We’ve had a great start to our new project, The Lounge. First of all, we enjoyed meeting with each year group bubble at The Emmbrook School to discuss the idea with them and give them lots of time to think and tell us what they would like The Lounge to look like.
At Soulscape, we always seek to be led by the young people themselves, so that our projects provide what they really need and address the issues that truly matter to them. The Emmbrook students have been great partners in shaping their new space with us.
We’ve had to think about how to run a low-pressure drop-in space but still keep students within their bubbles. Our solution is to open The Lounge through the lunch break, with two ‘shifts’ each day. This means, for example, that Year 10s can drop in during the first half of Monday lunch time, and Year 7s can drop in during the last half. Other year groups get a turn on different week days.
Our aim is to create a space to “come as you are”, rest, and – if you want to – talk to our volunteers or explore an activity like the one below.
The team set up 12 of these jars in The Lounge to prompt discussion about recognising how we’re feeling. They had great conversations with the students about what feelings might be inside the different jars.
One student this term summed it up by saying: “Thank you for just listening to me.” We are really looking forward to seeing how The Lounge develops over the rest of the year.
