Annual Review 2011
Working to create positive futures for young people
Š XLP 2011. All Rights Reserved
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Founder’s Message ....................................................3 The Challenge.............................................................4 XL- mentoring ........................................................... 5 Arts.............................................................................. 6 Educational support............................................... 7 Community projects ......................................... 8 & 9 Ebony brown............................................................ 10 the x-mobile..............................................................11 Fighting chance............................................... 12 & 13 tre Cameron..............................................................14 xlp abroad.................................................................15 Where is XLP?............................................................ 16 What makes XLP effective?.................................... 17 Finance ..................................................................... 18 What others SAY...................................................... 19
founder’s message After 15 years XLP continues to be about hope: the refusal to accept a situation as it is. The photograph on the front cover is of a mother at the Arts Showcase Final who ran through a packed theatre to the stage to embrace her son (and everyone else in sight!) after he won the XLP Youth Voice award. For me this summed up an incredible year and paints a beautiful picture of what hope can look like. Reflecting on the riots of 2011 in our inner-cities, there is clear evidence of the need to restore hope to our current generation of children and young people. Clearly where criminal activity is involved, justice needs to be done. But hopeful kids do not join gangs and loot shops. XLP will always be about giving hope to young people and their families living in the inner city. This year XLP celebrates its fifteenth year and whilst this has prompted us to reflect on how it all started and the growth that has taken place, it is also a chance to focus on the future. At XLP’s heart the vision remains the same: to reach young people and communities where they are at, offer alternatives to what can seem like hopeless situations, and be in it for the long haul. It has been another incredibly exciting year for us. We’ve been able to launch a second XL-R8 Community Bus that will begin work on 8 new estates. Our Arts Showcase project has been extended into its fifth borough (Newham) and we had the largest ever London Final at the Mermaid Theatre. Our XL-Mentoring project was also extended to a third borough (Tower Hamlets). We are incredibly grateful to all of you who are supporting our work financially, partnering with us, and volunteering on our projects, and I look forward to working with you for the next fifteen years.
Patrick Regan, CEO of XLP
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The challenge
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Even with the continuing world-wide economic challenges, London remains one of the most successful cities in the world with a strong global standing in areas such as the arts, education, sports, fashion and business. Yet as was so clearly demonstrated in 2011 by the riots in our inner cities, there is also another side to London where we have been less successful. There is clear evidence of the need to address some significant issues in the lives of young people. Over 1.2 million children and young people of school age live in London. Many of them live on deprived inner-London housing estates and experience significant levels of family breakdown; financial, emotional and aspirational deprivation; poor housing; addiction; low income and unemployment; educational failure; gangs; and crime and anti-social behaviour. The combination of these issues and a frustrating inability to cope, communicate or escape are key motivators to making poor life choices, and to becoming involved in gang culture. But we need to remember that gang members are not born criminals; they are children who have become trapped in a cycle of hopelessness. They feel as though the door towards having a normal life has been slammed in their faces. Over time, anger, frustration, and a sense of ‘nothing to lose’ become a cancer that pervades their lives. They change from children into angry young men and women. Their behaviours and attitudes alter, and as a result they are excluded from schools, communities, employment and often their own families. We need to restore hope to our current generation of children and young people. The key to change comes when a young person believes they have a place in the world and that there is a purpose and a meaning to their lives.
XL-mentoring
“For the last three years I have witnessed the dramatic transformation of lives, purpose and community engagement, and am extremely impressed by the results achieved to turn these challenging students around.”
Now in its third year, XLP’s XL-Mentoring project has proven highly effective in supporting young people and their families who are facing emotional, behavioural and relational challenges; helping them to improve their life-skills, relate more positively to their peers and community, avoid educational failure, and choose not to become involved with gangs. The project is targeted at 11-18 year olds who are on the verge of exclusion, excluded, and/or at risk of involvement or already involved in gangs, crime and anti-social behaviour. The XL-Mentoring Project began in Southwark in 2008 and has now been extended into Lewisham and Tower Hamlets.
