Future Frontiers
Coaching for a bright future
In the UK, family income is the strongest predictor of how well a young person will do at school and the future opportunities they will have. Future Frontiers gives lower-attaining pupils from lower-income families a two-year programme of career coaching, advice and guidance to equip them to fulfil their potential at school and take positive next steps into education or training at 16.
At Kusuma Trust, we’re keen to support projects that make a difference in education or create new access to opportunities. We first supported Future Frontiers in 2018 (info here). Our grant of £50,000 in 2022 will give 400 disadvantaged pupils from up to 20 London schools access to Future Frontiers’ new two-year coaching programme.
- Future Frontiers supported 1,297 young people in partnership with 49 schools and 83 businesses in 2020-21.
- Future Frontiers participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in thinking positively about school, career planning and work readiness: important indicators of success after GCSEs.
- In 2020-21, Future Frontiers supported 1,297 young people to develop the career readiness, self-belief and motivation to fulfil their potential, in partnership with 49 schools and 83 businesses.
Ambition and action
The decisions that young people make at 16 can have consequences that last a lifetime. Future Frontiers gives GCSE students access to the information and support they need to make informed decisions about their futures at this critical point. In four lots of 1.5 hour coaching sessions with a volunteer business professional, Year 10 students explore their strengths, motivations, career aspirations and different pathways to achieving their goals. This is followed by a video call with a role model in a career or sector that interests them.
At the end of the year, students review the goals they set, learn about their post-16 options (education, apprenticeships or training) and prepare for the second year of the programme with a trained Future Frontiers transition manager. Year 11 students get one-to-one careers guidance and support to navigate post-16 enrolment.