West London Zone & Impetus

Impetus led us to ask critical questions about our model and our impact that we wouldn’t have asked ourselves.

– Louisa Mitchell, CEO, West London Zone

The need: Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have, on average, weaker Social and Emotional Learning skills, which is linked with poorer mental health, lower academic attainment and poorer employment outcomes. Interventions that promote the development of these can lead to gains in academic performance.

Our charity partner: West London Zone helps children and young people build the relationships and skills they need to get on track socially, emotionally and academically to thrive in adulthood. The ‘zone’ in which West London Zone delivers spans 4 boroughs with 173 primary schools and 45 secondary schools. 14,000 children in the zone are ‘off-track’ with multiple interrelated needs. They find it hard to get the help they need because services tend to be fragmented and light touch.

Our Impact: We’ve supported West London Zone in developing their leadership team and helped them secure multi-year co-investment funding to ensure
their programme remains sustainable and can reach more young people. They are currently reaching 1,300 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in West London.