Source: Timesonline  >> Read full article and comment

A project for harnessing the wisdom and time of older people to help troubled teenagers will be inaugurated next week by Lord Freud, the minister for welfare reform.

Rosemary Bennett, Social Affairs Correspondent

The former banker has contributed £200,000 of his own money to test an idea that he admits he “had in the bath”. He wants to see whether a grandparent figure can help a teenager who is unemployed or at risk of dropping out of college to navigate the adult world.

There are 200,000 or so teenagers struggling to progress from school to work, the so-called “Neets” — not in employment, education or training. They are at high risk of permanent unemployment, teenage pregnancy and even prison.

Successive government projects have tried to get the growing number of Neets into long-term jobs or serious training, with little effect. Lord Freud wants to try a “Big Society” approach…Continue reading