Story added: 9th November 2023

Jack's Story

Eleven-year-old Jack first joined our Onside programme in July after experiencing difficulty at school. Jack was finding it hard to form strong friendships, leading to a massive drop off in his confidence. His mum, Laura was struggling to get him to attend school and Jack spent a lot of time at home feeling lonely and upset.

Jack and his mum were first introduced to Onside through the social services network, who recommended Jack attends a few sessions in an attempt to get him back on track. The programme had an immediate impact on Jack, who was visibly more self-assured and happier. His mum, Laura, said:

“From our point of view, he’s way more confident. Now he’s got a group of friends that he goes and plays football with – he wouldn’t have done that before!”

Since he began attending the Onside sessions, Jack has been working closely with Scott Ribbons, the Foundation’s Onside Youth Worker, who has been monitoring Jack’s progress closely.

“He is a completely different person – when he comes in now, he’s smiling and chatty and initiates the conversation, something he never did before. It really is amazing to see.”

The Onside team were so impressed with Jack’s progress, he was rewarded with a visit from Norwich City striker Ashley Barnes, who joined him at The Nest for a kick-about on the pitches followed by a few games of FIFA on the PlayStation.

Jack’s newfound confidence led the Onside team to start considering what was next for him, now that he was back on track and eager to communicate and learn.

“Our aim with Jack is to get him back into full-time education,” stated Scott, when asked what the next steps were for the rejuvenated Jack.

“We’ll take it step by step and see how it goes but in the long run we’d love to have him back at school enjoying himself.”

Recently, Jack’s mum got back to our Onside team to let them know that Jack had received a placement at a local school and was starting back in full time education this autumn.