Future Pathways Learning For Girls And LGBTQ+ Youth

Future Pathwyas Learning

Specialist Alternative Provision | Ages 14–25 with SEND

Know Me. Develop Me. Progress Me

Future Pathways is Proud to Be Me CIC’s specialist alternative provision, providing a supportive, inclusive and identity-affirming environment for young people aged 14–25 with SEND who may need a different approach to learning and progression.

Our provision combines personal development with practical learning, vocational opportunities, employability and wellbeing. We focus on understanding the individual young person — their strengths, needs, identity, experiences, aspirations and barriers — and building a pathway around them.

What young people can access

Future Pathways brings together our Reflections personal development curriculum, vocational hair and beauty, employability and work experience, enterprise, life skills, wellbeing and progression planning. Learning is practical, relational and designed to help young people reconnect with education while developing skills they can use beyond the classroom.

Our Reflections curriculum includes confidence and self-esteem, emotional resilience, trauma and behaviour, healthy relationships and boundaries, health and wellbeing, identity and belonging, digital wellbeing, personal safety, financial literacy and employability, alongside VAWG and County Lines exploitation from the perspective and lived experiences of women, girls and LGBTQ+ young people.

The provision supports girls, and LGBTQ+ young people, including those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), with a focus on re-engagement, wellbeing and progression.

More than academic progress

We want young people to leave Future Pathways with a stronger understanding of themselves, greater confidence, practical skills, evidence of achievement and a clearer idea of what comes next. Progression may include further education, training, qualifications, work experience, employment, self-employment or another appropriate pathway.

Young people also receive a Future Pathways Welcome Pack, which can include a planner or notebook, stationery, water bottle, toiletries, dental products, period products where appropriate, hair and skincare products and a sensory item.

Referrals & commissioning

Future Pathways is accessed through referrals and commissioning from schools, local authorities and other appropriate referring organisations. We work collaboratively with the professionals and families around the young person to understand suitability, support needs, intended outcomes and progression goals.

Programme Offer

Students attend three days per week (Monday-Wednesday, 10am–3pm), receiving structured, consistent support aligned with EHCP outcomes and individual development goals.

Location: Lewisham.
Commissioning Rate: £220 per student per day.

Therapeutic Support (Commissioned Add-Ons)

To enhance outcomes and provide targeted specialist support, the following therapies can be commissioned alongside the placement:

Counselling: £120 per session (2 sessions per week recommended)
Speech & Language Support: £110 per session (2 sessions per week recommended)

Referrers can:

Commission the recommended 2 sessions per week
Reduce to 1 session per week
Or opt out of therapies, depending on assessed need and available funding

These supports are designed to strengthen emotional wellbeing, communication skills and overall engagement in education.

Outcomes

Young people are supported to:

Re-engage with education and learning.
Improve confidence, attendance and emotional resilience.
Reduce risk and increase awareness of safety and exploitation.
Work towards EHCP outcomes and personal development goals.
Progress into education, training or wider opportunities.

Programme Download

We Offer

1:1 and small group mentoring.
Emotional regulation and wellbeing support.
Confidence and self-esteem development.
Creative and vocational learning activities.
PSHE-informed sessions (healthy relationships, safety, digital wellbeing, financial literacy)
Exploitation awareness and safeguarding education.
Identity-affirming support for girls, trans girls and LGBTQ+ young people.
Support with engagement, routine, communication and independence skills.
Personalised progression planning.

Who This Is For

This programme is suitable for girls and LGBTQ+ young people who have

Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
Autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent profiles.
Anxiety, low confidence or emotionally based school avoidance.
Trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
Risk of exclusion or disengagement from education.
Vulnerability to exploitation (including County Lines and VAWG-related harms)
Challenges linked to identity, belonging or discrimination, particularly. LGBTQ+ young people who may feel unsafe or unsupported in mainstream settings.

Future Pathways may be appropriate for young people who need a smaller, more relational and flexible learning environment, including young people with SEND, SEMH needs, autism or ADHD, emotionally based school avoidance, experiences of trauma or adverse childhood experiences, risk of exclusion, concerns around exploitation, or barriers connected to identity and discrimination. Suitability is considered individually rather than through a one-size-fits-all approach.

Young people attend through a formal referral and commissioned placement. Before starting, we gather relevant information about the young person, including their learning and support needs, intended outcomes and any safeguarding considerations. This helps us plan an appropriate programme and identify whether additional support is required.

The young person remains connected to their referring school, local authority or commissioning organisation while Proud to Be Me CIC provides the agreed placement and reports on attendance, engagement, progress and outcomes.

Our approach recognises that progress depends on more than what happens during a lesson. We work with the young person and, where appropriate, their parent or carer, school, local authority and wider professional network. Additional support such as 1:1 provision, counselling, Functional Skills or specialist input can be considered according to the commissioned package and individual need.

Progress is reviewed throughout the placement using attendance, participation, portfolio evidence, practical achievements, personal-development outcomes and progression goals. Reviews provide an opportunity to recognise progress, identify emerging needs and agree the young person’s next steps.

Call to Action

Submit a referral to receive full programme details.

Referrals & Commissioning

Places at Future Pathways Learning are accessed through referral and commissioning rather than direct enrolment by families. Commissioning arrangements vary between local authorities, so the first point of contact should usually be the young person’s school, college or local authority — often the SEND/SEN team where the young person has additional needs or an EHCP. Referrals may be made by schools, local authorities or other authorised education professionals, who will consider the young person’s needs, suitability of the provision and funding arrangements. Parents and carers are welcome to contact Proud to Be Me CIC to discuss whether Future Pathways may be suitable; however, the referring school or local authority will normally need to agree and fund the placement before it can begin.

Guide to refer

Make a referral