Meet the Mancunian – 7.6 – John Shiels - transcript

Intro

Hello and a warm Mancunian welcome to you today.

I'm Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, your host, and it's an honour to share Season 7 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester with you. This season is all about celebrating the stories of our local changemakers and the profound social impact they are creating.

Every Tuesday, I shine a spotlight on the incredible individuals weaving the fabric of our community. From grassroots heroes to local legends, their stories are the soul of Manchester.

Whether you're tuning in on Apple, Spotify, Google, or www.meetthemancunian.co.uk get ready for a season that showcases the incredible social impact within our community.

Welcome to the sixth episode of Season 7 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester.

Meet the Guest: John Shields, CEO, Manchester United Foundation

Passionate about supporting the youth, we hear from John Shields, CEO, Manchester United Foundation, in this episode.

[00:01:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'm delighted to introduce my guest, John Shields, CEO, Manchester United Foundation. Thank you so much for taking the time today, John.

[00:01:17] John Shiels: It's my pleasure, Deepa. I'm looking forward to it.

John's Journey: From teaching to impacting mllions

[00:01:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us first about how you found your passion for supporting the youth. Where did that come from?

[00:01:24] John Shiels: I was born with it, I think. Even as a young boy, even at primary school, as this senior pupil in school, I was looking after the little ones and then went through secondary school. I trained to become a teacher. I loved teaching. I love football. I love sports. I trained to become a PE teacher and a drama teacher, actually.

I think probably the two most important subjects in school. Unfortunately, that's not the case now in terms of the way schools have gone. And then I trained to be a teacher, and then whilst I was at teacher training college, I was doing my coaching qualifications in football, and I got the opportunity to start working with a gentleman called Bobby Charlton, likely known as Sir Bobby Charlton.

And I was fortunate enough to start working on his first ever soccer school in 1979. And the rest is history for me, really. Two or three years later when I qualified and became a teacher, I had the opportunity of going to Sir Bobby's Soccer Schools full time. Although I love my teaching, it only got me to a thousand kids. My choice at that time was the right choice because, consequently, I've been involved with the education and nurturing of millions of kids. And that's exactly What I'd like.

[00:02:40] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is a really wonderful start. I love that you started when you were little looking after the younger ones, and then your passion for teaching and drama and PE coming together, and then working with Sir Bobby. It sounds like a really great journey.

The role of Manchester United Foundation in youth development

[00:02:56] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us now about your current role, where you've been with the Manchester United Foundation for some years now, and you talk about supporting millions of kids. It'll be really interesting to know what you do with them and what Manchester United Foundation is doing.

[00:03:10] John Shiels: The present role evolved out of my soccer school's role, really where we did soccer schools, but we always did it with an educational bias. As well as kids coming and playing soccer, we also taught them social skills. Nutrition, health, being. And then 2008 the opportunity came to come across from soccer schools to the foundation.

And I couldn't have written a better job description. It was education and football. And using the power of Manchester United's brand, but also the power of the game, how could we engage young people, generally young people who are disengaged. And again, a lot of that's not through their own fault.

We tend to work in areas of social, high social challenge. So, using the power of the game and the brand to engage young kids to demonstrate to them that they have a lot of potential. They have a lot of talent.

We try to put opportunities in. And that goes across a broad range of activity. When we first started working, a lot of the work we did was with the football, and now I'd say in our delivery patterns, the football's still there. Obviously, Manchester United name's still there, but actually, we're far more involved in pastoral care and nurturing the holistic development of the young people.

If we look at last year, we work with just over 25,000 youngsters in the Greater Manchester area. We also have a project over in London Derry, Northern Ireland. We have a project up in Carlisle. And we have a school now down in London. And the idea is that where we go, where we serve, we stay.

So, it's really important for our young people, if they are given some help and some assistance, it's there for a sustained period of time. It's not something that you put in place and then you withdraw it. And leave these young people stranded. It's quite complex What we do, but it's amazing What we do.

 I'm blessed to be able to get up every day and to work with a team of unbelievable foundation staff that, just go out there and each day, make the world a better place, really.

[00:05:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Yes, I've met some of your team and they're very passionate and it's wonderful to see all the good work you're up to.

Challenges and solutions in supporting the Youth

[00:05:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What are the challenges you're facing in this journey? Because obviously you've got a big, ambitious task you're trying to do, like you said, going to areas where young people are challenged and supporting them through pastoral care, education, football, and many other programs. Are there challenges you've had to overcome?

