Empowering young people post-Impact Programme: Alumni Showcase 2026

Photo of four alumni with certificates at the Alumni Showcase 2026

Maia Jarvis, Community Engagement Manager, and Nathaniel Laydon, Community Engagement Coordinator, reflect on AllChild’s first-ever Alumni Showcase.

In July, we brought together 20 young leaders from seven schools across West London to celebrate their achievements as members of the AllChild Alumni Network. The afternoon included reflecting on stand-out moments of leadership throughout the year and the presentation of certificates to recognise the skill development of each young person.

The event was hosted by seven alumni, who opened the showcase using a speech they had developed collectively. They shared highlights from their experiences, including advising the Department for Education’s Education Policy Innovation Centre on initiatives that will affect students across the country, as well as being peer mentors to young people currently on the Impact Programme.

We also screened our youth-led Alumni Network video, created in partnership with Media Cubs.

The showcase was an opportunity for young people to reflect on their individual progress, celebrate each other and recognise the impact they had speaking up on issues they care about and collectively shaping decision-making within AllChild and beyond.

Leading a movement for change

In 2023, we set out to build a community of young leaders aged 13 and above who have completed the AllChild Impact Programme. In the years since, we’ve helped our young people to develop new skills, influence our decision-making and spark positive change in their communities through monthly workshops, training and meaningful leadership opportunities.

Many alumni, youth voice and changemaking initiatives currently available focus on the 16+ or 18-25 age range. We are committed to challenging this norm and giving young people a platform to shape decisions that affect their lives and communities, long before they would typically be able to access such opportunities.

The initiative is modelled on accepted youth engagement best practice and aligns with AllChild’s vision of creating sustained impact in the communities we work in. One of our aims is to give our Alumni Ambassadors the confidence and speaking skills to become advocates for our preventative place-based support model and champions of the programme that once delivered real change in their lives.

Using key learnings to shape our vision for this project, we are now working to expand the network as more young people across the country complete their Impact Programme. Our goal is to build a national movement of young leaders – rooted in community, united in supporting each other, and empowered to lead change that lasts.

Unlocking potential in every young person

The impact on our young people has been clear to see. At the showcase we saw children who had started the year hesitant to speak that were now confidently welcoming guests, presenting on stage, and celebrating the achievements of their peers.

Self-assessment and reflection have been strong measures of success. At the end of the summer term, all our alumni said our workshops had helped them share their opinions and feel confident to influence decisions.

Young people have also described developing a strong sense of belonging. The network enables alumni to connect with peers from different schools and develop their skills within a community of driven, ambitious young leaders.

The Alumni Network represents more than upskilling and opportunity. We believe that true transformation starts locally and scales nationally, and our alumni embody the change we want to see.

The showcase was an incredible demonstration of what young people are capable of when given the space, time and investment at an early stage to unlock their potential. We are excited to continue building our Alumni Network and welcome our first cohort of alumni from schools in the North West in September.

What did our alumni have to say about the network?

“I love meeting new people and I owe it all to the Alumni Network.”

Across the training workshops, we developed skills like communication, confidence, resilience, public speaking and planning for future opportunities.

It gave us space to try new things, speak up and learn more about what we are capable of. For lots of us, it was also a chance to grow in confidence alongside people from different schools.