The Youth Education Project (YEP) is a not-for-profit social enterprise and alternative provision based in Leicester.
No, we are not mainstream. We work with 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. You may think this affords us certain licence when trying to engage with these young people.
However, talking to teachers at YEP has made me realise there is no magic solution, no silver bullet. We are not always successful, but there are everyday things that we remember and are embedded in our culture. And these are things all educational settings might learn from, including colleagues working in mainstream secondary provision.
I’m not saying they work in all situations and with all learners, but I hope that reading about our experiences will help you reflect on your own work.
First a disclaimer: the case studies and learners mentioned below are amalgamations of different characters and events. Names have been changed. The teachers are real and happy to share their experiences.
Charlie Brown
“I think, with Charlie, it was a case of making him feel like it was worthwhile.”
Charlie Brown was at risk of exclusion from his secondary school. He was not attending and was hanging out with older teens, smoking cannabis. His mum was actively asking for support to keep him in education, but Charlie was disruptive and refused to do work when he was in class.
He was actively looking to be excluded. He had been referred by the school to the local Secondary Education and Inclusion Partnership, which found a place for him at YEP.
He joined the mechanics class, one day a week, on the proviso he attended school for the rest of his agreed timetable. At first, we are not ashamed to admit, it wasn’t working. Charlie was at risk of exclusion from YEP too.
We had to change – and we did, including changing the staff who were working with Charlie. Charlie enjoyed the garage environment, being with slightly older learners, and the privilege of coming to YEP once a week.
The teacher was Mark, who has a background in mechanics and is definitely not a traditional “teacher type”.
Charlie started engaging and achieving. Charlie even chose to attend the study programme at YEP after he officially finished school and he achieved his mechanics, English and maths qualifications.
I asked his mechanics teacher what he thought made the difference: “I think, with Charlie, it was a case of making him feel like it was worthwhile.”
He explained that in the first instance he looked for common ground with Charlie. Mark shared humorous experiences of attending the same secondary school, 20 years earlier, along with (sometimes wild) stories from his own experience of being a mechanic at his dad’s firm from the age of 16.
Charlie thought Mark was “Jokes”. Mark is jokes, everyone knows that, but a job still has to be done. Mark is often heard using phrases like “it’s job and knock guys” (let’s get the job done and we can finish early) or “this isn’t school, you’re playing with the big boys now” (get on with it and find a way out of the problem).
On the one hand, Mark holds all the learners responsible for each of their actions: One person late back from lunch? You can all stay behind for 10 minutes; shoes and overalls not put back properly? You can all stay and tidy up.
On the other hand, a job well done might result in a donut or watching some YouTube videos vaguely related to mechanics (usually hilarious mechanical “fails”).
Mark’s methods might not be conventional, but he gives real-world responsibility and real-garage mentality. This was the key to making Charlie feel it was worthwhile. It was a real experience, with tangible outcomes.
Charlie rose to challenges and became Mark’s “right-hand man”, at first fetching and carrying but quickly moving on to peer mentoring. Charlie felt important. Then came the conversations about aspirations and it was clear that Charlie wanted to graft and earn a living so that he could enjoy the things he wanted. Mark listened. And joked. And explained how Charlie could achieve his goals.
It wasn’t always plain sailing. Charlie would sometimes be a problem and worry his mum, but she felt she could call Mark and he would have a word and Charlie would settle down again. Charlie achieved his goals.
The take-away from this isn’t concrete. It isn’t conventional and it isn’t mainstream. But Mark has shown that taking the time to find common ground and build a relationship works. Giving responsibility and rewards works. Making the task seem worthwhile works. Jokes work.
Linus
“There is a definite benefit to small class sizes – it means that the learners get to know each other, empathise and understand each other’s differences quicker.”
Linus was a looked-after child who had been moved from another local authority. At just 14, he had already suffered adverse childhood experiences and was placed with foster parents.
He had been influenced and exploited and was becoming involved in criminal activity. His social worker introduced him to YEP and he was interested in joining the digital music production course. When I say “interested”, it was the only classroom where he lifted his hooded head slightly higher than usual – a “taster day” was agreed.
Linus was interested in what the other learners were doing – creating beats and bars with a rap, drill, or trap sound. The lyrics that Linus experimented with emulated trends and adult themes including drugs, sex, violence, and gang culture. It drew attention and made him feel big in front of his new peers.
This of course is a constant battle for the music team to conquer but they do it successfully by setting their own example. Linus listened and worked one-to-one with teacher Humzah, himself a songwriter and hip-hop artist.
