Over the past year, I鈥檝e been involved in various conversations with various government departments about how to deliver . My answer is always the same: get out of the way. Four of the government鈥檚 five missions 鈥� on crime, health and growth as well as opportunity 鈥� all revolve directly around investing in children and young people. Ministers understand this, and are keen to work cross-departmentally. But while that ambition is right, it won鈥檛 happen fast or flexibly enough to make the impact we need now. On the other hand, partnership at the local level can, and ministers can certainly (and cheaply) nudge us in that direction. Here鈥檚 an example. One of the prime minister鈥檚 top priorities, he declared last July, was to reduce crime by preventing teenagers from being swept onto the 鈥渆scalator鈥� to prison. To do this, he committed to a new Young Futures programme, with a network of hubs 鈥渞eaching every community鈥� and bringing together youth workers, mental health support workers and careers advisers. A year on, the government have restated that commitment, but they have yet to publish a timeline. (鈥淢ore details in due course.鈥�) We do know that the rollout will begin with some 鈥渆arly adopter鈥� pilots which will shape the policy鈥檚 longer-term development, but the lack of substantial progress is frustrating and 拢95 million raised from applying VAT and business rates to private schools is clearly insufficient to fund it. But there is a way of stretching the money and expanding the delivery. The core issue 鈥� the one that sits behind all the presenting issues 鈥� is poverty. Poverty compounds all other difficulties for children and hugely increases their vulnerability to early contact with the criminal justice system. The lack of substantial progress is frustrating When issues like special educational needs and, say, developmental trauma are layered on top of poverty, a child鈥檚 vulnerability multiplies exponentially. Add in the lack of school resource to offer the bespoke care such children and their families need to thrive, and all too often the result is exclusion. This marks the start of a so-called 鈥榮chool-to-prison pipeline鈥� that is not only disastrous for the child involved and their family but for all of us. So how do we move away from exclusion and towards a system strong enough to offer bespoke support to every child? The first phase of a national roll-out of free breakfast clubs to primary schools in some of the most disadvantaged areas is a help. But there is much more we can do to support schools to mitigate the effects of poverty. As culture, media and sport secretary, Lisa Nandy declared, 鈥渉arnessing the dynamism, innovation and trusted reach of civil society organisations鈥� is key. Just as Labour was elected, and taking Lisa Nandy鈥檚 words to heart, we opened Oasis St Martin鈥檚 Village on the site of a former secondary school in South London. I was an unofficial Young Futures hub pilot. Working to support the local schools, parents and the whole community, our aim is that no child is off-rolled from their mainstream school. Our partners, a network of local community charities and organisations, work together to offer a therapeutic, relational approach to support, learning and engagement via everything from music and catering to horticulture and photography (never losing sight of numeracy and literacy). On top of this, we鈥檝e added in a multidisciplinary NHS health team, plus advice and support services for parents. Declining birth rates have led to school closures nationwide, leaving behind under-utilised or empty public buildings. Repurposing these 鈥� offered by local councils to educational trusts or other charities 鈥� provides a way for others to replicate and improve on the model we鈥檝e pioneered. Then, all you need are the salaries for a 鈥榁illage鈥� director and administrator, whose tasks are to develop the infrastructure and partnerships with local charities invested in redirecting more young people towards extraordinary young futures. Delivering Labour鈥檚 missions won鈥檛 start by joining up Whitehall, however innovative (and welcome) that would be. It will start with less centralisation and joining up local communities. And that鈥檚 the kind of change we can all get behind. Every day this week, Schools Week will publish an article from an education leader reviewing the government鈥檚 performance in education in its first year聽in office. Read them all here