In education, there are a growing number of young people struggling to engage, or facing exclusion. When we look closer, there are underlying factors that have had, or are having a significant impact, including poverty, unsafe family environment, poor mental health, childhood trauma, un-met educational needs and gaps in learning. We regularly meet young people and families trapped in cycles of despair, whose experiences in education are compounding patterns of negative thinking, low self-worth and low confidence. Often, these pupils and parents have found themselves without support and feeling marginalised, rejected and without hope.

At Acorn Alternative Provision, we include, embrace and build up young people and their families who are experiencing disengagement and exclusion from education.

With help from specialist staff and in small, nurturing learning environments, our young people develop the skills and strategies they need to re-integrate and succeed back in school, along with qualifications that provide stepping stones towards further learning. 

We partner with churches to maximise opportunities for our young peoples' families to be connected into positive local networks providing practical and pastoral support that goes way beyond the school day.

Our vision is for every young person we work with to achieve a secure identity and a positive future - academically and economically, as well as socially, emotionally, mentally, relationally and spiritually.

We’re now just over a year into our journey and have worked with over 90 young people from 30 different schools. With 4 well-established Centres across the UK and a 5th about to open, we are going from strength to strength and working with more and more young people who need our help.

Young people like Sara

Sara began attending an Acorn Centre a year ago. Due to a number of reasons her anxieties were causing her to completely avoid attending mainstream school and on some occasions they were so bad that she would not even leave her home. Her anxieties and resulting school avoidance began prior to the Covid pandemic, and during lockdown in 2020 when schools were closed, she became even more isolated than she had been before. By the time schools fully reopened, she had totally disengaged from education.

When Sara was referred to us at Acorn she was in Year 10 and she had not consistently attended school or any form of education since Year 7. Though nervous, she agreed to attend and it was clear from Day 1 that she was a very capable and intelligent student. As well as developing a relationship with Sara and helping her feel safe in the Acorn environment, staff and the church built a positive relationship with her family, and along with her referring school, were able to create a very supportive network for Sara to begin to thrive in.

Since joining Acorn, Sara's attendance has been excellent. She has been able to sit GCSE exams in school and has achieved English and Maths Functional Skills qualifications with us. She has developed the confidence and qualifications needed to secure a place in further education and will be moving onto college in September.

Sara’s family attribute her success to the time and care we’ve been able to offer at Acorn, which for young people like Sara, who have high levels of anxiety, is greatly needed. They also value the loving environment the young people experience each day, and have experienced how this love is extend to the family also.