Truancy has dropped by a staggering 96% after a Welsh evangelical church launched a new ‘learning hub’ with a nearby school.
The hub was opened in June by Noddfa Evangelical Church and Abersychan Comprehensive School and combines academic teaching and broader ‘Life Skills’. So far, 20 school pupils have registered with the hub.
Noddfa’s pastor, John Funnell, told en: ‘Within four weeks, internal truancy has dropped from over 600 missed lessons a week to just 25.’ That’s a drop of 95.8%.
Local councillor Giles Davies said: ‘This partnership offers a remarkable opportunity to empower these students with an education they might otherwise find challenging to attain… I wholeheartedly support them.’
Noddfa Church is at the heart of the community, serving more than 300 people each week through different ministries. Kelly Davies, church member, businesswoman and former Royal Navy engineer, will work alongside the school leading Life Skills.
‘We have so much to offer these pupils,’ she said. ‘They will learn a broad set of skills with us, from how to write CVs to bee-keeping; we have volunteers in the church who can teach them new languages, arts and crafts, music, construction, car maintenance and finance.’
Kelly’s role is to work alongside the school to facilitate the many church volunteers who will support the pupils. ‘We want to create a safe space that will encourage learning in many different areas so that the students can develop ideas and be excited for their futures.’
John Funnell said: ‘As a church, we are keen to put our faith into practice and embrace any opportunity to serve the community. We want the pupils to feel welcomed and supported. We are delighted to utilise the myriad of skill sets within our church members to help develop the next generation in our valley to live more productive lives.’
Pupils are picked up from home by bus, registered at school, then go to the hub where they are given breakfast at the church – returning to school for lunch. They will also have the chance to give back to the community, serving in Noddfa’s award-winning Foodshare programme and other charitable works.
Headteacher Rhodri Thomas said the school is excited: ‘We want every student to succeed and with the help of Noddfa Church we can now offer an enriched curriculum that will help pupils who attend to reach their full potential.’
