School-Home Support

Early intervention boosts children’s life chances
Almost one million young people in the UK are classed as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), and the total continues to rise. School-Home Support (SHS) is a national charity that works with children who might otherwise become part of this group in the future. SHS places trained practitioners in schools to support children who are at risk of truancy or being excluded from school, by providing a link between school and home. SHS deals with problems early – before they grow into bigger issues. Often recruited from the local community, SHS practitioners understand the challenges that families sometimes face and know other local support agencies that can help.

‘Cinven’s contribution to our work means that we can continue to reach out to children, young people and families and prevent today’s children becoming tomorrow’s problems,’ said Jan Tallis, CEO of SHS. ‘With the generous support of funders like Cinven we’re confident that, together, we can truly make a difference in society.’

Cameron’s story
Cameron* was 11 years old when he was referred to Angela, the SHS practitioner in his school. Cameron refused to engage in class or make friends. His behaviour in and out of class was becoming uncontrollable: he disobeyed his teachers and persistently ignored rules. Cameron had been excluded from school for short periods and the head teacher was considering permanent exclusion.

Angela began by devising a new timetable for Cameron, with the help of teaching staff who had experience in dealing with disruptive behaviour. After a few months he was back in school three mornings a week, and was getting on better with the other children and his teachers.

After many hours of one-to-one sessions with Angela, Cameron started to talk about his thoughts and feelings. After he told her about self-harming and about hating the colour of his skin, Angela referred Cameron to a psychotherapist for counselling and play therapy. She provided self-esteem work, ensured that Cameron had access to curriculum-based learning and visited his mother at home. She also referred Cameron to a Youth Offending Team that would target his behaviour out of school in the longer term.

When Cameron came to the end of his time at primary school, his work with Angela and the external agencies meant that he had not had any exclusions or serious complaints about his behaviour for nearly five months. Cameron sat his year six SATS and made a fresh start at secondary school. He still works with the Youth Offending Team, but his experience is much more positive and his future looks a lot brighter.

www.shs.org.uk

* All individuals in SHS case studies are guaranteed complete confidentiality. To protect that trust, names and details of people/children featured have been changed and pictures are posed by models. The essential details, however, are true