Idrianna felt like she wasn’t heard. Struggling to articulate herself and feeling defensive, she often ended up in arguments with teachers and friends.
Stemming from a difficult transition from primary to secondary school, Idrianna felt overwhelmed by the school environment, which led to issues in lessons:
“At times, I just walked out of classrooms. I was angry and stormed out. I did struggle with teachers, and not just teachers, but students.”
Year Ten was particularly challenging for Idrianna:
“It was just constant – there was a problem every single day.”
Peer group issues
Exhausted from dealing with issues in her peer group, Idrianna’s behaviour declined, and she was frequently getting corrections and detentions.
There were times that she didn’t want to go to school, despite knowing it was a crucial time for her studies:
“Some days I just didn’t want to go to school. It was kind of tough because I can’t miss out on key content, and I know it’s really important that I go to school. But still, I just felt really like I didn’t want to be there – too many problems with friendships. I just wanted to stay at home and be by myself.”
Feeling listened to
It was at this point that she was referred to the Oasis Hub Youth for support.
Head of Youth Services at Oasis Waterloo Stu Thomson recalled greeting a stressed Idrianna at the school gates each morning and supporting her to ‘check in’ with herself to set herself up for a more successful day:
“Part of my role with Idrianna was at the school gates in the morning – you could see her bustling down the road, probably a bit stressed about something in her life. I’d just give her a moment to get things off her chest. Then she might go off to school in a slightly better position, because someone has taken the time to listen to her.”
Stu emphasised the importance of this motivational morning check in with students:
“Our role is to go, ‘we’re here for you, we’re nurturing your growth. Go to school now and have a good day.’”
Idrianna explained that feeling listened to wasn’t something she had experienced often, but that changed when the youth hub introduced her to her mentor, Alison:
“She actually listened to what I had to say, and about my feelings and how I felt. I felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Just half an hour of meaningful conversation with a trusted adult each week was all it took to get Idrianna back on track. Her mentor gave her the space to voice her feelings and helped her to learn how to articulate herself more effectively to improve relationships with those around her.
Describing her chats with Alison as a “nice, calm conversation” she feels that she learned a lot about herself and began to reflect on the way she interacted with others and how to address mistakes she made.
Idrianna feels that this intervention has had a lasting impact on her:
“I know that they really helped me out to be a better person today.”
A safe space
Idrianna expressed the importance of having a safe space for young people, where they are not at risk of harm:
“I think they [youth workers] have a really big impact. There’s a thing of young kids, from ages 11 to almost 18, just being on the streets and just doing whatever. I think when we’re in a space where we’re around people that are older, and they can take care of us, it’s a way safer space – it’s not a space where we can get arrested or get hurt. It’s a space where we have workers like Stu that can really help us.”
Now that Idrianna is more able to regulate her behaviour, she is excelling academically and has ambitions to study Health and Social Care after she completes her GCSEs.
Idrianna’s story is testament to the notion that youth work partnerships with schools can dramatically improve student’s attendance and focus on learning, enabling them to fulfil both their academic and social potential.
As we wrap up our conversation with Idrianna, how is she feeling now?
“I’m in a really good place – I feel like I’ve matured a lot. I’m in a good mental place. I’m quite happy.”
