Leading Liam From Streets to Safety

Liam is a year 5 young man from North London. He is an intelligent and functional individual with excellent communication skills.  His life changed dramatically the day he was removed from the streets of his home area.  Liam's mother had died when he was eight as a result of a drugs overdose and his father had been jailed for supplying class A substances. Liam had been telling his aunty (the adult he had been placed with by the authorities) that he was staying with his grandad, he had been telling his grandad that he had been staying with his aunty!  The truth was he had been living feral, cuckooing in the house of a vulnerable adult and running drugs on the streets of both North London and East Manchester. 

The evening he was taken into care he was relocated to the north of England, to an assessment centre in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, an environment he had never experienced in his life! The authorities were unable to secure a school place and requested 1:1 support from us. We placed a highly experienced SEMH tutor, Paul, who engaged with Liam in his children's home for two hours a day, five days a week. Paul worked very closely with Liam’s key worker and gradually over time built a trusting and meaningful relationship with Liam. 

Paul experienced aggressive and abusive language, something he did not react to.  Liam caused damage to the home on a regular basis and our tutor allowed Liam to sit with him when he was in a heightened state, utilising skilled de-escalation strategies based on his knowledge and understanding of managing trauma-affected young people. Liam went missing from care on a regular basis, he was highly skilled in accessing the rail network and travelled to his known haunts in London and Manchester. Over time Liam started to return to his children’s home independently (of the police), stating he had come back ‘to see his tutor’. 

Having been able to place his trust in Paul, Liam began to engage with his education and redirected his natural intelligence in a more positive manner. Liam was supported by his tutor to reintegrate into a local school where he continues to develop both academically and emotionally.