£1m grant to help improve outcomes for BAME children
The Alliance of Sport, with support from the YJB, have secured a record-breaking £1,000,000 grant from the London Marathon Charitable Trust.
With additional matched funding and in-kind resources, the total fund reaches £1.7m. This grant will be used to deliver the new ‘Levelling the Playing Field’ project and is the biggest grant awarded by the London Marathon Charitable Trust. It is also the first criminal justice grant they have awarded.
The project will take place over the next three years and will use sport to improve the health and life outcomes for over 11,200 black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) children aged 10-17.
The initiative will focus on BAME children who are at risk of entering, or who are already disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, and will provide them with support and opportunities in sport and physical activity. The project has adopted a health model and is tiered. The target delivery areas are in London, the West Midlands, South Yorkshire and Gwent.
Tiers 2 and 3 will involve an in-depth examination of the areas where disproportionality and involvement with the criminal justice system is higher, namely:
- London - Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham youth offending teams (YOTs) Medway Secure Training Centre (STC) and Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution (YOI)
- West Midlands - Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry YOTs, Rainsbrook STC, Oakhill STC and Werrington YOI
- South Yorkshire – Sheffield and Rotherham YOTs and Wetherby YOI.
- Gwent - Newport YOT, Parc YOI and Hillside Secure Children’s Home.
Tier 1 of the project will be region wide and focus on raising awareness. It will ask:
“How can sport and physical activity be used to engage and reduce BAME children from entering the CJS?” And, “How can community sports organisations work effectively with the CJS?” It will show what works and what does not work.
Currently the proportion of BAME children in the youth justice system is increasing, so to work on tackling this the ‘Levelling the Playing Field’ project aims to:
- increase BAME participation in sport
- advance youth justice policy to support a reduction in disproportionality in the youth justice system
- foster more active partnerships between sport and criminal justice agencies
- develop an effective model that is fit for expansion across England and Wales
Keith Fraser, YJB Board member, added:
This grant from the Trust presents a significant opportunity to have a huge positive impact on the lives of many children. This initiative is building on the past work and entering new ground in a focused and evidenced way.
We look forward to working on this exciting project with the Alliance of Sport and other partners. If you would like to know more about the project please email Adam Mooney, YJB Programme Manager, at adam.mooney@yjb.gov.uk.