Brighter Futures
The Millfields Trust 'HQ'
Unit 29
237 Union Street
Plymouth
Devon
PL1 3HQ
Tel: 01752 294044
Mob: 07779 349557

Testimonials

Testimonials

Adult Work

 Dear Danny

I just wanted to thank-you for all the help and support you have given me since attending the sessions. It has changed my life for the better. Although my partner no longer lives with me, both the children live with me now and we are very happy, thanks to you. Thank-you for giving me peace.

Young People's Work

I am Garry McGregor,

 Parent Support Adviser at Drake Primary School in Keyham, Plymouth.

I asked Brighter Futures to deliver their "Take Control", anger management programme to a group of year 5 and 6 children at the school as they had been identified as being likely to benefit from such an event, during discussion with myself and parents.

The feedback from the parents and children was very positive.

I have recommended Brighter Futures to other PSAs and would do so again.

Examples of feedback from parents;

Anger Management course (Take Control) by Brighter Futures at Drake Primary School;

Feed back from parents;

 16-05-07

 Mum A commented that his “temper has changed considerably,” for the better, “in the way he behaves towards me and my husband.”

 Mum B said “he has calmed down a lot. I had him at the weekend and he was no trouble at all.”

 Mum C reported, “Better reports at school, was better for a while, but getting in with some bad ones at the moment. School say he’s having fewer confrontations.”

 Mum E “S is no different but he now recognises his emotions” and agreed that this is very positive.

 Mum D said “made a big difference to O. He doesn’t talk much about it but will now walk away” from provocation.

 Mum F “Better…….when it suits him!”

 Garry McGregor

PSA

 Drake Primary School

 Danny,

Received from J.Bussell.

Neil

The Brighter Futures project has, and continues to be, an invaluable resource to the area of Parent Support Advisors project in Plymouth.  I have made several referrals to Brighter Futures and they have worked with the young person and turned whole families qualities of life around for the better. I and several colleagues have also attended the project’s training session on dealing with anger.  It was an excellent day with a high quality course content and delivery style.  I whole heartedly wish the project continued success and a very BRIGHT FUTURE.     

Best Wishes

Jo Bussell

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Danny,

Received from L.Curren.

Neil

To whom this may concern:

My name is Lorraine Ingram and I work in John Kitto Community College as a Learning Mentor. A main part of my job is to organise Anger Management for some of our students who have difficulty in controlling their emotions. I have worked here now for 9 years and each year our students with emotional difficulties seem to be to be increasing, but problems finding help for these students also seems to be increasing. Danny and his team have been working in our school now for 6 months and we have seen a difference in the students that he works with. Some were at risk of being permanently excluded but are still with us and are slowly improving. We have students waiting to see him who live in the cathment area for the funding, but we are also paying for other students to see Danny who do not live within these areas. The problem is that we can only afford so much on our school budget and if the funding that Brighter Futures receives stops then I know that there will be a lot of students out there who wont get the help that they need or deserve because schools and parents cant afford it.

I feel that we need more funding for projects like these, not less, then maybe we would have less problems both in our schools and on the streets. Danny is good at getting these young people to understand themselves and to change their attitude. The students like him and co-operate well with him.

As a school we value his work, as we feel that the students of today need as mush help as we can offer.

Lorraine Ingram

Learning Mentor

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Garry Hammond

Youth Development coordinator

Frederick street centre

Stonehouse

Plymouth PL1 3SB

Tel: 01752 228906

Email: garry.hammond@plymouth.gov.uk

To Whom It May Concern

I am the youth development worker at the Frederick st centre in Stonehouse.  Our centre is based in the heart of one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the city and has a youth population of roughly 800.  The main focus of the centre is to engage local young people through positive activities and to support our local schools and colleges in reducing exclusion rates and anti social behaviour in the area and developing young people to become members of society.  A lot of the young people that engage with the youth work in the centre have numerous life issues affecting their lives and managing their anger and frustration is key to their personal and social development. 

As youth workers we aim to create opportunities for young people to engage voluntarily, to build trust and provide support.  Young people are central in the decision making and their ideas and vision directs our service.

I was delighted to hear that Danny Biscombe ‘a local lad’ was working with a new project ‘Brighter Futures’ and offering young people the opportunity to participate in sessions addressing their anger.  This was an area of concern raised by many staff, teachers and young people themselves. 

I have referred 2 x young people onto the programme and looking to refer more in the near future, reports back from parents; friends and young people themselves have been very positive and have confirmed the importance of this kind of project for young people.  Young people have commented on how easy Danny is to talk to and that he makes them feel at ease and can also have a laugh with them, this is so important in building and developing relationships with young people. 

I strongly believe that without the support of the project these young people would have suffered at the hands of their anger, fortunately they have turned it around and now take responsible roles in volunteering in delivering the junior youth club.

I know when I thank you for your support it comes from all people involved and is very heart felt.

All the best

Garry Hammond

Dear Neil/Danny,

Just a few lines in support of your funding bid for post March 2008.

You have been an important source of support for some very vulnerable

pupils in our school.  Through Danny's anger management intervention,

these pupils have made great progress in recognising and dealing with

their feelings.  One pupil in particular is a different child around

the school - before he was constantly being sent out of class after

angry outbursts, and having a lot of friendship and social difficulties

in the playground due to his anger.  Now he is much calmer, looks

happier around school, and very rarely gets sent out of class -

consequently his learning has much improved.  His parents report that

life at home is also much calmer and happier, both for him and for the

whole family.

As a school we have also brought parents along to the workshops for

understanding anger, which was felt to be really useful - by having a

better understanding of their child, strategies to deal with the anger,

and just by talking to other parents in the same situation.

