A Day in the Life of Maegan, Schools Project Worker

Maegan working with the Think4Yourself team in a Cumbrian school

“I’m one of the Safety Net workers who delivers, ‘Your Space’, our support service in schools. I work with young people in secondary school aged 12 to 18 and I really enjoy this part of my job. It’s an honour to help young people find their feet as they navigate the sometimes tricky transition from childhood to adult life.

My working day starts with a little bit of car karaoke as I drive to the school that I’m working in for that day; it’s my way of stepping in and out of the role. Once I arrive, I head to the designated confidential room which has been allocated to me to provide 1:1 support sessions.

I normally have a full day of sessions planned with the school before I arrive. The way it works is that if a teacher is concerned about a young person, they will speak to them and ask them if they’d like some support from me. If they agree, then the pupil is given a slip of paper during registration at the beginning of the day.

The slip gives them permission to not attend one of their lessons, so they can spend that time in a support session with me instead. Doing this avoids a situation where a young person is being called out of class, which might attract the unwanted attention of their peers.

Often young people want to receive support for relationship problems – either in intimate relationships, friendships or with family at home. They might be experiencing difficulties relating to their sexuality or gender, be self-harming, or struggling with online issues, like pressure to send sexts. Very often these issues will cause immense anxiety and stress for the young person involved.

When a new young person comes to me, I spend some time in an assessment with them, explaining what I do so that they feel comfortable and understand that the time they have with me is their space. Over time we explore coping strategies for managing difficult emotions and practice techniques for when they are feeling particularly anxious or triggered. This can include mindfulness techniques or art based activities, but also could just be talking together. If a young person has had bad experiences in their relationships, I would also educate around qualities of safe/toxic relationships, explore healthy boundaries and assertive communication. My aim in this situation is to help the young person to know that they deserve satisfying relationships with others.

I take my breaks during school breaks and lunchtime. During those times teachers will often pop in to see me and update me on a new referral that they are making. I also support the assemblies and workshops that we run in partnership with Think4Yourself, a healthy relationship programme ran by the Blue Sky Trust. Think4Yourself run the sessions and I’m available to provide direct support to the young people, if they need it during and afterwards.

By 3.30pm my working day is drawing to a close and it’s time for me to jump in the car and crank up the car karaoke again, or listen to a podcast if I need to relax a bit. I drive home with a smile on my face – it’s great to feel I’ve made a difference to the lives of these young people.”