Page 14 - New Year Refresher 2021

KEY MESSAGE 23: Once we have worked out the unmet needs, we can

help a young person to work out ways to fulfil them better.

It is MUCH better if the young person thinks of their own ways to fill their needs
better.

If they really cannot come up with anything, it might be we may need to make
some suggestions. We always recommend giving a few ideas and asking the young
person to decide between options.

To provide an example, here are just a few suggestions for addressing
just a couple of needs linked to relational safety (People Around Me
Needs):

1. Feeling connected, liked and supported by adults:

Some suggestions for addressing this unmet need if the young person cannot come up
with anything:

▪ Meet with a named person they feel connected to each morning to have a soft start and
PREP4BEST.
▪ Discuss if there are any staff members with whom they feel they have the least
connection / a poor connection. Think of a regular, short task they would be willing to

do with that member of staff – this could link in with status / responsibility – it could be
they have a specific job to help that staff with.
▪ Have a specific person and space they can go to and chat things through when needed –

have a time out card so they feel a sense of control over this.
▪ Encourage schools to take relational safety seriously and hold their staff members to
account for making efforts to improve connections with young people who struggle. If a

child ever mentions ‘not getting on with’ or not feeling supported by an adult, we should
be encouraging the member of staff to meet with that student and change things.
▪ In large secondary schools, it may be that, to ensure the child receives consistently

positive support, that a specific script is given to all staff which they should use when
specific individuals don’t meet expectations.