:00:10. > :00:19.This programme contains strong been following the students and
:00:19. > :00:24.staff of the Choices school in Bristol. It offers alternative
:00:24. > :00:47.been excluded. We follow the highs. And the lows. No Nico! No one's
:00:47. > :00:52.Shaylea and Chad have all been excluded and sent to Choices. But,
:00:52. > :01:23.It's the start of a new year at Shanika and Shaylea are doing an art
:01:23. > :01:27.could be a person, or it could be a symbol. Most lessons take place
:01:27. > :01:27.could be a person, or it could be a Easton's Mill Youth Centre, in
:01:27. > :01:34.Bristol. Liam and the others in Easton's Mill Youth Centre, in
:01:34. > :01:36.class should have been studying Easton's Mill Youth Centre, in
:01:36. > :01:44.their GCSEs. Instead they'll focus Effectiveness. Along with Mark,
:01:44. > :01:48.there's another support worker, called Holly. We've got people
:01:48. > :01:55.who've been excluded because of attendance. One of our young people
:01:55. > :02:02.had a 13% attendance, whereas the attendance now is in the 90%. Could
:02:02. > :02:06.school, they could have been caught with cannabis and excluded for that
:02:06. > :02:11.reason. Just generally challenging behaviour. For Liam, things started
:02:11. > :02:22.going wrong when teachers noticed he wasn't keeping up. He was taken
:02:22. > :02:23.going wrong when teachers noticed he Kids his age would take the mick,
:02:23. > :02:31.turn round and take the frustration, have extra help," and then he'd
:02:31. > :02:31.turn round and take the frustration, and just hit them. And we had so
:02:31. > :02:39.well, I shout, so I tried that. and just hit them. And we had so
:02:39. > :02:46.everything. I was a bit hyperactive tried grounding him, we tried taking
:02:46. > :02:47.everything. I was a bit hyperactive and stuff at school. I wouldn't
:02:47. > :02:51.everything. I was a bit hyperactive or anything. I got thrown out, and
:02:52. > :02:57.they sent me to Choices. Hopefully I'll learn more now. It's a lot
:02:57. > :02:58.completely different to Liam's old school. Choices management decided
:02:58. > :03:02.against a traditional learning environment. Some of the youngsters
:03:02. > :03:09.we have, haven't been to secondary school for a long time, and we need
:03:09. > :03:21.to make them feel that they want to attend. And part of that is the
:03:21. > :03:23.benefit from a more relaxed style of teaching. Do you have any New Year's
:03:23. > :03:29.resolutions? ??FORCEDYELOW Quit smoking. FORCEDGREEN That's an
:03:29. > :03:35.awesome idea. When are you going to start? I've known him all my life.
:03:35. > :03:41.He will not stop. As well as English and Maths, the group learns other
:03:41. > :03:46.life skills. Today, Chad and his friend Shaylea are supposed to
:03:46. > :03:56.working together to a build a picnic table. But they're not particularly
:03:56. > :04:05.interested. Do you remember Guys, you are creating something for
:04:05. > :04:09.inspiring. . After some persuasion, youth workers do finally manage
:04:10. > :04:23.inspiring. . After some persuasion, inspire the students to start their
:04:23. > :04:31.together as a team. And Shaylea seems to have found the session
:04:31. > :04:50.useful. I might even get that as a job. But then some of the young
:04:50. > :04:56.when a fight breaks out. For any parent who has a child excluded
:04:57. > :05:00.when a fight breaks out. For any school, what happens next can be a
:05:00. > :05:06.real worry. My first concerns were, you know, if you've got a child
:05:06. > :05:11.who's being naughty, what's the outcome going to be if they're put
:05:11. > :05:13.into a situation with more children who have problems, and more naughty
:05:14. > :05:19.children. Choices is run by Learning Partnership West. When a school
:05:20. > :05:24.company nearly £10,000 a year to wasn't exactly what Liam's parents
:05:24. > :05:31.were expecting. I was thinking, wasn't exactly what Liam's parents
:05:32. > :05:34.This was my worry when he first started going there. And, what is
:05:34. > :05:42.their structure? We thought, as started going there. And, what is
:05:42. > :05:46.parent, we just thought, how is started going there. And, what is
:05:46. > :05:54.going to work? I suppose at Choices, if you want to work you can work.
