The Return of Group Work
Our Children’s Resilience Project has been supporting children and young people on a 1:1 basis across East Lothian since May 2021. They recently had the opportunity to hold our first Children’s Resilience Group, providing peer support through group work to children and young people in the local community.
As part of Circle’s East Lothian team the Children’s Resilience Project will work with children and young people in families where
there is a history of parental substance use. They are also affected by economic, social and health inequalities, often with poor living conditions, debts, poor physical and mental health, as well as social isolation and a lack of family support.
The project will build on the current one to one support the team offers to children and young people to increase their understanding of parental addiction, through relationship and asset-based practice, using a range of resources. They will also help identify and increase children’s coping strategies and resilience by building on their interests, strengths, skills and increasing their social capital.
Through a variety of activities, we want to ensure that all the children and young people feel included in a group and are able to take part. Our aim is to encourage the children to see the group as a safe space to talk and socialise with others from across East Lothian that they may not meet otherwise. The group activities also focus on building self-esteem and confidence and encourage the children and young people to take ownership of the group by choosing what activities they would like to do.
The first group, held last week in Tranent, included games, arts and crafts such as painting plant pots and rocks to decorate their houses and gardens, sensory activities such as making slime (which was a big hit!) and some football outside (until the rain started). We all shared a picnic lunch and really enjoyed creating some very impressive fruit skewers afterwards.
As we are now heading into a new school year our objective will be to continue the Children’s Resilience Group as an ‘after-school’ activity while continuing our regular 1:1 work with each child and young person.
If you can then please make a donation to help continue our group work: