Carl is a 14yr old young person who was referred to the mentoring programme by his pastoral support because his poor behaviour had resulted in a few exclusions from school. He lacked focus, was not fully engaging with the educational system and displayed a very negative attitude.

We explored some of reasons for his behaviour, and his attitude towards school. He felt he was being blamed by some of the teachers for things he did not do. When he tried to explain, he felt he was not heard. This made him angry and his behaviour escalated, resulting in him being put into isolation and exclusions.

Over several sessions we explored different ways that he could try to address some of his frustrations, including different ways of putting his point across, not getting angry and without a raised voice. It was agreed he would speak to the teachers after class, break time, or in a one to one.

In one session we explored the impact of his behaviour, not just in school but on his family, who love and care for him.

As part of a way forward, we looked at his commitment to a fresh start by him taking responsibility for his previous behaviour and apologising to the teachers.

We agreed that a fresh start also meant getting to school on time, adopting a positive attitude to learning, handing in homework, studying at home and revision, which would indicate to his family he was committed to the fresh start.

At the end of eight sessions, he was reminded he had 10 months before his exams and, it would be to his advantage if he could achieve a good result by setting some achievable targets now. After discussions with the school we felt that he would benefit from extra support to help him. They identified someone he could go to for that support during the school day. He was informed that I was available should he need me in the future.