[00:05:39] John Shiels: The challenge is in the respect that you can't view What we do in isolation. Unfortunately, I think last week statistics came up that the social divide in this country has never been as great since the Victorian era. So, the haves and the have nots, the divide is huge.

Ideally, we would like, if we looked at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we'd look to be working more than halfway up the pyramid in raising aspiration and building self-esteem. And post pandemic really, we've actually dropped to the lowest tier of that model. We're having to give food, we're having to give warmth, we're having to give clothing, we're, having to give love and care and attention.

Our young people and their families and communities, some of them are really struggling. We talk to our children a lot, we expect them to have a voice and more importantly, we listen a lot. We do listen to What they ask for and, direction we were going in last winter and this winter, we'd have probably gone around food support.

Actually, when we spoke to the children and the young people, they just didn't want to be cold. So, we invested a lot of money into hats, into gloves, into socks, into blankets. We got those things out. We actually did a donate a coat at one of the games - the Brentford game this season, and that amassed 2,000 coats from fans.

So we want to get the bigger Manchester United family involved, both in terms of What they do, but also in terms of the advocacy of our mission. We're in a place where we can make a difference. We just need to make as much difference as much as we can and as often as we can.

[00:07:25] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that and, you're so right about the fact that sometimes it's the basic needs that need prioritisation and as the children are telling you, keeping warm, keeping fed especially snow outside.

[00:07:37] John Shiels: Really, I worry today because it has been winter. But probably, we're going to go into a really cold period now. And if that's the worry of a lot of our children, I don't knowwhat they're going to do over this next week or two.

The power of community involvement and contribution

[00:07:50] John Shiels: And, I know you mentioned at the top of the podcast around how do people get involved. And one of the things that I learned during the pandemic is someone's surplus is someone else's treasure. I think those people who can, should.

And, like the idea with the coats, if I spoke to your listeners and said how many spare coats have you got on the back of the door, under the stairs, in the shed, that are just sitting there, not being used, and yet, there might be a family not far away from you, who are actually freezing tonight, and your spare coats are sitting doing nothing, and have done nothing for years.

And I suppose that's one of the big things we want to do. We want to try and get more and more people doing a little bit. If we can get more and more people doing a little bit, if we all do a little bit, What we can, those that can. Some people can't. And I understand that. But those that can, if we all did a little bit, it'd be a lot better for those that can't.

[00:08:47] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think it's a really good shout out. And it's really important how can people actually contribute, pay it forward, as I call it. So many people have helped you. Can you help other people?

And sometimes, like you said, it's just spring cleaning, things which are just lying around maybe even brand-new condition which could benefit a family in need, so really important one. Thank you for sharing that.

The impact and future plans of Manchester United Foundation

[00:09:13] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you tell us a little bit about What impact you've made?

[00:09:16] John Shiels: We work with big numbers and, what we've found actually is for all the children we work with, What they don't want is charity. They don't want charity, they want solution. They want and, in some respects, what we do is a parenting, we take on a parenting role.

As with every great parent, the job is to try and love, nurture, care, develop and take the children in your charge to a state of to independence, so that they are able to look after themselves at a stage when it's time to.

A lot of the work we do is, we work with youngsters. We give them lots of opportunities to get involved, and some youngsters get involved, and they get involved just in a participatory way. Then some youngsters get really involved, and they turn up at everything, and they get involved.

And what we've found, obviously, is we've done research on the youngsters who are super users, who turn up at all our projects, they do everything, they'll have a go. They're the ones who go on and blossom and succeed really. Youngsters who might come to us a bit lost at the start, three, four, five years later, they're off to university and they're doing things that they would never have done unless they had that connection with us.

They have the confidence to go and get themselves jobs. A lot of our young people, we say they live in a 10-minute world. So their world is their house, their school, their shops, and the park. And because they haven't any resource to go outside of there, they live an existence in that 10-minute world.

Our job is to try and take them out and show them that there's a world out there that's safe, that's exciting, that's challenging, that's rewarding, that you can go back home and be safe at home as well. Because a lot of families and communities can't afford to do that. And a lot of children, consequently, then don't have the confidence to do that.

We build on bringing the youngsters out, giving them opportunity. Now that might be, over Christmas we took 500 young people to the pantomime. We took some kids to the chill factory. So, these children don't do these things.

They don't go to the cinema. They don't go to the theatre. They might not go to the seaside. They might not go to the mountains. This year in particular, we're going to do more of a push on social and cultural capital.

Give the youngsters the experience to find themselves. Develop their communication skills so they can when the opportunity comes, represent themselves properly. A lot of What we do is leadership to employability because that's the solution.

