2023 Free

Impact Report 2023

Free to Be Kids provides immersive outdoor residential and mentoring programmes for London's most disadvantaged children. In 2023, 213 children were supported across 327 residential project places; 94% reported improved self-esteem; 91% developed new social skills; 100% tried something they had not thought possible. 230 volunteers gave 16,000+ hours, equivalent to £218,397 at the London Living Wage. 13 Journey Project cohorts supported 37 young people aged 12-16.

Report snapshot
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About

Thrive Outside residential gateway projects (5-day immersive); Journey Projects (18 months, 6 residentials); Saturday Club (9-month group programme); Thrive Mentoring (1:1, 12-18 months); Young Leaders' Programme (volunteer development for teens with lived experience)

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 213 children and young people supported; 327 residential project places provided entirely free of charge
Key Metric 2 230 volunteers gave 16,000+ hours — equivalent to £218,397 at the London Living Wage
Key Metric 3 94% of children reported improved self-esteem; 100% tried something they had not thought possible

Key Outcomes

  • 91% of children developed new social skills including making friends and managing frustration; 94% showed improvement in social confidence as reported by project workers
  • 92% of Journey Project participants felt more confident and resilient at programme end, with changes sustained at least 6 months post-programme; 100% of parents and referrers confirmed risk reduced in at least 2 key areas
  • 87% of Journey Project participants demonstrated sustained improvement in emotional health; 67% improved educational engagement; 96% recognised improvements in managing adversity and building relationships

Geography

London

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
440,000+ young people aged 4-18 active members across 7,000 Groups
Key Metric 2
140,000 volunteers supporting the movement across the UK
Key Metric 3
373 Sections opened or re-energised in England between April 2024 and March 2025
0.3% overall growth in young people (ages 4-18), driven by 31% increase in Squirrel Scouts (5,200 young people)
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
55,000 foster carers and 370 fostering service providers as members across the UK
Key Metric 2
45 new Fostering Friendly Employers recruited, bringing the scheme to over 680,000 employees across the UK
Key Metric 3
95 Fostering Wellbeing Pioneers in Wales offering peer support and mentoring to fellow foster carers
191 children and young people engaged in outdoor adventure weeks through the Fostering Attainment and Achievement programme in Northern Ireland
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
91,000 young people supported across 24 countries in 2024/25, including 67,368 in the UK
Key Metric 2
Over 70% of the 25,500 young people who completed Employment and Enterprise programmes achieved a positive outcome
Key Metric 3
Education programmes engaged 63,000 young people (69% of the total), the largest share of delivery
In the UK, 71% of Employment and Enterprise completers achieved a positive outcome, including 39% into employment or self-employment
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
851 students supported through the In2STEM programme in 2024, from 2,036 applications
Key Metric 2
27,447 hours of in-person STEM placement experience provided to participants
Key Metric 3
94% of participants know what it means to work in STEM after the programme, up from 69% beforehand
97% of alumni who applied to university were successfully offered a place, based on UCAS data from 1,760 alumni