Catherine Willans, The stories of changed lives through this project are truly amazing. Acting Vice Principal, Walworth Academy A young man who rarely attended school and was getting into XLP Annual Review 2011 5
122 young people 153 life coaches
increasingly serious trouble is now back in school, focussed on the future and attaining qualifications. A young woman with a very troubled background, difficult behaviours and on the verge of exclusion from her school, now nominated by her teachers for Head Girl as an example to the other students. And there are many, many more.
arts
“When you hear about what goes on in Hackney, Tower Hamlets or Lewisham, it’s often negative, but XLP gives us a chance to show that not all young people are the same.”
Kamal Guthmy - Member of “Premature”, winners of The Arts Showcase Final 2010
XLP Arts works with over 600 young people aged 11–16 across the London boroughs of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, and for the first time this year, Newham. Providing a platform for young people who rap, sing, dance, act, play instruments and even do stand up comedy, Arts Showcase allows us to help and support some amazing young people while unearthing some incredible talent along the way.
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Our borough teams hold auditions in schools and PRUs, which are then followed up by a creative process of mentoring, rehearsals and performance. This process helps to instil a sense of discipline, build confidence, and provide a focus on positive activities, all of which contribute to improved educational achievement, behaviour and social attitudes. At the Showcase families, teachers and young people from numerous schools and borough communities (some of which are in conflict with each other) come together to celebrate the achievements of their young people. The showcase events particularly bring together different cultural and ethnic traditions and give the opportunity for these differences to be shared and celebrated.
Educational support All of XLP’s work has grown out of our initial schools project in 1996. We now run regular assemblies, lunch clubs, reading support, in-class support and specialist PSHE/RE lessons in over 60 schools in inner London, helping young people engage with a range of important issues as well as encouraging them to remain in school and succeed in their education.
Almost 90% of young men and women aged 15-18 years old held in prison had been excluded from school Tye, D. Children and Young People in Custody 2008-2009 (HM Inspectorate of Prisons Youth Justice Board, 2009)
It is a well known fact that a young person who fails in their education or is excluded from school is far more likely to become involved in crime, anti-social behaviour, and gangs than those who remain in education. This is why XLP’s youth workers continue tirelessly to help young people stay engaged in the education system and are continually introducing innovative ways to encourage educational success by young people.
Case Study
James is 14 years old and was on the verge of being permanently excluded from school after receiving repeated fixed-term exclusions for disruption, violent and aggressive behaviour and extreme disengagement with education. XLP gave him a mentor as part of the XL-Mentoring project in his area. The mentor spoke with his teachers and worked alongside James helping him to overcome his anger and resentment. Over a year on, James is still attending school, but now with a new attitude and fresh commitment to attaining some qualifications. He is still with his mentor.
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Community projects
Working in and amongst the community is an important part of XLP’s work and includes clubs, buses, detached youthwork, sports coaching and tournaments, trips and summer camps.
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The XL-R8 Community Bus Project has been at the heart of XLP’s community work for the past eight years. Children and young people find a safe place to be, teaching and advice, educational support and a sympathetic ear, along with access to computers, games consoles, a music studio, chill out space, and arts and crafts areas. The buses provide valuable drop-in sessions with
“The way XLP is, it’s like a family and you always feel tha
1-2-1 mentoring, girls’ groups, cooking lessons, small group and team activities, and double up as a base for supporting sports tournaments and detached youth work. With our two new buses, the project travels to 14 inner London estates, targeting areas where there are little or no youth work facilities available. Each session is staffed by teams of experienced workers and volunteers who through the activities, educational support, games and discussion, look to encourage the young people to develop positive behaviours and life-skills, raise self-confidence, stay in education, find good alternatives, set goals and work hard to achieve them. The bus is a place where long-lasting and trusted relationships are established between the team and the young people who attend.
