This excercise was used as the starting point for all of the workshops. The children were shown a large outline map of Charnwood. The different areas within Charnwood were pointed out to them. They were asked questions about the meaning of the term 'borough', differences between the areas - rural and urban - reasons why they thought Loughborough had become the main town, etc. It was a good starting point, and helped to place the area within a context. One of our key aims was to raise and extend awareness of the leisure and recreational facilities that already exist within Charnwood which children may not be aware of or able to access. The activity following on from this involved the children in decorating their own portion of this map (an outline traced off and cut up for each group). Sometimes they worked singly, sometimes in pairs using a variety of media. The children were encouraged to evolve their own ideas of what they'd like to see in terms of leisure/after-school resources and activities within Charnwood. Throughout the project, different methods were used for involving the children in discussion. Methods changed depending on group sizes, individual and collective responses. Whole class discussions, circle groups, smaller groups and one-to-one were all used to good effect, and a lot of information was elicited from the children, both verbal and written. In some ways, the whole class discussions may not have been so successful as the children tended to be highly influenced by information from others. This was prevalent especially amongst the younger age-groups. It was easier to have one-to-ones in the more informal settings, where relationships had a chance to develop more fully, but in all instances it's true to say that we found the children to be engaging, friendly and helpful. Role-play was a very successful method of getting the children involved, as was the ideal village scenario. The children seemed to become more aware of issues; the situations became more real and inhibitions were forgotten. This was a direct result of their creative involvement. This project gave quick results in ascertaining information connected to what children are already doing after school. During this excercise the workshop leaders went round the group talking to the children individually about what they do after school. It was here that we were able to begin building more substantial relationships with the children. The children were split up into different 'camps' - those for and those against a particular proposal to develop facilities in their area (town or village). One of the adults then came into the room 'in role' as a town planner, to attend a meeting where the 'inhabitants' of that area (i.e. the children) could ask questions about the proposal. Ideas were then recorded. Leaf Shapes: These were done in response to specific questions that the children were asked. They'd copied the first part of the sentence from the board, then completed it, e.g.: When I grow up... I like... The things I most enjoy are... I am happy when... If I had lots of money I... When I was little... I get home by... I get worried because... My ideal place... The questions related to the children's dreams, wishes, hopes and fears, both in the present and in the future, and the sort of things they would really like to do if there were no barriers, and if they lived in an ideal world. Worries about friends and relationships with parents and other adults, and concerns about safety and drugs also came to the fore. Issues over money, lack of opportunity and cultural expectations also limit choices that children can make. (Many of their responses were written down on paper.) We got back a fair amount of information, e.g. some wanted to give their kids things that they didn’t have/get. Some felt safe with an adult around; others were happy when they were with their families/friends. This was a good exercise which elicited feedback from most children. The children were asked to use their imagination and to draw their dream building. This building was designed to hold the child’s dream after-school activity and would be somewhere they would really like to go and visit on a regular basis. Again, the children enjoyed the freedom of expression as you can see from some of the images. They really started to think about what they would do given the choice and came up with some innovative designs and ideas. Depending on time, the children were asked to then draw the inside of the building which again brought many interesting ideas. The children were split into smaller groups for this game. It's based on the well-known memory game 'I went to market and bought...' and each child had to remember and include what the previous child said. In this workshop the content was based on issues relevant to the 'Dreaming4Real' project. It was devised as a warming-up exercise and as an aid to lowering the children's inhibitions so that they could more freely express ideas and feelings. Although the game worked well initially and it got children thinking freely, as it went on the children became bored and started to get a bit silly . This exercise worked better at the start of a day to warm the children up rather than as a mainstream activity. After the workshop leaders had built relationships with the children and barriers had been broken down, the children talked freely about things and this was probably the best way of ascertaining information. Although we have taken this view we also think that it was through all the activities that we had done previously that the children’s thoughts were alive to the issues. We had built sound relationships with them which allowed them to talk freely (without them thinking they were being judged or marked on what they were saying). Children often ‘talk through’ their parents, guardians and peers thoughts, opinions and ideas and it is only when you allow them to think and talk freely in an unpressured environment they start to think more independently. The speed writing informed us about what was most important and uppermost in children's minds. The children were given a two-minute time limit and invited to write whatever came into their thoughts during that time. Because they didn't have to concern themselves with any of the conventions of writing, they could express themselves freely and this resulted in some frank revelations. Basic outline maps were drawn for the ideal village scenario. Previously, the children had drawn and cut out shapes of their ideal buildings. In groups of 10 or less, the children were asked to attach their cut-outs to toy building blocks and make signs of other buildings such as hospital, police station etc. They were then encouraged to place the various buildings on the map, and consider other amenities such as road networks, paths, cycle ways, parks etc. This generated much discussion about relationships between buildings, distance, problems of traffic congestion, and why things are placed where they are, and who makes these sorts of decisions. This exercise, although good, needed to be run towards the end of the workshops as the children needed a clearer understanding of after-school activities and the issues which arise around them. The children had a blank map, on which they were asked to place their dream building and services. In some ways this project wasn’t as successful as the other ones in ascertaining information, but it was good to see that children were at this stage thinking more independently and addressing issues. With more class time this method could be developed as a very useful tool for understanding children’s needs and relationships. The body outline of one child was drawn out on a large sheet of paper. The children had fun filling in the outline. They were then presented with a series of 14 laminated cards and asked to work collectively to place them in order of lesser and greater importance, in relation to the body outline. This could be done as a line at the side of the body outline or arranged around it, depending on available space. The topics presented to them all related to after school issues and activities. The information then had to be recorded on printed survey sheets. This exercise was good as it allowed the children to work collaboratively. The children had to sit and talk about their ideas and feelings towards certain issues that arise when doing activities after school. Obviously the children had different thoughts and ideas about each card so they had to discuss each one and democratically put them in order. This project was a good insight into how children think and what is actually important to them. One group were not so responsive to this excecise but generally it produced a high level of involvement and was a good source of information.