Relational Youth Work in Schools - Why is it important? Part 2

Posted by Judith Crome on 15th June 2011

Our previous blog post looked at the importance of providing emotional support to young people within school. I work within Therfield Secondary School for Liquid Connection 1 day per week. The aim of my role is to provide help and support to students who are struggling with difficult circumstances.

Referrals are made to me from School Heads of House and Senior Management, and can include issues such as bullying, self esteem, home-life and bereavement.

I am able to structure my caseload and way of working around the needs of the school and the students, and typically will have between 6-8 appointments with students each day.


The support we offer can vary, but typically my work involves having one-to-one sessions with students who are referred to us. We also provide group work if there are issues affecting a wider group of young people, and regularly attend meetings with the school and other agencies to discuss and put plans together for particular students

What I particularly value about my role is the ability to adapt to the current needs; as soon as situation or incident arises, I can meet with that young person and provide immediate support.

We also hugely value our partnership with the school, who have such a strong and important understanding of their students and the situations affecting them. This ensures that our care and attention to them not only relates to their time in school, but their home life as well.

To help give you a greater understanding of the impact this role can have, I've included a short case study below.


Case Study

I had a Year 7 student referred to me as she had low self-esteem and very few friends in the school. When I met with her it was clear that transitioning from primary to secondary school had been very difficult for her. She had always lacked self-esteem and this would prevent her from having the confidence to get to know other girls in her year.

I gave her a notepad which we called her positive book. Within the Positive Book we wrote down lots of positive characteristics about the student, and then invited her teachers, family and friends to do the same.

Soon she had a constant reminder of how wonderful she was, and on days when she was feeling down she could open her book and help her see the positive rather than dwell on the negative. Soon her confidence had developed and she was much more assertive at making friends.

To read more about our work, please look at What We Do.