We are a not-for-profit called Say It With Your Chest. Our vision is to create a world where young people are supported to thrive, realise their potential and build a better future for themselves.
We have three aims that are at the core of the organisation:
- reduce the rate of exclusions in schools by decreasing persistent disruptive behaviour.
- empower young people to raise their aspirations and break their negative behaviour cycles.
- inform and influence public and policy awareness.
OUR WHY
We work with students who are at the highest risk of being excluded because there are many negative outcomes that can happen as a result of being excluded from school. For example:
- Being excluded from school is a factor that will increase a young person’s risk of child criminal exploitation (National Crime Agency, 2018).
- Not engaging with school and being excluded are very strong indicators for those who are at risk of involvement in youth violence (Youth Safety Taskforce, 2018).
- An excluded student is four times more likely to be jailed as an adult (The University of Edinburgh, 2016).
- School exclusions make already vulnerable young people more vulnerable, as being excluded leads to a reduction in the number of hours that a student spends in a supervised environment (All-Party Parliamentary Groups, 2019).
OUR APPROACH
- ask ourselves in every interaction what a young person is trying to communicate through their behaviour
- empower rather than rescue the young people that we work with
- encourage young people to take ownership of their future, their choices and the person that they want to be
- take into consideration the individual needs of young people
- actively encourage young people to use their voice in a positive way
- find out how young people feel about their lives rather than assume that we know the answer
