The Moore Family Foundation continues to transform young people’s lives...
During the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a change in how education has been delivered across the country.
The Moore Family Foundation (MFF) mentoring programme has taken this all on board and begun a blended delivery approach.
The aim of the programme is to engage with some of the most vulnerable young people by reaching out to those attending alternative provisions. The necessity of this support has never been greater; the need to maintain a high level of engagement and mental health and academic support of the young people on the programme being critical.
Established by Roberta Moore, the daughter of late West Ham United legend Bobby Moore, MFF aims to provide educational, mentoring and pupil engagement provision which embodies the six core values displayed by her father – courtesy, generosity, hard work, humbleness, respect for others and self-discipline.
As part of this, inspirational visits through West Ham United’s Players’ Project have been an essential aspirational element of the programme. These include young people meeting players virtually, previously attending matchdays and visiting Rush Green training ground to meet with and be encouraged by first team players, including Michail Antonio, Mark Noble and Łukasz Fabiański.
This year, the programme has been developed further with London East Alternative Provision (LEAP) launching the first alternative provision sixth form in the country in September 2020, enabling the MFF programme to provide and develop a longer-term intervention.
In addition to gaining a qualification, a new element to the programme has also seen students this year engaging in work experience at the West Ham United Foundation.
The impact of the programme over the past 12 months has been really encouraging and one participant, Sonny Spillane, is a strong example of the transformation being undertaken by the young people involved.
A key part of Sonny's positive development has been the benefit of engaging with a dedicated mentor from the start of programme to help provide guidance and support on a one-to-one basis.
West Ham United Foundation Employability Officer, Ade Omideyi, has worked with Sonny since September 2020 and highlighted his development, commenting: “Sonny has previously struggled academically which has stemmed from poor communication skills and a lack of social inclusion. However, since Sonny joined the programme, he has been able to develop both his strong interest to become a football coach as well as his keen eye for detail in the sport.
“Sonny’s approach and attitude towards the programme have been exemplary, his social inclusion skills have drastically improved, and his progress has made a real positive impression on the staff and participants he has worked with. This has grown to the point where Sonny is confident enough to deliver a coaching session to some of the other participants once COVID-19 restrictions allow. “Upon finishing the programme, Sonny aims to join the Foundation’s Post-16 Traineeship course and continue to build his coaching qualifications.”
Temisan Williams, Education Manager at West Ham United Foundation, shared the significance of the programme working with local alternative provisions, saying: “Our partnership with London East Alternative Provision has been successful because of our aligned vision and desire to transform the lives of each young person. Ultimately, through this unique partnership, our ambition is to establish an industry standard and pioneering benchmark for effective partnership working between an alternative provision and football foundation.”
Going forward, the programme intends to work with at least one alternative provision across each east London borough and the county of Essex. With the potential disastrous academic and developmental impact of the pandemic on young people attending alternative provisions, the need for the MFF programme has never been greater.
The programme has always benefitted from local support and in order for MFF to continue to reach and provide life-changing pathways for the most vulnerable young people, we are looking for individuals and organisations from across the local community to support us by offering work experience opportunities and donations.
To find out more about the Moore Family Foundation, email [email protected].
To donate, visit the Moore Family Foundation JustGiving page here.