Programmes That Inspire Young People to Thrive
Our life-changing programmes are aimed at improving the mental health & wellbeing of young people
93%
of students of feel humanutopia inspired them to make the most of their education.
90%
of students report that working with humanutopia made them feel more confident.
81%
feel more positive about their future after working with humanutopia.
96%
take time to understand people before judging them after working with humanutopia.
79%
feel that humanutopia has helped them be able to sell themselves in an interview situation.
Our programmes sit within long-term school partnerships, allowing learning to deepen over time and creating sustained improvements in wellbeing, behaviour, confidence, and leadership.
Creating a better school culture through character education
According to Jubilee Centre and University of Birmingham (2017), character education is caught, taught, and sought:
caught
Young people absorb values through role-modeling, culture, ethos
taught
Explicitly taught reasoning, moral-decision making
sought
Encouraged to actively pursue character development
Character is fundamental to human flourishing and as something that can and should be developed intentionally through education. It is often distinguished between four types of virtue—moral, civic, intellectual, and performance—with phronesis (practical wisdom) guiding how these are balanced in life. This framework stresses that character is both caught through a school’s culture and relationships and taught through explicit instruction and reflection. It also highlights that good character education is holistic, inclusive, and a shared responsibility between schools, families, and the wider community.
Our programmes strongly align with these principles by promoting the personal and social development of young people through experiential learning. Our core focus on Hope, Confidence, Happiness, Relationships, and Employability mirrors the framework’s emphasis on human flourishing and the development of moral and performance virtues. Our best-selling programmes such as Who Am I and The Heroes Journey create powerful opportunities for self-reflection, empathy, and leadership, while peer-mentoring and whole-school workshops foster a positive culture where good character is “caught” through role modelling. Our measurable impact data also supports the framework’s call for holistic assessment of character growth.
Through building self-awareness, responsibility, and agency, our teams helps students develop the autonomy, resilience, and civic awareness that are commonly identified as core outcomes of effective character education. Their inclusive, empowering approach ensures every student—especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds—has access to meaningful personal growth and leadership opportunities. While our language focuses more on wellbeing and personal transformation than on virtue theory, the underlying principles closely mirror the framework’s vision: character development as a lifelong, liberating process that prepares young people to contribute positively to their communities and to lead purposeful, flourishing lives.
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Implemented with Our Theory of Change:
We challenge young people to talk about their problems together.
Lasting change takes time. Through long-term partnerships of one, three, or five years, we support schools as school culture strengthens from the inside out.
Over time, students will build confidence, resilience, and self-awareness, while staff develop shared language and consistent approaches. The result is meaningful culture change that lasts well beyond any single experience.
With over 21 years of experience and partnerships with more than a thousand schools, humanutopia is the premier UK school provider, working alongside schools for the long term.
Secondary School Programmes, at a glance
Who is this suitable for?
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Year 7 – Year 13
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Up to 240 students
What is the format?
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Full day with whole year group (3 sessions)
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2x half day sessions, half year group per session
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We will need a hall available with free-standing chairs
What do you cover?
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Circumstances – what are the barriers to success?
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Choices – seeing yourself in a different light and overcoming these barriers
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Changes – what does your future look like? What changes do you need to make?
How can Who Am I help my school?
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Year 7 Induction
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Transition KS3 – KS4 – Options
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Support for a year group around behaviour, aspirations
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Themed weeks (e.g. anti bullying, kindness)
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Perfect for drop down days
Who is this suitable for?
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Year 11 or Year 13
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Up to 240 students
What is the format?
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Full day with whole year group (3 sessions)
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2x half day sessions, half year group per session
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We will need a hall available with free-standing chairs
What do you cover?
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Identifying & rationalising current and existing fears and worries.
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Adopting a growth mindset in approaching challenges.
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The key difference between things you can't control and things you can. control - circumstances v choices.
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The benefits of positive choices upon destiny.
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How the short becomes the medium and quickly becomes the long term.
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Reassessing what matters and what doesn’t.
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Setting goals that matter.
How can Final Push help my school?
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It can help boost levels of general positivity, effort, and attainment, giving a real boost to the final grades of the cohort.
Who is this suitable for?
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Two year groups – for example:
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Year 9 Heroes with Year 7
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Year 10 Heroes with Year 8
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Year 11/12 Heroes with Year 9
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What is the format?
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Full day with older year group
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Full day of training with volunteers to be heroes
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Full day with younger students with heroes
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Follow up activities for the heroes to do with younger year group
What do you cover?
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The importance of a team mentality
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Barriers holding back the team
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The importance of communication
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How to become a positive influence
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Actions speak louder than words
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Key leadership skills
How can Heroes Journey help my school?
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Led by young people, for young people
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Can complement existing leadership programmes in school
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Embeds values of tolerance, empathy, resilience and volunteering
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Provides a leadership pathway for those harder to reach so they can shine
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Can be used to support primary/transition liaison, PSHE sessions, academic mentoring and ambassador/prefect work
Who is this suitable for?
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Year 7 – Year 13
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Up to 240 students at a time
What is the format?
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Three sessions over a term
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First session with whole or half year group
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Second set of intensive extension sessions with smaller groups
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Third day two half day sessions, with half the year group at a time
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We will need a hall available with free-standing chairs
What do you cover?
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Identifying & rationalising current and existing fears and worries.
-
Adopting a growth mindset in approaching challenges.
-
The key difference between things you can't control and things you can. control - circumstances v choices.
-
The benefits of positive choices upon destiny.
-
How the short becomes the medium and quickly becomes the long term.
-
Reassessing what matters and what doesn’t.
-
Setting goals that matter.
How can a Year Group Extended Programme help my school?
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Specific support for a year group that faces challenges
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This can be part of a rolling programme that happens every year
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Can support existing PSHE initiatives, for example drop down days. Our key messages can also be woven into the PSHE framework
Who is this suitable for?
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Year 6s moving into Year 7. Supported by older students Year 9+
What is the format?
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Training sessions for student volunteers to help them prepare
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Ongoing support and communication with the school in the run-up
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Three days during transition week or the summer holidays, mix of student led workshops and whole group sessions
What do you cover?
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The importance of honesty, awareness and responsibility
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The benefits of stepping out of the comfort zone, trying new things and overcoming worries and anxieties
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Developing tolerance and empathy for others
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Discovering your own skillsets and attributes that make you unique and being able to articulate this
How can HARmony Camp help my school?
HARmony Camp is a twist on the traditional summer school model - the incoming Year 7 get all the benefits of transition, but it is values led based around honesty, awareness and responsibility. The other key difference is that it is student led - we carefully train students to run activities, provide support and carefully scaffold the three days to ensure the best possible experience, whilst gradually empowering the student heroes to take responsibility as the week progresses.
