Our work includes direct intervention activities that help promote and sustain academic potential and facilitate reintegration into mainstream learning environments for pupils who have been excluded.

We pride ourselves on our collaborative efforts, working closely with several community partners including (but not limited to) Excell 3’s Black Boys Can, the King Solomon International Business Academy, Number One Performing Arts and Lambeth Council. These partnerships enhance our capacity to provide targeted support, valuable life skills, and opportunities to children and young people in our community.

About the Education Sustainment Project (ESP)

The primary goal of the Education Sustainment Project is to prevent and reduce school exclusions by implementing early intervention. The ESP aims to keep pupils engaged in their education for a longer period, thereby increasing their aspirations socially and academically and reducing the risk of falling into undesirable life outcomes (such as criminality and gang culture for example).

Project Aims and Objectives

The core objectives of the ESP are:

1. To boost the confidence and awareness of pupils at risk of exclusion, helping them remain engaged in school and avoid drifting into criminal activities.
2. To empower parents/guardians through collaborative working, providing advocacy and support to help them better support their children.
3. To generate evidence supporting early intervention programs that can influence national policy and decision-making towards achieving zero exclusion.
4. To provide comprehensive advocacy and intervention to help parents navigate school policies and systems.

Lambeth is among the most deprived boroughs in London, with significant challenges in terms of educational attainment and exclusion rates, therefore it is crucial we all work together to mitigate the risks to our children and young people. The borough's exclusion rate is significant, and additionally tends to disproportionately affect black and minority ethnic pupils and their educational needs. By engaging with parents and schools, we believe that the ESP can make a substantial difference to the life chances of the pupils we support.

Proposed Activities and Collaboration

Our program includes:

• Mentoring and coaching for young people, both individually and in groups.
• Parent engagement through workshops and one-on-one support, enhancing parenting skills and understanding of the educational system.
• Advocacy and casework support for families facing challenging circumstances.
• Community outreach and engagement activities, including annual conferences and summer programs.

We will employ a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the impact of our interventions, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability. This evaluation will assess both the process and the outcomes, providing valuable insights into what works and why, and how these findings can inform broader educational policies.

We encourage schools in the community to join us in this vital project. By collaborating with O4C and participating in the ESP, they can play a pivotal role in transforming the educational experiences and outcomes of vulnerable children in Lambeth. We encourage potential partner schools to consider pupils who are at particular risk of exclusion or who are struggling at school, as they could greatly benefit from the intervention of our project. Together through joint working, we can create a supportive and empowering environment that keeps children engaged in learning and away from the risks of exclusion and criminality.

Please feel free to contact info@options4change.org.uk for more information.