MADE4UINML2 Annual Report 20-21

Working in partnership with Coltness High School, we supported a group of 4
students. These individuals required extra help and assistance or were struggling
to fit in with the current academic learning. This was a core group of young people
S3+ with weekly sessions for 3hours every Friday morning. In the sessions, we
focused on carrying out development and support activities such as:
Healthy eating
Understanding emotions and best reactions
Cooking healthy eating and lifestyles
Awareness of alcohol and drugs
Employability interviews and applications writing
Life choices
Volunteering opportunities
Dealing with challenging situations
Set out a budget for home
Looking into renting
Opening up a bank account
Planning routes to the future
Online Safety
Understanding the community
To begin with, we started with polling the students' hopes and aspirations. This was to
ensure that the work directly benefitted the young people, and the work was co-produced.
The young people also identified topics they would like to work on, meaning the student
took an active role in their own upskilling. An introduction to car maintenance was the first
choice topic. They also chose to get involved in MADE4U centre life and took on some small
volunteering roles such as attending the Pumpkin Light Trail.
The students looked forward to the sessions each week; confidence grew, finding it easier to
ask for help with their own lives. We also worked through an employability section, and
worked individually with each student on their chosen direction, identifying the steps they
would need to take. We worked through a mock application and interview with them which
was hugely beneficial. This helped the young people build up experience and talk through
some common questions. Near the end of this group and the finish date, 2 of the young
people gained employment with a young person stating that this exercise helped instil more
confidence when in the interview.
One of the activities the young people chose to do, was making a movie focusing on bullying
in school. They worked through creating the characters with their own experiences and the
issues they, or those they knew, would be going through. This was entirely directed by the
students, who could take full responsibility in the shape it took. Choosing this topic allowed
us the chance to discuss other social justice issues and the part they can play. Overall, we
feel that the group was of huge benefit, and look forward to continuing this partnership to
support young people who are disengaging from traditional school learning.
19