Middlesbrough receives £1.4 million investment to tackle inequalities and child inequalities

A bold new initiative is set to tackle inequality and child inequalities in Middlesbrough.

This work is made possible by National Lottery players and National Lottery Community Fund, whose ongoing support continues to direct vital resources to communities that need them most.

This transformative programme brings together a powerful collaboration of local organisations, each rooted in the community and committed to change. The Junction, Youth Focus North East, Actes Trust, and Linx Youth Project will work directly with young people and families across Middlesbrough. Alongside them, Tees Valley Education (TVEd), a multi-academy trust serving communities across Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, will serve younger children in primary schools and their families, ensuring a joined-up approach from early years through to young adulthood.

Thanks to £1.4 million in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the partnership will align with Middlesbrough’s Youth Strategy and Tees Valley Education multi-academy Trust PLACE projects (People, Learning and Community Engagement) which place children, young people, and families experiencing hardship at the centre of lasting, systemic change.

Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said “This is a serious investment in organisations that do so much positive work for our communities. I’m extremely grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund. Their support can genuinely be life changing. We’re working hard to put in place help, opportunities and experiences for children of all backgrounds. I’m determined to make our town a positive place to grow up in and somewhere young people believe they can build a successful future.”

The additional funding will help drive forward a range of initiatives designed to inspire young minds, tackle inequality, and empower communities across Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley. Invested by The National Lottery Community Fund, this two-year commitment supports place-based change and reflects the Lottery’s dedication to addressing the complex challenges Middlesbrough faces—through partnership, learning, and a shared focus on positive, long-term impact.

Beth Major CEO of The Junction, says: “The impact of inequalities locally are complex and far reaching, affecting every aspects of a child’s life from basic needs like food and warmth, to social opportunities and educational achievement. Long term, it even affects the length that child’s life is likely to be. This isn’t acceptable or inevitable. It’s an immense challenge that no single organisation can overcome alone, working together, we can change educational achievement, family circumstances and finances, social and personal opportunities and employment for children in Middlesbrough”

The funded projects aim to create lasting change in the lives of local children and families by widening opportunities for young people, enhancing access to education and training, and supporting families experiencing inequalities to build better futures. Initiatives will also focus on ensuring access to essential resources, embedding high-quality careers education into primary settings, reducing long-term inequalities, and nurturing strong community leadership.

Paul Wales CEO from Actes Trust says “the result of hardship due to the lack of income, access to direct resources and support often impacts future livelihoods. This partnership aims to concentrate on several keys wards of Middlesbrough effected by inequalities by concentrating its approach on directly supporting young people to increase skills, confidence and labour market knowledge to be able to make informed career decisions”

Through investment will have four strands of work, that will combine to create meaningful change for thousands of children and their families across Teesside including:

§  Family focus: offering support to families experiencing inequalities through opportunities for peer support and connection, skills and confidence building, structured person centred support to address longer term challenges and advice work.

§  Middlesbrough Youth Mutual – Better Together – Futures: is led by Actes Trust and will work across the Middlesbrough wards of North Ormesby, Central and Newport, supporting 14–19-year-olds (both NEET and not NEET) to develop the skills, confidence and labour market knowledge to be able to make informed career decisions and gain secure and sustainable employment.

§  Middlesbrough Youth Mutual – Better Together – Foundations: is led by Linx Youth Project and will provide a range of youth support initiatives alongside partner organisations who will collaborate

to provide interconnected streams of support, and ensure comprehensive, age-specific, and youth-led interventions that empower young people to overcome barriers, build resilience, and access pathways to long-term success.

§  TVEd PLACE Projects: Tees Valley Education (TVEd) will lead three PLACE-based initiatives to tackle inequalities: Classroom to Careers will engage 1,500 primary pupils in meaningful career experiences with local industries; Addressing Sleep Inequalities will provide beds and sleep support through partnerships with Zarach and The Sleep Charity; and PLACE Makers will empower over 100 children to lead social action projects that address local challenges and build community leadership.

To ensure lasting and meaningful impact, partners will work closely with children, families, and community organisations to listen, learn, and reflect on the difference this initiative makes. These insights will not only shape local practice but will also contribute to regional and national conversations—shared through events and networks that bring together policy influencers, charities, and organisations united in their mission to tackle inequality and child inequalities.

This investment signals the National Lottery Community Fund’s deep commitment—alongside its funded partners—to building genuine, cross-sector partnerships with education, business, and community stakeholders. Through this collaborative approach, the project will amplify shared learning, deepen its reach, and lay the foundations for sustainable, transformative change in the lives of children and young people.

“We are delighted that, thanks to the generosity of players of the National Lottery, we can support this very important piece of work in Middlesbrough. By funding these partnerships, we will be helping to tackle some of the most challenging issues the community faces in an area that has been significantly impacted by cost- of-living increases and that features highly in government indexes of child poverty and deprivation.”

Duncan Nicholson Regional Head of Funding North East and Cumbria National Lottery Community Fund