Transitionsplus UK Ltd Business Plan

Business Plan 2013-14

1. Introduction 1.1. reachfor is a joint venture (established in March 2011) of regional social enterprises delivering services to young people and adults. Our purpose is to work together to deliver high quality services to support young people and adults (particularly those who are vulnerable) through key transitions in their lives, in particular to achieve positive destinations in employment, education and/or training.

1.2. We are passionate about making a difference in the lives of the people we serve and in society at large. Our aim is to offer services at a fair price. Any surpluses generated are reinvested to offer improved services – we do not distribute any surplus to our Members. Our consortium approach aims to give our Members1 and Strategic Associates2 access to wider markets than they could access alone, simplify commissioning and contracting for funders and to provide a vehicle for Members and Strategic Associates to share services and learning and jointly to develop new products and services. Appendix 1 describes in more details the benefits we have generated for our members to date.

1.3. Since March 2011 we have successfully delivered over £4m of grant-funded services – £2.4m from the Department for Education to help vulnerable young people increase their resilience and £1.6m to deliver the National Citizen Service in a number of areas). In doing so we have supported almost 4500 young people to increase their personal resilience and 604 young people to complete the National Citizen Service in Summer 2012. In Autumn 2012, 196 young people started the NCS programme. Appendix 2 summarises the impact and key outcomes secured from these services. We are also investing the development of a range of new products and services for direct delivery and/or licencing to third parties.

1.4. We have recently secured a further £1m grant to support parents/carers of SEN young people to become informed consumers of, and partners in, the assessment, planning and provision of support under the new Green Paper arrangements and the intervening period of transition. The new programme will run from April 2013 to March 2015.

1.5. With support from the DfE and investment from our Members, we have implemented an extensive programme of capacity building, including securing a range of accreditations (Matrix and Investors In People with ISO9001 expected shortly). We have also recently entered into a number of strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations (Strategic Associates) with whom we will work on product and service development and joint bids for new contracts and grants.

1.6. This business plan describes how we will build on these achievements in the period April 2013 to March 2014.

1 Our members are: Adviza Partnership, Careers South West, Coventry Solihull and Warwickshire Partnership (CSWP), CXK, Futures Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, GMCP and Inspira. 2 Our Strategic Associates are Hertfordshire County Council, Lifeline and NYBEP

1 Business Plan 2013-14

2. Mission, vision and values 2.1. Our mission is to work together to reach and help people of all ages to move positively through uncertain periods of change and on to happier, more fulfilling lives.

2.2. Our vision is to become the national social enterprise provider of choice for services that support people through periods of change, to be respected as an efficient and high quality service provider and to be able to influence the development of national policy and service provision.

2.3. Our values are that:

 We are passionate about making a difference for all our customers and selfless in how we do this; putting service users’ needs first and engaging with them in the design and delivery of services.  We are ambitious and dedicated to achieving the very best we can for our customers with bold plans to grow our services and the impact we can make in society.  We are committed to providing locally relevant services within a credible organisation that has the advantages of national reach and scale.  We are professional and strive for excellence, innovation and continuous improvement in all that we do.  Our approach is inclusive both to the services we provide and in working collaboratively, creatively and flexibly with partners to ensure the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.  We are agile and responsive to changing circumstances including through the intelligent use of data and information to tailor services to the specific needs of particular localities of user groups.  We have a relentless focus on ensuring value for money through minimising overheads and a social enterprise approach, with a strong ethical focus with surpluses reinvested in the development and delivery of services.

3. Objectives for 2013-14 3.1. Our overarching aim remains to support as many young people and adults as possible through delivery of services and development of new products to help them through uncertain periods of change. To do this we have agreed on four objectives for the coming year:

 maximise the potential of our Right Track products;  complete the development and implement the new psychometric measure;  secure new contracts/grants for service delivery; and  secure social investment to enable the launch of other new services/products.

3.2. To underpin these objectives and to continue to deliver benefits for our Members and Strategic Associates, we will continue to:

 invest in raising our profile with key funders and opinion formers;  develop approaches to shared procurement and shared services to realise savings; and  ensure we are a professionally and efficiently run organisation that values its staff.

Overarching aim: To support as many young people and adults as possible through delivery of services and development of new products to help them through uncertain periods of change. Objective A: High Quality Delivery of EmpoweringFamilies Objectives  Develop the capacity of parents and wider family of SEN young people to become informed consumers and partners in the assessment, planning and provision of support under the new Green Paper arrangements and the intervening period of transition.  Maximise the positive impact of parents in preparation and making successful transitions at critical points (below ‘Outcomes’). Outcomes  80% of parents report increased confidence and capacity to effectively navigate provision and support their young person.  The ‘gap’ in positive progression rates between participating SEN young people and their peers is narrowed to: o 15% at Key Stage 3 to 4 (measured by attendance and behaviour); o 15% post Key Stage 4 (measured: EET rate)  20% for those leaving full time learning (EET rate) Objective B: Right Track Objective C: New Psychometric Measure Activities Activities  Finalise product manuals, sales strategy and financial model  Complete testing of new product  Secure protection of intellectual property (e.g. licencing)  Develop sales strategy  Develop user support arrangements  Finalise pricing/finance model Resources Resources  In kind support from Members (staff time)  Members Working Group – lead Kieran Gordon  Secure grant funding/ social investment to take to market  In kind support from Members (staff time) Targets (to be finalised in detail) Targets  Design and implement toolkit/portal  Complete product testing in development phase  Sales - to be delivered through member organisations  Commence use of product/sales in Sept 2013  Quality Assurance model established  Secure social investment to take to market (sales at 18,000 sales pa commencing April 2014)

