With the Big Society and radical plans to change the educational system in our country to allow greater local control, there has rarely been a better opportunity for Christians to get involved in community action projects.
Indeed, The Lighthouse Group (TLG), an educational charity which has been established for 15 years, aims to help children and teenagers ‘growing up in the toughest circumstances’, especially those who are at risk of being excluded from school. To find out more, EN sent David Binder to interview Rachel Morfin, manager of TLG’s early intervention programme.
EN: For TLG, what is ‘personal development’?
RM: Our early intervention programme aims to identify children who are at risk of exclusion from school. We work with the child within the school environment to prevent this from happening. We see ‘personal development’ as working with the child holistically. This involves working on a one-to-one basis, looking at factors that lead to the child misbehaving. In practice, this means looking at issues that the child may be facing at home and at school and attempting to help them understand how this is affecting them personally and those around them.
