I thought I wouldn't like You Matter - I was wrong

I love the group, I have made friends and now I get out more with my baby I feel much happier

“The three most important things I learnt in these sessions were what my responsibilities are as a tenant, important to stick to your tenancy agreement and keep your tenancy. Also I am responsible for my visitors I have to make sure that they respect other tenants in the building. I have learnt how to prevent fire by turning off sockets that are not being used.”

“Now that I recognise abusive relationships, not only from personal experience but after the session I will make sure to keep an eye out for the signs and not get involved. I will make sure that I use condoms when being intimate and put all my accounts (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) on private to ensure only my friends can see my account.”

We have loved being able to run the You Matter programme at Oathall. The programme provides a range of themes that are really valuable for our pupils. The pupils look forward to the sessions each week and learn about really important topics that they would not feel comfortable learning about in larger classroom style settings. The pupils feel very at ease in the sessions and it provides a great respite for them away from the stresses of their school day. The pastoral team have commented that the pupils are always really positive on the days that they have their sessions as it is a real highlight for them. The pupils are always full of praise for the leaders and describe them as being really understanding and nurturing, especially when discussing sensitive topics. The sessions are very dynamic and engaging and make the pupils feel confident about putting their own thoughts and opinions across without being judged. Abi is fantastic at providing feedback each week and plans the sessions according to the needs of the group and the individuals in it. She is extremely thorough and professional when handling any child protection or safeguarding concerns. The pupils that we refer to the programme are from a range of backgrounds and some of them are extremely vulnerable. The ‘You Matter’ programme teaches them important lessons that will hopefully have a really positive impact on them now and later in life.