PROJECT
LEVEL UP
WHAT IS IT?
A project designed to help young people find their place, feel capable and ultimately flourish in a challenging world. Because the rules for life are shifting and changing at a rapid pace. We are the most connected we’ve ever been, and yet the most disconnected at the same time.
Traditional academic subjects may fill brains with knowledge and information. But we believe that building character, self-confidence and resilience are equally important to young people in the modern day, yet have been forgone as resources become more and more limited in our schools.
It is this fundamental lack of self-confidence and resilience which drives young people away from mainstream society. As young people become disillusioned with the world around them, they act out in destructive roles, harming themselves and sometimes others. This can manifest in non-attendance, disruptive behaviour and eventually exclusion. The level up project will build character, self-confidence and resilience, helping young people re-engage in education and foster brighter aspirations for their future.
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
Up to 12 pupils at risk of permanent exclusion will join the project. The project is split into three phases as follows;
Alpha Phase – Instructor Led (12 weeks)
Our instructors work with pupils in a series of 1-1 and small group workshops based on the real-life experiences of one of our inspirational speakers.
We use their story as the framework to drive change, learning about the components of resilience and the importance of self-awareness. After listening to each experience, young people take part in bespoke workshops and 1-1 resilience coaching, where we draw the key learnings and fundamental principles from each experience, re-frame them and make them applicable to the circumstances of each young person. It gives young people the tangible evidence that a mindset, tool or way of thinking works in the given scenario, so why shouldn’t it work in their own scenario?
Bravo Phase – Pupil-Led (12 weeks)
Supported by one of our amazing instructors, young people take the lead in discovering their passions skills and interests through a series of practical leadership and teamworking tasks. Each task is designed to enhance the young persons ability to work as part of a team, think laterally and consider their own strengths and weaknesses.
During this phase, 1-1 sessions continue, focusing more explicitly on drawing out individuals strengths and applying those to real-life scenarios. A career peer mentoring session is held at the conclusion of bravo phase, where the young people are given the opportunity to interact with potential career mentors from across different sectors and occupations.
Charlie Phase – Mentor-Led (12 weeks)
The final phase see’s young people apply their newly discovered strengths, skills and interests in a real world setting. Working with their newly paired career mentor, young people will be afforded the opportunity to visit the workplace of their career mentor. Their career mentor will also provide them with the opportunity to explore what next steps they need to take in order to realise their new found aspiration.
In this phase, as an example, it is hoped that full engagement with catering may allow a young person to establish their role as ‘a student’ and a ‘future chef’, identifying with the skills and values of the profession and providing a professional character with which to interact with future employers and others.
At the conclusion of Charlie phase, young people will have drawn a career map and be empowered to enact their next steps to realise their new aspiration with clear structural support provided by our amazing partners. They will continue to receive individualised support from our amazing team for as long as is needed to make their plan a reality.