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Blue Cabin has been awarded £6,000 to support care experienced children and young people as they move from primary to secondary school.
The Chris Drinkwater Creative Health in Primary Schools Grant helps to fund creative health projects in Cumbria and the North East that build resilience in primary school children before they transition to secondary school.
The funding will allow Blue Cabin to deliver a creative, trauma-informed project in Redcar and Cleveland during 2027, as director Jenny Young explains: “The Blue Cabin team, and our brilliant associate artists, have already supported care experienced children in Redcar and Cleveland to build their confidence, relationships and skills as they prepare to move on from primary school. This was only possible through our fantastic partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Virtual School and the connected primary schools who have worked hard to make the pilot projects such a success.
“Now, we can strengthen this work and reach more care experienced children, with a particular focus on the Redcar and Cleveland area – and we’re so grateful to the Chris Drinkwater grants programme for making this possible.”
Children in Redcar and Cleveland who took part in a previous Blue Cabin project designed to support the move to a new school, described their experiences using words including ‘amazing’, ‘fun’ and ‘happy’.
The group worked alongside Blue Cabin associate artist, Pady O’Connor, using masks, clowning, games and storytelling to invent characters and worlds from their imaginations. They also had the opportunity to work towards an Arts Award qualification.
Staff from Redcar and Cleveland Virtual School said: “It has been so lovely to watch (child) grow in confidence during the sessions. Her willingness to put herself forward and try new things with new people has been inspiring and a joy to be part of.”
See more about this project with Redcar and Cleveland Virtual School>>
Professor Chris Drinkwater CBE was an inner-city GP in Newcastle for 23 years. Chris also served as Arts and Creativity Lead for the Child Health and Wellbeing Network, and when he stood down from the role, the network established the Chris Drinkwater Awards to acknowledge his generous contribution to the network and his passion for creative health, especially with primary school-aged children.
