Sussex helps transform the lives of disengaged Croydon schoolchildren
The University of Sussex is helping fund a project designed to transform the lives of disengaged Croydon schoolchildren.
Gino Graziano
Be the Change was launched at the Crystal Palace Football Club in Croydon on 22 September at an event sponsored by the University and the Careers and Enterprise Company.
The programme has a proven track record of improving the happiness, confidence and engagement of youngsters who may be struggling at school due to lack of confidence or disengagement with their learning.
Joint Head of Widening Participation at Sussex, Gino Graziano, has agreed to mentor schoolchildren as part the scheme. Gino said:
“At Sussex we currently work with more than 160 schools on programmes to encourage more young people to recognise their potential at an early age.
“This kind of activity sits at the heart of our social mobility strategy and we are committed to ensuring that talented students from all backgrounds are able to make informed choices about their future and grasp opportunities.
“Partnering with the Be The Change programme was a natural step for us as it’s focused on engaging students on career prospects in their formative years, when aspiration is starting to build.
“We’re proud that last year 90% of Sussex students who qualified for our ‘First Generation Scholars’ scheme progressed onto graduate level employment or further study. It’s something we put a huge amount of into and we can’t wait to get started on this latest initiative.”
The Body Shop, NatWest, Westfield, Gatwick Airport, Met Police, Southern Water and Lendlease were represented at the Croydon event - brought to the borough by award-winning social enterprise humanutopia and local jobs board LoveCroydonJobs.
Around 35 senior figures from 20 organisations and businesses acted as business volunteer guides for the day, helping bridge the gap between young people and their potential future employers. Organisers hope that Thursday’s event will inspire many others to take part in a full programme moving forward.
Rosanna Farrar, head of partnerships and events at LoveCroydonJobs, said:
“Be the Change is designed to positively impact and shape the future workforce at the same time as offering businesses a fantastic opportunity to make a tangible, measurable and life-changing difference to local young people.
“We are working with 13 and 14 year olds because that is a pivotal age where the life choices they make can have a major effect on their employability in the future.”
In Sussex, the programme has already been widely acclaimed for the way in which it focuses on happiness, confidence, hope, relationships and employability to help young people to identify and overcome their barriers to success.
The idea is to bridge the gap between young people and their potential future employers, as well as taking action to improve the talent pipeline, taking direct action to address the recruitment concerns which have been voiced by many Croydon businesses.