Pupils Experiencing Homelessness and Multiple Complex Needs with Colette Carter and Lee Demetriou from Shelter

Emma & Tom Talk Teaching

This week we've cast our net outside the world of schools to speak to two peer mentors from the homelessness charity, Shelter. Thanks to loyal friend of the podcast Becky Brynolf, we've got an interview with Colette Carter and Lee Demetriou, who are peer mentors with lived experience of homelessness and multiple complex needs.

We wanted to speak to Colette and Lee about their experiences of education, and their thoughts about how teachers can approach pupils who experience homelessness and other complex needs.

What follows is a powerful discussion, and you may find some of the content upsetting. Lee and Colette were keen to emphasise that they were happy for us to use all the content, and we hope it illustrates the need to approach our pupils as humans first and foremost.

If you'd like to hear more from Colette and Lee, the Shelter podcast Challenging is available on all good podcast platforms. If you'd like to find out more about the work of Shelter, you can visit their website. And if you're concerned about a pupil, remember that you have colleagues who can support you - and if you're a student teacher that includes your university staff.

We'll be back in two weeks!

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Recorded at Cardiff Metropolitan University's Cyncoed campus and remotely on 16th September 2020