Success Stories for Tutoring & Emotional Coaching
Meet H
Concerned about her son’s roaring temper and his habit of hitting, Laura connected with Sarahlynn.
“He had lost a lot of his confidence over lockdown and his ‘sparkle’ had gone… we wanted to help him find a way to better manage his emotions and find his confidence.”
The process began when Laura asked to set up a call to discuss her son’s emotional duress.
“SarahLynn was swift to respond to my emails and set up a series of calls to understand more about our situation and needs.”
Upon hearing more about H’s needs, Sarahlynn created a bespoke 6-week programme:
- Help H build the language needed to speak how he’s feeling versus resorting to anger, yelling and hitting
- Provide H with effective tasks to help his build his self-esteem and feel comfortable to approach new and unknown tasks
- Expose H to ways he can better manage his emotions
“There are so many options available when you have a child who is struggling emotionally and Sarahlynn’s approach felt less clinical and serious than other therapists we reviewed. The focus on emotional wellness felt like a good fit for us as we felt that this was the area H was struggling with the most.”
Over the course of 6 weeks, H learned about the brain, improved his emotional literacy and emotional regulation, and built his self-esteem.
The programme included a mixture of therapeutic approaches. From games, writing activities, cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness training. It was a great place for H to feel comfortable sharing.
“The relationship between H and SarahLynn was fantastic. He would talk to her about things that worried him and she coaxed his concerns out of him. We saw that he really trusted her and for this reason we know that if we need her services in the future that he would be receptive to future coaching work with her.”
Over the course of our sessions, H’s family began to notice a change in his behaviour.
“We now have a boy who is overall calmer and knows that ‘big emotions’ are normal. We also have tools to help him deal with those big emotions and prevent tantrums. We have fewer outbursts and those that we do have are easier to deal with.”
Final comments:
“The weekly notes were a lovely touch. H loved receiving them, it made him feel special and supported knowing there was someone else who had his back.”
“The call at the end of the coaching sessions was very helpful and it allowed me as a parent to ask questions and get extra advice. SarahLynn was generous with her knowledge and support which I really appreciated.”
“It is a lot of expense, but the outcome of having a calmer and happier child is without a doubt worth it.”
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Meet R
Worried about her son's OCD tendencies, anxiety and lack of being able to verbalise his feelings and emotions, Natalie connected with Sarahlynn.
“This was the first course I had seen offering wellbeing courses for children outside of assessments, therapy, or clinical environments. This was ideal for R as he is in year 5 and going to middle school here in Berkshire. I wanted him to feel confident about himself and his learning abilities before the new academic year. Lockdown had disadvantaged R’s growth in Maths and the fact that this was also a tutoring site was a bonus.”
The process began with Natalie filing out our 5-minute questionnaire.
“The entire process from start to finish was very approachable, friendly, and professional. Sarahlynn arranged a chat on the phone after I had filled in the form online. It felt so personable to my child's needs.”
Upon hearing about R’s needs, Sarahlynn created a bespoke 8-week wellbeing programme. This programme would support R in:
- building the emotional literacy needed to reduce frustration and tears
- build his confidence
- expose R to ways to manage emotions
- Support R’s academic journey in Maths and English
Once Natalie gave the all-clear on the learning outcomes, sessions began.
“The entire programme is unique and there is nothing else out there like it.”
The time together included a mixture of therapeutic approaches from Mindfulness to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Emotional literacy. It was also a great place to dance around, colour, journal and chat.
“This course was a great investment. I saw R’s anxiety and OCD dwindle down after the course and he feels freer to be himself. I never wanted to spend the money on private services; I just wanted R to feel supported but not through labels and assessments. When we found Bettering Youth and Sarahlynn we knew it would be well worth the investment as it ticked all of our boxes.
We also continued Maths tutoring because I know R will always be able to have a chat first with Sarahlynn about his feelings and worries.”
Because of her own experience, Natalie knew that prevention is always easier than intervention.
“Having struggled with mental health myself and knowing that reaching out is encouraged today, I wanted R to feel that he too could reach out for support.
My hope is that when he is older it will be easier to ask for help if he needs it.
The ethos of Bettering Youth is amazing and Sarahlynn approaches the children on the same level; they feel like her friend not just a student.
All R needed was to meet someone like Sarahlynn.”
Final Comments:
“As a mother, I was very touched by how much Sarahlynn cared about R.
He was able to verbalise to her how he felt and how that affected his behaviour.
It meant the world to him that someone was accepting him for being him!
There was an instant connection between Sarahlynn, and R and I could tell it was genuine.
Sarahlynn understood his quirkiness and her professional but empathetic nature did wonders for R’s confidence.”
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Meet Ronny:
Sarahlynn spent 2 terms at a school teaching year 3 to a very high needs class. One of the students was a high-functioning, non-verbal, young boy. This young boy changed Sarahlynn’s life for the better. While the teachers prior to Sarahlynn would not let this child stay in the classroom for main sessions as he was often disruptive, Sarahlynn created a behaviour plan, a kindness chart, and an environment of acceptance that was implemented to the entire class. This system not only gave this child the freedom to stay in the classroom majority of the days (which improved his learning and socialising skills!) but it also exposed him to language. By the end of her time at the school, this young boy would participate in Math classes by raising his hand and shouting out simple responses!
Meet John, Chase and Sophia:
When Sarahlynn transitioned to another school to teach year 6, she was hired as the lower set Math and English teacher. Soon, she also created a role for herself as the pastoral lead for 3 year 6 students with a variety of high needs: adult defiance, anxiety, lowered cognition and social skills. This academic year proved again to Sarahlynn that not all classrooms fit the needs of our unique children. And so she built a lunch time nurture group, and helped to foster an open-visit relationship with the 3 students in her care, all of whom were allowed to leave class to see her throughout the day if they needed support. These children were not expected to pass their SATs exams. Two out of three did!
Meet Holy Trinity C of E Primary School:
This led Sarahlynn to her final classroom, a year ⅚ split. This school was considered Outstanding by OFSTED standards and Sarahlynn agreed! She was able to take her children out to do yoga if she felt they needed a 5-minute brain break. She implemented a yoga club, a dance club and even ran a health and wellness day for all of the KS2 students!