Wolverhampton City Council has teamed up with charity Kidscape and the Big Lottery Fund to launch the Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS) programme.
The early intervention scheme aims to help young people aged 10 to 13 develop good behaviour by being assertive rather than aggressive or passive.
They will take part in group discussions, create and perform plays, watch video clips and share ideas about how people respond in certain situations - and how they should react positively.
PACS is aimed at young people who would benefit from early intervention, including those who find themselves at risk of being excluded from school, and will be offered to around 3,000 10 to 13 year olds locally over the next 3 years thanks to £120,000 from the Big Lottery Fund's Realising Ambition fund.
Realising Ambition is a UK-wide Big Lottery Fund programme investing £25 million to replicate evidenced based projects that have a track record in improving outcomes for young people. The Realising Ambition consortium is managed by Catch22, a forward-looking social business with over 200 years' experience of providing services that help people in tough situations to turn their lives around.
The programme will replicate 25 of the very best evidence based practices across the UK offering early help for young people at risk of offending.
Karen Esson, Wolverhampton City Council's PACS project lead, said: "PACS is an excellent way in which, working in partnership with Catch22, Kidscape and the Big Lottery Fund, we can support our young people's achievement by encouraging them to develop positive attitudes and manage their own behaviour effectively at an early age."
Sally Morris, Director of Young People and Family Services at Catch22, said: "Many of the young people PACS work with have not thrived in school and are getting into trouble or on the edge of exclusion but we know that evidence based projects like PACS can really help these young people to turn their lives around and help them re-focus in a positive way.
"Catch22 are proud that through the Realising Ambition learning many more organisations will be able to replicate the success of this and other projects and be sure that they are helping more young people realise their full potential."
Councillor Val Gibson, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: "We are keen to do all we can to ensure that our young people have the best possible start to their lives. This programme will give them the skills and confidence they will need to make and maintain positive relationships and go on to make the most of their lives in adulthood."
- released: Thursday 6 June, 2013