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Barry's Story
Barry had a negative experience at his previous school and in his opinion was misunderstood. He was insular and struggling to make a keep friendships.
It became apparent that Barry would take everything literally which he often found confusing and frustrating and therefore could not comprehend instruction. After implementing a personalised learning plan and employing strategies to support him, a gradual improvement became imminent.
Barry has since matured into a polite, conscientious young man who has great aspirations for his future. He strives to meet all expectations and additionally he will seek out extension work and also support his peers in their learning. He is fully involved in all aspects of school life and is a role model for other students.
Jane's Story
Jane was previously in mainstream school until the placement broke down and was then home-schooled until she joined Cambian New Elizabethan School.
Jane initially joined us on a part time basis slowly building up to attending full days. Jane’s anxiety began to heighten; she sat with staff to adapt her timetable to include some learning breaks and some creative activities which would help to relax her. Along with intensive support from our Mental Health Practitioner, this helped alleviate Janes anxieties. Staff worked closely with home to monitor triggers for Jane and as such, staff have since been able to create successful strategies to help Jane educationally, socially and emotionally.
Today, Jane regularly attends school and accesses a full timetable. She is now able to tell staff if she is finding something difficult and will accept strategies offered to her. When Jane is feeling anxious, several strategies have been put in place to support her and now feels comfortable enough to access the community by attending small class trips.
John's Story
When we first met John, he had difficulty taking in new information and found it hard to concentrate as he tried to make sense of the world around him. He was unable to keep up with others and his feelings of frustration would make him angry and physically aggressive.
With a consistent team of supporters around him, John learnt to trust others and to discover his potential. He managed to follow a full timetable and began to engage in his lessons and began to socialise with other students. John learnt to cope with his anger and frustration and to see situations in a different way. He began to feel calmer, more confident and was soon happily taking the lead.
John has become a great role model for his peers, as he is confident, positive and motivated. John has achieved many qualifications such as Level 1 in Maths and Level 2 in English, ICT and food technology. These enabled him to secure a place at a sixth form college where he is studying Sports, putting his people skills and determination into practice.
Libby's Story
In the years before joining Cambian New Elizabethan, Libby suffered with chronic anxiety. This anxiety was over-powering and prevented her from being able to learn in a classroom with other students. Libby also had sensory issues which meant accessing any learning in a mainstream environment was challenging for her.
It was vital that we initially helped Libby develop mechanisms to help manage her anxiety. We did this through therapeutic work with our clinical team and attending both group and 1:1 sessions.
Libby is currently in her first year of GCSE’s. She is doing incredibly well both in school and at home and has achieved things that only a few years ago she would have said would be impossible, for example, she had a main role in last year’s Christmas play and read her Remembrance Day poem to the whole school. Libby has expressed herself, just how much more relaxed and confident she feels. Libby is now accessing all of the learning opportunities available at school and is predicted to do well in her GCSEs next year.
Matilda's Story
Matilda had always felt very unsettled in main stream school. The constant change in routine, the unpredictability of the classroom environment and the transition between classes often resulted in frustrated, angry outbursts. She had developed a need for control which was detrimental to herself and those around her. It became evident quickly that she was mistrusting of her peers and staff.
When Matilda first joined Cambian New Elizabethan she spent a lot of time working independently with a member of staff away from a classroom environment re-building her confidence and introducing strategies to help with her need for control. Gaps in Matilda’s educational knowledge were bridged using a teaching format that Matilda felt comfortable with. Having a set staff team helped Matilda feel more relaxed at school and slowly but surely Matilda’s funny, kind and exuberant personality emerged to the absolute delight of those around her.
Matilda is now a confident, chatty and witty 15 year old. She is a well-known face around school and will find time to stop and tell you a joke or ask you about your day. She loves to show visitors around and has overcome many of her anxieties. This has helped her come on leaps and bounds both educationally and socially. Access arrangements have been put in place for Matilda to sit her GCSE’s, she now spends more and more time with others and celebrates full school life on her terms.
