"FYI has helped me a lot because I understand a lot more things than when I was at school. Where it’s one-to-one I actually get the help I need, and if I get an answer wrong then we go through it and I don’t get judged about it like I did in school. I have learnt how to do bus stop method which I never used to be able to do and I know more of the times tables and a lot more other stuff which school has never taught me. It has also helped me because the mentors are more people to talk to and can understand you and help with what they can.

I would definitely recommend FYI to someone else who needs support with their education because if you’re struggling in mainstream school, you get the benefit of one-to-one support with your education. All the mentors and tutors have helped me a lot and understood if I was struggling some days. I have also met a lot of new young people and that’s helped because I struggle making friends, but here I have been able to."

Lily | Future Youth Inspired Student

"The experience at FYI has been great and has helped me with my education. The mentors are very good and the tutor I have called Rosie is very relatable and easy to learn from. The activities after your education are also good for example I would go to the gym, music studio and boxing on certain days."

LL | Future Youth Inspired Student

"Claire, George and Adam are good mentors. You get your own personal chauffeur who takes you for food and who you can talk to. Education has helped me. I am pushed to do the best I can do."

TS | Future Youth Inspired Student

"As a parent of a secondary age child rapidly heading towards their GCSE I became very distressed due to the poor behaviour of my son. The school and family members worked hard trying to engage our son back into education and to take an interest in activities outside of the family home. 

Future Youth Inspired has been an inspiration to our son and our family. Over time, he established a wonderful working relationship with the team who have worked tirelessly with him, finding out about him as a person. Being a teenager today must be hard with all the external influences they are open to. The Future Youth Inspired team understand these influences being able to support our son to understand the implications of bad behaviours now and the effect they will have upon himself and others.

Thank you to the team, you have understood our son well. We are all looking forward to a brighter future due to your support."

Parent of a Future Youth Inspired Student

"My son started FYI in October 2023. Before this time he had been out of education longer than he had been in since starting year 7. He is currently in year 10. This led to his self-esteem declining as well as his motivation learn. He was not bothered about his future and future career options. But thankfully, FYI was finally agreed by the local authority and since then I have seen my stroppy teenager who didn’t care or wasn’t bothered become a teenager who is wanting to improve and making correct choices and worried about the future. 

His confidence has grown, there are more smiles and laughter now, there is even no fuss getting up in the mornings! I strongly believe this is due to the support of the mentors and their ability to understand my son, appreciate his differences and celebrate his achievements rather than restricting him from being himself. He comes home excited to tell me about what he has done and learnt each day - which is amazing. I honestly cannot thank Leeroy, Lisa, Alan, George, Lorrise and Rosie enough, not just for the support they provide for my son but also for the support that is given as a parent. You are all amazing!”

Parent of a Future Youth Inspired Student

"My son never had the best transition into secondary school and behaviour issues escalated very quickly, meaning he attended school less and less until eventually he never went at all. 

Towards the end of year 10 he was given the opportunity to attend FYI . This gave him the confidence boost he needed. All the mentors are lovely and put the child’s needs first. They make time to get to know them as a person which is so important. My son finds communication difficult and was made to feel comfortable, forming good relations with them and even looking forward to them coming (normally he doesn’t like to leave the house). He was able to do work towards his English and Maths, as well as activities he enjoyed. 

Leeroy was always available to answer any questions I had and was understanding of my son’s needs and how best to approach him in a way to make him want to engage. I’ve already started to see small changes in my son in only a few weeks and will be sad when it ends. I feel more confident about his future after worrying for so long. Thank you so much for your help."

Leigh Howard | Parent of a Future Youth Inspired Student

"After years of fighting for my son’s right to an education and the extra challenges we faced when we finally did get what we thought was a suitable setting, has been agonising to say the least. Five settings in total had failed and we had lost all hope that there was anything out there suited to his needs. That was until Jo McNicholas at Hertfordshire County Council took on my son’s case and set up some sessions with Leeroy and Future Youth Inspired. The programme sounded really great, but unfortunately my son’s patience and trust had completely gone by this point and he refused to even hear what FYI could offer. But incredibly, Leeroy worked his absolute magic and gained my son’s trust very quickly. Any barriers my son faced that prevented him from engaging, Leeroy was very quick to resolve, and in no time my son was fully engaging in the programme. FYI have so much to offer, my son’s specific programme involves one-to-one Maths and English with a tutor. This is the first time in five years he has put pen to paper in these subjects and had no behavioural issues. He was also attending a music studio as this is his passion, and has really enjoyed this. He has also really enjoyed building relationships with his mentors. Leeroy has gone above and beyond to make sure Freddie’s placement works and he wasn’t going to give up on him. Knowing how oppositional, defiant, demand avoidant and untrusting to authority my son is, Leeroy has truly worked a miracle and I am so grateful for his help and support in bettering my son’s future. Jo has managed to secure his placement from September too, which we are also very grateful for."

