“I first came to GIFT when I was 14 years old for Saturday School, although I stopped attending Saturday School, they remained in my life, as a place where I could go for guidance and advice”
“When I left school and needed help writing my CV they were there, when I left College and needed help applying for jobs GIFT were there, and even when I decided that I wanted to go into self employment they were there to help me!”
“GIFT have been a consistently helpful presence, with a wealth of contact and resources that can greatly benefit the lives of young people who seek guidance and help” Chavez 2018
“I joined the Talent Match program about five years ago, in the time I was here I attended a lot of projects at GIFT and gained my business training. I was able to work on The Young Roots Project as a camera man meeting with older members of our community and discussing how Moss Side has changed and what Moss Side meant to them.”
“By attending these projects I was able to further my understanding of Business and how to run one as well as being able to follow my passion of camera work and editing.”
“If it wasn’t for GIFT I wouldn’t be where I am now in full time employment for the past two years, having been previously stuck and my life going nowhere. It is a very good service for helping young people in their life’s direction.” Jerelle 2018
“I have been going to GIFT for two years now. They have put me get on to some work placements and have helped me gain employment. They are always there to help me out when I need it.” Brian 2018
My name is Alysha; I’ve been a member of G.I.F.T Supplementary School for a number of years (“6 to be exact”). I’ve been coming here since I was in year 4 and I’m currently ending year 10, as I’ve attended the Supplementary school it has made a resounding improvement to my grades at school. Within a year of coming to the Saturday School my grades improved dramatically in English and Maths I went from a level 4 to a level 5!
This academic year I have transitioned from KS3 to KS4 and along with that change come changes to my levels turning into GSCE grades. It took a while to get used to but at Saturday School they’ve helped me adjust by giving me work that challenges me as well as pushes me.
“Attending Saturday School has helped me become an upstanding member of my school as skills I’ve attained whilst being at Saturday School have helped me flourish into a productive member of my class. In my school I am in set 1 for all core subjects (Maths, English and Science). I genuinely believe that the extra tuition I’ve received here has made me the student I’ve become. Without the teachers at Saturday School to help me, I probably would’ve been in set 2 or 3, but my teachers at Saturday school have helped me and they have reinforced my knowledge and made me gain more useful knowledge that has vastly helped me in school.
During my time here I’ve been greeted every Saturday with kindness and understanding. The staff and teachers at Saturday School have helped me develop and progress throughout primary school and as I’m entering my final year of high school I intend to stay at the Saturday School as the professionalism and assertiveness shown by the teachers will surely see me pass my GCSE’s. I encourage parents and eager students willing to learn and who want to improve academically should come to G.I.F.T as it has helped me monumentally.
I would highly recommend you attend G.I.F.T Academy Supplementary School.” Alysha 2017
“My name is Hannan, I have been attending GIFT Academy Supplementary School since I was in Year 4. I am currently at High School. If anyone is thinking of coming to GIFT Academy. They’ll expect to improve a lot in their levels and maybe even get in the highest set in what there are doing in their school. They will learn to cooperate and their will grow in confidence. All the things that I have realised is that if you work with other people you can become a better learner and that you should not be shy to ask for help.” Hannan 2016
I would like to say thank you for the support that Jahmiar had been receiving from Gift since November 2015. Jahmair has made significant improvement in his academics and is currently in top set for the majority of his subject. Jahmiar has informed me that being at Gift has helped him in most areas of his school work.
He has developed confident in the areas that he needed support in and now has the ability to work more independently on his own. Jahmiar said that he has more confident in completing his homework and when in class.
The extra tuition has played an important part in helping Jahmiar to meet his target for his academic year. His teachers and Principal are very proud of him and commend him on his brilliant work.
The teachers at Gift has done an amazing job with the support that have given to Jahmiar over the past two years.
I would recommend Gift to other parents as they have played an important role in my child academics. Jestina 2018
I attended GIFT at the age of seventeen where I took part in The Business Enterprise Employment Training Project Level. I was also given another opportunity to do a Young Roots Documentary. I worked with some other young people took part in a Media Training and this entailed going out into the community and digging up the hidden treasure of stories that were just lying around in the community of our elderly people.
This was a way for the young people to Showcase what their had achieved and worked on. All the Talents and performers got together and put on a great event. GIFT is always looking for more Volunteers because nothing is better than getting out of your own home and talking to people of your age group about current issues and affairs that’s going on in the world. Zaid 2016
My journey on Talent Match has been amazing so far. Before being on the programme I was unemployed, I was on Universal credit. Personally I don’t feel like jobcentre helped me; it was hard to find a job, I didn’t get help with anything, other than they would keep putting me on courses which were pointless; I wasn’t a confident person.
A friend told me about GIFT and the programme she was on called Talent Match. She told me that they were really helping her, this made me want to get support: I joined in February 2017. Since being on the programme I feel like a different person, I have gained more confidence.
My Talent Coach has helped me a lot; she helped me set my goals and gave me a time frame to achieve them. She also helped me with applying for jobs online; she helped fix my CV too, she did interview techniques with me and took me to job fairs where I could hand out my CVs and speak to the recruiters.
