A selection of anonymised young people’s journeys
“Hello, my name is S, I am 16 years old, and I attended Corfe Valley from the age of 14. I had been through a lot in the education system and was hurt in many different schools and environments due to a of lack mental health understanding. When I started attending Corfe Valley, I instantly knew I was in a safe place, when I spoke I felt heard which led me to open up more and more, through that I found a safe environment I could be myself in. I wasn’t ashamed anymore of being different and not being in a school. Each of the adults took time to understand me and my situation and encouraged me to be my true authentic self. When I felt let down, they would just list loads of activities such as painting, playing games, walking in the green fields etc. to try and cheer me up and even if I didn’t want to do anything they would let me be and respect my decisions and boundaries.“
“It was great being able to spend time with the animals, feeding them and the chickens sneaking into the cabin, sheep dancing around the fields and the goats always trying to nibble your fingers. Cooking on the campfire making s’mores and pizza was a fun experience, including learning how to build things out of wood and cutting the logs down into little pieces for the fire. I miss Corfe so much and if I didn’t go there I wouldn’t be the person I am today so thank you.”
She is now in college studying music.
“When I went to Corfe Valley I was fully dissociated from the world, ready to just stop existing until day by day I started to realise people were friendly and that not once did anyone ever upset or hurt me. Everyone was really patient and made sure I was listened to and had a voice. I discovered new interests in woodwork when I was there, and I loved spending time looking after and caring for the animals especially the goats and chickens.”
She is now at college, in the process of writing her own story that she hopes to one day publish as well as volunteering creating woodwork pieces.
When I first started going to Corfe, I was really lost and felt really lonely. It was such a relief to be in an environment where people genuinely understood how I felt and supported me without judging me. For the first time, I felt like I had people around me who actually understood what I was going through, and that meant so much to me.
One of the things that helped me the most was that I was never forced to do anything. I always had a choice, and having that freedom whilst still being encouraged and supported made such a huge difference to me. The staff are amazing and always made time to talk if I needed someone. Just knowing there were people there who cared and listened helped more than I can explain.
Since going to Corfe, I’ve grown so much in confidence. I’ve gone on to college, which is something I never thought I’d be able to do before, and that’s largely because of the support and belief Corfe gave me. Corfe also helped me reconnect with my love for animals, which led me to study animal care at college now – something that I absolutely love and probably wouldn’t be doing without that experience.
Corfe genuinely changed the direction of my life, and I’ll always be grateful for everything they did for me.
M is at college, studying Animal Care, about to go into her second year and has also recently gained a job.
I really enjoyed the animals and the friends that I made at Corfe Valley. Especially the silky chickens and I always looked forward to going there.
The animals helped as well as the adults there. I loved looking after the animals.
I’m now in year 10 at Harbour School and getting on well. I’m enjoying it and have made lots of new friends here. I don’t think I’d have done this well without my time at Corfe Valley!
