Omnibus Theatre

Omnibus Theatre tell us how Kitchen Social has enabled them to continue their free holiday programme, Routes, and what it’s meant to the young people who attend.

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“Thanks to Kitchen Social’s ongoing support for our free school holiday programme Routes, we were able to make February half term another huge success!

For five days in the half term a group of eighteen 8 to 11 year olds came together to partake in our week-long drama a series of drama sessions.

The young people had been referred from local schools, school counsellors and family support workers, with some being from particularly vulnerable backgrounds. All were receiving free school meals at school and alongside the sessions enjoyed breakfast, healthy snacks and a delicious hot lunch.

The main aims of the week were for the young people to challenge themselves, improve group work and build confidence.

The outcome was a play that was written and performed entirely from their imaginations: Fantasy Kingdom.

Friends and family were invited to enjoy the performance and the young people were then awarded their very own ‘Omnibus Oscar’ and a certificate as a celebration of all they had achieved.

We are very pleased that all feedback suggests our aims were reached.  83% of the young people felt they had challenged themselves over the week and 94% felt they had improved their group work skills.

When asked to summarise their week in a sentence answers such as “It was the most fun I have ever felt!” and “I am speechless!” – this makes all the hard work worthwhile!

Parents/Carers also praised the impact of the week with one parent’s comment really standing out: “He believes more in team work and also accepting that there are people with different ideas and beliefs from his and it has to be respected.”

The collaborative process of the week can be very challenging and we are proud that Routes is providing opportunities for young people to learn valuable lessons like this. When asked if they had observed any other changes in the week highlights were comments such as “Confidence. So eager and excited to come” and “Doesn’t like early mornings normally. Couldn’t wait to get up and ready.”

It is with Kitchen Social’s support that we are able to create opportunities such as Routes. As an organisation with no source of guaranteed funding, every donation we receive makes a huge difference in our capacity to provide accessible participation opportunities to our local young people.”