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Chapter 2

Much to Rachels surprise the morning had gone off without any issues, most pupils and staff were full of smiles and joy on their return. She had finally started to settle fully and really take Eddie's reassurances on board, something that definitely made the day job easier. She stood in her office gazing out of the window across the school yard, smiling as she watched the sea of Burgundy and white fill the spacious area once again. She glanced at her watch and pushed her lips together as she turned to gather some essentials for her meeting in ten minutes.

There was a light knock at the door and as Rachel turned to see who it was she smiled as a friendly face greeted her.

'Hi Kim, how has your morning been?' She asked.

'Yeah good thanks, it's been nice being back. How are you? Did you and Eddie have a good summer?'

'We did thank you, we didn't do an awful lot, a little last minute getaway and then we moved Eddie into mine officially.' She beamed as she grabbed her notepad and pen from her desk.

'I'm really pleased to hear.' Kim smiled back with happiness. "I came to say that I won't be able to sit in on this meeting if that's ok. I know as head of Pastoral care I really should be there, I just want to get all these risk assessments updated and handed to form teachers'. She stressed.

'No no of course, it's ok. I am only gathering information today to see if Waterloo is the right place. To be honest I am not even sure what I am walking into. It's all rather hush hush.' She ran her hand through her light brown locks and perched at the end of her desk.

'Eddie did say, can we catch up after the meeting?' She offered.

'Perfect, can you get Eddie in too? I think this is a decision we should make together as a team.'

'Of course.' Kim nodded.

'Ms Mason, Jason and Susanne are here for your midday meeting.' Rachel's PA Joyce polity informed her.

'Thank you, Catch you later Kim.' Rachel smiled, walking out of the office to greet her guest.

'Hi I'm Rachel Mason' she held out her hand

'Hi Jason James'

'Susanne Wellington'

'Lovely to meet you, I have secured a more private classroom for us to chat, my office is often interrupted, especially on the first days of term.' Rachel joked and started to lead the way. Once inside she closed the door and took a seat opposite them.

'So, how can Waterloo Road Help?' She asked full of hope that her school could do just that.

"We have a delicate case, one which has previously failed in 6 other schools, Ms Mason, we are deeply concerned that if another placement falls through then we're going to render this young woman as NEET.' Jason Sighed

NEET?' Rachel sought clarification

'Not in Education, Employment or Training' He explained and Rachel nodded slowly

'So, she won't get an education or have any hope of a future?' Rachel questioned. Her fingers tapped on her legs as she began to understand their lack of care.

'To put it frank Ms Mason, if this placement falls through then she will be held in a Children's care home until the age of 16 where she will be asked to leave if her behaviour continues to escalate.' Susanne spoke up.

'Leave and go where?' Rachel's eyes narrowed, her insides bubbling at the thought of adults giving up on a child.

'Anywhere, most likely homeless' She shrugged. Her words were so matter of fact, a lack of empathy evident. Rachel's mouth nearly fell open.

'Homeless?' Rachel echoed with deep concern.

'There is not much we can do beyond that age to keep them within the care of the home, she has made it perfectly clear that she does not wish to be at the homes. We won't be able to stop her and bring her back beyond that age.'

'And who is She?'

'Eleanor Rose Madden, or Elle as she prefers. She is 14 years and 4 months old and has a very complex history.' Sue sighed, pulling out some documents to read off. 'She was put into care since birth, both of her birth parents are unknown. She was in one care home up until the age of 6, however this fell through due to some of the older boys in the home misusing substances and being violent around her. She was later moved across the country and remained in care for a further 2 years. Elle was fostered out at 8 years old but once again this fell through. After being suspended from one school and moved to another her foster parents were believed to be abusing her and she was immediately transferred to another home in a different part of the country. She moved another 3 times in total. We are concerned that she is some-what involved with drug gangs, she is routinely tested and her previous drug screen was shown to have cannabis and cocaine in her system.' Susanne reeled this young girl's history off like it was a list of ingredients.

'Wow' Rachel withdrew a breath. 'This poor girl' she exhaled, her eyes narrowing as her brain attempted to retain everything Eleanor had been through. 'When was that last drug screen? Do we know if she is still actively using substances?'

'It was 2 weeks ago, we tried to test our known users randomly. She has been engaging in youth programs for support but the truth is, we cannot get through to her about where, when or why she is taking these drugs. She is not interested in any support. There has been no single adult that she has talked to about anything since the day she arrived in care.' James confirmed

'So no one actually knows the full extent of what Elle has been through, what she does when she is out, what she takes, how much of it and god knows whatever else!' Rachel shook her head in disbelief of the system. 'Will the home here drug screen her? Whilst I am confident Waterloo Road is the school for her I cannot have a drug situation on my hands.' Rachel's voice shook with concern.

'Yes they should screen her, failing that we can provide you with kits to carry out the tests. It's not unusual for our children to be asked to do tests in school, for some it's their safe place to do that. Our hope is that she is not a frequent user, there have been times she has tested and it has been negative. She doesn't have connections up here, needless to say we want her moved completely away from all of this, and we are sincerely hoping that Waterloo Road can help her, provide her with somewhat of an education and get her on her way out of the system.' James cleared his throat

'It sounds to me like you cannot wait for her to leave.' Rachel scoffed.

