One organisation. Four ways in. The same foundation underneath all of them.
Alternative provision, support for home educated young people, our young persons Gym & Wellbeing Club, and holiday activities, all built on relationships first, embedded mentoring, and real-world outcomes. Ages 7–17, across Norfolk & Suffolk.
Alternative Provision
Structured, real-world alternative provision for young people who have become disengaged from mainstream education, or are at risk of disengagement: short interventions or full placements.
Home Education Support
Flexible, real-world learning for home educated young people, dropping into our curriculum and community around their existing home education.
Gym & Wellbeing Club
A dedicated fitness and wellbeing space for young people, coming soon.
Holiday Activities
Structured, mentored activities through the school holidays, so relationships, support and routine don't disappear just because term has ended.
Built on 25 years of frontline and leadership experience
What makes us different
- Every space is designed on purpose, so young people feel safe and feel like they belong
- Enterprise, creativity, health, wellbeing, life skills and confidence: not extras, the actual core of what we do
- Young people lead activities, start businesses and learn hands-on
- Real networking with local business owners, entrepreneurs and community figures
- A launchpad for young people's own business ideas, from first pitch to first sale
- Making mistakes in a safe environment is part of the learning
- Education x Youth Work: it happens inside everything we do
- Mentoring isn't an add-on. It's woven into everything, every day
- Every staff member is a mentor from day one, someone to trust, someone to look up to
- Young people co-produce their own support plans and set their own goals
- Trauma-informed and restorative, in everything, always
- What a young person does and makes matters more than a mark on an attendance sheet
- Short, sharp support or a full placement, whatever actually fits
- Flexible timetables and delivery, built around the young person, not the other way round
- Small groups of 5–10, by design, never a compromise
- 1:1 support, whenever that works better for the young person
Not every day is a good day.
But every day still counts.
Our alternative provision is for young people who have become disengaged from mainstream education, or are at risk of disengagement. Our flexible block structure, youth work foundation, embedded mentoring and positive goal-setting mean that even the hardest days move a young person forward. Progress never stops.
Every young person who comes to us is an individual
We work with young people who have stepped back from education for a wide range of reasons.
SEMH & Wellbeing
- Social, Emotional & Mental Health needs
- Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
- Anxiety and low confidence
- Trauma and adverse childhood experiences
- Attachment difficulties
Education Status
- Post-exclusion: awaiting placement
- Children Missing Education (CME)
- At risk: early help & prevention
- Managed moves & interim provision
- Contract ended at previous AP
Additional Needs
- Neurodivergent learners
- Looked after & care-experienced
- SEND young people, including those with EHCPs
- Home educated young people
- Rural isolation & transport barriers
- Post-16 transition support
Short interventions or sustained placements: we flex to what the young person needs. Some young people need a short, targeted block to stay included or bridge a gap. Others need sustained, wraparound provision over months. PYF is built to do both, and the curriculum structure means every day produces progress regardless of how long the placement is.
We take placements from mainstream schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities, including SEND and inclusion teams and Virtual Schools for looked-after children, as well as directly via the Norfolk and Suffolk AP commissioning frameworks.
Five curriculum blocks. Real skills. Real outputs.
The curriculum flexes around the young person, not the other way round: mentoring never stops, whatever the day looks like. Everything at PYF is delivered through doing, and every block has a real-world output: something a young person made, led, built or produced. Not a worksheet. Not a test. The actual thing. Tap a block to see example modules inside it.
Block 1: Confidence & Resilience
Building identity, self-belief and voice through real situations, not theory.
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Block 1: Confidence & Resilience
Building identity, self-belief and voice through real situations, not theory.
Example modules below, the mix flexes to each young person and cohort.
Confidence Kickstart
Stand-up introductions, the "say something real" challenge, guest speakers with lived experience.
Output: A 2-minute "This Is Me" presentation delivered to a real invited audience.
Speak Up
Running real sports sessions for primary school children, pitching practice, debate and discussion.
Output: Leads a complete 30-minute activity session for younger children.
Overcoming Social Anxiety
Psychoeducation, graduated real-world exposure, grounding techniques, community interaction tasks.
Output: A personal "Social Challenge Log" of 10 real situations navigated.
Resilience Reset
Entrepreneur & athlete Q&As, the "Failure Wall", resilience challenge days.
Output: A personal Resilience Toolkit document.
Block 2: Sport, Wellbeing & Health
Understanding how sleep, nutrition, movement and mental health connect.
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Block 2: Sport, Wellbeing & Health
Understanding how sleep, nutrition, movement and mental health connect.
