Case Studies
Primary Children
What we do
At Ufton Adventure, we work to increase social mobility through purposeful outdoor education for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. We work in a holistic way helping children to better understand themselves and to learn how to take control of their personal wellbeing and develop a sense of purpose in life. We develop children’s self-esteem, confidence, resilience and willingness to try new tasks through our expertly delivered programmes. Our overarching aims are to raise aspiration and attainment through unlocking ambition.
Children come to Ufton repeatedly because that is how we embed learning. Please see below case studies from children who have completed programmes at Ufton.
Case Studies
Child H
Child H is in year 6. At the end of year 3 he was identified as a pupil with great potential but was held back by his lack of confidence and inability to try new things. He was enrolled to Ufton Adventure with the aim of developing his resilience and confidence. At first he was tentative, not willing to work outside of his comfort zone and struggled socially interacting with more confident pupils. As the programme grew, so too did H, being exposed to a range of new opportunities such as residential trips, outdoor walks, fire lighting, outdoor cooking, archery and mountain biking.
Gaining more confidence, H started to become an actively social member of our school. He became more vocal in the classroom and applied for student leadership roles within the school.
With this growing confidence, we have seen him thrive in the classroom. H’s academic attainment has risen and he is now about above the national average in all three core areas of Reading, Writing and Maths. This marked rise corresponds with his involvement on the outdoor programme, seeing clear progression in Years 4 and 5. This holistic development has positively impacted both on H’s academic attainment and social wellbeing, creating a young confident individual who has grown from being timid and fearful of failure to a motivated, driven pupil who enjoys challenging himself. Secondary School is no longer such a daunting shadow, but a new challenge that H cannot wait to take on!
Written by Year 6 Head of Year - Ufton Adventure Partner School
Child R
Child R balances growing up with social media and friendship challenges alongside supporting her struggling mother who has a history of battling alcoholism and has placed untold stresses and responsibility onto her young daughter’s shoulders. R has to get herself ready for school and is consistently on time and well presented.
We know that R feels school is safe because adult behaviour is predictable, she wants to be here. Although happy to be in school, she often pushed boundaries with staff and caused friction with peers. Where school was a great learning environment for many, R sought it as a platform to gain the attention she lacked at home. We selected R for the Ufton programme. During the last year, we have seen R flourish in confidence, perseverance and attitude, becoming an integral character in the classroom, and school. With the opportunities at Ufton, combined with the support of School, R has found the necessary motivation to appropriately apply herself in class and we have seen her academic confidence grow to the point where she has exceeded our expectations.
R still experiences times of great difficulty, her lowest moment was where she was removed from home and taken into care because of child protection issues. Despite this, she has continued to build personal skills and develop the resilience she needs to cope with her personal situation. She leaves us for secondary school this summer and we feel that the support she has received at school and at Ufton has given her new reserves of confidence and resilience to draw on as she embarks on the next chapter of her life.
Ufton Adventure Partner School
Child D
Child D was removed from his mother and adopted by his aunt when he was a toddler. He lives with his much older step sister and step brother. His step brother is being treated for depression.
D struggles to concentrate in lessons and gets very upset when things go wrong. He is often removed from the class because of his behaviour. He doesn’t listen to teachers and gets very angry with himself and gives up easily when he finds things difficult. D is over friendly to adults, and is constantly seeking approval.
D has come to Ufton multiple times and is changing. He is learning to give things a go and isn’t expecting to be able to do things immediately, he is starting to understand that he needs to listen to instructions and work to develop the skills to succeed. The Ufton team have worked with him on the way he behaves around adults, he now understands that he cannot touch or hug strangers without asking permission and is wanting to do this less and less. D is volunteering to try new things and is so much less frustrated than he was. His self-esteem has grown and we have seen D make friends with class mates and he is a much happier and more secure child. His results have improved and he is listening and understanding so much more. His aunt has reported that he is calmer at home and able to do things for himself more.