A particularly chilly January morning. Beanie and I drive up to Lincoln UTC. Our first school! 30 girls await us behind the tall doors of this exciting school. One of it’s kind.
Dry mouths, sweaty palms. Both of us feeling infinitely more nervous than any one of the pupils about to partake in our new workshop.
Sexual consent. Here – we – go!!!
We needn’t have felt nervous however, for the reception from the girls was as warm and bouncy as their innovative questions and input. Completely new and naive to any patterns and traits, we allowed ourselves one early observation as one class of year 10s exited and a class of year 11s took up their seats, and that was that the older girls predictably knew a bit more, but still had a lot of questions. And we all agreed that this conversation needed to be had. Now more than ever.
So, thank you Lincs UTC. What a school. What a start!
Some of our feedback comments from the day:
That was very good! I enjoyed it very much.
You were great!
Very well executed.
Fun- mainly focussed on heterosexual relationships (this has been duly noted and changes made to the presentation already!)
Michelle is an experienced operational and strategic senior manager with 10 years experience in the NHS. She is currently studying an MBA in Strategic Management and recently accomplished the Board Directors Programme. Michelle has an interest in the governance and development of services.
Kelly is a registered nurse and has had a varied career that has crossed both education and health and usually involved supporting young people. She joined You Before Two in its infancy, initially to support with delivering Workshop around Sexual Health and Contraception as that was her ‘day’ job at the time. She has more recently moved into a Safeguarding Children’s role in nursing and so has become the Safeguarding Lead at the charity. Its great to see how You Before Two has grown in the last 3 years and it’s a pleasure to be part of it.
Andrea is from Brazil. She emigrated to England around 15 years ago and she loves it. She has always worked with people in her life, and it is something that really fills her soul. During her early years in Brazil, she used to work as a volunteer in her church providing free soup for people in need and also visiting hospitals trying to cheer up those in need of a chat or a cuddle. She has always believed that we should help each other and now more than ever. We are living in a very busy world where sometimes even when you are surrounded by many people you are still feeling lonely. Therefore she believes that if she could help the next generation to go through life without all the worries and concerns that she had when she was that age, is just an amazing opportunity.
Fiona has over 20 years experience as a Solicitor. She is a Senior Partner for a firm in Rotherham. Fiona has an avid interest in education and supporting young people in an increasingly challenging world. She has a wealth of experience of being on charity boards and is You Before Two’s legal and policy expert. Fiona has been with You Before Two since its inception and is a dedicated and dynamic member of the team.
The day you stop learning is the day you stop living.