Ask The Question CIC thanks CultureDale Activation Fund and Community Foundation for Calderdale for generous grant

Ask The Question CIC in Hebden Bridge is thrilled to announce that they have received vital funding from the CultureDale Activation Fund for their project, “Cultural Connections for Growth”. The initiative aims to use arts, history, and storytelling to support personal development, integration, and community cohesion. The project will be open to students in Calderdale from disadvantaged and adverse backgrounds, and will focus on breaking down barriers, nurturing curiosity about others, and instilling confidence in young minds. The funding will directly support staffing, materials, transport, and venue hire, ensuring the project’s accessibility and inclusivity.

The project, which has been running since the start of this year, will be a focus of the CIC until the end of July this year. The project has so far created opportunities for participants to work collectively in workshops and attend cultural visits, breaking down barriers of social isolation and prejudice, and celebrating the diversity of Calderdale and surrounding areas. They will be working collaboratively with other local organisations and will focus on local pride. 

Ask The Question CIC provides one-to-one tuition and mentorship to children and teenagers in Calderdale who have experienced adverse childhood experiences, in particular those who have suffered as a result of abuse, neglect and trauma. They have worked with over 150 students since they were formally founded in 2017, over half of which have had experience of local authority care. 

Sessions at Ask The Question focus on well-being, social and emotional learning, and the building of resilience, and aim to improve educational outcomes by providing a nurturing environment that is safe, secure, flexible, caring and a place where positive relationships are seen as fundamental. Research shows that children perform significantly better when they’re tutored one-to-one for their education, compared to students who are tutored in a traditional classroom setting. Sessions look to enable students to gain qualifications and increase their employability for the future, enabling more positive future outcomes for their lives ahead.

Students who attend sessions through Ask The Question have consistently reached their potential, with every student passing their Maths and English GCSE, and three students this year going on to attend a Russell Group University. They recently celebrated all of their 11+ students passing the 11+ exam.

Jo Austin, founder of Ask The Question CIC, said, “We are absolutely delighted to receive this funding from such a well known and highly thought of organisation such as the CultureDale Activation Fund. This project will celebrate all that Calderdale is about, championing our diversity and breaking down prejudices, whilst working collaboratively with other local organisations and businesses. Thank you CultureDale and the Community Foundation for Calderdale!”