XLP’s youth workers understand the importance of consistency in the lives of young people and so make long-term investments in their communities, with a strong emphasis on building relationships with young people and families. Two other key community projects we operate are our Summer Camps that take large groups of young people camping and our Excursion Trips such as bushcraft weekends and mountain treks up Snowdon. In many cases these are the only ‘holiday’ a young person may get and is often the first time they have left London! Groups of young people from a variety of backgrounds, who otherwise would never really socialise together, get to know and appreciate each other and forge new friendships.
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at you can fit in. You are accepted by everyone.” Jomar O’Meally
ebony brown
I’ve lived on this estate for seven years. Taxis don’t come near us, and pizza places won’t deliver to this area. Some parts of the area have given the whole estate a bad reputation, so it’s refreshing to see that XLP has decided to come here to help the community rather than just condemn it. I’d seen the bus around on Hazel Grove for a couple of years, but it was only when I needed to start volunteering as part of my youth course that I got involved. Since coming on board, I’ve learnt so much from the team, and it’s been a real confidence boost. It’s helped me have more initiative, and changed my views on stuff. Before the bus started coming to Hazel Grove, kids were just hanging around doing nothing. There was more hassle, and it was more dangerous. Now, there’s less trouble in the area – some of the kids have calmed down a bit now they have something to do. XLP have provided what should’ve been there anyway – a place for the young people to get away to. As well as volunteering on the bus, XLP helped me to start up a girls group on the estate. Now these girls have something my age group never had: somewhere safe to go that’s close to home. The group unites girls from the area, and it’s educational too: we learn skills from one another – cooking, arts and crafts, etc – and get to know each other better. It’s had a positive influence on the estate and you can really tell that is it benefitting them all.
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XLP really interacts with the community. They treat people as individuals. It makes a difference just having nice, fair and reliable people coming to your area. It’s important for young people to have role models like this in their lives. Volunteering with XLP has made me feel more appreciated as a member of my community, and made me realise that I can succeed at something if I put my mind to it.
the x-mobiLe
In 2008, EMI, MTV and the Met Police gave the “X-Mobile” to XLP. Converted from an old police riot van as part of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” TV show, this superbly equipped mobile recording studio has since been working in schools, pupil referral units and on estates, and has proven to be an excellent way to engage with some of the most hard to reach young people. The project works with over 300 young people each year who live in some of the most disadvantaged inner-city estate communities.
Aaron Gould - X-Mobile Project Participant
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“I was 12 when I first got into trouble with the police, then things seemed to carry on from there. It hasn’t been easy growing up where I am from, especially when you have guys that want to test you all the time - then you have to prove a point or get taken advantage of. I’m not going to lie and say I am perfect now, but since linking up with XLP it has given me space to think about my lifestyle, and to be honest I’m fed up of getting into trouble and going to court all the time. The X-Mobile van gave me a chance to write lyrics about life, and about losing my friend, Nick. I want to continue working with XLP and getting involved in more of their projects, which would probably help me make even more progress than I have already, which I’m proud of.”
Fighting Chance
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Gangs are taking lives, devastating communities, and putting ever-increasing pressure on our police, hospitals and justice system. Talk to young people involved in gangs and very often they will tell you that they have a lack of ambition, opportunities, money and self-esteem. In many cases there will be a combination of family breakdown, educational failure, poverty and addiction. The gang provides a solution to coping with these problems: a place to belong and feel protected, an alternative family. XLP projects look to make a serious and sustainable impact on gang culture.
Detached Youth Work on Estates
The heart of XLP’s approach is getting to know young people and their families, listening to what they have to say and working with them to make change happen. We have found most of the young people we work with respond to people that are willing to be there week in, week out. XLP has been working with young people in inner London for over 15 years and has established solid relationships with those who live there, including those on the verge of joining gangs, those who are already in the gangs, and those affected by gangs.
www.fightingchance.me
The Fighting Chance website has been designed by young people, for young people, and covers issues such as: * What is the reality of gangs and being a gang member in London? * Advice on the issues around leaving a gang and who can help. * What it’s like being a victim - parent’s and young people’s stories. * Uploaded music and videos articulating the challenges faced. * Advice and sign-posting for young people, parents and teachers.
