What We’ve Been Up to in Education So Far This Year
The start of a new year is always full of potential.
Across January and February, our work in schools, colleges and universities has focused on one core goal: helping young people build the confidence, clarity and resilience to step into their future selves.
Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to so far in 2026.
Developing Student Peer Mentors with the University of Bristol
In January, we delivered a full training day for five student peer mentors at the University of Bristol.
The focus? Coaching skills, inclusive leadership and how to support fellow students with empathy and confidence.
Since then, we’ve continued working alongside the university to support the ongoing development of their peer mentors — helping them build the listening skills, self-awareness and presence required to create psychologically safe conversations.
Interested in how coaching skills could help support your students or staff? Read more here
1:1 Coaching with 150 Students at the University of York
This academic year, we are partnering with the University of York to deliver 1:1 coaching to 150 students across 2025–26 for their On Track programme.
These sessions are designed to support students with clarity, direction, confidence and resilience — whether they are navigating career decisions, academic pressure or personal growth.
This month, we met with the university team for our programme reviews, reflecting on impact and identifying ways to strengthen delivery even further.
You can read more about the outcomes and student feedback in our full case study here.
Stage 2 of Our Young Entrepreneurs Programme
We are currently in Stage 2 of our Young Entrepreneurs Programme (YEP) —where we are coaching some of the participants from our in-person event back in September last year.
At this stage, we are coaching 10 young people who are in the early stages of building their own businesses. Through 1:1 coaching and structured support, they are refining their ideas, developing their confidence and learning what it really takes to move from concept to launch.
For some of these young entrepreneurs, there’s an added opportunity: selected participants will receive a business grant funded by BrisBes to help bring their ventures to life.
Click to see some testimonials from some of the participants of the YEP event in September
Launching YEP (Young Entrepreneurs Programme) Online: Entrepreneurship, Accessible
We’re also excited to have recently launched YEP Online — a new digital resource designed to make entrepreneurship education more accessible.
YEP Online is a series of short, practical videos covering the fundamentals of starting a business. It’s aimed at young people who are curious about entrepreneurship but don’t know where to begin.
From developing an idea to understanding finances and next steps, the resource is designed to be simple, relatable and actionable.
While created with young people in mind, it’s equally valuable for anyone at the early stages of building a business.
Looking Ahead
As we move further into the year, we’re excited to continue partnering with educators and institutions who are committed to developing not just capable students — but confident, resilient future leaders.
If you’d like to explore how we can support your students through coaching, peer mentor training or entrepreneurship programmes, we’d love to start that conversation.
To get in touch with us about how we can help support your students and staff, contact our director Jess Woodsford:
Jess Woodsford is Co-founder and Director at Inclusive Futures CIC, specialising in our work for education. Learn more about Jess and connect with her on LinkedIn here.