CASE STUDY 3
Mo( 18) lives with his mum and half-sister in Bradford, his half-sister Mira is 17 and goes to the same college. He never mentions his dad but is close to his aunt. Mo studies art, business and law and always gets good grades especially in art. He is on track to go to university at Norwich University of the Arts which he mentioned a lot to his art teacher in his first year.
SITUATION
Mo is not talking to you directly about applying to university. You know he wants to study Fine Art but recently he has stopped engaging with UCAS sessions and his mum has contacted the college saying Mo is applying for Business and Law.
His mum is calling the college a lot and becoming increasingly involved in the application process whilst Mo is withdrawing more.
QUESTIONS
1. If this student came to you, how might you recognize they are estranged?
2. What would you do next in your role?
Mo is a quiet student who seems to have very few friends at college. He spends a lot of time in the art studios painting and creating. He appears to have low self-esteem; he isn’ t able to accept when his work is good and always seems to have something on his mind. He dresses in the same clothes a few days at a time and you’ ve never noticed him taking lunch, buying drinks at college or taking part in extracurricular activities.
His half-sister Mira is the opposite of Mo: she is into fashion and outgoing with a lot of friends. She does okay in college but will need to work a little harder if she wants to get the grades to go to university. Mira is part of many college teams / societies and often misses classes to see her friends. Mira and Mo do not talk or interact with each other at college and do not travel in together either.
Mo was talking about studying Fine Art last year but recently has stopped talking about university at all. His mum has started contacting you to talk about Mo applying to Business and Law courses at Bradford or Leeds University and wants to know more about the application process. She is also asking if he can live from home and still work part time whilst studying and if studying will affect their household income.
When his progression coach talks to him about university and the call with his mum, Mo seems reluctant to talk and becomes depressed. He says he no longer wants to go to university but may as well put in an application for Business and Law if that’ s what his mum wants him to do. He says he just wishes he could be independent for once.
3. What are the gaps of support in your organisation?
Case Study UCP Estranged Students CPD August 2022