VIEW GRANT RECIPIENTS
INVESTMENT THEMES
Education
WHAT OUR PARTNER SAYS
"East Head Impact has worked with us to raise our game on our employability programme encouraging us to formalise it and properly embed it in our delivery model. This is already having great benefits for the young people.
Young people who have been excluded from school already feel written off, they have low aspirations and believe that they will not achieve anything.
The funding East Head Impact is providing is driving a really positive change in these young people's lives and is starting to raise their aspirations and give them hope."
GRANTS IN EDUCATION - 2022-25
Dallaglio RugbyWorks
Dallaglio RugbyWorks is a registered charity which, through its three-year RugbyWorks programme involving interactions in the classroom, on the rugby field and through its digital app (Player Profiles), seeks to get disadvantaged young people between the ages of 12-18 who are disengaged from learning into sustained education, employment or training (EET).
Dallaglio RugbyWorks’s purpose is to help young people change their lives and its mission is to ensure that those who have been excluded from school are not excluded from society, and to help support them in realising their full potential for the future. Its approach to achieve this mission is to use rugby as an engagement tool to develop their life skills, raise their aspirations, improve their physical wellbeing and focus on their mental health wellbeing.
*Registered Charity Number: 1130353
GRANTS IN EDUCATION - 2022-2023
Charity Overview
Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ delivery involves: in Term Time, working in Alternative Provision, Pupil Referral Units and Exclusion Units to build relationships and trust with young people; in the evening, delivering programmes in local youth clubs, rugby clubs and street facilities to reach young people outside the school programme; during the holiday, delivering a programme to feed young people and keep them active outside of the Term Time which is open to all Dallaglio RugbyWorks attendees and all young people in the local area who are on free school meals; career taster days hosted by employers which are designed to give young people the chance to experience and be informed about a variety of employment opportunities; and Player Profiles, Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ digital App which helps young people to set their goals, manage their progress, access employment options and stay in touch.
The purpose of East Head Impact’s 2022 grant of £50,000 to Dallaglio RugbyWorks was to co-fund the development of Player Profiles.
The purpose of East Head Impact’s 2023 grant £154,428 over a two-year period is to co-fund an Enhanced Employment Programme (EEP), the majority of which will fund the recruitment of additional staff to deliver the EEP.
The objective of the EEP is to develop the employment skills of Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ young people and get them work ready. The EEP involves: career taster days; employment skills training with employers; developing skills relating to interviews, CV and application writing, public speaking, digital applications, critical thinking and problem solving; and guidance on workplace behaviour.
Dallaglio RugbyWorks is also developing a ‘passport system’ which will allow its young people to collect certification stamps that will demonstrate their understanding of workplace-ready skills which Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ employer network will recognise as being akin to meeting entry-level requirements. Every Dallaglio RugbyWorks young person will participate in four career taster days each year with an employer which will enable them to understand the work environment and help them gain an awareness of accessible employment opportunities.
The EEP will also help young people to identify and apply for employment opportunities through Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ employer and recruitment relationships. The EEP is delivered as part of the core RugbyWorks programme which develops teamwork skills, collaboration and leadership.
OVERVIEW 2022-2023 GRANT
Grant Impact
98.3%
of DRW’s young people who participated in a career taster day felt they understood the work of the employer host
81%
found the day useful and productive
95%
enjoyed the day
80%
of all participants agreed that their understanding of career options and opportunities available to them had improved as a result of the career taster days by the end of 2022/2023
DALLAGLIO RUGBYWORKS RESEARCH SHOWS THAT:
A young person who has four or more meaningful encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be in NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), and can earn up to 22% more in their career – the Enhanced Employment Programme will result in a substantial increase in such meaningful encounters with employers by Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ young people.
Ⓒ Say Nothing
GRANTS IN EDUCATION - 2025-2027
EHI Follow-on Grant
As explained above, the EEP is delivered as part of DRW’s RugbyWorks programme that develops teamwork skills, collaboration and leadership. DRW has always been focused on increasing the chances of its young people obtaining jobs by the age of 18, with every aspect of the RugbyWorks programme designed to lead to employment.
The specific employment-related delivery of the programme has involved DRW coaches developing the life skills of its young people, raising their aspirations, delivering CV writing and interview skills workshops, and arranging Career Taster Days with employers. The EEP helps DRW’s young people to identify and apply for employment opportunities through DRW’s employer and recruitment network, improving workplace relationships, accessibility, employability and confidence.
The ‘enhanced’ EEP was initiated in December 2023 with the encouragement and support of, and co-funding from East Head Impact. It has delivered a significant and measurable impact over its first two years, both in terms of numbers but also in shaping young people’s confidence, readiness and pathways into employment.
It represents a substantial expansion of DRW’s historic employment related delivery and involves:
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An expansion of its delivery to cover four Career Taster Days for every young person, employment skills training with employers, interview skills, CV writing and application writing, digital skills, public speaking skills, critical thinking and problem solving, and guidance on workplace behaviour.
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An expansion of its employer network (as well as Career Taster Days, Employability Workshops and real-world interactions and insights into an accessible workplace).
EHI's follow-on grant of £213,000 over a two-year period (£104,500 for Year 1 and £108,500 for Year 2) was awarded in 2025, and this will be used to support the enhanced EEP. For the next two years, this will consist of a 12-week rolling programme (three programmes per year/one per term in each DRW region) supporting young people in building self-awareness and confidence, and employability skills. Through weekly one-hour workshops, DRW’s young people explore personal strengths, career pathways, and practical tools for employment culminating in a personalised game plan for the future. The use of AI will also be built into the programme in order to assist with career research, idea generation, personalised applications and skills development. The majority of EHI's grant will go towards funding the three key DRW staff members who will be fundamental in delivering the EEP.
OVERVIEW 2023- AUGUST 2025
Grant Impact
95%
of DRW’s young people who felt EEP has enhanced their employment skills and are employment-ready
81%
feeling more positive on employment outcome
50
employers engaged in the EEP
100%
of 16-year-olds into the EET
Of the 86% of 18-year-olds getting into EET (to August 2025), approx 35-40% moved into employment or apprenticeships & 45-50% have progressed into further education or training. The enhanced EEP has raised 18-yer-old EET outcomes from 68% to 86%, creating a substantial step-change for a high-vulnerable cohort.
