COUNCILLORS have said that they must ‘crack on’ with a scheme which will give young people in Wellington support from the moment they are born through to early adulthood.

It was back in 2024 when Wellington Town Council was first introduced to a project being developed by the town’s Court Fields School entitled Cradle to Career.

The Cradle to Career initiative has been used by schools in other parts of the country and its core approach involves providing a pipeline of support from birth to early adulthood, combined with activities which target different aspects of young people’s lives.

This could include antenatal classes and social groups for parents, youth groups, mentoring, and career advice.

The ethos goes beyond a school’s typical role and helps to join up local services to improve prospects for young people and the community.

Wellington Town Council has agreed to put £50,000 into the project and members of the council’s community committee were given an update on the plans at their latest meeting.

The council’s community development officer, Laura Batcha, said: “Cradle to Career aligns strongly with the council’s wider ambitions to support community wellbeing, opportunity, and long-term resilience.

“Cradle to Career recognises that life outcomes are shaped across multiple stages of childhood and young adulthood.

“Support for children, young people, and families is often delivered by a range of organisations, including schools, early years providers, community organisations, and employers.

“The scheme provides a shared framework for collaboration between partners in Wellington.

‘Rather than creating new services, the programme focuses on strengthening relationships between organisations and supporting locally-led initiatives that respond to community needs.

“The programme is delivered as a partnership between Court Fields School and Wellington Town Council, supported by a wider network of education, employer, and community partners.”

Councillors have said that it is now time to get Cradle to Career working – rather than just talk about it.

Wellington Mayor Cllr Janet Lloyd said: “We have had presentations and reports about this and it is part of our strategy and we need to carry on with this.”

Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “It is intrinsic to what we want to do for Wellington.

“The report is a bit fluffy, but I now want to see spades in the ground and to know what we are going to do.”

The council’s chief executive, Dave Farrow, said: “I accept that we have been talking about this for a long time, but it is a bit like trying to knit fog at the moment.”

Cllr Justin Cole said: “We need to get out and do things.

“We are not going to score a goal if we do not put the ball in the net.”

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “We need to get on and promote the family support this scheme can offer, especially now that Court Fields School is going up to 1,000 students.”

Councillors agreed to approve the Cradle to Career strategy and to allocate £14,300 from the council’s budget to support the first year of the programme.