Tranforming Lives for Good
Early Intervention
Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) is a national, award-winning charity that works to support struggling children across the UK, partnering with churches to provide practical support in and out of school and connecting with home to bring hope and a future.
Over the past 5 years, we have seen a devastating increase in the needs of struggling children and families, with a widening disadvantage gap and broad decline in emotional and mental wellbeing, all of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis. TLG’s Early Intervention programme is able to address this great need by training volunteers to coach struggling children for one hour a week in local schools, for at least a year. Positioning this support in communities, by centring it at a local church, coaches are able to also develop relationships with the families and signpost them towards wider support available within the church and local community.
As a result of being on the Early Intervention programme, 84% of children reported feeling more confident in themselves. We're also seeing significant improvements in emotional wellbeing, with 97% of children saying they are more hopeful about their future after starting one-to-one coaching.
Amazingly, TLG currently has 102 Early Intervention centres supporting over 600 children a year, and our grant from Westhill Endowment is enabling us to grow this transformative work, by launching 47 new Early Intervention centres, train 235 new coaches and support a further 230 children between 2023 and 2024!
Jason’s Story
(Names have been changed, stock photo)
At just 11-years-old, Jason has already had a turbulent childhood. Jason was taken into care, and his Grandad and Step-Gran becoming his legal guardians. Sadly, his Grandad passed away a few years ago. Jason misses him sorely.
“I didn’t used to be able to cope,” says Jason. “I would feel very frustrated and take it out on other things. I would shove people sometimes and I think I was a bit terrible. I was bullied which made me feel very upset and horrified at the names I was being called. I would get into trouble with my teachers sometimes and get very distracted in lessons.”
Jason started receiving support from his TLG Early Intervention coach, Emma, three years ago. “When I first met Jason,” says Emma, “he had been flagged up for having aggressive tendencies and anxiety. They were worried he would drop out of school. He was disruptive in class because he wasn’t in a good emotional place to learn.”
“Life before coaching was hard because I didn’t have anyone to speak to about my anger,” says Jason. “But I loved coming to school, even when it was a bad day. I love learning and my teachers! With Emma, I can now talk about my anger and how to deal with it. I remember the things she’s taught me when I’m in a difficult situation.”
Emma continues, “One week he was upset because his peers could do their times tables but he was still struggling. So we looked at some flashcards together and the next week he came back beaming that he got all his seven times table right."
"These might seem like small moments to us, but they’re huge to a child. If you can just encourage children, it makes all the difference.”
“I used to feel like I might burst into smithereens but now I can keep up,” Jason exclaims. “I’ve changed a lot. I used to be hard on myself. I couldn’t cope with my anger. But it’s changed since I’ve had Emma to help me. I would say that I’m funny, generous and good at helping people!”
Jason feels especially proud that his teachers can see the difference in him. “My teachers have noticed how I’ve changed, they say that I can succeed at things. Their encouragement makes me feel good!”
“My biggest achievement is managing my emotions better. Emma has been a star to me! I know what not to do and what is good to do.”
Jason has big plans for his future. “I’m a bit nervous about going to secondary school, but I’m excited too. After school, when I’m older, I would like to build houses for people who are poor.
To find out more about TLG and the work we do please visit our website: https://www.tlg.org.uk/
If you’re a church and you’d like to find out more about partnering with us on Early Intervention please contact: partnerships@tlg.org.uk