Unless when they come of age they can get a job, all they're going to do actually is become another one of those statistics that says they're not working. And the only way to go to, the only way to get yourself out of a predicament that you find yourself in, is you've got to go and be self-reliant and independent.

[00:12:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. And that's really powerful about, both broadening the exposure to young people's worlds, and also, like you said, giving them the skills for leadership, confidence, development, and then employability as well. And that hopefully may change a generational cycle that some of them might be stuck in because of their current context. Really powerful. I've seen some of that in action, and it's really great to hear what you do.

Is it all Manchester Foundation delivering these?

[00:12:47] John Shiels: What we do deliver our own work, but we couldn't do it without partnerships. For example, when we first started, we wanted to go into these areas and connect with youth. Very quickly, we started to build up a a network of secondary schools. So now, our secondary school work, we have 35 secondary schools throughout Greater Manchester.

And they're our partners, so we're guests in their school. So, when I say we're a guest in their school, we have a member of staff who's in their school all day, every day, and four weeks during the holiday for a minimum of three years. So, it's this thing about sustained and with longevity.

Some of our schools, we've now been in 16 years. So, one of our schools in, we have an officer and, during that time, they've had three name changes of the school, they've had four leadership groups and Manchester United Foundation is the stable influencer in that space.

 Our retention in schools is amazing. And I think that's because the service we do and the opportunities we do to the young people. We have primary schools, we have 10 special schools. We're as inclusive as we possibly can. And a lot of our central events are inclusive across our whole offering. We get kids with disability on a level playing field with young people who, you know, who are challenged in different ways.

And then, one of our probably our, biggest partnership at the moment is we have a partnership with one of our club sponsors, which is a company called DXC. And they're a technology company. And they have a partnership with the club, which lasts for four years.

When they came in, they said they wanted to work with us. We had a choice. What do we ask them to do? How do we get the best out of this? We created What we're calling the Digital Futures Academy.

And The Digital Futures Academy is a mixture of partnerships between the commercial partner, DXE, the charity Manchester, United Foundation, the schools. Because we take youngsters from schools and we're actually working with the public sector, so Manchester City Council.

We're in the process of creating a digital curriculum. And the normal thing is when you work with sponsors, you find something that works, then you repeat it year on year. So, what we said to DXC is, we don't want to do that. What we want to do is we want to do a four-year project with a group of 50 Year 8 kids.

So 50 kids who are 12, how can we make sure that our philosophy, how can we make sure when they get to independent stage, they have the knowledge and the skills to go and get a job. So, these 50, they've been with us a year. They've had a year, they're now in the second year, so now they're 13, 14. By the time they're 16, they will have so much technology savvy that they will be able to choose where they go, whether they go to an apprenticeship, whether they'll go to A Levels, whether they go onto university.

But they will be so advanced in the technology sector that they will be able to go and get a job. This is a sustained program. And again, we're working with 50 young people, but we're not really. Because we're working with their kids. We're working with their kids. So, when we say we work in a 10 minute world, it's actually a 50 year project.

So because of this DXC intervention now. It is hoped that those kids will go on and have fantastic lives and their kids will have fantastic lives and their grandkids will have fantastic lives. And the photo in 50 year’s time of them being a grandma and a grandpa will be a totally different photo if we didn't intervene when they were 12.

[00:16:30] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's really powerful and I really like the partnership as well, the digital futures and changing the generations to come. not just the generations behind. So very powerful. And thank you for sharing that.

[00:16:44] John Shiels: We're all very lucky and I think we all appreciate it that every day we can get up and you get out of your bed when it's cold and when it's wet and when it's dreary. You can get up and you can make someone's life better just through what you do. It's amazing really.

[00:16:59] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It is amazing and more power to you and your team and all your partners as well. And the community that you're involving in it. I love that you're involving the community because Everybody wants to do the best they can. Sometimes people don't have the time, sometimes people don't know the way, so showing people the way is great.

How can interested people reach out to you and learn more? Where can they find you on the website and where can they find you on social media?

[00:17:26] John Shiels: We're on the website www.mufoundation.org. And then we're on the social media platforms. When they say charity starts at home, it does really. And we spoke about that surplus and treasure and wherever you live whether you live at top of the hill or the bottom of the hill, if you can, you should.

And to get involved, there are so many things that, there are so many charity shops, there are so many schools, there's so many, one of the things we're going to try and work with the club on is we want to do a reading scheme, we want to go and, we want our club staff to volunteer to listen to kids read, What a gift that is to give.

