ReachOut are a mentoring and youth development charity that run after school mentoring projects across London and Manchester aged 9-14.
We work in partnership with schools, to develop young people’s social and emotional skills – the skills of empathy, responsibility, problem solving, initiative, teamwork and emotional management.
We exist because not all children have the opportunity to just ‘pick up’ these skills. The 9-14 age bracket is an especially crucial juncture in childhood development, so we focus our efforts on working with children in this range.
There are so many benefits to being part of a ReachOut Project:
ReachOut Club projects run straight after school for Years 5 and 6. Each project supports 10 young people for 18 weeks. The sessions involve one-to-one Maths and English activities focusing on building academic, combined with fun group activities such as sports, drama and art. Providing young people with a mentor whilst in Years 5 and 6 helps them to prepare for the challenging transition into secondary school.
ReachOut Academy projects run in the evenings for Year 7 – Year 9. Each project supports 16 young people and runs for 18 weeks. Each two-hour session includes an hour of mentoring focusing on Maths and English as well as group activities all centred around developing young people’s socio-emotional skills. The second hour is an extra-curricular group activity also such as sports, drama, public speaking and art. Our mentors help young people navigate through challenging teenage years and ultimately prepare them for crucial GCSE exams and transition into further education and work.
“My daughter has been attending ReachOut for the last two years. In this time, I have seen her grow in confidence and learn how to overcome challenges with a more positive attitude. As a parent, I am so grateful for the help and peace of mind ReachOut gives us.
Parent of a ReachOut Mentee
At ReachOut, we focus on developing young people’s social and emotional skills.
Research has shown that the development of these skills at a young age 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 by a range of learning opportunities.
At ReachOut, we focus on developing young people’s:
Reliably meeting commitments and fulfilling obligations.
Relating to others with compassion, acceptance and understanding
Planning, strategising and implementing complex tasks including critical thinking, goal setting and responsible decision making.
The ability to take action, sustain motivation and persevere through challenges.
Leadership, and the ability to collaborate, communicate and coordinate with others.
Being aware of, naming, understanding and constructively handling positive and negative emotions.
If you’ve got any questions at all about ReachOut or your child’s involvement, we’d love to have a chat with you!
“Teachers have noticed that pupils have become more confident, vocal and are now more involved in school life. For example, a few mentees have now taken up positions on our sports teams as well as being a part of the debate team, where issues are discussed with passion!”
Teacher at St Luke’s Church of England Primary School, Manchester
“At first, I was really hesitant to take on the Project Leader role, despite having mentored with ReachOut. However, with the support of the team I’ve really developed my skills. For example, at the Mentee Graduation, I stood up in front of 200 people and presented an award which is something I would never ever have been able to have done before, and isn’t an opportunity I could gain in my other situations.”
Amy McCutcheon, Project Leader at ReachOut Academy, Dean Trust Ardwick, Manchester.
“Being able to spend the summer working at Rede Partners, was an amazing experience. Whether it was working in HR or Finance, I learned so much about the world of private equity, made great connections with fantastic people and I got to learn first-hand what it would be like to work there! I really believe that I can go onto build the career I want now I’ve been a part for a workplace for real”
Victor Adekunle, 18 years old, ReachOut Ambassador, London
“When I first my mentee, she was very reluctant to participate in the sessions. Now, I see a completely different person! Her confidence has grown and she is happy to join in! She still has some self-doubt when it comes to academic work, but that’s what I hope to help her overcome, because she is a very bright person!
Through mentoring, I’ve learnt I’m a lot more patient than I realised. There will be days where she refuses to participate and those are the days that I really see the importance of the character strengths, for both the mentees and the mentors. It also makes it easier for the mentee to understand the character strengths, when I use them myself”
Myrtle, ReachOut Club mentor at Tufnell Primary School, London
“There are more distractions than ever outside of school, and the commitment of our students to attend ReachOut sessions is testament to the value they place on the relationships they foster there, and the challenge and enjoyment they provide.
ReachOut’s focus on communication skills and character development has become an important aspect of our provision of support for these students. The opportunity to relate to a positive role- model other than their usual teachers is key to the programme’s impact, and the evidence of this has been seen in the students’ attendance, resilience and to their overall progress across all the subjects in the school.”
Thomas Janvrin, Assistant Vice Principal at the Petchey Academy London