Pupil Support Success
At the dentist yesterday I was approached by a lady I recognised. She was the mother of a then 15yr old I supported during covid. At the time I was a Pupil Support Worker in a Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs school and spent 1 day a week working in a mainstream high school, where this young man was enrolled. He was not a school-refuser, that implies choice. He struggled to leave his house at all and was months away from leaving school with no qualifications, having not attended in years. School had effectively written him off due to him being so close to his leaving date and the demand for support in the school being so high, and I was advised to focus my energy on other young people. That wasn’t good enough for me!
Every week for months I prepared work for him, dropped it at his home and collected the previous week’s work, which was always complete. This was done outwith my normal working hours on my way home. The doorstep visits were initially with mum, then, over the weeks, progressed to older brother, who mum informed me yesterday is currently undergoing assessment for ASD. Finally, the young man came to the door himself. Conversation started slowly as he wouldn’t speak or gave one word answers, and that was OK. I was happy to progress at his pace.
Fast forward a few months and, not only has our doorstep relationship developed to short conversations, it was time for him to sit assessments in order to gain qualifications. How would this go? After gaining special permission, I was allowed to enter his home during covid and supervise him, which included him performing a speech to me for his Nat 4 English – the boy who had taken months to even answer the door to me! I was so proud when he gained one Nat 4 and 4 Nat 3s, earning him a place on an NC course at college for his passion of auto-mechanics.
Mum updated me that he’s thriving! He successfully completed college and has started an apprenticeship. He also passed his driving theory test and is ready to sit his practical test soon! His life and future outlook has completely changed from what it could’ve been when I first met him and mum said the turning point was me! He was the one who did the work though, I was just there to scaffold him and show confidence in his abilities, and now I couldn’t be prouder!
This feels like a past life now that I have progressed into creating Kairos Support Solutions. It allows me to provide emotional and creative support to children and adults of all ages who have a variety of support needs. Meeting his mum in the dentist reminded me why I wanted to start this business and I will never forget this young man who allowed me into his safe space to help him. To me, that makes him the hero in this story.