Example modules below, the mix flexes to each young person and cohort.
Fitness, Personal Training & Coaching
Gym induction, weekly training plan, supporting community gym sessions, learning to coach and lead others.
Output: A personal 4-week fitness log with reflection.
Nutrition
Cooking a healthy meal under £5, label decoding, running the PYF café, guest nutritionist input.
Output: A personal "Fuel Plan," a practical weekly eating guide.
Importance of Sleep
Sleep science explained simply, a 14-day sleep tracking log, building a personal wind-down routine.
Output: A completed 14-day Sleep Log with analysis.
Digital Balance & Body Image
Screen time audits, critical media literacy, the "Digital Detox Day" challenge, capability-focused body image work.
Output: A personal Digital Use Plan and written reflection.
Block 3: Enterprise, Money & Hustle
Learning to earn, sell, manage money, and build something real.
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Block 3: Enterprise, Money & Hustle
Learning to earn, sell, manage money, and build something real.
Example modules below, the mix flexes to each young person and cohort.
Money Mastery
How money is earned, spent, saved and lost. Real cost-of-living budgeting on a minimum-wage income. Credit, debt and interest, explained plainly.
Output: A completed personal monthly budget based on a realistic post-school income.
Brand You
Identifying values and strengths, designing a personal brand identity, building an online presence, feedback from a real marketing professional.
Output: A personal brand pack and live online presence.
£50 Side Hustle
Idea generation, market research, launching a real micro-venture with a £50 seed budget, tracking income and expenditure.
Output: A live business that has traded, a profit & loss statement, and a pitch to a real entrepreneur panel.
Block 4: Creativity
Film, music, podcasting, art, beauty and fashion, made for real audiences.
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Block 4: Creativity
Film, music, podcasting, art, beauty and fashion, made for real audiences.
Example modules below, the mix flexes to each young person and cohort.
Filmmaking & Podcasting
Shot types and storyboarding, filming in crews, editing, and screening to a real audience. Planning, recording, editing and publishing a podcast episode.
Output: A completed short film and a published podcast episode.
Branding & Social Media Literacy
How algorithms work, building a content strategy, understanding online reputation.
Output: A 7-day content plan with published pieces of content.
Music & DJing
Producing an original track from idea to finished mix. DJ equipment, beatmatching, building and performing a live set.
Output: A completed original track and a live DJ set performed at a real event.
Art & Design / Beauty & Fashion
Drawing, painting, photography and digital art working to a brief. Makeup, styling, garment construction basics and lookbook creation.
Output: Artwork exhibited publicly, or a completed lookbook / portfolio shoot.
Real Client Project
A brief from a real local business or community organisation, planned and delivered end to end.
Output: Real content delivered to a real client, with a testimonial for their portfolio.
Block 5: Life Skills & Independence
The stuff school doesn't teach: budgeting, communication, and job readiness.
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Block 5: Life Skills & Independence
The stuff school doesn't teach: budgeting, communication, and job readiness.
Example modules below, the mix flexes to each young person and cohort.
Budgeting
Real cost-of-living deep dive, a realistic monthly budget on minimum wage, the café budget challenge, and understanding the real cost of debt.
Output: A completed personal monthly budget with a savings and emergency-fund plan.
Communication
Communication styles, active listening, difficult conversations, and workplace communication.
Output: Demonstrated communication competency across three real scenarios.
Problem Solving
Structured problem-solving frameworks, real PYF operational problems to fix, a BBC Apprentice-style team challenge.
Output: A Problem-Solving Log with at least 5 real entries.
Workplace Skills & Job Readiness
Employer Q&A, CV writing with real feedback, filmed mock interviews, a half-day workplace visit.
Output: A completed Employability Skills Record.
Accredited qualifications that open doors
When a young person is ready, they progress to accredited learning. Qualifications are rarely the entry point, but they are the destination we work toward together. Examples are:
| Awarding Body | Qualification |
|---|---|
| ASDAN | Sports & Fitness Short Course |
| ASDAN | Leadership Short Course |
| ASDAN | Enterprise Short Course |
| ASDAN | Careers & Experiencing Work |
| NCFE | Level 1 Certificate in Sport |
| NCFE | Level 2 Certificate in Gym Instructing |
| NCFE | Level 1 Award: Principles of Coaching Sport |
| NCFE | Entry Level Certificate: Personal & Social Development |
| NCFE | Entry Level Award: Employability Skills |
| NCFE | Coping with Change · Managing Social Relationships · Problem Solving Skills for Work |
| NCFE | Understanding Money at Work · Getting Ready for Interviews · Managing Your Time |
| NCFE | Work with Others in a Business Environment |
From referral to transition: a clear, structured journey
Every young person goes through the same phased process. It is relationship-first, never rushed, and designed to reduce anxiety and build trust before learning begins.
