More Choices More Chances- Shared Prosperity Fund (School keyworker)

MCMC School Keyworkers will provide support for those at risk of a negative post school destination, and will target S4, S5 or S6 pupils for whom other interventions have been unsuccessful.     Keyworker are available in all 11 mainstream secondary schools throughout West Lothian, with every school having a part time keyworker.  Referrals to keyworkers should be made around 6 months before the young person is expected to leave school and these will be taken twice per year from winter leavers and summer leavers.   Key Workers and their allocated young people will have access to a range of programmes entitled 'Opportunities for You'.  These programmes are managed centrally and offer development in areas such as Healthy Lifestyle, Team Building skills, Confidence, Personal Care, and Lifeskills.   The Keyworker will continue to support those who leave school and have not yet achieved a post school positive destination and will therefore bridge the support from school to their next destination.

How West Lothian Council and our partners supported the young person

Gemma was referred to me in her 4^th year of school as a summer 2023 leaver.

At the time of referral, Gemma was known by school staff not to attend classes, wander the corridors during her time in school, and was massively at risk of leaving with no qualifications.

When I first met her and explained our service, Gemma was keen to engage. She told me she wanted to apply to college for a hairdressing course. Whilst talking to Gemma initially she explained that her relationships at home were not good and this causes her to sometimes lash out at school.

I (Keyworker Kirsty Sutherland) then sat with Gemma and we looked at the college options available to her. We sat together and applied for an August start hairdressing full-time course at West Lothian College. At this time, I told Gemma that we would be starting our Opportunities for You programme in hairdressing within the next month, and asked her if she would like me to put her forward for.  I explained that this would improve her skills whilst also making her more competitive at the interview with the college.

During this time, the school stressed the fact that Gemma had to finish off some qualifications or she would be at risk of leaving with nothing. I spoke to Gemma and encouraged her to do this as she may not meet the requirements to get a place on the course she wanted to do. 

Gemma attended hairdressing Opportunities for You for the entire six weeks and really enjoyed it. The group was small and intended to build the softer skills for employment such as timekeeping, confidence, working with others, following instructions and communicating well. All of which Gemma had struggled with at school. I supported her with travel training on the first week and encouraged her after that to self-travel some of the way which she did.  By the last week she was fully confident in using buses.  

Gemma called me and told me she had an interview for hairdressing so I talked her through how to accept the interview on her 'My College' account and arranged to meet her in school to do some interview preparation.

When I picked Gemma up to take her to college for her interview, she told me that she had moved in with her grandparents because her mum and step dad had told her to leave the family home. There had been incidents with peers and she did admit having made the wrong choices and told me her mental health wasn't good.  I supported Gemma to attend her interview and she was successful.

I kept in touch over the summer and she was still staying with grandparents. I met Gemma for her induction prior to starting her course. She was very nervous but afterwards said she had spoken to a few others in the class and was looking forward starting full time.

Within the first few weeks of college Gemma was phoning me to say she and a few others had been asked to leave the class because of disruptive behaviour. I asked for a meeting with the support staff at college and met with Gemma beforehand to talk about her current situation. At the meeting college staff were very supportive but did say that Gemma had been part of a group that just didn't seem ready for the course. Gemma did admit that she agreed and didn't want to continue and felt she wasn't mature enough to be in the class.

Gemma and I then went and talked about her options. By that time, she had secured a part-time job and had sustained it for two months, however she did want the option of college.

I spoke to Gemma about The TRUST Project (A trauma responsive project based in the college) and how she I felt she would benefit from the additional emotional and extra support that course could give her before then potentially trying a subject specific course perhaps next year. I took her to meet the staff at when we left she felt it would be the right thing for her.

What's next?

Gemma is currently working with the TRUST Project and is feeling it's at a much better pace for her.