Building stronger communities through building self-belief.

There has been a remarkable improvement in the girls self-confidence over the time they have spent on the programme. They are more emotionally independent, happier in class, have made more friends – both in and out of the group, and their attendance has improved. This programme has given them the opportunity to thrive and develop into much more confident young people. I have been so impressed with the work the charity has done, and we are really looking forward to them coming back in to the academy and working with more of our students.

During the very difficult academic year of 2020-21 Christine Thomas brought a project ‘into our school to work with a group of Year 11 girls. From the girls’ early sessions with this programme I noticed a rapid improvement in their motivation to learn, attitude and responses to me and their relationship with one another. They became positive and enthusiastic to learn and keen to interact with discussions in class. What was even more beneficial to learning was that the girls developed a camaraderie mutually supportive of one another. Noticeably, the girls began to openly discuss their aspirations and ambitions. They became a cohesive group of confident, expressive young women cheerfully articulating their ambitions and asking how they could improve every task. This has not only manifest itself in positive attitudes but also in tangible achievement: all of the girls have improved upon their predicted results, in some cases by three grades. This would be remarkable at any time, however, in current circumstances it is astonishing. At a time where our young people need support more than ever, this project has proved to be invaluable. This is exactly what is needed at the moment and as many students as possible should benefit from this project

Thank you for leading/running this programme, I know it has been tricky with Covid and all of the restrictions, but you have been great at adapting to meet the needs of the pupils and of our school. It was wonderful working with you - fingers crossed for more funding!

The Building Self Belief programme has been a massive success for the lads in Haughton, it has allowed us to bring together a group that wouldn't normally associate with each other and taught them the importance of being kind to one another, on top of that you can see a real improvement in some of their attitudes towards school and learning. It has given some of the lads who needed it the ability to work out some goals and how to achieve them. The experiences that the students have taken away from the programme will stay with them for life and will help them be better people moving forward.Some of the parents have spoken about an improved attitude at home from some of the students and some other parents have spoken about how their child seems a lot less anxious in school due to new positive relationships with peers after the group.

While being a placement student at Building Self-Belief I have been able to grow professionally and personally in a supportive environment. I have developed many skills I did not previously have, such as training in Adobe, as well as refine existing skills such as confidence in talking to new people and in groups. I have had a very hands on role within the charity, supporting multiple well-being programmes and being involved in the creation and execution of new projects. It has been both educational and inspirational to see the growth of the individuals who take part in the programmes. I believe that without this placement, I would not have had as full of an understanding of the mental wellbeing of vulnerable children as I do now.