Supporting young people through change
For Dawn Froggatt and Lucy Briggs, Motional has remained a constant throughout more than a decade of working with young people across Cornwall.
From Local Authority, community-based youth work and targeted interventions, to suicide prevention projects and, more recently, co-founding We Believe 2 CIC, Motional has travelled with them across different organisations, funding streams and service models.
The reason is simple:
The challenges facing young people may change. The settings supporting them may change. But the need to understand progress remains the same.
‘Motional has remained my recording method of choice for distance travelled. It’s the best recording tool I’ve used and it has stayed with me throughout my practice.’
Dawn Froggatt, Co-Founder, We Believe 2 CIC
Understanding progress, not just activity
We Believe 2 CIC provides long-term, needs-led support for young people and their families in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall.
Rather than working to fixed intervention timescales, the organisation follows the needs of each young person, supporting change over months and sometimes years.
In that context, measuring progress is not always straightforward.
Dawn describes one of Motional’s greatest strengths as its ability to capture a snapshot of a young person’s emotional wellbeing at a particular point in time and then track how that picture changes over time.
Importantly, progress is not always linear.
‘One young person had made significant progress over a year and then suddenly their scores dipped. Motional helped us identify that something had changed in their family environment. It allowed us to understand what was happening and think differently about what support was needed next.’
Lucy Briggs, Co-Founder, We Believe 2 CIC
Rather than simply recording activity, the team uses Motional to understand what may sit behind behaviour, engagement and emotional wellbeing, helping them adapt support when circumstances change.
A framework that works beyond schools
Although Motional is used extensively in education, Dawn believes its value extends far beyond school settings.
Throughout her career she has used the platform in local authority services, community organisations, targeted youth work projects and voluntary sector provision.
‘The framework’s flexibility has enabled it to adapt to different service models while maintaining a consistent approach to understanding need.’
‘Motional has met the needs and the changing needs of our young people. It’s evolved alongside our practice and continues to meet the needs of practitioners, team members and ultimately the young people we support.’
Sue Steele ,Director, Safeguarding Lead & Chair, We Believe 2 CIC
For organisations working across different settings, this consistency creates a shared language that helps staff, volunteers and partners understand young people’s experiences more clearly.
Looking forward
As We Believe 2 continues to grow, developing volunteer mentors, supporting parents and carers and expanding its reach across the local community, Motional remains part of the foundation.
Not because it dictates practice.
Because it helps practitioners understand change.
‘Capturing where a young person is, seeing the distance travelled, understanding what’s changed and what support is needed next – that’s the most important part.’
Mel Luna Moon, Director, We Believe 2 CIC
For organisations working beyond school, understanding progress is often as important as understanding need.