About ReachOut
ReachOut is a strategic partner for schools. We run after-school programmes where we build the socio-emotional skills that transform outcomes for 9-14 year olds. We define these skills as empathy, responsibility, problem solving, initiative, teamwork and emotion management.
We exist because not all children have the opportunity to just ‘pick up’ socio-emotional skills. The 9-14 age bracket is an especially crucial juncture in childhood development, so we focus our efforts on helping children in this range.
Within this bracket, we further focus our efforts on helping young people constrained by circumstance. Our programme delivery is informed by an evidence-based curriculum and delivered through collective mentoring with trained practitioners and volunteer mentors. This combines positive peer support with supportive adult role models, allowing us to have the most impact.
What are socio-emotional skills?
Socio-emotional skills are foundational skills for young people. Research has shown that the development of these skills at a young age, when the brain is in a key stage of its development, is one of the strongest indicators of a young person’s success at school and happiness in life.
They’re foundational skills, but we believe they’re often taken for granted because it’s assumed that everyone has equal access to developing them – and that’s not true.
Just like with Maths or English, developing these skills depends on a wide range of factors and can be influenced, formally or informally by access to a range of different learning opportunities.
That’s where we come in. In partnership with the Centre for Youth Impact, we’ve developed an engaging, evidence based curriculum to support the young people we work with.
We work with young people to develop their:
Responsibility
Reliably meeting commitments and fulfilling obligations.
Empathy
Relating to others with compassion, acceptance and understanding
Problem Solving
Planning, strategising and implementing complex tasks including critical thinking, goal setting and responsible decision making.
Initative
The ability to take action, sustain motivation and persevere through challenges.
Teamwork
Leadership, and the ability to collaborate, communicate and coordinate with others.
Emotion Management
Being aware of, naming, understanding and constructively handling positive and negative emotions.
What happens on our projects?
All of our sessions take place after school for 12 weeks and young people take part in an age-appropriate evidence based curriculum across our 3 programmes.
Each project is led by one of our experienced Youth Development Leads and supported by a dedicated team of trained volunteer mentors.
ReachOut Roots for Year 5 & 6
Our Roots programme focuses on helping young people prepare for the transition into secondary school with confidence. Sessions build the foundations for socio-emotional skills development through active learning and reflection. It’s a fun, safe space where mentees build relationships with role models while taking the first steps for long-term success.
ReachOut Rise for Year 7 & 8
ReachOut Rise supports young people as they navigate the early years of secondary school, helping them adapt to new challenges and opportunities. The programme focuses on building resilience, strengthening relationships, and exploring identity. Sessions encourage mentees to reflect on their values, set achievable goals, and stay motivated as they progress through school.
ReachOut Ready for Year 9
ReachOut Ready is our leadership-focused programme for older mentees. Over the course of the programme, mentees are supported to step into leadership roles, explore their future aspirations and take ownership of their personal development.
“ReachOut opened everything up a little more for me”
ReachOut Mentee
