A group of young people have created a video that helps explain the Resilience Revolutions' understanding of inequalities.
Watch and see why it is so important to not just 'beat the odds' but also 'change the odds'.
Stories from the Revolution
You cannot furlough young people's lives blog.feb 2021.pdf
The Resilience Revolution has many brave, innovative and exciting aspects to it. One such element is The Friend for Life project (FFL). Matching Our Children, those in the care of Blackpool Council, with adult volunteers to be friends for life.
The friends will have fun, go on adventures, offer advice and support but most of all genuinely care for each other, on the good days and the not so good days. Our very first friendship was between Craig and Simon. They have been friends for over a year, we asked them to tell us how it’s been for them.
Craig: Claire asked me to help the very first training day for volunteers who wanted to be a Friend for Life. Once I got there I met Simon and a few other people. During the break I talked to Claire about the tough time I was having at home. During this conversation I asked her if I could have a Friend for Life. I really liked Simon, even though he went out during the break to go Pokémon hunting. In the Friend for Life project it’s the young people like me who get to pick, not the adults. I picked Simon. I am so glad that I did ask for him. I am really glad and thankful that he is my Friend for life.
Simon: When I attended the FFL training day, I really didn’t know what to expect. I actually felt rather outnumbered by the young people in the room and rather nervous if I am being completely honest. Over the course of the day, I worked with all six of the young people from the Young Person’s Executive Group. They were delivering the training alongside the adults, it was refreshing as I began to understand co-production and what an important part of the project it was. All of the young people made an impression on me. It’s fair to say that Craig made a very big impression on me, especially when he shared his experiences of being in care. Little did I know at that stage that Craig would later become my FFL. And I am so glad that he is!
Craig: Our first meeting that we had together was in Costa. I remember that I got a Rudolf reindeer cake. Although we had met at the training day we had a member of staff, Hailey, with us. .
Simon: It felt like we had to wait for ages for our first meeting to take place due to bureaucracy such as insurance etc. and I was actually starting to worry that Craig might get fed up and go off the idea. When we finally got the go ahead we went to Costa with Hailey and it felt to me like Craig and I bonded immediately.
Craig: At that first meeting we talked with Hailey about what goals we wanted to achieve in our friendship. Our first target was quite simple. To have fun, go on adventures and do things that we could not do alone. And it has been a great journey so far and I hope that it will only get better from here. We do activities such as: going to the cinema, going out for meals, bowling, going to car shows etc. The activities that we do are always enjoyable and interesting to both of us. We usually like the same things and we also decide together what we are going to do, like friends should do.
Simon: The first target seemed pretty obvious: we wanted simply to have fun together and be adventurous. We talked about things we had in common and came up with a list of ideas for what we might do over our first few meetings. This is easy I thought...
Then... bang! Craig hit me with probably the most daunting target I’ve ever been set: “what I really want to get out of this is to learn to trust adults again because I’ve been let down my whole life.” Wow! No pressure there then! It was at this point that I think I realised fully for the first time the huge importance and responsibilities that the FFL programme involves. The training had been great, but how do you prepare someone for a moment like that?
Craig: Being able to trust – I didn’t always trust people like I do now because everyone that I had trusted at that time had “gone”. I remember that Hailey gave us a sheet with 3 boxes for we had to put three targets in. One of the targets was for me to be able to trust in adults again. I guess I was kind of brave to say and write that target.
There was a time during our friendship where I had a “wobble” at home and I did not want to go back. Claire called Simon, he came in and we sat in the Sunshine Room in Whitegate Manor and talked about my crisis at home. We also went Pokémon hunting (caught loads of Pokémon) and it cheered me up. When we got back to the Manor we looked at the Resilience Framework and checked off all of the Resilient Moves that we had made. It turns out that we had made 26 Resilient Moves out of 42.
Simon: One day I was at work in Blackburn when Claire (FFL Lead) telephoned me to ask if there was any chance I could come back to Blackpool early as Craig had asked for me following a problem at home. Fortunately I didn’t have any further meetings that day so was able to do so. I got to WGM and Craig was in the Sunshine Room talking to his Resilience Coach, Sharon. She had already tried to calm Craig down but he was still quite agitated. We talked for a while inside but then decided to go for a walk and catch some Pokémon! This simply activity seemed to really help Craig regain his equanimity and when we got back we took a look at the Resilience Framework. We highlighted all the resilient moves we’d just made and were amazed to see we’d hit 26 out of 42 of them! Go Legends!
