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Case Studies
To give you an example of our achievements and results we’ve produced some case studies from our past work.
RAMP Case Study - John* : Street League London
Elite middle-distance athlete, Sam Coombes is involved in several athlete role model programmes. He has been involved RAMP since the outset and has engaged with young people across London and the South-East of England.
John* was referred to RAMP by Street League (Football charity) in Stratford, London. At the age of 20 John had been involved in some serious criminal activity in London, eventually being arrested and sent to prison for armed robbery. Involved with gangs from an early age, John was electronically tagged by the police after leaving prison and had to report to his local police station every week to monitor his activity. John came out of prison having lost everything, his home, his car, his girlfriend and his job. Disillusioned with life he needed support to get back on the right path and prove he could become a valued member of society.
Working together over the past few months Sam was able to build a positive relationship with John and encouraged him to go on several courses so that he could show to the courts and police how he was trying hard to make a positive change to his life. After achieving various formal qualifications with the encouragement of Sam, John then started to look for gainful employment. This process took some time as numerous employees could see potential problems from John’s troubled past. Fortunately John never gave up and even at some stages when his confidence was low and he felt that nobody cared, John was able to turn to Sam for some encouragement and persevere with his quest to look purposeful employment.
Fantastic news came in the middle of July when Kurt Geiger (Shoe Retailer) offered John a supervisor’s position. He was ecstatic and couldn’t believe his luck, especially in the current economic climate where unemployment is at its highest levels in years. During their mentoring sessions together John and Sam had talked about mental toughness, perseverance and self belief as components to professional and elite level sportsmen that cross-over into every day life.
John had loved playing football before being imprisoned and upon meeting Sam, they had continued to play and Sam had got John involved in some coaching courses and also gone along to support John at the Beckham Academy in Greenwich. The mental components Sam had instilled in John through explaining the strong psychological resilience needed by high level athletes to cope with their sport had transferred over into the way John had applied himself to finding employment.
John is now saving his money from his new job in attempt to get a deposit for a new place. His life is starting to get back on track now and he is extremely grateful to the ongoing support of Sam who regularly keeps in touch. Sam will be with John and when he next attends a meeting with his solicitor who is trying to obtain an early release for John from his ‘electronic tag’. Justifying his case John’s solicitor intends to highlight the work of Sam and John together to show John’s dedicated and committed attitude since leaving prison to reshape his life in a constructive and positive manner.
*Name have been changed to protect identity.
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Role Models - Sporting Champion Visit
“Thank you SO MUCH for Karen Atkinson. This was the first day for the future of sport at The Manor” – Angela O’Rourke, Director of Sport The Manor Preparatory School
What was the lead up to the event?
Angela O’Rourke was fortunate to have used the Sporting Champions scheme at a previous school. Angela realised the value of the scheme and was eager to arrange a visit as soon as she had taken up her new post as Director of Sport at The Manor Preparatory School.
What did Karen do?
Karen was very accessible before hand and Angela had numerous discussions with her. On the day Karen knew exactly what Angela wanted to achieve from the visit. Karen arrived early to give an assembly to the whole school.
Angela reported that Karen’s warmth shone through during the coaching sessions she led with large groups of young people.
Karen promoted all sports during the event as well as her specialist coaching in netball skills. She enthused the young people about benefit of sport and a healthy lifestyle, related to the children on a grass roots level and encouraged them to explore all avenues of opportunities. Karen also spoke about the friends she had made whilst travelling around the world competing.
What impact did the visit have?
Angela recounted that throughout the day, the whole school was awash with excitement, this had also spread to the teachers who put a team together and played a game at lunchtime.
Karen took one Year 5 pupil, who had issues with confidence, under her wing and during the coaching session the girl put her heart and soul into it. She worked so hard and impressed, and continues to impress, the teachers who were present. She is now due to play her first match on the netball team.
There has been an increase of 60% in the attendance schools clubs. The Monday netball club now has over 80 members and the cross-country club on Wednesdays has 60. After Karen’s visit the children have a different mindset.
Angela said, “Now the pupils possess increased confidence, they have the drive to win and a real competitive element has crept in. The children now realize that to be on the school team they have to work hard and attend training and fight for their place, they are proud to represent their school in competitions and want to win, not just take part.”
Role Models - RAMP
Rachael MacKenzie, both the world number 1 (for both 50kg and 52 kg divisions) and holder of the equivalent British titles was selected to work with a young person - Thomas Stokes, referred to RAMP by One in a Million, Bradford.
She says “I am really keen to encourage young people to get involved in physical activity and he was keen to learn about the police.”
Thomas Stokes spent his first 15 years growing up without a supportive adult role model. He comes from a broken home and deprived neighbourhood, environmental factors that regularly served to hamper his school attendance and hinder his learning curve.
Rachael aimed to instill dedicated professionalism in the teenager. To channel his exuberance and desire to join the Police Force, she structured a programme that taught him about professional fighting and took him to watch professionals fight crime.
His aspiration was to join the Police station, a Police Education Officer told Thomas how he could reach his goal. He later spent a day shadowing a Police Officer’s patrols of his very own housing estate. This gave him a deeper understanding of the work involved. “The experience has shown me that the Police Force is not all about driving round in fast cars. It has been good,” says Thomas. “ I hope to become a Police Community Support Office when I leave school.”
Since Thomas began attending RAMP sessions, his school attendance has improved dramatically. “Rachael and the Police have been really helpful,” he adds. “She is really approachable and now I have a much clearer idea of how I can become a Police Officer.”
Rachael also met his teachers to develop a plan for Thomas to catch up with all of the schoolwork he had missed. As a reward for making significant developments he was given the opportunity to visit the Police firing range.
Boxing lessons have also helped Thomas to learn respect, aid physical strength - a necessity for joining the Police Force - and improve his confidence and discipline.
Rachael is modest about the effect of her efforts. “There is no greater rewards than someone telling me: ‘This is the best thing I’ve done in my life’. When I think of these changes it’s unbelievable to think that I have any part in it.”
East of England Development Agency - Rising to the Challenge 2012 Summit
Who are the East of England Development Agency ?
EEDA are the regional development agency for the East of England, and are the driving force behind sustainable economic growth and regeneration in the region.
What was the Rising to the Challenge summit ?
The summit was a collaboration between EEDA and Sport England East and was the first step in putting together cross-county strategies to make sure the region benefits from the opportunities presented by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
What did we do ?
We managed every aspect of the one-day event, which consisted of keynote presentations by representatives of LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and a series of workshops to gather delegate views on the structures needed - and opportunities available - surrounding each of four identified themes.
What did we achieve ?
We brought together 100 delegates, including chief executives and managing directors from across the region’s businesses. Following the event we produced a report outlining the findings of the summit.
Fit For Business - Open Contact
Fiona Temple is Managing Director at ‘OpenContact’ a fully integrated, multi-media contact centre in Norfolk. OpenContact has been part of the FFB programme for three years, recently achieving recognition for the second time. As they enter their third year on the FFB programme, Fiona comment’s: “To see the organisation’s change in attitudes over the course of the programme is really rewarding, and it’s great to see the difference in our employee’s wellbeing and general lifestyle. The programme is now a fully integrated element of our culture, and provides us with a unique opportunity to encourage recruitment and retention, as well as assist us in managing operational issues such as absence and work-related health issues.”