ADD2674 Sport Team Diversion and Prevention projects 2023-25

1.1.    After the initial phase of Sport Unites was complete, the Sport team activity focused on two main work programmes. The first was activity linked to London’s recovery missions, which was covered in MD2895. The second was activity linked to violence reduction, where funding was made available by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). These programmes were covered by both MD3033 and MD3144.

1.2.    This Assistant Director Decision (ADD) seeks authorisation for expenditure of the uncommitted £592k remaining from the MD3144 receipt amount of £2m (with already approved expenditure of £1,408,000).

1.3.    As stated above, under cover of MD2895, in December 2021, the Mayor approved expenditure of up to £3,670,000 for work contributing to the priority outcomes of London’s recovery missions, including the following: 

•    Building Strong Communities, with sport organisations acting as community hubs for young Londoners, giving them the opportunity to volunteer, get support and build strong networks
•    A New Deal for Young People, with sport as the engagement medium through which young people, especially those in need, have access to a mentor and to quality youth services. 

This financial commitment allowed the GLA to leverage up to an additional £2.08m of targeted co-investment. This is being contributed by mutual partners including the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and Laureus Sport for Good. 

1.4.    As stated above, since 2020, the Mayor’s Sport team has worked in partnership with the VRU, at MOPAC, to deliver sport and physical activity projects that focus on tackling serious youth violence as a key outcome. In September 2022, under cover of MD3033, the Mayor approved the receipt and expenditure of £915,000 from MOPAC. In July 2023, under cover of MD3144, the Mayor approved the receipt of a further £2m (£1m in 2023-24 and £1m in 2024-25), with direct project expenditure of up to £1,408,000. The focus of this funding is the provision of sport interventions for young people affected by violence.

1.5.    A summary of previous, current and future activity is detailed below: 

•    A £285,000 pilot for the Future Ready Fund in 2022-23 awarded grants to 13 organisations to deliver sport and mentoring interventions for young people transitioning from primary to secondary school. Feedback from organisations and participants alike was so positive that multiple organisations have expressed a desire to include this as part of their core offer.

•    The £75,000 Future Ready Workforce Support project ensured that those delivering the Future Ready Fund could come together, share best practice, learn from each other and receive upskilling in providing high-quality mentoring. This type of work is outlined in the New Deal for Young People mentoring framework, which covers working with young people who have disabilities, and/or experience, or are at risk of, exclusion from school; and trauma-informed practice and support. 

•    The YPAV Steering Group steers the GLA’s sport intervention work for young people affected by violence. The group regularly engages over 20 organisations and 17 young people. This youth-led approach aligns with the VRU and wider GLA commitment to youth engagement and amplifying the voices of young people whilst supporting them to lead change. The YPAV Steering Group is developing three pilot projects, which will help to inform future work that uses sport to support young people affected by violence. A strong theme of supporting young people into employment and transition has come directly from the Steering Group. Funding allocated to this was £85,000 in 2022-23 and £130,000 in 2023-24. 

•    A £120,000, 12-month (2022-23) MoL Sport Leadership Academy is helping 100 young people to gain leadership skills needed for a future career in the sport sector. Seventeen organisations have been engaged by a consortium of lead delivery organisations to support young people in the academy; and to develop and deliver a curriculum for them. A review showed the potential to collaborate with other GLA teams; the 2024-25 iteration of the project will work with Employment and Skills, and Youth Social Action projects.

•    After-school and holiday projects provide a safe space, meals and social integration alongside sport activities. Funding allocated to this was £200,000 in 2022-23 and £281,000 in 2023-24.

•    Diversifying the workforce in the sport sector by creating national governing body (NGB) sport internships (£150,000 in 2022-23 and £123,000 in 2023-24), providing exposure to work areas that have proven to be extremely sought after by both NGBs and young people. Eight further sporting organisations have already expressed interest in being involved in the project.

1.6.    MD3144 approved: 
“A delegation of authority to the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, to approve detailed expenditure plans for £592,000 to be exercised via an ADD form for projects delivering sport, physical activity, and youth social action activities for young Londoners to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, safety and educational and employment outcomes.” 