Craig: Our friendship has been great but sometimes there are some challenges. For me one of the biggest challenges is moving in with new carers. Not all Foster Carers have heard of the FFL project and don’t always understand the need for a FFL. We do manage to overcome this, as I can work with my carers to help them understand how much I need Simon and how happy I am with him as my FFL.
Simon: For me the biggest challenge has been dealing with different foster carers with very different understandings of our friendship. Craig’s foster carer at the time our friendship began was very aware of HeadStart and the FFL programme and has two other foster children matched with friends. He’s had several different carers since then. I hadn’t really understood how many changes there could be. I’ve had to build relationships with those Foster Carers so that our friendship can continue. Although this can be a challenge, I feel this in some ways has made the friendship even stronger as we have both had to be strong and determined, resilient even, and it’s been a testament to our shared commitment to our friendship.
As part of PhD research into the impact of the FFL programme, we have both been asked to rate our progress towards our shared targets on a scale of 1-10. We both found this remarkably easy: 10 out of 10 in all areas! Go Legends! Given the importance of the learning to trust again challenge, and our role as ambassadors for the project, this is quite an achievement which we are proud of, but honestly it’s been surprisingly easy. All we have done is become genuine friends. Inter-generational friends but genuine friends first and foremost.
Craig: Looking back at the targets we set, being able to trust Simon, I feel that that target was achieved a long time ago. I have also now been able to trust more people. The second target was to have fun and go on adventures which we have also achieved. Going to the cinema is always fun and going on Pokémon walks and stroking alpacas is good for the adventures. It is also adventurous and fun when we try something new. E.g. trying new foods. The third target was to become Friend for Life Legends and we have obviously achieved that target a long time ago. Mine and Simon’s friendship is always going to be a thing and nobody can ever change that.
The bigger impact for me is I can handle things more emotionally that I ever was able to before I had Simon as my Friend for Life. I am also in a much better place in school that I was before Friend for Life. Me and Simon will carry on our friendship and continue to grow as friends. We will continue to meet and always be there for each other if needed. I would encourage other people to have a Friend for Life.
Well in my role as a Resilience Coach every day is different and that’s what I love about it! Getting to work alongside young people from all different backgrounds, on a daily basis, is one of the reasons working for the Resilience Revolution is a real pleasure.
Our aim at is to make Blackpool a more resilient town by creating a whole-town approach and building a Resilience Revolution.
Lots of our young people in Blackpool have grown up in constellated disadvantage and therefore face many challenges that can have a massive impact on their day to day life. As a Resilience Coach, the part I play in this is working alongside young people and parents/carers across the town to support them with their transition from primary to secondary school, as this can be a very difficult time for some young people, especially those who have grown up having to face more challenges than others. As well as supporting young people with their transition to secondary school, I’m also part of a team tasked with challenging the inequalities within the system, such as poverty, accessibility and equity, in an attempt to level out the playing field and reduce the adversity within Blackpool. This means that in the future we should have less young people growing up facing adversity.
So how do I do this? Well, I support young people, helping them to build their resilience by working from an asset based approach (focusing on all the positives in life). One of the 7 fundamentals of the Resilience Revolution.
Using our resilience framework, which we call ordinary magic (regular everyday acts that result in magical changes ) we help young people find a sense of belonging, cope with any problems they may face and find out more about themselves and those around them. In terms of the bigger change, this is all about looking at how we can make situations better for everyone, not just the individuals I work alongside.
What I love most about my role is that we work co-productively with young people and parents/carers.
Co-production for me is all about levelling the playing field, it’s listening to everybody and giving everyone a voice, its working together to reach a common goal. We know that people’s lived experience brings a unique set of expertise and sometimes, as practitioners, we don’t enlist these experts enough. I do my best to ensure that young people and parents/carers not only co-lead their support plans, but have opportunities to get involved in the Resilience Revolution as equal partners, to campaign for a better Blackpool.
Influence others to work differently where needed and develop resources for everyone to benefit from. Our aim is simple, to not be needed anymore. I know what you’re thinking, but that’s your job gone then? Well yes, but what that means is that young people and parents/carers are living in a town that offers the same opportunities to everyone, where schools have Resilient Therapy built into their curriculum and it shapes their ethos and core values, simply a more resilient town.
In my opinion everybody growing up in Blackpool should get the same opportunities to achieve their goals, regardless of their background. If I can be part of this process, this Resilience Revolution, achieving social justice for all then I will be immensely proud. But being a Resilience Coach is only one piece of what is a big jigsaw and this jigsaw is not finished. So we need YOU! The more people we can get involved in the Resilience Revolution the bigger the revolution will become and the bigger the revolution the bigger the changes – for the better!
