Workshops
Thinking about the long-term future can feel incredibly daunting and something we rarely allow ourselves the time it deserves. I combine my drawing, facilitation techniques and advocacy skills to explore aspirations with individuals and groups using the Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) process.
A time-lapse video of Esther Springett facilitating and live illustrating a Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) workshop with a young person and their family at Project Art Works, UK, Hastings.
PLANNING ALTERNATIVE TOMORROWS WITH HOPE
PATH stands for Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope and is a globally recognised participatory planning tool that helps people to identify goals and break them down into achievable and realistic steps.
Person-centred
We are often so concerned with the ‘here’ and ‘now’ and immediate day-to-day decisions, that it feels impossible to step back and allow ourselves to dream. PATH provides a gentle and unpressurised space and permission to do just this, proving that planning can be accessible and fun!
Trust the Process
We start with creating the ‘North Star’ - the brightest star in the sky that will guide us on our PATH journey. This is where we dream big, we begin visualising a positive future, sharing how we want it to look, feel and sound. Then we work backwards and plan small achievable steps to guide us with a circle of support. What matters the most is prioritised first.
Dream Big
PATH encourages individuals and groups to deep-dive into future possibilities and take a long view. We leave tidy boxes and short-termism at the door and explore human connection, dream big and flip perceptions. My workshops nurture personal and collective growth, create space for positive change and reveal untapped potential.
Lived Experience
I have lived-experience of caring for a sibling with complex support needs and learning disabilities. As an advocate for people with learning disabilities and their carers, I have a grounding in the systems of support within education, health and social care. I bring this knowledge and understanding along with a playful illustration style to the PATH workshops I facilitate.
“An asset to any family venturing the stepping stones to PATH.”
Mandy, Parent
“Esther instantly puts people at ease enabling participation; through listening and questioning she swiftly translates aspirations into brilliant graphic visuals that are both empowering and a valuable advocacy tool.”
Sarah Dunne, Support Collective Lead, Project Art Works
“What an amazing tool to unscramble all of our ideas and dreams. It worked especially well for myself as a person with a creatively, visually inclined learning style that still appreciates order and practical application.”
Team Member, Eggtooth
“I especially enjoyed the grounding exercises at the beginning of the workshop, it unites the group and helped us really enter the room. We are rowdy and passionate bunch of people, Esther held the space respectively and expertly.”
Team Member, Eggtooth
“The visioning workshop was an extremely powerful way to visualise the future. Setting deadlines and having something that can hold you to account, but also reminds you of the achievements to date, is incredibly motivating! Esther is great at holding the room.”
Team Member, Eggtooth
Who is it for?
PATH is a brilliant tool for taking action when you feel stuck or are unsure of what to do next. Here are just some scenarios where PATH can help:
Adults and Young People
Enabling young people and adults to authentically contribute their ideas in a fun and unpressured environment with their family, friends, peers and/or support teams
Transitioning from school/ college or to new settings
Boosting confidence and finding a sense of purpose
Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing
Creating a striking advocacy tool to support a person’s individual wishes, ambition and rights
Making plans for education, employment, housing, social and community life
Combating previous negative experiences and finding an optimistic and realistic way forward
Families and Support Teams
Working with and individual and their family/ support teams to build mutual understanding and create an individualised plan for home, work and social life
Repositioning and reframing neurodivergent power and highlighting the contribution, skills and strengths of people with learning disabilities
Thinking outside the insitiutionalised box of the service provider - service user dynamic and coming up with new solutions
Taking action and problem solving with teams, organisations and service providers and Local Authorities
Enlivening and strengthening individual voice at annual Adult Social Care and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) reviews, transition plans and review meetings
Organisations
Creating a visual mission statement for your organisation
Combating short-termism and taking a long and ambitious view
Creating a sense of accountability and shared vision with your team
Developing a business plan
Innovating a new programme or project
Acts as a mediator between people
What you get…
In-person workshop/s catered to your specific requirements
A memorable and positive experience which will make an impact, change mindsets and bring people together
Original drawings and digitised versions to share with your network
Option for 4 follow-up meetings in the first year following the creation of your PATH
Time away from the day-to-day to do something different
A guiding tool to take away with you as a reminder to yourself and others
Confidence in your ideas, aspirations and a sense of purpose