:05:54. > :06:01.But if you choose not to work, and mess around, no one can really stop
:06:01. > :06:02.approach at Choices means the school you from doing that. The relaxed
:06:02. > :06:08.approach at Choices means the school day normally starts at 10am and
:06:08. > :06:08.approach at Choices means the school finished by 2. And even though
:06:08. > :06:09.they're not supposed to, the young finished by 2. And even though
:06:09. > :06:15.they're not supposed to, the young people often listen to music and use
:06:15. > :06:16.their mobile phones. They can also take cigarette breaks. For the
:06:17. > :06:22.students' behaviour is a tough nut to crack. I'm going to be honest
:06:22. > :06:29.here that actually we do have to help these young people understand
:06:29. > :06:30.what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. That doesn't mean that
:06:30. > :06:36.on day one they come in and we take their mobiles away. What we are
:06:36. > :06:37.trying to teach them is there are their mobiles away. What we are
:06:37. > :06:37.trying to teach them is there are times when they can have their
:06:37. > :06:45.actually what we want them to do is times when they can have their
:06:45. > :06:47.actually what we want them to do is understanding that and choosing
:06:47. > :07:03.actually what we want them to do is for themselves. Last term, Choices
:07:03. > :07:11.had an OFSTED inspection. I was expecting to be sworn at, talking
:07:11. > :07:18.backgrounds some of these children difference, to change somebody's
:07:18. > :07:23.fitness teacher. At Choices though, classes. What's a simile then? Who's
:07:24. > :07:33.seen Forrest Gump here? Me. What's know. Life is like what? A box of
:07:33. > :07:43.chocolates. That's right. Excuse me! (BLEEP). I've literally had to learn
:07:43. > :07:50.a new dialect since being here and I've grown a thick skin pretty
:07:50. > :07:53.quickly. Liam arrives at the youth centre, nearly two hours late for
:07:53. > :08:03.school. He's missed most of Nico's English lesson. Liam. Shut the
:08:03. > :08:05.(BLEEP) up. Nico's unsure how to react to Liam's language. Choices
:08:05. > :08:11.isn't as strict about swearing, react to Liam's language. Choices
:08:11. > :08:18.mainstream schools. They know the rules, they know not to swear at us
:08:18. > :08:28.but if they do swear, I'm not going to send them home for the day. We'll
:08:28. > :08:29.reason with them and show them say it's a warning and try and
:08:29. > :08:35.reason with them and show them swearing's not the way to go. As
:08:35. > :08:37.interested in his mobile phone than well as arriving late, and swearing
:08:37. > :08:39.interested in his mobile phone than Nico's English lesson. Liam, put
:08:39. > :08:45.your phone away please. Shut the (BLEEP) up. Language. His disruptive
:08:45. > :08:49.behaviour starts to rub off on the other students. Nico is trying to
:08:49. > :08:55.help Shaylea, and encourage her other students. Nico is trying to
:08:55. > :09:00.do some work. But there's even more of a distraction when support worker
:09:00. > :09:09.Holly arrives and asks the group to want to get it in paper, alright, so
:09:09. > :09:15.we have proof that you've done it. Stop saying my name a minute! Nico
:09:15. > :09:21.finally loses Shaylea's attention completely and the group heads out
:09:21. > :09:25.the hardest position I've been in since I started teaching. I've got
:09:25. > :09:34.different kids who've attended complete hash of lessons. With
:09:34. > :09:40.students coming and going, bad behaviour and his lessons being
:09:40. > :09:42.students coming and going, bad struggling to make sense of his
:09:42. > :09:49.students coming and going, bad What have I been up to? I've just
:09:49. > :09:58.been teaching. On occasion! Another Shanika. She's not really sure why
