Lexi and Taiya’s Story

“Hi my name is Lexi,”… “and my name is Taiya! We have been best friends since reception!”

“Before I started coaching,” starts Taiya, “I was struggling with maintaining my anger, and Lexi was too. I always got into fights and I got bullied a lot.” Lexi nods.

Alison, the Headteacher at Lexi and Taiya’s school, explains further. “Lexi’s behaviours were so extreme that we couldn’t cope with them within school. They were a health and safety issue both to her and to our staff.” In fact, Lexi was at risk of permanent exclusion.

“And Taiya,” Alison continues, “was a child who had many challenges. She came from a confused family where she lived in two places that came with two different sets of rules, and that was very difficult for her to process.”

“At our school, we know that every child’s behaviour, no matter how extreme it is, is telling us something about how they are feeling and it is up to us to interpret that properly.”

As Lexi and Taiya struggled to communicate the difficult challenges they were both facing, their school realised that something had to change.

In stepped TLG Early Intervention coaches, Toni and Miriam!

Taiya’s coach Miriam reflects on their time together. “The sessions make a difference because she has a voice. She’s listened to and she’s able to express herself. Taiya’s learnt to trust me. She’s changed beyond recognition.”

Taiya agrees! “Normally when we check into a session we do this feeling game, you pick a colour for what you’re feeling today. And normally I pick yellow for happy because I’m always excited to meet my coach!”

Toni coached Lexi, with sessions every week for a whole year. “Time and space are key,” she reflects. “What I love about Early Intervention is that it doesn’t just train you to come in and deal with the issues, it trains you to look for the gold, the things to celebrate. Lexi has transformed, she’s a different girl to the one that I met at the start of coaching!”

Alison says "I've been a headteacher for seventeen years and I have never seen a child turned round in the manner that this has happened!"

“The teachers have said it’s been a lot easier for me to calm down,” says Lexi, “and I’m even a prefect now!”

This colourful transformation can even be seen in the girls’ artwork. “The paintings have gone from being quite black and quite dark to very bright and sparkly!” says Miriam.

Lexi summarises, “after the coaching, not only me but also Taiya - we are both a lot calmer and happier.”

 

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