West London Zone was designed by families, charities, local government and schools, who came together because of a shared experience. Everyone knew someone who might have taken a different path with the right opportunities.

West London Zone was inspired by the world’s first ‘children’s zone’ – the ground-breaking Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), later rolled out across 20 US states as President Obama’s ‘Promise Neighbourhoods’ programme. One of our founders visited Harlem Children’s Zone in 2011.

West London Zone’s model is inspired by HCZ’s core principles - working with a group of children from ‘cradle-to- career’, in a place-based way – to change the lives of children in West London. 

Before West London Zone was launched, local families with children of all ages, ex-offenders, and groups of secondary school students were interviewed. Then, over 40 people from local government, the voluntary sector, education, community groups, and funders, were brought together over about 6 months to design the WLZ model.

In 2015, a 1-year pilot took place in 3 educational settings – early years, primary and secondary.

After this was evaluated, West London Zone was formally launched in September 2016 in partnership with 132 children and families, 3 schools and 12 charities. In 2021-22 we will work with 1,308 children, and partner with over 29 schools and 40 charities.

You can read more about our outcomes and how we measure impact in our Impact Report.