Ince and Ince surprise Oliver in EFL Week of Action

Launched in 2017, the EFL Week of Action is an annual League-wide celebration of the work done by EFL clubs and their Club Community Organisations (CCOs) in their respective areas and Reading Football Club are very proud of the impact our Community Trust has in our local community.

And each year, all 72 clubs from the EFL's three divisions come together to demonstrate the impact that football has in positively changing people’s lives, joining participants in a range of community activities, many of which helping to tackle some of society's biggest issues.

On Monday afternoon, Royals manager Paul Ince and his son - star midfielder Tom Ince - helped our Community Trust surprise one young supporter, Oliver Lincoln, who has participated in a number of programmes run by the Community Trust and has benefited hugely as a result.

A big Royals fan, 15-year-old Oliver was diagnosed with epilepsy and a chronic sleeping disorder, has had negative education experiences, and suffered with his mental health. He was lost until he was referred to the ‘Step 2 Success’ and ‘RAP’ programmes with our Community Trust and his Mum, Anna, wrote to the Trust to further explain the effect it has had on his young life…..

"My son was referred to the Steps to Success programme by his Early Help family worker; the hope was that he would find a sense of belonging following a prolonged absence from school due to his medical needs and mental health issues. He needed to experience positive male role models and find a way to trust professional adults once more. 

"The programme has been pivotal in restoring his confidence and reducing his anxiety. He has a mentor, who offered him time, support and understanding in a setting that is non-judgemental, kind and nurturing. The sessions he had with Steps to Success were extremely positive and his presence on site with the Trust offered him exposure to the wider Reading FC Community Trust programme.

"And as a result of this positive experience, he was extremely keen to spend more time with the Reading FC Community Trust team - at a time when he had no access to any educational provision and was essentially cut off from his school community.

"The Reading FC Alternative Provision (RAP) programme opened up the opportunity to Oliver to become part of a new community, offering him respect, compassion, kindness, acceptance and the chance to achieve once again. The provision has been life changing. He now has routine, support and direction, empowering him to have faith in himself and hope for his future. 

"The Trust team are outstanding and, without them, my son’s story could have been very different. In addition to my son’s experience, it is important to recognise that a family is also affected when a child is isolated, fearful and lonely - through no fault of their own. The team at the Trust - Paul, Dan, Ray, Keith and Callum (my son’s mentor on the Steps to Success programme) to mention a few - have offered ongoing support to me as well as my son. This has allowed me to feel that we made the right decision, and now as a family, we are all able to feel the positive effects of the work that they are doing with Oliver. 

"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the professionals who have made this possible as it has literally turned my son’s life around from despair to an excitement around his future. We are hoping that he will continue his journey with Reading Football Club's Community Trust at college - as he is now inspired to gain the qualifications he needs to potentially join the team and offer the same support to other young people in the future."

With young people today facing so many challenges, schools can face additional pressures on their ability to provide pastoral care and emotional support. This is where the Step 2 Success project has been able to help support young people in the Wokingham Borough who have school attendance percentages of 90% or below.

The aim of the Step 2 Success programme is to use the appeal of Reading Football Club to support 8-16 year-olds who are marginalised or at risk of not reaching their potential and supporting them as they move through the education system and early adulthood.

The project includes specific work identified by both the referrer and the young person, with a holistic and tailored approach to help develop life skills and positive attitudes as well as increasing their school attendance percentage.

The Reading FC Alternative Provision programme meanwhile supports students who are experiencing difficulties in school. The students are referred to Reading FC’s Alternative Provision from primary and secondary schools and every RAP student is able to select a mentor who then supports the student completing daily reviews and helping them to complete a portfolio of different workshops and activities to support their learning and emotional wellbeing.

The qualifications available to the students include Sports Leaders or FA Junior Football Leaders which offer a recognised qualification and our Trust currently have 106 students working on an individual or reduced timetable during the week. They aim to help students get back on track and back into mainstream school or to improve their efforts within their current school.

Oliver was enjoying a tour of the stadium and was pitchside when he saw Tom Ince stride towards him with a football in hand. Ince chatted to Oliver and had a kick-about with the young supporter before offering to show him the home dressing room.

Stood by the tactics board was his dad, manager Paul Ince, who laughed and joked with Oliver and his mum whilst explainig where each player say on a matchday at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The Royals boss spoke about the EFL Week of Action and how proud he is of the work our Trust do in the local community, saying "We have a platform in football where we can affect people's lives. We haven't done enough of that in the past and when I arrived there was a disparity between the club and its community of fans.

"Sometimes we get carried away with the importance of the football and with all the work that our Community Trust do on a daily basis, that should never be the case.

"So to be here today and meet Oliver, a die-hard Reading fan who has been able to kick a ball about with his favourite player, it's been amazing.

"We'd love to have an impact like this on every kid in Oliver's shoes because it's such a rewarding thing to be able to do. It's not possible of course. But if we can make a difference with kids like Oliver, help brighten their future and look after the next generation, then we've done our job."

"When I learned about the chance to meet Oliver - a young lad who has had a tough time - I was excited myself," Tom Ince said. "And to see the smile on his face just to be here it's made my day - just to chat to Oliver about his life, his dreams, his aspirations.

"I hope we have helped him in some way to inspire him to achieve his goals by working hard. And with the help of the Community Trust, he has been given the opportunity now.

"Now he is in a community where people are looking after him, a club and its Trust who want to push him in the right direction."

"The Community Trust at Reading are such an amazing team," Oliver's mum said as she watched her son chat to the gaffer, his son and the Trust mentors who have worked with him. "They are welcoming, they understand every child who steps through their doors has challenges of some description and they are so non-judgmental.

"They have invested in him. And slowly, Oliver started to believe in himself again. It has turned his life around and I don't know what would have happened without the Trust's work.

"I'm super proud of him, how far he has come since starting these programmes and I hope he will go on and give something back to the community himself in the future."