Warm Referral & Welcome
Centre videos sent on referral. Reassurance call with parents, carers, and the young person. Relationship-building starts before they walk through the door.
Phased Induction (4 weeks)
Week 1: safety and belonging. Week 2: baseline wellbeing check-in, needs & strengths. Week 3: co-produced Personalised Support Plan with SMART goals. Week 4: settled into timetable.
Provision & Embedded Mentoring
1–3 days per week. Groups of 5–10. Personalised timetable. Every staff member is a mentor: 1:1 sessions, group mentoring, community mentor visits.
Progress & Review
Six-weekly goal reviews. Ongoing wellbeing tracking. Feedback from young people. Portfolio of real-world outputs. Structured reports to commissioners.
Supported Transition
Phased, planned reintegration into school, college, apprenticeship, or employment. Transition summary for receiving provision.
Setting goals. Building plans. Achieving them.
Mentoring at PYF is not a timetabled slot. It is the thread running through every interaction, every session, and every day, built around what is possible, not what has gone wrong.
What mentoring looks like at PYF
Every young person has a named mentor. That person delivers formal 1:1 sessions, tracks goals, writes progress notes, and is the first call for the commissioning school. But they are also just the adult who shows up, checks in, and genuinely cares.
All staff act as mentors throughout the day: a mentoring moment happens in a break, a car journey, a shared meal in the café. The formal session gives it structure; the relationship gives it meaning.
Young people also meet community mentors: local business owners, entrepreneurs and community figures who share their journeys and inspire through lived experience. Mentors who look like the futures our young people could have.
The 12 themes to discover
We evidence what actually changes
Progress for young people experiencing EBSA, SEMH needs, trauma or neurodivergence is individual and non-linear. Our outcomes framework is built to capture what actually changes.
Goal Reviews
A minimum of 3 SMART goals set at induction, co-written with a mentor, reviewed every 6 weeks.
Wellbeing Tracking
A validated wellbeing scale, completed at induction, week 6 and week 12.
Portfolios
Real-world outputs: films, podcasts, business plans, fitness logs. Evidence-based, not simulated.
Feedback & Voice
Structured feedback from young people at 12 weeks and exit. Their voice captured verbatim, every session.
What success looks like
- Demonstrable progress from baseline against each agreed SMART goal
- Improved wellbeing score from induction to exit
- Improved attendance and sustained engagement throughout provision
- Young people engaging in the community
- Young people discovering their passion and purpose
- Successful entry or re-entry into education, training or employment
- Young people enjoying their education
- Accredited qualification achieved where the young person is ready
- Young people building skills relevant to life
- Young people gaining confidence and resilience
- Young people starting businesses
What the people we work with say
When we first started working with PYF, we shared the young person's care plan and risk assessment. From this, PYF created a scheme of work for our team, and what struck us was how clearly the specific details from that care plan and risk assessment were woven into the planning – creating a genuinely bespoke, trauma-informed working document.
Since sessions began, our young person has gained real independence from the team here and started to develop his identity beyond the home. He was nervous to begin with, but has come to really value his one-to-one sessions with PYF, they've been so effective that he now feels ready to take on other education provision alongside them. He's reading more and taking more risks, with far less fear of failure or rejection.
I'd certainly recommend PYF to other homes and settings. Education for many of the young people we care for just doesn't work, and the complexity of their lives often creates extra barriers on top of that. Communication with PYF has been excellent throughout, and we've worked really cohesively to support the programme – I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing where things go for him next.
— Residential Home Manager
Real-world learning that fits around home education
We work with home educated young people who want structure, social contact and real-world skills without stepping back into a full-time setting. Young people can join PYF flexibly: a single session, a day a week, one curriculum block, wellbeing and gym access, or a fuller timetable, alongside their existing home education, accessing the same five-block curriculum, embedded mentoring and real-world outputs.
Because the offer flexes rather than the young person, it works equally well as a light-touch top-up for a confident home educator, or as consistent structure and adult relationships for a young person who needs more of both.
