We began by checking in with one another and learning more about 42nd Street and The Horsfall. A tour of young people’s artwork, created in response to their experiences of mental health, offered a powerful starting point. One young person’s words stayed with us: “I needed to work it out through my hands.” Seeing the different materials, methods and stories behind the work was a moving reminder of how creativity can help us process, express and understand what we are carrying.
Rod Kippen, Clinical Lead of Creativity and Social Action at 42nd Street, who led the session, then introduced research from the New Economics Foundation on the Five Ways to Wellbeing: Connect, Learn, Be Active, Notice and Give. These simple but powerful ideas gave the group a helpful framework for thinking about everyday wellbeing in realistic, achievable ways.
- Connect – making time for relationships, conversation and community
- Learn – trying something new, taking on a challenge, or returning to a hobby
- Be Active – moving in ways that support energy, health and balance
- Notice – paying attention, being present, and making space for reflection
- Give – offering time, care and attention to others and to ourselves
Teachers took time to reflect on what they were already doing, and what they might begin doing, within each of these five areas. As the conversation unfolded, the focus shifted from teachers simply facilitating creativity for others to recognising themselves as creative people in their own right, and as co-creators alongside the young people they work with.
Together, we explored what creativity really means: expression and freedom, sharing your voice, testing out ideas, and looking at the world from a different angle. It became clear that creativity is not an “extra” — it is a way of making sense of ourselves, our relationships and the world around us.
We also talked about how often the creative process is misunderstood: how it can feel gatekept, how the final outcome is often valued more than the process itself, and how easily the deeper impact of creative work can be overlooked. These reflections opened up an honest and thoughtful conversation about what creativity can offer in education when we give it space to breathe.
Rod then introduced the “What’s in my box?” activity. The task invited teachers to think about the difference between the selves we present to the outside world and the feelings we hold internally. Each person received a box, a sketchbook, pens in different colours, and collage materials. What followed was a thoughtful, imaginative period of making, reflecting and sharing.
We closed the session by sharing creations, reflections and updates from MADE. It was a gentle but powerful ending to a day that made space for honesty, creativity and connection — all things that are too often squeezed out of busy school life, yet matter deeply to the people within it.
We’ll leave you with a quote from Brian Eno that felt especially fitting at the close of the day: “Art is everything you don’t have to do.” (Which we think makes it matter the most.)
A massive thank you to Rod and 42nd Street for hosting us and putting on such a brilliant workshop.
