Fundraiser Info

Psst! We Need Your Support

We're raising funds for a North Devon and Torridge Family Mentoring Hub


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Donations small or large show our students that our community cares


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So What's It About?

We are looking to fundraise £183,000 for a family mentoring centre based in Onyx Business Park, Roundswell, Barnstaple.

Our centre will work with young people and their families to offer mentoring, tuition and counselling to the many students across North Devon and Torridge who are struggling with mental health, attendance or engagement at school and those not in employment, education or training.

  • £20,000 gets us in the door
  • £90,000 fits out our unit ready to welcome the public
  • £63,000 covers our core costs for the first year

Could you be a corporate sponsor?

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Just like our students and families, we'll treat our corporate sponsors like one of our team. To say thank you each corporate sponsor donating £250 or more will get:

  • Your logo displayed on our website and all our promotional material 
  • An 80 word bio and link to your website or service page
  • Shout outs and mentions in our press and social media

Who we're helping

Next Steps Tutors C.I.C. set up to meet the funding gaps we’ve found through the work of our first company Next Steps Education Ltd.

Next Steps Education Ltd began in 2021 and works with local authorities (Devon, Cornwall, Somerset) and local schools to support students not in school or finding school attendance challenging because of health reasons. Through this work we’ve found many students and families don’t meet the strict criteria set out for funding, meaning that many local students are going without education and support for reasons such as:

Having social anxiety or school anxiety and awaiting CAMHS support (which can take up to 4 years). GP evidence is not enough for a student to meet funding criteria
Having unmet SEND needs and stuck in the ECHP process, often whilst finding their current school setting too overwhelming. An EHCP can take 20 weeks or more. Many EHCP applications are refused or taken to tribunal, which can extend the process over 2 years. Only students with an awarded EHCP would meet funding criteria
Having low attendance at school but not meeting school criteria for intervention (no EHCP, no recorded SEND needs (sometimes due to not being at a school to have observations & needs recorded)
Parents choosing to prioritise their child’s mental health and taking an Elective Home Education route where they feel this is the only choice
Excluded students who’ve gone on to a second setting and this has failed. Students become non-attenders
Having been put on the diagnosis pathway for autism or ADHD and are awaiting an assessment (our ADHD assessment pathway timings have improved in North Devon with a new service at NDDH. We have heard of students now receiving ADHD assessments within 3-6 months). Our autism pathway is still around a 2 year wait. Having a diagnosis does not necessarily open funding routes though. In many cases parents then need to go on to start the EHCP process
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How we will help

Students

Deliver equity in education

  • Open access (free) small group social sessions
  • Open access homework support
  • Tuition & Mentoring bursaries
  • Independent exam centre
  • Outreach services in the home across Torridge and North Devon

Parents

Care for the carers

  • Parent hub meetings
  • Signposting & 1to1 advice sessions
  • Counselling sessions
  • Open access family mentoring
  • Outreach parent hubs for isolated communities

Community

Create lifelong learning

  • T level work experience
  • Community venue for allied professionals
  • Training opportunities for counsellors
  • Open access training for education professionals
Visions for our cenrte
Current Project Status, September 2025
  • Key people within the Next Steps team in place for the project
  • Premises visited and first enquiries on leasing made with commercial estate agent
  • Planning consultant and internal architect in place. We are choosing to work with an internal architect who has experience in developing public spaces for children and young people
  • Business plan and costings considered
  • Social media campaign in place for Family Mentoring Hub Awareness
  • Media plan in development. Connections with local print media, BBC Spotlight and The Voice in place
  • ‘Hitlist’ of local business and political connections created
  • Marketing email list of over 300 local school staff (engaged with our emails)
  • Ballpark estimates for internal fitting underway
More updates
Sarah Logan, Director
Sarah Logan
CEO, Co-Founder
Liz Fancourt, Director
Liz Fancourt
CEO, Co-Founder
Roy Goddin, Director
Roy Goddin
Director
Hilary George, Director
Hilary George
Director
Giovanna Guarino, Relational Lead
Giovanna Guarino
Relational Lead
Colin Thornton, Business Advisor
Colin Thornton
Business Advisor
Robin Lewis, Counsellor
Robin Lewis
Counsellor
Untitled design (12)
Fiona Staddon
Trainee Counsellor

Key Documents and Links

Psst! This isn’t a definite property but it shows you what we’re hoping for 🙌
Document

Our Proposal Document

Full proposal document. For further information on the project please get in touch with Sarah...

Governance Key Skills Audit
Document
Governance Key Skills Audit

Our Board of Directors have recently completed a skills audit to support the development of Next...

Group Timetable Autumn Term
Document
Timetable

Our group timetable is already at capacity in the space that we use. These classes support up to 6...

Crowdfunder
External Link
Our Crowdfunder Campaign

Want to donate or help us fundraise? You can do that on our Crowdfunder page. 

If you'd prefer to...

Facebook Group
External Link
Facebook Group

Have a Facebook profile? Join our North Devon & Torridge Family Mentoring Hub group to know our...

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