Persona Dolls created by the African and African Caribbean Parents Group in Milton Keynes
In Milton Keynes, a support group for parents was set up by the EMASS teacher with responsibility for African and African Caribbean support. The group were introduced to the Persona Dolls, and ways in which they could be used in schools. It was decided that the group would try to make some dolls for the EMASS team, and also create personal histories to accompany them.
A simple pattern was chosen which did not require advanced sewing skills, dolls eyes were supplied, and different fabrics were selected. One parent decided to dye some calico fabric with tea.
The parents sewed the dolls at home, found suitable wool for their hair and experimented with eyes, noses and mouths. The result was dolls with differing features, which we were worried about at first, but which the children accept – because "everybody is different" and "you mustn’t judge people by the way they look".
The dolls were kitted out in suitable clothes and shoes from second-hand shops before being brought along to a subsequent Parents’ Group meeting where they were given names and personal histories.
We were able to draw on the parents’ cultural backgrounds, and knowledge of family life in the Caribbean, Ghana etc. to create authentic family histories for the dolls, with anecdotal stories of holidays in Jamaica etc.
The EMASS team now have several dolls which can be taken into schools. The accompanying personal histories are complete and available as spiral bound booklets for schools to buy. The ethnic backgrounds of the dolls are as follows:
- Female - Chinese
- Female - Asian
- Male – Asian
- Male - African or African Caribbean
- Male – Ghanaian
- Male – Jamaican
- Female – Jamaica and Montserrat
- Female – Grenada and Guyana
- Dual heritage male – U.K. and St. Lucia
Teachers have shown a lot of interest when we have displayed dolls, for example at the ‘Services to Schools Fair’. There is scope to further develop the use of Persona Dolls in Milton Keynes. In the near future we are hoping to create the history of a Somali refugee doll with the help of parents from the Somali community.
What are Persona Dolls?
Objectives when using Persona Dolls
Guidelines for using Persona Dolls
Puppets by post
persona doll-training
This site has recently been updated. Find out how Persona Dolls and their stories can help promote PSHE, SEAL, citizenship, community cohesion, boost children’s communication skills, close the gap between those who are achieving and those who are not and, crucially, combat prejudice, exclusion and inequality.
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