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Private Notes
Twelve-year-old Courtney from Liverpool has been diagnosed with ADHD, and was excluded from her primary school for disruptive behaviour. She's now starting her second year as a boarder at High Close School in Berkshire, which is run by Barnardo's and is home to some of Britain's most troubled children. According to Nikita, Courtney's key worker, she has tremendous potential. But as Courtney approaches her teenage years her behaviour is deteriorating fast. Struggling to find words for how she feels, Courtney says it's like there's 'a little cell in inside my head that says "don't care". It's like my head's changed.' Behind Courtney's anger there's an extraordinary family story that stretches back more than four generations, from her mother, Sara, to her great-grandmother, Edna. Loving and close, these four generations are a remarkable testimony to the strength of their family ties but they're also players in a story of troubled and sometimes violent relationships. Through the years, the women in the family have turned to each other for support. But despite their love for each other, events in their lives seem to keep on repeating themselves. As Courtney's mother Sara inches closer to breaking point, Jonathan Newport, the dedicated deputy head teacher of High Close, is running out of ideas. Courtney's on the brink of exclusion at an extremely understanding school, and keyworker Nikita is worried if she leaves there she will 'fall through the net'. With the help of her family and teachers, can Courtney turn her life around?
With intimate access to staff, pupils and families, this film tells the surprising and touching story of one of the High Close School's most challenging children: Josh. Filmed over a year, the programme follows the ups and downs of his education and explores his history to discover what made him the way he is. Fourteen-year-old Josh is the school's tough man. He was taken away from his heroin-addicted mum and put into care at the age of three. He had a staggering 24 moves between foster placements before the age of six, together with his younger sister Demi. However, for the past eight years, Josh and Demi have lived with their adoptive mother, former social worker Sue, who is determined to provide them with a loving and stable home. 'You think a lot of love and lot of attention will be enough,' Sue says. But soon Josh's angry outbursts and aggressive behaviour mean that both Sue and the teachers at High Close are struggling to help him. As the story of Josh's past unfolds, tensions escalate at school, and he brings his mother closer to breaking point. Can Josh avoid repeating the mistakes of his birth family and make the necessary changes to remain at High Close?