:09:58. > :10:04.she ended up at Choices. They didn't want me at the school where I was,
:10:04. > :10:11.so they just put me there. So I don't know. The Choices students get
:10:11. > :10:17.the chance to do work experience on a Friday. Shanika wants to pursue a
:10:17. > :10:23.career in hair and beauty and with the help of Choices has arranged to
:10:23. > :10:46.Bristol. It's something I like doing. I like doing other people's
:10:46. > :10:56.hair, ny hair. You're not squashing hairdressing at college. Donna,
:10:56. > :10:56.hair, ny hair. You're not squashing runs the salon, has told her there
:10:56. > :11:02.might be a trainee position for runs the salon, has told her there
:11:02. > :11:08.good at communicating with the clients, and anything I asked he to
:11:08. > :11:17.do she'd do it. If she did get stuck, she'd actually ask me and I
:11:17. > :11:23.just shows them all about what the day is like in a work place. But
:11:23. > :11:24.before Shanika can even think about further education, she needs to
:11:24. > :11:30.finish school. At Choices, Nico further education, she needs to
:11:30. > :11:34.having a hard time trying to teach her. Shut your mouth! You're trying
:11:34. > :11:36.to persuade your friend to go to the her. Shut your mouth! You're trying
:11:36. > :11:49.to persuade your friend to go to the shop by bribing them with icecream.
:11:49. > :11:52.Shanika's disinterest, Liam is playing up for Nico again. He's
:11:52. > :11:56.taunting him about not enjoying playing up for Nico again. He's
:11:56. > :12:05.job. Liam doesn't see his behaviour find everything a joke, so I try to
:12:05. > :12:10.cheer everyone up. I'm the class clown in my opinion, like. Make
:12:10. > :12:16.everyone laugh. I don't really get offended by anything. I don't see
:12:16. > :12:28.why everyone has arguments and that. it. (BLEEP)! He's certainly playing
:12:28. > :12:35.the class clown today. But Nico doesn't see the funny side. (BLEEP)!
:12:35. > :12:42.(BLEEP)! (BLEEP)! That was a good lesson. But the only person who
:12:42. > :12:49.seems to have learnt a lesson is Nico. He's realised that Choices and
:12:49. > :12:55.its students have all got too much for him. I did hand my notice in
:12:55. > :13:00.last week. I didn't feel I was getting anywhere. So I decided it
:13:00. > :13:06.wasn't really fair on anybody, including myself and the kids and my
:13:06. > :13:11.colleagues. But while we're talking to Nico, he has to rush to stop
:13:11. > :13:17.colleagues. But while we're talking student from throwing a chair at
:13:17. > :13:25.Shanika. That's good advice. Come on, please don't do this. You had a
:13:25. > :13:32.good start to the day you know, Shanika, you had a good start. Yeah,
:13:32. > :13:44.I know. I'm all hot and bothered now! I'm not the kind of guy who
:13:44. > :13:47.signs a contract for an amount of time and then walks away a couple of
:13:47. > :13:53.months in. I've never done that before. So I'm really annoyed about
:13:53. > :14:00.that. But at the same time, I was finding it pretty stressful. Nico's
:14:01. > :14:06.boss can see the company set him a hard task. Yes, this is a difficult
:14:06. > :14:13.challenging. It's harder to find dedicated and very committed. The
:14:13. > :14:17.challenging. It's harder to find those people and keep them than
:14:17. > :14:21.perhaps those who are working at the top end with youngsters that don't
:14:21. > :14:30.It's Nico's last day at the youth centre and most of the students
:14:30. > :14:34.At home time, Holly normally gives a bus pass to each student who's
:14:34. > :14:40.completed a full day's work. That means they'll be able to get into
:14:40. > :14:50.school for free the following day. But because of her lack of work
:14:50. > :14:51.school for free the following day. Yes, I can have one for tomorrow.
