Josh was nominated by Paul Wright, Kicks Targeted Coordinator, for his great commitment and wonderful personality during the Kicks Targeted programme.

Paul said,

“I feel that Josh deserves this award, as since I have started to work with him, he has clearly demonstrated such a positive change, both whilst in school and when at home. Josh has struggled in many areas, but he has started to address his behaviours and he has realised that he can achieve many things, when he applies himself in a positive manner. Josh quite often speaks about his family life and the issues and struggles that he recognises his Mum is having to deal with. This demonstrated to me his understanding of how his negative behaviour not only impacts himself, but also family members, in particular his Mum. I took this as quite a big positive outlook from Josh.”

Josh's positive change has allowed him to achieve more than he thought he could as he is now looking forward to taking his GCSE’s in the near future. His mum is so proud of him Josh has two older brothers, both of whom failed to complete their time in high school education. The purpose for which I have mentioned this, is because Josh very recently told me, that his Mum has told him how proud of him she is, due to him hopefully completing his time at St. Michaels High School. Again, another massive achievement, considering how Josh was behaving when I first started my engagement.

Due to Josh completing his time in high school and believing in himself, as well as behaving in an acceptable way, Josh has also now secured a place at Southport College, where he will be studying Construction. For Paul this clearly shows that the 1-2-1 engagement given to Josh has had a huge difference and can actually help them turn lives around and look forward to a positive future. Without the support from Paul and the LFC Foundation, life for Josh would be so different. Josh does have a bright future ahead of him, should he continue making positive steps in the right direction as he has clearly demonstrated how a young person can get back on track and create a better future for themselves. Josh has not only shown others the error of his ways, but more importantly, he has proved to himself he can change his ways and make a positive change in his behaviour. Josh has said how he appreciates the support that Paul have given to him, as well as the support he has had from school.

Josh said,

‘My Mum has told me how proud she is of me because I’m the only one out of her three sons to stay in school. Talking to Paul and knowing he is there makes me think more positively than negatively. He helps me with my mental state. I like how Paul is with me, he is easy to talk to and get along with.’

‘I can talk to him about anything. When I am not with him, I think about our sessions, what we have spoken about, and I think about what I will talk to him about in the future. He helps to relieve some of my stress.’

Josh’s School Teacher said,

‘Working with Paul has helped to give Josh an outlet in school, he is always keen to talk to and meet with Paul. It has been really beneficial to Josh to have a positive role model to work with, and it has helped him to think about what he would like to do in the future and to think about what he can achieve.’

‘Since working with Paul there has been an improvement in incidents of Josh getting angry in school, he has seemed to be able to regulate himself better.’

Josh’s Mum said:

‘Thank you very much for everything you have done for Josh. He speaks positively about sessions and looks up to Paul and the positive impact you’ve had on him. I know Josh enjoys the sessions and I think that has been very helpful for him.

Kicks Targeted is a Premier League funded programme with aims to work closely with participants to try to gain a positive outcome, such as improving school attendance or raising aspirations to succeed. The programme supports participants in becoming involved in community projects or additional training course seeking participants to become an important role in their community.