Discover the work of Beyond the School Gates…
Each year, thousands of young people are excluded from school. But what happens when they fall of the radar? Local Sussex based charity Beyond the School Gates is stepping in to ensure more young people can successfully reintegrate into education or move onto bright futures…
Each year, the SLN Community Fund provides financial support to local charities and not for profit organisations doing innovative work to promote brighter futures for young people across the Sussex region.
One of the organisations supported through the SLN Community Fund has been Lancing based, not-for-profit Beyond the School Gates, an organisation that provides youth mentoring and advocacy services to help young people aged 10-19 who have been excluded from school to re-engage with their education.
Government figures show that last Autumn (2021/22) 2097 students were permanently excluded from schools across England while over 183,000 were suspended.
Beyond the School Gates works intensively with two to three of these young people at any one time, to provide them and their families with dedicated support to help them turn their situation around. Young people typically receive between six and 12 weeks of mentoring support during which they are helped to secure part time work or training experiences, undertake activities to boost their confidence and are supported in overcoming any barriers restricting their positive participation with school. When the time comes, they can also choose to be advocated for when they attend school or college reintegration meetings.
Their families are also supported where appropriate, with parents and carers helped to find local parent support groups and online resources that can support their young person’s social and academic development. There is no time limit to the support Beyond the School Gates provides, and in some cases the organisation has worked with young people and their families for up to two years, helping them apply for EHCPs and attend Pupil Entitlement investigation meetings to negotiate alternative pathways to re-engaging with education.
Through Beyond the School Gates’ intensive support programmes, 15 local young people have recently been helped to re-engage with their education. Referral to Beyond the School Gates' programmes is voluntary and isn't made through schools or services. If you are a young person who would like to be supported by the organisation, or if you know a young person who could benefit, you can register your interest here.
To find out more about Beyond the School Gates' vital work or to support what they are doing financially or through volunteering head over to their site today. Your help could set a young person on the path to a brighter future…