History
Founded in late 2023 by a group of ex-boarding school pupils who connected through an online support group.
It began as a discussion amongst a wider group of people from this support group, including professionals from diverse backgrounds including mental health, education, social care and business. All of whom shared a passion for better understanding and advocating good pastoral care in boarding and independent day schools.
As the conversation evolved, it was felt that creating an app would be the way to go, this would be aimed at supporting young people reaching out for help whilst they were still attending these institutions. Providing somewhere safe and supportive to find self-help resources and qualified professionals to speak to.
As we started to build this out, it became clear that the legal and ethical minefield of working with minors who were often in these institutions 24/7 for much of the year, became overwhelming, and the project began to stall.
To answer these questions and overcome these challenges, we began to reach out to our networks and seek support. It became clear that there was an overwhelming need for adults to connect to the right resources to support their path to understanding and healing later in life. We knew ourselves there were good resources, therapists, practitioners and support groups out there, but they were flung far and wide, and often only focused on their own offerings or services.
We looked within at our own journeys to try and find help and healing. We saw how many times we’d reached out for help, both to NHS and private mental health services. Only to not be able to articulate what was going on inside us or within our lives. Then receiving care that was massively varying in quality from well-meaning, but often poorly informed and inexperienced professionals who had no idea about our life as children in these institutions.
We looked at where we, and people around us, had found supportive voices that understood us. We noted how difficult and long the search was to find these groups and resources, and that amazing people were there, but they were hard to find, and you had to know what you were looking for.
The idea and name for Seen & Heard was born from this process. We want people to feel truly seen & heard, to find the support they need quickly, and for the quality and integrity of that support to have been validated for them, so that they can trust in the process and materials available.
Although we are just starting out, we have received great support already from people already working in advocacy and healing for boarding and independent day school ex-pupils. These amazing people paved the way for Seen & Heard to exist, without them, we wouldn’t be here today. A HUGE thanks to all of who have helped us so far, and a big ‘thanks in advance’ to all those who will help us in the future.
