ReachOut! ClubReachOut! ClubReachOut! ClubReachOut! Club

ReachOut! is a mentoring charity working with children in deprived communities to raise aspirations and help them grow in character and competence.

We improve self-confidence and develop Numeracy, Literacy, Communication and Memory Skills, whilst reinforcing our core values of Fairness, Self-Control, Good Judgement and Staying Power. We do this through one-to-one mentoring with positive role models and team activities, to promote leadership, trust and responsibility. The ReachOut! Club aims to help children to develop academic competence, especially in English and Maths, through support from a mentor as a way to become better prepared for secondary school, higher education or further training.

Team activities and one-to-one mentoring help to develop our four core values, whilst providing positive role-models exposes them to new and varied ideas and raises aspirations, inspiring them in their studies and encouraging them to pursue tertiary education or further training, ultimately with a view to achieving career ambitions.

We currently deliver 11 ReachOut! Clubs at 8 schools across Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Aims of the ProjectAims of the ProjectAims of the ProjectAims of the Project

ReachOut! Club SummaryReachOut! Club SummaryReachOut! Club SummaryReachOut! Club Summary

Runs same afternoon every week for 20 - 30 weeks of the yearRuns same afternoon every week for 20 - 30 weeks of the year

Weekly session in school lasts 2 hours (usually 15:30 - 17:30)Weekly session in school lasts 2 hours (usually 15:30 - 17:30)

Up to 10 children per ReachOut! ClubUp to 10 children per ReachOut! Club

One-to-one mentoringOne-to-one mentoring

Individual academic support Individual academic support

Sports & fun activitiesSports & fun activities

BenefitsBenefitsBenefitsBenefitsOne-to-one support - someone to talk with, to listen to them, to care about them, to help them and to have fun with them!

Increase in confidence and self esteem through mentor support and participating in new activities in a safe and friendly environment.

Improvement in behaviour through the examples set by mentors and encouragement from mentors to think about the consequences of their actions and how they affect others.

Individual support with numeracy and literacy helps children to focus on personal problem areas.

Long term buy in - lots of participants stay involved in further ReachOut! activities, continuing to receive academic help and support in personal development in the long term as well as reducing likelihood of being excluded or becoming involved in anti-social behaviour in the future.

Children have fun! - activities such as sports, arts and crafts and group games allow them to develop team skills, learn to share and think of others and be fair whilst having a great time!

Academic support – ReachOut! Club learning will support teachers and raise attainment. Teachers can ask ReachOut! to work on specific areas where children need more practice.

Role models - great young role models for children to work with, helping shape behaviour, raise aspirations and combat negative influences.

Professionally organised mentoring scheme - on site supervision for all mentoring projects means better mentoring and less work for schools.

Great after school club - consistently one of the most popular and well attended after school projects at schools we work in – children love it!

For childrenFor childrenFor childrenFor children

“Staff noticed a marked improvement in pupils behaviour, academic competence and attendance”

Brook Community Primary School 2007

For schoolsFor schoolsFor schoolsFor schools

The ReachOut! Club is an in school, after school single sex mentoring project. It runs weekly for between 20 and 30 weeks of the year, each session being one and a half to two hours long depending on the school.

The project has been running for seven years and has an excellent track record of supporting academic learning and social development amongst participants.

The ReachOut! Club provides volunteer mentors (usually university students) to Year 6 children, who are referred by teachers at their school. Pupils can be referred for a number of reasons, including low attainment, low attendance, low confidence, low self esteem or a lack of positive role models at home.

Each child is allocated their own mentor who they work with every week for the duration of the project. Boys mentor boys on male projects and girls mentor girls on female projects.

At each project the children and mentors follow a weekly timetable, including team sports, fun activities, and a one-to-one mentoring session lasting around 55 minutes.

During the one-to-one session mentees work on specially designed numeracy or literacy exercises, supported by their mentor. All our resources are colourful and interesting, helping to engage children in learning and designed to improve the child’s understanding of a relevant section of the National Curriculum.

The support of mentors also helps children to overcome obstacles in their learning, as well as tackling social problems such as confidence and bullying.

