Rathbone is a UK-wide voluntary youth sector organisation providing opportunities for young people to transform their life-circumstances by re-engaging with learning, discovering their ability to succeed and achieving progression to further education, training and employment.

In 2008 / 2009 Rathbone worked with more than 17,000 young people through our programmes delivered at or from our 60+ centres. In England alone, Rathbone worked with 2,300 Apprentices and more than 5,300 young people on the Entry to Employment programme - from 2010, Entry to Employment will be replaced by Destinations, Rathbone’s name for its foundation learning offer. In Wales, the SkillBuild programme was delivered to 1,800 young people and in Scotland the Get Ready for Work programme reached 1,400 young Scots.

As well as the delivery of work based training and courses to thousands of young people, Rathbone connects to some of the country’s most difficult-to-reach young people through youth engagement programmes. These offer practical support and positive activities like sport, music or art as a first step in our work with them.

What we believe

Our philosophy and our approach to working with young people today is inspired by the vision of our founder, Elfrida Rathbone. Her ground breaking education work early in the 20th century was underpinned by her belief that everyone, whatever their starting point in life, could make progress through learning.

We passionately believe that Elfrida’s vision at the start of the twentieth century remains as relevant in the twenty-first.

Our fundamental belief is unchanged. Given the right opportunities and support, all young people can learn, can progress, can achieve success in their chosen careers and become young adults who play a positive part in our society.

The young people that Rathbone works with face some of the greatest challenges in our society. We believe in the potential of every individual young person to achieve a positive future. We have a long track record in supporting young people and their success stories demonstrate our work transforming young lives.

Why we change lives

We change lives because we see every challenge facing a young person as an opportunity for success. We think that a past history of no or low attainment is no barrier to a future of positive achievement.

We believe that anti-social behaviour can be transformed into active and engaged behaviour. Our work demonstrates that many young people involved in the youth justice system can be a transformed into volunteers who make a real difference to their community becoming positive role models for other young people.

Rathbone works with young people on a basis of mutual respect. We create a place where young people are supported, encouraged and challenged in every way possible so they can achieve and make positive changes to their lives.

We are a Member of Fair Train and a Fair Train Provider

Rathbone is a founding member of Fair Train, the Group Training Association for the voluntary sector. This membership association of voluntary sector employers and training providers acts as a broker for employers in the sector, promoting the benefits of apprenticeships and delivering apprenticeships.

The principles of Fair Train are:

• To operate as a charity or not-for-profit business and not to pay profit to shareholders
• To place the long term training needs of every employer they work with at the heart of their organisation
• To be open and transparent with every employer about the government funding that is drawn down on behalf of that employer and how it is used
• To devote as much of the government funding to training as is possible and to minimise the administration required to enable training to take place
• To nominate a senior manager to Fair Train who will act and report upon any complaint received by Fair Train from an employer.

Other organisations associated in Fair Train are ACEVO, Action for Children, Barnardo’s, Enable, Learning Curve, NACRO, NAVCA, NCVO, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, The Prince’s Trust, Rathbone, Skills – Third Sector, South London Learning Consortium, St John Ambulance, VISTA and VSNW.

Fair Train is being co-ordinated by Rathbone.

For more information on Fair Train please visit www.fairtrain.org.

What others say about us

It is so pleasing to meet youngsters who have overcome hardship to succeed. Young people at Rathbone are true champions and it was an honour to meet them. I wish Rathbone every success for the future.
Sir Alex Ferguson

Quite often in the newspapers, we hear about what young people are doing wrong but we never seem to hear enough about what they’re doing right. So it’s fantastic to see Rathbone, once again, reminding everyone of just how proud we should be of this country’s young people.
Vernon Coaker MP, former Minister for Schools and Learners.

Rathbone goes where others fear to tread.
Robert Newman, Head of Inclusion, Youth Justice Board

We hear so many negative things about teenagers today but here is an organisation that is working hard to help young people achieve.
Michelle Totton, Broadcaster, Guardian Media

The work of Rathbone is so important. Their young people are animated by the knowledge that all young people need support that is right for them – and with it, all can benefit from learning, all have shown potential.
Ed Miliband MP, former Minister for the Third Sector

Rathbone teaches skills that are useful and transferable. My advice is: come in, give it a go and find out all about what you can achieve.
Gordon O’Neill, Managing Director of iotaMEDIA, Buckinghamshire

Rathbone is not just practical but inspirational too, providing a springboard for young people to become engaged in a trade and learn a whole life skill.
John Penrose MP for Weston-super-Mare