At our second Iriss Skills Session, Dr Emily Whyte shared the creative and multi-disciplinary approach to working alongside care experienced young people, developed through her doctoral research at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).
As part of her participatory and voice-led methodology, Emily co-wrote a play - Healing Pitch - with four care experienced young people. The play weaves together their words, poems and stories, offering a creative retelling of their experiences of care, their love of football, and their journeys with mental health. More than a play, it is a way of ensuring that young people’s voices are not lost once the research is complete, and that their perspectives can inform how practitioners and policymakers think about care.
By watching Healing Pitch, we are invited to reflect not only on what needs to change within the care system to better support and empower children and young people, but also on how their authentic voices can be heard, valued and acted upon - without causing harm.
Having now hosted multiple screenings of the play, Emily sat down with Iriss’s Hannah Martin and Cieran (pictured above) who starred in Healing Pitch and is care experienced himself. They talk about the production of the play, how Cieran’s own experience was reflected in the work, and how Healing Pitch can be used for professional development and to improve practice.
You can find the piece in full here
