Month: July 2019

The results are in and our learners have achieved an amazing 100% pass rate in City & Guilds qualifications across Bedfordshire and a brilliant 90% pass rate in Northamptonshire.

We are so proud of our learners, many of whom have spent very little time in school and have struggled academically and personally throughout their lives. The majority have either been on the verge of exclusion or permanently excluded from mainstream education. Just spending any time in an educational setting is an achievement for many; concentrating on the tasks in hand, listening, learning and feeling comfortable working with others. The fact that so many are able to walk away at the end of the academic year with something tangible which will contribute to and benefit their futures is the icing on the cake for our coaches, clients and, most importantly, the learners themselves.

The fantastic pass rate is particularly impressive when it has been documented that only 1% of all people who are permanently excluded from school attain any GCSEs – we are so pleased to be able to offer a positive alternative.
Achieving qualifications in Functional Skills (Maths and English), Employability and Land-based Studies, provides our learners with a platform from which they are able to move forward into work and further education with confidence and essential transferable skills. The qualifications open their eyes to all the opportunities that exist for them and allow them to explore new avenues and interests.

This year, a number of our Post 16 leavers will be moving onto further education to places such as Shuttleworth College, and others have arranged work experience and apprenticeship placements. All learners are feeling more positive about their future and are very proud of their achievements.

Amy*, one of our learners in Northamptonshire, has achieved her City & Guilds Employability Certificate this year: “Before I came to The Seeds of Change I was in a mainstream school where I couldn’t cope. My behaviour was an issue and my anxiety was bad. The mainstream school I was at couldn’t help me, if anything it made me worse.

“I then moved to a behaviour school where they put me on The Seeds of Change course. At first I wasn’t sure of it, my anxiety was bad and I refused to do a lot, but they had patience. One day I joined in an activity and from then I loved being there. The Seeds of Change coaches helped me and taught me loads, such as how to a better a person, ignore negative people and vibes, be less stubborn and more patient and passionate about things.”

Congratulations to all our learners who have achieved a qualification this year, best of luck to all our leavers, and we look forward to welcoming back many of our existing learners in September to achieve even greater things!

Get in touch if you would like to find out more about our courses and our session availability from September.

[*name changed for anonymity]

The Seeds of Change has once again passed its annual audit by external auditors from City & Guilds with flying colours.

The Seeds of Change offers a number of City & Guilds courses to our learners, from Employability and Functional Skills (Maths and English) to Land-based studies. Our standards and pass rates are extremely high thanks to the dedication, patience, creativity and professionalism of our staff who deliver the courses and our commitment to quality. Last year our learners achieved an amazing 100% pass rate, and we hope that many will be successful this year and be rewarded for their hard work and perseverance.

The external audit ensures that we are running the programmes correctly, that the students feel supported by us during their time completing the course, and that the students’ paperwork is complete and correct. The external auditors also check that our internal auditors are correctly evaluating the work produced by learners and we are meeting the standards laid out by City & Guilds. Staff training is also scrutinised and that there are effective communication channels in place to share best practice and key information.

We are pleased to report that the auditor was extremely pleased with our standards and the way in which we deliver City & Guilds courses. He felt our sampling of students work and our internal communications are excellent. Most importantly he has no concerns with The Seeds of Change as a centre and is very happy for our centres to carry on providing the City & Guilds programmes.

Thanks to all our team for ensuring that we can continue to help learners to achieve qualifications which ultimately will make a huge difference to their future beyond education.

The end of another school year is nearly upon us and it is time for many of our learners to move on to the next stage in their life, hopefully with confidence, qualifications and transferable skills acquired through their time at The Seeds of Change.

Our learners generally come to us with no qualifications, disengaged from mainstream education and dealing with complex issues and conditions which restrict them from achieving their full potential. Our coaches and horses work with these young people to encourage them to open up, develop coping strategies and make positive changes in their lives. For some it is a long process, others relatively short, but we aim to give each learner the best chance possible of finding a way to navigate the challenges in life and achieve happiness and fulfilment.

During the lead up to the end of term we’ll be reporting on the experiences of some of our older (16-18yrs) learners as they prepare to move on from The Seeds of Change.

Annabelle’s* story (Yr 11)
“My time at The Seeds of Change has been difficult, sad and fun.  On my first day I had a great welcome by Rachel, Lisa (the coaches) and the other students on the course. I used to be very immature and I had a short temper and would flip out at the tiniest things and would head off down the road. I didn’t have a great relationship with the coaches and would repel any advice they would try to give.

Over time my relationship with the coaches became stronger and I started to warm up to them. I have become more mature and have a better outlook on life. I have reflected on the way my behaviour was, my anger has become less of a problem and I’ve started to reflect on the way I treat others because my coaches have helped me understand where I was going wrong.

The horses here are lovely, they have really helped me calm down and chill out. When I first started I worked with a horse called Chesney and he helped me open up towards the horses and has made me warm up towards other horses. When Chesney retired a horse called Noah came in and I fell in love with him. I’m still a bit unsteady with him but he’s helped me realise I have to be comfortable for him to feel safe.

I was working with a horse that I feel very unstable around called Rainbow. I will always have a fear that he will turn on me and will nip me or kick me. One of my coaches, Charlie, had gone inside the stable with him and I burst into tears because of my fear. She helped me overcome that fear and I managed to stand in the stable with him alone; I felt proud at that moment that I was able to do so.

Whilst being here The Seeds of Change has helped me learn how to open up to them and that has led me to be able to do that with other people away from The Seeds of Change. They’ve helped me with my anger and how to control it.

I’m grateful for being able to be a student at The Seeds of Change because without it god knows where I’d be today.”

Annabelle has applied to begin an apprenticeship in retail and is looking forward to entering the world of work. We wish her and the rest of The Class of 2019 the best of luck with their new adventures.

*name changed for anonymity