Teachers TV: Teenage Mental Health

What do you do when you have pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties who won't engage with you or your lessons? Pupils who truant and whose out-of-school activities are a definite barrier to learning? What if these pupils are from ethnic minority groups and prove even harder to reach? The Multi Agency Preventative Project works with schools in Tower Hamlets to address this issue. Each agency offers a different approach depending on the problem and at Bow School we meet youth worker Marion Spiers and two of her referrals, 16 year old Tehsin, who has attendance issues, and 13 year old Raju, who is under achieving. Marion has been working with Tehsin for 8 months and today's session focuses on identity. With Raju, who is a new client, she is concentrating on communication. Both boys feel that they can speak in confidence with Marion and value her advice. Jon Ryder is the schools' link teacher. He also values what the MAP project can do for students and teachers.