring intervention will reflect the essential skills development through their practices and utilise the Skills Builder Partnership platform to demonstrate individual progression. Organisation will be provided the necessary support and upskilling on the use of the Skills Builder Partnership platform.
