Over the last couple of weeks, our programmes team have been getting in touch with the young people we work with to offer support and find out about the issues they’re facing during lockdown and school closure.  

Here’s what Amy and Bethany had to say about their experiences:

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Amy

“I’m finding it really hard to stay motivated. I feel like they’ve given us too much school work and I’ve not really done much of it. I can never be bothered to do it because it’s difficult to do at home with all my brothers and sisters around. I’m not even at my own house, I’m staying at my dad’s girlfriend’s house. So I’m sharing a room with my two sisters and we’ve been fighting over stuff.

Relationships in my family are definitely changing with everyone isolating together. Everyone is arguing, screaming and getting stressed. It’s just hard. I miss my house.

It’s boring with school being closed. I’m sleeping and eating more than I would and I don’t really have many hobbies I can do at home. I’m just sat at home doing nothing all day. My sleeping pattern is messed up… I stay up until like 6 in the morning and then sleep all day. It was better when I was in school. I miss seeing my friends. I’m even missing my walk to school.”

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  Bethany

“I have been given a lot of school work and it’s hard to do it all. It’s harder to ask for help because it’s different just sending emails, instead of having the teacher there with you. Before it was like school was for school and home was for home, so it’s hard having to make your home into school. It makes staying motivated difficult.

I’ve been missing school, just having your routine, getting up early and going to my different lessons. My house is quite hard to work in because there’s my five year old brother running around, which isn’t the best. But I’m spending more time with him because he’s finding it difficult as well. I think doing Teens and Toddlers has helped me be more patient with him.

Lockdown has affected me because I’ve been upset a lot more than I usually would be. I’ve had days where I wanted to do work, but I just lay in bed all day and had a cry. There’ve been more arguments in my family, about pointless stuff. It’s just been a bit all over the place.

I’d say social media has been positive in some ways but negative in others. It’s a bit of a mess. I try to take the positivity, because I don’t want life to be more stressful than it already is.”