Teenager sets up business after school exclusion

A teenager who set up his own hairdressing business after being excluded from school has praised alternative provision education.

Ashton, 16, from County Durham, said he spent years struggling in mainstream school but realised there was "light at the end of the tunnel" after joining Empowher CIC, where he trained.

He has since started his own business styling hair every Saturday and urged other young people facing problems to give alternative provision a try.

"It's the best thing that ever happened to me," he said.

Ashton said he knew he wanted to be a hairdresser since he was just four, saving his pocket money to buy yarn to plait and was constantly styling his mum's friends' hair.

But when he struggled with school, he felt like the pathway to his dream career had crumbled.

"School was terrible for me, it was not for me, I hated school," he said.

After experiencing bullying, he said his mental health went "in a really bad place" and he could not even get out of bed.

"I dreaded getting up, I just wanted to wrap myself up in my quilt and just close my eyes," he said.

Ashton's parents said he had trouble concentrating and sitting still because of his ADHD, and found mainstream school difficult with the volume of pupils.

After spending a year out of school, his parents discovered Empowher in Durham.

"It was the best day of my life," Ashton said, describing his first day.

"It was just a massive relief, I felt like there was finally light at the end of the tunnel."

Ashton said the team gave him the motivation to pursue his dreams and his own space to practice.

During his time there, he gained a Level 1 qualification in hair and Level 1 in beauty therapy.

Six months before he left, he set up his own business, styling and fitting extensions for clients every Saturday.

His parents said after very difficult years at school he was now "thriving".

Director of Empowher Louise Forrest set up the alternative provision alongside her beauty and aesthetics training business, after experiencing her own difficulties at school.

"I was someone who struggled, I was excluded myself," she said.

She was also diagnosed with ADHD later in life.

Forrest said she was passionate about helping children do the same thing, and get them on the "right path" if they found themselves on the wrong one.

According to the government, alternative provisions (AP) "provide education for children who can't go to a mainstream school". They include schools maintained by the local authority, free schools, pupil referral units (PRUs) and independent providers.

Like Ashton, Chloe, 17, from County Durham, also hated school.

Her mum Nicola first noticed she was struggling when she went to secondary school.

"I'd go in at 09:00 and I'd be sent home for 09:15, just because I didn't want to be there," she said.

It took about six months for Chloe to attend Empowher.

Her mum said for weeks her daughter would get ready to leave the house, then anxiety would take over and she could not leave.

Once she was diagnosed with autism, she started to understand herself and why going into school was making her sick.

At alternative provision, Chloe gained a Level 1 qualification in beauty therapy, as well as English and maths. She was also helped to get her first job in a salon.

"It's just so much more calm," Chloe said. "You're not in uniform waiting for the bell to go to your lesson, you're just literally walking in, going into the room and it feels so much better."

She is currently studying her Level 2 beauty therapy and is going to college in September.

Her mum said Empowher was the best thing that could have happened to her daughter.

"I'm really proud of her and it's a relief to see how well she is doing with her mental health and everything," she said.

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