Objective D: Secure new contracts/grants Objective E: Secure Social Investment Activities (see also separate business development plan) Activities  Develop agreed strategy for National Careers Service bidding  Secure Investment and Contract Readiness Fund  Develop response to emerging agendas e.g. Troubled Families,  Ensure products are “market ready” (Leadership Youth Unemployment, Pupil Premium, Ex-offenders etc Development, Right Track, Psychometric Test)  Bid for other appropriate opportunities including local  Secure social investment for implementation authority contracts that are commercially viable and within Resources reachfor’s scope and reach (strategy to be agreed)  Business Development Manager Resources  Partnership with Social Finance  Business Development Manager  In kind support from Members (staff time)  Business Development Working Group  Consultancy support  National Careers Service Working Group – lead Emily Jones Targets Targets  Secure investment for Right Track and the new  Generate income in excess of £3m from a range of sources Psychometric Test specifically to achieve agreed business priorities.  Develop Leadership Programme further before presenting to potential investors. Underpinning activities: 1. Raise our profile with key funders and opinion formers. 2. Shared procurement and services (in particular IT services) to realise savings. 3. Implement leadership and management strategy and associated training modules 4. Professional and efficient operation including HR, finance, IT and quality assurance. Resources Targets  HR support from Adviza Partnership  Model established for marketing the Shared  Training and workforce development TBC Service outside reachfor – July 2013  Finance support from GMCP  Matrix, IiP and ISO 9001 achieved by June 2013  IT support from Inspira  ‘Merlin’ accreditation achieved by March2014  Procurement support from CXK and CSWP  Complete implementation of IT consultancy  Quality Assurance – led by Careers South West report.

4. Governance, resources and finance 4.1. The Board of Directors is responsible for overall governance and strategy. It has established board committees for finance/audit and HR as well as a range of topic/project based working groups (some of which have delegated authorities and committees).

4.2. Current direct staff resources comprise:

 Chief Executive (0.5 FTE)  Business Development Manager (1 FTE)

4.3. In addition, corporate services are provided by Members as follows:

 HR from Adviza  Finance from GMCP  IT from Inspira  Procurement from CSWP

 Communications from Adviza

4.4. A high level financial plan (known income and expenditure) for 2013-14 is set out below and appendix 3 sets out a high level risk register.

Financial Plan

EmpoweringFamilies General Costs

2013/14 2013/14 Budget Budget EXPENDITURE (£) (£)

Chairs Costs 0 6,000

Chief Executives Costs 0 60,000

Project Manager 53,943 0

Delivery Staff Costs 306,619 0

Business Development Costs 54,000

Travel and Subsistence 9,321 6,000

Office Costs 3,000

General Overheads (includes finance and HR) 44,380 0

Project Costs 39,271 0

Contribution to Big 5 Development 0 2,750

External Support/Marketing 0 5,000

I T & Communications 5,670 8,000

Insurance etc 0 6,500

TOTAL EXPENDITURE 459,204 151,250

INCOME

Grant 459,204

Contributions from Members 145,000

Surplus to reserves 0 -6,250

Balance on Reserves at March 2014 31,719

Appendix 1: Benefits to Members since March 2011

Since being formed in March 2011 reachfor has secured (or is in the process of securing) a wide range of tangible benefits for its Members. Some of these benefits can be quantified and others are less easy to quantify but overall the picture is one of a significant return on the investment made to date by reachfor Members (approximately £320,000 in cash plus in-kind support in staff time). In addition to tangible cash benefits, it is clear that for many members there have been considerable benefits arising from the wider pool of knowledge, experience and products available through being a member. This includes:

 submitting stronger bids for contracts/grants by including in their offer additional services/products that have been secured from/stimulated by other reachfor members;  participation in joint bids for funding, whether or not through the reachfor SPV, that would not have happened otherwise;  innovation sparked through discussions with other reachfor members leading to development of new products and services; and  savings through efficiencies gained either from joint purchasing with other members or through learning how other members deliver particular services more efficiently.

The table below summarises the primary benefits identified to date by the Members themselves.

