From Pupil to Plasterer: Joel’s Journey Overcoming Adversity

The Department of Education estimates “around 200​​​​,000 children in England and Wales have a parent sent to prison each year”. Having a relative in prison can have a serious impact on a young person, affecting their mental health, as well as their education, often leading to an absence from school or lower grades, according to Barnardos. For Joel, this story rang true…

Joel, and his baby brother moved in with his grandparents after his mum was sent to prison. The effects of this change filtered into his education, where he became disengaged in lessons and hostile towards school and others. Dealing with this big life change led to Joel having frequent violent outbursts whenever he felt angry or stressed. This impacted his school life and took away from his learning. Even though he had a broad lexicon, his writing was limited, and he was reluctant to read.

With his schoolwork suffering and the increase in violent outbursts as a method of coping, Joel was transferred and joined Progress Schools in the 2022/23 academic year. During his time at Progress Schools, the staff made sure to focus on not only improving his academic skills, but also his emotional skills as well. Joel underwent numerous 1:1 mentoring sessions to support this transition and allow him to reflect on his behaviour.

Working alongside the team, Joel developed the skills to process and deal with his emotions. Over time, his outbursts became minimal and only verbal, as opposed to violent. These new skills allowed Joel to realign his focus onto his schoolwork, which improved exponentially. His teacher, Sam, commented on how far Joel has come, saying,

“Joel has achieved many goals whilst he has been at Progress Schools. His classwork has improved massively.

He went on to say:

“Joel’s writing skills that were once limited, have grown dramatically. He even wrote a short story which was shared with our entire staff and was proudly sent to Charlotte, our Managing Director, which was a testament to his progress.”

All his hard work paid off, as Joel recently sat his GCSEs and has received a successful result. With aspirations to follow in his dad’s footsteps, Joel applied and was accepted to a Level 2 Plastering course at college.

After a tumultuous time, Joel has been able to piece his life back together, with the support of Progress Schools. He has now successfully moved back in with his mum and has his future mapped out. Joel’s journey is a testament to the power of support and understanding. His experience highlights the significant impact that familial circumstances can have on a young person’s education and mental well-being. By providing targeted support and guidance, Progress Schools was able to help Joel overcome adversity and achieve his academic and personal goals. We are proud of how far Joel has come and look forward to seeing him continue to smash his goals in the future!

(For confidentiality purposes, the student’s name has been changed.)