These plans are set out in section 2, with expenditure profiled as below:

2.1.    Following detailed discussions and workshops with the VRU, and the current YPAV Steering Group, it has been agreed that the investments detailed below will provide the most suitable way to meet the policy outcomes and objectives of the Civil Society and Sport team and the VRU. The two strongest themes emerging from discussions are employability and support for the transition periods that young people experience. These are also in line with key priorities of the VRU.

Future Ready Fund

2.2.    MD3144 approved funding of £316,000 (£216,000 in 2023-24, and £100,000 in 2024-25) to deliver a person-centred sports and mentoring programme for children in years 5 and 6, through their transition into secondary school, via grant-funding to community sport organisations. The success of, and ongoing need for, this programme has been clear from early on in initial delivery. Learnings and feedback from grantees have shown that this project is addressing a gap in services for a critical age group; and that it has had a positive impact on the young people participating, and on the youth organisations’ relationships with the communities. Half of the delivery organisations have established new partnerships with schools, which has positively benefited their community support beyond the Future Ready Fund. Seven of the current grantees have stated their intent to implement this model as part of their core offer. This Decision seeks approval to grant a further £90,000 of funding in 2023-24 – primarily to organisations already delivering, as work is targeted. This increase in budget to a total of £406,000 will ensure that there is a consistency of approach, and that the participants have long-term support, whilst providing longer-term impact data. The full programme evaluation findings will be available in March 2024. Alongside the anecdotal feedback, once full programme evaluation is available the ambition is to scale up transition models like the Future Ready Programme across London. 

2.3.    Outcomes include:

•    increased and ongoing participation in sport/physical activity by young people
•    more young people have access to support through mentoring and youth activities
•    improved behaviour, particularly in relation to the likelihood of exclusions and school attendance
•    improved relationships with trusted adults and institutions so that under-served young Londoners can access wider progression opportunities to meet their aspirations and support, and make a positive contribution to society.   

Open Doors

2.4.    Open Doors provides coaching, mentoring and support to young people during school holidays. This ensures they have access to local role models and local delivery; and enriches engagement in safe and familiar spaces. It focuses on supporting the most at-risk young people in London – working with secondary schools, local authorities, Pupil Referral Units and community groups to engage young people that have experienced, or are at risk of, exclusion from mainstream education and/or involvement in youth crime. By unlocking opportunities, creating positive experiences during out-of-school times, and adopting underused mainstream school facilities as activity hubs, Open Doors ensures that when term-time ends, engagement for vulnerable young people does not.

2.5.    Open Doors was delivered through the Sport Unites programme in October 2022 and February 2023, in collaboration with seven community grassroots organisations. The success of the programme led to 307 young, at-risk Londoners, referred by their schools, being provided with daily engaging activities and mentoring in a trusted space during the half-term holidays. Community organisations have reported that young Londoners have benefited from improved mental health; feeling less isolated; a sense of belonging in their community; being more active; an appreciation of being mentored by trusted adults and receiving a healthy meal. There were 40 applications and expressions of interest from grassroots community organisations; the demand for this programme is therefore very evident.

2.6.    This ADD approves funding of up to £40,000 in 2023-24, for delivery of the Open Doors project in the February half-term and the Easter holiday. Funding of up to £7,000 will be granted, through an open call for bids, to community sport organisations with experience of delivering to the most marginalised young people within school settings. This targeted funding will ensure the most at-risk young people have access to safe spaces and trusted adults. There is an opportunity to align this provision with the Mayor’s Holiday Hunger programmes, and Future Ready geographical areas, to explore a place-based approach around young people’s transition, and holistic wraparound support by working with youth groups, education settings and local authorities. This approach and evaluation learning will inform the longer-term strategy for this work in line with the VRU, the YPAV Steering Group, the Go! London fund, and the duty for Local authorities to deliver a local youth offer.  

