Bristol Care Leavers Benefit from Pilot Driving Lessons Scheme

Free Driving Lessons for Bristol Care Leavers Project Success:

The life chances of young people leaving care in Bristol are being improved by a new project which funds driving lessons.

The pilot project led by the University of Bristol with Bristol City Council and funded by the AA Charitable Trust, has just completed 40 hours of free tuition to a second group of care leavers.

The lessons aim to ‘boost confidence’ and improve the ‘future prospects’ of care leavers in the city, Councillor Helen Godwin, Cabinet Member for Children and Families said.

“Care leavers are amongst some of the most vulnerable people in our community so we were pleased to be able to work with the AA and Bristol University to offer this opportunity to our care leavers,” she said.

“As a corporate parent, we have a responsibility to ensure that despite the difficulties many will have faced earlier in their lives, each young person is given the best opportunity possible to fulfil their potential.”

The project was initially created in 2011 between The AA Charitable Trust, Bristol City Council and the School for Policy Studies. to help nurture independence and confidence. But, being able to drive at the end of the lessons was not the only advantage.

AA Charitable Trust Director, Edmund King OBE said: “When we launched this project in 2011 we were confident it would have a positive impact on disadvantaged young people, but no idea it would be as beneficial as it has been.

“What has really stood out for us is not so much the benefit that being able to drive brings in terms of independence and mobility, but the benefits that just the process of having lessons brings – regardless of whether participants actually passed their test in the end or not.”

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