Fighting Chance - The book
The book looks firstly to set the record straight and provide an accurate picture of the gang situation in the UK. Secondly, it uncovers the real drivers that cause young people to become involved in gangs and crime including issues surrounding poverty, family breakdown, fear, and the need to belong. Thirdly, it explores a number of practical solutions that can help prevent young people getting involved in gangs, and also helps those who are already involved find a way out.
Fighting Chance - Schools Tour
XLP’s Fighting Chance schools tour is an hour-long interactive multimedia show. Drama, music and video presentations are used to engage the young people and explore the issues of weapons, gangs, and making wise lifestyle choices. The show and followup workshops deal with these subjects in a highly relevant and thought-provoking way.
Londoner’s Peace Award
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For his work with XLP and Fighting Chance, Patrick Regan was presented with the Londoner’s Peace Award by the Mayor of London in 2010 as the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to their community.
tre Cameron
“I got kicked out of school in year 7, after just two months. I’d got into a few fights in primary school with some older boys, so I had a bad reputation before I even started secondary. The lessons didn’t really stimulate me, so I wasn’t going there to learn, just to socialise. I got sent out of lessons here and there, and got into silly little fights. Teachers saw my potential but I was quite difficult in school, and they weren’t able to give me the time or the attention I needed. One time I got into a really big fight, and that was it, I was kicked out of school. After I got kicked out I went to live in Barbados for a year then came back to London and still didn’t get back into school. My mum and I tried but the system seemed to forget about me. A youth worker from my area heard about my story and hooked me up with the guys at XLP. Through XLP’s intervention, I was able to get back into school for the last term of year 10 and I am now going to be taking my GCSE’s at the end of this year.
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I have gained a lot since then and have been involved with lots of XLP projects including a weekend away, and music projects with the X-Mobile recording studio and Sony. XLP provides safe places to hang out and creates opportunities too. I feel that I am now better equipped to face the challenges that life may bring. I have been supported; I know that I have a community behind me that I can rely on. It’s not just one person – it’s all of them at XLP. They are real role models.”
“They took interest in me and let me know what was available. Now I am back in education and my future looks bright!”
XLP abroad XLP has always been involved overseas with social action projects. For over 10 years staff and gap year volunteers have been visiting the people of Ashanti Akim, Ghana, about a four hour drive north of the capital Accra. There are over 95,000 people living in the area, but only three senior secondary schools catering for those over 14 years of age.
XLP also works with other overseas projects. In Trenchtown in Jamaica we work with Ms Lorna Stanley who lives and runs a school in the heart of a community torn apart by gang culture, drugs and killings. And for the first time this year, we visited Bangladesh to establish relationships with those working with over 30,000 men, women and children living in less than a third of a square mile. This community was dispossessed by war in the area many years ago, but now live in incredibly poor conditions without national identity, passports, or ever being able to leave.
Lack of education results in many working in fields from a very young age or going to the large cities to work in the markets - there is obvious poverty and a lack of opportunities. XLP and AACO (Ashanti Akim Community Organisation) now have places for 65 students at their new secondary school offering vision and hope for the future.
The international projects we partner with have taken up the challenge of wiping out illiteracy, hunger, poverty, crime and violence in their communities. XLP is proud to stand with these projects, to support and work alongside them, and to share in their hope for a better future.
