We wanted to say what a great session it was with Sveety yesterday. J particularly enjoyed the MetaHuman part, she can't wait until next week! Thanks xx
- Mary
1. Matching your Child
We have matched your Child with Sveety (Svitlana):
Based on the form and your comments one of our mentors called Sveety looks like a good fit to us. She is a super calm, down to earth person and works with several of our autistic young people.
Sveety is a very special digital artist working in vibrant colours, pixel art, graphic design, illustration, animation, game development engines, 3D sculptures, 3D painting, photography, video editing and has a special interest in metahumans! Sveety has developed her own 3D characters, and her own video game which is pretty awesome! So based on your Child's interests/proficiency, Sveety will support them in any learning pathway regarding artistic and technical Game Development. Sveety also works some hours at Camden School for Girls supporting their autistic teens. Originally from Ukraine, she speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and English.
Here is a video from Sveety (opens in new tab) giving further background about herself. As your child could have a little anxiety about starting something new, with someone new, we have found these videos can help. Also Sveety talks about the journey her artistic practice has taken and some of the projects she worked on. There is also a little bit of a trailer that she made about her Game.
Sveety has a valid, enhanced DBS Check and Child Barring Service check, completed by Game Changers. She has completed safeguarding training and has completed suicide prevention and awareness training.
2. Next Steps:
Initial "Get to Know" Session: If everything looks OK and your Child likes Sveety's video and her background, we can set-up a casual "get to know" session over Google Meet as the next step. This session will allow your Child and Sveety to discuss with voice or messaging their interests, share experiences, and possibly play a game together to break the ice. The goal is for them to agree on where to start their weekly sessions, focusing on a specific area of interest that we listed in your email/message that brought you to this page. Sveety has the ideas we sent to you. Also they may come up with a new joint idea during the call. That happens sometimes.
To proceed with Sveety you can schedule the initial ‘get to know session’ directly in Sveety's Game Changers calendar. You can do this using the widget at the very bottom of this page.
After the get to know, if you and your Child would like to proceed with further sessions with Game Changers you can agree a fixed weekly recurring time with Sveety. Just ask about that at the end of the Get to Know. You will also be sent an automated link to do this just after the get to know session.
As we cannot hold mentors' availability for long after we have matched a young person with them (due to demand), we ask that you also confirm you would like to go ahead by replying to the original email within the next week or using the confirmation form at the bottom of this page.
3. Funding Sessions:
Session Fees: Based on the answers you provided in our application form, the fees for your sessions were included in your mentor match confrimation email which took you to this page.
Payments: On the day of your get to know, you'll need to set-up your weekly automated payments through this link https://pay.changers.org.uk/b/
Billing: To reduce admin and associated costs we work on an automated weekly billing system from a debit card. Please note, all billing, payments, mentor PAYE are managed by Game Changers. Please do not engage with mentors on payment related issues.
Schedule: While there's no long-term commitment, we encourage an informal 4-week commitment from you, to provide stability for our mentors and lower our administration. However, we understand that if your Child just doesn’t take to the sessions or are unable to cope we will only bill for the sessions you do have.
Regular session timing: If you would like to proceed with Game Changers after the Get to Know session, for consistency, it's helpful if sessions occur on the same days and times each week. We appreciate 24 hours' notice for cancellations to accommodate other students. You can reschedule sessions through the links in your session invite or by WhatsApp'ing or emailing your mentor.
Charging for Cancellations: Regarding charging for last minute cancellations please do not discuss this with the mentor. Whilst you should let your mentor know via email or WhatsApp you need to reschedule/cancel. Regarding questions about fees for the cancellation please direct to [email protected] including your Childs full name and reason for the cancellation. We will always do what we can to support you. In many cases we try and waive it. We always pay our mentors for their booked time.
Please keep in mind that Game Changers Education is an NGO/not-for-profit organisation, and our surplus revenue goes towards discounted or free mentor fees and free hardware for disadvantaged families that are supporting an autistic young person.
Local Authority Funding: EOTAS: Some families have explored adding Game Changer's fees to their Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) provision with their LA, so if you're interested in this option, we'd be happy to discuss it further or talk with your LA Caseworker. Most families self-fund and try to move to this over time. If you have received a subsidy we ask that you push for either school or LA funding.
School Funding: Where children have an EHCP and are in a specialist setting. In some cases these settings fund Game Changers sessions.
4. Practical points for the get to know session & further sessions:
To ensure a smooth start, please consider the following practical points for the "get to know" session and future sessions:
Gaming prep: If there's a specific multiplayer game your Child would like to play during the session, please inform your mentor in advance of the session so that they can prepare. You can do this in the field when you book the meeting or by email or WhatsApp to the mentor.
Engines we use: Based on your Child's age, diagnosis, experience and device capabilities we will explore us game development engines that we believe will be a good fit.
Device Suitability: To ensure your Child's device is suitable; your mentor will help assess its performance and configuration during the initial, or later sessions. If it is not powerful enough, we offer access to high spec remote Game Development PCs. This allows your Child to remotely connect to the PC over the internet and it will feel like they are working on a local machine! Do not worry, we will look after all of this.
Session video/audio: We use Google Meet for sessions, and screen sharing is necessary for assistance with applications and navigation. You will have a google meet link in your session invite. You do not need to download software to get on the meeting. It can all work through your web browser.
You can also download Google Meet as an app on your computer if you prefer. If you would like to see information about this simple installation please click here to be taken to the Google info page
We are also able to use discord, just let your mentor know.
We don't use MS teams, it is too clunky!
(Optional) Before the Get to Know session: If you would like to have a short 1:1 chat with Sveety to discuss anything e.g. setting up any applications on your computer, background/learning topics, or things that might be triggering, then you are welcome to use this link to do that. It is optional, but worth doing if you have any worries. Book the 30 min pre-meet here: https://calendly.com/sveety/pr
Communication for regular sessions: We'll set up a WhatsApp group to facilitate communication about the sessions, updates on how your child is progressing, and any issues. We also encourage you to provide feedback to us on the group chat too. It is really great for our mentors to hear if things are going well and the impact their work has had on your child or family. As you can imagine sometimes our kids just can't cope due to other life situations. Our mentors can feel like they have failed. Every postive message goes a long way.
Session content: During progress though a topic, if your child decides that they want to do something else all of a sudden, that's totally fine. It happens often whilst any young person understands what they like the most. Our mentor will support, guide and follow your child's interests it is what we do.
Reducing demand: We also understand that your child may have days when they are just not in the mood for game design work. In such cases, their mentor can spend time bonding and playing multiplayer games together, providing valuable social interaction and companionship.
Working in-between sessions: As we move forward, we'll also ensure that the learning experience is comfortable and tailored to your childs pace. We don't impose completion demands on tasks between sessions and we always maintain a flexible "have a go if you like, and I'll help you with it next week" approach.