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the lighthouse group

“The support of Stewardship was a really key part of the jigsaw for us, providing a framework that we could adapt and develop.  Over the years...Stewardship have been the obvious place to turn for clear, timely advice." CEO of The Lighthouse Group, Tim Morfin

 

Sometimes, stats make your heart sink. Take these for example. In Britain, on every school day, 2,500 teenagers are excluded from school. A further 600,000 truant regularly. Schools have excluded children as young as six. The repercussions from these figures make even more depressing reading. Two thirds of the prison population were excluded from school. 65% of young offenders truant habitually or have been excluded.

Bradford-based Christian charity The Lighthouse Group (TLG) is working to turn young people’s lives around. They come alongside pupils who have been excluded, or who are experiencing serious problems with their education. They look at the whole person, not just the pupil, addressing behavioural issues and combining education with personal development.

Caroline Oldfield works on TLG’s supporter development team. She explains their beginnings: “The charity was set up in 1987 to help teenagers from some of the most deprived communities in the UK. We are seen as the last chance for most of the people who come to us.”

Caroline has some stats of her own which make much more positive reading. “We have a 96% success rate of young people returning to engage with their mainstream  education. We often see young people we work with come back to volunteer in our centres after school.”

So how do TLG achieve these results? Teenagers engage with TLG staff at innovative Ofsted-inspected education centres where they work towards GCSE equivalent qualifications, personal development, vocational training and life skills. 2 and 4 day residentials are also on offer.
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TLG takes a holistic approach towards the whole family, ringing up to pass on positive news to parents and guardians. This is the opposite of the dreaded phone call from the school office to report yet more bad behaviour! Google TLG and an impressive list of awards and commendations fill the screen. Recently, they carried off the Charity Times Best Charity to Work for, as well as the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Project 2010 for their partnership with leading law firm Osborne Clarke. TLG won Social Enterprise of the year in 2004 and 2006, and was commended by the Centre for Social Justice for the quality of its support to disaffected young people.  

Stewardship is proud to have supported and advised TLG over the years. Chief Executive Tim Morfin is warm in his praise. “The support of Stewardship was a really key part of the jigsaw for us, providing a framework that we could adapt and develop.  Over the years there have been several times when we've needed advice on potential changes to the Memorandum and Articles of association, and Stewardship have been the obvious place to turn for clear, timely advice."

Feedback from parents, teachers and the teenagers themselves illustrate just what an incredible effect TLG’s work is having. “I wish every child could have the who has seen the results of their work comments: “I think the quality of support at TLG is fantastic. There is a very strong partnership that is built upon the key players around the young person.” Feedback from those who take up the TLG programme often indicates a life-changing experience. One young man commented: “Mum, I’ve never felt this happy!” That same person had attempted to take his own life just two weeks before.


"Many people say I've changed for good. I haven’t got my bad temper anymore. I came in one day, sat down and said 'I want to work'- that’s just one way I’ve changed!" says Andrei, a student who came to TLG having been affected by his friend’s fatal stabbing.


tlg logoThe value of TLG’s work has been recognised at the highest level. The Prime Minister gave them a warm commendation, saying “The work that TLG does is fantastic. Particularly at working with young people at risk of exclusion and getting in there early before things go wrong.”


The Lighthouse Group is rewriting the stats and giving disaffected young people a second chance at life. Armed with qualifications and a new-found sense of purpose, the graduates of this remarkable organisation are entering adulthood with a sense of hope and pride in themselves.

 

For more information, visit www.TLG.org.uk

 

 

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