AQA helps Centrepoint prepare young people for times ahead

Graham Kendall, Senior Subject Manager for the Unit Award Scheme (UAS) at AQA said:

 “AQA’s UAS appreciates that different people have different needs. Many of the young people receiving support from Centrepoint have complex needs and face barriers into employment. The UAS is helping these young people, many of whom have not had a positive or stable educational experience, to gain formal recognition from a leading external body for their achievements. It allows them to take the first steps towards further education, training and employment.”

Centrepoint Director of Services, Clare Norton, said:

“Since Life Wise began two years ago, 600 young people have received over 1300 AQA units. The Scheme provides learning that can be relevant, useful and fun, allowing us to be responsive to the needs of the young people we support. When they first arrive at Centrepoint three quarters of young people have no qualifications. Under AQA’s Scheme we can help young people gain skills to help open doors into employment, which in the current economic climate as youth unemployment is rising, is particularly important. The flexibility of the scheme also helps prepare young people for independent living, with courses such as healthy living and nutrition, budgeting and managing money.”

21 year-old Asha* left home 18 months ago, to escape a home life in which she lived in constant fear of her father. Her mother left the family home when Asha was a young child. After this Asha tried to be strong to support her brothers and sisters. However as the only one to stand up for herself and her siblings, Asha was forced to take the brunt of her father’s anger.

“Things with my dad were bad. I can count on one hand the times in my life that my dad talked properly to me, that he was human towards me. And I was the one that he got angry with. I am too much like my mother, I look the same as she did and I am upfront in the ways I remember her being. I took her place when I saw my siblings suffering and I stood up to my dad for all of us. I had so much anger when my mum left, I let things build up. My mother’s note said that she couldn’t take it anymore and she would rather leave us in the hands of God.”

Asha built up the courage and left her home in Leeds, heading for London. ‘Sofa surfing’, she spent the next few months staying with friends, but not wanting to disclose her private life to anyone, and no longer being able to dodge questions, she had to move on. With nowhere else to turn and without a safe place to call home, Asha came to Centrepoint and since then she has begun to deal with the difficulties she has faced growing up. She has taken every opportunity offered to her to be able to improve her situation and looks forward to a brighter future.

“The Life Wise modules I have done have been brilliant. I have done 11 and gained certification for all of them. People who look at my CV are like, you’re only 21 and you’ve done loads of stuff! I can say to people looking at my CV that if I wasn’t working I was studying. I think they like the combination of all the different types too- from word processing to anger management!”

“Nutrition and anger management were the best. When I was young I was a really angry person. I used to take things out on people- hitting and fighting and not talking. Now I have learnt to deal with what I am angry about- to solve it there and then and not let it build up. With nutrition Dominic our healthy living advisor taught us how to use one ingredient differently and healthily. It’s refreshing and I can do so much more now.”

*Asha’s name has been changed to protect her identity.