Move On Up

About Move On Up
Move On Up is a National Lottery Community Fund funded project that will provide early support to 290 young learning-disabled and autistic people in Leeds and Bradford leaving school, college and young people’s services, empowering them to transition successfully to adult community services. The project will run until the end of April 2025.
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We work in partnership with local schools, colleges and young people’s services to deliver interactive and creative transition workshops. The workshops focus on topics which equip young people with new life skills, so they transition to adult services feeling confident, with increased self-esteem and independence.
Transition Workshops
We work in partnership with local schools, colleges and young people’s services to deliver interactive and creative transition workshops. The workshops focus on topics which equip young people with new life skills, so they transition to adult services feeling confident, with increased self-esteem and independence.
Buddy Scheme
We’re working with partner organisations to train learning-disabled and autistic adults to become Buddies, so young people attending taster sessions are supported by a peer.
One to One Support
We can provide one-to-one support to young people who need longer-term, holistic support to transition to adult services.
Support for families and carers
We can support parents, families and carers by offering advice, information and guidance about community activities and funding arrangements.

January 2023 Update!
By the end of 2022, Move On Up participants had explored a variety of different activities in their workshops, including the arts, employment skills, horticulture, learning and self advocacy. Participants then chose their favourites! These choices informed the creation of individualised organisation recommendations, which participants received in January to help them explore the adult community services they may want to visit and attend.
In our second term, the Move On Up workshops will focus on the Transitions Toolkit: ten skills that can help participants feel more confident in the face of change. Participants will be using their voice to tell each other what is important to them in a variety of creative ways, creating rafts for Maltesers to practice problem solving, using decision making skills to create their own desert island disc and more!



Move On Up’s Impact
![Photo 14-10-2022, 16 15 11 A graphic of a purple speech bubble next to 2 sunflowers. The text in the speech bubble says 'The [Move On Up] programme has widened the students' ideas and aspirations for their future'.](https://purplepatcharts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Photo-14-10-2022-16-15-11.png)

‘Workshops acknowledged and addressed the feelings, concerns, issues participants may have as they transition out of college and into new services, facilitators were very skilled at addressing the issues around transition and change, while also highlighting and exploring the potentially positive aspects. Each workshop addressed an aspect of transition, explored it thoroughly, delivered activities so the participants could ‘workshop’ the issues, shared ‘tools’ the participants can utilise to manage the issues, and also explored and highlighted the potential positive aspects of transition…This comprehensive approach enabled each participant to feel much more confident and less anxious about their future.’ College Tutor
At the end of the first year of Move On Up, the participants took part in a creative evaluation session, so they could feedback on how the project had impacted their feelings around transition.
81% agreed they had had the chance to share what they feel, their thoughts and their experiences
100% agreed they had been supported to try new things
88% agreed they felt more able to make new friends
79% agreed they had more information to make choices about their future
85% agreed they felt less anxious about their future
At the start of their Move On Up workshops, each participant created a confidence sunflower: a visual representation of their confidence levels around transition. The participants created a second sunflower at the end of the year to see how their confidence had grown over the year.
At the start of the project, only 48% of participants felt positive about transition, with a further 31% of participants feeling negative about it. In contrast, at the end of the project, 61% of participants felt positive about transition and only 17% felt negatively, leaving 21% with neutral feelings.


Move On Up Resources

Transitions Toolkit
The Build Yourself Up Transitions Toolkit is a booklet of creative activities to explore different skills that can help participants feel more confident in the face of change. If you are a Move On Up participant, you can click the link below to access an online copy with your exclusive password.

Move On Up Network
The Move On Up Network is a group of organisations and services across West Yorkshire who have provided us with up-to-date information about their service to share with Move On Up participants. Click the link below to access the easy read information booklet.

Buddy Training
We have developed the Move On Up Buddy Scheme to develop the peer support available for young people transitioning into new activities and organisations. Take a look at the training available and get in touch if you would like a Buddy Training pack for your organisation!
If you have any questions about the Move On Up resources, please contact Hannah or Róisín using their details below.
As always, a big thank you to Beth who designed our logo, and the wonderful icons that accompany the various strands of the project!
Move On Up Contacts
If you would like to know more about Move On Up, please get in touch! You can contact Hannah or Róisín using the details below:

Hannah, Projects Manager

Róisín, Projects Assistant

Move On Up is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.