Haus Of Seisay brings home Education Excellence Award at The UK Hair & Beauty Awards

Haus Of Seisay is incredibly proud to announce that we have won the Education Excellence Award at The UK Hair & Beauty Awards.

For our small charity in Paisley (created by Ayrshire couple Thomas and Tony Seisay), this is a huge achievement and one that means so much to everyone involved with Haus Of Seisay – but most importantly, to the care-experienced young people who walk through our doors every day.

Haus Of Seisay was founded in 2022 with a simple idea: education should work for the young person, rather than expecting the young person to fit into education.

We knew that many care-experienced young people had the talent and ability to achieve but, for lots of different reasons, traditional education hadn’t always worked for them. We wanted to create somewhere that felt different – somewhere welcoming, supportive and understanding, where young people could learn professional hairdressing skills while also building their confidence and believing in themselves again.

What started as an idea has grown into something we are incredibly proud of.

Our young people can now work towards recognised Qualifications Scotland SVQ qualifications, learn from experienced hairdressers and educators, take part in work experience and develop skills that can lead to further education and employment.

But anyone who knows Haus Of Seisay knows that it’s about much more than gaining a qualification.

Sometimes success is a young person coming through the door when they haven’t managed to attend education for a long time. Sometimes it’s completing their first full week, working with their first client or having the confidence to stand up and show the rest of the group something they’ve learned.

And sometimes it’s watching a young person who didn’t believe education was for them leave us with a qualification and plans for their future.

Thomas Seisay, Founder and Chair of Haus Of Seisay, said:

“When they announced Haus Of Seisay as the winner, I honestly couldn’t believe it.

“We started Haus Of Seisay because we could see that there were young people with so much talent and potential who just needed someone to give them a chance and believe in them.

“We’ve never wanted Haus Of Seisay to feel like a traditional classroom. We want our young people to walk through the door and feel comfortable, have a laugh, make mistakes, ask questions and know that they are supported.

“Hairdressing gives us the platform, but what we’re really trying to build is confidence, independence and hope for the future.

“Seeing our name called out for Education Excellence was a really emotional moment because you immediately think about all the young people who have been part of our journey since we opened.”

Haus Of Seisay has continued to grow over the last few years, developing pathways from short introductory programmes into full SVQ qualifications and progression opportunities.

Along the way, we have been incredibly lucky to have people and organisations believe in what we are trying to achieve.

Thomas continued:

“This award isn’t just mine and it isn’t just Haus Of Seisay’s.

“It’s for our trustees, staff, assessors and mentors who give so much to our young people. It’s for our partners, funders and everyone in the hairdressing industry who has donated, shared a post, delivered a masterclass or simply told us to keep going.

“And a massive thank you has to go to Wella and ghd for believing in what we are doing and helping us give our young people opportunities within this amazing industry.

“But most importantly, this is for our learners.

“To every care-experienced young person who has walked through the doors of Haus Of Seisay – this one is for you.

“You are the reason we started, the reason we keep pushing forward and the reason this award means so much.”

Winning Education Excellence is a very proud moment in Haus Of Seisay’s journey, but the charity sees it as another step towards something much bigger.

The aim remains the same as it was when the doors first opened in 2022: to make sure care-experienced young people have opportunities to gain qualifications, develop careers, build confidence and know that their care experience should never determine what they can achieve.

Thomas added:

“We are so proud to bring this award home to Paisley.

“Four years ago Haus Of Seisay was just an idea. Today we’re an award-winning education provider working with some absolutely incredible young people.

“There is still so much more we want to do, and we’re definitely not finished yet.”