New services to help assist young people with life
Donaldson Trust looking for new staff and trustees
Scotland’s national deaf school, based in Linlithgow, is rolling out new services to celebrate young people who are “differently abled”.
Designed and delivered by The Donaldson Trust, #Junx10n and #JunX10n Education are support services for young people in West Lothian and Edinburgh who have Asperger’s, autism, dyslexia, ADHD, social anxiety disorders and other conditions.
And such has been the initial success of the services that The Donaldson Trust is now looking to recruit around 12 new staff and a number of new trustees. In particular the trust is looking to recruit creative specialists in the field of the sciences, music, technology, sports and the arts to help both meet existing demand and grow the service.
# Junx10n and # JunX10n Education have been designed to empower “neuro- diverse” young people by supporting them to reboot their options for life, improve their wellbeing and increase their chances of achieving sustained meaningful education or employment.
Launched as a pilot in October 2016, # Junx10n has already supported many young people to develop their skills and talents as well as reduce their anxieties, enabling engagement and improvements in self- esteem and personal growth.
In addition to the highlyskilled core team, a number of creative specialists have been recruited to enrich the service and further develop the skills identified in the trainees. Each offer a range of development skills including computer coding and gaming, music, creative arts, horticulture, photography, film making and mindfulness.
Laura Battles, chief executive officer, the Donaldson Trust said: “The launch of #Junx10n is a major development for the trust which builds on our heritage and experience of educating and supporting young people with complex additional support needs.
“We know that many neurodiverse young people experience significant difficulty in securing sustained further of higher education placements and/or long-term employment, which truly utilises their talents and skills.
“If nurtured and supported appropriately positive attributes associated with neuro-diversity include creativity, lateral thinking, bringing a ‘different perspective’, development of highly specialised skills and the consistency in tasks once mastered.
“The # Junx10n approach provides a can-do culture and environment which engages young people and enables them to access the space required to be the best they can be.
“The first year of #Junx10n has been a really positive learning experience for all of us, and we’re truly delighted with how successful it has been. Given the increased demand for places, alongside our own ambitions to grow the service, we are now recruiting for bright, ambitious and skilled staff and trustees with a passion for working with young adults to come and join our team.”