2.7.    Outcomes include:

•    increased and ongoing participation in sport/physical activity by young people
•    more young people have access to support through mentoring and youth activities, in line with the New Deal for Young People mission
•    improved behaviours, particularly in relation to the likelihood of exclusions and school attendance
•    improved relationships with trusted adults and institutions so that under-served young Londoners can access wider progression opportunities to meet their aspirations and support, to make a positive contribution to society.

MoL Sport Organisations Internship Programme 

2.8.    Following the success of the internship programme pilot with sport NGBs (England Boxing and Basketball England in 2021-22, and GB Snowsport in 2022-23), as well as clear interest from several other NGBs and sporting organisations during the 2022-23 programme, up to £246,000 (£123,000 in 2023-24 and £123,000 in 2024-25) will be allocated to continue funding for this programme. 

2.9.    Due to the interest levels in this project, this ADD approves a further £82,000 in 2024-25 to enable access to the project for an additional four young people and two organisations. This will fund the salary of £20,500 per young person at the London Living Wage. It will be added to a small amount of funding and in-kind costs for the successful organisations. Organisations will submit expressions of interest, which will be assessed in order to establish grantees for this project. This project will provide internships within major sport-sector organisations; enable opportunities for under-served young people across more of the sector; and support the GLA’s ambition to diversify the sport sector to better serve Londoners now and in the future. Recruitment of the opportunities will again be promoted via the VRU and the YPAV Steering Group to ensure young people affected by violence, and with lived experience, will engage with the opportunity through trusted sources. 

2.10.    Outcomes include:

•    organisations strengthen their skills and expertise to support under-served young people in internships and employment, now and in the future; and meet their organisational equality, diversity and inclusion commitments
•    sports NGBs and organisations strengthen their approach to: engaging and supporting at-risk young people in internships; and providing them with sustainable progression opportunities to help them thrive in, and lead and influence, the sport sector
•    under-served young Londoners can see themselves thriving in an environment often seen as ‘closed’ or not for them, sharing their experience and learning with other young Londoners and with the sport and physical activity sector
•    NGBs and organisations operating in the sport sector share learning and work together to outline their ambitions to recruit, develop and retain young people affected by violence and other under-served young Londoners
MoL Sport Leadership Academy and Employment programme

2.11.    MD3144 approved funding of up to £120,000 to continue the MoL Sport Leadership Academy until the end of 2024-25. A competitive exercise awarded funding to an organisation, or consortium of organisations, supporting a cohort of up to 100 young people aged 14-25 to achieve the priorities of the Leadership Academy. Recruitment of the 2022-23 cohort saw a very high level of interest from community sport organisations and the young people they work with, evidencing the need for opportunities for the most under-served young people. 

2.12.    This ADD approves the award of a further £120,000 in 2024-25 to provide a second cohort with access to the Leadership Academy; a competitive exercise will identify the grantee. There are clear demands for employment across London, with approximately 68,400 young Londoners unemployed in the 12 months leading up to September 2022. This cohort will be aged 18-21, and it is expected that at least 75 per cent will classify as ‘under-served’. In the final months of their Leadership Academy journey, the focus will be on building their skills in order to find employment within the sporting industry in London. 

2.13.    The Employment Programme and the Leadership Academy are intrinsically linked, as there will be a pathway between them. Building upon the learnings and evidence from the tried and tested HeadStart Action programme of work delivered by the GLA’s Youth Social Action team, this project will follow a similar pattern. Following their time within the Leadership Academy, the 18-21 cohort will have a guaranteed interview with a sporting organisation. If successful, they will embark on a paid work programme lasting 9-12 months. This will include, among other areas, stewarding, hospitality, groundskeeping, social media and administration. Those involved in this work programme will also engage with a mentor throughout. This ADD approves £260,000 in 2024-25, which will be awarded (following a competitive exercise) to an organisation for a project supporting the 18-21 cohort with mentoring support, an interview and employment events.

