Opportunity Area initiative aims to ensure disadvantaged Fenland and East Cambridgeshire children are not left behind
No one’s future should be determined by where they are born - says Michelle Donelan, Minister for the Opportuntiy Areas.
Ms Donelan has explained that was the driving force behind this Government’s Opportunity Areas programme – a £90 million investment to tackle the gap in outcomes between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.
Here in her own words she talks about the thinking behind the latest £1.43million Government funding for the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area.
"This ambition is more crucial than ever before as we chart our recovery from the pandemic and get Britain moving. As we enter the fourth year of this flagship programme, our challenge is now to focus on levelling up and supporting young people wherever they live.
"For the last three years, the Opportunity Areas have prioritised young people in some of the most disadvantaged parts of England—including right here in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire to raise their ambitions and give them the same chances to succeed as everyone else.
"The investment is already having an impact on reading levels, attendance, teacher training, recruitment and other key areas that will help improve social mobility. We’ve also given secondary pupils across all 12 Opportunity Areas work experience to motivate and inspire their career ambitions as well as out-of-school activities that build confidence, leadership and problem solving to give them the skills they need to get the jobs they want.
"We know that providing high quality teaching is one of the best ways to improve social mobility and boost career prospects, so here in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, we have set up a Recruitment Incentives Grant to attract the best teachers into area by providing them with training, development and resources. This has allowed us to recruit over 60 teachers into 18 local schools.
"Next year, Opportunity Areas will have £1 million to support ‘twinned’ places where the challenges being faced are similar, to spread the expertise they have gained and deliver for those communities hit hardest by Covid-19 to address the attainment gap, support mental health and give young people the skills our economy needs.
"As part of this focus on sharing what works, I will bring together ministers responsible for employment, youth services, public health, business and industry and policing to pool our collective expertise and achieve our shared ambition of levelling up for our young people.
"We can tackle the barriers to social mobility more effectively when we come together across our different policy areas – be it improving young people’s skills for employment, tackling violent crime and protecting those at risk of exploitation, or regenerating local economies in left-behind places.
"This, of course, includes children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. In Fenland and East Cambridgeshire schools are being trained to review and improve their provision, while the Opportunity Area has provided direct support to over 900 families by funding training, workshops and drop-in sessions for parents and carers – all of which have currently moved online to provide ongoing support.
"The unprecedented challenge posed by the pandemic has made it even more important to invest in sustainable and long-term change to level the playing field for all young people, whatever their background.
"Harnessing the expertise and drive that exists in abundance throughout the 12 Opportunity Areas is vital if we are to transform the opportunities available for young people in these communities, unleashing their enormous potential."
