Pastoral Art sessions

Art is a universal language that can be more than just colour and media. It is a way of expressing thoughts, feelings and emotions. Encouraging children to express themselves through art has positive outcomes on individuals’ well-being, stress and anxiety. It provides a safe space for children to communicate their feelings and experiences, which is essential for their development. It takes the pressure away from tense or sensitive situations and allows a child to share and process at their own pace. Within our pastoral support sessions in schools we work with pupils to be creative with their emotions and produce beautiful art work reflecting this. It also helps to start meaningful and purposeful conversations which lead to a better understanding of the individual child and their experiences. In turn, this then builds trusting relationships between our pupils and staff which enables us to support them and their needs.

How can we as staff support children in their social, emotional and mental health using art?

• For calming and relaxing the mind, we could use mindful colouring pictures or doodle books in class. Mindful colouring is available online and you can print out whichever Is relevant to the child’s interests.
• For when a pupil is not able to verbally communicate either their feelings or an experience, we could try drawing it out. Whether that be on a normal piece of paper, or a big roll of paper stretched across the room. If the child is describing a time that is a negative emotion it can be great to tear up the picture/writing afterwards and throw it into the air.
• For building growth mindsets, ask a group of children to draw a big picture of something or colour one in. Then rip it up together and put it back together making a different image. This helps to see that every mistake can be turned into something beautiful.

• This particular art can be used for building self-awareness and self-esteem. It is also a really good way of getting to know a child and building a relationship, especially if you make one alongside them.
• For transitions into next years or onto high school, this is a very popular piece of art work to do. One hand describes all the things you want to let go of, not take with you onto your next stage of life. The other, are qualities and attributes the individual wants to hold on to and are proud of.

• Another great idea could be something similar to this picture. Children work to identify what happens when they feel angry and exactly what emotions are inside their ‘volcano,’ causing it to erupt. Then they find coping strategies to try using in the future.

Written by: The Behaviour & Inclusion Team