Impact Report 2020-21
Yr 12 pilot programme peer-mentors, 2020
Headlines
Background
The Oppidan Foundation has worked with over 350 young people in the academic year 2020-21. A team of 75 inspiring young adults work with our student peer-mentors, training them in weekly sessions and continuing to support, guide, and advise throughout the term through our app. In partnership with Oppidan Education, the Oppidan Foundation is delighted to be launching The Summer Programme; work experience open to all student mentors.
Half Yr 12 mentors and mentees on Zoom briefing May 2020
Following a year of development, The Oppidan foundation received its official charity status in August 2020. Having grown from an idea, through research and pilot schemes with several brilliant schools in London, we were delighted to be an official charity. Our programmes had been run face-to-face until Covid struck. We transitioned to virtual mentor training during lockdown and found the programme continued to be effective with more students than ever recognising the value and need to support their peers following the long periods of homeschooling. Oppidan Foundation now runs a hybrid blend of faceto-face and virtual programmes, training aspirational peer mentors to mentor younger students in the same school. The programmes have now supported over 700 children in 12 schools and academy trusts across the UK. We continue to innovate our programmes and hope to support many more young people across 20 schools next year. A huge thanks to all the support and donations so far. - Olivia Buckland Director of Operations
www.oppidanfoundation.com
Youth Ambassador 2021 by Halima, Graduate Peer-Mentor 2019-20, Oppidan Foundation Youth Ambassador 2021
mentor, Daisy Halima & her OF
In 2019, I heard about the Oppidan Foundation Mentoring program when they visited my school. Immediately, I applied. I’ve always loved working and building relationships with the people around me. In our first session, we were introduced to our mentors. For the next 6 weeks, my mentor was so helpful teaching me how to better my communication skills, bettering simple things I struggled with like eye contact and asking questions. I also got to benefit from understanding how much development programs like these help young people. When I was in Year 7, if I had had the Oppidan program, I would have known that I could take ownership of my confidence and how I carried myself through secondary school. When it came to the time for me to mentor a Year 7 student, I felt like I was equipped to guide them through any troubles they had to the best of my abilities. At first, there were some nerves, but eventually, my mentee really opened up and seemed to enjoy that somebody cared about things further than his academic achievements. By the second week, he was excited to update me on the things that he enjoyed and what he was looking forward to in the future. I was amazed by the progress I had seen in my mentee and can really attribute it all to the program. It not only benefitted me in learning how to grow in confidence and how to effectively communicate but ultimately, it benefitted my mentee, who had grown massively in confidence in the short time that he was in the program. Since then, I continue working with the Oppidan program and am looking forward to attending The Summer Programme week in Hammersmith, in August.
Our programme "It is going absolutely brilliantly, students are loving it and getting lots from the whole experience. They are really buzzing about it and can't wait to start mentoring year 7 students after half term." - Head of 6th Form, Northampton
Students dedicate an hour every week to personal development and up-skilling, thus embedding a focus on personal excellence into their routine. Mentors become role models, advisors and guides: they help students develop skills, ownership and aspiration. The programme has been described as “exciting and groundbreaking” me by Karen Emmett, Head of 6th Form at Chiswick School.
Research
My mentor
Year 12 Mentor
Year 12 Mentor
My training pair
My mentees
Year 7 Mentee
My mentees
Year 7 Mentee Year 7 Mentee
Year 7 Mentee
The Oppidan Summer Programme
Estimating the Impact of Social Entrepreneurship using Causal Inference. R. Pandey, 2021 Over the past year, The Oppidan Foundation has been working alongside Raksham Pandey of KU Leuven University, to better understand the impact of our peer-mentoring programmes. The data collected since 2019 was compiled alongside new data and collection methods for 2020-21; providing quantitative and qualitative elements of the research-based thesis submitted to obtain the degree of Master of Science. The thesis was written solely on the work & impact of The Oppidan Foundation. The study found positive correlation between participation on the programme and self-reported outcomes. We wish Raksham the very best following the submission and upcoming defence of his thesis. Thesis supervisor: Prof. dr. Frédéric Dufays
Mentor Jaideep in action
Programme 2021 Oppidan Summer
Final day together before the pitches!
