From surviving to thriving

The Foyer Federation recognises four distinct levels of livelihood, which map where young people may be at on a continuum towards thriving. We have modified this table for the purposes of the Model.66

Where the young person is at

To assist a young person to navigate through these levels of livelihood – from surviving towards thriving – the EFY Foyer starts with where the young person is at. The EFY Foyer strives to enable each young person to identify who they are now, who they want to be in the future and what they want to do.

Throughout their EFY Foyer journey, young people engage with a series of questions that encourage them to develop a good enough/or stable enough sense of self so they can successfully navigate the world and their futures.

The questions include:

What do you think you are good at?

How do you see yourself?

How would you describe yourself?

What do you stand for?

What do you like/don’t like?

What holds you back?

What helps you move forward?

What pushes your buttons?

What tips you over the edge?

What settles you?

What or who inspires you?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

What expectations do you have of yourself?

What expectations do you have of others?

What are you like as a friend/partner?

What do you value in other people?

What happens for you, when you get a compliment?

What happens for you when you are criticised?

 

...the EFY Foyer starts with where the young person is at.

 

EFY Foyer staff will work with where the young people are at, and nurture their capabilities to:

  • overcome any limiting mindsets
  • build aspiration and achievement
  • grow existing strengths and nurture talents.

Through delivery of the 6 Service Offers the EFY Foyer enables each young person to identify and develop the capabilities that will enable them to thrive and to build an independent livelihood.

What capabilities do young people need to develop sustainable livelihoods?

Clearly a stable enough sense of self is not sufficient for young people to make the transition to adulthood. Young people need to develop both internal (such as a stable sense of self) and external assets (such as coaches and mentors) to have greater control over their lives and become independent yet connected adults. The Model, including the 6 Service Offers and 5 Key Partnerships, is founded on the recognition of some of the key experiences, opportunities, skills and attributes that young people need to do this.

Education First Youth Foyers utilise the evidence-informed asset matrix developed by the UK Foyer Federation to identify the key assets, skills, attributes and character capabilities necessary for young people to transition successfully to adulthood.67 This matrix resonates with the youth asset framework developed by YSAS68 and informed by Ungar,69 which recognises the central importance of a young person’s sense of self and the influence this has on their future outcomes.

Further personal and social character capabilities for young people to transition successfully into the workplace are also outlined by the Foyer Federation in its Access All Areas report. These include application, self-regulation, empathy, self-understanding and social skills.70 And work done by the BSL and Hanover also points to capabilities such as self-esteem, confidence, and motivation, team work, interacting and working with others, problem solving and personal presentation, attendance and punctuality as pivotal to accessing and sustaining employment.

It is essential that these skills, capabilities and attributes are, in the first instance, recognised and subsequently nurtured through opportunities afforded by the EFY Foyer experience, including the Open Talent practice approach.

Throughout their EFY Foyer journey, young people engage with a series of questions that encourage them to develop a good enough/or stable enough sense of self so they can successfully navigate the world and their futures.

From surviving to thriving

Download the Footnotes from Practice Framework (PDF, 90KB)

Artwork title: Abstract 
Artist: Saphire Thomas

Orange is for passion… the abstract was to put a bit of feeling and emotion into it