In conversation with Pierce and Groves
Our founders’ associate, Adam Goodbody, sits down with Pierce & Groves to discuss Oppidan’s services and guidance for parents navigating crucial education stages such as the challenges of divorce.
Rebecca and Sophie have previously worked as matrimonial solicitors at the cutting edge of family law. They have a wealth of experience working predominantly for HNWIs dealing with divorce, the ancillary finances, and any children issues.
As divorce consultants, Rebecca and Sophie utilise their former practitioner’s experience to help ease the separation process for their clients, and minimise the tension and conflict that can arise out of a relationship breakdown and change in family dynamic, including the impact that it can have on any children. Pierce & Groves is designed to be entirely complimentary to the services offered by solicitors (or barristers for that matter). Their focus is on offering bespoke services to clients which dovetail into the work of practitioners, ultimately enabling clients to rely on them for practical and emotional support so that their legal team can focus on the legal issues in play.
They have clients at all stages of the process, ranging from those who are just starting to think about divorce (i.e. those who want to know their options, but are not yet sure if they want to proceed), to those who require assistance all the way through the process in conjunction with their legal team (particularly in relation to collating financial disclosure and preparing for court hearings), to those who feel lost once the "noise" of divorce proceedings fades away, and are not sure how to start the next post-divorce phase of their lives, and/or are anxious about co-parenting moving forward.
They find that when clients use their services, in tandem with their other chosen divorce professionals, they save on their legal fees and often come out of the process feeling stronger and more confident.
For our clients’ benefit, please could you briefly explain who you are and the services you provide?
Adam: My name is Adam and I’m Founders’ Associate at Oppidan Education. Oppidan is a mentoring company that supports young people academically at home, and with personal development programmes in schools. It started in response to an overly pressurised tuition industry and aims to help students succeed, both in terms of improved grades and with their skill development. Similar to private tuition in many ways, academic mentoring is about long-term consistent support that prioritises the relationship between mentor and mentee. Whilst traditionally there is a mistrust between schools and third-party education providers, our skills mentoring in schools around the UK and abroad closely informs the academic mentoring we do at home.
When is the best time for parents to engage your services?
Adam: No earlier than the beginning of Year 5. Most children work with Oppidan between the ages of 9-13 but we support students all the way until the end of university.
How do you go about matching a mentor with a child?
Adam: Our matching process is based on mutual interests, location, preference for online or in-person sessions and subject specific knowledge. Most of our mentoring relationships last a minimum of six months; consistency and longevity is the best way to build long term positive outcomes.
If parents are going through a divorce, which, unfortunately, coincides with a crucial education stage, what, in your view, are three things they could do to support their child?
Adam: Avoid having a ‘priority list’ of schools with a ‘favourite’ option especially with students at 11+ and 16+. If a child feels their parents have a particular preference for where they go to school, or if parents disagree, it only adds to the pressure the child feels.
Avoid asking questions that put pressure on the explicit academic outcome of an exam or test especially if the parents are feeling stressed or anxious about their child’s development. When a student is at home revising it’s better to say ‘What did you learn today?’ than ‘Do you feel ready?’
Do your best to create a relaxed working environment for them no matter what may be happening behind the scenes. Be clear about mealtimes which will help them plan their revision schedule and ensure they sleep well. There needs to be a ‘safe space’ they can have for calm and focus.
Presumably, the mentors will need to build up a level of trust with the child to get the most out of their mentoring sessions. However, will the mentor provide updates to the parents?
Adam: Our mentors are trained to give regular feedback to parents, both verbally and with written reports at the end of each month. Most of our students also begin with an APT test which offers a clear academic diagnostic on a student’s current abilities.