What home education support looks like
- Built around your existing home education, not instead of it
- Small groups of 5–10, or 1:1 sessions where that fits better
- Access to the same curriculum blocks, mentoring and real-world outputs as our AP placements
- Access to the Gym & Wellbeing Club and holiday activities
- Same safeguarding oversight and named mentor, whatever the timetable
A dedicated fitness and wellbeing space, built for young people
We're building a fitness and wellbeing space to fill the gap left by adult, ladies-only and over-50s gyms across England: not a gym with a youth label on it, but alternative provision and youth work delivered through fitness. Functional fitness, boxing, a café and more, all wrapped in the same safeguarding, mentoring and youth work standards behind everything else we do.
A taste of what's coming
- Functional fitness & boxing
- A café, run in part by young people
- Space for creativity and downtime
- Early evening and weekend access, alongside daytime provision
- The same safeguarding and youth work standards as everything else we do
We're actively exploring partnerships with local sports clubs and community spaces to bring this to life sooner.
Support doesn't stop when term ends
For many of the young people we work with, school holidays are when structure, routine and relationships disappear, and that's often when things start to slip. Our holiday activities keep that consistency going, running through the Gym & Wellbeing Club so young people stay connected, active and supported even when there's no timetable bringing them in.
Sessions draw on the same curriculum blocks as term-time provision: fitness and boxing, enterprise challenges, creative projects, just packaged as shorter, holiday-friendly activities that any young person can drop into.
What's on through the holidays
- Open access to the Gym & Wellbeing Club through the holidays
- Fitness, boxing and sport sessions
- Short enterprise & creative mini-projects
- Mentoring check-ins continue: no gap in the relationship
- Same safeguarding standards as term-time provision
Safeguarding is never an afterthought
Every element of provision is underpinned by robust safeguarding practice, aligned with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children: embedded in induction, daily provision, and our weekly "gut feelings" staff meeting.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
- Darren Cox, DSL, Foster Carer, Norfolk County Council
Staff & Training
- Enhanced DBS: all staff
- Annual safeguarding training: all staff
- Designated Safeguarding Person-level training: DSL
- Reflective supervision and CPD throughout the year
- Weekly professional curiosity sessions: concerns surfaced early
Data, Insurance & Compliance
- Hiscox insured · ICO registered: ZC119895
- UK GDPR compliant
- Microsoft 365 / SharePoint, AES-256 encrypted data
- EVOLVE registered for all off-site activities
- CIC registered in England & Wales: No. 17008640
Our policies, open for anyone to read
Transparency matters to us. Below are our current safeguarding and organisational policies; open any of them directly in your browser, or download a copy to keep.
Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy
How we keep young people safe: reporting routes, designated leads, and our approach to concerns.
Online Safety Policy
How we support young people to use digital platforms and devices safely, on-site and online.
Code of Conduct for Learners
What we expect from young people at PYF, and what they can expect from us in return.
Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, store and protect personal data in line with UK GDPR.
Review & Complaints Policy
How we handle feedback and complaints, and the process for raising and resolving a concern.
Can't find a policy?
Get in touch and we'll send over anything else you need, including our full information pack.
Darren Cox
25+ years' experience in teaching, coaching & mentoring, youth work, mental health, fostering and senior leadership. Everything we do is built on experience in education, youth work, community development and young persons voice. We understand what disengagement really looks like, and what it actually takes to turn it around.
We are approved on both the Norfolk County Council SEMH and Vocational Framework and the Suffolk County Council Alternative Education Rolling Select List. We are a Community Interest Company.
Want to know more? Get in touch via email, phone, text or WhatsApp: we make it straightforward
Referrals are accepted from schools, SENCOs, inclusion leads, virtual schools, and local authority SEND and inclusion teams. We can also be commissioned directly via the Norfolk and Suffolk AP frameworks. Parents and carers are just as welcome to get in touch directly, using the details below.
What we will need you to send us
- Referral form or commissioning schedule
- Any EHCP, SEND support plan, or records relating to exclusion (including behaviour reports / risk assessment)
- Previous provision records and attendance history
- Academic performance reports and records of additional health needs
- Commissioning school contact details
- Eligibility for free school meals and any other important information
- Virtual School Head contact, if the young person is LAC
- Parent or carer consent and emergency contact details: we can support to obtain these
We know referrals aren't always straightforward. We're happy to work alongside referrers to keep the young person at the centre of every decision, and if you haven't got everything figured out yet, that's not a barrier. Give us a call, and we'll talk it through and flex wherever we can, so the young person doesn't lose out while things are being worked out.
What happens next
We review the referral
and make contact within 5 working days to confirm our position.
Welcome communication
sent to the young person, family and commissioning party.
Reassurance call
with parents, carers, and where appropriate the young person.
Pre-start visit
arranged: the young person sees the space before day one.
Induction begins
relationship first, baseline in week two, plan by week three.