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KYT: learning new tricks

They say ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. Well, in these ‘unprecedented’ times, we at Kindred HQ have had to learn some new skills very quickly in order to carry on doing what we do best!

At Kindred, we take our responsibility for the development of our young people very seriously and we also realise what a positive effect belonging to our group can have on the mental wellbeing of those young people. It gives them confidence and helps develop their self-esteem and many other factors that help young people become better adults and better citizens. HOWEVER, what became apparent to us very quickly was the increased level of support that our young people and their families needed to get them through this time. This was never more apparent than when we spoke to our eldest group, KYT 4, about how they were and it was obvious that many of them, particularly the ones that should have been taking GCSE’s and A Levels were not in a good place. They were lost, unsure, frustrated and at that point had received very little information about what the future would hold.

What became very clear, very quickly, was how much their sessions with us meant to them and the fact that we might be able to give them some kind of normality could have a hugely positive effect on their mental state. So, this meant very quickly putting together a virtual platform, not only for our staff to be able to work with the students, but also for those students to be able to see each other, work together and most importantly, laugh together! One parent contacted us to say that on the first Saturday of our online classes, her children were awake and dressed in their KYT uniform waiting for the day to start for the first time since lockdown. One of these children then actually contacted us and said that she had felt like herself again simply by being able to ‘come along’ to her normal KYT sessions. This kind of affirmation is incredible and is the most important reason behind what we do, all year round, but even more so at this difficult time.

Within three days of the online platform being established, all 15 of our weekly groups had their own sessions, an incredible achievement. Also, our staff showed an incredible level of dedication to making these sessions work, which highlighted their unbelievable commitment to not only our company, but most importantly, to our members. This work added to the incredible support from the parents of our members that has not only helped us through this difficult time but has also made us determined to come back bigger, stronger and better than ever when lockdown is no more.

Summer is our busiest time of the year, and at the time of writing it is fully our intention to make this year’s Summer School bigger and better than ever before and after so long ‘locked down’ in our houses over the past few months, it will bring young people together (they don’t even need to be part of our weekly classes!) to work, play and learn in a supportive and fun environment, while also enjoying the fruits of that work in producing some fantastic musicals on the Key Theatre stage.

Our Summer Musical, Cats, which is produced by the team behind last year’s smash-hit Legally Blonde and featuring the most talented young people from Peterborough and its surrounding areas, will provide the perfect release for everyone to come together, enjoy themselves and see our amazing young people doing what they do best.

Details of Summer School and Cats can be found at Kindred’s website www.kindreddrama.com or you can email for more details. Cats tickets are available through www.vivacity.org

Image: www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/woman
Woman photo created by nikitabuida

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