As 2018 draws to a close we’re taking the opportunity to look back on some ThinkForward highlights.

We continue to reach the most disengaged young people

876 young people in London, Nottingham and Kent were able to receive personalised support from a coach. In each region we celebrated young people’s achievements at events that brought together the partners who make our work possible. In London and Nottingham, awards ceremonies recognised young people who had travelled the furthest in terms of their progress and their ability to inspire others to engage in the programme. In Kent over ten young people were able to present their stories at a thank you event, after just one year of support from their coaches.

Connor from Strood Academy said: ‘My coach went through different jobs with me and he improved my knowledge about my career path and where I wanted that to lead. Now I know what sort of job I want to do and how to get there. I couldn’t have done that without my coach.’

Our new programme DFN-MoveForward is growing

The DFN-MoveForward programme working with young people with mild to moderate learning disabilities, successfully concluded its pilot year and also expanded into three schools in the West Midlands with five years of funding from a Social Impact Bond supported by the Government’s Life Chances Fund. The pilot evaluation told us that of the schools who said they use other external providers, in some cases more than thirty others, they all ranked DFN-MoveForward as their number one, a great endorsement of our first year.

Our young people benefited from tailored employability experiences

In all our regions we ran a packed and wide-ranging summer programme of employability activities with employer partners including Waitrose, Kirkland & Ellis, Toni & Guy, Cook and KPMG. Every event was designed to meet the future career interests of our young people.

We diversified and grew our donor base

In 2018 we forged new strategic funding partnerships including the London Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund and Big Lottery. ThinkForward is grateful to continue working with other strategic partners including the Epic Foundation, Impetus-PEF and the Kent Community Foundation.

We raised our profile

2018 was also an important year for influencing government and raising our profile. We had evidence published in three separate enquiries covering social mobility, the importance of evidence based early intervention and participation in culture and sport for preparing for employment. We were thrilled to win our first prestigious award – The City of London Dragon Award – recognising the success of our partnership with an alternative provision school in Tower Hamlets and asset management firm, ICG. ThinkForward also won highly commended in UK Youth’s Youth Organisation of the Year. We featured on TV, with our coach at Ellis Guilford in Nottingham taking part in a series on ITV’s Central Tonight which follows her student Morgan’s journey on ThinkForward. You can find out more about it here.

ThinkForward made an important appointment recruiting our new CEO, Ashley McCaul, who started in November. She’s a strong supporter of social mobility and has held senior positions in the not-for-profit and education sectors for more than 20 years. For the last 13 years she led the charity, London Skills for Growth, a post-16 education provider with bases across east and south east London. 

As we establish ourselves in four regions delivering two programmes Ashley will lead ThinkForward’s growth for the future. She said: ‘I am struck by the range of what has been achieved throughout 2018. None of that would have been possible without the incredible support we get from our funders, business partners and schools. I’m relishing the opportunity to lead ThinkForward into a new and action-packed 2019.’

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As people look to support their favourite charities in the run up to Christmas, ThinkForward is taking part in a fundraising initiative that doubles donations. 

For the first time, we are joining the Big Give Christmas Challenge which will see donations matched. That means twice the impact for your pound.  

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2018 runs from midday on Tuesday 27th November through to midday on Tuesday 4th December. You can visit our project page here.

Donations are being matched by the Childhood Trust which means: 

• £100 becomes £200, providing a young person with a month of intensive coaching and employability support 
• £50 becomes £100, enabling ten young people to attend business mentoring
• £25 becomes £50, covering the cost of a work insight day for six young people, providing their first introductions to the world of work 

Every donation will make double the difference and all the money raised will go towards supporting the most disadvantaged young people to unlock their potential and secure a brighter future.  

One of our London students credits his ThinkForward coach with keeping him in school. Sanim said:  “If I didn’t have my ThinkForward coach I think I would be in a pupil referral unit or the school’s learning support unit, or I would have been excluded. I’ve not been in the exclusion room even once since I joined ThinkForward. Before, I used to be in every couple of weeks.”  

Now Sanim is doing well at school and working hard towards his GCSEs next year. He’s thinking about a career in engineering and has also taken part in an insight day at a car company which really opened his eyes. He said: “My coach has helped me understand who I am and that there are lots of opportunities outside of the area where I live. If I explore I can find more things. My coach took me to work experience at BMW for a day. It made me realise that there are so many opportunities out there.” 

Ashley McCaul ThinkForward’s CEO said: “We have an ambitious target to raise £60,000 in just one week to help fund our work with young people like Sanim, who benefit from our unique five-year coaching programme. The Big Give Christmas Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for supporters to double their donation at a time of year when many people are keen to help others.” 

You can donate to ThinkForward here.

 

ThinkForward is delighted to announce the appointment of a new chief executive, Ashley McCaul.

Ashley is an experienced leader who has held senior positions in the not-for-profit and education sectors for over 20 years. She is a strong advocate and ambassador for social mobility and is passionate about transforming the lives of disadvantaged young people.

For the last 13 years, Ashley has led the charity, London Skills for Growth, a post 16 education provider with bases across East and South East London. 

As someone who benefited from support, high quality careers advice and vocational learning early in her life, Ashley is incredibly passionate and committed to ThinkForward’s vision.  She brings with her a wealth of experience of engaging directly with young people, headteachers and employers and an in-depth knowledge of the post-16 landscape.

Ashley said: “I was drawn to working for ThinkForward because of its strong reputation for supporting young people to make positive transitions into employment through its unique coaching model.  I am really excited about leading ThinkForward onto the next stage of its development.”

Charlie Green, ThinkForward’s chair said: “The trustees are delighted with Ashley’s appointment and believe this is a very significant step in the growth of ThinkForward. Under Ashley’s leadership ThinkForward will continue to develop its work on transitioning young people into employment and the various range of post 16 education options.”