:14:51. > :14:57.You've done no work today. Oh, No—one's done work. This afternoon,
:14:57. > :15:00.you refused. Look, none of these have done work, so why are they
:15:00. > :15:05.getting one for tomorrow? Guys, have done work, so why are they
:15:05. > :15:14.go. No. I'm waiting here. All we I asked you to do this afternoon,
:15:14. > :15:15.was to go into the gym and do some work. Then you said, "(BLEEP) off,
:15:15. > :15:22.(BLEEP) off, (BLEEP) off." It's work. Then you said, "(BLEEP) off,
:15:23. > :15:24.fair. Holly sticks up for you, OK. She works really hard for you. She's
:15:24. > :15:34.not (BLEEP) talking to you. It's always there for you, and you were
:15:34. > :15:40.not (BLEEP) talking to you. It's just dumb. This school is full of
:15:40. > :15:48.It's been quite a send—off for Nico. experience at a scooter shop in
:15:48. > :15:49.about how he treated his teacher. Bristol. He's feeling a bit guilty
:15:49. > :15:54.about how he treated his teacher. I was messing around a few days
:15:54. > :15:55.saying, "I know you'll be leaving before he left, winding him up,
:15:55. > :15:55.saying, "I know you'll be leaving the job. Loads of teachers leave".
:15:55. > :16:01.Then he actually left. I felt a the job. Loads of teachers leave".
:16:01. > :16:07.guilty. If we don't like teachers, we ain't going to get along with
:16:07. > :16:13.them as well as we do with Holly and Mark, because they're not actual
:16:13. > :16:14.because they're our friends. Like, I because they're our friends. Like, I
:16:14. > :16:22.could say anything to Mark or Holly and they wouldn't do anything. But
:16:23. > :16:32.Liam's mum Zowie thinks her son and they wouldn't do anything. But
:16:32. > :16:33.sometimes misunderstood and he doesn't mean to cause offence.
:16:33. > :16:33.Always the class clown, centre of doesn't mean to cause offence.
:16:33. > :16:33.Always the class clown, centre of attention, but he's got such a good
:16:34. > :16:46.think straightaway, "Oh, he's got a heart. He'll help anyone. A lot
:16:46. > :16:57.think straightaway, "Oh, he's got a bad home. He's got a bad upbringing,
:16:57. > :16:59.but, actually, it's not. He's just? Once you get into trouble once,
:16:59. > :16:59.but, actually, it's not. He's just? A lot of people don't know it, but
:16:59. > :17:13.games and (BLEEP). Sorry. I'll have A lot of people don't know it, but
:17:13. > :17:14.games and (BLEEP). Sorry. I'll have programming, blah, blah, blah. ICT,
:17:14. > :17:28.stuff like that. Yeah, I dunno. Back at Choices, working at the
:17:28. > :17:30.She's exhausted and has also taken school has taken its toll on Holly.
