ReRooted
Creating safe spaces for all young people to thrive
We are excited to launch ReRooted, supported by funding from UK Youth's Thriving Minds fund and CHK. The programme, which focuses on building staff capacity to work with young people facing multiple challenges in their lives, will run until May 2025 and there are plenty of ways for Foyer network members to get involved! Sign up to take part by Friday 5th May 2023.
Responding to the need
In recent years, our members have noticed an upward trend in the level of support young people need when living in a Foyer. This is often because they have experienced significant adversity in their early lives. For example, 20% of young people living in Foyers have left care, 18% have experienced the justice system and 65% experience mental health challenges. We hear from young people that they would like better support with their mental health, and staff report feeling a lack of confidence and knowledge to respond to this need.
After an extensive consultation phase with our network and beyond, we are pleased to be able to offer tailored and targeted support through ReRooted, coming together with our network to find solutions that work.
Our goal
ReRooted is about creating the right conditions in which young people can form strong roots, grow their skills and talents, and have fruitful, thriving futures – whatever their past experiences might be.
Our aim is for staff to build the knowledge, confidence and skills to better support young people who arrive in the Foyer, making their time there positive and inspiring, and enabling them to feel safe to put down new roots.
Our approach
Through a programme that combines skill development, practical resources and community learning, Foyer staff will have the opportunity to strengthen their practice, deepen their awareness, grow their confidence and build environments that young people can feel safe in, ready to grow.
ReRooted grows around three core ideas that we believe are central to working with young people in the most effective way:
- Improving knowledge and awareness of mental health gives staff confidence in their ability to respond effectively and work proactively to prevent young people from experiencing crisis.
- Having greater awareness and understanding of trauma empowers staff to create spaces that young people trust and feel safe in.
- Developing an Advantaged Thinking practice enables staff to positively approach any challenges in a person-centred, sustainable and solutions-focused way.
ReRooted learning cohort
Each Foyer can nominate up to two staff members to join the ReRooted learning cohort. Staff will progress along the ReRooted journey together, benefitting from each other’s experiences, learning from each other’s challenges and celebrating each other’s successes.
As ReRooted builds, we will work closely with staff and young people to illuminate the priorities for learning and development, shaping and co-creating the programme around the areas of need and aspiration. We will introduce new ideas and creative approaches from around the sector to ensure inspiration is always in the air!
Find out more about becoming part of the ReRooted learning cohort by downloading the information flyer below.
The deadline to sign up is Friday 5th May 2023. Please sign up through this link.
ReRooted information flyer
Wider opportunities and taking our learning forward
Based on the learning cohort's experiences and learning, ReRooted will offer wider opportunities to our network members and beyond.
This will include network events to share best practice, one-off training sessions and the production and dissemination of learning assets. By the end of the funded period we hope to have designed practical guidance resources, case studies and tools to help others to implement a ReRooted approach to working with young people in their own setting. These resources will reflect the journey our ReRooted learning cohort has undertaken, informed by both their challenges and successes.
ReRooted will support practitioners to create safe spaces for all young people to thrive and flourish.
For more information about ReRooted please contact [email protected]