Funded byColyer-FergussonCharitable Trust
Delivered byYouth Unity CIC
July 2025 — July 2026
Ambition Life Skills · Dartford, Kent
Grant outcome
Eleven children,
one transition.
The year a Year 6 cohort left The Brent Primary School and started again at Stone Lodge Secondary — the moment risk climbs fastest. Youth Unity went with them, and stayed for all 38 weeks.
One strand, one young person · 10 male, 1 female
Gold is the grant. Green is the delivery.
What was delivered
Not a course.
A presence.
Ambition ran inside the school day, with the head teacher's backing, for the whole academic year.
Stone Lodge Secondary School, Dartford
Twelve hours a week to eleven Year 7 students, fully supported by the head teacher, Dr Cusick, and Head of Year 7, Charles Alderman. One hour of after-school sport — football, chess, general physical activity — sits alongside it.
Followed, not referred
Since September 2025 the cohort has been carried from The Brent Primary into their secondary placements. The same mentor holds the same relationship through the handover — which is exactly where most support drops away.
An individual plan for every child
Each young person has a needs assessment covering home life and social activity away from school, then an individual plan tracked against a traffic-light (RAG) rating across 22 areas of personal development.
Every parent met, one to one
One-to-one meetings with each child's parent or carer, held on school premises with the head teacher present, to explain what Ambition sets out to achieve. All were met positively.
Who we worked with
Eleven young people carrying fourteen risk flags.
Selection is made by the school, not by us. Every child here was flagged before we arrived.
A single child may carry more than one flag. Each is recorded at assessment and reviewed through the year.
How change is measured
Twenty-two areas. Every child.
Ambition is written by psychologist Roberto Forzoni, underpinned by evidence-based practice and solution-focused therapy. Progress is not a feeling — it is a rating against a named area, reviewed on a schedule.
Wellbeing
Character
Ambition
Delivered through 14 coach-led digital modules, a paper mentoring handbook and a learning management system, so the same content reaches different learning styles.
The life skills
Five lessons that do the heavy lifting.
Chosen to reduce the risk of a young person drifting into risk-taking behaviour, criminal activity and unhealthy relationships.
14 coach-led modules. Five of them carry the year.
The rest reinforce. These are the ones the mentors return to week after week.
Developing confidence and self-esteem
Becoming the best version of yourself.
Don't beat yourself up
Learning about self-handicapping behaviour and self-sabotage.
Consequential thinking
Your choice, your future. Actions have consequences.
Controlling your impulses
Choice points — long-term benefit against short-term gain.
Make it happen
Raising your standards, dealing with failure. Change requires action.
On the pitch
The same lessons, taught in football boots.
The after-school club at The Brent mirrors what Ambition teaches in the classroom. Five minutes of reinforcement before the whistle; five minutes of reflection before they go home.
Choose your attitude each time you play
Be humble in victory
Be gracious in defeat
Support and encourage your teammates
Concentrate on your own performance before you comment on others
Recover quickly from your mistakes and learn from them
It's healthy to have a winning mentality
Never, never, never give up
Leave everything on the pitch with effort and hard work
Shake hands after the game finishes
Professional testimonial
School attendance, H
First term of the academic year
He is a young person with a lot to offer. This term he has made huge strides with his attendance — nothing short of fantastic, and it shows real impact.
Sarah Rye
Head teacher, The Brent School
Edited for length and anonymity