We identify the strengths in young people, 
we unleash their potential

MISSION ME CIC

Mission Me CIC is an Education and Employment Social Enterprise in Herefordshire focused on improving outcomes for young people from rural communities aged between 13 - 21 years old. 

As a Social Enterprise any profits we generate are reinvested to provide services for the communities we support. We are not a charity, we are pioneering a new business model with a valuable business proposition that is sustainable, ethical and socially aware. 

OUR MISSION
Transform the outcomes of vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in rural communities 

OUR BELIEFS

At Mission Me we believe every young person has the potential to have a positive and transformative impact on their own lives, within their local community and across wider society. We believe understanding and developing core skills and talents is the starting block to build a young person’s confidence. 

Our theory of change is based on our CONFIDENCE FIRST model; by building confidence, aligning young people’s passion and purpose in life, and creating new opportunities for them to realise their potential, we can:
  • help young people access aspirational careers and vocations

  • ignite a life-long love of continuous development and learning

  • develop higher levels of well-being, self-belief, readiness and a strong personal ethos that will aid them through the rest of their lives.
OUR VALUES

  • We are rooted in the communities we serve, this provides context to the young person’s environment and a local support network. 
  • We contribute to the health of the local community, we build local partnerships, we adapt to the local economy and we employ local people. 
  • We consider all aspects of the young person, we make no assumptions, we take our lead from where the young person is at the point we meet them. 
  • Our goals are personalised and aligned to the young person’s aspirations and their academic and life potential. 
  • We provide a deep front-line service for young people that can provide other organisations and agencies the ability to engage in a more informed and impactful way.

“…projections suggest that school closures will widen the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. The median estimate indicates that the gap would widen by 36%. However, there is a high level of uncertainty around this average. Plausible “good” and “bad” estimates range from the gap widening from 11% to 75%.”

 - Impact of school closures on the attainment gap report 
Education Endowment Foundation

THE ATTAINMENT GAP

Disadvantaged and vulnerable young people are less likely to achieve the necessary GCSE grades for them to pursue careers in skilled employment. This impacts their future career opportunities which means they are less likely to break out of their socio-economic position. This leads to a cycle of disadvantage, and a loss of belief that things can change. 

During the past five years, despite efforts to close the attainment gap all regions with the exception of London have seen the gap widen. The recent school closures in response to the Covid-19 outbreak have only served to widen the gap even further. 

RURAL POVERTY

For many young people, the ‘rural idyll’ of living in the countryside is far from reality. There are no cinemas, clubs, or other facilities their counterparts in urban areas take for granted. Employment opportunities are often limited as are skilled work-experiences placements and access to good careers and employment support. This isolation from services is often made worse by a lack of transport options and hidden poverty. National programmes focused on young people tend to centre around cities and towns with higher densities than the market towns and villages which are the landscape of rural communities.  

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