Early intervention of mental health difficulties is vital for the child, their family, their school and the wider system. This is what Curious Beasts does – we identify children in need and immerse them in a magical world of puppetry, storytelling and nature over 7-weeks so that, by the end, they have a bank of social-emotional and mental health strategies that is unique to them.

How does the programme work?

Puppetry gives children a voice for their thoughts and feelings. A class of children takes part in our fully immersive, creative puppet workshop. The children are ‘spirit beast’ wranglers going on a magical journey to find children’s lost ‘spirit beasts’. To find them they must answer questions honestly about their own mental health as well as help the spirit beasts along the way.

Data from this workshop is analysed along with the standardised Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by their class teacher. Toegether with the class teacher, we then select 12 children who would most benefit from 6 nurture sessions.

To gain a better understanding of the programme, view our video at the bottom of this page.

What age is the programme suitable for and what level of need does it address?

Curious Beasts is designed for children in years 3 – 5. The programme is an early mental health intervention and is a preventative tool. It really benefits those children who have had little support with their mental health. The programme is focussed on 4 areas:

– Anxiety and worrying

– Peer relations

– Resilience and confidence building

– Self regulation

The children receive 3 sessions on a core area of need plus an additional 2 sessions on a secondary area of need.

What do the nurture sessions involve?

In the first nurture session, the children create their own ‘spirit beast’ puppet which they care for during the remaining nurture sessions and which they use to help them voice their own feelings. The subsequent nurture sessions use a blend of social stories, outdoor learning, role play and craft to support the children to create a bank of strategies that will support their particular mental health needs.

Positive relationships are at the heart of successfully implementing the Curious Beasts programme. By cultivating trust and understanding, children gain meaningful connections with peers and adults, and in turn the Curious Beasts material.

Curious Beasts is a child-centred, personalised programme. Hearing the children’s voices and perspectives in a trusting and non-judgemental space provides space for each child to access bespoke support and a personalised toolkit of strategies they can use.

How is the programme funded?

Our Curious Beasts programme is funded 50% by schools paying to run the programme in their school and 50% by grant funding. Our current funders are the Shear’s Foundation and Tees Million.

We also offer an opportunity for school staff to be trained to become a Curious Beasts practitioner so that the programme can be rolled out within the school for future cohorts of children. This will still involve Life and Limb CiC delivering the puppetry element but will provide schools with a more cost-effective option for ongoing nurture support for children as a North East Wellbeing practitioner will not be required to deliver the nurture.

How you can get involved

Please contact Sophie at curiousbeasts@northeastwellbeing.co.uk to discuss your needs and for a quotation. To gain a good understanding of the programme, view our video below.