Virgin Mobile Corporate Social Investment Programme Christmas 2007

Who Kids Company are

Kids Company is a registered charity (number 1068298) founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in December 1996 in order to provide practical and emotional support to 'lone children'. These are children and young people who experience significant psychosocial difficulties because their parent is unable to function as a caring adult. The lack of a functioning adult has a negative impact on their ability to access education, health, housing, and meaningful employment.

The organisation is advanced in its service delivery because it has a multidisciplinary team working at street level, adapting the latest neurophysiological thinking in order to deliver a preventative and reparative therapeutic service to children. It currently supports 11,925 clients, of whom 800 are parents and teachers.

What they do

Each year, Kids Company reaches out to 11,925 children and young people, and their families, through three major programme outlets: the 'Work in Schools' programme, the 'Arches II' drop-in centre and a newly-established educational centre, the 'Urban Academy':

• 'Work in Schools' Kids Company provides targeted therapeutic and social work interventions, as well as universal access to the arts and other projects, to around 11,000 children in thirty primary and secondary schools in London.
• The 'Arches II' Approximately 800 different children and young people access emotional and practical support services at the 'Arches II' drop-in centre every year. Over 100 individuals attend every day for key work, therapeutic or social work interventions. Children and young people are encouraged to develop their aspirations, engage with education, training or employment and pursue positive achievements.
• The 'Urban Academy' The 'Urban Academy' is designed to re-engage young people who have been rejected by, or have themselves rejected, mainstream educational structures. Young people are assessed for their emotional, practical and specific learning needs, assigned a key worker and given access to small-group tutoring in creative arts, basic literacy and numeracy, and practical skills. Approximately 125 young people are currently registered at the Urban Academy; a 'crisis management' outreach programme reaches a further 180 children in secondary schools.

Kids Company is committed to providing inclusive, child-focused and holistic support services to vulnerable children. We aim to promote and support emotional well-being. The mechanisms through which this is achieved are grounded within attachment theory and the importance of 'loving care'. We believe that children and young people who experience trauma, abuse and neglect cope with their pain by shutting down their capacities to feel. The child who stops themself feeling distressed cannot again be emotionally hurt by trauma. The same child however cannot experience positive emotions, empathy or fulfilling relationships. Kids Company believes that punishing these children only cements their emotional coldness.

The strategy employed by Kids Company assumes that the healing process for these young people is only possible in the context of sustained relationships, where practical and emotional needs are addressed.

Some results

Kids Company has been independently evaluated fifteen times since 2000. All the evaluations describe the clinical service delivery by Kids Company as being outstanding. In excess of 95% of the children refer themselves or their peers to our services.

Between September 2005 and September 2006, Kids Company's service provisions were researched by the University of London in order to document the organisation's work comprehensively and to evaluate its efficacy from the perspectives of key stakeholder groups (children and young people, teachers, Kids Company staff). Services were evaluated in terms of effectiveness of delivery, effectiveness at the point of access and effectiveness of outcomes:

• In 97% of cases, users believed that Kids Company's services were effective in addressing their difficulties.
• Kids Company staff were considered to be the best aspect of the service provision by 67% of children and young people. 55% of service users stated the main difference between Kids Company and other service providers was that Kids Company did not give up on people.

'Well, we don't let anybody go; we're here to help them no matter what! We just hang in there with them through their difficulties — we don't give up on anyone. . . you can't give up on them, as that's what has been happening to them their whole lives.' (Kids Company staff member)

• Happiness was the most commonly cited self-report intervention outcome amongst children and young people accessing Kids Company's services (58%). This was followed by confidence (53%), love (49%) and education (46%). Respondents were able to list as many outcomes as they wanted, so these percentages should not total 100%.

Success stories

M came to Kids Company and he was helped into Higher Education and went to uni where he successfully completed 2 yrs and 2 terms. M left Kids Co. as he was successfully in Higher Education, and only occasionally popped in for lunch etc. When he had 1 term of uni left, M got into trouble and ended up in prison.

M got into trouble, because he had not been assisted by the uni to fill in the loan forms and had been trying to pay his own way, he had accrued a debt and was at risk of not being allowed to complete his studies. This debt created a lot of pressure for him and he got into a fight and went to prison for ABH. He is a classic example of a Kids Co. kid who can, if under too much pressure where they are not able to see a way out, flip and lose control.

When he was released from prison, he came back to Kids Company. He was staying with family who are reluctant to keep him, and he has only the clothes etc. that he left prison in. M has been working with me to help him get his last term finished and his degree this month and we have been advocating for him within the university. We will also be looking into getting his arrears paid by the local authority who have failed in their statutory duty of care for this young person as he is entitled to educational support.

M has an assigned keyworker who is in the process of assessing his basic needs and who is buying him clothes and college materials etc. M has only 10 weeks left of his course to complete until he graduates.

M needs his basic needs met by Kids Co. and some kind of stability in his life and he will achieve getting a full degree from the Uni of East London.

To read more about our charity partner Foyer click here.

Kids Company – registered charity 1068298