Raising Aspirations

A review on the barriers and enablers for disadvantaged young people to realise a positive future

Rocket Science was commissioned by the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership in November 2021. This was to undertake research into how to raise the aspirations of the region’s young people who are facing disadvantage. The VRP wanted to understand the relationship between a lack of aspirations and the risk of moving into the criminal justice system.

An extensive literature and data review was undertaken to build a picture of the current state of aspirations and attainment in the region. Our team looked at what barriers and enablers influence the aspirations of young people. We also reviewed existing interventions focused on family, community, education and within youth groups.

We conducted six deep-dive case studies into interventions to better understand how they work and their application into West Yorkshire. Our team also talked to 40 young people. This created a series of recommendations and areas for intervention both at a strategic and practical level.  You can read the report here.