They’re Not the Problem — The System Is
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This week, we heard from a mum in Bolton who is fighting to save her son.
Aged just 13 years old. Two years ago, he was a happy, energetic, full-of-life boy. Now he barely talks. He struggles to get dressed, leaves the house less and less, and has lost all hope. Suspended from school again and again instead of being supported, labelled a problem instead of a person, he is now at home with no mental health help at all after being signed off by CAMHS.
His mum is terrified she’s losing her son, and she’s not alone.
When School Becomes a Battlefield
Every week, we hear stories like Oscar’s. Bright young people are misunderstood, punished instead of helped, and made to feel like they’re a burden instead of someone worth believing in.
In England alone, over 7,900 children were permanently excluded from school in 2022/23, with tens of thousands more suspended multiple times (Department for Education: Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions in England, 2022/23). Many of these children already face huge challenges — trauma, undiagnosed neurodiversity, unstable family life, or mental health struggles. Instead of getting help, they get pushed further away.
This is where the real danger begins. When school closes its doors, gangs and criminals open theirs. Children who feel they don’t belong anywhere become easy targets for grooming, exploitation, and county lines drug running. The promise of money, protection, and “family” is powerful when you’ve been told you don’t fit in anywhere else.
Children who are excluded from school are four times more likely to end up in the youth justice system (The Timpson Review of School Exclusion, Department for Education, 2019). For some, this spiral ends in violence, prison — or worse.
We Have to Do Better
Our schools and services are stretched to breaking point, but that cannot be an excuse for allowing our young people to fall through the cracks.
No child is born wanting to fail. They just want to feel safe, seen, and supported. Every young person deserves a second chance, even if they don’t always know how to ask for it.
They Gave Up On Us. We Didn’t. Now, We Won’t Give Up On Them.
No child should ever feel invisible. No parent should ever be left fighting alone.
“Every young person we work with is a reminder that no child is ever beyond hope. They’re not the problem — the system is. It’s our job to stand in that gap until things change.”
— Sam Smith, Founder, Genuine Futures
We believe no young person should feel forgotten. Through our R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Framework — Restorative Education & Enterprise — we’re helping NEET, excluded, and care-experienced youth find hope, trust and purpose again.
They gave up on us. We didn’t. Now, we won’t give up on them.
Join us: genuinefutures.co.uk
If you’re a parent, carer, teacher or professional who knows a young person like — please reach out. Together, we can break the cycle, keep our young people out of gangs and prison, and build futures worth fighting for.