04.11.19
£18m boost for young people through Opportunity Area programme
The Opportunity Area programme will receive an £18m investment to support some of the most disadvantaged parts of England.
The investment, aimed at young people, will build on improving educational outcomes, careers advice and attracting teachers.
The Education Secretary has today announced (Nov 4) that the government’s Opportunity Areas (OA) programme will benefit from an additional year’s extension, focusing on children in areas of the country that have been neglected.
Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson said:
“I grew up in Scarborough, now part of the North Yorkshire Coast Opportunity Area, and having returned recently for a visit I’ve seen for myself the progress being made and the difference it is making to young people living there.”
“Ability is evenly spread across the country, but opportunity isn’t. We’re determined to put right the wrongs of places left behind and see the Opportunity Area programme grow - helping local leaders and schools to tackle some of the greatest challenges young people face.”
“It’s not just about what happens now in these 12 areas but the impact these projects will have on future generations and paving the way for them to overcome obstacles to success.”
The 12 areas that have already been seeing the benefits of OA including, Blackpool, Derby, Norwich, Oldham, North Yorkshire Coast, West Somerset, Bradford, Doncaster, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, Hastings, Ipswich and Stoke-on-Trent.
These areas were handpicked to improve the challenges with social mobility that are entrenched in these communities and build on enhancing opportunities for young people in the areas.
West Somerset has displayed year on year improvements regarding early years’ development thanks to The Story Start scheme, supporting families in rural areas to play, talk and read with their children to boost early development and boost their school performance.
Other successes include schemes put in place to improve maths support. In Ipswitch, six weeks of Saturday maths classes providing support, free bus travel and food for disadvantaged Year 11s at risk of not getting a GCSE level 4 or 5 have seen a boost in predicted grades.
The programme has already seen around 60,000 young people benefit from the chance to develop life skills including resilience, teamwork, problem-solving, confidence and leadership through a share of a £22m Essential Life Skills programme.
This extension will take the programme into a fourth year, running until August 2021, and building a more long-lasting foundation for participants and their futures.