Kingsway School children had been receiving facilitated drama workshops from The Ariel Trust around our resource Send Me a Selfie. The school told us that parental and carer engagement in school was very low and were reluctant for an engagement workshop to take place. Ariel fought to be allowed to facilitate a workshop for families. This was attended by 10 carers, and their children.
In the workshop young people bonded with their parents and carers through shared drama activities, and adults shared experiences and advice with one another. Afterwards, a mother and a grandpa (unrelated) decided to stay behind for a reflective discussion with facilitators.
The Grandpa shared that he has a difficult relationship with his grandchild’s parent. At first he struggled to physically take up space in the workshop, even hesitating to sit down at the table due to his belief that he ‘wasn’t really involved enough in the child’s life to be important’. Through the discussion he was encouraged to reframe this. He was reminded that he was present now, showing up and engaging in the workshop. He began to understand the importance of wider safeguarding networks for children, and to see himself as part of that. A mother of another child told him: “As a grandparent you should know you are really important to that child.”
This peer to peer validation improved his confidence and created a bond in the group. This Grandpa’s view of himself transformed from "awkward and uncertain" to valuable and protective, giving him the confidence to perform this trusted role outside of the session and into the future.
