Haus Of Seisay: Building skills and confidence through flexible support

Set up in 2022 by adoptive parents Thomas and Tony Seisay, Haus Of Seisay is a charity that strives to provide career opportunities in hairdressing for care experienced young people.

Their mission is to break down the barriers that care experienced young people can face in their day-to-day experiences. Through teaching and support, they ensure the young people are instilled with the confidence, knowledge, and life skills to pursue a career in hairdressing.

What were you trying to understand?

Haus Of Seisay was started as a result of Thomas and Tony Seisay’s own experience of the challenges of traditional education for young people with experience of the ‘care system’ and wanting to create a space which was explicitly for young people with care experience to feel safe to grow and thrive.

They worked together to provide what was needed flexibly and in a way that worked for each individual young person.

What did you do?

Haus Of Seisay was started as a result of Thomas and Tony Seisay’s own experience, through their own adopted children, of the challenges of traditional education for young people with experience of the ‘care system’ and wanting to create a space which was explicitly for young people with care experience to feel safe to grow and thrive.

They obtained funding from several sources like the National Lottery, the Robertson Trust, and Bank of Scotland, and work closely with existing employability services.

Key to making this a success for the young people they work with is flexibility. It is essential that support is tailored to each young person’s experiences and needs. Having the space run by and for people with experience of the ‘care system’ means that there is already that shared understanding and experience which helps to counter the stigma they can experience in mainstream education.

Stigma results from a set of beliefs or stereotypes that people believe or assume about a group of people, a characteristic or an experience that can result in discrimination or misunderstanding. There is a lot of work happening across Scotland to counter stigma for care experienced young people in schools but there is still more work to be done. This is why dedicated spaces where care experienced young people’s experiences are understood and supported are essential.

The experiences of the young people are varied, as every story is different, but having that shared groundwork means that there is a foundation to build on and helps form the trusted relationship that is essential to successful outcomes for each young person, whatever that looks like for them.

What did you learn?

One thing that has really stood out over the four years that Haus Of Seisay has been running, is that positive outcomes will mean different things to different people. Conventional employability programmes tend to measure success by metrics like the number of people in full-time employment following the course. Some people will complete a course with Haus Of Seisay and go on to full-time employment in the industry, but others will take different paths that work better for them.

Thomas said:

For us, it’s not about giving young people power— they already have that within them. Our role is to help them recognise it, build their confidence and find the positive destination that is right for them.

Hairdressing might be what brings a young person through our doors, but what happens at Haus Of Seisay goes far beyond learning a qualification. The confidence, resilience, communication and life skills they develop here can be carried into whatever they choose to do next.

When you work with care-experienced young people, you have to look at the whole person. You can’t expect someone to concentrate on learning if they’re worried about where their next meal is coming from, struggling with their mental health or dealing with challenges outside the classroom.

That’s why Haus Of Seisay has never just been a hairdressing academy. Sometimes support means teaching a young person a new skill, and sometimes it means making sure there’s food in the cupboard, helping them access other services, listening when they’re having a difficult day, or simply being there when they need someone.

We want every young person who comes through our doors to know that they belong here, that we believe in their potential and that their care experience should never define what they can achieve.

What helped and what got in the way?

Sometimes there are challenges from partners or funders saying that it should be opened to all young people, or challenges about how the value of the work is measured.

Thomas said:

What’s really helped with that is that everyone involved in the charity has experience of the ‘care system’, and that the trustees have experience of the ‘care system’ from many different perspectives. This means that we have the knowledge of the challenges that they face and why having this as a dedicated space is so important. It empowers us to stick to our guns and speak with knowledge and confidence about the problems that young people with care experience face, and the value of the work that is being done here.

What difference did it make? 

Feedback about one of the young people at Haus Of Seisay:

There has been a noticeable improvement in their sense of self, confidence and self-esteem. Through the programme, they have discovered a sense of purpose and achievement and have been able to recognise their natural talent and flair for hairdressing.

They have expressed a strong desire to progress onto the full-year training programme at Haus Of Seisay. They feel that a larger mainstream college environment would be socially overwhelming and could result in them disengaging from education.

They have described finding a “sense of belonging and acceptance” at Haus Of Seisay.

Why does this matter?

Over four years, Haus Of Seisay have supported 41 young people with experience of the ‘care system’, giving them a sense of belonging and achievement. By making sure that they were working in partnership with young people with lived experience of care, as well as carers and professionals, they’ve helped challenge the stigma around being care experienced.

Another young person’s story with Haus Of Seisay:

Having previously attempted mainstream education and been unable to sustain their attendance, they have found that the supportive environment at Haus Of Seisay works for them.

As well as the skills they have learned, they have begun to develop a sense of purpose and self-belief, and now believe they can achieve their aspirations in hairdressing.

Most importantly, the young person has described feeling “safe and supported” at Haus Of Seisay.

What could other local areas learn?

All children and young people deserve opportunities to learn new skills and build confidence in a safe and supportive environment. Haus Of Seisay ensures this is available for those with experience of care in a place that understands their experiences and is flexible to their needs. By having a diverse group of voices involved in running these projects, especially those with lived experience themselves, they can design services that meet the needs of those using them.

There is always a need for more services with a broader remit, and Haus Of Seisay are keen to work with other services to replicate their success and ensure that all children and young people, whatever their needs or background, have everything that they need to thrive.

Thomas said:

One of the most important things about Haus Of Seisay is the people behind it. Every member of our staff and every trustee understands that no two young people are the same. We take the time to understand the individual, build genuine relationships and find out what support works for them.

Everyone involved with Haus of Seisay has been touched by the care system in different ways, whether through lived experience, family, their professional life or supporting young people directly. That creates a real connection to why we do what we do.

For us, it’s about relationships first. We understand that trauma and past experiences can affect people differently. We get to know our young people, understand what might trigger them and recognise when they need extra support.

Most importantly, we listen. Care-experienced young people have their own voices and their own stories. It is never our place to tell that story for them. They should be able to share it in their own way, in their own time, without judgement.

That sense of connection, understanding and belonging is at the heart of Haus of Seisay. We genuinely care about every young person who comes through our doors, and I believe they know that.