Isolated teenagers have been given a new lease of life thanks to an employability programme in North East Fife.
Andrew Russell, from Leuchars, is one of seven participants who has benefitted from taking part in the 10-week scheme based at the cafe in Craigtoun Country Park, St Andrews.
The 20-year-old has been attending sessions at the cafe every Tuesday as part of the pilot initiative for teens in North East Fife who were struggling to access education and employment through traditional means.
Andrew’s mum Jillian praised the programme and said it had given her son, who has additional support needs, ‘something to get up for’.
She said Andrew, who has autism, ADHD and learning difficulties, is quite isolated.
Teenager Andrew learned new skills
But she said the scheme has encouraged him to leave the house.
“The course has been marvellous and so good for Andrew,” Jillian explained.
“It has given him something to get up for and he so looked forward to coming every week.
“He is so isolated and he finds things really difficult, but because he knew some of the other young people on the programme that was a big help.
“Andrew has picked up a lot of new cooking skills, making meals as well as home baking, which has been great!”
Jillian hopes the programme will be able to continue, if more funding can be secured.
She added: “It gives young people new skills and it has been good for Andrew socially as he doesn’t have that many friends.
“Hopefully he will keep in touch with Kieran, who did the course with him.
“If the scheme was to continue, I can definitely see him doing it again.”
Benefits of the pilot programme
Andrew left Madras College in 2019 and went on to study rural skills and greenkeeping courses at Scotland’s Rural College’s (SRUC) Elmwood campus.
A worker at Families First – which works with children and young people with additional support needs and their families – told his mum about the scheme and he really wanted to get involved.
He said: “I have been learning how to cook different meals like burgers, curry, a breakfast brunch as well as desserts like brownies and traybakes.
“I also got to hang out with my friends.”
He added: “I enjoyed the programme because I was just able to be myself and it gave me the confidence to do more things than I would normally.
“I would love the programme to continue.”
What does the pilot programme offer?
Friends of Craigtoun secured funding for the initiative which it launched with Helm Training and Families First in January this year.
As well as equipping them with skills for college or employment, the programme gave young people a confidence boost, helping them to speak confidently in a group, and improved their mental health and wellbeing.
Michelle Dowdles, Helm training instructor, said: “A lot of the young people taking part don’t engage in school.
“A mum of one of the girls was saying her attendance at school went down after the pandemic but this programme has given her a new lease of life.
“It’s not just learning life skills, it’s helped them to make new friends as well because a lot of them are isolated in their homes and sitting playing computer games.
“Many also have ADHD and autism, so to see them coming out of their routine to speak to people has been amazing.”
Michelle has seen a big difference in the participants since they started the scheme.
“Many of the participants were closed off, had hoods up and wouldn’t make eye contact on week one,” she said
“But by week ten, they are willing to speak confidently in a group, they’ve made bonds with other students and learned a new skill set they can take into everyday life.
“The programme has been really rewarding and I don’t want it to end.”
Conversation