Children North East awarded £254K NCS grant for delivery of experiences to help local teens become ‘world ready and work ready’ 

Today, we announce a new community experience programme funded by NCS (National Citizen Service) that will support young people from communities across Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Durham County.  

The grant is part of a significant £20m funding package that NCS Trust have awarded to organisations across England for the delivery of community-based experiences at a local and grassroots level. 

These new experiences will complement NCS’ existing away from home residential offer by providing more opportunities for teenagers to engage in local activities that foster skills development, deepen their understanding of the community, and empower them to contribute positively to its improvement. The grants will also support organisations that cater to specific groups of young people who may not have participated in previous NCS initiatives.  

In collaboration with the National Youth Agency and StreetGames, NCS assessed more than 400 applications and Children North East was selected as one of around 100 organisations to receive funding.  

The grant will allow Children North East to deliver opportunities for teenagers to engage in local activities that foster skills development, deepen their understanding of the community, and empower them to contribute positively to its improvement. Delivery partners for the programme include Foundation of Light, Durham City Youth Project, Groundwork NE & Cumbria, Go the Distance, Delta North Consett, Our 1 Community, Blue Sky Trust, Newcastle United Foundation with support from The Enterprise Academy, Nourish Food School and National Trust. 

Kate Sandberg, Youth Team Manager, Children North East, said: “There has been a 77% real-terms reduction in funding for youth work since 2011, so the NCS Trust funding is an important opportunity to provide young people with experiences that will help them grow their experiences, networks and aspirations for the future. We are incredibly grateful to NCS, the National Youth Agency and Streetgames for investing in the next generation through this project.” 

Mark Gifford, CEO of NCS Trust, added: “I am delighted to welcome a diverse range of local, grassroots and community organisations from across the youth sector to deliver reimagined NCS experiences. This allows us to reach more young people than ever before, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and perspective to become work ready and world ready. Additionally, our grants for targeted experiences will enable us to reach underserved young people and communities.” 

Gifford added, “Together, we will work towards creating a country of confident, connected, caring citizens where everyone feels at home.” 

Over the past decade, more than 800,000 young people have benefitted from an NCS experience, dedicating over 18 million hours to community based social action, while gaining invaluable life experiences. 

For more information about the programme and how to get involved in opportunities local to you, please contact Una Mac Dermott (NCS Project Coordinator) at [email protected].