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MEaP 2024 Year End Review

Dec 23, 2024 | Updates and Reports

2024

2024 Year End Review

Making Education a Priority (MEaP) Celebrates Landmark Achievements! As 2024 draws to a close, we, at MEaP, are thrilled to share an update on the incredible progress we’ve made over the past three years, with a special shout-out to the significant impact made this year. Thanks to crucial support received, we’ve not only strengthened our organisation but also dramatically expanded our services, reaching more young people and their families than ever before.

MEaP 2024: Building Our Team for Greater Impact

The Tudor Trust - MEaP 2024Thanks to the Tudor trust whose fund has been pivotal for MEaP’s growth. With their support we were able to significantly expand our capacity by bringing on board two vital roles: a Community Business Manager and a Communications and Administration Officer. These new team members have been instrumental in enhancing our strategic direction, fostering key partnerships, boosting our operational efficiency, and increasing our visibility across Manchester.

Our Community Business Manager has been a driving force in forging stronger partnerships across Manchester’s youth and play sector. This has led to invaluable collaborations with organisations such as Young Manchester, opening doors for new research, funding opportunities, and program development. They’ve also been key in helping our consortium partners align their goals, streamline funding applications, and ultimately deliver better services.

Meanwhile, our Communications and Administration Officer has revolutionised how we connect both internally and externally, ensuring MEaP’s activities are effectively promoted. This role has also been crucial in supporting the Community Business Manager with day-to-day operations and has played a significant part in the expansion of our Twilight Academy, handling everything from tutor recruitment to student enrolment and refining our administrative processes.

MEaP 2024: Twilight Academy Soars to New Heights!

Our Twilight Academy, which was operating minimally just a few years ago due to the pandemic, has seen phenomenal growth in 2024: We’re now delivering an astonishing 144 hours of group sessions weekly, providing GCSE tuition and revision support to 40 students for 4 hours each week across four evenings. This is a huge leap from just 5 students on two nights per week in 2022! Our student retention rate has increased to an impressive 90%, with most Year 11 students returning after Year 10, a testament to the quality of our program.

Building on this success, we’ve launched an A-Level tuition program in Maths, Physics, and Chemistry, supported by an exceptional team of high-calibre tutors. Beyond group sessions, we’ve also provided 108 hours of one-to-one tuition to an additional 6 students, with 60% returning from the previous year.
Our commitment to inclusive education has deepened with the development of our SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision, now led by a new specialist tutor positioned as our Head of SEND and Behavioural Management. We’re also on track to deliver our highly anticipated Easter Intensives Programme, offering 16 hours of face-to-face tuition.

Empowering Communities: Supplementary Schools, Youth Activities & Engagement

Our work extends far beyond academic support, reaching into the heart of Manchester’s communities:

We’ve successfully formed the Manchester Supplementary Schools Partnership (MSSP), significantly improving communication and collaboration among over 30 diverse supplementary schools. This partnership now serves approximately 2,000 children and collectively delivers 100 service hours each week.

Our Community Business Manager successfully secured Lottery funding to support our weekly after-school activities and holiday enrichment programs. These programs, spanning arts, sports, and personal development, now reach over 200 young people weekly, running three evenings a week and on Saturdays.

MEaP 2024: We’ve secured and delivered major funding programs, including:

  • Million Hours Fund – Delivering Youth Outreach project: This scheme provides a range of diversionary activities across Manchester in the Harpurhey, Miles Platting, and Levenshulme areas, offering a minimum of 12 additional hours of provision per week between 4 pm and 7 pm, Monday to Friday, and on Saturday afternoons. Activities include creative arts (like music and dance sessions), a Coding Club, personal development and confidence building, and various sports.
  • Youth-Led Community Safety Project: Through this initiative, we’ve delivered after-school clubs offering diverse activities for young people aged 12 to 18, such as sports, music, dance, personal development workshops, cultural activities, leadership development, and educational/mentoring support.
  • Manchester Youth, Play and Participation Project: We’re proudly delivering youth provision for Manchester City Council across three wards: Miles Platting, Levenshulme, and Fallowfield.
  • Cost Of Living Project: We piloted this employability programme, focusing on digital inclusion through learning IT fundamentals, and resulting in 100% improved confidence for all attendees, over 25% of the students progressing into higher education, 25% into training and 25% into jobs.
  • TECHWELL 2024: On the strength of our cost of living project, we expanded the employability delivery thanks to funding from WEA and the government to deliver a Career, Technology and Health & Wellbeing holistic training programme to 104 students with 92 graduating and progressing into internships, apprenticeships, further training, higher education, employment or enterprising/self-employment.

Looking Ahead: Our Vision for the Future

As we look to the future, MEaP is strategically positioned for continued growth and sustainability:

  • We are looking to expand our Employability & Careers Support. We’re forging new partnerships with schools and organisations like Reach Society to deliver two youth conferences this year, aiming to benefit 300 young people.
  • We are scaling the Twilight Academy. In particular, we plan to introduce a hybrid learning model, combining face-to-face and online tuition, to significantly expand accessibility for even more students.
  • We’re committed to developing training programs specifically designed to support Young NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) People, focusing on skills development and employability training.
  • We’ll continue to strengthen our collaborations with Young Manchester and the Young Peoples’ Foundation to secure sustainable funding and strategic support for the broader sector.
  • We have restructured our provision to clarify our services, which will soon be reflected on our website.

Thank you for being a part of MEaP’s journey. We’re excited to build on this year’s success and continue making a profound difference in the lives of young people across Manchester!