“I have finally had that breakthrough and got a job!...I have the mind, power, perseverance and mainly belief with some confidence. Focus and achieve. Bring it on!”. Joe, Croydon.

 

SOHK England

We have had one of the busiest periods that I can remember of late, with two adult contracts running, loads of fundraising going on, national media coverage, new schools, and full adult & school curriculum reviews. We also made it to the last 10 of Allianz’s Charity of the Year and following an interview, the final 3. We find out on December 14^th after an employee vote whether we have won. This would support work we are doing in the Croydon and South London area.

 

DWP Adult Contracts

Croydon Contract – 40 customers, 6 months	West London Contract – 100 customers, 1 year
October – Men’s Boxing – 23 starts	July – Men’s Rugby Course Richmond – 17 starts, 15 completers, 4 job outcomes to date
Jan 2019 – Women’s Boxing	October – Women’s Rugby – 17 starts
March 2019 – Seek further contract renewal	Jan 2019 – Men’s Boxing Shepherd’s Bush
	March 2019 – Women’s Boxing Shepherds’ Bush
	May 2019 – Final Course of the contract

 

Rugby

This is the first time we’ve used rugby on a London course during my time with the charity. This has mainly been due to challenges getting the numbers. Although numbers have again proved a challenge, the courses have been a success in terms of quality and we’ve had plenty of media coverage from our women’s course.

Outcome performance

We have seen a steady drop in our job outcome rate over the last few years and this is mirrored in our other SOHK areas and also by partners. One partnership manager at DWP acknowledge that 40% used to be the benchmark for outcomes and now it is 20%. This is due to relatively high employment numbers and the complexity of barriers that the people out of work are now facing. I, therefore, feel even more that we should be looking at funding away from JUST employment outcomes (mental health, for example). What has been really great about all the courses is that everyone (barring 2 people per course) has made significant, demonstrable progress – many have secured work, but not enough to sign off benefits. Others are now volunteering, undergoing training or just actively seeking work.

Schools 

Current delivery:

London Schools	Hertfordshire Seale Hertsmere	2 schools
	London Royal Docks Bacon’s College Warlingham	3 schools

 

Funding

We have secured £300k worth of funding for the next 3 years of these projects, which I am still frankly blown away by. For a small charity with no dedicated fundraiser/bid writer, this is pretty amazing! This will mean that we start 3 new Hammersmith and Fulham schools from next September. The schools in the table above should also all still continue, apart from Warlingham, where there is a challenge around long-term funding.