Education support project, London
Keys to the Future improves the schooling of homeless children.
There are thousands of homeless children in Newham, a London borough with one of the highest numbers of families in temporary accommodation in the country.
Homeless children can miss out on up to 25% of their education, which has a severe impact on their future prospects. This project will help 450 children get back into school with minimum disruption, offer tailored one-to-one support and link children up to further support services such as extra help with schooling and homework clubs.
Funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the Jack Petchey Foundation, the project was launched in June 2007. To date, we have provided one-off and group work support to 40 homeless families with children in education need, and more intensive, tailored support to a further 31 children.
We have also:
- recruited and trained adult volunteers to help with literacy and numeracy classes, and young volunteers from the local school to help with forming friendships.
- organised activities, such as a drama group, to build skills and self esteem.
- involved the children in writing, animating and editing a film about their experiences.
- organised social gatherings to give families the chance to feedback on the service.
In the future we’re planning to set up parent’s groups to help them support their children’s educations, and develop new ways for ethnic and cultural groups, and girls and women, to access our service.
Youth forum has its first meeting
On Monday 16th February children and young people from Shelter’s Keys to the Future project in Newham came together for the first time to create their own youth forum. Keys to the Future: Newham supports children and young people from Newham temporary accommodation. The youth forum aims to give children and young people from the project a voice, the chance to discuss the issues they and other young people face, what would make their life better, as well as the opportunity to plan and produce fun and educational activities for themselves and other children in similar situations, involving the children and young people in the decision-making process around their activities and the work of the project.
Newham’s Young Mayor Joshua Adejokun joined the meeting to talk about the work he and the Youth Council does, giving the group ideas as to what they could do and how. The youth forum will plan to take their messages to senior officials across Newham and beyond, and are already organising a drama-based presentation for some organisations.
Read an independent evaluation of the Newham Keys to the Future service. (pdf)
Download the details about how we will help homeless children in Newham to thrive at school. (pdf)
Watch our films about this project:
