that it meant they didn’t mix with young people from other backgrounds. “The second project for Stories of Care, that mix developed quite organically. The project that we deliver is inspired by the personal background of the lead artist. For Sophie, it was all about empowering care leavers. For the second project Sophie chose me as the lead artist, and my background is from a low- income, single-parent family. It meant we were able to widen the application process to include both care leaders and people from single parent families. We have this cohort of people who might not meet in other circumstances, and it really made for some rich and fruitful conversations. There were lots of moments of self-discovery in that group.”
Those moments of self-discovery came about because of the collaborative approach to storytelling and workshops. Oliver and Sophie were keen to ensure all spaces felt safe, and all interactions were respectful. “The first workshop is all about making sure that the space is unique to them. They get to set their own values so they can have a space where they can express themselves without judgement. They get to lead that and create those values, so it is their space. Immediately, as you enter you know it is a safe space and there
won’t be judgement.”
With the space set, the workshops move to the practicalities of writing and understanding how to frame the stories for young readers. Many of the participants were already writing in some form, but none had ever written for children, and Oliver explains: “When it comes to storytelling, there are certain steps that need to be learned and embedded. So if you don’t understand the responsibility of being a writer for children, or the importance of messaging and theme, then moving into character is a bit pointless, because you don’t have the purpose for the character.”
He adds that Stories for Care also wants to deliver a lasting legacy for participants, helping them to develop and sustain a career. Oliver says: “As well as the workshop activities, we also did research trips – it’s a professional development programme as well as a writing course. We ask them to think about where they want to be in one year, three years and five years and create plans. We can help them with our network of contacts and some of this group have gone on to work in television as a producer, acting. We are using our connections to help the young people step into better opportunities.”
A third “chapter” is already being planned and Sophie and Oliver are also looking at how to shift Stories of Care to a more
sustainable, charity-funded model that should help to secure its long term success. The result of the hard work by all participants is the latest Stories for Care book, Tales of The Bold, The Brave and The Beautiful, featuring 12 writers – available at
www.storiesofcare.co.uk. Read the experiences of six of the participants on the following pages of Pen&inc. PEN&INC.
Autumn-Winter 2022
PEN&INC. 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
