Whole Education

Youth Achievement Foundations

The young people who attend Youth Achievement Foundations come here because they have been excluded or are at risk of being excluded from mainstream education. Youth Achievement Foundations offer a core curriculum which includes literacy, numeracy and ICT as well as concentrating on developing personal and social skills. David King, Curriculum Development Manager says, “Attendance and engagement in activities is the first step. Once they are undertaking activities that appeal to them, accreditation will follow. They will start with UK Youth’s Youth Achievement Awards and quickly progress onto other forms of accreditation such as wider key skills and Certificates of Personal Effectiveness.” 

C's Story

Charlie was fourteen years old with a history of problems in school. His academic progress had been delayed because of social, emotional and behavioural problems. Charlie suffered from low levels of confidence, was often threatening, intimidating and unpredictable and had a history of assault over minor issues.

Initially, Charlie would seek attention by not following safety guidelines when engaged in outdoor activities or by creating incidents over small issues. With persistence, he began to open up with his group and ceased to be verbally hostile. Charlie began to be able to set himself personal targets in his activities. He realised he could achieve awards and gain praise by completing his targets and challenges.

Charlie attends YAF regularly and has been observed skipping up a path from a fishing activity. He appears to be very happy when at the YAF and now has a very positive attitude towards teamwork and is proud of his achievements. Charlie has developed a thirst for knowledge about outdoor activities and is more confident, supportive of others’ opinions and is able to contribute to discussions and team efforts.

Nick Armitage-Smith, Head of YAF at Avon Tyrrell, October 2009.

 

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