2.14.    The project will be evidence-based. It will therefore be designed and developed using learnings and expertise from the HeadStart Action programme, and the GLA’s Skills and Employment unit. The work aligns to partnership conversations with the Premier League, which have identified three emerging policy priorities; jobs and employment; sustainability and tourism; and international exposure. The Leadership Academy offers the potential to develop an employment pipeline, learning, and scale-up opportunities that meet the strategic outcomes of this partnership and future high-value economic partners. There is also potential to develop young people’s entrepreneurial skills, which is a key strand of the Go! London fund and other Mayoral and partner initiatives – for example, London & Partners and the Mayor’s Fund for London.

Objectives

2.15.    The main objectives are to: 

•    expand the new MoL Sport Leadership Academy 
•    engage up to 200 young people aged 14-25 in the Leadership Academy 
•    improve collaboration between community sport organisations in London – organisations can collaborate and reach young people better under the ‘Mayor of London’ brand
•    improve collaboration between community sport organisations and large sporting organisations across London
•    support young people to access employment and work experience opportunities; develop transferable skills; improve their aspirations
•    improve understanding of young people’s needs and demands; and how a leadership academy can contribute to achieving these.

Outcomes 

2.16.    The expected outcomes are as follows: 

•    young people are accessing better and more relevant employment and education opportunities, including paid opportunities, in community sport organisations across London
•    more young people are equipped with core skills and the confidence to progress in learning or earning 
•    organisations are better able to engage young people in their work through employment and co-creation of the project.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not. The new Climate and Equalities Impact Assessment tool will be applied to the programmes outlined by the Youth and Sport team, with support from the GLA Equalities leads. 

3.2.    Equal opportunities are enshrined within all the projects and programmes delivered against the Mayor’s strategy for sport and physical activity, Sport for All of Us. The Mayor’s investment into community sport aims to: ensure that all Londoners can access sport and physical activity opportunities that overcome barriers to active participation; enrich Londoners’ experiences of living and working in the city; encourage and enable better connection within and across local communities; and improve physical health and mental wellbeing. Investment between 2022 and 2025 will focus on achieving those positive strategic outcomes specifically for young Londoners, with a particular focus on improving their life skills; mental health and wellbeing; social connections; and feelings of belonging to where they live and work. 

3.3.    In planning the Mayor’s investment into community sport between 2021 and 2025, the Sport team has consulted stakeholders and partners with proven expertise in engaging and supporting children and young people, particularly those who: are disadvantaged; are considered to be at risk; and/or face additional barriers to positive participation for personal development and improved life chances. Collaboration with partner organisations has been scoped to ensure that as many young Londoners as possible (particularly those with protected characteristics and/or those who have been worst affected by the pandemic) have been considered and will have the chance to be involved in some way, be that through participating, training, project delivery or volunteering. 

3.4.    Projects will also prioritise young Londoners who are under-represented in sport and physical activity. This includes those who face additional barriers to active participation, in relation to either a protected characteristic (i.e. age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, sex, race, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and marriage or civil partnership status) or circumstance (for example, a person who is a carer; a person who is isolated and/or lonely; or a person who comes from a lower socio-economic background). 

3.5.    Under-representation in sport and physical activity is also heavily influenced by intersectionality. In line with the Sport Unites programme, this programme of work will place particular emphasis on young Londoners facing multiple and intersectional barriers and challenges. 
 

Key risks and issues

4.1.    The key risks and issues are outlined in the table below.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2.    This programme is designed in line with the strategic objective of Sport Unites in its use of sport to achieve social change – namely, to tackle serious youth violence. It also delivers programmes with the workforce and organisation development objective of Sport Unites. This will support the capacity-building of the sport-sector workforce. This will lead to greater capacity in London to deliver effective community sport through a more diverse and supported workforce.

4.3.    This programme is directly in line with A New Deal for Young People, which is the Children and Young People recovery mission for London. This mission is that, by 2024, all young people in need are entitled to a personal mentor; and all young Londoners have access to quality local youth activities. The sport team will include usage of the quality mentoring framework as part of the conditions for programme delivery.

4.4.    The programme also aligns with the Building Stronger Communities recovery mission for London. This is working towards several outcomes, including:

•    all communities – particularly the most disadvantaged with the greatest health inequalities – getting the support and services they need, and having more control and choice over those services
•    sustainable and strong partnerships being built between funders and voluntary and community sector organisations
•    Londoners being able to build and maintain relationships, and be active citizens.

