CHILDREN’S CREATIVE RETREATS

THE PROJECT

Research conducted in 2018 showed an alarming disparity in the lives and opportunities for children directly in line with socio-economic profiles. On the one hand, some students in Jersey live in large comfortable homes, are well-travelled and enjoy five or six extra-curricular activities each week. In particular, it is noted that their academic performance and general well-being are bolstered through:

1. Access to experiential learning through the arts and music.
2. Opportunities to embrace their own creativity that heightened connectivity to themselves, others and the environment.
3. Developing in an environment that celebrates learning and positively encourages the participation of parents, the wider school, the local community and CYPES.

On the other hand, many children are growing up in a small bedsit where English is not spoken in the home. CYPES was particularly struck that a surprising number of these students have reached seven or eight years old and had never once visited a beach nor enjoyed simple pleasures like a picnic. This is a small insight into the unbalanced level of provision for children growing up in the Island. Results of research conducted by the department showed that there are a number of children whose lives outside of school is largely spent looking at a screen. It also became clear that the vast majority of these less-advantaged students attend public schools in the St. Helier area. In partnership the Senior Policy Advisor at CYPES, ArtHouse Jersey has formulated this Children’s Creative retreat project in response to such disparity. 

We wanted to offer children an opportunity to discover their own creative skills whilst celebrating those of their peers in a dynamic and stimulating environment. Children’s Creative retreat provides a unique experience for a class of up to 25 students, with priority given to those whose access to culture and extra-curricular activities may be limited. The project has been devised in conjunction with the Education Department, and is informed by research in Island schools looking at children’s social and creative development.

Each retreat takes the form of a one-day workshop for 25 children chosen by the headteacher. It is likely that a proportion will be pupil premium students, especially those who are thought to have limited access to the arts and are less likely to engage in cultural experiences. 

This project was needed in 2019, but will be even more important in 2020 and 2021 in light of the pandemic. Young people’s worlds have been turned upside down which for many will have a negative impact on their mental health and sense of well-being. Although we are ‘all in this together’, a child spending lockdown in a bedsit will have lived through a very different experience than others from more advantaged backgrounds. 

This project is designed to be transformational: it will help disadvantaged children value themselves and their own creativity, resulting in them seeing themselves in a new light. The Retreat will enable them to perceive their surroundings differently and to notice the potential of their peers. It will give the children a new perspective on their learning in the classroom and their relationships with friends and family. Participants will develop their communication skills and be better able to express their feelings about the new environment COVID-19 has created. Engaging in creative practices as part of a team will ignite their imagination and reestablish their self-worth by seeing first-hand the value of their input to a group project. The retreat will equip them with the understanding that they are capable of self-generating ideas and can have control over other aspects of their lives.