The award was for the Sunderland City Council and PL/PFA Community Funded 'Pitstop' project, which works with excluded young people on a full time basis to help them get back into mainstream education.

The project involves an ASDAN rolling programme, which enables each individual to attain ASDAN credits to transfer on their return to school.

Modules covered by the Pitstop project include teamwork, interaction with others, local issues, beliefs and values, and ICT.

SAFC Foundation trainee Aarron Archer of SAFC Foundation collected the award. Aarron is a former Pitstop participant and demonstrates the results that the programme can deliver.

The awards were organised by Children and Young People Now in association with the Children's Workforce Development Council and Children's Secretary Ed Balls was in attendance to honour those nominated.

Sunderland AFC Foundation had to compete against more than 500 entries, which were judged by a panel of children and young people, and a panel of children's sector professionals.

Lesley Spuhler, SAFC Foundation CEO, said: "We're extremely proud of our achievements with Pitstop and to have our efforts recognised and rewarded in such a manner is credit to the SAFC Foundation staff, our young people and funding partners who work so hard to make the programme a success."

This is the second national award that SAFC Foundation has collected in as many months. In October SAFC Foundation won the highly prestigious Kickz Club Achievement Award at the National Kickz Awards at Wembley Stadium.

SAFC Foundation's Pitstop programme works with primary and secondary school pupils who have been excluded from mainstream education.