What we do Schools Programme SOHK Schools Programme The School Of Hard Knocks (SOHK) is working with 877 young people in 29 schools across the UK. The SOHK Schools Programme consists of a unique combination of rugby-based sessions, specialist mentoring, and indoor group discussions and activities. Combined with SOHK's psychology as well as the stability and consistency of the relationships that our staff build with SOHK participants, we enable young people to make positive changes to their behaviours, attitudes, and mindset and give them the ability to recognise their personal growth. The Impact of Our Schools Programme "School Of Hard Knocks has been incredibly professional and has dealt with some of our most difficult students in some challenging situations. Most of the boys that you have worked with have been simply transformed if I am honest - there is no simpler way to put it. There has been a significant reduction in behaviour points, the attendance for most has increased as has their punctuality. "The biggest and most pleasing change has been the level of respect they seem to show to each other and to other students and even staff around the school. I firmly believe this is because they have more empathy towards others and more confidence in themselves thanks to the work you have done with them. "Seeing the young people develop friendships within the cohort has been great too, and the self-esteem gain from this has seen a few of them really improve academic effort and courage to take more risks in class." Amanda Humphrey, Head of Year 9, Thomas Alleyne Academy How the SOHK Schools Programme Works The SOHK Schools Programme is a two-year intervention that supports its beneficiaries using a three-pronged approach. Outdoor rugby sessions help to physicalise the challenges our participants face and are then supported by social and emotional learning sessions that cover different topics and highlight various issues that our young people face today. We then nurture participants‘ individual growth by ensuring that every young person receives one-to-one support from a qualified SOHK Social & Emotional Learning Lead. All three of these activities work within SOHK's 3Cs framework. 'The 3Cs' is built on an evidence-based sport for development framework and has been adapted over the years to best apply to our beneficiaries. SOHK believes that for our participants to realise their potential and go on to fulfil it, they need confidence, control, and connection; all of SOHK‘s activities seek to improve these things. DOWNLOAD OUR SCHOOLS PROGRAMME TERMLY BREAKDOWN The Need for Our Schools Programme Since the end of the UK lockdown, the need for SOHK's work in Schools has grown exponentially. In its COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing surveillance report, the UK government's evidence revealed that children's and young people’s mental health and wellbeing had been substantially impacted during the pandemic. As such, School Of Hard Knocks has seen a large increase in the number of schools seeking support for their pupils. We are yet to understand the full impact of two years of disrupted education for a whole generation of school-aged students, but the anecdotal observation from SOHK staff is that many more students appear to show signs of disengagement from school or disruptive, challenging behaviour than before COVID-19. Prior to Covid-19 the SOHK Schools Programme was being run in 15 schools for 305 pupils, but since then the need has dramatically risen. In 2023, the charity worked with 1,787 pupils (13-16) in 37 schools in the UK, which is an astonishing 485% increase. How We Choose Our Schools Programme Participants SOHK targets schools primarily in areas of London, Hertfordshire, Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh with high levels of deprivation and where there is a clear need for external pupil support. Our schools are all in the first to the third most deprived deciles within the Index of Multiple Deprivation. We ask schools to identify cohorts of pupils who may not be thriving in schools for various reasons. This includes the following factors: Displaying behavioural issues Having a chaotic home life Special Education Needs At risk of exclusion in school Chronically low confidence and self-esteem. GET IN TOUCH Manage Cookie Preferences