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good practice |
The Learning
& Skills Council of Tyne & Wear were looking for a training
session designed to improve communication between the different organisations
who work with disaffected young people and at the same time offer
them a chance to share good practice.
Gibber designed a full day programme using drama, role play, forum
theatre and interactive games to provoke discussion between the delegates.
Not only did this facilitate the sharing of good practice but also
allowed the
delegates to explore new ways of dealing with difficult situations
in a safe and supportive environment. By working together the delegates
developed a deeper understanding of each others roles and an awareness
of the importance of co-operation between organisations. Some of the
topics that were covered included: |
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• Dealing with aggressive behaviour
• Bullying
• Drugs and alcohol
• Equal opportunities
• Confidentiality
• Conflict resolution
• One on one interviews. |
It was
sited early in the development stage that the delegates may feel
anxious about taking part in role play situations and therefore
come to the workshop with a slight apprehension about the session.
It was important that we eased these anxieties from the beginning
and reassured them that no one would be put on the spot or made
to feel uncomfortable. Through the use of humour and team building
exercises we were able to reassure the delegates and dispel any
preconceptions that they may have had about drama based training.
Professional role players were used to present difficult scenarios
in a forum theatre setting. The delegates were able to observe the
role play and as a group work out different ways of resolving the
situation without the added pressure of being in it. Although there
were opportunities in the workshop for the delegates to ‘role
play’ this was never insisted upon and was not a requirement
of the workshop.
If any of the delegates felt it might help their own or the groups
development they were invited to take the place of the professional
role players.
The workshop took account of the different learning styles and provided
a relaxed atmosphere for everyone to participate in their own way.
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| 12 workshops
were run for a total of 85 delegates and at the end of every workshop
the delegates were asked to fill out a questionnaire to find out their
opinions about the Gibber course. |
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| 100% of
delegates agreed that the workshop should be repeated in the future. |
Delegate comments:
“Enjoyable and relaxed
day. Well done. Innovative way of approaching these topics.”
“The day was valuable in terms of sharing
experience and expertise. The role plays and sketches were presented
and organised in a very professional and thoughtful way. Real insight
was shown into the type of behaviour exhibited by disaffected young
people.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this training session.
It tackled very serious issues in a positive and interesting way.”
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| The workshop
has been repeated several times to a wider audience including Personal
advisors, Teachers, Careers advisors and Education Welfare Officers. |