:17:30. > :17:34.She's exhausted and has also taken It's hard because I'm leaving before
:17:34. > :17:46.they leave, and I didn't want it to It's just how long someone can cut
:17:46. > :17:52.After Easter, life at Choices seems very different. Support worker Holly
:17:52. > :17:55.has left. So has teacher Nico. Neither has been replaced. Instead,
:17:55. > :18:02.some lessons will now be taught Neither has been replaced. Instead,
:18:02. > :18:08.head office. At the youth centre, stepping in to help Mark. The class
:18:08. > :18:14.contradicts Choices' key philosophy. At the centre of what we do is the
:18:14. > :18:18.trusted adult model. What young people need, and particularly the
:18:18. > :18:22.more vulnerable the young person, what they really need is a trusted
:18:22. > :18:31.adult that they can talk to and what they really need is a trusted
:18:31. > :18:34.At least the students still have Mark, who is the only full—time
:18:34. > :18:39.member of Choices staff based at the youth centre. He isn't a qualified
:18:39. > :18:42.teacher and is sometimes left by himself with the class of young
:18:42. > :18:46.It's challenging, I guess, because, even though I don't mind being on my
:18:46. > :18:53.own and it makes me up my game, even though I don't mind being on my
:18:53. > :18:59.at the same time, if you've got even though I don't mind being on my
:18:59. > :19:01.group of five children, and three are flowing fast and two are slow
:19:01. > :19:08.difficult. The children can get and they're asking for the answer or
:19:08. > :19:08.difficult. The children can get frustrated and it can get you a
:19:08. > :19:14.It's a continual battle to try to frustrated and it can get you a
:19:14. > :19:15.It's a continual battle to try to motivate the students. Chad and
:19:15. > :19:22.Shaylea have decided to take a All right, guys? Let's plan out
:19:22. > :19:25.Shaylea have decided to take a work. Wake up, please, Chad. You OK,
:19:25. > :19:30.Shaylea? You all right? Get some Mark is also trying to chase up
:19:30. > :19:33.students who haven't shown up for school, at the same time as teaching
:19:33. > :19:42.That's all right. No problem at school, at the same time as teaching
:19:42. > :19:49.I'm in class now so I'll give you a call after school to see how he
:19:49. > :19:50.I'm in class now so I'll give you a all right? Take care. Bye. You're
:19:50. > :19:57.not even sleeping. Get up, you. Mark finally manages to get Chad off
:19:57. > :20:02.the sofa by persuading him to have a When somebody's in a bad place,
:20:02. > :20:02.the sofa by persuading him to have a you get them to move, it takes their
:20:02. > :20:09.mind off the situation, and then you get them to move, it takes their
:20:09. > :20:15.mind off the situation, and then themselves. So, I thought, if I
:20:15. > :20:17.mind off the situation, and then him in the hall playing football,
:20:17. > :20:24.Mark's right and, after football, Chad does settle down to work. But
:20:24. > :20:33.who's playing on the youth centre's What do you reckon, Shaylea, if
:20:33. > :20:33.who's playing on the youth centre's share cars to work, is that better
:20:33. > :20:43.Mark tries to get Shaylea to do share cars to work, is that better
:20:43. > :20:49.work. She hasn't done any all day. Even so, when she stops playing
:20:49. > :20:54.work. She hasn't done any all day. the computer game, she's annoyed she
:20:54. > :21:00.Why say, "If you get to do your work, you can go home at half one?"
:21:00. > :21:08.Why not just say, "You're too late to go at half one now. Do your work
:21:08. > :21:18.and you can go at two". Fair enough, yeah. It's common sense, Mark. Yeah,
:21:18. > :21:19.when you're ready and we can crack fair enough. Just give me a shout
:21:19. > :21:19.when you're ready and we can crack "Mark", and even though I've been
:21:19. > :21:33.with you guys, no problems at all. I "Mark", and even though I've been
:21:34. > :21:34.with you guys, no problems at all. I OK, guys, come around here. Bend
:21:34. > :21:35.your knees. One, two, three, lift. OK, guys, come around here. Bend
:21:35. > :21:40.your knees. One, two, three, lift. It's time to get out of the youth
:21:40. > :21:47.centre and into the fresh air. One coursework is to go on a residential
:21:47. > :21:52.Howe—Haysom is head of the Choices programme and she's come along to
:21:52. > :21:55.To turn that way, you need to have it backwards. To turn the other
:21:55. > :21:57.To turn that way, you need to have Watch out for that boat, guys!
:21:57. > :22:06.No, that's backwards! You're a The canoeing activity is supposed to
:22:07. > :22:16.it isn't going to plan for everyone. terrorise the (BLEEP) out of you.
:22:16. > :22:40.Liam and his canoeing partner Eddie though. They're trying out some
:22:40. > :22:57.balancing games with the instructor. Hold your weight. You nearly went
:22:57. > :23:09.in! No more games now. Don't panic, While most of the group are on the
:23:09. > :23:17.water, two of the Choices students have had to stay on dry land. Chad
:23:17. > :23:21.and another boy were smoking in their cabin and set off the fire
:23:21. > :23:25.alarm during the night. Laura has decided to send them both home.
