All is well that ends well! As CSIE approached its 38th birthday, the situation was looking rather gloomy. As we have mentioned in recent news stories, like many charities, CSIE has been facing financial uncertainty prior to Covid-19 rearing its ugly head, however with the global pandemic, things were looking particularly troublesome. CSIE was facing the very real possibility that we could not continue to operate. Our director, Artemi, managed to save the charity from closing immediately in her heroic efforts in the ‘2.6 challenge’ where she ran 26 x 2.6 miles. This sustained the charity for a little longer, however, there is only so much running Artemi could do and this was not a long term solution.
Inclusive Solutions wanted to do something to help, so they offered a PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) session to CSIE as a ‘Many Happy Returns’ birthday gift. As they describe on their website, PATH is a facilitated group person-centred planning session. It draws on people’s ability to imagine different futures for individuals or an organisation such as CSIE, and from this vision or dream, it is possible to plan backwards to tell a story about how that vision came into being. The development of a graphic runs throughout the planning process, which once completed can be used to focus on the path ahead. CSIE trustees were incredibly grateful to Inclusive Solutions for this wonderful gift.
On 30th June 2020, nearly 40 CSIE friends and allies gathered online to take part in the PATH session for CSIE. Everyone in attendance was passionate about improving inclusion, and the energy in the virtual room was palpable. CSIE had drawn together CSIE supporters and allies from across the world, united by a desire to find a way to find a way for CSIE not only to survive, but to be able to thrive. The PATH session was an opportunity to celebrate CSIE’s achievements over the last 38 years, whilst also thinking about how CSIE can have a successful future supporting inclusion and challenging exclusionary practices.
The session was facilitated by Colin Newton and Elliot Newton. At the start of the event colleagues from the IMAS II project presented CSIE with a surprise gift card, pictured here. The original IMAS project (IMproving ASsistance in inclusive educational settings) was launched in November 2016 and the current follow-up IMAS II project in October 2018. The project focuses on the education of disabled children and young people in Europe, with the aim of establishing a common framework for how assistance should be provided to support learning and participation in schools. With this gift card, the IMAS II team wanted to express their gratitude to Artemi and CSIE for their continued contribution to the project, in the form of a graphic with quotes from all partners setting out hope for continued collaboration in the future. This introduction set the tone for the rest of the session, which drew together passionate advocates for inclusion, who could collectively work together to develop a vision for CSIE to be able to continue the vitally important role we play in developing best practice frameworks and resources that promote and enable inclusive practices, in order to improve how education settings include disabled pupils.
The three-hour-long session flew by, with whole group discussions being supplemented by small breakout groups which were organised to make sure that everyone had an opportunity to speak. Fortunately the technology did not fail us! As the ideas flowed and the graphic started to form, it was clear to see how everyone in attendance valued CSIE and our work, and that the PATH session was just the start of everyone working together, with a renewed sense of purpose and a shared vision. Not only was it important for CSIE to become self-sustainable and to have clarity of purpose and a plan for moving forward, but it was necessary to work together to change the dialogue, to challenge perspectives and to work collaboratively to improve inclusion. At the end of the session, a number of actions were agreed, including the need for friends and allies to continue to meet and work together.
After the session, CSIE has also received two donations, which will not only ensure CSIE is safe for now, but also will give CSIE staff, trustees, and friends and allies, the time and space to review the wonderful ideas that were generated in the PATH session and to build a business plan which will lead to CSIE being able to move towards the vision imagined. We will be taking up offers of help from those who attended the session, for which we are very grateful indeed. We know there are many more advocates for inclusion who were not able to attend the event. If you wish to contact us to discuss how you can support CSIE in its next stages, we would love to hear from you. Alternatively, please do look at our website for the myriad of other ways you can support our work.
Thank you to Inclusive Solutions for their generous gift of hope for CSIE, and to everyone who attended the PATH event and helped us picture what our future can look like. We look forward to working with you all to have an impact and to improve inclusion for disabled children and young people.
