We recently spoke to a young man, we’ll call him Thomas, who, after a few years, was getting ready to leave Red Balloon and go off to college. During our short conversation, we asked him “If you could sum up Red Balloon in one short sentence, what would it be?” He thought for a few moments and then replied quietly, but definitively:
Needed.
Thomas did not describe what it was like to be a student at Red Balloon. He didn’t sum up how it felt to make friends, earn three GCSEs and be weeks away from getting his driver’s licence (facts we would later learn). He told us it was needed.
Red Balloon is Needed
Red Balloon exists because there are so many children who can’t attend and succeed in a “normal” mainstream school right now. Sometimes it’s because of trauma, mental health difficulties or special educational needs or, more usually, a combination of these. Having not been able to get the right support, they often find themselves like Thomas at sixteen “No GCSEs, nothing like that — it feels, like, insurmountable. You feel like you’ll never get your education.”
But less than two years later, Thomas is going off to college to study Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation at his local college. He’s had a part-time job for over six months. He can go out and feels socially confident. You can read more of his story here.
It takes effort, there’s no doubt about it. But comprehensive wellbeing support, access to therapy, help to build social skills and a place where you feel welcomed, exactly as you are, makes all the difference. Personalised lessons and the time to move at your own pace without pressure work for children like Thomas, time and time again.
They need more than just a classroom. Will you give them a place where they can flourish?
How You Can Help
Unfortunately, struggling to cope in a “normal school” is far from uncommon, especially after the pandemic. In the Autumn term 2024, nearly 150,000 children missed half or more of their lessons — this is nearly two and a half times more than in 2019. At best, this is equivalent to missing Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday every week for the entire term. At worst, it could mean not attending at all. These children miss out on learning, finding their passions and developing friendships. Their worlds shrink, sometimes to the four walls of their bedroom.
We need your help to reach them.
It is the generosity of people like you that allows us to show up, tools, resources and compassion in hand, when these children need it most.
It is gifts in all sizes and shapes that allow us to meet each child where they are and give them the individual time, attention and support they need to find their way.
This Christmas, would you consider a gift to help children get back on the path to learning and making the most of life?
Thank you for your gift to our young people this Christmas. It will last a lifetime.
Donate Today
