Abby's story

​During the year 2020 Abby was referred to the Fife Council Employability Fund. She had just left school and was unsure what to do next and had no idea what career path she wanted to follow.  Abby is Care Experienced and found home learning during the Covid lockdown had made her feel isolated and disengaged from education.

​Dongmei Zhao, Employability Officer at Fife Council was assigned to support Abby and quickly worked hard to build up a relationship with her. Learning that Abby was keen to work with Children, they set to work agreeing a plan to make this a reality.  Dongmei very quickly assumed a mentoring role for Abby and in addtion to supporting her with the logistics of financial support, Dongmei helped Abby to apply for jobs, undertake mock interviews and also ensure she was able to negotiate local bus routes.  Abby's ability to reach Dongmei any time of day allowed her to establish trust and seek support when needed.   
 
As Abby grew in confidence she was supported into a Work Placement with Active Schools Fife. Central to the success of this placement was the approach that was taken by Active Schools Coordinator, Jennifer Noble. Getting to know and understand the young person was important to Jennifer to ensure that there were clear expectations of success criteria. Jennifer and Abby met regularly to discuss progress and always included carers in the decision-making process. Jennifer was keen for Abby to feel a sense of belonging to Active Schools and they ensured that she had all the branded kit needed to fit in. 
 
Jennifer was also very sensitive to Abby’s Care Experience status and they discussed openly how and when this could be shared with other colleagues.  Jennifer was keen to allow an element of flexibility to Abby as there were some days which were difficult for Abby to attend her agreed sessions. By keeping in regular contact, they were able to easily plan effectively to minimise the impact of this. 
 
As a result of a highly successful work placement with Jennifer at Active Schools Fife and the ongoing mentoring support from Dongmei, Abby has grown in confidence and has valuable skills and experience to help her achieve her ambitions.
 
Abby is highly motivated to find a career working with children.

“Getting to know Abby was really important for me.  Once we had an understanding of what was achievable, we were able to identify our steps for success” – Jennifer Noble.
 
“Building up a culture of trust is really important when supporting young people.  I wanted Abby to known that I was there for her when she needed my help” – Dongmei Zhao.