Youth Fed selected as Building Futures delivery partner to support young people at risk of becoming NEET

Youth Fed is proud and excited to have been selected by Youth Futures Foundation as one of four delivery partners to deliver the Building Futures programme.  

Launched in 2024 by Youth Futures Foundation, the national What Works Centre for youth employment, the programme will provide targeted mentoring support to pupils in Years 8 – 10 who are at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET) later in life. 
 

As one of the four organisations selected to deliver the programme, Youth Fed will support hundreds of young people across Cheshire, Wirral and Stockport, working closely with its established network of schools. Youth Fed has more than a decade of experience delivering mentoring programmes with young people in both school and community settings. Through this work, the charity has seen first-hand the difference that having a consistent, trusted adult can make – providing encouragement, helping young people navigate challenges and supporting them to recognise their strengths and potential. 
 

Through the programme, mentors will work with pupils over six months, providing consistent, individual support at a critical stage in their development, helping them to build confidence and improve their aspirations for the future.  

Youth Fed will work alongside Youth Futures Foundation, fellow delivery partners and the independent evaluator, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to help strengthen the evidence base for early intervention mentoring. 
 

Youth Fed CEO, Chris Hindley OBE, said: 

“Having delivered youth mentoring programmes in a variety of settings for over a decade, we are proud to have been chosen as a delivery partner for the Building Futures programme. Building Futures allows us to directly support hundreds of young people in the North West. It is also a significant opportunity to contribute to national thinking around the role trusted adults play in improving outcomes for young people.” 
 

Being part of Building Futures represents an opportunity not only to deliver high-quality support to young people locally, but also to play a role in shaping the future of youth mentoring nationally and strengthen understanding of how early, relationship-based support can help young people to fulfil their potential.