Written by Leap the Active Partnerships covering Buckinghamshire and Milton Kenyes.
How did the Together Fund help Boxing Clever support young people to improve their behaviour, develop new, positive relationships and become more physically active?
We caught up with Claire Byrne of Boxing Clever MK CIC to find out about the success of their boxing programme in Milton Keynes.
What were you hoping to achieve with your funding?
We wanted to deliver a 12-week youth diversion programme aiming to help reduce youth violence, aggression, and exploitation of young people, through the power of boxing, and structured educational activities.
- Weekly 2-hour sessions
- Training session with fully qualified England Boxing Coaches
- Structured activity / workshop
- Opportunities to train with other members across Milton Keynes
- Celebratory showcase event.
- Awards ceremony
The investment from Sport England meant we could pay for coaches to teach boxing and deliver educational activities. We gave the young people t-shirts to wear and offered food and drink at each session. At the end of the 12 week project we awarded certificates and trophies for their effort and achievements in boxing.
How were the young people chosen for the programme?
36 young people were referred to us through their secondary schools, using set suitability criteria.
We visited each young person and gave them an overview of the programme, boxing, who we were, and put their minds at ease if they felt anxious or nervous about attending.
Paul Knight: Assistant Headteacher St. Paul’s Catholic School said:
“At first they were hesitant to attend the programme as they as they were only a small group across the year group but there was a real buzz in the minibus on the way home from their first session and they all were excited for what the next week would bring.”
What were the positive outcomes from the project?
Our data, testimonials, and feedback from schools, and parents, have shown that the young people involved in our programme have benefited in the following ways:
- Increased positive relationships
- Increased capabilities
- Improved fitness levels
- A new sense of belonging
- Understanding of broader topics
- Increased positive behaviour strategies
- New relationships formed with other young people across MK
- Awareness of what is happening in their community
We had many positive comments from the secondary schools who referred students into the programme. This summary from Ian Boon, Deputy Headteacher at Oakgrove Secondary School reflects the thoughts of all four schools:
We have been really impressed with the Boxing Clever programme, everything from organisation through to their work with the young people has been exceptional. We felt it made a huge difference to some of the individuals we had attend the course, they showed more focus, control and ultimately behaved better while in school.”
The feedback from the participants was excellent too. Here’s a sample of their comments:
I think before I didn’t care about anything and always get in trouble and now, I am controlling my anger more. I enjoy being part of Boxing Clever.
It’s like when you get annoyed throughout the week and everything’s all building up until you come here, and you can let your anger out on the pads and the bags.”
Did you learn any lessons, to help with future programmes?
We have learnt that there is no need to create a tight structure for the workshops, and that we can be more flexible with our approach during this time. We found that we were able to engage in more meaningful conversations and it was much easier to get to know them more when we would all join them after the training session and sit down on the bean bags and enjoy a snack and a drink. This then led nicely onto our workshops and activities as we steered the conversations towards the topics we were covering.
Our key learning curve was the level of staffing we would require running the programme. The young people we support are referred to us using our set suitability criterion, and with this, the level of support required for each young person increases.
We aimed to work with 60 young people but we worked with 36 in these first 12 weeks. We learned that it is not about the number of young people we have participating in the programme but more ensuring that we are reaching the right young people who benefit the most from it.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
Thank you Leap for all your support.
We are incredibly proud of the journey each young person has gone on throughout the programme. It has been amazing to see how everyone has truly dedicated their time honing their boxing skills and engaging in our education workshops.
We are proud to have supported them in improving their social and emotional capabilities, to learn a new skill, and to equip them to make positive life choices both now, and in the future.
Please have a look at our video highlighting what each young person got to do, and achieve, over the course of the programme: https://youtu.be/7BPzXZ_Ce5Q