Matthew's Scrantastic Journey

One of our favourite things at Scran Academy is getting to watch young people grow in skills, in confidence, and in themselves.

At the beginning of 2025 Matthew joined our Scransitions programme looking to learn new skills and meet new people, we have seen his journey with our own an eyes and we feel honoured to be part of it and to know him and the hard work he is putting in to get to where he wants to go. We want to share his story with you but we thought who better to tell it than himself:

"I came to Scran because I wanted to do work experience, meet new people and have fun.

My first day going to the Scran Cafe was good, I enjoyed it straight away the team was super helpful and gave me lots of support. I also got a little tour, which was helpful.

I learnt a lot and I got to use the till, which helped me to talk to customers. I liked both, working the till and chopping veg/cooking. My favourite thing was making spaghetti Bolognese.  I now make spaghetti Bolognese at home instead of my mum, using the same recipe that I learnt at Scran. I enjoy cooking at home more now and I cook a lot.

Scransitions gave me confidence and my stress level is lower now because I have more patience and I don’t ask a thousand questions. My mum has noticed too.

I’m also much better at traveling now and getting the bus, I learning to get the bus myself and do independent travel. My mum is really proud of me.  I’ve come a long way.

Since finishing I have started looking into going into supported employment, as I really want to work and get out of the house. I have been going to Barnardo's and I’m on the waitlist for Enable because of Scran. At Barnardo's, I go every Monday and they are helping me make my CV. Scran helped get me closer to working somewhere, and I’ve put on my CV that I did a work placement at Scran.

I also meet with my friends more and I have a lot more patience. I know if they aren’t available then I can see them a different time.

I miss the café and want to go back and help. I’ve told them to call if they ever need help."

Matthew’s journey is just one example of the amazing changes we get to see at Scran Academy. Every young person who comes through Scransitions has their own story, and it’s a privilege to be part of it.

If you’ve enjoyed hearing about Matthew, keep an eye out for more stories like his. And if you ever fancy popping by the café, volunteering, or just spreading the word about what we do, we’d love that too.