Wellbeing Workshops

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS3-4 

This workshop introduces Mindful Drawing techniques as one method to help promote positive wellbeing.  Participants are taught to create interventions in drawing with confidence, resilience and how to develop the capacity for emotional awareness in art.  Students will explore different materials, techniques and processes to create an individual and collaborative piece of artwork. The workshop aims for students to exchange ideas, collaborations and conversations with one another.  All materials are provided prior to workshop: A4, A3, A2 paper, pencils, pens, pastels, makeup brushes, acrylics, watercolors, chalk, graphite and talcum powder. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4. 

In this relaxing Colour and Collage workshop, participants will take part in mindful listening and doodling and will be encouraged to relax, draw and doodle – creating mindful marks to some background music. This activity is student-led where participants select different colours, patterns and lines they choose to reflect their current feelings and mood.  They will then create a colourful collage – selecting colours and materials to represent themselves which can also be used to create a larger, collaborative class collage.  Participants will extend their knowledge of collage and where the word originates from.  All materials are provided prior to workshop: A4 Paper, coloured pens, black biros.  Any own old magazines or newspapers can be added to create collage effect.

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for all KS2-4. 

This writing workshop promotes creative writing strategies to build confidence, resilience, emotional awareness, capacity to manage transitions and endings, imagination/creativity, self-expression, literacy and social skills.  Students will be encouraged to get in touch creatively with their inner thoughts and feelings. They will then be set two creative writing tasks that focus on building resilience and self-belief which will help them to reflect on ways to develop coping strategies drawing on their own core strengths and beliefs.  These tasks tie in with autobiographical and character-building writing. No materials are required for this workshop other than pen and paper. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS3-4 

During this workshop, participants will explore various things that can positively and negatively affect their personal wellbeing, and how things might affect their moods and how they can feel day to day. They will explore a freeform individual activity, before coming together to create a collaborative large scale painted piece. All materials are provided prior to workshop: Printed A3 worksheets, colouring pencils and/or pens, poster paint, large paper roll, paint brushes, paint pots. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-3. 

In this workshop students will take part in some mindful drawing to create their own t Me-zine/Fanzine. They will learn how to create a zine and will reflect on their favourite things they do in the day.  They will make an 8-page autobiographical fanzine celebrating themselves, looking at some of their favourite things in a day and drawing them.  This will help to focus on positive wellbeing and what they do during their day that makes them feel happy. The result will be a Me’zine totally unique to them which they could extend the process by making one for their friends or family members.  All materials are provided prior to the workshop: A4 card, coloured string/ribbon, felt tips/ coloured pencils/ crayons, glue stick and scissors. Any own old magazine, scrap paper, wrapping papers or newspapers can be used too. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS3-4 

This workshop introduces Mindful Drawing and Collage Making techniques as a method to help promote positive wellbeing. Participants will learn about the history of collage through looking at works by a variety of artists who incorporate a combination of materials and processes into their work and will learn a variety of art terms - medium, multimedia, collage, bricolage, assemblage, photomontage, installation art, surrealism, cubism, pop art, digital collage etc.  Participants will take part in an improv drawing game that will help them to get to know one another and they will learn about an emphasis on art processes over products. All materials are provided prior to workshop: Cardboard, felt tip markers, oil pastels and tape. Any own old magazines, scrap paper, plastic bags, scraps of fabric, newspapers can be added to create collage effect.  

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS3-4 

In this workshop participants will explore and experiment with a range of materials to consider ideas of space and habitat; thinking about how spaces and structures can make people feel and behave in different ways, particularly in relation to their wellbeing. The session will draw on architecture made by humans and animals alike to inform our playful approaches to creating structures, independently and collaboratively. All materials are provided prior to workshop: Plasticine, air drying clay, paper straws, threads, wool, string, paper, wire, and drawing materials. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4 

In this workshop, participants will begin to create piece of matchbox art, inspired by the contrast between their outer character and their inner self and feelings. Participants will consider how they believe themselves to be perceived on the outside in contrast to how they are on the inside. Students will be shown examples of matchbox art and assemblages by artists, extending their knowledge of assemblage art.  All materials are provided prior to workshop: paper, glue, coloured pens, coloured paper, stickers and craft matchboxes. Any own old magazines can be added to create montage effect. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4 

This workshop will introduce and practically explore techniques that can be used to refamiliarise ourselves with our senses, promoting emotional wellbeing, recovery and connectedness with our physical environments as well as our peers – which we all have been deprived of recently. Participants will go on a journey, starting off by practising simple mindfulness techniques in thier actual, physical environments, before entering their imaginary, sensory environments (using visual, auditive and literary prompts). Students will be able to apply all these techniques within their everyday lives. They will creatively explore their sensory worlds by designing an array of objects. All materials are provided prior to workshop. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4 

This workshop enables students of all ages and abilities to learn a new technique and apply it to an object, that can then be used for mindfulness/meditation exercises. The workshop allows participants to reflect on imagery that symbolises different emotions, narratives and memories. Colour, texture and visual motifs are combined to express an individual feeling. The repetitive nature of the technique will also allow for a mindful experience. The activity will produce a physical outcome that can be used to aid meditation or mindfulness. All materials are provided prior to workshop: acrylic paints, pva glue and paint brushes.  Please seek 2 palm sized pebbles per participant. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4 

During this workshop participants will take part in mindful drawing and creativity by designing a 3D Mind Map sculpture - playing with colours, patterns, shapes, balance and sculpture. They will create various patterns (relating a pattern or texture to a feeling or reference something about themselves) reflecting on which colours they want to associate with different feelings.  All materials are provided prior to the workshop: Coloured Pens, coloured crayons, cardboard, masking tape and scissors. 

1 hour, maximum 30 students.  Suitable for KS2-4 

This performance workshop will enable young actors to connect with their peers and build their confidence by creating a short theatre piece around the theme CONNECT in a safe, supportive environment, led by a professional theatre-maker. Using fun physical and vocal exercises, participants will use text, props, visuals and sounds to create monologues, short stories and physical movement sequences to connect with each other—and share their piece for the group at the end of the session!  No materials are required for this workshop, but students should wear clothing that is comfortable to move in and sit in.  This workshop is not available for online delivery due to its practical delivery.