Humzah “Loaneski” tackles his past experiences and current affairs with conscious, yet nerve-twitching lyrics. Linus was shown how lyrics could be meaningful and thoughtful but still hard-hitting, without being base. I asked Humz what he thought had made the difference – how did he reach out and encourage Linus to listen?
He explained: “There is a definite benefit to small class sizes – it means that the learners get to know each other, empathise and understand each other’s differences quicker. This includes getting to know the members of staff too.”
We are told that there needs to be a definitive line between us and them but sometimes this can create a hard, impenetrable boundary between teacher and pupil. What is sometimes needed is a connection. Humzah maintains professional boundaries, but he gives a little of himself too. He makes the learners feel he understands them and their struggles. He does this by sharing his own music and lyrics as an example. He shows his passion.
Linus was able to workshop issues with Humz, develop new ideas and create lyrics that were hard but appropriate. Over time, his confidence grew, the hood came down, and he raised his head.
Phase two kicked in at this point, he shifted the responsibility. Humz asked learners, including hard-to-reach ones like Linus, to “make a commitment to their future”. He gave them control of the course, he helped them work out exactly what they needed to do to achieve the qualification, and he let them manage their own targets. He facilitated.
Along the journey, Humzah listened to Linus and kept him engaged with creative resources. For example, a photo diary was introduced after he picked up that Linus liked photography. A willingness to change and adapt the course as he goes along helps learners engage and succeed.
Humzah arranged a showcase exhibition to boost self-esteem (this worked for Linus) and brought in other professional music artists to inspire and help develop his students.
He feels he has had a lasting impact on Linus by simply taking the time to build a relationship. Other factors included active listening, firm but relatable guidance, flexibility, and giving Linus a sense of responsibility for his outcomes.
Lucy
“Plants need both sun and rain to grow”
Lucy was on the brink of becoming clinically depressed and was worried about taking the next steps after leaving mainstream education at 16. She was overwhelmed by everything, and this was not helped by Asperger’s syndrome and a complicated relationship with her family. She did not want to engage – in anything. Moreover, she believed she wasn’t good enough.
With the help of the National Autistic Society, Lucy met Nettie, the art teacher at YEP. Eventually, Lucy went from not being able to walk into the building by herself to engaging, using art to express herself, taking part in a presentation about mental health and wellbeing, and achieving her Silver Arts Award. I asked Nettie how.
“You know me, Jo. I’ve always got a story to tell, I always put a positive spin on things – my learners refer to them as Motivational Nettie Talks.”
She laughed as she explained: “I’ve got four grown kids of my own and lots of experience with different issues teenagers face. I try to relate to my learners with examples from my own life experiences, and then put that positive Nettie spin on it.”
We all have good days and bad days and I used to tell Lucy this: “Plants need both sun and rain to grow. I told her it was okay to feel low sometimes but that she should talk about it and she would learn from it.”
Lucy was put in a group with other learners who also experienced different types of mental health difficulties, and this could have gone either way. But guided by Nettie, they positively supported one another.
They worked on small art projects at first, which allowed them to express themselves. The first project was called “face your fears”, achievable in one or two sessions so that positive feedback was quick to follow, empowering them all and giving Lucy the boost that she needed to believe in herself.
The group became confident in sharing ideas and outcomes and were supportive of each other. Nettie introduced them to their criteria for the Silver Arts Award, where they had to create their own project. They chose to find a way of representing mental illness through art and from their own point of view.
They felt that sometimes, professional adults such as CAMHS doctors, teachers, and key workers made assumptions and didn’t really understand them properly.
Based on artwork using different media (film, photography and audio recordings), their work was unveiled at a local arts centre to an audience of family, friends and the public. Lucy’s contribution was pivotal. With unnerving honesty, she answered interview questions about her mental health struggles that another student had put together so that an audio recording played over the top of the artwork presented. It was an incredibly brave, honest and impactful thing to do. Lucy was in the audience during the presentation and could see first-hand the responses to her work.
Lucy achieved what she thought was impossible thanks to Nettie’s motivation and the group’s team-work. Empower young people to make themselves heard, stress that they do have a voice, and allow them to build positive relationships with their teacher and other learners. Developing this trust was critical to Lucy’s journey.
Relationships
All the staff at YEP had something to add about “what works”, and it all echoes the case studies above (Nikki reiterated that flexibility helps and Vaishali explained how personal experiences are crucial).
I find that the common thread was usually about relationships – sharing a bit of ourselves so that we as teachers are relatable; that we are real – warts and all. And above all, showing students that we simply want to help.
- Joanne Eaton is a tutor with the Youth Education Project, a social enterprise in Leicester providing foundation learning and vocational courses for 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. She has a background in educational support for young learners with behaviour and learning difficulties. Visit www.youtheducationproject.org.uk
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