“I understand myself better now. I am more excited for the future than I was before.”

Moving from primary school to secondary school can be an exciting time for many students but for some young people, thoughts of next week are clouded by worry.

On our Power2 Progress programme, Aisha, aged 12, mentored a Year 6 student who will be joining her school in the new academic year. 

The programme helps lessen primary school students' worries about starting secondary school by pairing them with Year 8 mentors.  Mentors benefit from the experience of inspiring a younger child and primary school students are supported through the often-challenging transition to secondary school.

Before she became a Year 8 mentor, Aisha was quite shy which affected her self-confidence and her ability to interact with teachers and her peers. She said, “I found it difficult to talk to people and to make friends.” 

We worked with Aisha on feeling more confident about talking to others. Kerry, one of our Programme Leads said, “In the first few sessions, we did an activity where the group worked as a team to act out different emotions. It helped Aisha to learn how to express herself to people through facial expressions and body language.” 

The activity eased Aisha into interacting with her peers and helped her to feel a bit more comfortable in the group.  

“I then set a 1:1 task for Aisha and her mentee to ask each other questions and find out more about each other,” said Kerry.  

Kerry encouraged them both to listen to each other and to think about forming positive responses in the conversation. Despite their nerves, Aisha and her mentee took the task in their stride and started to bounce off one another.  

Aisha said, “The sessions helped me to get to know my mentee even better. As the sessions went on my mentee felt more comfortable and opened up about their worries about going to a new school.” 

Even though Aisha was building a good relationship with her mentee, she still had a lack of confidence in speaking to her teachers which affected her learning in school. She said, “If I was struggling with anything in class, I wouldn’t ask for help and support.”  

Kerry worked with Aisha to improve her self-worth and verbal communication so that she could gain more confidence in school.  

“We looked at how to think positively about yourself and the different ways to look after your mind and body. We also practiced articulating our feelings, wants and needs to those around us while matching our actions with our words,” said Kerry.  

These strategies gave Aisha the confidence to let her teachers know when she was struggling at school. She said, “It’s easier for me to learn now because I know I can ask for help if I need it.”  

As Aisha’s confidence grew, she started to make new friendships and was able to set boundaries.  

She said, “[Before the programme], when my friends wanted to do something, I would just do it, and now I feel braver to be independent and make my own choices.”   

Since being on Power2 Progress, Aisha’s teachers have noticed a considerable positive change in Aisha. They have seen huge improvements in her self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth and overall wellbeing. 

Now that she can approach her peers and teachers and talk to them more confidently, Aisha is much happier at school and home.