Centres

M.B Case Study by Jenny Stewart

Updated: 01/09/2022

Introduction

M.B joined Barnardo’s in January 2021. He had been negatively impacted by Covid 19 and due to this he had disengaged from Education. Though previously he had been achieving high levels of attainment. He had achieved all A’s at National 5.  He had been left feeling very anxious about Covid and unsure of what opportunities were available to him. M.B also has ADHD and due to this can struggle to follow verbal instructions and retain information. A support plan was put in the place with his project worker to best support participation.

Explore & B’leave

M.B originally joined the Explore & B’leave programme which offers 1:1 support to those at risk of being left behind. This includes school leavers who are seeking support to get into the world of work, and young people transitioning from school to post school activity.  This project support’s young people within the Youth Guarantee provision with their individual needs towards positive progressive learning and outcomes.

Prior to joining E&B M.B’s mum was very concerned that he would struggle with the online learning. But M.B with the right support went from strength to strength. He amazed project workers when he performed with his guitar on zoom on several occasions while being involved in a song writing workshop. While on this programme M.B identified goals, identified his skills and strengths using My World Of Work. Additionally he created a CV and was involved with several working with others activities. M.B also identified several careers he was interested in which were music, physics and accounting. Several sessions were spent looking at these different careers and further education required for each role.

Fit For Work

Due to the success of this person-centred & strengths-based approach M.B was able to reflect on his strengths and skills. He also decided that he would like to apply to study NC Music. M.B also identified that prior to applying for college and to prepare him for a group learning environment that it would be beneficial for himself to progress on to our Fit For Work programme. Fit For Work offers An 8 week interactive employability programme that provides 1:1 mentoring and group work to young people (Stages 1 and 2 of the employability skills pipeline). Additionally, it provides follow up support to sustain positive destinations.

This programme helped M.B develop personal and social skills through activity-based learning. While on this programme M.B took part in a walking challenge to raise wellbeing and general fitness. This was a great challenge for him as due to Covid M.B had not been leaving his house. He also took part in several sessions around “financial fitness”. Through these sessions he learned how to budget and what bills are involved in independent living. M.B also took part in a upcycling activity. During which he successfully upcycled a drum, M.B designed his brief, budgeted for materials and created a fantastic end result.

College and Conclusion

M.B was supported to apply for College while on FFW. During the application process his project worker arranged a visit to the college. During this visit he was given a tour and met with one of his lecturers. This was an amazing experience for M.B as he was shown the studios and the equipment and see the passion for music of the lecturers on this course. It also helped to ease the worries M.B had for the transition from school to further education. M.B was prepped over several sessions for his college interview. When the time came he was prepared and was given an unconditional offer.

M.B’’s confidence and employability skills had also grown so much by this point that he was also applying for part time jobs independently. M.B has now left Barnardo’s and is sustaining his college place and gaining the skills he needs for his future career as a musician.

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