Young people in Haringey are being helped by a youth programme to help them get into education, employment or training.

Teens and Toddlers offers a mentoring programme which pairs disadvantaged teenagers with young children in nurseries as mentors and role models to children in need of extra support, allowing teenagers to develop interpersonal and decision-making skills.

They are able to overcome the circumstances of their background and elude obstacles such as low self-esteem, low educational attainment and lack of positive role models.

One programme graduate in Haringeysaid: “I learned that I am good at working and communicating with little children and that I have many qualities I never knew I had.”

A recent survey has shown that the programme has allowed teenagers who were initially classified by their teachers as highly likely to drop out of education to outperform official figures on employment.

Fifty-three per cent of teens and toddlers participants achieved five A* to C GCSEs including maths and English - almost 38 per cent higher than the national average for disadvantaged young people.

In addition to help with achieving their GCSEs, graduates of the programme also earn an accredited NCFE Level 1 Award in Interpersonal Skills, which helps them to re-engage with school and go on to further education and prevent them from dropping out of education.