Rathbone Youth Choices is a range of education and training programmes designed for young people aged 14 to 16 (Key Stage 4), who are experiencing difficulties in their mainstream education.

Rathbone helps and supports young people who have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion. Sometimes, a part time Youth Choices programme can help them keep going with their existing education. Alternatively, if formal education isn’t meeting their needs or they have been excluded, we can provide a full time programme for them.

Youth Choices helps young people take control of their lives through a combination of individual support, tailor-made programmes, specialist training, and education and work placements. We take them away from a traditional educational environment and give them the opportunity to learn more about themselves, raise their aspirations and help them work towards realising their true potential.

We work with around 500 young people in Youth Choices programmes every year, helping them to stay in mainstream education or providing a credible alternative education.

A range of organisations funds and supports Youth Choices, including:

• Local Education Authorities
• Schools
• Pupil Referral Units
• Social Services
• Youth Offending Teams
• ISSP Teams (Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme)
• Connexions
• Learning and Skills Councils

The brochure Youth Choices explains more about the model that Rathbone has created for work on the Youth Choices programme.

It tells of the four areas which we have identified through which we can achieve services which are effective and useful for the young people and which can help them achieve accreditation and nationally approved qualifications:

• Work related services
• Services for schools
• Supporting young people more effectively
• Hard to reach and long term disengagement