Gatsby Benchmarks
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Everyone has something
they’re amazing at; they just
have to find out what it is
had special educational needs and
very few had a clear idea of what
they wanted to do in future. Nurturing
and confidence building was key to
developing some participants, while
others required challenge and a
‘wake-up call’ to apply themselves.
Mackey explains: “You have to
t a ke i nto a c c o u nt p e o p l e’ s
personalities and learning styles.
Having so many mentors enabled a
more personalised experience. We
also had an online platform, where
boys could interact with mentors
outside of sessions.”
Ultimately, personal development
( i n c l u d i n g s e l f- a w a r e n e s s ,
confidence, maturity and reflection)
was one of the areas of greatest
progress, with the vast majority of
participants showing noticeable
i m p rove m e n t s . T h e s e we re
recognised by attending teachers.
PE teacher Frances Hammond,
who accompanied boys from
Queensbury Academy in Bradford,
shares her personal impressions of
the programme:
“The first week, it was interesting
watching the students: they sat by
themselves and didn’t really interact;
they were really nervous,” she recalls.
“ Ses sion by ses sion , their
confidence began to shine through.
As soon as they went into the room,
they were shaking hands with
students from other schools ,
interacting with the mentors and
other adults. It was lovely to see that
they’d changed so much.
“That first week, quite a few of
the boys were looking down at their
feet when talking, arms crossed. Efe
asked them to stand up when she
spoke to them and kept telling them
RESOURCES
The Transformation Trust:
transformationtrust.org.uk
H is for Harry: hisforharry.com
14 // EMPLOYABILITY
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to put their arms by their sides, to
smile, relax. She got the students to
talk to each other and feel they were
welcome on the programme.
“Gradually the mentors grew
more involved; they were asking the
boys questions, interviewing them,
looking at CVs. Because the boys’
self-esteem was very low, they
probably didn’t feel they had
anything to put in a CV. They didn’t
do much inside or outside of school,
so it was getting them used to trying
new things.”
Broadening horizons
The need to enhance participants’
aspirations was recognised from
the outset : where students of
school-leaving age lack clarity about
the future, they are more likely to
become ‘NEET’ (not in employment,
education or training when they
leave school).
As Mackey says: “We wanted to
raise aspirations, or perhaps make
them more realistic. It wasn’t about
dampening enthusiasm but saying
‘if you don’t become a footballer,
what else could you do?’ and having
an alternative career plan for them.
“Over a number of sustained
sessions, you could really start to see
aspirations shift,” adds Leonard. “It’s
a switch you can’t flick back off.”
She recalls one student admitting
that he struggled and got into
trouble at school. However, he
added that he loved anything to do
with cars and “was always tinkering”.
“I asked him whether he’d like to
be a mechanic and he said that
he would. But by the end of the
session, he was saying he wanted
to run his own garage; he’d started
thinking bigger.”
This exemplifies her experience
with other students. “A lot of boys
don’t recognise that they already
have skills. Some are carers for a
family member; lots are involved in
sport outside of school. It’s just a
different way of thinking about skills.”
Teacher Rachel Arthur attended
sessions with boys from Oasis
Academy in Oldham, located in one
of the poorest areas in the country.
“The boys had really low aspirations;
they had no idea what they wanted
to be, or what they were capable of
achieving,” she explains.
“They’ve all already made at least
one grade of progress in their core
subjects, double the expected rate.
They have a much clearer direction
of where they want to be, which has
had an impact in their lessons. They
are putting their hands up and being
more engaged.”
Hammond has witnessed similar
attainments at her school, adding:
“I’ve really enjoyed seeing these
students grow from young boys into
adults. They now talk to me in the
corridor; they’re happy, smiling. They
can go into a room and shake
people’s hands.”
She recalls her pride during the
programme’s graduation ceremony
at Barclays’ London headquarters.
“My students had never been to
London before; quite a few had
I’ve really enjoyed
seeing these
students grow from
young boys into
adults