Siblings Supported on Barnardo's See Hear Respond Programme

Meet Zain and Sara

At the start of Covid-19, two siblings (we'll call them Zain and Sara for anonymity) were told to shield. Zain is suffering a long-term illness, undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, meaning the whole family had to take extra precautions as Zain was at high risk of infection.

As primary school pupils, Zain and Sara quickly began to miss the interaction with their peers, as many other young people would go on to experience in the light of a full lockdown.

Sara was particularly affected, with the confinement of home exacerbating her struggles with dyslexia and special educational needs.

Both children are supported by a close-knit family and the whole family received a great deal of support from their school, for which they were very grateful, but Mum was concerned that schoolwork only took them up to 1pm, leaving the children bored for the rest of the day.

It was clear they needed something more. That's where Learning Hive came in...

The siblings' experience of See, Hear, Respond

Zain and Sara attended 3 online sessions a week, including drama, wellness workshops and tutoring in maths and English. The sessions were all part of Barnardo's See, Hear, Respond programme and were delivered by Learning Hive's fully qualified tutors, completely free of charge.

The children really enjoyed the sessions, especially the drama workshops. They seemed to give them a focus and allow them to express themselves in a different way, all whilst having fun. They both brought a brilliant energy to the sessions and, in their own words, they now ‘really like acting’.

What's more, we offered the family an additional laptop through Barnardo's digital device distribution scheme so that both siblings could access their schoolwork outside of our sessions. Fortunately, their school had already catered to their needs but our fight against the digital divide continues!

How Zain and Sara thrived

The consistent approach and regularity of the sessions has built Zain and Sara's resilience; not only supporting their curriculum needs but also their pastoral needs and personal anxieties.

There was a lot of laughter from them during the sessions, and their creativity and vocabulary also improved.

We've had a very positive experience with Learning Hive and do not want it to end!

What next?

Learning Hive offered to support the siblings after the See, Hear, Respond programme ended on 31st March 2021. We will continue to offer the drama, well-being and tutoring at no cost to the family, offering them pro-bona places with Learning Hive.

We are really glad to be able to keep delivering these sessions for Zain and Sara and can't wait to see their progress in the coming months now that our support is intertwined with a return to classroom learning.

How can we support you?

If you're a member of staff, simply register your school to partner with Learning Hive. For each school we work with, we offer 10% of all enrolments as pro-bona places to give you the best opportunity to support your most vulnerable students.

If you're a parent, check out if you're eligible for our free or subsidised provision then sign up or register your interest in partner with us!