Description of benefit Financial benefit External funding secured to date (Right Track, NCS and Capacity Building) Over £4.2m Sharing of practice, products and information to enable enhancement of a Some members estimate over Member’s offer or improvement in the quality of their services (e.g. £100,000 pa extra business enabled some members to secure increased business from schools). (each) secured as a result. Shared HR and finance services (Adviza, CXK and GMCP). Over £250,000 pa total savings for the three participating members Savings on costs of quality accreditations E.g. £10,000 total saving for five members participating in the IIP assessment Savings on joint memberships of national bodies such as NCVYS, ICG, NCN Potential saving of £4.500 pa for and Careers England. each member (i.e. £36,000 pa in total) Potential savings from joint procurement Yet to be quantified Increased influence/credibility with partners by being part of “something Un-quantified bigger”. Development of new products such as AQR and Right Track Income not yet realised but significant potential Sharing of intelligence and networking both between members and Un-quantified through the Business Development Group Mutual support for each other through difficult times and informal CPD for Un-quantified board members

Appendix 2: Impact and outcomes from Right Track and National Citizen Service

Right Track

The target for engagement of young people over the two year grant funding period was 4455. This target has been met with a shift in emphasis of target group by member area. DfE have indicated that Right Track has demonstrated an innovative delivery model with Mental Toughness providing the thread of the coaching sessions. Evidence of different ways of working and delivering to a range of target audiences has proved this is a flexible product that is fit to take to market.

Outcomes so far indicate*:

 49% of participants increased their Mental Toughness  11% more participants wanted to study full-time after Right Track  45% of Teachers felt participants had improved their behaviour  46% of Teachers felt participants had improved their work in class  Of those presenting with an attendance issue (<85%), 73% increased their attendance after Right Track *Full evaluation due after the final trance of delivery is complete (April 2013)

Related Social Impact report due by end of March 2013

National Citizen Service

National Citizen Service (NCS) is a flagship element of the Government’s strategy for young people. Aimed at 16 and 17 year olds and combining outdoors challenges, community activities and exploration and volunteering. NCS aims to help young people develop team work and leadership skills, engage with their local communities and become confident and responsible citizens.

The Government ambitions is for NCS to become a rite of passage for all young people and the programme will be scaled up in 2013 – 2014 to 90,000 places.

NCS seeks to achieve three high level objectives:

 A more cohesive society by mixing participants of different backgrounds.

 A more responsible society by supporting the transition into adulthood for young people.

 A more engaged society by enabling young people to work together to create social action projects in their local communities.

NCS is available to young people of all backgrounds (e.g. religious, ethnic and socio-economic) and gives participants the opportunity to mix with others with backgrounds and experiences different to their own. Participation in NCS is voluntary and taking part gives young people the chance to:

 • Learn new skills, including leadership and team work and develop confidence;

 • Meet new people from all walks of life; and

 • Make a real difference to their community, or an issue they care about.

Young people who have completed NCS consistently feedback that they have gained and experienced so much through the programme and that they feel NCS was the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. Many continue to volunteer and stay engaged with their local communities and the organisations they have been introduced to and worked with. Young people tell us they have made new friends, developed their confidence and have gained skills that they are able to take forward as they move into employment and higher education.

Having a taste of adult life and developing the skills needed to be independent are features that have been raised as particular highlights as well as the increase in confidence and the ability to speak to new people.

Appendix 3: Risk register

Risk Consequence Likelihood Impact Overall Mitigation/ contingency plans assessment 1 Failure to secure investment in new product Unable to launch products and Credible partner and portfolio for development/implementation loss of income that would Investment ND Contract readiness otherwise have been generated Fund bid.

M M Amber Postpone work on some products to future years and/rely on member investment and more incremental sales growth 2 Fail to deliver effectively on grants, contracts and Loss of reputation for JV and Ensure high quality project manager investments secured. compromised ability to secure and staff deployed on the project. future grants/contracts resulting in negative impact on Careful project management, sustainability and benefits to L M Green monitoring and evaluation and members. remedial action where necessary.

Communications strategy to minimise impact on reputation. 3 Further cuts in public funding. Unable to secure significant Concentrate on non-governmental additional grant/contract and alternative funding sources (e.g. funding thereby delaying or Big Lottery, private sector). undermining overall M H Red sustainability and benefits to Focus on other aspects of business members. development such as new products, shared services and social investment.

Risk Consequence Likelihood Impact Overall Mitigation/ contingency plans assessment 4 New products not developed or successful in the Insufficient income generated Careful market research and/or market. and/or initial investment lost piloting and evaluation before taking thereby delaying or new products to market. M M Amber undermining overall sustainability and benefits to Invest in marketing and members. communication capacity. 5 Relationships between members become strained for Loss of reputation and/or Ensure time (and external facilitation example if or one or more member defaults on their disruption to delivery resulting where appropriate) available for obligations under the JV agreement, resigns from the in negative impact on board development and capacity JV, experiences an unacceptable change of control or sustainability and benefits to building including regular dialogue under performs in delivery of services members. with all Chief executives, especially M M Amber those not Directors of the Company.

JV Agreement mechanisms.

Communications strategy to minimise impact on reputation.