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School’s Out! A look back at our 22/23 impact in schools

Saints Foundation/Education Projects/Bitterne_Park-21_ukl1fh

As we reach the end of another year, we look back at the impact made by our three school-based projects.

The summer break is upon us, which means Southampton’s young people have six weeks of relaxing, sunshine (hopefully!), and Saints Kicks summer sessions ahead of them. With another year of hard work under our belts, we look back at the impact our schools-based projects have made this year.

Saints Foundation runs three projects within local schools – Premier League Primary Stars in 15 primaries, Community Champions in 9 secondaries, and Premier League Inspires in 4 alternative provision schools. That’s 28 schools in total, with each receiving at least one interaction every single week.

Community Champions, our secondary school based programme, has the highest amount of engagement, with a Saints Foundation member of staff in the building four days a week. We’re working in schools in every corner of Southampton – from Redbridge to Harefield, Weston to Bitterne, and beyond.

In the 2022/23 academic year, we worked with 2,065 young people, aged between 5 and 16. More than three quarters of them (1,667) achieved a positive outcome through their engagement with us – that could be increased attendance at school, boosted mental wellbeing, or an improved relationship with their learning.

1,016 young people reported that their mental wellbeing had been increased by working with us. 743 increased their aspirations, and 840 said they had found a positive role model in their Saints Foundation member of staff.

We’ve had lots of great feedback from our young people, from our primary-age pupils who reported they were getting “smarter and smarter” thanks to their work with a Primary Star, to secondary school students who admitted they “wouldn’t [have] come into school” if it wasn’t for their sessions with their Community Champion.

There’s a huge amount of fantastic work being done by our schools team, and they’ll be taking the summer to plan for another year of impactful delivery across the city. Of course, this work wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our fans and our community. Get involved with our fundraising events, sign up as business patron or simply make a donation to show your support for Saints Foundation.

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