Following a period of poor health Lorraine Bliss MBE has decided to stand down as Chief Executive Officer of St Eds, with effect from the 17 April 2023. She has been head of the organisation for over 30 years, leading it through the foundation and development of its highly valued training centre. Both the staff and the Trustees wish her all the best in her retirement.
General Manager, Serena Davenport, will be Acting CEO until a replacement is appointed.
Much is being said, and indeed broadcast about post-pandemic Mental Health (MH) issues, but the messages are mixed. As a result of the pandemic there has been a considerable rise in MH issues. According to The Health Foundation, worry about the future and feeling stressed or anxious are among the most common issues affecting wellbeing. Naturally, this has also led to an increase in MH concerns among the young people at our Alternative Provision (AP). As a result, we have had to increase the support we give.
The St Edmunds Society welfare team saw the number of interventions they conduct increase by 320% from Jan/Feb to Mar/Apr. Many of these interventions were providing support around MH and isolation for our young people. Social isolation, anxiety and depression were the key concerns coming out of sessions with students after lockdown.
A Young Minds study found that 67% of 13-25 year olds believed the pandemic will have negative effect on their MH long-term. Where the percentage of our students who had good coping strategies and positive MH was the majority, it is now the minority.
“I want these thoughts to stop. I don’t know how to cope with my problems, and I don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to.”
Student – St Edmunds Society
The government are investing heavily in MH services across the UK. Gavin Williamson announced more than £17 million in funding to improve Mental Health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges during May’s Mental Health Awareness week. This is to help the recovery from the pandemic and the funding will be used to train senior MH leads in schools. We recognise that this is extremely vital support for young people. However, it fails yet again to identify support for those young people who attend an AP, many of whom are at risk of, or suffer with MH. This government support will only partially tackle the MH crisis among young people nationally. It neglects to acknowledge those in AP, who are often placed there because MH prevented them from accessing or participating in mainstream education in the first place.
“The focus in a mainstream school is achieving academic qualifications. Students who are not able to engage in this style of learning are cast aside as inferior and they are left feeling outcast and isolated from their peers.
Many schools do not acknowledge intelligence in other forms, so those students internalise that feeling of being inferior. By the time students come to our AP, they have felt this way for a long time. Those feelings are hard-wired.”
Rio Bygrave, Welfare Support Manager at St Edmunds Society
As a charity, we rely heavily on charitable donations and grants to continue to offer our services. We have been turned down for fundraising applications time and time again as we do not ‘meet the criteria’. Recently, this was because the young people we work with do not have ‘severe Mental Health issues’. We do not believe this to be the case, as self-harm and suicidal thoughts are common among our students.
“Self-harm will often be a coping strategy that a young person has used for a long time and has become a comfort. With issues like this we support with external referrals. We offer the young person a lot of time and nurture. When a student reports having suicidal thoughts, we ensure they feel listened to, and show them that we are proactively seeking support for them. We are able to make them feel validated.”
Rio Bygrave, Welfare Support Manager at St Edmunds Society
Our welfare team are able to support students who reach out to them. They are often able to spot the signs of MH early. We look to provide support around prevention of a MH crisis, rather than a reactive approach. It is frustrating to be told that the MH issues we work with are not ‘severe’ enough for funding, when the work we do is to mitigate MH issues at an early stage and prevent these young people from reaching crisis point in the first place.
Furthermore, we have been turned down for funding as we are not providing open access to MH support for the community, as we are a school-based service. However, when it comes to government funding, we are not classed as a school and therefore not eligible for this funding either.
Currently, the waiting lists for counselling in Norfolk is 18 months or longer. During this wait, young people are feeling lost, helpless and let down by the system they rely on. Our welfare team support every young student with their wellbeing, but external support is only available for these young people when their needs are critical, and they are a risk to themselves. Whilst on the waiting list we often see young people desperate for help and their needs escalate due to not receiving the right level of treatment when it is necessary.
We desperately want to better support these young people at St Edmunds Society, instead of referring them to other agencies. As a universal service, supporting students with higher MH needs has become normal and regular, yet as a charity the funding and training to allow staff to do this effectively isn’t there.
Sadly, it is an inescapable fact that many of our students originate from disadvantaged families, have poor educational attainment or are living in poverty. These Forgotten Children are usually marginalised, often vulnerable and can at times be exploited and coerced into criminal exploitation. Many see themselves as failures without any academic prowess and a disengagement with society through their lack of educational achievement.
