Adam Bojelian (pictured below) is a very talented young man – both a poet and blogger. He has won the Brit Writers Special Achievement Award 2010 and Gold Blue Peter Badge. Check out his blog on starting at a new school.
And for a taste of Adam’s poetry, check out this poem he was asked to write by Yorkhill Children’s Hospital, to celebrate their tenth birthday…. Adam’s rhymes in this one are good for a giggle!
2 new dvds about leaving school have been made by young people at the Donaldson’s School Transition Project: ‘A Young Person’s Guide to Interviews’, and ‘A Guide to Interviews for the Employer’.
The Donaldson’s Transition Project supports young people with a wide range of communication needs, including deafness, to cope with their post-school life. The Project is supported by the Scottish Government’s Equality Unit.
To get a free copy of the dvd, contact Donaldson’s School.
There will also be a red carpet premiere for the films at Donaldson’s on Wednesday 29th February 2012 at 6.30pm. Get in touch with the school to book a place.
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Laughing with clowns, painting and playing music are all helping children and young people to feel better about being in hospital – thanks to a new arts project at … Continue reading
We are Voice Against Violence, 8 young people who have experienced domestic abuse. Our role is to advise adults in power (e.g. politicians and heads of agencies) about what needs to change to make sure that other children have a smoother journey. To do this though, we wanted to hear what young people from all of Scotland think about domestic abuse and what can be done to end it.
Domestic abuse is when someone harms another person on purpose. It happens in a relationship – like between your parents, or from your boyfriend or girlfriend. It can be physical, mental and sexual. If there is domestic abuse going on at home it can be really scary and traumatic for a child. If you can’t see it then you can hear it. Sometimes you might be hurt directly by the person who is abusive.
Over 600 young people from all over Scotland answered our online survey. Unsurprisingly, Schools was a big topic and their biggest priority was for more lessons on domestic abuse. They asked for the right kind of information and education in schools to help them recognise abuse and build healthy relationships.
Young people's top priority - awareness
Young people’s second priority was for more training for teachers about domestic abuse so they can understand what children are going through and really help. School can be your one place of safety if you are going through domestic abuse. It is the law in Scotland for the teacher to make sure that the child gets Additional Support for Learning if there looks like there is a problem. Many children are not getting the support they need to continue education because teachers don’t recognise domestic abuse and don’t understand the stress about matters at home. This needs to change!
We have taken young people’s views to the adults in power including the Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Tam Baillie who is Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People. They have promised to act on them! You can read the Voice Against Violence report on young people’s views here, it is called Shaping the Future.
Taking the survey to Parliament!
If you are living in fear in your own home – you’re not alone, you can get through it, there is light at the end of the tunnel and people out there who care and can support you. Talking to a trusted adult like a teacher or contacting ChildLine on 0800 1111 can really help. Also, check out the Safe Hub Scotland website – it’s been made by young people experiencing domestic abuse to help others like them.
To all young people we say use your voice to make a difference – let’s be the generation that doesn’t stand for domestic abuse, that won’t tolerate it. It’s your future, your country…help change it!
Undiscovered Scotland picture of Edinburgh at Christmas
To all our readers
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! We look forward to hearing from you in 2012 with all your queries and views about support for learning.
With best wishes from the Enquire team
Enquire made a trip to the Scottish Borders recently to meet up with the young folk who are part of the Youth Commission on Bullying.
The commissioners have been appointed to find out the views that lots of different people have about bullying, including pupils, parents, police and teachers. They want to stimulate debate on bullying in all its forms, including racism, homophobia and cyber bullying, and get people thinking about its impact on young people and what can be done to make things better. The commissioners will be making recommendations to the council in March 2012 about how to prevent and manage bullying.
If you’d rather read about what the Commissioners said rather than listening, here is the transcript. Continue reading
Autism is a condition that affects how someone learns and how they relate to people and stuff that goes on around them.
Picture from Childline webpage on autism
There’s some really useful info about autism on Childline’s website, check it out in their ‘Life Issues’ section. It explains what it’s like to have autism, and has some very good advice about what to do if you are being bullied for having autism. You can also get support and advice from other young people about autism on the Childline message boards.
Young people with autism often need extra support to be able to get the most out of school. Enquire can give advice about this – call us on 0845 123 2303 or email us via our website.
Enquire had a good time at Canal View Primary in Wester Hailes the other week. We were there to make a film, to be shown on the Glow schools intranet, about a service called The Place2Be.
Happy girl - a picture by a pupil supported by The Place2Be
The Place2Be is a charity that works in schools to help pupils cope with the worries in their lives that stop them being able to focus on their lessons and learn well. In the Glow film, one pupil said that without The Place2Be, “we would be a more worried school”. Another pupil explained that when you’ve got worries “it makes you a lot heavier, but when you go to The Place2Talk it makes you a lot lighter and it helps you get on with your work better”.
The Place2Talk is where pupils can go in their lunch time or break time to talk through stuff that is upsetting them with the school counsellor. Or if pupils need more time to explore some of the issues in their lives, they can have weekly sessions at The Place2Be room, which has gots lots of toys and art materials. During the Glow film, Enquire took a tour around this room with therapist Amanda. There are dressing up clothes, puppets, a dolls house, musical instruments and a “velcro man” with different eyes and mouths that can be stuck onto his face so you can talk about different feelings. There is also a “cosy corner”, where you can go if you just want to chill out and have some quiet time.
The Place2Be velcro man
To watch the Glow Meet, login in to Glow here and then open this weblink: http://bit.ly/place2berecording
If you’re feeling worried about stuff in your life, Enquire can give you advice about your rights to get extra support at school. Contact Enquire by phone or email.
And for more info on how The Place2Be supports pupils to get the most out of school, check out their website.
What are your top tips on how you keep your mind well and happy, so you can get the most out of school? Why not share them on the mindapple website? The people who made this website say that a mindapple is ‘anything that you do that is good for your mind’. Just as eating an apple is good for your body, ‘mindapples’ are things that you do that are good for your mind. Here are some of my top mindapples… hanging out with pals, talking over worries with someone I trust, singing along to my favourite pop song and having a lie-in on a Saturday.
For more chat on ways of keeping your mind well so you can get the most out of school, remember to log in to glow on Thursday 27th October at 11am to listen to pupils from Canal View Primary in Wester Hailes talk about how The Place 2 Be helps them cope with the worries in their lives. I am sure they will be sharing some ace mindapples…..
Not got access to glow? Then watch this space for a blog about the event soon.
Yes, we have joined the twitter revolution! Check out Enquire’s tweets for news on events, campaigns, websites and guides relating to pupil’s rights to extra support so they can get the most out of school. 
