NCS - National Citizen Service Trust

It has been an exciting two weeks since the appointment of our new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer - here’s a breakdown of what has caught our eye, and how we are supporting the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. 1. The Children’s Wellbeing Bill The Children’s Wellbeing Bill aims to put children and their wellbeing at the centre of education. We share this ambition and here at NCS Trust we are: 🧠 Partnering with UCL, StreetGames UK, and The Social Prescribing Youth Network (SPYN) to research the impact of youth provision on mental health and wellbeing. 🧑💻 ️Sharing evidence-based resources with young people and the youth sector. 👑 Supporting organisations such as The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to embed youth voice into policy making in this area. 2. The Skills England Bill The Skills England Bill aims to streamline skills training, tackle shortages, and boost growth - we share this priority, and we are delivering: 🤝 The Enrichment Partnerships Pilot, boosting non-formal learning without burdening schools. 🔧 Year-round experiences that enhance skills, employability, youth employment & oracy. 💼 The UK Year of Service - bridging skills gaps and fostering early career development. 3. The Teacher Recruitment Campaign The Secretary of State for Department for Education, Rt Hon. Bridget Phillipson MP, has begun work to recruit 6,500 new teachers - we are: 📑 Delivering resources through our Skills Builder programme for schools. 💻 Enhancing our online offer, supporting teachers through accessible programmes. 🤝 Connecting with teachers across the country, most recently at the North East Youth Symposium. 4. Widening Democratic Participation The Government has announced a renewed focus on widening democratic participation - we are: 🗳 Working with Our Generation Our Vote, Democracy Classroom, MyLifeMySay, The Hope Collective, and others to encourage active citizenship. 📣 Supporting the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and other departments to embed youth voice in policy making. 👥 Convening events to connect young people with thought leaders and decision-makers.

Yesterday we held a Network Meeting for our North East NCS partners. It was a great opportunity for them to hear about the NCS experiences and NCS funded projects that are currently in place across the region, from our away from home experiences with Ingeus, to our local community experiences with Children North East and our digital experiences from FIRST. We also welcomed several of our Enrichment Partnerships Pilot grantees along to update us on the important work to enhance the quality and uptake of enrichment activities across the region. Among the delegates were Courtney from Hat-Trick, Imran from The Enterprise Academy and Sharlize from Our 1 Community, all former NCS participants who are now employed as part of UK Year of Service placements. It was great to hear about your journeys into employment. Thank you to all of our partners for coming along! StreetGames UK, NEYouth, Youth Focus: North East, Northumberland Wildlife Trust - Durham Wildlife Trust, Go The Distance CIC, The Key - Inspiring Belief in Young People, Northern Stage Newcastle

We are delighted to be working with North East Lincolnshire Council to grant fund NCS projects in the area that support local teenagers with social and employability skills. #Employability

On Tuesday 16th & Wednesday 17th July, NCS - National Citizen Service Trust hosted the UK Year of Service Summer conference for over 80 of our members. The event provided an opportunity for members to develop their skills, with sessions from Speakers Trust and NCS Trust. Day one focused on communicating with confidence and networking with other UK Year of Service members, whilst day two developed members' understanding of themselves and their values using the IKIGAI model, followed by a session to explore how their placements and organisations deliver impact. A huge thank you to all our members for your engagement and willingness to meet new people. We can't wait to see you again in November!

Today’s State Opening of Parliament has outlined the Government's ambitious agenda for change. We welcome the Government’s bold announcements for young people which include: 🧠 A Children’s Wellbeing Bill - this will set the foundations to equip every child with essential knowledge and skills for the future 🔧 A Skills England Bill - which will support economic growth by strengthening the skills and training landscape 💬 An increased focus on wider participation in the democratic process Building young people’s skills and wellbeing, and supporting them to become active citizens, is at the heart of the NCS mission. As the Government’s only Arms-Length Body (ALB) for youth, we at NCS Trust stand ready to share our insights, leverage our expertise and continue contributing to meaningful change for the young people we serve.

