Over half of our students are care experienced
Abi
We started working with Abi when she was 23. She’d experienced significant adversity as a child and through her teenage years, and was a survivor of exploitation and grooming.
Circumstances meant that Abi had experienced grooming throughout her teenage years and hadn’t been able to pass her GCSEs. She left school early with no qualifications, and experienced homelessness and abuse before accessing support as a young adult.
It wasn’t until she had begun to process her trauma, that she decided to pursue her true calling in life and work with children, as a teacher. However, to undergo her teacher training, she needed her Maths and English GCSEs which she didn’t yet have.
She came to us for weekly tuition, and we worked with her 1-2-1 in our office in Hebden Bridge. She told us that having us there meant that it was a commitment for her to physically come to our office every week and work with a tutor, and when she could, she also came to our office in the evenings after work to come and sit on her own and do her homework and prepare for her tests. Abi told us that we were able to make her accountable and make sure she was on track ahead of her examinations. Jo personally worked with her, mentoring her every day, phoning her up and supporting her through the dark days she experienced.
When the time came, she passed her GCSE Maths and English first time, achieving, what was then, As and A*s.
Abi now works as a Reception Class teacher and Early Years Team Leader, and volunteers to work with young people who have experienced adversity to support them achieve their academic goals and reach their potential. She is currently helping assimilate Afghani and Ukrainian refugees into her form and is enjoying welcoming their cultural traditions to her diverse and lively classroom.
Ben
Ben had been in local authority care throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, experiencing a mix of foster care and care homes. He began sessions with us in the first year of his GCSEs. He had been excluded from school, and was listed as a ‘school refuser’.
We started having one-to-one sessions with Ben for 2 hours a day, Monday - Friday. Our sessions mainly focussed on his maths and english, but also on his general well-being and ensuring he was in a position to make positive choices about his future.
After working with us for 6 weeks, Ben returned to a traditional education setting full time. His foster carer’s house was often noisy and he found he was easily distracted, so instead he was able to come and work in our office after school, to complete his homework and study for his upcoming exams.
Ben passed his GCSEs, and was able to attend a local college, before beginning his apprenticeship.
