Wrexham teen heartbroken after mum jailed for five years

A teenager has said having his mum jailed for drug offences when he was just 13 was "heartbreaking".

"You want to be around your mum, especially if you're close to her like I was," said Ioan, 15, from Wrexham.

Ahead of his mum's release later this year, Ioan said he hopes "she won't do anything bad again and just won't leave me - stay with me forever".

He is backing a new scheme to help support affected pupils and help remove stigma over imprisonment.

The Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) scheme offers guidance for schools on how to best support children in situations similar to Ioan.

His mum is due to be released soon after serving half of her five-year sentence, but he said it had been hard having missed her for so long.

"They're the years you mostly want to be with your parents. You need to see them as much as possible at that age," he said.

"The moment they're gone, that was the hardest part for me, because I had to get used to not seeing her as much."

As his mum's release date draws closer, she is allowed days out with her family.

"It's just like a normal day out. When she goes it's a sad ending for the day because I wish she could just stay for a few months."

On her release Ioan said he would give his mum a "big hug and I won't let go for an hour".

His mother's case attracted media coverage and he agreed pupils in his class at Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Wrexham county should be told.

He said there were some "mean words", but not many, and once people knew "everybody was quite good about it".

However, he said he knows how difficult life can be for children with parents in prison.

Ioan's grandmother, Barbara Evans, 69, said her whole family had been "unbelievably shocked" by her daughter's imprisonment.

Ms Evans said Ioan had coped "wonderfully" thanks to support from his school and friends.

Ms Evans said the Pact programme had already made "such a difference" to Ioan.

She said the scheme allowed her and Ioan to go on private visits to his mum's prison to get used the environment, something she said was "unbelievably helpful".

Ioan's school is one of two the trust worked with in Wrexham to create a way to teach children aged three to 16, about how having a parent in prison can affect them.

Books, a jigsaw, a board game and an animation are among tools it is hoped will encourage children to discuss imprisonment to reduce stigma and shame they may feel.

Pact's Aimee Hutchinson said many children were embarrassed about it and fear being bullied.

She said the scheme aims to encourage understanding around the matter, which she hoped would cut bullying and increase empathy.

"The prison population is at a record high and it stands to reason that more children are going to be impacted by a parent in prison," she said.

"The current estimates are that around one in 15 school-aged children will be affected by the imprisonment of a loved one at some point in their school career. So that's at least one in every class."

Ysgol Bryn Alyn and Gwersyllt Primary School, both in Wrexham county, worked with Pact to design the scheme - which will introduced in England after its roll out in Wales.

Ysgol Bryn Alyn deputy head teacher Johanna Ebrey said some teachers would be spending a day in a prison to help them understand what pupils go through.

"We have several students who are impacted by family members in prison, and as teachers our knowledge base of that situation was very small," she said.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said Pact was a valuable resource which would help school staff support children, overcome negative feelings and understand that they can get help.