Karen Cardoso | Parent of a Future Youth Inspired Student

"One of the things that really stands out with Future Youth Inspired is their ability to engage highly challenging young people. A young man placed with us was referred to Leeroy’s team and at the time there was not much optimism within the professional network on how well this young man would engage with any form of education service. Something that I was really impressed by is the efforts that Leeroy took to get a solid understanding of the young person ahead of offering a place, and efforts taken to consult with existing professionals around the young person around what works and what doesn’t and what the risks are, so it wasn’t a case of just going in and hoping for the best.

This young man has never been able to hold down any form of educational placement and we are really glad to say he is still with Future Youth Inspired. What has worked really well is that they have shown commitment to him and stuck with him even when there have been incidents which is really what this young person needs, as he will test boundaries and commitment of professionals. I also must add that the consistency and quality of reporting from Future Youth Inspired is exemplary. We receive a report after every session which has helped the entire network build a broader picture of a young person we have all worked with for some time. If I were to summarise my overriding view of the service is that they employ a level of expertise and experience in engaging the hardest to reach young people and hold themselves to a high professional standard that has not only enriched the life of the young person in question but also broadened all of our understanding, as such they are a really valued partner within the team around this child."

Jonathan Lais | Registered Children’s Service Manager Moving Up Care supporting HCC CLA Young People

"FYI has helped get back into education a young person but more than that, FYI has provided activities that give said young person a skillset that would proudly grace anybody’s curriculum vitae and gives him opportunities in whether he chooses to continue with education or go into work after the package is completed.  FYI gave me daily updates as how to the young person was doing at FYI.  Leeroy carefully selected his team of FYI professionals around the child and tailored the FYI package to make sure it met the needs and aspirations of the young person even when the young person was not so sure as to what he wanted to do in life.  The young person is committed to and enjoys the FYI activities which is impressive, and FYI have worked to bring along the young person’s parents on the young person’s journey with FYI”.

Duncan Watts | Consultant Social Worker, SASH, Services for Young People, Children’s Services Hertfordshire County Council  

"I engaged the services of FYI in 2023 and the impact on all the students they have worked with has been profound. They have enabled one young person to move from being a total school refuser who never left their room to a young person who now actively engages with a wide range of activities, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme. He is now engaging in education provision, provided by FYI, and has even made some steps to come in to school again.

The communication between FYI and our school, at all levels, has been key to the success as it has allowed us to work together to quickly address concerns, effectively create the right bespoke package of support and amend these as required. Services we have been involved with include 1-1 education, mentoring, construction and mechanics. The quality of each provider has been exemplary, high quality prompt reports keep us very well informed and their mentors go above and beyond to support not just the young people but those involved with their care and support too."

Adam Fletcher | Assistant Headteacher, Falconer School, Bushey

"St Peter's School works with Future Youth Inspired because they put young people at the heart of their actions, no matter what the challenges that young person brings. Future Youth Inspired are determined that all of our young people can make a positive contribution to the lives of others. The team achieve this ambition through carefully matching the adult to the young person. Due to the life experiences of the adults they are ideally suited to understanding the impact of external influences and difficult home environments upon young people's lives. Using their skills carefully the team create an engaging atmosphere in which young people open up, allowing open conversations to be held. Team members are clear that whilst conversations are confidential, safeguarding is paramount, with actions being taken if the young person or anyone else's safety is in question.

St Peter's School continues to work with Future Youth Inspired due to the demonstrable positive impact the team have on young people. Multiple students have stated the team's support has been instrumental in their changing life choices. Attitudes towards education have changed, attendance increased, poor decision making reduced resulting in higher quality examination outcomes and progression routes away from secondary school. Students, through their interaction with the team, who know the value of positive relationships, begin to have a better self perspective, as young people who feel more positive behave more positively. The young people working with the team now engage in community work through the Duke of Edinburgh award, noting that supporting others whilst developing a range of skills will help them in the future as well as bringing a sense of purpose to their lives.

For these reasons St Peter's school will continue to use Future Youth Inspired."

Christopher Bennet | Headteacher of St Peter’s School, Huntingdon, BSc (I-ions), MA, PGCE, NPQH, NPQEL. Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching