A CHARITY has teamed up with Lift Broadlands – formerly Broadlands Academy – in Keynsham to help students unlock their potential.
I Can & I Am works with hundreds of primary, secondary, private, and special educational needs (SEN) schools across the region to equip young people with skills to nurture self-belief and build resilience.
With 90% of school leaders reporting an increase in the number of students experiencing stress over the past five years, mental health support has become a growing focus in educational settings.
Laura Stone, principal at Lift Broadlands, said: “Working with fantastic organisations like I Can & I Am is essential to provide our students with the wider support they need to manage the demands of being a teenager today.
“Talking about their feelings, what they are good at, and learning how to think positively in a safe space develops the strategies they need when they face times of struggle.”
The charity runs sessions on its two double-decker buses to help young people build practical tools that support personal growth, resilience and a sense of belonging.
Sessions begin with cooking a pizza downstairs to foster togetherness and achievement, followed by a workshop upstairs on the bus, which focuses on inflating the young participants’ ‘balloons’ of self-belief.
Ms Stone said: “The staff on the bus instantly made our students feel welcome and created an environment where it was safe to share. It has been a brilliant few days.”
I Can & I Am’s workshop leaders have worked with more than 32,000 young people in the South of England since 2015. The average score given by pupils after a workshop is 4.8 out of 5, with 82% saying they feel their self-belief was higher following their session.
The charity is in its 10th year, having been founded by inspirational speaker and former teacher James Shone after he lost his sight due to a brain tumour.
Rebecca Burton, CEO of I Can & I Am, said: “We know, from the work we do in schools and from neuroscientific research, that how children feel about themselves is critical to learning outcomes.
“Self-belief isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it directly affects engagement, memory, motivation and long-term outcomes. It is the foundation that learning essential skills and knowledge rest on and supports students’ ability to unlock their full potential.
“Every young person should be given the tools and support they need to believe in themselves so they can become who they want to be.”
The education charity is planning regular trips to work with pupils at Lift Broadlands, and to potentially extend support to other Lift schools.
