The two founding partners of the North East Youth Alliance, NE Youth and Youth Focus: North East, have been awarded two grants for an exciting new programme aiming to test whether providing centralised support to schools around enrichment has a positive impact on the quality and uptake of enrichment activities locally, without leading to additional costs/resources for schools.

The programme has been developed by NCS and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and jointly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Education.

The North East Youth Alliance (NEYA) has been created to support the development and sustainability of the people and the organisations working to improve the lives of young people across the region. Our ambition is to support a culture shift across the sector – to get people in the youth and community sector thinking and working differently.

Through the Enrichment Partnerships Programme, our collaborative efforts aim to synergise resources and drive positive change within the educational landscape. This is thanks to two grant awards with the total exceeding £232,000.

With NE Youth focusing its efforts on County Durham and Youth Focus: North East on Middlesbrough, the strategic alignment with ongoing initiatives like YouthPrint Durham and Middlesbrough Youth Mutual is evident. Leveraging these networks is crucial to effectively engage schools, enrichment providers and young people, creating an environment conducive to testing and validating the programme’s potential impact.

We are positive this pilot will bring about positive outcomes for young people, teachers and enrichment providers across Durham and Middlesbrough.

Jon Niblo, Chief Executive of NE Youth, said:

“NE Youth are delighted to be working collaboratively with The NCS Trust and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award on such an exciting new programme that will strengthen relationships and create new and impactful programmes in schools.”

Kevin Franks, Chief Executive of Youth Focus: North East, said:

“Youth Focus NE are delighted to have been awarded the funding to deliver the Enrichment Partnership Pilot in Middlesbrough. We look forward to working in collaboration with our national, regional and local partners in making a positive impact on the lives the young people and organisations we serve.”

Applications for the Strategic Coordinator Vacancy that will enable us to deliver this programme are now closed, however if you are an enrichment provider or Secondary School working in County Durham and would like to get involved in this programme please contact us at info@neyouth.org.uk.