Building Self-Belief deliver programmes, projects, and training; all with the aim to build stronger communities by building self-belief. We have significantly improved the mental health, self-esteem and life chances of thousands of vulnerable young people across the North East, and we have lots of plans for exciting new projects.
Who do we help?
Building Self-Belief's core aim is to build stronger communities by building self-belief. We run a series of programmes for children in areas that are socio-economically ‘deprived’ according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) measures.
We deliver group workshops around wellbeing, building aspiration, future planning, teambuilding and cultural activities to support vulnerable young people in building better local communities.
As we have evolved, we also have to fabulous community spaces. Benfeldside Community Garden for our eco projects, toddler group, and gardening clubs, plus a fabulous space for Forest School. We also have a new community building at Steel Street, in the heart of Consett, where we deliver numerous community sessions.
Our Programmes
Research into young people's mental health has concluded that they are most vulnerable when having to cope with change. Therefore, we have created our programmes to support young people when they are most in need of emotional support.
Building Self-Belief Main Programmes:
- Wellbeing Programme
- Heritage Programme
- Employability Programme
- Environmental Programme
Our Projects
Working in collaboration with others is something that we think is extremely important. We conduct a range of projects, some have been transforming spaces, others have been heritage projects. Connecting young people and connecting communities is an essential way to build self-belief.
Our Research
We have a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to working with young people and establishing how to get the very best out of them. Nevertheless, we feel it is important that we are always learning. Conducting our own primary research is an important element of what we do. We are delighted to be currently working with professionals and interns from Newcastle University to coordinate what has the potential to be very informative research.
Who we Sponsor
We are absolutely delighted to be sponsoring Consett Anarchy fooball team. They approached us when they were short of funds to buy a kit and coats, so we stepped up as this is a great way to give something back in support of the local community. Our volunteer, Eddie Thomas, is also a Consett AFC first team player, so he came along to present the shirts and deliver a training session to the team. If you would like support from us for any projects in the community, please get in touch!
Forest School - Coming Soon!
As a team we are working towards delivering official Forest School sessions. Part of our work this summer, will to work with our gardening club, to create a stronger Forest school ethos as a section our Benfieldside Community Garden. By September 2026, we will ready to launch our very own Forest School sessions for all ages! Watch this space!
Success stories
Celebrating Stanley / Digital Inclusion / December 16th, 2025
Celebrating Stanley / Digital Inclusion / December 16th, 2025
June's Celebration of Stanley
June has lived in Stanley for 50 years and brought up in a mining village. Listen to her Celebrating Stanley podcast here as she shares her fondest memories of the town.
Aspirations and Future Planning / May 29th, 2021
North Durham Academy | Bridging the Gap Between Education and Work
Sixth Form students at North Durham Academy, Stanley, Co Durham, took part in our Bridging the Gap Between Education and Work programme. This programme is designed to enhance their employability skills, and raise their aspirations. It was a huge success!
Wellbeing and the Arts / Digital Inclusion / March 25th, 2026
Wellbeing and the Arts / Digital Inclusion / March 25th, 2026
Odin's Poems
As part of our digital inclusion programme, we are open to all kinds of suggestion of help from the members of the community. Odin has been to quite a few of our sessions, and we have helped him in all kinds of ways to get reconnected. This week I was personally delighted that he brought along some poetry that he has written, to share with us, and asked for our help to digitise.