Unlock Your Potential
Enemy Of Boredom Academy Newsletter December 2024
Welcome everyone to the December ’24 edition of the Enemy of Boredom newsletter.
Time moves so fast and even in the two months since our last newsletter, leaps and bounds are being made by the students at Enemy of Boredom. Skills are being learnt and developed by getting hands on with video game design. With the ability to see instant results and ways to adjust and improve user experiences, everyone’s projects are now well under way and making brilliant progress.
But it’s not all about studying, it’s about making friendships and joining together to work as a team, both for the students and our teachers here. Discussions about the best way forwards with the projects are being had on every sofa and meet-space which creates a positive buzz, which I love.
The team at EOB work incredibly hard to provide a genuine place of learning, care and inspiration for each student. So to hear that 100% of our students felt supported and listened to was the best feedback possible. More on this below …
Looking back on 2024 it’s been a year of positive change. I’m incredibly proud and grateful to everyone involved with Enemy of Boredom. I’m constantly looking for ways to innovate and 2025 will see more new ways to encourage creativity in the area with the launch of the music academy and one more surprise – see below!
No idea is too small so if you have any feedback or points of discussion please know that we are always here to listen and support.
All that remains is for me to wish you on behalf of everyone at EOB and beyond, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Steve Godwin, founder and CEO, Enemy of Boredom
Unlock Your Potential
We value every student’s voice
We believe every learner is unique. Our approach combines tailored experiences with engaging activities, helping students discover their passions through creativity.
We have spent time this past half term gathering views from our students – it’s always important to us to know what works and what doesn’t, to us, this is the most powerful feedback.
We were so pleased with the genuine up-take from our students and even more pleased with the results:
100% of our students feel that our tutors listen to them 100% feel that they can ask their tutors for help 100% feel comfortable at EOB
Little changes go a long way …
The students then went on to make suggestions of how we could boost their concentration, which we put into immediate effect. For example: we’ve switched to LED lighting in our regulation room in Bracknell and placed shielding on the windows to prevent the light reflecting on opposing office windows distracting a learner.
Some of the most positive statements came from the following question: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
“I wish I could come in more days”.
“The course is going great so far”.
“I am enjoying the course and I feel comfortable in the learning environment EOB has created for me and other students. I also know there are opportunities to ask for help or take a break if I am struggling”.
Shining a light on SEND
This half term we’ve hosted several open days at both our in-house sites – Bracknell for the video games design course and Letchworth for the music course. We invited representatives from our local authorities and referral partners to come and see the great work of both Enemy Of Boredom sites. This is essential to ensure that local authorities are kept aware of the options open to them so we can help more pupils with SEND in the area.
Sharing in progress together in 2025
Over the next term we will be introducing a system called Pupil Progress. This is a system designed to track progress made by the students and support our analysis. Over time we will be rolling this out to all parents so that you can also see the progress your son or daughter is making.
Student Highlights
Level 1
We have been developing collaborative skills while discussing game design ideas. It’s important for each student to dream up their game designs and bring them to life, but in the creative world, collaboration between disciplines is key, along with the ideals of working in teams.Discussing each student’s ideas in a group setting is a key step in developing these skills – the essential part? It isn’t done in a competitive way, instead it’s constructive.Through this process, we can see the students getting excited and invested in each other’s ideas. As staff we can literally see the bonds of new friendships forming as they learn to communicate with each other on something they all enjoy. This is such a brilliant outcome of Enemy of Boredom – true friendships and life skills growing from a genuine love of what they do.
From individual pixels to smooth lines, detail is key when it comes to game design.
Every bit of concentration goes into ensuring that lines are smooth so that the character doesn’t look jagged when transferred into our game.
We have been practising using reference images to help us with our own pixel art designs for our game.
One of our online students has invested a lot of time in creating this awesome background design using their pixel art skills.
Student Highlights Level 2
Our Level Two students have been designing out-of-this-world 3D platformers in Unreal Engine. They’ve been learning how to use blueprints to create environmental mechanics and designing levels around these mechanics for their games. It’s an incredibly clever and intricate process which the students are harnessing to bring their ideas to 3D reality.
Music News
The new music course is designed to help neurodiverse young people gain nationally recognised qualifications and valuable work experience in the music performance world and is backed by iconic grassroots live music venue Club 85.
The music course will be led by a team of experienced music professionals who are passionate about working with neurodiverse young people. The course will cover a wide range of topics, including music theory, performance techniques, and music business. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in masterclasses, workshops, and performances.
A word from the Club 85 Team:
Aim for the moon, even if you miss you’ll still land among the stars.
Whether it’s sound/light engineering, stage management, event promotion or general front of house activity that strikes your interest, Club 85 has something for everyone.
Through a mix of voluntary work experience opportunities at Club 85 and EOB apprenticeships, we aim to provide invaluable experience to each student, leading to the potential of employment with Club 85’s already majority neurodiverse team as well as additional work opportunities in the wider music industry.
Most excitingly, being a music performance course, we’ll be offering you as much time on the Big Stage as possible throughout your time with EOB. That means you’ll have ample time to hone your craft to the max and really make the ‘End of Term Concert’ one to remember for all students and their families!
Fashion Business Start-Up Alternative Provision
Fashion Business Start-Up Alternative Provision
– where fashion meets the future of work. A project to get our students work-ready …
An innovative new course for budding entrepreneurs looking to set up their own business in the apparel industry is being launched by Enemy Of Boredom Academy.
This NCFE-accredited course offers a unique opportunity for neurodiverse young learners to make their ideas come to life by creating their own fashion brands; combining their passion for fashion and creativity with essential business skills in a supportive and accessible environment. Specifically designed for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to establish their own venture, this course provides foundational knowledge and skills to help successfully launch their own business.
Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the critical steps involved in starting a business, including marketing strategies, legal considerations, and financial planning.
The course also focuses on creating a detailed business plan, equipping learners with the tools necessary to turn their business ideas into reality. Tailored to meet the needs of neurodiverse individuals, the course is structured to provide a comfortable and confidence-building learning experience.
essential download below cyberbullying Parents and Carers
At EOB it’s important to us to support parents as much as we support our students, so every newsletter we send out contains a link to download supportive information that will help you to support each young person’s time at the Academy and beyond.
Each download is created by experts in the field of SEND that we continually collaborate with.
This half term we would like to highlight the importance of being aware of cyberbullying. Many of our neurodivergent students are vulnerable and more susceptible to being targets of cyberbullying so please download this factsheet containing information about cyberbullying from internetmatters.org
Hear From Our Students
