Finding a More Positive Future

A Young Project Programme Case Study

Suffering from consistent social issues, 15 year old Rosalie from Warwick felt unable to continue to physically attend school. But through the Youth Project Programme, she was given the right level of support to help her find a more positive future. This is her story.

Why Rosalie needed support

Rosalie has had consistent social issues at her secondary school which resulted in her experiencing a high level of social anxiety and ultimately prevented her from being able to attend school. After a year passing of Rosalie not physically attending school lessons, she was referred to the Youth Project Programme.

Through her struggles at school, Rosalie had created a challenging relationship with teachers and did not feel she could push for what she felt she needed in both an educational and support sense. She felt the advocating role a coach could play in terms of education and knowledge on what was available would be really useful at this point. Rosalie had also experienced some trauma and stress in her personal life that has been detrimental to her mental health. She felt that some specialist partners could help support her with these too.

What specialist support was provided?

Rosalie had weekly sessions with her coach. These involved a mix of things. The main starting point was finding a suitable solution for her education problems. Rosalie was not opposed to education and wanted to learn, but she did not feel she could return to that setting or any setting with such a large amount of people. For this reason a managed move was also deemed unsuitable

Rosalie’s coach supported her and her family to look into alternative education options that would better suit Rosalie’s needs. The coach then facilitated these discussions with the school and advocated for her to be able to pursue them.

After many meetings a plan was created that allowed Rosalie to spend two days at home working independently, and she also has the option to come into the school’s specialist hub at these times if she felt up to it. These two days at home were supervised by the school and they sent her out work to complete.

A further two days were then spent at a smaller training provider that specialises in anxiety. This allowed Rosalie to have some social interaction and normality without it being overwhelming. It also meant that Rosalie had two days of one to one teaching rather than teaching herself five days a week, which is what she had been doing previously.

Funding for these kind of placements is difficult to secure, so it was a huge win for Rosalie for the school to commit to funding these two days a week. The fifth day was left for a work experience placement. Being involved in the world of work helped Rosalie to see a future and create a path to it. It also allowed her to develop her professional skills and add to her CV. This was a great way to reintegrate Rosalie to society and explore social connections.

We started with a low key placement with not many people around in order to not overwhelm Rosalie. Then, as Rosalie grows in confidence over the year, it allows us to explore different placements that might entail more interaction and different skills.

As well as meetings with her school, Rosalie engaged with regular sessions with her coach to work on career development and skills for her future, and she also spends time with one of the specialist partners innovating minds for regular therapy sessions to support her mental health. She found this exceptionally useful. She had been on the waiting list for NHS therapy for a long time, so immediate access was amazing for her.

Finally, Rosalie also engaged with Voluntary Action Coventry who have been supporting her to look for volunteering and work experience placements to try.

Rosalie’s overall aim

Rosalie’s aim was to get back into education in a setting that she can confidently attend in person. She hoped to achieve five GCSEs and to be able to go on to a higher level course at college. Rosalie is currently doing work experience but hopes to get a part time job when she turns 16. She has already completed her CV and practiced interview skills for when the time comes. With her placements she will have lots to talk about in an interview.

How did the programme help?

Rosalie started a dog walking placement which was a great first step for her. It involved interaction with clients, which helped to develop her social and professional skills as well as boosting her confidence, however there were large sections of time away from the public walking the dogs which is where Rosalie felt most comfortable. This was a great first step for her as it was not too overwhelming or too much at once.

Rosalie was really pleased her flexible education plan was confirmed before the summer holidays as this allowed her to relax and not stress over the summer about where she was going to be and what she would be able to do.

Through the process, Rosalie found confidence hard to build and realised that small steps are the best way. In the beginning, meeting with her coach and going back into school for meetings was scary, but Rosalie was soon interacting with clients on her work experience and looking forward to starting back in education. Rosalie also found a second work experience placement working with 0-7 year olds in a messy play company. This required much more interaction with people, but Rosalie was keen to move forward utilising the support that was there for her. She wants to work with children and families in her future career, so she knew a work placement like this would be great for her CV.

Rosalie’s Overall Aim

Rosalie has developed her career plan through this process and found an area of work that she is enthusiastic and passionate about. This has helped her to focus on her education and experience as she can see how it will benefit her in the future. Through all of this her social anxiety is constantly being addressed and improved bit by bit. This is key, not just for her future career and work life, but also for her social life, mental health and personal happiness.

Find out more about the Youth Project Programme.