Three days a week Diane the counsellor sits in the above space "not mine" she says "this is the children's space". Originally Diane had been a basic support TA, but after finding herself more and more drawn into pastoral situations, she proposed a job change and no-one has ever looked back.
The children can come and visit Diane anytime they like, to share whatever is on their mind - one had already come to her for the first 25 min of the first day of term because they'd lost their uncle over the Easter (I would like to stress this is NOT at all related to my earlier story).
In addition to the open visits, Diane has 7 other children scheduled in for today.
In the picture above you can see No-Face Nigel who helps the children to express how they are feeling. Opposite Nigel is one child's goodbye tree that he has been working on all year. The whole tree has been made by him and added to with various thoughts and items to say goodbye to his Dad (this is the third death i've encountered in 2 hours). It also contains blank thoughts for other children who have lost someone or something. The White notice reads "This tree is cursed. Do Not Touch. CCTV is watching you" - The lad has set up a shoe box with a felt-tip lens pointing at the tree.
Unseen to you are about 10-20 'worry pots' hidden around the area. If a child has a worry they can write it down and put it in the worry pot until they feel like getting it out. The children hide the pot where-ever they like, Diane has no involvement in that side and doesn't touch them til the children are ready.
All this impresses me a great deal, and reminds me that talking is not the best way to express emotion. This maybe a problem for me as i'm a natural conversationalist, and my Chaplaincy role does not have a focal point like Diane's meeting place.
…where does this leave me?
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