This took us the Brathay Hall for 3 days of fun-filled activity, team building and co-development of the 2020 International Resilience Revolution Conference to be held in Blackpool.
In August 2019, we went on a residential trip to the University of Cumbria to further develop our research skills.
A group of young people created a video about consent, what it means, why it is important and what your rights are.
Families
Blackpool SGO Group - FAQ Oct 2020 PDF.pdfBlackpool Special Guardianship Support Group
The week of 5th October 2020 marks Kinship Carers Week. You will find useful links and information on this page, plus stories and experiences from some of our Special Guardian's (SGO's) and Kinship Carers.
Click here to view our Frequently Asked Questions Guide for new and prospective Special Guardians.
Hear one of the Parents of the Revolution talking about their experiences in and her top tips for a resilient family.
A Family Resilience Framework is available here
Here is a co-produced guide for parents and carers which includes tips and ideas about supporting family wellbeing and resilience
Schools
RR Schools TRUST document.pdfRR Schools TRUST 2 document.pdfCOVID-19 and Returning to School
Co-Leaders of the Resilience Revolution, including young people, parents and carers, teachers, workers and academics have been thinking about ways a return to school, for more pupils, could be the best that it could be and support the mental health of all involved.
Our intention was to co-produce a set of recommendations for schools to use when considering above - to capture the voice and opinions of young people and their families as they prepare to re-enter school. These recommendations will help schools to respond to the immediate concerns of children and young people to allay any worries they may have and work with them for a smooth transition to new circumstances .
We started this work before the government's announcement surrounding a wider opening on 1st June, and have continued at pace since, with a clear focus for us to use the co-production process to have some useful material into schools before June 1st.
The attached documents are a set of co-produced recommendations for schools on things we know will help young people and families in this ‘new normal’. Using these initial recommendations as a springboard for further work, schools can put young people at the heart of what they are aiming to do in these complex circumstances. More materials will follow as our co-produced research evolves.
1st June 2020
Bounce Forward is a 10-week universal, resilience programme, which was commissioned by HeadStart.
Introducing the famous duo, Ethan and Warren, who attended Anchorsholme Primary Academy.
This vlog was co-produced by Ethan, Warren and Anchorsholme Academy to show how resilient the staff had been after experiencing a severe flooding at their school.
If I had to use 3 words to describe the conference they would be young person led.
It was an absolute delight to attend the Roseacre Hub official opening on 14th December 2018. There was an air of excitement as we walked into the school. Members of the Roseacre Resilience Committee were anxiously waiting to show us to our seats. We were seated in the hall and the committee told their story, the story of creating the Roseacre Hub!
Our Resilience Coaches Joanne, Lorie and apprentice Josh are working with groups of students in Anchorsholme, Bispham Endowed and Mereside Academy. They are using the Resilience Framework to devise strategies to help pupils become more resilient and become active members of the Resilience Revolution.
We’ve all heard of the Power Rangers, yes? Well now we have an even better version right here in Blackpool – The Resilient Rangers! Instead of fighting crime, they are fighting to make things better for all pupils by encouraging St. John’s C of E to be as resilient as possible.
Norbreck Primary has been part of the Academic Resilience Approach for a year now. They have undergone resilience training, audited the school’s resilience and implemented their resilience action plan. In fact, most of their targets have been achieved. Well done Norbreck! The staff and students are determined to ensure Norbreck is a resilient school where everyone can flourish.
It was a salutary moment for the Leadership Team at one Blackpool school. Both the Headteacher and SLT prided themselves on their commitment to the personal development and well-being of their young people.
HeadStart is working in partnership with all Blackpool Secondary Schools and as part of HeadStart we have been measuring wellbeing in young people and will continue doing so over our five-year period.
Training every staff member within a school is really beneficial in terms of the whole school having a shared understanding of self-harm as a coping strategy.
The Pyramid of Need gives a snapshot of each child’s internal and external landscape. One school has successfully implemented this assessment and planning tool to provide for the complex needs of all the children in their care.
Revoe Learning Academy is a school with a high transient population in an area with a poor socio-economic index.
Training
Training every staff member within a school is really beneficial in terms of the whole school having a shared understanding of self-harm as a coping strategy.
Blackpool Council in conjunction with Headstart is offering a bespoke PICK ‘N’ MIX training package for your staff which you can tailor to the needs of your school and the young people in Blackpool.