A club run by Sevenoaks Town Council aims to support young people struggling with school avoidance and other issues that are stopping them from going into training and employment. House in the Basement (HiTB) has partnered with Sevenoaks District Council and Millwall Community Trust to run sessions for young people aged 11-17 who are Not in Education, Employment or Training.These sessions are an opportunity to develop skills within a small group of young people, to hear from inspiring speakers from a range of different back grounds as well as taking part in hands-on activities.
Government figures show alarmingly high rates of young people not in education, employment or training. Ofsted said that in autumn 2022, nearly a quarter of pupils in England were “persistently absent” – meaning they missed at least 10 per cent of their school sessions. And last year more than 140,000 children in England were repeatedly absent from school in the spring term – nearly three times as many as before the pandemic, according to government statistics. While in April to June 2024, an estimated 12.2% of all people aged 16 to 24 years in the UK were not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Sometimes school refusal can be down to mental health issues, social anxiety or ADHD or SEN issues.
Daren Mountain, manager of HiTB, said:” With the increase in young people not attending school or training especially since the pandemic and to help with young people’s mental health, we felt it would be helpful to run a weekly meeting for NEET young people at our youth café.”
He added: “Seeing attendees increase in confidence has been really pleasing.”
Sessions run every Tuesday during term time at House in the Basement from 1.30pm until 3.30pm. The programme will not be running over the school holidays but House in the Basement will be open as usual. House in the Basement also runs a regular SEN club which meets every Tuesday evening from 5-8pm and 2-8pm in school holidays. House in the Basement is in the basement of the Stag Community Arts Centre, London Road, Sevenoaks, TN13 1ZZ and is a fully accessible site with a ramp for wheelchair users to gain access to the building. Refreshments and snacks are available on site.
For opening times please check the website: https://houseinthebasement.weebly.com/
If you would like to come along to one of these sessions please email: [email protected]