The Reach Foundation’s

Cradle-to-Career Partnership

A national network of locally-rooted schools and trusts establishing effective place-based models of ‘cradle to career’ support in their own communities.

Why change is need now

When systems don’t connect, people pay the price

Across the country, children’s lives are shaped as much by the systems around them as by their own effort or potential. When those systems are fragmented or inconsistent, families fall through the gaps and opportunities are lost.

We know what it takes for babies, children and young people to flourish: stable relationships, strong schools, and coherent support across every stage of life. But too often, that support depends on luck—the place you grow up, the people you meet, or the resources around you.

This isn’t about isolated challenges or failing schools; it’s about a system that isn’t yet designed to work as one. It’s not a crisis of care or competence—it’s a crisis of coherence.

We believe lasting change will come when local leaders—in education, care, health and community life—build something more coherent, consistent and connected together.

We know exactly what every baby, child and young person needs to thrive:

The good news is that

  • Every child needs to be free from harm and enjoy secure, nurturing, positive experiences—especially in their first 1,001 days.

  • Every child needs to develop positive well-being—physically, mentally and emotionally.

  • Every child needs to be challenged and supported by great teaching and a rigorous curriculum.

  • Every child needs to have strong peer and familial relationships and engage positively with their local community.

We are not securing these conditions for every child in England right now.

The bad news is that

  • We know that, in England and Wales, half of all teenagers have witnessed or been victims of violence (YEF, 2023).

    We know that UK teenagers have the highest perception of safety risks in the OECD (PISA, 2022).

    And we know that this violence, and the fear that surrounds it, profoundly affects young people’s daily lives—manifesting itself in trouble sleeping, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating at school.

  • We know that the number of young people being referred for emergency mental health services has reached a record high (NHS, 2022). That’s five children every hour—a three-fold increase in four years.

    We know that when it comes to health and well-being, there’s a widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ (RCPCH, 2020). Children from the poorest 20% of households are 4x more likely to develop a serious mental health problem by age 11 (CfMH, 2020)

    This means that too many children start their journeys towards good mental health from a position of disadvantage—and too many adults are hindered by circumstances beyond their control (MHF, 2020).

  • We know that—on average—‘disadvantaged pupils’ are starting school ~5 months behind their peers.

    We know that this gap doubles in size by the end of primary school (to 10.3 months) and almost doubles again by the end of secondary school (18.8 months).

    Falling behind is the norm—upward mobility is not.

  • We know that 1 in 4 UK students are not satisfied with their lives. UK teenagers are at the bottom of the international league tables when it comes to the indices of empathy, stress resistance, emotional control and cooperation (PISA, 2022).

    We know that 45% of children feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘some of the time’ (MHF, 2019).

    And we know that people who are more socially connected to family, friends or their community are happier, physically healthier and live longer—with fewer mental health problems along the way.

So what?

To change this—to secure a life of choice and opportunity for every child—we believe that great schools are necessary but not sufficient.

We believe that while schools and trusts have an integral role to play in securing lives of choice and opportunity for every child—they cannot do so in isolation.

We believe that schools and trusts are uniquely well-placed to develop the seamless pipelines of support children need because:

  • Schools are deeply rooted and have a visible presence in their communities. They have long-lasting relationships with families.

    We know that when schools truly embrace a broader role and build meaningful partnerships, they can transform children’s lives and strengthen local communities.

  • Schools can catch everybody (and everything) early.

    This means they can act as preventative bodies, intervene early when needed, and create the conditions to enable children to thrive.

  • Schools are often big buildings—big, transformative community assets.

    Schools’ physical infrastructures play a transformative role in students’ lives every day—and many maintain the potential to do this for other groups too.

    For example, working in partnership with other professions and the community, many schools provide the perfect setting to host activities and events to enhance the capacity of young families and other members of the community.

Contact us

If you would like to find out more information about the Cradle-to-Career Partnership, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.