I addressed a reading sort of program the other week and I said, a superpower? Because what we're going to talk about is going to be able to take you to the other side of the world. It's going to take you back in centuries and history. It's going to make you laugh, and it's going to make you cry, and it's going to make you understand, and it's going to make you question.

 Just little things like that, can you offer your services to go and help at your local primary school? I say primary school, a lot of our secondary schools, there are a lot of kids can't read in primary, so it doesn't just go away on that six-week holiday between primary and secondary. Can't read in secondary school either, so and it really is just someone sitting down and listening to them.

 There are simple solutions out there and it's not all about money. It's not all about possessions. If you've got time, I think it's all about inclination really, whether you're inclined to do it.

[00:18:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Reading, like you said, it's a superpower, it takes you places, and I'm grateful that I got that bug early on, and so much benefit from that. And I can totally understand how it'll transform people's lives. Shout out to listeners to come forward and support that, support schools, support children in the local community, children they know.

What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in their local communities? We've got listeners now from 50 countries, and there are people across the UK. Obviously, there's a lot of good work that your foundation's doing, but there are a lot of children who need the support.

[00:19:36] John Shiels: Quite a few people come, when something tragic has happened in the life. They'll come and they'll say we want to start this charity in memory of. My advice tends to be, sometimes, creating a charity is a highly responsible job. And it's not easy.

In England, I think there's 30, 40, 000 different charities all doing an absolutely brilliant job. But when we spoke about partnership, I would say, if you want to do something in the space, read and research your idea and see if other people are doing it in the first place.

And then if they are, contact them, talk to them, see if you can help them if there's a common ground. You'll probably be able to find something where you can help each other And if there's not and it's a bit different in talking to them, you won't be competing against each other. The last thing you want is, because charitable money and resource is hard to come by.

What you don't want is spending money on set up costs when that money could go to the cause. That time, that resource, that could go to the cause if you did your research before you started. There's lots of avenues you can get involved.

And, like I say, at this moment in time, my position is in leading the foundation, but it's the foundation. It's not mine. Everyone works for the foundation. Everyone works for the cause of what the foundation's about.

So we all work together and because we're all so geared towards the culture and pushing in the right direction, it's one powerful tool to make sure that, we're not, someone's not doing something over here and someone's doing something over here and someone's. It's all geared and once you get a momentum going, once you get a social force going, And the best way to do that is to do it. I think it's far more powerful than individuals doing stuff.

[00:21:26] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think really great advice again, have heard this from some of my guests. Do your research. And if you want to create a niche, that's okay, but ensure it's a niche. Really great advice. Thank you.

An opportunity now for you to talk about anything that I haven't asked you about.

Conclusion: The Power of Kindness and Doing Good

[00:21:41] John Shiels: I'm of the belief that are so many good people in this world. Some of us are fortunate where we get dealt a good hand. Some of us are not so fortunate where we find ourselves in a predicament.

I think those fortunate should look to help in any capacity, no matter how little or I suppose just be kind and get out into the world and help and, and it doesn't take a lot to make a big difference.

 If you're going to do something, commit to it and do it properly and it's important. And I would say from a experiential point of view. I am probably the most selfish charitable man you're ever going to meet. Because the work I do makes me feel so good that I do more and more because the more I do, the better I feel to be honest.

 It's an addiction really. You get up and you're challenged. Okay, we can just do a bit more. And that's it's addictive behaviour once you get used to doing good for people. You don't ever want to come off it.

So that would be my advice. Get in the habit of being kind. Get in the habit of doing good. And before you know it, you're in such a happy place yourself that you never want to let it go.

[00:22:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that very much. I also believe people are basically good, and everybody's just looking for an opportunity to help, or maybe you just need to ask the universe for what you need, so people need to ask a little bit. Sometimes people don't guess.

But also this concept of, like you said, the virtuous cycle of doing good, feeling energised, feeling like you're making impact and purpose-led.

 Absolutely. What this podcast tries to do in a tiny way and really amazing that you and your team are helping so many young people get better futures and really powerful. Thank you so much, John.

[00:23:30] John Shiels: My pleasure Just the tip of the iceberg, though. It's not going away. We need to do more. We all need to do more.

Signature Questions

[00:23:36] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Absolutely. I've got now a couple of questions, which are my signature questions I ask all my guests.

Could you describe the Mancunian spirit in a word or a phrase?

[00:23:45] John Shiels: What a good question. I'd like to say risk taker.

[00:23:49] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you tell us about a Mancunian who inspires you and tell us why?

