Community Provision
Learning on Probation
The College is contracted to delivered skills for life and employment and further training advice to people serving a community based sentence within the South and West London Probation areas. This is delivered in probation offices across the area by 3 sub contractors who work in partnership with KCC and the community team to offer a range of progression opportunities following the initial advice and guidance sessions.
REBUILD - Young Offenders Project
We use a range of informal creative methods to engage the most hard to reach socially excluded young offenders to our programmes. The 'Rebuild' projects are aimed at 16-24 year-olds with low academic skills and a fractured history of formal learning in the education system who have offended in the last two years.
- Build a Football Team
- Build a Go Kart
- Build a House
- Build a Motorbike
Our programmes are designed to help them develop basic academic skills whilst working towards improving their self esteem, soft skills, timekeeping and attendance via a range of community projects such as sport activities, arts, media, hands on practical activities linked to informal and formal learning. We also view the projects as a key tool in creating social cohesion and building strong local communities for the future by providing young people with positive opportunities and life chances.
The projects aim to ensure that creative informal opportunities in a community setting can be used to engage the most disadvantaged groups back into education, training and employment. In the last year we have supported 30 young offenders back into mainstream education and training and aim to improve upon this in the coming year.
All programmes are based around extended youth work and are embedded with accredited training in personal social development, IT, Skills for Life - literacy and numeracy and the relevant vocational skills (Motorcycle maintenance, FA Coaching Award, First Aid, UK Youth Challenge Award, Construction Skills Level 1). The objective of all our young offender and NEET engagement programmes is to progress the learner into formal education within the mainstream college in addition to finding the young person sustainable employment whenever possible.
Hard Hats - Adult Offenders Project.
Kensington and Chelsea College are building the workforce of tomorrow and for the 21st Century, with the recent launch of their newly built Transition Skills Centre based in Park Royal West London. The main aim of the centre is to support ex-offenders upon release from custody who are keen to develop and obtain skills to enter the Construction industry. The vision and purpose of the Kensington and Chelsea Transition Centre intends to address the LSC's key priorities to deliver 'better skills, better jobs, better lives.'
Success Stories
ESF Works Participant: Brian Ochaya on 'KCC Hardhats'
The Transition Skills Centre has been developed to cater for a diverse range of learners including adults and 14-19 year olds. It aims to make a difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people within London by building their vocational, personal and social development skills to assist them in sourcing sustainable employment opportunities via it's in-house Employment Support Adviser who helps with CV Development and searching for employment.
The Centre offers qualifications aimed at total beginners - 'Multiskills'
for example is a excellent introduction to common DIY tasks covering introductory skills in Painting & Decorating, Plumbing, Plastering and Brickwork. Upon completing Multiskills most learners chose to specialise in one of the key trades at Foundation Construction Award Level 1. Additional support for learners in Maths, English and IT is also available as is in house employability skills support to ensure the learner has access to a wide range of vacancies with employers such as Laing's, Wate's, Corillion, Balfour Beatty and Bovis
Open Road - Adult Offenders Project
Open Road is an innovative partnership with St Giles Trust. The project aims to provide over 50 ex-offenders upon release form custody supported employment as a Peer Mentor. We provide the programme in six London prisons; HMP Wandsworth, HMP Brixton, HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMP Holloway, HMP Latchmere House and HMP Pentonville.
In total we will work with over two hundred offenders in custody, all will be offered a guaranteed interview before release from custody for a role of Peer Mentor. St Giles and KCC will continue to work with the Peer Mentors in work to continue to support them with personal social development and accredited learning in Functional Skills.
