The Education Department consists of Debbie Alexander (Education Co-ordinator), Stuart Muir (Education Assistant Co-ordinator) and Taryn Moir (Education Officer).

About Us

The Education Department was formed in 2005 when CHAP was commissioned by North Ayrshire Council to deliver a programme of Homelessness Education lessons to pupils in all of the secondary schools across North Ayrshire.

The aims of the lessons are to prevent youth homelessness, raise awareness of the reality of homelessness and to destigmatise the issue.  It is intended that the lessons will encourage young people to carefully consider their options before taking the decision to leave home and to enable them to identify who would be able to assist them with housing issues. The lessons were primarily delivered to all fourth year pupils within North Ayrshire; however our work has developed over the years to include working with young people in other school years and young people involved in local youth training groups.

The project is currently working with young people from the following schools/youth groups;

WORKING WITH SCHOOLS

We deliver a single lesson to every fourth year Personal Social Education class in North Ayrshire.

Objectives of the lesson;

• Pupils will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the many reasons why individuals become homeless
• Pupils will be able to identify the housing options that are available to them
• Pupils will be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of the costs involved in living away from home
• Pupils will be able to identify local organisations who are able to assist and support them with housing issues

Included in the lesson is;

• A general overview of the severity of homelessness amongst the youth of North Ayrshire
• A DVD presenting the experiences of individuals who have experienced homelessness
• A brief overview of housing options available to young people
• Examples of weekly budgets which will highlight how challenging managing money can be and the financial reality of leaving home.

CHAP also delivers a more extensive training package to pupils who follow an ‘alternative curriculum’ within the local secondary schools, again focusing on homelessness prevention.

Objectives of the ‘alternative curriculum’ input;

• Young people will begin to think about the process of leaving home and will be able to identify who can assist with this procedure
• Young people will gain an understanding of Council Housing Allocation Policy
• Young people will be able to identify the various housing providers in the local area
• Young people will gain a better understanding of the reality of homelessness and the homelessness procedure
• Young people will gain a better understanding of the costs involved in having a tenancy
• Young people will be able to identify their rights and responsibilities as a tenant
• Young people will be able to recognise the process involved in leaving a tenancy

In addition to this work, we also deliver a workshop to 6th year pupils to prepare them for life as Students.

Aims of the student accommodation workshops;

• To prevent youth homelessness
• To raise awareness of the reality of being a student

Objectives of student accommodation workshop;

• Pupils will be able to identify the various accommodation options that are available to them as students
• Pupils will be able to demonstrate a knowledge of the costs involved in living away from home
• Pupils will be able to demonstrate an understanding of their rights and responsibilities as a tenant
• Pupils will gain an understanding of the various skills required when living away from home