Reminder

This is two of the young folks I teach/support/advocate/ etc etc etc...

Today was a reminder of how removed from my life experience they and others similar are.

They are 2 of my tutor group. We meet regularly to see how they are getting on with school, teachers, home and basically anything else they want to talk about. There are 2 of us responsible for overseeing our group. Myself and an educational social worker.
We, at work are a rare bunch. We choose to try to help kids with social, emotional and behavioural needs and it's great. We have 3 teams. ESW's, pupil support assistants and teachers.
Not perfect, not a well oiled machine but each with a common cause of wanting to make a difference to young folks who, through no fault of their own and for a wide spectrum of reasons, haven't had the best start.

It's not easy and various problems and frustrations arise from all angles but I love it.

90% of the time it's great... The other 10% is utter shit. Pretty good ratio really!

We all wish for things to change.. They have in the last 2 years and we are in the middle of a huge transition period an it's down to the dedication and commitment of staff that's done it. We are by no means there yet and altho not the smoothest but we're definitely on the right path.

I'm rambling on... Back to my point.

These guys found going out for a hot chocolate in a garden centre as tricky as a history assessment today. Both out of their comfort and experience zone and both all over the place with no idea how to behave in this situation. After the first few minutes of awkwardness and noise, occasional swearys and rattling about.... They suddenly became aware of others around and got it! A valuable bit of learning happened and will hopefully stick!
No writing, assessment, coursework or test but valuable non the less. ( Well in my book anyway).

Thanks for looking
B.