Impact

Wendy’s Story

Wendy has been living in the UK for almost 20 years. She has a husband with very limited English, and she is a mother of a 9-year-old with communication and developmental needs. The child has an Education Health Care Plan in place. The Education Health Care plan explains the individual needs and allocates resources and processes that meet those needs on a day-to-day basis. When we first started working Wendy was very worried about her daughter’s education, lack of social skills and the possibility of her not achieving her full potential. The daughter hardly spoke except quietly to her mother. Her daughter was shy, timid, withdrawn, and anxious. Mum was unsure how she could support her daughter and what support she was entitled to. In addition, Wendy was not confident about asking questions or challenging the school. She struggled to understand what her child’s special educational needs were and felt responsible for her daughter’s lack of academic ability. She often felt dismissed and undermined by professionals because her English was not good enough. She was worried that her daughter would be mistreated and bullied and isolated because she was shy. Her daughter struggled to contribute to discussion for fear of making mistakes.

Initially Wendy was supported by the social mobility coach to go through her daughter’s very detailed Education Health Care plan and successfully applied for the Disability Living Allowance. This meant the family can afford to pay for additional activities to support the daughter. Then with the assistance of Lambeth Information and Advisory Service a meeting was held to discuss what support could be received from the school and different activities and opportunities that would help her daughter to develop. It was identified that both mother and daughter would benefit from social interactions and assistance in planning how to interact in a variety of settings. The coach assisted Wendy to plan meetings with the school, consider what exercise could be done at home to reinforce her learning and to seek social opportunities for her daughter. Wendy was assisted to share her thoughts and ideas in English at all times.

The daughter was helped to become an active member of Baytree and was given a mentor. She was also signed up to Mathletics and participates in all activities available, both at Baytree and in the community. She is encouraged to record her thoughts and share her feelings. The coach accompanies Wendy to meetings and talks through information shared to ensure mum understands fully what is going on, whilst ensuring that she has her say and is able to articulate her experiences with professionals.

After nearly 2 years of working with Wendy she is growing in confidence. She has independently sought advice and support from the school and is more willing to represent herself to professionals. Her daughter has made huge progress both academically and socially. She is now speaking regularly and engaging with those around her, both adults and peers. She is actively participating in sessions at school and in Baytree, including mentoring and regular clubs but also participating in one-off events such as Vauxhall City Farm and Omnibus Theatre in Baytree. She has moved to a higher level in Mathletics and achieved above the set milestones in English and Maths at school.

When asked how she feels about the support received from Baytree Wendy said “Thank you so much to all at Baytree we have received lots of help and things are much better for me and my daughter. I would not have known what to do without my coach now we are getting ready for my daughter to go to secondary school and I don’t need to worry about her so much.