"I was invited to the summer programme after taking part in the mentoring scheme at my school. Throughout the week I have experienced eyeopening talks by both members of the Oppidan team and guest speakers. Whilst my interests lie in science and psychology, the lectures on subjects such as Cryptocurrency, Branding and Investment Management have been incredibly memorable and informative. Alongside the talks we have had the task of designing a business project. This has allowed me to implement skills and knowledge from the presentations immediately making sure that I will never forget them. I have learnt so much over the course of just a few days and I would like to thank all of those at Oppidan for this opportunity." by Aarav Tribhuvan, Summer Programme 2021
Our thanks to Ruffer, Rory McIvor, Mikka Alon, Sharath Jeevan, Charles Robinson, Katy Roxburgh, Hugo McDonaugh, Ben Stevens, Joe Woolf, and The Oppidan HQ Team for making this fortnight so inspiring and successful for all taking part. ustee Josh with OF tr Day 5 lunch
www.oppidanfoundation.com
The Oppidan Foundation's school network The Oppidan Foundation's peermentoring programme has grown from three pilot schemes in London to over 12 schools across the UK. Our work is focused in maintained secondary schools and sixth forms. We continue to grow and looking ahead, hope to be working within 20 schools across the country by the end of 2022. Whether in Coventry, Derbyshire or Chiswick the principles of community and self-development are well received by the young people we work with and it is their feedback and support of the programme that propels us to continue!
Student stats Lent & Summer term 2021
149
Young people applied to join a peer-mentor trianing programme in 2021.
124
Number of students we were able to fund to train to become peer-mentors
372
Total number of students involved in an Oppidan Foundation programme this term (Y12 + Y7)
Impact
84%
Told us that they want their school to have a stronger sense of community hence applying to be peer-mentors
"I want to be on the mentoring programme because we all know how hard it is to start secondary school. So if I can allow someone to have an easier year then that will be an amazing achievement." - Y12 Student application
Impact The Oppidan Foundation's peer-mentoring programme works closely with each partner school to understand and monitor the areas of each students' life where the most impact is being had as a result of the mentoring. We measure impact throughout the programmes using self-reflective surveys resulting in both quantitative and qualitative data which we also use to continue to improve our programmes. The below impact data is taken from a sample of 170 Year 12 students.
Impact
92% of students developed new skills on the programme!
"I am looking forward to making change and having a positive impact on my mentees. I want them to look up to me as a role model and help them become a better version of themselves and for them to help me learn new things and see life from another persons perspective."
Impact
100%
of Year 12 students said their self-confidence grew thanks to the programme
97%
of students have never had a mentor, and can see the benefit for everyone
"Personally it was great experience for me . It has boosted my personal skills and it has gave me a advantage for the future."
"This programme has made me feel more confident about how to guide younger students and has made me more committed to my aspirations for the future."
94%
of Year 12 student mentors reported an increase in their resilience
"It was a lot more useful than I initially thought it would be. It was great to be able to express to my mentor aspects of my life that I barely ever talk about, and I also was able to get multiple perspectives on challenges that I am facing. On top of PILOT COHORT 2020 that, my mentor was amazing at boosting my self-confidence, and really made me feel as if I’m more that just a background character in life."
www.oppidanfoundation.com
Partnerships The Oppidan Foundation is delighted to be partnered with the following organisations; working together to provide support for all students on our programmes with further opportunities. All students have the option to access work experience, accredit their volunteering, and receive support as they transition from secondary school into careers or further education. To date, all graduates of the peer-mentoring programme have recieved UCAS and CV support; 100% have been matched with relevant work experience.
Trustees The Oppidan Foundation wishes to thank the Board of Trustees for its guidance & support throughout our first year of operation. As we continue to grow, we look forward to welcoming two further trustees to the board in September. For more info on the team, please visit our website.
Charles Parker
Walter Kerr
Haley Yearwood
Henry Faber
Joshua Adeyemi
Fundraising We are so grateful to our early donors who believed in our mission; to reduce the risk of exclusions in secondary schools in the United Kingdom, through the development of a strong peer-mentoring network and systemic support within school communities. To date, we have raised just over £100k from generous donors. Of this, £80k will be held in reserve to ensure the foundation can continue to run, the remaining £20k has been used to fund our current cycle (2020-21) schools programmes through the 50% Oppidan Foundation co-investment model. We are also incredibly grateful to The Kent Community Foundation, The David Friday Memorial Fund, The Kensington and Chelsea Foundation, and The Ana Leaf Foundation; all of whom have generously awarded The Oppidan Foundation support which will enable our work to continue.
Events
mentors in training Tom (right) and Walter & gradu ate Pee giving an r-Men
www.oppidanfoundation.com
assembly
tors (Y13 ) to new Y12 cohor t!
Keep an eye out for upcoming community and fundraising events! If you have an event you're looking for a charity partner for, or a marathon you want to run... and looking for a brilliant charity to support... Get in touch!
@oppidan_fdn Registered Charity No. 1190682