Powerful Partnerships
Celebrating an impactful partnership with Deloitte
Over the past three years, the Trust has worked in partnership with Deloitte’s Nottingham office to support local young people as part of Deloitte’s 5 Million Futures initiative. The partnership’s primary focus was funding four On Track to Achieve programmes in four schools across Nottingham, putting world-class athletes shoulder to shoulder with young people in Redhill Academy, Oakwood Academy, Hall Park Academy and the Winstanley School. Trust Athlete Mentor Kelvin Batey was a former BMX racer and has competed all over the globe – the highlight of his career was winning six medals at a World Championship event, two bronze, two silver and two golds. Now Kelvin uses his experiences from his BMX career to mentor young people, and has directly supported nearly 70 young people through this partnership.
Our On Track to Achieve programmes are designed to improve confidence, wellbeing, self-esteem and resilience in young people and we’ve been able to make some incredible long-lasting impact. We’ve been delighted to welcome volunteers from Deloitte Nottingham to take part in OTTAs throughout the partnership. These unforgettable experiences have benefitted both sides, with young people getting valuable insight from team members; and for the volunteers, it’s immensely rewarding to have helped a young person or to spark the lightbulb ‘I could do that’ moment.
Personal development, connections and increased confidence in young people
Thanks to Deloitte funding, students at the four schools supported during this partnership have seen tremendous growth. This year in Winstanley School, teachers reported improvements in attendance and social connections. They highlighted that hearing Kelvin’s story really resonated with some, and they had noticed that translating across into the classroom.
Kary Jane, Trust Careers & Aspirations Lead at Redhill Academy, where the programme was delivered in the 23/24 academic year, reflected on the programme in her school, saying: “This programme was fantastic… Kelvin is brilliant with the students. Lots of personal developments were made and the new formed connections with the students blew me away. The social action project was the most wholesome event, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
In order to measure the impact of our programmes, we ask young people to complete pre and post surveys. In 2024/25 young people who completed both surveys reported a 50% increase in confidence, 29% in resilience, a further 21% increase in self-esteem. Wellbeing increased by 71%.
One of the schools Dame Kelly Holmes Trust worked with in Nottingham
Making a difference in their local community
A key focus of the On Track to Achieve programme is the young people working with their athlete mentor to identify, plan and execute a Social Action Project which is close to their hearts and will benefit the local community.
Since the partnership began, young people in Nottingham have delivered some amazing projects which have created lasting impact, from raising awareness around knife crime, supporting local food banks, to visiting local care homes to help combat loneliness in elderly communities.
Our wider partnership
Fundraising: We’re hugely grateful for the fundraising effort from the Nottingham office who took part in some great events to raise funds for the Trust. Some of the highlights included the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, the Edale Walk, participation in the Nottingham Running Festival and Leeds Half Marathon, Kate & Nancy’s 10km Windermere Great North Swim and much more.
Giving Back: In line with the 5 Million Futures purpose, making societal impact by empowering Deloitte professionals to use their skills and experience to help people, we have worked with a team at Deloitte to improve our capacity to analyse our impact data. Experts at Deloitte have supported us in building a tool to review and match our pre and post surveys, allowing us to breakdown the data by funder, athlete mentor, and even per school.
Additionally, recognising that the cost of technology can be a barrier for young people, Deloitte have donated laptops to the Trust, which we have used to support schools and young people, helping bridge the digital divide faced by some of the young people we work with.
Employee Engagement: We have been thrilled to offer Deloitte employees the opportunity to experience the impact of working with an athlete mentor firsthand. The Trust delivered a Mindset Games workshop where over 100 Deloitte employees from across the UK joined forces for a high-energy day of team-building activities. Delivered by Trust athlete mentors, and designed to push communication, teamwork and leadership under pressure, the event showcased what’s possible when purpose and partnership align.
We cannot do what we do without the support of our funding partners, and we’d like to thank Deloitte for a successful partnership which has seen us make real impact across multiple areas – from increasing confidence in young people to designing a future proof Insight Tool, together we’ve help put Champions in Young People’s corners.