Alternative Provision

Following funding secured from the Worshipful Company of Vintners, we are delighted to announce the launch of our Excluded Students Programme, or Alternative Provision Rowing Programme. We will bring the unique opportunity of on-water rowing to 10 cohorts of young people excluded from mainstream education over this academic year 2018/19.

At LYR, we see the impact that rowing has on the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds every day. Our Alternative Provision programme enables us to reach out to those most in need of the opportunities which rowing can bring, and we are delighted that the Vintners’ Company have recognised the impact which LYR has on the lives of young people.

Jenny Cooper, Programme Manager explains the impact of the pilot project:

“Our successful pilot saw over 25% of young people returning to mainstream education, building upon the skills of teamwork, communication and discipline to develop young people through the challenging sport of sliding-seat rowing. With 63% of the prison population having faced exclusion from school in their childhood*, UK school exclusions on the increase and London knife crime at its highest, community sport can provide a much-needed route for young people to improve their wellbeing, interact with positive role models and achieve their goals.”  

*Data taken from Ministry of Justice, March 2012 - Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners.

Assistant Head Teacher Rubert Jonker at New Regent’s College reflects on the progress of one particular student:

"For months Joseph struggled settling in. We hadn’t seen any sign of self-control until the point where we decided to take him rowing. Rowing was a great contributor to his behaviour turn around in school, so much so that he started a new mainstream school in May."

Simon McMurtrie, The Worshipful Company of Vintners explains:

“With a long history connected to The Thames, The Vintners’ Foundation knows at first hand the hard work and reward that comes from learning to row and being on the water. LYR has successfully identified school children who would benefit the most from such coaching, and it has been inspiring to see the positive impact it has had on them.

“Strength-building, teamwork, new skills and discipline are brought together in these dedicated training sessions and have been proven to benefit the school children immeasurably in different ways. We are very proud to support the Vintners’ Alternative Provision programme and look forward to seeing further success with new London Alternative Provisions in the future.”

We have started the academic year working in partnership with the following Alternative Provisions:

  

 

If you are interested in joining the programme or would like to find out more about please contact Programme Manager Jenny Cooper at [email protected]