Spark2Life is a new educational initiative coming straight out of the heart of the urban youth culture. Spark2Life is an acronym for: Sharing Positive and Relevant Keys to Life, and is pioneered by Dez Brown a Youth Worker in East London. At the age of 17, Dez Brown’s life inalterably changed direction when he unintentionally ended the life of a stranger in a busy London park. Dez dived headlong into a downward spiral that was certain to lead to prison and a life in ruins. Through the Spark2Life Educational Programme, Spark2Life aims to work with and serve schools and other agencies by meeting the educational needs of young people and encouraging a positive social and behavioural life style.
The team of Spark2Life give their time and energy communicating to and training young people to live out their potential. Spark2Life is fully aware of the challenges faced by young people: issues with identity and reputation (street cred), postcode warfare, knife and gun crime and societal dysfunction to name but a few. In the face of rising youth crime, young people carrying weapons and displaying antisocial behaviour, the Spark2Life Educational Programme aims to relevantly and relationally, re-educate young people whose life seem destined to follow a similar path to that of Dez Brown.
The Spark2Life Educational Programme provides schools with a coherent approach to implementing PSHE and Citizenship for KS3 and KS4 and working towards Healthy Schools Status. The programme will be both inspiring and positively challenging for students and is directly linked into the curriculum in the areas of Citizenship, PSHE, RE and BPAP (Black People’s Attainment Programme). The Spark2Life Educational Programme also meets the learning outcomes as stated in Lees and Plant, PASSPORT: (A Framework for personal and Social Development, Gulbenkian Foundation, 2000). In addition the programme uses Dez’s true-life experiences as a backdrop to look at some of life’s challenges which young people face today. The Spark2Life Programme will offer an initial presentation, in which Dez will share in depth his remarkable story from a criminal youth to helping young criminals and the alike. After the initial presentation the Spark2Life team of well-trained staff and student interns, who are equipped and able to deliver, will facilitate lessons that fulfil the curriculum demands.
Spark2Life will also work with teachers and specific target groups, with the aim to meet the educational and behavioural needs of young people, who have had high absenteeism, poor achievement and behaviour, lack of citizenship and low aspirations. Our high quality lessons are delivered by high quality communicators, and aim to communicate the lesson objectives in an interactive and relevant way. Each Lesson is approximately 45mins long but can be adapted to suit the requirements/needs of the school. Lessons are requested using the appropriate form, planned in advance and evaluated by both teachers and pupils.
The Spark2Life Educational programme can assist in attaining the evidence required to demonstrate a school’s achievement of the national healthy school status. Particularly with reference to two strands in the national curriculum framework:
- Personal development: Developing Confidence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities.
- Relationships: Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people.
