Derby County Community Trust staff were first introduced to Ava in 2025 after concerns were raised surrounding her attendance, social skills and behaviour within school. Teacher, Callum Schofield put Ava forward for the Premier League Inspires programme due to her interest in football with the aim of this enhancing engagement.

Premier League Inspires is a personal development programme, funded by the Premier League Charitable Fund. The programme uses the power of football to inspire young people aged 11-to-18 to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life.

The Trust deliver the Premier League Inspires programme across a number of schools in both Derby and Derbyshire. One of the key elements of this delivery is the one-to-one mentoring offer. The aim of this is to help young people build positive relationships and develop coping strategies.

Derby County Community Trust Inclusion Mentor, Gabriella Tabbenor works with pupils identified for the programme on a one-to-one basis and said: “Ava struggled to keep her attendance up, including arriving to school on time and staying for the duration of the day. As time has gone on, she is already in school and instead of looking for ways to be sent home, Ava is excited to speak with me. She tells me about her achievements in school; she is proud of the progress she has made.”

Each pupil that the Trust work with on the programme is different and each require a different approach to keep them engaged with the sessions. Gaby explained “Each child has their own personalised book with their own targets and personal development plans. Ava’s work looked at family dynamics, being assertive but in the right ways along with positivity and self-esteem. We were also able to encourage Ava to take part in a mentoring footballing tournament which took place, despite how nervous and reluctant she was, she was able to meet new people and push herself out of her comfort zone.”

It is clear that the sessions with Gabby have had a significant impact on Ava who has increased in confidence but has also developed an understanding on how to deal with situations, helping her to manage her behaviour.

Touching on Ava’s improved confidence Gabby described “When we first met Ava, she was very good at displaying what would seem like confidence, but quickly I began to see that it could have been a deflection, protecting herself from people becoming too close and opening up her vulnerable side.” Now, Gabby describes Ava has having a “natural confidence” with her becoming more accepting of herself and able to stand up for what she believes in, in the right way.

This impact has also been recognised by teachers at her school, teacher Callum Schofield said, “We have seen a real difference in Ava since working with DCCT and Gabby. Her attendance in school has improved. She is more focused when she is in school, and her behaviour has improved a lot. She has come a very long way since accessing the support.”

Premier League Inspires empowers participants to develop personal, social, employability and life skills, through a series of regular face-to-face group sessions, mentoring, workshops and social-action projects, providing pupils with the help they need now and supporting them to plan for their future. Ava details how she feels that she has a “safe space” to talk with Gabby and that the mentoring sessions have “helped me to get along better with people.”

Ava is now looking forward to the future, with a clear plan on what she would like to do moving forward.