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where is XLP? camden
islington
Below is a list of the schools and PRU’s that XLP has built relationships with:
hackney newham tower hamlets
Schools Work Community Work
greenwich
southwark Lambeth
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Schools 115 Pupil Referral Unit Abbey Wood School Acland Burghley Agincourt House PRU Bacon’s College Bethnal Green Technology College Bexley Grammar School Bishop Challoner Secondary School Blackheath Bluecoats C of E School Bonus Pastor RC School Bow School for Boys Brampton Manor School Conisborough College Connors Borough College Crown Woods School Cumberland School Deptford Green School Eltham Green Sports College Eltham Hill Technology College for Girls Erith School Eversholt PRU Forest Gate Community School Forest Hill School
George Green’s School Globe Academy Haberdasher Askes Knights Academy Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College Hackney Free C of E Secondary School Harpley Inclusion and Support Centre Harris Academy for Girls East Dulwich Harris Academy Peckham Highbury Grove School Highshore School Ian Mikardo High School Islington Arts & Media School John Roan School Kingsdale Foundation School Kingsford Community School Langdon School Lilian Bayliss School Little Ilford School Morpeth Mulberry School for Girls New River College Northumberland Park School Notre Dame C of E School Oaklands Secondary School Plashet School
Lewisham
Plumstead Manor School Prendergast Ladywell Fields Quintin Kynaston Raine’s Foundation School Rokeby School Royal Docks community School Sacred Heart and All Angels School Sedgehill School Sir John Cass School South Camden Community School St Aloysius’ College St Matthew’s Academy St Michael’s and All Angels Academy St Paul’s Way Trust School St Paul’s Academy St Thomas the Apostle School Stepney Green School Swanlea School Sydenham School The Academy at Peckham The Charter School Trinity School Walworth Academy Woolwich Polytechnic School
Community work Abbey Road Estate - Camden Abbey Wood Estate - Greenwich* Andover Estate - Islington* Aylesbury Estate - Southwark* Baizdon Road Estate - Lewisham Beckton - Newham* Bemerton Estate - Islington* Briset Park - Greenwich* Canning Town - Newham Consort Estate - Southwark Hazel Grove Estate - Lewisham* Heathside and Lethbridge - Lewisham Home Park Estate - Lewisham Lawn Terrace Estate - Lewisham Milford Towers Estate - Lewisham* Milton Court Estate - Lewisham Pepys Estate - Lewisham* Plassy Island - Lewisham Regents Park Estate - Camden* Shadwell Gardens Estate - Tower Hamlets* Silwood Estate - Southwark* Star Park - Newham* *XL-R8 Community Bus -Projects.
what makes XLp effective? PROJECTS
BOROUGHS SOUTHWARK
LEWISHAM
TOWER HAMLETS
NEWHAM
GREENWICH
ISLINGTON
CAMDEN
SCHOOL LESSONS SCHOOL CLUBS COMMUNITY AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS XL-R8 COMMUNITY BUS ARTS SHOWCASE X-MOBILE FIGHTING CHANCE SCHOOLS TOUR XL - MENTORING YOUTH SUMMER CAMPS YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SPORTS
XLP’s Outcomes We want to see young people with:
Central to the work of XLP are several principles and values which underpin all its work in schools and communities. Undoubtedly it is the combination of these factors that explains why the work of XLP is seen as so effective by so many.
- A raised sense of self-worth, selfesteem and increased educational achievement, which helps them confidently and positively contribute to society.
outcome focused: XLP knows what it is trying to achieve and all of XLP’s projects combine to work towards the same outcomes.
- Fresh goals and the desire to work hard to achieve them, and who are able to make wise lifestyle choices.
Faith based, not faith biased: XLP is a Christian charity that is faith-based but not faith-biased: working equally with young people of all faiths and none. relevant: XLP listens to young people and their communities; we do not look to “do it to them”, or “do it for them,” but to “do it WITH them.” innovative: XLP is always seeking new and creative approaches whilst remaining committed to high-quality and effectiveness. Collaborative: XLP’s work is grounded in local relationships and partnerships and delivered in collaboration with local councils, schools, police, churches, community groups, volunteers and other agencies. sustainable: XLP recognises that tackling these issues is not a knee-jerk exercise; work needs to be sustainable and long-term. holistic: XLP knows that for maximum effectiveness it needs to work with a young person in multiple contexts: in their school, in their community, and with their family.
