About Roundabout Upstream England
Roundabout is launching a new project in 2025 to support young people who might be at risk of youth homelessness.
Upstream works collaboratively with schools and communities to identify issues for young people such as school disengagement, poor mental health and wellbeing, and family conflict, providing early interventions and support to reduce the risk of problems escalating in future.
Upstream England
Drawing inspiration from successful models such as the Geelong Project in Australia, and Upstream Cymru, Upstream England is a schools-based initiative which operates within secondary school classrooms across England, utilising an internationally evaluated Upstream digital survey. The survey asks a series of questions to explore more about a young person’s homelife, wellbeing and experience of school. This enables early identification of issues such as school disengagement, poor mental health, and family conflict and breakdown, which all increase the risk of homelessness for young people.
Upstream then offers to work with young people and their families through child led and family centred interventions.
Our Vision
We believe that all young people have the right to be happy, safe and successful.
Upstream is a long-term project which aims to help young people long before the point where they may be at risk of youth homelessness, by intervening earlier and addressing challenges that young people are facing.
In the short term, the Upstream project will have clear benefits for young people, providing support, advice and guidance with school, homelife, relationships and wellbeing, helping them to develop the tools and skills needed for their future.
Our Support
Through a universal screening process, young people complete the Upstream survey in their classrooms. This identifies young people who will then be invited to meet with a member of the Upstream team to explore whether support would be right for them.
This support is flexible and tailored to meet the needs of the individual and their family. It might include 1:1 mentoring, school and career advice, family support and mediation, or support with referrals and access to other services.
Support might take place in school, in the community or in the family home. An initial 10 sessions will be offered, however this may vary depending on the needs of the young person.
Role of Schools
Schools are integral to the delivery of Upstream, as Upstream uses a universal screening process in a secondary school setting, rather than relying on referrals. This means we can identify young people who may need support the most and who may not already be known to or working with services.
We are seeking to build collaborative partnerships with schools in order to successfully deliver early interventions to young people and their families.