Young people create powerful video aimed at improving school attendance - Camden Rise

Fitzrovia Youth in Action (FYA), a leading local charity empowering young people, has released a short film to help address the issue of school attendance and raise awareness of why students might not be attending. 

The video aims to raise awareness of the importance of attending school and the impact missing school can have on the future opportunities and personal growth of children and young people.  

It also highlights some of the challenges and barriers pupils and students may be facing to regularly attend school, including financial issues at home, special educational needs, and low self-esteem.

Camden secondary school students in Years 7 to 9 were involved in writing the script and producing the film with FYA as part of this video project, which was jointly funded by Camden Council and Camden Learning.

Alongside the release of the short film, FYA will also be working with schools to deliver a programme of workshops and assemblies on this topic. These sessions will be led by young people who have been trained by the charity and will feature screenings of the film alongside discussions designed to engage students and encourage them to share their experiences.

In addition to peer education, students from across the participating secondary schools have also trained as peer mentors through FYA’s accredited peer mentoring programme, ready to offer support to classmates who may be struggling with issues that affect attendance. 

Ariella, aged 15, who is an FYA Peer Mentor and Peer Educator, said: “My experience with FYA has been positive. I have always been heard and I feel like everyone has been given a chance to share their thoughts on what affects attendance. I learned how to mentor and understand more reasons people might not be coming in and how to be a more empathetic person. Young people find it easier to relate to someone their own age.”

• Watch the video on YouTube