Last week we had the honour to host the North East Hope Youth Symposium where we had the privilege to listen to engaging presentations from young people and organisations like Youth Focus: North East, Peer Action Collective - East Of England, and NEYouth. It was an insightful event where we heard passionate speeches from numerous young people who shared their perspectives on a wide array of topics, ranging from poverty and inequality to community safety, mental health, education, and employment. Their words shed light on the challenges they face on a daily basis and the importance of addressing these vital issues to empower young people to become the person they want to be. It’s important that we, and the many decision-makers who joined us for the event, listen and all keep working together to make their solutions a reality.

In partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) we joined the Education Policy Institute (EPI) for a conference exploring ‘enrichment for all: what does the evidence tell us about access, impact and opportunities for improvement?’ Our Executive Director of Strategy and Insight Hannah Stoddart joined an expert panel chaired by EPI’s CEO Natalie Perara alongside Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO at DofE, Oli de Botton, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, and the former Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield CBE, now Executive Chair at Centre for Young Lives. The event was timely in bringing stakeholders together and it was encouraging to hear the growing evidence around the value of ‘enrichment for all’. This draws upon our recent Education and Enrichment Report with DofE that set out recommendations for how formal education and youth sector organisations can partner, collaborate and coordinate, to improve young people’s access to positive activities and clubs outside of the classroom. Enrichment activities help young people grow, thrive and excel, and improve life outcomes. Collaboration is key, so this event and discussion is very much welcomed.

On Wednesday the 10th July, Carl Knight attended the Empowering Futures Conference: Advancing Careers Education for Students with SEND 2024 in Bristol alongside Jimmy and Hettie from Ingeus. Below he shares his reflections on the day. The West of England Combined Authority Careers Hub works with secondary schools and colleges to transform career education for the region’s young people. The conference aimed to disseminate knowledge, enhance awareness and inspire careers professionals who work with students with SEND in the field of careers education, and turbo boost its place on the agenda. NCS had an information stand showcasing all the experiences offered by NCS Trust and spoke about the opportunities for young people with SEND. It provided a great opportunity to spread awareness to leaders and teachers of our experiences, share our NCS Skills Booster resources, and network with professionals from across the Combined Authority. Opening presentations from guest speakers were excellent, including Ryan Gibson of The Gatsby Foundation and Hardeep Rai of Kaleidoscope. In 2015 Ryan successfully led the national pilot of the Gatsby Foundation’s 'Good Career Guidance' benchmarks, working with DfE Officials and Government Ministers, resulting in a new DfE National Careers Strategy in England. Ryan is now 10 years on, refreshing that strategy and will be instrumental to the future success of career guidance. Hardeep - Group CEO at Kaleidoscope and a successful entrepreneur who worked with ex-Dragon James Caan, had a powerful SEND story and offered heartfelt insight and feeling to the SEND debate. The following workshops ran throughout the day and we enjoyed hearing from Stephen Bashford, Strategic Director of Economy & Skills from West of England Combined Authority who gave amazing insight into the regional landscape and skills agenda. Workshop 1 - Developing a Comprehensive and Inclusive Institution Careers Policy and Programme - Ryan Gibson (Senior Adviser for Careers at The Gatsby Foundation) Workshop 2 - Fostering Local Partnerships with Inclusive Employers: Building both meaningful experiences of the workplace and inspirational employer encounters for students with SEND - Kris Tavender, Community Engagement Lead at Warmley Park School. Workshop 3 - Optimising Careers Education Support for Neurodiverse Students - Dan Biddle of the National Diversity Employment & Advisory Service Ltd (a survivor of the 7/7 terror attack with a powerful story) A special thank you to Alexandra Chapel who led the conference this year and to Gemma Perkins and Vikki Wherlock from the Combined Authority Careers Hub for inviting NCS to be part of such a positive day. #SEND #Inclusion #Schools #Colleges #NCS

Last Sunday was #ThankYouDay We want to take a moment to acknowledge and say a great big thank you to all of you #LocalLegends up and down the country making a difference through #volunteering.

Did you know that 2 in 3 NCS participants reported feeling more confident about securing future job opportunities after participating in the programme? 👀 This #WorldYouthSkillsDay, we're ensuring that we prepare young people for life and work by building their confidence, resilience, knowledge and skills so they can unlock their full potential. We are proud to partner with Skills Builder Partnership to support us to embed Essential Skills into delivery of NCS experiences' #SkillsRightNow