Learning is a new goal for many youngsters

Jun 12 2007 By The Journal

Plans to educate and train hard-to-reach children and young adults in Middlesbrough have been given a major boost with the opening of a state-of-the-art learning centre.

The Herlingshaw Education Centre in Eston will use the central theme of football to reach those youngsters who have been excluded from school, and young adults who - for one reason or another - are finding it hard to find employment.

The centre, which has received £220,000 of funding from One NorthEast through the Tees Valley Partnership, is the brainchild of Middlesbrough Football in the Community and combines office and storage space together with three new classrooms, each named with a Middlesbrough FC theme.

Minister of State for Work and Welfare Reform Jim Murphy, Middlesbrough Chief Executive Keith Lamb and One NorthEast board member Kate Welch officially opened the Herlingshaw Centre, by touring the classrooms - health suite The Holgate End; the literacy and numeracy centre, Ayresome Park; and an IT room known as The Gibson Suite.

Using the badge of Middlesbrough FC as its vanguard - and the club's players and staff as an inspiration to students - Boro's Football First scheme delivers Entry to Employment learning on behalf of the Tees Valley Learning and Skills Council to re-engage young people from the Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar areas.

Football First's Entry to Employment course inspires those not previously in employment, education or training (NEET) by improving their literacy and numeracy skills, raising their self-esteem and improving their overall health and fitness.

More than 40 young people have already benefited from the football-themed learning programme with another 47 set to take part by the end of July.

Jim Murphy said: "The common perception of football is it exists only to make some talented men multi-millionaires over a short period of time. Look around here and see what else a football club can do and it's important to celebrate that.

"Some football clubs, like this one, haven't lost the connection with the communities they serve."

The Herlingshaw Centre was previously used just for football games, but it will now play a key role in delivering education programmes to excluded individuals from deprived areas.

Kate Welch said: "It's vital we offer as much support to local youngsters and adults as we can, and that's where the goals of One NorthEast, Tees Valley Partnership and Middlesbrough Football in the Community are the same.

"As the regional development agency for the North East, we want to give people as great a chance as possible to access education, employment and training, so that they can go on to meet the needs of local employers for staff with the right attitudes and skills. That's exactly what the Herlingshaw Education Centre will do."

George Cook, Director of Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community, said: "The funding from One NorthEast has enabled us to transform a previously under-utilised building into an education centre that has a real benefit for the local community.

"Along with the excellent work being carried out with the NEET group, we deliver education for secondary schoolchildren who are considered to be on the verge of exclusion. Working with the schools, we have enjoyed excellent success rates that our new facilities can only enhance and improve."

Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community's partners in the Herlingshaw Education Centre are Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and the local primary care trusts.