READY, STEADY, CONNECT.
Ready Steady CONNECT was a two-year partnership project that harnessed the power of mentoring and collaboration to support young people in Hammersmith & Fulham—and to strengthen the local youth sector’s ability to do the same.
Led by the Young H&F Consortium in partnership with Spark!, 2-3 Degrees, and The Kids Network, this initiative supported young people aged 16–21 with personal development workshops, one-to-one and group mentoring, and tailored pastoral care. At the same time, it provided local organisations with the tools, networks, and capacity-building support needed to embed mentoring into their own work.
Through Ready, Steady, Connect, young people took part in personal development workshops designed to boost confidence, build social skills, and explore future goals. They were matched with mentors working in a range of industries, giving them one-to-one support, insight into different career paths, and someone to talk to outside of school or college.
Group mentoring took young people into real workplaces—like Chelsea FC, GSK, Accenture, Hammersmith Hospital and JC Decaux—for half-day sessions combining speed networking, career exploration and a taste of professional life. For those who needed more tailored support, wraparound pastoral care was available too.
Young people told us this combination of mentoring and real-world insight made a lasting impact. Some discovered new career pathways, others applied for university with renewed focus, and many left the programme with greater confidence and clearer goals.
“Having a mentor made a difference for me by helping me understand what really goes on in the workplace.”
“Before Ready Steady Connect, I was happy to be average, but now I want to go above and beyond.”
Alongside direct support for young people, the project also focused on strengthening the borough’s mentoring ecosystem. Through our Mentoring Network co-facilitated with The Kids Network, local organisations came together to explore best practice, share ideas, and grow their capacity to offer impactful mentoring.
One-to-one support was available for small organisations wanting to create or formalise their mentoring programmes. From embedding the Mentoring Quality Framework to co-designing brand-new offers with young people, the project helped turn ideas into action.
By the end of the project, 89 individuals from 33 youth organisations had participated in the project, with several new mentoring programmes launched as a direct result. Our model was even adopted by London Youth, helping to shape a pan-London approach to mentoring.
“Every member I had the privilege of learning from brought such expertise, dedication and integrity—they built my capacity just as much as I built theirs. – The Kids Network”