Caring Afterwards…
Breckenbrough School is 73 years old this year (2007). It has educated and cared for some 600 pupils with emotional difficulties during its existence and they are still out there in the world struggling for existence like the rest of us. The only difference is that they were at a disadvantage to start with.
Where Breckenbrough used to be designated as a school for boys with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), it now caters for 10 to 17 year-old boys with more precisely diagnosed conditions like Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. In 1934 Dr. Arthur Fitch had the foresight to establish a controlled and regular environment for the education of emotionally disturbed children. His rationale was that they would benefit from an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity during their childhood learning. This is still as relevant in 2007 as it ever was. Breckenbrough is the school that grew from Dr. Fitch’s vision and it has done a sterling job providing that all important start for boys where it was otherwise lacking.
The question is, can they make it on their own after they leave Breckenbrough, aged 16, with their GCSEs? It would seem from the impressive array of old-boy achievements that, for the majority, the answer is a resounding yes! We have records of RAF pilots, successful entrepreneurs and happy family men as well as politicians, police officers and PhD’s among the vast panoply of life paths followed by our old-boys ….. and yet there are still some who find the transition into the big, wide world daunting.
In 1961, on his retirement from the position of Headmaster, Frank Forrest was aware of the growing number of old-boys and set up the After Care Committee. This separate group of the school management committee was empowered with administering an initial fund of £5,000, that was gifted to us by Mrs Ellis who later moved to Canada.
Frank continued to monitor and assist our ex-pupils until his death in 1970 when his wife, Mary, took over. During this time the fund was used in small donations to provide such things as training grants, subsistence allowance and specialist equipment. By 1978 it was realised that a more formal appointment was required and Brian Guy became the first After Care Officer at Breckenbrough. It might well be that he was also the first in the country and this kind of after care seems to be unique to Breckenbrough. Brian and his successor, Ron Cowels, have developed the provision to a point where we now work as much in the school as out in the community.
The overriding emphasis is now on “smooth transition” and the Care Officer, provides as much prevention as after-care. His duties involve him in liaison with the Connexions service, the European Service for People with Autism (ESPA) and local authorities as well as with families of pupils during their time at Breckenbrough. The central role is one of correspondence, monitoring and assistance to the old-boys themselves. Each month, on average, he will make contact (by phone, e-mail or letter) with as many as a dozen old-boys and make journeys to visit one or two, travelling the length and breadth of the country in the process. In the last month alone grants have been awarded to assist with emergency accommodation, remedial tuition and travel permits. This gives a flavour of the volume of activity involved.
What started with the modest gift of £5,000, has been skilfully managed by successive treasurers like Margaret Locket, so the there is now a continuous fund on which to draw. As it did at the start, the After Care Committee regards what it does as part of the wider work of Quaker outreach.
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