THE SUMMER NEWSLETTER

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End of Year Round Up

What an amazing start and end to the academic year. For EDGE it has been a momentous first year! Thank you to everyone who has supported us and worked with us. We have supported so many young people who have continuously made us laugh, asked questions, challenged us and surprised us. We have covered so much this year while helping young people to learn in a community-based setting. It’s been a year of successes, big and small. Each has been a celebrated achievement in our clients journey

Perseverance

EDGE has found that it is with perseverance and patience that we have achieved some fantastic outcomes with the young people we have supported.

For some of our clients, it is not about achieving a huge success. It’s about small steps, it’s about tackling each hurdle one at a time with the support and encouragement from their EDGE mentor. With each hurdle cleared they are one step closer to their end goal, their confidence is boosted, and their self-belief grows.

It’s been a fantastic year with outcomes ranging from the small – opening the door with a smile, to the huge – a paid job. It doesn’t matter how big or small the outcome, what’s important is that we celebrate every success equally. It is in these celebrations that our clients are motivated to take that next step towards adulthood and independence.

Spotlight Stories for this Year

EMPLOYMENT	EDUCATION	EDGE UPDATE
After supporting for 6months DP has been offered a paid contract extension. EDGE worked hard to provide job coaching support to DP in her role as an Admin Assistant. At the start of her placement DP was nervous and shy. However, with encouragement from her EDGE Mentor she soon found her place within the administrative team, gaining confidence each day she went in. Her role started by completing basic admin tasks and as she become familiar with the role, she was gradually given more responsibility. Her position within the team has been appreciated and valued by all the staff and her contract has subsequently been extended for a further 6months. She is thrilled :)	​When AP started working with EDGE at the beginning of the academic year. He was not attending school at all. His family were at crisis point and needed support not only for AP but also for the family’s wellbeing. EDGE created a timetable of support consisting of community engagement activities, equine therapy and health and wellbeing sessions. AP engaged enthusiastically with our support and by the start of the Spring Term he was back at school 3 days a week, on a flexible learning program, with EDGE continuing their community-based support on the days he was not in school. EDGE continued to work collaboratively with his teachers to ensure that we were all providing a consistent program of learning and support for AP.	This year EDGE were nominated and selected as finalists for the National Learning Disability and Autism award in the category of “Making a Difference”. Three of the team travelled to Birmingham to attend the awards at the event. It was a wonderful evening organised by Care Talk, and attended by services, teams and individuals from across the country all there to celebrate incredible work and dedication to the field. EDGE has noticed an increase in families requesting support for their young people aged 11yrs+. We have heard your requests and have decided to lower our age criteria to meet this growing demand. We look forward to working with more young people from September 2022.

Quote from a parent

I am happy with how DP has been supported by EDGE in her placement. Becky has always been encouraging and available to help and offer guidance and advice. EDGE have always been professional in their approach.