Ellen
“Our daughter is a different girl. We wanted the best for our girl and knew that we were doing the right thing sending Ellen to Salisbury School. It turned out even better than we expected.”
When Ellen started mainstream High School back at home, she knew a lot of people, but had very few friends. While well-behaved at school, she was lonely and excluded, and we experienced an increase in behavioural problems at home. It was like an onslaught as soon as she arrived home from school.
Ellen discovered Salisbury School herself when she saw an Attitude episode on television and asked if she could go.
It was clear right from the outset that Ellen felt she belonged at Salisbury School and that she had found her niche. Her first day at Salisbury was the first time she felt truly included in a school and to this day it is where she has found her truest friends.
On enrolment at Salisbury, we had three objectives; to achieve an academic qualification, address some behavioural challenges, and get Ellen ready for vocational training. She could never achieve any of these in a mainstream setting, whereas at Salisbury she was given many wonderful opportunities to grow and all three goals were achieved and so much more.
During her first and second years at Salisbury, Ellen took some classes at nearby Waimea College where she achieved NCEA level one in Fabric Technology, Food Technology, Hospitality, Maths and English. The next year Ellen also had valuable work experience at a local café. In year three, inspired by her part-time café work, Ellen completed a level three hospitality course at the local polytechnic supported by Salisbury staff.
To help her transition back to Hamilton, Ellen lived in a supervised ‘flat’ at Salisbury to learn skills to support her to live independently.
Now back home in Hamilton, she is feeling very grown up and proud of being in a supported living flat. She has also moved into the Choices programme, where Ellen and her two flatmates are taking more control of their lives. Covid-19 has pressed pause on Ellen’s job-hunting, but that is next on her list of life objectives.
We find ourselves proudly saying ‘our daughter is a different girl’ and appreciate the contribution that Salisbury made to changing Ellen’s future.
– Phil and Louise Treweek
