Testimonials
"I was really impressed with the Head Held High Programme. They had a difficult group of boys that have struggled with behaviour and engaging in education, often being involved in disputes with teachers, some had been fixed term excluded and some were at risk of permanent exclusion. Not only did these students have difficulties within school some of the students have significant factors that affected them outside of school, mainly gang affiliation and involvement. It was amazing to see this group of individuals engage in this project fully."
Tash, you were our confidence, persistence and motivation and didn't give up on us when we almost did. It has taught us to never give up or put things off but to be positive and look forwards too and just go for it!
I was lacking confidence in social situations...the group activities and testing my routine in front of the class helped me overcome my anxiety.
The work Tash has set up is so valuable for young people, giving them a space where they feel they can
share, voice and work with adults for them to see their value and potential has been life changing for these
individuals. I feel incredibly humble that our students have had the opportunity to experience this. It is worth
saying that I believe all young people should be given opportunities to be involved in projects like this, the
girls have been so grateful to be given this platform to grow from and will all miss their weekly sessions. On
behalf of us at Copthall we hope that Head Held High can come back and work with more students in our
school hopefully not too far in the future.
I feel like I am a better person and have started being more assertive and positive. This programme improves your mindset and will help you understand yourself and others more.
I’ve learned that being rude is not a way to sort things out and that anything can happen in life and that this world is too short to carry hate around.
We visited the Ben Kinsella Trust and I really do think this was an eye opening experience. One part of the
tour was interactive role play with "a prisoner" set in a "prison cell" which we had no idea about. This
section focused on Joint Enterprise, as we know fights escalate quickly and if/when you follow these
escalations with friends, you are at risk of being found guilty by association - they were really surprised
about this! “This 6 week course was really good for my young people and I have seen considerable growth in
their confidence and accountability over their actions. They are even trying to give more eye contact when
they are speaking to me now, which in the past they had issues with. I have noticed development and growth
during this six week period, whilst going through their target settings. The course proved very effective and
we would like to work with you again for more young people needing intervention. Overall this has been a
really good experience and one that I recommend for groups such as mine in the future.
“This has made me think about how precious my life is, and to be careful who I am around”
“It made me think about my actions and what the consequences could be. The course would help others with their attitude and to think about their actions”
“ The programme has had a massive impact on our students who took part. I’ve noticed an improvement on overall attendance, students are a lot more focused in lessons and also thinking about their future. Some of them are also looking forward to getting a part-time job. Tash and Damian did a fantastic job and engaged really well with our students.”