I don’t like school, I just want to go to work

Gary didn’t see the point of school and just wanted to work in the Construction Industry.

He didn’t see the point in school and would happily misbehave in order to be excluded. He just wanted to go to work, as he regularly helped extended family members during holidays.

Gary has a statement for Learning Difficulties and so attended a local Special Education School. He requires additional support with his numeracy and literacy skills.

Both of Gary’s parents were frustrated with his lack of interest and had become tired with fighting with him. He needed to take responsibility for his actions and education and prove that he could be constructive not destructive.

Help Was Out There

He required additional support with his numeracy and literacy. He also had to deal with his relationships at home as this was affecting the whole family as well as school life.

His tolerance and trust of others was limited and he needed the Education system to support an alternative package of education – this had never been done before in Hampshire with a young person with LDD.

Gary started by meeting with his YNOT Key Worker for an initial assessment and discussion about his needs and aspirations.

After further discussions with school an alternative package consisting of assisted Numeracy, Literacy and ASDAN along with a 3 day per week work experience placement with a family construction business was put in place for a trial period of 6 weeks.

During this time Gary had structured mentoring and support from both school and Learning Links. He explored his feelings of frustration, mistrust and anger and started to build on his family relationships.

Gary’s Achievements

At work he proved himself to be an asset to the firm and many positive comments were relayed to school, parents and Learning Links staff, confirming that they would be happy to become an employee when he had finished his education.

Since September, Gary has started at a local college studying Level 1 in Construction Skills. He is really enjoying this and is showing his talents early on in the group.

He has grown in confidence and in his level of responsibility. He sees the importance of an education and structures his time wisely.

He has learnt how to interact with others through his work placement and the need to act appropriately in people’s homes and with his colleagues.

Gary would like to get a job in the Construction Industry when he leaves school. He would also like to continue his college studies part-time.