Consultations and impact assessments

4.5.    The projects described respond to clear challenges shown through research, as defined below: 

•    The mental health of children in London has declined in the last 10 years, with 18 per cent of those aged 7-16 having a probable mental disorder. This has increased from 8 per cent in 2009-11 (‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2022', digital.nhs.net, 2022). Children begin secondary school at age 11; therefore, this is a key age to ensure consistent support. Permanent exclusion and suspension rates generally increase with age, and are highest at 14. Early intervention and support for children and young people should help to bring this rate down – hence the decision to focus on a transition grant programme (‘Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England' explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk, 2022).
•    There are three main areas of focus when considering the causes for the rise in child exclusion. Away from simply focusing on the child’s behaviour, school policies and socio-cultural factors that can occur outside schools should be considered: 

o    school environment and policies – considered a microcosm of society, and school exclusion mirrors wider society
o    the rigidness of school education systems, processes and cultures 
o    multiple and interrelated socio-cultural factors. 

4.6.    Factors that are multiple also have intersecting vulnerabilities, including: mental health; special education needs; social deprivation; personal problems; previous exclusions/poor behaviour; and low educational attainment. In addition, schools lack the appropriate guidance, resources and/or capacity to deal with the complex combination of these vulnerabilities. This can result in exclusion that does not fully consider the wider impact of a range of vulnerabilities. A long-term mentoring relationship for young people most at risk will support them and the school to develop solutions to help deal with these vulnerabilities.

4.7.    The most effective types of interventions for suspension/exclusion were: violence reduction; mentoring/monitoring; counselling for mental health; and enhancement of academic skills (Strand et al, 2014). This decision also notes the following research: 

•    Person-focused targeted programmes often include social-emotional learning and/or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT allows the individual to adopt coping strategies and mechanisms to help them navigate difficult periods. Social-emotional learning aims to improve an array of skills such as self-awareness; self-regulation; social awareness; relationship and communication skills; and decision-making. Although the mentor/coaches will not be CBT-trained, they will be trained in tools used within a CBT setting, and in how to support a young person to work through these tools. (Strand et al, 2014.)
•    The after-school and holiday provision previously offered by the GLA has been built upon for the proposed London youth provision. The National Statistics 2022 publication (‘Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England' explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk, 2022) reports that exclusion rates are higher among pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). The permanent exclusion rate for pupils eligible for FSM is 0.16 per cent, compared to 0.04 per cent for those not eligible. (This figure relates to the number of permanent exclusions as a proportion of the overall school population.) The suspension rate is also higher for pupils eligible for FSM, at 9.34 per cent, compared to those who are not eligible, at 2.58 per cent. A healthy meal will be included as an aspect of the Open Doors programme provision, to ensure the participants are able to access an evening meal. 

Conflicts of interest

4.8.    There are no conflicts of interest identified from any person involved in the drafting or clearance of this form.

4.9.    During procurement or tendering processes, best practice and relevant requirements will be followed, including declaring any conflicts of interest or existing relationships with organisations. Officers will recuse themselves from duties where potential conflicts are found.
 

5.1.    In July 2023, under cover of MD3144, the Mayor approved the receipt of £2m from the VRU, and expenditure of up to £1,408,000 during 2023-24 and 2024-25, for projects delivering sport, physical activity, and youth social action activities for young Londoners to improve physical and mental wellbeing, safety, educational and employment outcomes. The same decision also delegated authority to the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, to approve detailed expenditure plans for £592,000 to be exercised via an ADD form for projects delivering the same outcomes. 

5.2.    This Decision provides that approval for the expenditure of up to £592,000 to deliver sport and physical activity projects focused on using sport and physical activity to support young people affected by violence.

5.3.    The expenditure profile for the £592,000 expenditure is £130,000, to be spent in 2023-24; and £462,000 to be spent in 2024-25.

5.4.    Any contracts that commit the GLA in future years are subject to appropriate break clauses.