Our staff spend a lot of time unpicking the safeguarding concerns that young people demonstrate in their behaviours. Each category of abuse comes with short-term and long-term effects. The ‘lost generation’ are currently growing up with these behaviours. As a result they are outcast as being ‘a problem child’. In a critical time where self-image and self-understanding are being distorted, this has a massive impact on their MH.
“Lockdown was like pushing ‘a reset switch’ on the work I had done on improving my Mental Health and self-esteem.”
Student – St Edmunds Society
Sadly, hearing this in our AP is not uncommon. For those who were already struggling, lockdown unravelled their routine and made it hard to access the things they did pre-lockdown. Many have struggled to adapt from isolation back into a routine, back into crowds and being around their peers. The stresses around achieving vocational qualifications, despite long periods of working from home, out of a vocational environment have also had a massive impact.
Disadvantaged young people could be worst affected as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The most important thing is to raise awareness for these young people and ensure no child is left behind. We have to change people’s mindsets and make them understand that every child matters. Addressing this issue is vital because nobody else provides for them. It will benefit the entire community to support these young people, both now and longer-term.
‘Levelling Up’ applies to all, especially those struggling in education and struggling to find their place in society.
If you want to support these young people, you can make a donation to St Edmunds Society by visiting www.paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/3223483.
Perhaps you would be able to donate some of your time? We always have volunteer opportunities available. Please Contact Us for more information.
I am sure you would all like to join us in offering congratulations to Serena Davenport, our General Manager, for completing her diploma and apprenticeship in Management and Leadership.
She has been totally committed to the organisation during this time, alongside her studies, and all her hard work has paid off. She will be an asset to our team as we continue to develop.
Well done Serena 🥇
This is an exciting opportunity to join St Edmunds Society, as we are on the search for enthusiastic volunteers to join our team. We are a charity recognised for dedication in supporting young people to gain vocational education.
We support disadvantaged young people aged 11-25, providing them with opportunities and qualifications to give them a chance at a better future. These young people are supported to boost their confidence and move on to new and exciting opportunities. St Eds works in partnership with local schools and academies to engage young people in alternative provision.
We are recruiting for volunteers in Welfare Support to help our young people struggling with mental health, and emotional difficulties. We are looking for understanding people who are able to support young people, by listening, empathising, and empowering these young people in their learning.
We are also recruiting volunteer Tutor Assistants to get stuck in with the students and teach them skills or a trade in one of the following areas.
We are looking for people who have the desire to support the charity by supporting and motivating young people with a positive attitude. The ideal volunteers will have experience of working with young people and be able to create fun and interesting ways to learn.
If this is something you are interested in we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Debbie at admin@st-eds.org.uk or call 01603 622035.
We want to welcome them into our Society!
The Agenda by order of the Trustees is below:
AGENDA
1.) Welcome from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
2.) Confirm the accuracy of the minutes of the preceding AGM
3.) Appointment of Trustees for the year 2018-19
4.)Annual Report and Financial Statements
a. To consider and receive the Annual Report of the Board of Trustees and the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2018
b. To approve the change of financial accounting year – 01.09.18 to 31.08.2019
c. Election of auditors
5.) Ratification of the constitution
6.) Adoption of code of conduct for Trustees
7.) A.O.B
Notification of any other business should be submitted to the chair of Trustees in advance of the meeting no other business may be raised unless previously notified
8.) To confirm the date and location of the next Annual General Meeting as Monday September 16th 2019 at Fullman House Oak Street Norwich
Jacqueline D Westrop
c/o Fullman House
114 Oak Street Other business
St Edmunds Society are more than pleased to announce the award of an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List to Lorraine Bliss our trusting and ambitious CEO, for “services to disadvantaged young people”. We could not be more proud. Congratulations to all, such inspiring people!
This is simply the start of a brilliant and exciting year for St Edmunds Society, so please ensure to continue to support us and keep engaged with our events and posts.
For more information from the New Year Honour’s please see the article from the EDP here.
Hear more from Lorraine at our Alternative Provision Conference in February 2018. To buy tickets for this year’s conference, please click here.
Volunteers will work with and support staff in training young people in the following areas: construction, transport maintenance, hair and beauty, catering and functional skills. Duties will include motivating and encouraging young people in their vocational learning, being the eyes and ears of the tutors enabling them to work with up to 8 young people in a group, supervising lunch and break times, assisting with practical work and student portfolios as required, along with assisting with fundraising from time to time.
When working with us you will benefit from:
If you would like to hear more about this great opportunity then please get in touch via email (admin@st-eds.org.uk), phone (01603 622035) or come and see us at 114-118 Oak Street, Norwich, Nr3 3BP.
