The Teens and Toddlers youth development programme helps young people to:

• Stay in school and fulfil their educational, employment and personal potential
• Develop life skills, aspiration and positive life goals
• Build emotional literacy (confidence, self esteem, self management and social skills)
• Avoid risky behaviour, such as teen pregnancy, by educating about the responsibilities of caring for a child/relationships.

After Teens and Toddlers, we encourage young people to join our new Level 2 Community and Enterprise Skills Award (CESA) where they learn work and life skills through youth-led community projects.

Teens and Toddlers

Teens and Toddlers works because it catches young people at an early age (13-17), and focuses on their unique potential. This builds their confidence and empowers them to make positive choices in their lives.

We work with schools in the most deprived areas to identify young people most at risk of leaving education early, failing to find employment, “at risk” behaviour, such as teen pregnancy or drugs, and social exclusion.

Our beneficiaries are often looked-after children, care leavers, young offenders and children of teenage mothers. Problems include low self esteem, lack of parental support and limited opportunities to break the cycle of poverty they face. The children, aged 3-5 years old, have included refugees, autistic children and elective mutes, and are chosen based on who will benefit from 40 hours of one-to-one mentoring from the teen. 

Programme Overview

Each 18-week Teens and Toddlers programme is run in partnership with the local authority the school and a nursery one afternoon a week and combines:

• An accredited vocational NCFE Level 1 Award in Interpersonal Skills. This qualification is achieved by 92% of graduates and inspires them to progress to further education.
• An innovative work experience scheme where teens mentor a young child, who needs extra help, in a nursery. This builds a sense of responsibility, highlights employment possibilities and teaches about parenthood.
• Classroom sessions in anger management, emotional intelligence, risky behaviour and sexual health
• Mentoring to support personal development.

Your support will give disadvantaged young people the qualifications, life skills, and self belief they need to keep them in school and to achieve the job and future they deserve.

Teens and Toddlers is: "A well-evaluated, targeted intervention and youth development programme. It has shown not only an impact on reducing teen pregnancies, but also on increasing self esteem, aspiration and educational attainment.”
DfE

CESA: Pathway to Employment

Young people completing Teens and Toddlers have told us that participating in Teens and Toddlers has helped them turn their lives around, find new inspiration and motivation to engage in their education. They have asked for continued support to express in their words, 'the positive changes they are making in their lives'.

• 68% want to be involved in volunteer projects/other youth development opportunities
• 81% would like a Level Two qualification

This is why, working with young people, we have developed the Level 2 Community and Enterprise Skills Award to help young people build business skills and gain employment. This new Award, accredited by the NCFE, is critical because 50% of young people without a Level Two Qualification are NEET (not in education, employment of training). This new programme will encourage young people (up to 20 years) to:

• Learn about enterprise skills and working with money in order to achieve a Level 2 qualification
• Develop through participation, the skills involved in planning, implementing and evaluating a project to make a lasting difference to their own community
• Increase interpersonal, team and leadership skills to improve emotional literacy, aspirations in life and sense of identity
• Develop greater self-esteem, confidence and motivation, through creating a positive experience

 
- Department for Education