Many years ago, as a teacher, I read an excellent book by Hywel Roberts entitled 'Oops, helping children learn accidentally'. That title rings true when working with the Ariel Trust.
Anyone popping in to the sessions that we recently ran for primary school on 'Grassing or Grooming?' could be forgiven for wondering if the children are actually learning! You would not see children sitting at desks, you wouldn't see children writing notes and you wouldn't see children sitting in silence listening to us delivering our session. Instead, you would see children laughing, playing 'splategory', singing silly songs, role playing, creating freeze frames and watching each other’s work.
One of the key things when tackling challenging issues with children and young people is to provide an environment in which they feel comfortable, confident and, above all, safe. Playing drama games helps achieve this and is a fundamental part of our workshop delivery. When children feel safe, they will talk, discuss ideas and issues and, in some cases, feel comfortable enough to voice their fears.
We recently delivered a workshop entitled 'Grassing or Grooming?' at a wonderful primary school. This tackled the challenging subject of children being exploited by older people, particularly in relation to delivering drugs packages. The aim was to provide children with the language they may need if ever they found themselves in challenging situations, how to recognise exploitation and where to go for help. All delivered through a drama medium. One moment that stood out to me was when we were having an informal chat with the children whilst sitting in a circle. We asked them why some children may not tell their parents if they got into difficulty. Some children talked about being afraid of getting into trouble then one boy spoke up quietly and said 'I wouldn't want to worry my mum.' This really hit home and was something that we talked about later in the parental engagement workshop. Parents were surprised to hear this and it was great to see so many of them reassure their children that they would rather know what was going on. They also took part in role plays to show their children how they may react and we talked about how conversations might go. At the end of the parental engagement session many parents commented that this had given them tools to have conversations at home with their own children.
Another moment that I enjoyed was working with a small group of lively pupils creating a freeze frame depicting part of the storyline we were looking at. One pupil was reluctant to get involved and was very distracted (the teacher informed us that the fact that he was even there was a success). I suggested he take on the role of leader in his group. His whole demeanor changed. He was excited and took the role very seriously making valuable suggestions to his group and showing a good understanding of the dynamics between the characters being shown. It became clear that he really did understand what was going on in the story and what the characters were feeling.
The children, staff and parents in this Primary school were a joy to work with. They had fun, laughed and learned a lot.
