Hatfield, Herts, 12 June 2026 – The Foyer, SettleParadigm’s supported housing scheme for young adults in Hatfield, has launched its new Real World Ready scheme for residents. The scheme is designed to provide a structured set of skills to help the young residents successfully negotiate life outside supported living.
Life skills advice has always been available for residents at The Foyer, but it had become clear there was a need for tailored training to build resilience and capability. This recognition is what drove The Foyer team to create a dedicated resource in the form of the Real World Ready scheme.
The scheme is divided into seven courses, made up of between four and seven workshops each, addressing the most sought-after life skills for the young adults. The scheme was named and branded with the help of The Foyer residents themselves. Residents also contribute to much of the evolving content for the workshop sessions:
- Money and you
- Making a home
- Social growth
- In the community
- Work and beyond
- Healthy body
- Healthy mind.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to give residents a better start to their adult lives,” Nancy Watson, The Foyer Team Leader, explained. “Real World Ready is a life skills programme designed to do just that in a dedicated, structured and supportive way.
“Many of our residents had bad experiences or memories of school, so we’ve been working to make these sessions as different from that environment as possible. They’re fully interactive and inclusive, with residents bringing children along if they need to. The learning is based around conversations between everyone and creating a feeling of community between residents as well as providing useful information. There are no exams, no pass or fail. Just tools to take the fear out of coping with everyday life.”
Welwyn and Hatfield Councillor Matthew Hobbs visited The Foyer to see the programme in action. He commented: “The team at the Foyer is clearly doing some amazing work for the community here, and the Real World Ready scheme is a great step to push that forward even more. These young residents don’t have an easy start to adult life, but it’s clear to see this is going to have a genuine impact. I am keen to offer whatever help I can to continue making The Foyer such a success.”
About The Foyer
For well over a decade, The Foyer at Goldings House, Hatfield, has been providing medium-term housing for 16–24-year-olds who are either homeless or leaving the care system. Residents stay at the Foyer for 12 months to two years and then find new homes with the help of The Foyer team and Welwyn and Hatfield Council. The Foyer in Hatfield is a member of The Foyer Federation, and is funded by The Paradigm Housing Group, trading as SettleParadigm.
About SettleParadigm
SettleParadigm is a newly formed housing association resulting from the merger of Settle Group and Paradigm Housing Group. The two organisations have a shared commitment to delivering more for residents and our communities. It is now the largest housing association in the region, operating mainly in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, managing and owning 30,000 homes. SettleParadigm is an interim trading name, and the company expects to announce a new name, brand and corporate plan later in 2026.
