Around 35 young teenagers with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – many of whom will have stopped attending school due to a lack of provision for their needs – will benefit from one-to-one and group support thanks to a grant from Warwickshire Freemasons to the Teenvine Plus Next Steps programme, delivered by local charity Grapevine.

The £60,000 grant will fund Next Steps, focusing its support around each teenager’s talents and skills, as opposed to their needs, examining their EHC plan (education, health and care) if they have one and working with them to identify their own ideas and solutions to the barriers they are facing.

Local authority statistics show 48 per cent of children not in school in Coventry have a learning disability and 84 per cent live in the city’s most deprived neighbourhoods.

Many have not set foot in the classroom for three months or more and in some cases, have not regularly attended school for up to two or three years – moving through the education system from school to alternative provision to becoming increasingly isolated at home.

Through person-centred plans, building skills and networks, peer support, advocacy and wider support for the whole family where needed, the 12-month Next Steps programme works with their dreams and aspirations, advocating for solutions to returning to formal learning, creating opportunities to enjoy normal teenage life and nurturing their sense of identity and ability to self-advocate.

The grant from Warwickshire Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Freemasons, their families and friends, from across England and Wales.

Grapevine’s Director of Projects, Naomi Madden, said:

“We’re thrilled that Warwickshire Freemasons have supported this vital work. And not only have they agreed to fund the project, they have also offered additional funding to enable us to offer a summer camping festival at the end, so that the youngsters can really test how they have grown stronger as a result of the project.”

Howard Smith from Warwickshire Freemasons said:

“I’m very pleased we’ve been able to support Grapevine’s Teenvine Plus Next Steps programme. Young people only have one chance to get an education and this wonderful project has the potential to transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”