The last few months have been an interesting time for us all. We have all had to deal with change in some shape or form. For the young people on the Breakthrough programme, this has also been their experience but amplified due to their circumstances. 

As we reflect on the uncertainties we have faced as adults during the coronavirus hysteria of 2020, we can only begin to imagine what it must have been like for a child of the state to grow up during this historical time.

What did lockdown mean for our children?

One of the most commonly referenced sources of stability for our children, namely school, still has no true certainty about it. Some of the children, due to their generalised label as ‘vulnerable’ were forced by their foster parents to travel to, attend and return from school every day throughout the lockdown. Many of us are still working from home and avoiding public transport to find our own certainty around feeling safe. What was it like for those children forced to travel each day? How safe did they feel? These are children who have had chaotic lives and value feeling safe above most things by definition.  

Most of us have the ability to meet with our family members now. As we reflect on what it was like to be locked down and unable to meaningfully connect with them in person, we are reminded that even before the lockdown most of our children on Breakthrough were already restricted to time they could spend with their biological families within do-called ‘contact’ agreements (drawn up by their social services). 

So it begs the question, what must it have been like to go from seeing Mum, Dad and siblings once bi-monthly, often supervised, to a short call on Zoom or Teams? 

When we gain perspective on what the lockdown was like for our children, it helps us to reframe our own experiences to bring about new feelings and insights towards our own circumstances. It wasn’t so bad after all was it? 

Taking control of our experiences and emotions

We believe that one of the most useful skills we teach is the ability to reframe an experience. That’s why we invited all of our participants to the first Saturday Link Up of this academic year at the end of August. Our Wellbeing and Career Development Manager Claudia worked extremely hard to ensure our provision was Covid secure and safe by implementing 15 protective measures and triple planning for all eventualities on the day. 

The theme was ‘post lockdown party’ and one of the most valuable workshops Claudia delivered was focusing on the young people’s reflections on the lockdown. Within this, she reminded all of our children what their top 5 character strengths were. Character strengths have derived from research around virtues and are a key aspect of contemporary positive psychology, the study of happiness and flourishing*. The children reflected on the lockdown in a positive light, some reframing their experiences enabling them to focus on what they had learnt and how they had applied their character strengths to overcome the challenges that this time presented for them. 

Looking at our circumstances and experiences through a lens of strengths can be a useful training tool in achieving the flexibility of thinking that is directly linked to the promotion of resilience. Empirically evidenced research has also highlighted a direct correlation between knowing what our strengths are, using them in meaningful ways and increased levels of emotional wellbeing and physical health.