MFCF Back In Play (2026-2027)

Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) are established to provide leadership and strategic coordination in addressing serious violence. Cleveland's VRU, known locally as CURV (Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence), aims to achieve this by strengthening partnerships, engaging with communities, and ensuring that specified authorities, partners and key stakeholders work collaboratively. CURV commissioned a Strategic Needs Assessment (SNA) which provided an in-depth analysis of the causes and drivers of serious violence across Cleveland. The assessment identified weapons-enabled violence, vulnerability factors and offending behaviours as key challenges affecting local communities and highlighted the importance of targeted interventions that strengthen protective factors, improve life opportunities and reduce the risk of involvement in violence. CURV proposes to commission Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation (MFC Foundation) to deliver two complimentary strands of violence reduction activity between 1st September 2026 and 31st March 2027: Back in Play, a targeted intervention supporting rehabilitation, employability and positive reintegration for individuals within HMP Holme House, and Anti-Knife Crime Education, a preventative programme delivered within identified serious violence hotspot primary schools, focused on Year 5 and Year 6 pupils approaching the transition to secondary education.