Janet Daby petitions for funding for Young Leaders Academy

Janet Daby petitions for funding for Young Leaders Academy

This week, Janet Daby MP was joined by David Okoro, the lead of the Lewisham Young Leaders Academy, to hand in their petition to urge Lewisham Council to resume funding for this essential project for local young people.

With over twenty years’ experience in supporting young people to access their full potential outside of the traditional education system, the Lewisham branch of the Young Leaders Academy works in collaboration with the council and St Dunstan’s College in Catford, in response to attainment and outcome disparities for African and Caribbean children.

Janet recently attended the Pan-Afrikan Sports Day in Lewisham, whereby young attendees of the Young LeadersAcademy participated in sports together in a supportive community, and saw first-hand the difference that such a positive environment can make.

According to the Academy, they have found that more than 85% of young people in their programme have reported increased confidence, 87% have stated that they have developed new skills, and 92% of parents reported improved positive self-identity for their children.

A petition organised by Janet was then circulated among parents and others within the community, urging Lewisham Council to continue this much-needed funding, so that children in years to come can flourish. Signatures were then passed onto the Mayor of Lewisham. Janet and the team at the Young Leaders Academy now await a response.

Janet said: “The diversity of Lewisham East is something I will always champion, and when I heard about the Lewisham Young Leaders Academy, I was very keen to help them secure future funding. Projects like this help meet the needs of different parts of the community, and it is great to see young people from African and Caribbean backgrounds being supported to achieve great things.”

David Okoro said: “Lewisham Young Leaders Academy provides a service to some of the most disadvantaged young people in the borough. Many of them have been referred to us by the council.

We provide weekly leadership, development, mentoring and pastoral support for the young people and we hold regular educational meetings for parents and carers.  The young people at our Academy achieve higher academic outcomes compared to other Lewisham young people from similar demographics.

We continue to work in partnership with businesses and facilitate career days in order to widen horizons and aspirations, and with the funding that we need, we hope to reach more young people.”