It is really important for us that this work should receive funding to

continue - a lot of our pupils lead a fairly chaotic lifestyle and it

has been brilliant to be able to call on Danny to come into school and

support these pupils, who have been given them skills they can use

throughout their life.

I wish you all the best in your bid to secure future funding,

Chris Lang

Family Worker

...

Hi Danny,

Received from Paula Olly.

Neil

Dear Danny

I would like to pass on my thanks for the excellent service you personally provided to one of my young people, as well as the wider provision to parents/carers.  The young person has passed on how much they benefited from the anger management sessions, and was aware that they had started to implement the strategies discussed within their everyday lives. From a Professional point of view these sessions allowed this young person to feel more able to return to the family home, that would be more able to manage tension with his family in a more constructive manner, allowing them to leave a foster placement and cease being a Looked After Child. The foster carer attended the carers workshop and found it immediately relevant to the care she was providing and was able to encourage the parent to attend.

Due to the positive response I have had I am looking forward to attending the 'Understanding Anger' Workshop for Professionals, and the High school involved requested details due to the positive work they had seen demonstrated with a number of pupils.

I hope you are able to maintain your funding, as it would be a real loss to the children/young people we serve in the  Plymouth area should you close.

Wirth thanks

Paula Olly

Children in the Community

Midland House

Plymouth Children Services

Hi Danny & Neil,

Thanks very much for your excellent work with the young people if have

referred from Connexions. I have seen considerable positive changes in

their attitude and behaviour. The young people have spoken highly of

your sessions too and have said that they have been a great help to

them. I hope your work continues after next March, as I think it is a

huge benefit to  some of our local young people, who have a genuine need

for help in dealing with anger issues. I have been happy to recommend

your services to colleagues from Connexions who work with young people

in your designated areas.

Many Thanks,

Phil hemsley

Community personal advisor

Positive Pathways

Connexions Cornwall and Devon Ltd

10 to 12 Union  Street

Plymouth

PL1 2SR

01752 207701

07786334615

From:   Bacon, Debra (CHILDREN'S SERVICES) 
Sent:   Friday, October 26, 2007 12:46 PM
To:     'info@brighterfuturessw.co.uk'
Subject:       

To whom it may concern:

I work for a multi -agency support team (MAST) within the framework of the Excellence Cluster in Plymouth.  Our service gives professional support for children, parents and schools and can be accessed by 26 primary schools in the Devonport/Stonehouse/North Prospect/Barne Barton etc areas of Plymouth.  The main focus of our work is to support schools and families where there are concerns about behaviour and attendance.  Research has indicated that educational, social and emotional problems that are not addressed at primary level are likely to escalate at secondary level and beyond.

We were delighted to hear about Brighter Futures and meet Danny Biscombe because a significant number of the requests for our involvement concern the angry, challenging or anti-social behaviour of 8-11 year old boys, most of whom have unstable and stressful family circumstances. In such cases it can be difficult to find the appropriate and effective means of support for the parents/carers and school staff. 

The feedback we have received from children, parents and schools has been extremely positive and encouraging.  Parents report that their children are calmer and learning to be more co-operative, children say that they get on very well with Danny and enjoy the sessions, schools are very enthusiastic about the fact that school staff now have a good source of support for their efforts to cope with challenging behaviour in the classroom and playground.

One mother I contacted recently for an update on her son was full of praise, saying " He loves the sessions with Danny, is confident to go on his own now and says that he's a funny man!".  She felt that her son was becoming more emotionally well-balanced and confident and that she hoped that it would carry on longer.

Deborah Bacon

Family Liaison Worker, Education Welfare

26.10.07

Hi,

I wanted to write a quick email to say thank you. 

I made a referral for the son of one of our tenants at Laurel Road as he wanted to deal with his anger management problems. It was evident that your service was the only one with the funding to enable him to access anger management counselling, as the aggressive behaviour is in the home and mainly against his Mum rather than a partner. Importantly, it was also age appropriate. In this situation, it would have been far more difficult for him to receive any help and as he admits, without dealing with this situation now, he feels it would only get worse for him and his family. 

Myself and the police have been working with him and his mum regarding anti-social behaviour and he has demonstrated a real difference in his behaviour out and about on the estate. However, without tackling the root of the problem within the home, the work he has already put in to make changes is not likely to be sustainable in the long term. In that respect, the service you are providing is invaluable.

Thanks

Rebecca

Rebecca Ryall
Housing Officer - Tamar West
Housing Operations
Community Services
91/93 North Prospect Road
North Prospect
Plymouth
PL2 2NA
Tel: 01752 - 306442

Youth Inclusion Programme

Tamar View Community Resource Centre

Poole Park Road

Barne Barton

Plymouth

Devon

PL5 1DD

01752 368 180

To Whom It May Concern,

I work for the Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) which is a neighbourhood crime prevention project based in Barne Barton and St Budeaux. The YIP forms part of the prevention team of Plymouth Youth Offending Service, and works with a core group of fifty 13 – 17 year olds identified to the project through a multi-agency process.

The fundamental aim of the YIP is to reduce first time entrants into the youth justice system, and we do this by a mixture of one to one casework, targeted group work and detached sessions.

All of our work with young people is influenced by the completion of ONSET Assessments which cover a range of risk and protective factors including attitudes to offending, physical health, and emotional and mental health.

Working in this setting the ONSET Assessment often highlights concerns about these young people’s management of anger, and other challenging behaviours.

Brighter Futures has been successful in working with many of these young people to address these behaviours, and is a unique resource for young people and practitioners in the city.

I am concerned about the ability of Brighter Futures to continue delivering this invaluable service post March 2008 as the project’s funding is not secured.

Jo Batten

YIP Intervention Worker