The Aspire+ Programme’s mission is to help young people, who are dealing with various issues in life, discover a sense of self-worth and purpose and to help them turn their aspirations into reality. We encourage and provide young people with the opportunity to pursue education, apprenticeships and employment as a means to help them fulfil their ambitions for their future careers. We help young people realise their potential and explore the avenues open to them to lead a life that fulfils their potential. The Aspire+ Programme partners with numerous local schools, Moat Foundation (the charitable arm of Moat Housing, housing association) and Ashford Borough Council.

 

Aspire is a 32-week course for young people between 14 and 16 years.  They attend 4 days a week, and study for Functional Skills qualifications in Maths and English, and also complete a vocationally focussed coursework folder leading to a qualification in various key skills.  They receive weekly mentoring and work experience as part of the course.The aim of Aspire is to provide the young people with the qualifications and experience they need to gain a place at college, an apprenticeship or straight into work at the end of one or two years with us.

 

A large proportion of these young people come to ASPIRE with little or no attendance at school having exhausted all other alternative provision that can be provided within mainstream education due to poor behavior.  It is not unusual for these young people to be known to the police and therefore, they work very closely with the Anti-Social Behavior Team at Ashford Police. These young people come to ASPIRE with behavioral problems and issues such as; little or no aspirations, drug issues, low self-esteem and confidence and issues within their home environment (because of poor relationships with parents, step-parents and siblings).

 

ASPIRE achieved great success over the past 5 years of running this programme, with the majority of their students leaving with a Maths and English GCSE equivalent qualifications, and many of them moving onto college or work.