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Unlocking Potential

A decade of unlocking potential in young people

Partnerships are key, explains this charity co-founder who has been using his Donor Advised Fund to fund holistic mental health support in schools.

Fund type

Donor Advised Fund

Amount raised/granted

£3,191,666

Years

2015-2024

Background

Unlocking Potential seeks to address this inequality and lack of resources by providing flexible programmes of in-depth, over time, multi-disciplinary therapeutic support in schools for children, along with the support their families need, to enable every child to be the best version of themselves.

The charity serves children in schools, their families and the schools that support them, in order to meet needs which would otherwise not be met in the state-funded sector.

Unlocking Potential’s mission is to provide more children with tailored therapeutic support and equip them and their families with the confidence, tools and skills to enable them to thrive at school and in their lives.

Problem

The scale of the mental health challenges affecting children and young people is unprecedented and there is both inequality and clear lack of sufficient provision of therapeutic support for the mental health of children in schools.

Despite growing recognition of the importance of mental health support in education, funding remains inconsistent and insufficient. There are currently 150,000 children absent from school, a SEND education system under immense strain, and a mental health infrastructure stretched to its limits.

“My mission is about building and promoting partnerships. We’d love to do this in collaboration with government. At the moment, we’re having to do it ourselves. We need to bring together innovative charities from across different areas – not just from the mental health space – with government, philanthropists and donors to kickstart some innovative thinking.”

–– Stuart Roden. Co-founder

Impact

Unlocking Potential has already changed thousands of lives and it continues to expand. The charity’s early intervention model is delivering measurable outcomes:

100% of children said they had improved confidence and self-esteem

98% reported better emotional regulation

100% of parents in the parenting programme said their children could now manage their emotions more effectively

Unrestricted giving via the DAF has helped the charity target funding where it is needed most, whether to scale services, build infrastructure, or invest in innovation.

The charity is in the process of reviewing its current strategy with ambitious plans for expanding its reach to support more schools.