Founder Paul has always had a passion for working with Children & Young People, this comes from a youth spent educating himself as a Peer Educator, whilst representing the town as an active part of the nationally recognised  PS2K (Peer Support 2000).

Little did he know but this is something which would help shape his young life like he could have never imagined.

Along the way Paul met a group of significant impactful adults, most of which were YOUTH WORKERS.

The value of Youth Work never left Paul and even after a brief spell being employed at a local supermarket, his heart was never fulfilled, he often looked at ways to get back to his dream of becoming a Youth Worker.

A new and exciting Job Role within Darlington Borough Council was advertised and Paul applied, after a successful Interview and an anxious waiting period, he got the Job and began his own journey  of helping the council develop a new an exciting website targeted towards Young people.

A one stop shop for everything ‘Young People’, this was called E-VIBE.

During this time Paul would train as a Youth Worker and successfully qualified as a Level 2 Youth Worker, spurring on the natural progression into a Full time Youth Work position.

Paul went onto to further his knowledge and experience in this new role and furthermore completed a a Level 3 qualification.

Unfortunately there was a HUGE political shift within National Government which shifted the focus of the Local Council and the role of a Youth Worker.

Here began the next step in the journey when an opportunity arose to join the EARLY HELP TEAM, this is where Paul would see his greatest growth.  In a New role, working directly with families, helping them shape their own futures and supporting them to deal with difficult challenges it was an extremely rewarding period which he gained valuable skills and lots of experiences to help him grow as an individual.

It was in this role that the first idea of BOX-WELL would be whispered… from a note on a post-it note, in a staff room over a tea and a red velvet cake… who would have knew something would be born as a result.

Along this path, he met even more inspiring individuals from many walks of life, who indirectly helped Paul in ways which they may never quite understand.

An opportunity presented itself to Paul to apply for a new challenging role within residential childcare setting.  It was during this time that Paul would have his first authentic encounter with Alternate Education Provisions.

This would be the birth of Boxwell, all from a POST-IT note.

Boxwell wanted to be fit for purpose and chose to use a key focus on

‘CONNECTION before CORRECTION’

A “Connection Before Correction” approach places the relationship between staff and young people at the heart of educational practice—particularly vital in alternate education settings, where learners often arrive with complex needs, histories of trauma, and broken trust in authority.

Boxwell opened its doors on June 4th 2019, whilst growing and developing ever since.