[00:23:53] John Shiels: Obviously, the man who's inspired me most in the world is known for being Manchester. But actually he is a Northeastern guy, so Sir Bobby Charlton would, if you ask people if where did Sir Bobby come? They'd probably think he's a Mancunian. He came down as a 14, 15-year-old and chose to.

 I would say I'm an adopted Manc, but I came as an 18-year-old and I stayed in Manchester and like anything, anyone that converts, they're probably more converted to it than the people who are just bought into it.

And I think, Sir Bobby was Sir Bobby Charlton and Manchester United at his height of his career was probably the most famous English person in the world and he was known for Manchester. I would put him down really.

[00:24:36] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. And actually, I consider anybody who's living in Manchester or chosen Manchester. Like you said, they could be born in Manchester or made in Manchester. They're all Mancunians. I like to consider myself one, even though it's only been two and a half years for me.

 What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:24:56] John Shiels: Two, and I learned them from my mum and dad very early on, and the first was, you are better than no one else, but no one's better than you. Which gives me the confidence, whether I go and meet with kings and queens, or whether I go and work with young kids on the street, we're all equal.

And the other one was when I was coming away to college, and my dad said, make sure you look after your cooks and your cleaners, and make them all feel very special, which again if you're in a position to be fortunate, and there are some that possibly aren't as fortunate, that's not their fault. Look after them.

[00:25:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Really good life lessons. Again, just believing in the power of people and treating everybody the same, really great philosophy.

If you could have one superpower, What would it be?

[00:25:44] John Shiels: When I was young, I wanted to change the whole world. Now my superpower would be just giving everyone in the world the opportunity to achieve their potential.

[00:25:55] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Lovely superpower. I know you are doing that with a lot of young people. I hope you can continue to bring it to many people in the world, if not the whole world. Really inspiring.

Is there a funny story or a heart-warming story you'd like to end the podcast with?

[00:26:10] John Shiels: What happens every day is a brand-new day. Just before Christmas, we went over to Derry, London Day, Northern Ireland. And whenever I go over there, I get worked from as soon as I land all the way through. So it was December and we had what we call a street reds, which is like a football youth club outside.

And I went down to that course because I was in the city at the time. It was really cold and the kids were playing on the far side. I went over to the little ones. I said who's are these. These are probably six and seven and they're about twelve of them.

I said who's a good footballer here? And two of them put their hands up because it was the worst ability group if you come to a Manchester United Foundation event, you're all good footballers. So I said, I'll ask the question again. So, who's a good footballer here? And they all put their hand up.

So I said that's good. What's going to happen in a few weeks time? Oh, it's Christmas. It's Christmas. It's not only this time of year, but all the year, you need to be good boys. So, who's a good boy here? And some put their hand straight up.

Some of them were contemplating, put their hand up and I looked at them. I looked at and they put the hand up. I said very good. And then this voice came. He said, so who are you? Because I hadn't introduced myself. I went, you know who I am. And this voice from the back went, it's Santa.

[00:27:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I was going to think that you're going to come up with a Santa Claus and please tell me you are wearing red for Manchester United.

[00:27:38] John Shiels: No, I wasn't. I was in almost in a Chris Cringle top coat. I heard this voice and Santa. I have to go now. And I just walked away. So that child would have gone home saying, Mommy, Daddy, Santa came to our course tonight.

[00:27:54] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's a great story and the wonder of Christmas

[00:27:58] John Shiels: Five minutes. That's how powerful engaging children. You've used the badge, you've used the brand, you've expressed them. You need to be good. And then, for goodness sake, they think Santa's made a visit to them.

[00:28:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Brilliant You must try to make this an annual thing.

[00:28:13] John Shiels: Oh, I'll be trying it again next year. Don't worry about that.

[00:28:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's a really great story. Thank you so much, John. This has been wonderful and thank you for taking the time. I know it's been a busy day, so appreciate it.

[00:28:25] John Shiels: My pleasure. Keep up the good work.

[00:28:27] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you.

Outro

​John, I really enjoyed learning about supporting young people today.

Next week, on Tuesday, 27th February 2024, I speak to Joel Oxbury about supporting veterans.

Dear listener, I hope you were inspired by today's episode and it sparks your passion to make change happen wherever you live and work.

I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our community for your support and feedback. Your stories inspire this podcast. Share your thoughts at www.meetthemancunian.co.uk because this podcast is your platform too. Connect on socials @MeettheMancunian on Instagram and Facebook and @MeettheMancunianPodcast on YouTube and @MancunianPod on X on X.

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Keep thriving, keep connecting and remember the power of change lies within us.