CHRIS' STORY
From a background of criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, a 16-year-old boy has been accepted to study at an ICT college only nine months later.

Chris’ life has turned around from when he first started attending our Learn2Live programme at the end of 2008. He was referred from a local exclusion unit and we immediately saw a real mixture of behaviour. He could become aggressive and struggled with boundaries, finding it difficult to follow instructions, but the positive aspects to his character were that he was helpful and showed he could engage in activities and be trusted. He also excelled at sport and drama.

As our relationship with Chris deepened, he began to visit us outside of his sessions and we learned of the difficulties he had faced growing up including a family breakdown. He also opened up about his background of crime and anti-social behaviour.

This new-found trust meant that we began to see a real transformation in Chris. He thrived on being mentally challenged, engaging enthusiastically in sessions and allowing his natural creativity to shine through, and his general attitude became more and more positive.

After this, we were able to start mentoring Chris and this one-to-one contact meant that the relationship with him grew even stronger, enabling us to discuss more personal issues and therefore be more specific in tailoring our support for him. We encouraged him to focus his energy on exploring further education and employment opportunities instead of on the destructive activities he had previously become involved in.

At the end of the school year, Chris took a few GCSEs and, with our support, applied to join the army. When he did not hear back within the specified time period, he took an alternative route by applying to take an intensive six-month course at an ICT college. For this, he was asked to attend an interview despite his record, and he presented himself so competently in interview that he was accepted onto the course.

MATTHEW'S STORY
13-year-old Matthew was energetic and chatty when he was referred to us in April 2007, but we also noticed that he lacked confidence in many of the activities due to his low literacy levels. He often arrived early, keen to spend time talking to members of staff, but he did not appear to develop friendships with the other young people, who sometimes mocked him.

Through a mixture of interventions he received at Future Skills, he was able to reintegrate into mainstream education. After we discovered Matthew’s lack of confidence was heavily linked to his low literacy level, we were able to focus in on these two areas. We also realised that he often made up stories as a form of escapism. His time-keeping and attendance continued to be generally excellent and his relationships with team members grew stronger.

We learnt about Matthew’s home life and began to build a relationship with his mother, who valued the support we were giving to her son in an environment of mutual trust and understanding. She supported the one-to-one tutoring that Matthew started to receive and he made steady progress during this time, also developing his confidence and ability to focus.

The progress Matthew made with Future Skills was hugely instrumental in him being reintegrated into mainstream education on a slightly reduced timetable. Due to the relationship we developed with Matthew and his family, we were asked to continue supporting him during this process.

We also learnt that Matthew’s mother had a very low literacy level and we have been able to work with her on a one-to-one basis too.