00:01In Wallsend, a new educational program hopes to support pupils who have found mainstream
00:07school difficult. The Busy School Wallsend, developed from a successful Australian alternative
00:13model, is working with the local Wallsend Boys Club to provide smaller classes, mentoring
00:19and practical learning aimed at helping Key Stage 4 students reconnect with education
00:24and explore future pathways.
00:27Yeah, so the Busy School is an alternative provision program that runs here at Wallsend Boys
00:31Club. We run two days a week. It's to work with young people who are disengaged with mainstream
00:37education or struggling in their school setting. So the program's about providing a bit of a lifeline
00:42for them to support them, help them reach their potential and hopefully re-engage them with
00:49mainstream education.
00:51I think it takes a different approach to the school system. It's a much more relaxed
00:56environment with a more relaxed approach to the teaching of the sessions, which I think
01:02for them takes the pressure off of expectations they think there are at mainstream schools.
01:07So it just gives them those moments where they can leave if they need a moment to breathe and start
01:14again. I think that approach helps them.
01:16In Wallsend, the program's tailored for young people aged around 14 to 16 who are at risk of
01:22disengaging. It offers dedicated one-to-one mentoring alongside tailored learning plans and smaller
01:28class sizes to foster re-engagement and to build confidence.
01:32Yeah, I think the engagement levels have been really good. So we've been able to support them. So they
01:37still come here and they do their maths and English as well. But we also take a more vocational
01:41approach so we'll look at what they might want to do when they leave school and when they go into
01:45employment so we can support them with what their aspirations are as well. I think in terms of the
01:51difference we've seen, we've seen a massive increase in confidence and also a massive increase in
01:56young people knowing what they might want to do when they leave education as well.
02:00I'm much confident more of like teamwork and like communicating with people now that I've came here
02:06because we tend to do stuff in like groups. Just like, whilst I'm here I've been, like when I was
02:12in
02:12that school I wasn't really thinking about GCSEs and like what ones I want to do and stuff whereas
02:16yeah I've been thinking about it more. So I think us being able to have the time to really get
02:21to know
02:21the young people, understand what might trigger them, what's a bit of a boundary for them and also
02:28develop those relationships where we can have a laugh and take the pressure off is something we're
02:32really privileged to have an alternative provision. Leaders behind the busy school Walls End say the
02:37initiative aims to give young people a second chance to succeed where traditional schools have
02:42struggled to meet their needs. The partnership with Walls End Boys Club emphasises community roots
02:48alongside education and wellbeing. Organisers plan to grow the offer over time to reach more learners
02:54and support clearer pathways into work or further study.
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