'I can't lie to you, I'll be glad when she is gone. It's harsh but she is a handful Ms Mason. There have been many fights, police incidents, smashed windows, car stealing, running away. You name it, she's done it.'

'Well, it sounds to me like she needs some structure and support In her life. Someone who isn't going to throw her out at the first sign of trouble. Waterloo Road is the place for that. We can help. We have loads of staff here that truly care for our pupils, perhaps one of them could be the adult she needs' she reassured them, now desperate for Elle to come to a safe environment.

Susanne and James looked between themselves and nodded before looking at Rachel again. 'She will stay at the Children's Care Home just 10 minutes from here, they've got a spare room and are willing to offer it out. Please think about this before you agree, I cannot stress this enough, she is not like any other pupil you've ever met. She is a whirlwind and leaves a huge destructive mess wherever she has previously gone.' Susanne's tone finally offered some sort of concern for the school. Rachel struggled not to roll her eyes and snarl at the summaries of this poor young girl.

'I will meet with the rest of my management team following this to discuss Eleanor, but I am confident we can help her. I'll give you a call later today to confirm and then if all is well she can look to start, what from next week?' Rachel asked. James and Susanne began to pack their things, making no attempt to stay any longer than necessary. Rachel watched in amusement and disbelief.

'Oh no, she needs to leave her care home tonight. If you agree with Rachel, she will be here tomorrow morning.' James warned with a final parting handshake.

~ WR ~

Later that day Rachel sat at her desk, elbows firmly dug into the wood as she tucked her hands up under her chin. A delicate silence fell as she watched Kim and Eddie digest the newly shared information about Elle.

'So?' Her tone was laced with hope. 'Am I being irrational thinking we can bring her here?' She chewed at her lip.

'I mean…I agree I want her to come here-' Eddie paused, shifting in his seat slightly, his brow furrowed. 'But, playing devil's advocate here Rach, we do not understand the full extent of this girl's background nor just why she was suspended or excluded from all these previous schools. They said themselves that this is the final straw for her, so If this fails, she has nothing in life to fall back on. Do you really want to be the one making that decision?' His gaze held hers as the concern flowed through his words, wrapping around her, sending a shiver through her spine.

'He's right. Our Pastoral staff are great, I've enrolled some on a new course at the end of this month. But what about the likes of Grantley Budgen or Steph Haydock? Eleanor will walk all over them and Grantley will be the first on the phone to his union if she kicks off at him. It's about protecting her In other ways not just bringing her into a safer school where we do accept anyone.' Kim reasoned, a half smile on her lips as she attempted to make sense of this situation before her.

Rachel dropped her hands and lay them in her lap, both perspectives turning around in her mind, battering with her own thoughts and desire to protect this girl she had never met. She glanced between them both and sighed heavily. It felt like an impossible decision to make.

'I don't want to be the one to fail her, I don't want this school to be the one to fail her' she paused, gathering her thoughts briefly. 'I feel as though by not giving her a chance we're failing her, we've not even met her and who are we to decide what type of education she can have based on some old reports?'

'No, no I agree' Kim smiled. 'I think we just need to be really on top of her, a sort of special treatment if you will. Any incident with anyone needs to be dealt with by one of us, at least for the first few weeks, then see who she gravities towards in the school, if it's one of us, great we can take lead in supporting her, if it's another member of staff then we'll need to pull them in and support them to support her.' Kim reasoned.

'Yeah, I like that Kim. I think the only way we're not going to lose her in the system is to do exactly that, but more lenient at times, give that good cop, bad cop approach to discipline and try to keep our cool with whatever she brings to our door.' Rachel nodded.

'So what we are saying is, good old fashioned teamwork?' Eddie smirked, causing both the girls to laugh and roll their eyes. 'Is there any way we can keep her out of Grantley's lessons? She will have a field day with him and it's not what we need.' Eddie expressed his concern, his feelings about the laziness of Mr Budgen were something Rachel had already become accustomed too. She raised a sharp eyebrow towards him.

'Reality is she will likely be timetabled for his lessons, he teaches our lower sets in years 7, 8 and 9. I don't have any information about her schooling but considering how many times she has moved, I don't imagine much work has been completed by her.' Rachel pursed her lips together as her brain rallied for a solution.

'I get the concern Eddie, but it might work the opposite way. He may not expect much work to be completed and that could be what she wants.' Kim opposed and both nodded.

'I guess it's something we are going to have to watch closely and the minute any lesson with any teacher starts to unravel we need to pull her out.' Rachel's tone was firm as she formulated a plan. Both Kim and Eddie nodded showing full support.

'We best leave you to make the call then.' Kim spoke and all three of them took a deep breath In the silence as Rachel reached for her phone.

'I'll go and set up a modified timetable for her for this week' Eddie smiled as he stood up to exit the room. He placed a loving hand on Rachels shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze for reassurance as she put the phone to her ear.

'I'll draw up a profile on her to email out to all the staff tomorrow.' Kim smiled as she followed Eddie out of the room. Rachel smiled at both thankful for their support.

'Oh Hi, is that Susanne Wellington?' She asked as the phone was answered. 'Hi It's Rachel Mason, I'm ringing to confirm that Waterloo Road is happy to accept Eleanor.' She smiled into the receiver, her heart pounding against her chest as the anticipation of tomorrow began to weigh in.