Sir Norman Lamb Coalition for Young People
Working together to create a brighter future
Sir Norman Lamb and Norfolk Community Foundation have established an innovative Coalition of Norfolk-based VCSE organisations working with children and young people to help strengthen their existing services and encourage and promote innovation to enrich our children and young people’s lives.
Building a brighter future, together
The Coalition is open to voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations providing services in Norfolk to children and young people in the 0-25 years age range and who actively contribute to their wellbeing.
Being part of the Coalition provides an opportunity to develop a groups existing offer, recognising the value of the vital support they provide to young people, with an ambition to show how Norfolk can lead the way by coming together to make a real difference.
By providing access to shared resources and opportunities including funding and training, sharing good practice, raising the profile of the work groups do, and linking up with larger countywide and national networks, the Coalition enables groups to have a seat at the table and grow as an organisation.
Since being established in November 2020, over 50 community organisations supporting more than 10,000 young people across Norfolk have joined, accessing over £1,000,000 worth of support.
“Coming to the centre helped me build my confidence. I went from a shy, insecure, awkward, depressed boy to a confident, happy, funny lad.”
What do members say?
“As a small charity, belonging to the Coalition means we have a level of support that would otherwise not exist for us. We’ve been able to access training opportunities, funding, linking with other organisations that just would otherwise have not been possible. I cannot recommend the Coalition enough, it has been and continues to be transformational.”
“The value of the Coalition to Musical Keys has been huge! Initially we were incredibly happy that the Coalition seemed to ‘get us’ as a charity, but then all the additional support provided by Cindee and the team along with the opportunities for networking with likeminded organisations really made it possible to ensure our services are now delivering genuinely positive outcomes for our participants! There’s no drama, no red tape – the coalition just seem to want to help deliver the best possible outcomes. Wonderful!”
“Your funding has helped so many young people go from simply surviving to thriving.”
“Being a member of the Coalition is all about connection and collaboration. We have built relationships with other community organisations, enabling us to come together and provide therapeutic support directly to young people at the point they need it. This has strengthened our response as a service supporting young people with their mental health, by collaborating and communicating, making accessing support easier and quicker for young people.”
“The Coalition feels very inclusive with all organisations having the same goal, to support children and young people to be able to better meet their mental health needs. It has also given us access to valuable training and funding and allowed our voices to be heard and fed into the bigger picture. Being a Coalition member makes us feel like we are not alone, we are valued and are all working towards the same outcomes.”
Involving young people
Young people’s involvement is key to the Coalition and whilst we have involved young people in our grants decision making panel each year, this year as part of our Flourish pledge we involved young people in assessing the applications, coming on visits with us to see first-hand the support provided by some of the groups, and helping to decide the grants awarded at the panel meeting.
The three Youth Panel members taking part were brilliant. They asked insightful questions and gave excellent feedback to help with the grant award decisions, with the other panel members really valuing their views and feedback.
Involvement in the grants assessment process was a personal challenge for all of the young people, but they were each prepared to push their boundaries and following the process fed back that they had enjoyed taking part, that it had increased their self-confidence and had gained new skills.
We want to thank Lola Stafford Consulting for their support with this.
Feedback on young people’s involvement
“I enjoyed it because I could help people and I could see the impact that it had on the charities and organisations.”
“I think the thing that impressed us the most was the way the young people were so clearly valued and that their opinions really mattered. I think this is a really special thing that makes a lot of sense, as the young people represent the service users of the charities involved. However in practice I don’t think this happens very much. My son felt his contributions were really listened to and valued and that he was speaking on behalf of other disabled people.”
“I think it was just a great opportunity to answer questions from the young person, really bringing in a holistic view of why the programme is needed. Also, it was great to see that the young people are being involved in a process which will actually impact them, embracing youth voice.”
Interested in supporting us to ensure this work can continue?
We know that Covid-19 has left our young people with more worries, difficulties and challenges than ever before. But through the work of the Coalition, Norfolk is leading the way in demonstrating how coming together can make a difference to youth mental health.
We can only keep young people safe and well with your support. Help us to continue providing organisations with the funding, resources and network they need to grow and innovate. Together, we can ensure that our children and young people have a safe and trusted place to be, preventing them from deteriorating into crisis at a time when mental health services are under increasing pressure.
Want to be a part of something bigger?
What we offer members
We’ve been delighted with the impact of the Coalition in its first two years; now supporting over 50 organisations across Norfolk working with children and young people, including those with special education needs and disabilities.
With three online meetings and one in person meeting a year, members get an opportunity to network, hear from different speakers on a range of current topics and opportunities, and learn from one another. Monthly newsletters highlight the latest range of funding and training opportunities, as well as relevant local and national news.
Access to free training, delivered by expert speakers, has enabled members to develop and upskill staff on a range of topics including Youth Mental Health First Aid, trauma informed practice and keeping children safe online.
Being involved at every level
Members make a commitment to:
- Work toward the outcomes of the Coalition
- Work collaboratively with other members of the Coalition, contributing their expertise and support
- Take part in ongoing learning and development
- Meet a set of organisational and delivery standards
- Be an active member of the Coalition, including regular attendance at Coalition meetings
- Help disseminate the Coalition’s work
- Contribute to an evaluation process that demonstrates the power of the support members provide for young people and the impact of coming together
Working in partnership
The Coalition brings together a wide range of VCSE organisations who strongly believe in giving children and young people a bright future.
We are also pleased to be working in partnership with:
- Momentum (Norfolk) who are providing the Quality Standards
- The Voluntary Sector Forum (children, young people and families)
Build a brighter future
By working together, sharing experience and knowledge, and demonstrating the value of community support through an evidence based approach, we can create an exemplar in Norfolk – and a brighter future for our children and young people.
To become a member of the Coalition, please complete our membership form, confirming you agree to the terms of reference.