Sarah Wallbank: Yes Futures

We had two visitors today: Sarah Wallbank, Chief Executive of Yes Futures was our speaker and Faisal Rehneu was a guest of Mo Sadiq.

Sarah formed the charity in 2012 with the aims of empowering young people. When Sarah worked as an English teacher she found that the education system focused on exams and there was no time for confidence-building, communication or team working. The charity has coaches working with students on a one-to-one basis boosting self-awareness, confidence, resilience and communication skills. Finding Futures works with children in years 5 and 6 to help them make a successful transition from primary school and Rising Futures works in secondary schools. After five months the students make a presentation to their parents and teachers showing the progress they have made and their plan for self-coaching for the next five months. The programme culminates in a three-day residential trip where students from several schools come together and life-long friendships are formed.

To date the charity has helped over 1,000 students in 60 schools in the south-east of England including Chelmsford Valley High School and Trinity Road Primary School in Chelmsford. The schools pay 50% of the cost with the remainder coming from fundraising. Sarah explained that all coaches are volunteers and she is always on the lookout for new recruits.