As a communities officer at The Reach Foundation, I am focused on fostering a holistic sense of belonging to engage young people in education. My Fellowship will explore how schools, community organisations and enrichment providers can work together to support students at risk of disengagement. The purpose of this research is to reduce school disengagement and, ultimately, to prevent young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) or entering the criminal justice system.

My motivation for this project stems from my previous work in the prison service, where I saw first-hand the long-term consequences of educational disengagement. Similarly, in my current role, I work directly with young people in the community and have seen the powerful, positive effects that connection to community and enrichment opportunities can have on their lives.

I hope to draw on international best practices from the USA, Australia and New Zealand to develop a practical, scalable 'hub model' of holistic belonging that can be shared with schools and communities across the UK.