Future Projects is charity based in the Marlpit Estate in Norwich, with a resoundingly practical programme of ideas to “inspire, engage, and support” its local community. It includes a recording studio, a community centre and a radio station – Future Radio. It was by giving an interview on the station that I first found out about the charity and the work that they do.
Future Projects also runs Future Education, an independent school, set up to give a good education to some of the most challenging children in the area. Many have behavioural difficulties that have led to them being excluded from mainstream schools, but the ‘holistic’ approach taken by the school has helped many students find their way back into mainstream education and into work.
Future Education has been a runaway success. Local politicians from all parties have pledged their support, Ofstead have inspected and praised the school, and the founder, Dawn Jackson, was awarded an MBE in 2010 for her work.
So it’s astonishing to see that Norfolk County Council, in a bizarre and secretive process seem to have decided to pull the plug on the school.
Local paper the Norwich Evening News is running a campaign to save Future Education. Please help by tweeting messages of support using the hash tag #saveourfuture, or liking Future Education on Facebook. Let’s see if we can persuade the Council to see sense.