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- Positive attitudes and behaviours towards their communities: their families, peers, local residents, teachers and the police.
inclusivE: XLP’s work embraces the diverse multicultural nature of, and creativity within, communities in the inner-city.
Finance INCOME
44% TRUSTS
EXPENDITURE
91% PROJECTS
15% COMMUNITY
11% CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
11% CORPORATE
8% INDIVIDUALS 6% PUBLIC SECTOR GRANTS 5% FUNDRAISING EVENTS, INVESTMENT INCOME & OTHER
9% GOVERNANCE, FUNDRAISING & MARKETING
On behalf of all our partners and the young people with whom we work, we would like to say an enormous thank you to our supporters for your commitment and generosity – you are helping us to change lives and impact the future of thousands of young people.
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XLP’s budget is around £980,000 per annum, and as always the vast majority of that is spent directly on our projects. The increased demand for XLP‘s help, coupled with the challenging economic situation, means that we need your support and commitment more than ever. Please consider supporting XLP, either by giving financially for the first time or by increasing your current level of giving. You could also encourage someone else to get involved in supporting XLP. If you work for a company or other organisation that could support our work, please consider introducing us to them. For more information on how you can help us, go to www.xlp.org.uk or call 020 8297 8284
WHAT OTHERS SAY “XLP offers young people a way away from those influences that would destroy their lives and destroy the lives of others around them. XLP is effective for that reason; they give them a way out that so few organisations do.” Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith
“XLP has become the role model for good positive work with kids on estates and on the streets and has played a phenomenal part in transforming the lives of hundreds, probably thousands, of young people and thereby transforming the prospects for the future of our cities in this country.” Simon Hughes, MP
“Young people need to have boundaries, they need to have discipline, and they need to have hope. That’s what XLP gives them...We need to expand this project and we need to support it.” Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
“I have been very impressed by the work that I have seen XLP doing in my area in East London and I want to see that work continuing and I want to see it developing and being expanded...I think it has a great deal to contribute to young people in London I hope for many many years to come.” Rt. Hon. Stephen Timms, MP
“Britain has strong and proud communities, full of wonderful individuals who, sometimes, have not been given a chance to shine. I pay tribute to Patrick Regan, and everyone at XLP, for giving those people in particular a chance to express themselves positively and break the shackles.” Dr. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
“XLP inspires me. You don’t have to look very far to find bad news stories about young people in London - but those aren’t the only stories to be told. XLP bring compassion and hope to some of the Capital’s most challenging neighbourhoods - and have a vitally important part to play in keeping young people safe.” John Sutherland, Borough Commander, Camden
“XLP are role models, who see past the negative headlines to the bright futures of so many of London’s youth. The work they do is invaluable. It brings hope, raises selfesteem and transforms lives.” Chris Siepman, CEO Liquid Capital Group
“I applaud XLP for going to the places which many others have written off. They are bold, creative and passionate communicators, who are seeing transformation in some of the UK’s most diverse and challenging communities.” Diane-Louise Jordan, TV Presenter
Finhumf Trust Black - Pantone Black C Green - Pantone 370 C
Bill Hill Charitable trust
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London over the border Council
Founder
Patrick Regan
Trustees
Liz Biddulph (Chair) Richard Furze (Finance) Mike Pilavachi Tony Eastaugh Simon Thomas Doug Williams Luke English
XLP
Phone: 0208 297 8284 Email: info@xlp.org.uk Web: www.xlp.org.uk
"us young people have the Potential to change this world" Rachel, aged 15
XLP is working to create positive futures for young people living in our inner cities and make a serious and sustainable impact upon poverty and educational failure.