Roll up roll up...news on my project :) 'Chasing Paper Dreams'

My darlings,

My sincere apologies for neglecting you all for so long...whilst i've been letting my leg hairs grow (metaphor for me being incredibly lazy people!), i have also been busy with work, meeting up with friends, spending time with the family, etc.

I've been meaning to tell you all about my project i'm hoping to set up soon (Insha'Allah). It's been an idea of mine and has been lurking in the pipeline for quite some time now but as things seem to be finally progressing, i thought i'd take this opportunity to tell you a bit about it :)

What is Chasing Paper Dreams about?

Chasing Paper Dreams aims to target the pastoral needs of young women and provide a support network which enables them to fully access the education systems and all it has to offer and consequently realise their true potential.The project seeks to provide a nurturing environment in which they feel safe to dream; building self-esteem, aspirations and self awareness.

It operates at a school level, a voluntary organisation which young women can sign up to for an initial 12 week period. Chasing paper dreams provides weekly hour-long workshops which target perceived barriers to achievement, giving young women realistic and practical ways in which to overcome these in their own lives.

The content of later workshops is determined solely by the desires and needs of the young women involved, thus providing a truly individualised support network in a homogenous world, through which they may realise their dreams and ambitions however 'paper fragile' they may perceive these to be.

Why/ How did the idea for Chasing Paper Dreams become established?

Serveral reasons contributed towards this project. These are:

1) In light of recent Government spending cuts, the education system in this country (UK) is currently facing a massive reconstructuring of its funding, the magnitude of which has not been seen for many years. As a direct result, Children's Services Teams have been significantly downsized in the vast majority of boroughs across London and England. Countless more organisations providing invaluable services to young people have lost funding and are being forced to close altogether. The impact of this in schools has yet to be fully realised but one thing is certain; that the workload of schools and teachers will continue to increase in quantity and diversity.
The danger with this is that this, coupled with the evergrowing emphasis on academic achievement and exam results will mean that current levels of pastoral care in schools are less sustainable and the priority will shift to systems which directly target the raising of attainment levels. This represents a great concern for me as it is my strongly held belief that unless the pastoral and emotional needs of a young person are met, they will find it incredibly difficult to achieve, academically or otherwise.

2) My own experiences of the education system and growing up, as well as research conducted for my dissertation highlights the importance of services which target the pastoral needs of young people and provide a support network which enables them to fully access the education system and all it has to offer and consequently realise their true potential.

3) The emotional/ psychological needs and well-being of young people are often misunderstood, misrepresented or in many cases ignored completely. I believe the needs of young people should always be met and Chasing Paper Dreams aims to do just that. The importance of having dreams and aspirations will constantly be reinforced within the project as these are the foundations in which a young person is able to utilise to build a brighter future.

What will be the content of the workshops?

The main aim of the workshops will be to establish aspirations/ dreams the young women may have. The first 3-4 workshops will entail team building actitivities and discussions regarding social issues faced  by young people. This will enable the young women to build their self-esteem/ confidence, form new friendships/ trust between themselves and other members and learn invaluable life skills which they will be able to implement and utilise during their life course. Individual personal development plans will be made and this will feed into later workshops.

So there we have it people, you heard it here first. If you have any ideas or suggestions/ feedback for the project, please do comment below or drop me an email at chasingpaperdreams@hotmail.co.uk.

Ellister X

P.S Props to my soul sister Aisha for the on-going love and support...and of course with the name of the project! Mucho love to you sis x