:23:25. > :23:29.They've been told to pack their bags, but instead, they take two
:23:29. > :23:39.kayaks and attempt to go out on bags, but instead, they take two
:23:39. > :23:41.What are you doing? Will you put the kayaks back up there for us? You
:23:41. > :23:46.haven't got an instructor out with you, so you can't go out. Take the
:23:46. > :23:54.Still making mischief, they start to Still making mischief, they start to
:23:54. > :23:59.belongings and wreak havoc on the Oh, for (BLEEP) sake! Shut the
:23:59. > :24:04.(BLEEP) up. I can't talk to one (BLEEP) person in there. Oh, (BLEEP)
:24:04. > :24:21.When they finally leave, Liam's They were too much, man. I knew
:24:21. > :24:24.When they finally leave, Liam's were going to misbehave on the first
:24:24. > :24:26.day they came. Sneaky little people. Liam can now start enjoying himself
:24:26. > :24:39.Go on, Liam! That's quite far. I think they've built his confidence
:24:39. > :24:50.different avenues and different I think they've built his confidence
:24:50. > :24:55.of learning. Now he'll come home and have a chat, and say, "Oh, Mum,
:24:55. > :24:59.we've done this today", whereas have a chat, and say, "Oh, Mum,
:24:59. > :25:02.he was at school, you'd get nothing. Now he's enthusiastic and a lot
:25:02. > :25:23.Once you've finished, can you please go through and check. If you've
:25:23. > :25:31.School's nearly out. The young coursework can soon leave Choices.
:25:31. > :25:35.They also need to pass their English and Maths exams before starting
:25:35. > :25:41.further education. But what happens next? Learning Partnership West
:25:41. > :25:42.further education. But what happens authority's youth services, sharing
:25:42. > :25:52.a £22 million contract. As for Choices, its staff can see the
:25:52. > :26:00.The young people have achieved. They've got accreditation. You can
:26:00. > :26:04.see the development in individual young people. We always want more so
:26:04. > :26:11.what we are doing is developing young people. We always want more so
:26:11. > :26:16.learning even more and what we want to say in the future is that every
:26:16. > :26:22.single one of the youngsters that comes to Choices has a really good
:26:22. > :26:27.And what about this year's class, whose futures have been largely
:26:27. > :26:31.dependent on Choices? Shanika gave up her work placement at the salon,
:26:31. > :26:34.apprenticeship in hairdressing at college. Also thinking about life
:26:34. > :26:42.after Choices are Chad and Shaylea. ain't we? Yeah. Like brother and
:26:42. > :26:50.Chad is taking a course in car repair. And Shaylea has a college
:26:50. > :26:56.They rang Mark or something. Must have, because Mark said I've got a
:26:56. > :27:16.launched a support website called Happy Teachers for fellow colleagues
:27:16. > :27:21.Very excited to invite you in. He's also set up his own personal
:27:21. > :27:27.training business, which he works on when he's not teaching. Since Nico
:27:27. > :27:31.counsellor for staff and students. What about Liam? He's one student
:27:31. > :27:39.whose aspirations have remained lifeline. I think, if he hadn't
:27:39. > :27:42.whose aspirations have remained Choices, he'd just be hanging around
:27:42. > :27:49.the streets, getting up to mischief. At least this has given him a bit of
:27:49. > :27:54.direction. Mark has seen what he's capable of and has given him the
:27:54. > :27:57.confidence and said, "Yeah, I think you'll be all right with that".
:27:57. > :28:05.Together they've phoned up colleges Thanks to Mark's help, Liam's been
:28:05. > :28:11.offered places at two colleges to study IT. It's one step towards
:28:11. > :28:19.achieving his dream of programming I've played games in the past and
:28:19. > :28:24.run them. I'm into it. I can't imagine working every day. Who am I
:28:24. > :28:26.going to make laugh every day? Choices is now welcoming its next