Going Forward with Own It!
11 January 2021
Going Forward with Own It! – Young people developing on-line, interactive resources where they own their decisions on risk-taking behaviours
One of the fundamental strengths of our Going Forward Project is the way in which our sessions consistently complement and enhance the core aims and activities of the organisations that we work in partnership with.
Throughout Autumn 2020, we worked in partnership with West Lothian Council’s Skills Training Programme to pilot Own It!. Own It! Is our new, on-line, interactive, virtual platform that encourages participants to learn from the potential positive and negative outcomes and consequences of risk-taking behaviours by supporting them to make decisions in a safe and supportive environment.
What did we do?
We worked with a group of 15 young people, over a period of 2 months.
We delivered a series of online sessions that focused on decision making around anti-social and risk-taking behaviours. Group members identified issues including resilience, alcohol, drugs, gambling, so we used our online sessions to explore how their choices on these issues directly affect their lives. By consistently adopting a harm-reduction approach to these issues, we aimed to reduce negative impacts on:
- Self-confidence
- health and wellbeing
- education / training
- employability
- relationships with their families, social networks and their local communities.
Following our online sessions, each group member was supported to develop an innovative, interactive, nonlinear digital story – their own Own It! resource. By drawing on the learning from the groupwork sessions, and their own lived experience of risk taking behaviours, our group members were able to design, develop and tell their own story in an effective and authentic way. One of the pilot Own It! resources developed by the West Lothian Council Skills Training group can be accessed here: https://fastforward.itch.io/the-start
What happens to the new resources now?
Access to these, and other, Own It! resources will be available on the soon to be launched Peer Inspiration Projects Scotland (PIPS) website. The core aim of the new website will be to showcase new resources, share resources to young people and provide them with the opportunity to explore choices on risk-taking behaviours in a safe, experiential way.
What are people saying about it?
This pilot project has given young people an opportunity creatively develop innovative, interactive resources that will empower other young people to make better choices and decisions.
Miriam Georgeson, Manager of the West Lothian Council Skills Training Programme told us that:
“The Skills Trainees who took part have really benefited from this project which engaged them in developing knowledge around risk taking behaviours before then using this knowledge, with their own life experiences, to develop the storylines and the consequences of different choices made which embedded their learning. I thoroughly recommend the training, and the project, as the young people enjoyed and learned from it.”
Feedback from young people involved with the project has been really encouraging:
- “loved how spontaneous the sessions were”
- “Sessions were really interesting”
- “Feels really good leaving a legacy”
- “It’s been great to be in a group where we feel like we have achieved something”
- “With new knowledge comes better decisions”
- “I’m squandering less on drink at the weekends!”
- “The sessions have been so informative, I’ve learned loads”
- “Helped me to realise how my decisions can impact me and other people”
David Dodds, West Lothian Council’s Executive Councillor for Education told us:
“The Own It! project is a fantastic scheme, which aims to help our young people and encourage good decision-making. It’s vital we do all we can to support our young people to achieve their full potential, and understanding the potential positive and negative impact of their actions is a key part of this.”
In addition to the excellent feedback given, we were encouraged to see that the pilot project managed to gather recognition from local press:
If you would like to find out more about the Going Forward project, our Own It! resources or discuss ways in which we could work with your organisation to develop and deliver a programme of sessions tailored to the specific needs of the young people that you support, give us a call:
Kai Peacock: kai@fastforward.org.uk
Donald Lockhart: donald@fastforward.org.uk
Telephone: 0131 554 4300