Charity aims to empower school strugglers
BBCHundreds of children who were struggling with school have been helped by a County Durham charity.
Durham Area Youth set up an initiative with Belmont Community School designed to empower young people facing difficulties.
The Ignite programme involves drop in sessions which encourage them to attend school, deal with stress and anxiety and overcome problems.
Now in its fourth year, it has worked with more than 200 youngsters, and the school's deputy headteacher said it had also "built a bond between the school and the wider community".
The charity said it offered a place where young people could connect and build relationships with staff, allowing them to flourish in and out of mainstream education.
Chief executive Emily Burns, said one of the requirements for the children using the programme was that they had to attend school, which "builds routine".
She said: "Their attendance improves, and then afterwards they keep on coming because the [drop in] sessions are there."
One young participant described these as involving "fun activities" which "calms me down".
Another said it "shows me how to change bad days into good days".
Mark Nesbitt, deputy headteacher of Belmont Community School, also praised the initiative's positive impact.
He said: "It helps [youngsters] with anything they are concerned about around school, supports them with other problems, and helps form more trusting relationships with professionals.
"It also builds a bond between the school and the wider community."