I also got to experience what it was like to have mock interviews with employers, this experience allowed me to get feedback on my interview techniques, so I know how to answer specific questions – this definitely prepared me for future interviews!
After only three months on the two-year programme I got a Job in a retail store as Retail advisor, this was my first proper job so I was nervous about the whole experience, the support I received from my Talent coach helped me to be more confident in my new role, and when I faced some challenges at the start of my job, my Talent Coach continually supported me, by giving me advice, and helping me to discover new ways to achieve my targets. I managed to achieve my targets by pushing myself and taking Talent Coach’s advice on board.
This journey has helped me realise what I have achieved and gained in a short space of time and what career I would like to pursue in the future. I am still working as a retail assistant and I see this role as a stepping stone to gain experience & to help prepare me for my future career Maryam 2018
Volunteer/Beneficiaries
I’ve volunteered as a Classroom Assistant for GIFT for 5 years and I love it. I really enjoy working with the kids and watching them develop over each year. Everyone at GIFT is really passionate about helping the kids achieve their potential making it a great place to volunteer. Helping to teach the kids at GIFT also helps develop my communication skills and work well with different people of all ages. Kelly 2018
My name is Janice, in April 2011 I left my job that I’d had for 11 years. I wanted a new challenge so I decided to walk away from that. I took a year off, I had to sign on benefits which is something that I hadn’t done since I was 19 years old. So it wasn’t a great time for me. Walking through the door at GIFT I knew that I was in the right place. A 10-minute interview became something longer than that, I think we there for about hour and half and Jackie’s kind of parting words to me were, ‘I will definitely see you again’ and I was like really! What it gave me was a routine I actually had something to get up for in the mornings again. Being at GIFT is what made me decide that whatever I did with my future, it would have to be something that made a difference to other people’s lives. The job that I have got now does do that, one of the key things I think being a Volunteer with GIFT has taught me that you just need to have a little bit of Faith things will be okay in the end. Janice 2016
My name is Shade in 2010, I graduated from University with a Bachelor’s Degree. For a year after, I worked in a call centre and I hated it. I knew this wasn’t what I wanted, so in 2011 I left without a job to fall back on. I ‘d always had an interest in the sexual health field, so I began by volunteering at a sexual health organisation in their HR department. Whilst volunteering there, I was able to apply for temp jobs that came up within the organisation; such as finance assistant and also successfully gaining a temp job as a sexual health administrator.
In 2012, I fell pregnant with my son. Whilst pregnant with my son, I worked in an abortion clinic, as a receptionist, as well as volunteering at the sexual health organisation until I was 36 weeks pregnant.
In January 2013, I gave birth to my amazing baby boy. I would honestly say having my son, gave my life direction and a clearer focus and purpose. I stayed on maternity leave for 9 months and then obtained a job as a receptionist in a sexual health clinic. I thoroughly enjoyed working there and developed my knowledge base in the sexual health field immensely. Through working there, I was able to volunteer with their education team, going into schools and colleges delivering sexual health sessions. In doing so, I realised I had a passion for teaching others.
In 2014, I set about finding opportunities to volunteer, in order to develop my teaching experience and knowledge base. During that time, I volunteered as a mentor in a primary school with year 6 girls and their mothers to build confidence and self-efficacy. I also volunteered as a classroom assistant for GIFT Academy Supplementary School. Through volunteering at GIFT, I was able to gain credits towards a masters at MMU, completing a part-time 2-year course (2014 – 2016), gaining a postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning.
In 2015, I began working in an alternative provision for KS3 and KS4 children. The experience and knowledge I gained from working there has been invaluable. I worked there for a year, as I initially wanted to work with KS3 and KS4 children, but I realised through volunteering at GIFT, my passion for teaching was with children in KS1 and KS2. I initially applied to do my teacher training in 2015 for secondary, but I was unsuccessful. So, I gained further experience and waited until 2017 to apply again, but this time for primary. During that time, I gained experience through supply work in primary schools, to build up my skill base and prepare myself for interview. I was happily successful in securing interviews for all 3 places I applied to and was successful in securing placements for 2 out of the 3 for the teacher training cohort of 2017/18. In 2017, I finally began my PGCE course to become a teacher. My journey has been a while in the making and it wasn’t easy. All of the things I achieved so far have required a lot of sacrifices from me and focus. Doing all of this with my son was not easy, but he reminds me to keep striving for what I want.
I have had the best support network around me; GIFT Academy Supplementary School has helped me achieve my goals and being part of the team. Their constant support and belief in me, has been one of the biggest factors in why I am where I am today. I am so thankful to GIFT, to Jackie especially; to Henry and all of the wonderful people I have been able to work with while I have been there. In 2017, after 3 years of consistently volunteering for GIFT, I was appointed the English Teacher for their Supplementary School. Growth and success are possible, no matters what avenues you have to face. I didn’t let anything stand in my way and I want to show my son that you can achieve anything you put your mind too. Shade 2018