(L-R) Andy Severn (BHX), Alison Delaney, Nadeem Bashir, Kirstin Kane (BHX) and Sarah Harley amongst the children at Shirestone Academy
Author, motivational speaker, and founder of Little Bird, Alison Delaney surprised children at Shirestone Academy last Thursday, as she turned up at the school on World Book Day to deliver her inspiring Dreams Workshops. The workshops, which have already helped over 4,000 Little Chicks across the globe to uncover their dreams and aspirations, took the school by storm, as the children shared heart-warming stories, anecdotes, and aspirations despite the snow. Braving the weather, hundreds of children had even dressed to impress as their favourite book characters, adding even more excitement to the day’s activities.
An action-packed day for the children of Shirestone Academy, the Dreams Workshop took place bright and early. Pupils of the school were also introduced to Alison’s Dream Team, featuring representatives from Birmingham Airport, who had sponsored the day’s workshops. The children listened to Alison’s self-penned book ‘Little Chick Has Lunch On The Moon’, which tells the story of an ambitious Little Chick who achieves his dream by flying to the moon, as well as having the opportunity to share with the rest of the class their dreams for when they grow up.
Once they had shared their dreams for the future, the children’s excitement reached fever-pitch, as they were given the opportunity to meet people who reflected these aspirations: they met firefighter, Sarah Harley, who is based at Birmingham Airport, as well as Kirstin Kane, Head of Sustainable Development at Birmingham Airport, and of course, Alison. Having these real-life representations left the children awestruck, with it proving to be a highlight of both the children and their teacher’s day.
Commenting on the experience, Alison Delaney said: “Spending the day with the children at World Book Day was such an honour and I hope that the Dreams Workshop will be a springboard for wider conversations about self-belief, confidence and goal-setting for these bright Little Chicks. World Book Day was the perfect opportunity to share my book, Little Chick Has Lunch On The Moon, with them, and myself and the dream team I brought along with me thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children progress in the time that we were with them.”
“The workshops I deliver are aimed to create a substantial impact on children as they grow older, giving them the motivation and belief that they can achieve any goal or dream if they put their mind to it. I hope that for the children of Shirestone Academy, these lessons will last them a lifetime and start a cycle of change that lasts for generations to come.”
Alison is an author, but on top of this, she is also a motivational speaker and an award-winning executive business coach, making her the ideal candidate for encouraging the minds of young people and adults to work hard towards attaining their ambitions. Her expertise and her influence has also stretched internationally, after she embarked on a trip to South Africa to visit four schools, to deliver her inspiring Dreams Workshop to 1,000 children and to gift them a copy of her published book.
Nadeem Bashir, Head teacher at Shirestone Academy, thought the Dreams Workshop was a truly inspirational day for the pupils. He said: “Alison’s Dreams Workshop taught our children lessons that reinforce the values at the heart of Shirestone Academy, and it was truly awe-inspiring to have her with us for the day. The students were really engaged with the activities, making the most of all the opportunities they were given throughout the day, and they all will treasure their personally-signed books gifted to them. It was a day that has resonated with us all, and myself and the rest of the team at Shirestone Academy hope to work with Alison again in the future”.
Keeping the World Book Day celebrations alive, Alison will be donating the same number of books that were gifted to the children at Shirestone Academy, to help support with one of Action Aid’s projects in Mozambique, where they are building a library to help women and young girls become more literate. In order to deliver these books to their deserving new owners, Birmingham Airport will be showing their support by funding the costs needed to be able to reach the volunteers who are helping to build the library.
