“At the heart of our work are real people living real lives, each with a story to tell and something to share. For us, amplification is the art of telling these stories and giving everyone affected by the attendance crisis a voice as we strive for better solutions. We are grateful to every family who comes forward to share their experience with the media, academics and our network.”
Ellie Costello, Executive Director
Sharing stories to open doors
Storytelling has been a part of the way we have shared challenges, insights & successes for millennia. It’s a highly effective way to find common ground and create level playing fields.
Stories cross boundaries
Stories travel across space and time. They cross borders and are passed by word of mouth, print, art and song. People’s stories help those making decisions to understand and learn from the experience of others.
Stories raise awareness
The art of storytelling opens doors. The more stories shared, the greater awareness in social consciousness becomes. An injustice becomes a movement embarking on a journey to carve the landscape and discover new horizons together.
Stories create opportunities
Social innovation is never easy but storytelling opens doors to new opportunities. By raising awareness, invitations to speak, share, advise, consult and inform the conversation follow, leading to solutions by design rather than as an afterthought.
Stories connect us
Stories bring people together more effectively than any other medium. They help us find common ground. They open up conversations, help soothe broken hearts, and help us understand ourselves better. Learning, awareness, enlightenment are powerful innovators.
Our Stories
Emily’s Story
Award Winning Animation
SEND Kid’s Voices
Young Minds Hello Yellow
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Steve's Story
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Dominic's Story
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Kerry's Story
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Scott's Story
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Steve's Story
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Maddie's Story
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Claire's Story
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Liz's Story
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Anna's Story
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Natalie's Story
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James's Story
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Amanda's Story
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Gemma's Story
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Jen's Story
DISCLAIMER: All images are the copyright of their respective owners and are used here to connect visitors to stories in the press that highlight the attendance crisis.
Interviews
Times Radio Feb 2022
LBC Radio Feb 2022
Times Radio Sept 2024
Extended Non Attendance from School (ENAS)
Rather than tap into the extremely loaded terms currently used to describe non-attendance (such as ‘school refusal’, ‘school avoidance’, delinquency or emotional behaviour disorder), which pathologise, presume and judge the young person, increasing stigma and leaving no room to hear their story, we prefer to use. ‘Extended Non Attendance from School‘ instead.
This phrase has been selected by some local areas in order to ensure thinking and understanding is broad, reflective, curious and contextual. The reasons for non-attendance are complex. ENAS helps us to create a level playing field.
Woman’s Hour Jan 2024
How you can amplify your voice
Family Voices form
Write to your MP
Collaborate with us
