Education and parental involvement has been a keen interest of Angela’s for a number of years, dating back to when she supported St Alphege CE Infant School in Solihull in the early 2000s as a volunteer parent librarian.
Her support at the school in encouraging parents to be involved in their children’s education and reading in particular, lead to her receiving the accolade ‘Honour School Librarian of the Year’ in 2005.
Angela’s journey with Mosaic started as a direct result of her participation in a Primary School graduation ceremony at Birmingham City University (BCU) in 2014. At the time, Angela was in her second year at the university studying for a BA Honours Primary QTS degree.
She explained: “My tutor approached me and invited me to attend the graduation ceremony and share my professional and academic journey as a mature student. I was hooked by the shared ethos of enabling parents and children’s personal growth, change and the unconditional positive approach to achieving this for all involved, including the mentors.”
A year later in September 2015, having graduated from BCU, Angela started mentoring on Mosaic’s Primary School programme as one of eight mentors at St John’s CE Primary School in Birmingham. She worked closely with a group of 15 girls aged between 9-10 and their mothers, many of whom have English as a second language.
Angela said: “At first the mothers were wary of expressing their views. Many felt that apart from motherhood there were little options available to them, but they relished the premise of spending time with their daughters and to support them in reaching their potential.
“But as the weeks progressed the mothers became increasingly engaged. One of the highlights was when one mum who was known for her lack of confidence told the group how she had used her experience on the programme to prepare for and have a successful interview that led to her getting a promotion.”
Angela is once again working at St John’s, supporting pupils with lower ability on both school work and helping them improve their confidence and raise their self-esteem. She said: “I like to use creative and critical thinking to identify approaches to excite and engage young people. For example, using telephones in roleplay to explore communication skills and teaching the children dance routines to build confidence.”
She added: “I continue to learn both academically and emotionally, but I believe that authenticity is key. Mosaic is concerned with practical issues, setting goals and achieving results – and that reflects my own values relating to education and the development of life skills.”
It has been my pleasure to support Mosaic's work. Having seen at first-hand their work, it is clear that Mosaic is making a significant contribution to improving the life chances of young people growing up in tough communities. I would encourage business leaders to get behind Mosaic to help them...