Metis is delighted to support The Kids Network!

Metis is proud to be supporting The Kids Network, a London-based charity working to ensure every child has the chance to grow up confident, resilient and able to live the life they choose.

What does The Kids Network do?

The Kids Network supports children aged 8–11 to build confidence, connection and resilience through year‑long, one‑to‑one mentoring that nurtures their strengths and helps them thrive. Children growing up in London often face difficult circumstances like unstable housing, isolation and mental health challenges.

By intervening early, the charity helps children build confidence, self-worth and emotional wellbeing at a critical point in their development.

Since 2017, The Kids Network has supported more than 1,400 “Little Londoners”. The charity works with primary schools across the capital to reach children who may otherwise struggle to access consistent support. Their approach encompasses:

• One-to-One Mentoring: each child is paired with a trained volunteer mentor from the local community, providing friendship, guidance, and stability through regular, long-term support
• Child-Led and Trauma-Informed Support: empowering children, amplifying their voices, supporting emotional wellbeing, and nurturing their potential. Every child’s journey is unique and tailored to their needs
• Community Collaboration: the charity has partnered with 90+ schools across 11 London boroughs and engages local role models to make a lasting impact where they live
• New Experiences: each mentoring pair receives a monthly activity budget to engage in enriching experiences, from trips and activities to trying something new for the first time, that broaden horizons, build trust, and develop key life skills

Through this support, children report significant improvements in wellbeing, resilience and confidence. This helps them to feel better prepared for school and for the future. Metis’s support will help The Kids Network to reach more children and strengthen the communities they grow up in.

You can read The Kids Network’s Long-Term Impact Report here.

Why Metis is supporting The Kids Network

We believe The Kids Network’s work closely aligns with Metis’s commitment to creating positive, long term social outcomes.

The charity’s impact is both measurable and deeply human. By matching children with trained volunteer mentors from their local area and working in partnership with schools, the charity strengthens community connections and builds support networks around children and families. The charity shares powerful individual stories that show how consistent, trusted relationships can change what feels possible for young people.

This focus on people, place and community reflects Metis’s belief that thriving communities are essential to sustainable places. The charity’s preventative, long term mindset mirrors Metis’s own approach to engineering. We design solutions that address root causes and deliver lasting benefits for people and places.

Metis’s commitment to supporting communities

Alongside delivering infrastructure that supports everyday life, Metis believes businesses have a role to play in strengthening social outcomes and creating opportunities for people to thrive. This underpins our re-certification as a B Corporation in 2025.

By backing organisations that provide early, preventative support, Metis aims to support long term wellbeing, resilience and social connection. This commitment reflects Metis’s values led approach to engineering. We place people, place and purpose at the heart of everything we do.

Through charitable support and staff engagement, Metis continues to look for meaningful ways to give back. We strive to support initiatives that create lasting positive change.

A word from our managing director

“The Kids Network is doing vital work to support children at a point in their lives when the right relationships and encouragement can make a lasting difference”, says managing director Dani Parfitt.

“At Metis, we believe engineers have a responsibility not just to design better places, but to help create better futures. We’re proud to support an organisation that strengthens communities and helps young people build confidence and resilience.”

The Kids Network aspires to reach more children in the coming years, to ensure that no child has to face difficult circumstances alone, and that every child has someone in their corner.

To find out more about The Kids Network and the impact of their mentoring programmes, visit: https://www.thekidsnetwork.org.uk/