New support for Birmingham teenagers on 'the verge of getting expelled'
The 'Circle of Friends' programme says they have already seen improvements in attendance.
Last updated 28th Jul 2025
Over £100,000 is being invested into a new support scheme for teenagers in Birmingham 'on the verge of being expelled'.
The 'Circle of Friends' programme said it has already seen improvements in attendance and young people's relationships at home.
What is the 'Circle of Friends' programme?
'Circle of Friends' is an 8-week programme for children aged 10-14 that have been referred for their behaviour.
They said the aim is to get children in the same room as other children, to learn how to manage their behaviour in a group setting.
The West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) and Birmingham City Council’s Community Safety Partnership has allocated a combined total of £136,000 to fund the project for a year.
"The earliest opportunity"
Kulvinder Dhillon, Safe Practice Manager at The Children’s Society, said: “The young people who are referred to us are considered low risk.
"The Circle of Friends Project is a way of targeting them at the earliest opportunity, to help stop the negative cycle of physical and emotional behaviours, that could lead to future criminality or exploitation.
“Without the right support, many of these children could grow into vulnerable teenagers.”
"I am proud of us"
A 13-year-old, who took part but didn’t want to be named, said: “I feel good to have completed it, but I’m going to miss it. I’m proud of us because I feel like we’ve accomplished a mission."
Another 13-year-old said: “I think before this we would make bad decisions when we got into arguments with each other, but now I know what to do in the future.
“I wasn’t trying to help myself before, or the other people around me, but in the sessions we talked about our problems and we were given scenarios and we had to think about how we would get out of it, which has helped a lot.”