Connect & Create

Thanks to two funders who have supported our work with children with special educational needs, we have been able to continue with our arts and wellbeing project supporting children and families in Nottinghamshire and the Midlands. These children have been attending school throughout the pandemic and some have also been required to isolate at home due to vulnerable health conditions.

This project has been delivered in two sections. The first section was supported by funds from the British government, via The National Lottery Community Fund, and we were able to establish and grow our online community of children, parents/carers and families. We delivered fifty online engaging and creative workshops for children 0-15 years old in our Facebook group, and we also made twenty-five home-visits and school visits to children who were having to stay at home or attend school. These musical workshops were held outside during the summer months in order to keep us all safe.

The second phase of this project has been supported by Comic Relief and Groundwork UK. We have been able to continue supporting the emotional and creative needs of children in special education institutions by planning and delivering a series on ‘in-person’ and online workshop programmes. These workshops will be ongoing until March 2021. Workshops have been taking place either in a school setting, or online, using either of the platforms Zoom and Teams.

A core team of three creative practitioners has been delivering this programme and feedback has been excellent. It’s been a pleasure to support children and families during Covid-19 and to help support their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Staff and families have been extremely supportive with helping us to organise Covid-secure visits. It’s this real sense of collaboration and ‘community’ that has fuelled this project with such positivity.