More About the ReachOut! ClubMore About the ReachOut! ClubMore About the ReachOut! ClubMore About the ReachOut! Club

“The ReachOut! Club is very well organised, the mentors are reliable and the kids really look

forward to their session every week!” Liz Murray-Bligh, Learning Mentor

Jubilee Primary School 2010

StatisticsStatisticsStatisticsStatisticsThe table below indicates the academic improvement achieved by participants of the ReachOut! Club in 2009/10. The results are encouraging given the demographic of children we work with (usually those with low attainment or other issues affecting academic work such as behavioural or personal).

Reading Reading Writing Writing Maths Maths

Achieved predicted KS2 gradeAchieved predicted KS2 grade

Achieved KS2 Level 4 or aboveAchieved KS2 Level 4 or above

Achieved predicted KS2 grade in one or more subjects

Achieved predicted KS2 grade in one or more subjects

3 sublevels of progress in one or more subjects

3 sublevels of progress in one or more subjects

Exceeded predicted KS2 grade in one or more subjects

Exceeded predicted KS2 grade in one or more subjects

76%76% 79%79% 77%77%

72% (84%)72% (84%) 65% (71%)65% (71%) 60% (80%)60% (80%)

96%96%

27%27%

60%60%

*data was received for 61% of participants on the project.

“The children love the ReachOut! Club and they get so much out of it! For many children, it’s the

highlight of their week.” Fiona Judge, Headteacher

Springfield Community Primary School 2010

The ReachOut! Clubs are hugely popular with children – being able to spend time every week with “cool” young adults and having their own individual mentor makes it a very prestigious after school club to be in. Despite having to do nearly an hour of school work every week there are almost always waiting lists for pupils to join.

The ReachOut! Club also contributes toward all five of the Every Child Matters objectives, but especially helping children Enjoy & Achieve - it makes learning fun and easy! In the last seven years ReachOut! has provided mentors to over 500 children, helping them to learn, enjoy school, overcome problems and receive continued support.

Academic Improvement for children on the ReachOut! Club in 2009/10* (national statistics in brackets DfE: National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 & 3 in England, 2009/10)

Having one-to-one support for children also enables us to tailor individual learning, maximising the benefits of time spent at the project – for example some children may be working on Key Stage 2 Level 3 multiplication material, whilst others are working on Level 2 addition, each with individual mentor support.

Case StudiesCase StudiesCase StudiesCase StudiesCarlCarl** Carl was referred to the ReachOut! Club in September 2004 with the following comments from his school “Short temper, needs to work on tolerance.”

A very bright pupil, Carl excelled on the project and the required behaviour improvement was noted. He has since attended the ReachOut! Summer Programme for the last 6 years, from 2005 to 2010, and has become an outstanding role model for his peers.

He has also participated in the ReachOut! Academy in 2007-10 and played regularly for ReachOut FC 2007-11, becoming captain in 2010. In 2009 he became one of our first Junior Leaders in Hackney, running a tuck shop for younger children during the summer and earning 2 accredited qualifications (FA Junior Football Organiser, Level 2 Basic DJ Skills).

Carl is now studying for his GCSEs and planning to complete his A-levels in a couple of years with a view to attending university and eventually become an investment banker!

JackJack**

Jack was referred in 2007 to support learning and emotional development, with the following comments from teachers “Jack lives with a carer. He has anger management issues and finds it hard to form relationships. He has abandonment issues and was neglected. He needs to develop social skills and his emotional development is a problem. Special issues around. Jack needs clear guidance.”

Jack loved the project from start to finish. After a few weeks his carers were no longer able to collect him, so they tried to withdraw him from the project. Jack was extremely upset, so ReachOut! arranged for him to be walked home by two mentors after his weekly sessions so he could carry on.

His behaviour improved markedly, as did his attitude to school. He exceeded his predicted KS2 levels (going from L2 to L4) in both numeracy and reading at the end of the year and he has since attended the ReachOut! Summer Programmes in 2008 & 2009. He also attends the ReachOut! Academy, playing for ReachOut FC, indicating his carers’ support for continued involvement. He is now a pupil at the Mossbourne Community Academy.

*Alternative names have been used to enable participants to remain anonymous.

Thanks for your support!Thanks for your support!

For further information or if you would like to discuss the possibility of running a project in your school, please contact:

Frances BlackwellReachOut! London0207 249 6881 · 07985 540 239frances.blackwell@reachoutuk.org · www.reachoutuk.org