North Devon & Torridge Family Mentoring Hub

What's the mission? We are looking to fundraise £500,000 over 5 years for a family mentoring centre based in Onyx Business Park, Roundswell, Barnstaple.

Our centre will work with young people and their families to offer mentoring, tuition and counselling to the many students across North Devon and Torridge who are struggling with mental health, attendance or engagement at school and those not in employment, education or training.

Who are you? We are Next Steps Tutors CIC, a not-for-profit company based in Bideford, North Devon, led by Sarah Logan and Liz Fancourt. It’s our second company, set up to meet the funding gaps we’ve found through the work of our first company Next Steps Education Ltd.

Next Steps Education Ltd began in 2021 and works with local authorities (Devon, Cornwall, Somerset) and local schools to support students not in school or finding school attendance challenging because of health reasons. Through this work we’ve found many students and families don’t meet the strict criteria set out for funding, meaning that many local students are going without education and support for reasons such as:

Having social anxiety or school anxiety and awaiting CAMHS support (which can take up to 4 years). GP evidence is not enough for a student to meet funding criteria
Having unmet SEND needs and stuck in the ECHP process, often whilst finding their current school setting too overwhelming. An EHCP can take 20 weeks or more. Many EHCP applications are refused or taken to tribunal, which can extend the process over 2 years. Only students with an awarded EHCP would meet funding criteria
Having low attendance at school but not meeting school criteria for intervention (no EHCP, no recorded SEND needs, sometimes due to not being at a school to have observations & needs recorded)
Parents choosing to prioritise their child’s mental health and taking an Elective Home Education route where they feel this is the only choice
Excluded students who’ve gone on to a second setting and this has failed. Students become non-attenders
Having been put on the diagnosis pathway for autism or ADHD and are awaiting an assessment (our ADHD assessment pathway timings have improved in North Devon with a new service at NDDH. We have heard of students now receiving ADHD assessments within 3-6 months). Our autism pathway is still around a 2 year wait. Having a diagnosis does not necessarily open funding routes though. In many cases parents then need to go on to start the EHCP process

It is our belief that we are approaching crisis level in North Devon and Torridge.

Anecdotally, we have heard of students who have presented themselves at NDDH A&E wanting to harm themselves who have not met the medical evidence threshold for support. We have been told that students being sent to school are threatening to kill themselves if they are forced to go. As a parent myself, I would never want my child or myself to be in this position. We receive 2 or 3 cries for help every week and in most cases are currently not able to offer support other than signposting. This is why we want to create our Family Mentoring Centre.

Can't the local authority or schools do more? In a word, no.

School costs will increase by 4.1 per cent for 2025/26 but school funding will only rise by 3.4 per cent leaving a significant gap in funding. In total there will be a £630 million real terms cut to school funding.

At a local level, schools in Devon are set to be hit with a £15.3 million cut to spending power in 2024/25 (data from the National Education Union). It means funding per pupil in Devon will be cut by £166 in 2024/25 compared with 2023/24. Devon is already one of the worst-funded education authorities in the country. For 2024-25, Devon schools receive just £5,484 per pupil—about £200 less than the national average and about £1,500 less per pupil than in inner London. Additionally, because of our rurality, Devon has some of the highest costs of school transport costs. Devon County Council spent £19 million on home-to-school transport for 12,813 pupils last year, roughly £1,500 per pupil. Additionally, it spent £30.6 million on personalised transport for 2,518 pupils, an average of £12,159 per pupil.

As a local authority, Devon County Council’s SEND budget, (responsible for the funding of education for; students needing medical inclusion, permanently excluded students, students with EHCPs on EOTAS packages (Education Other Than At School) and additional needs funding for students with EHCPs) is £195 million in deficit. Devon County Council are under a Safety Valve Agreement with the Department for Education to bring its SEND budget to a positive in year balance by the end of 26/27.

We work with fantastic educators across local schools and the local authority. All of them want to do more, but there's just no money in the pot and funding can only stretch to the very, very, very vulnerable.

So how can I help? You're here, and that's a fantastic start as it helps us prove to grant funders that the Family Mentoring Hub is needed. You can also help by

sharing our Facebook group with your friends and community and asking them to join our cause
staying in touch with us and liking all of our posts
telling us your stories in posts and comments in our group. We know this can sometimes feel too vulnerable so we've made it possible to share anonymously in the group. If you can share, your helping to raise awareness of the real impact school absence and children's mental health challenges are having on family life and our communities
if you're a tradesman, getting in touch to let us know how you can help on our internal unit build. We'll be looking for all trades: carpenters, metal studwall fitters, electricians, plumbers, painters, glazers, fire safety consultants, health and safety consultants, IT support services, furnishers, carpet fitters. Maybe you'd be able to help by offering your services at cost price or by volunteering your time for a day or two
if you're a local business, can you offer us funding or resources? Even the smallest donation helps us have more funds for our direct work with families. Get in touch if you'd like me to send you our full funding bid document

Schools, Community

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made

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North Devon & Torridge Family Mentoring Hub

Barnstaple, Devon, United Kingdom

£73

5 supporters

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