Resilient Futures: Empowering Children Through Creative Health

Resilient Futures: Empowering Children Through Creative Health

The Resilient Futures project is an innovative and collaborative initiative designed to support children's emotional resilience and mental health through creative health interventions. Led by Cultural Services at the London Borough of Sutton (LBS), the project will be delivered in partnership with teams across Public Health, Family Hubs, School Nurses, parks, leisure centres, and local arts and health partners.

This ambitious programme aligns with Ambitious for Sutton, Ambitious for SEND, Helping Early Strategy, and Arts Council England’s Let's Create strategy. The project is funded by Arts Council England and My Neighborhood Fund

What is Resilient Futures?

Responding to issues like stress and anxiety in children, Resilient Futures harnesses the power of arts, movement, reading, physical activities, wellbeing practices, and community engagement to create a borough-wide programme. Running from February 2025 to February 2026, the project will roll out across libraries, museums, children’s centres, parks, and leisure centres and other outreach venues, ensuring broad access for families across Sutton.

Building Emotional Resilience Through Creativity

Emotional resilience is key to children's mental health and overall wellbeing, and this project is designed to help reduce stress and anxiety by embedding creative health approaches into the community. By working closely with Public Health and local practitioners, the project will form new partnerships and establish a legacy of creative health work in Sutton.

Programme Highlights

Public Programme (Feb 2025 – Feb 2026)

• Over 20 creative professionals will deliver workshops focusing on emotional resilience and mental health.
• Sessions will take place in leisure centres, libraries, museums, children’s centres, parks and other outreach venues across the borough.
• Activities will be expressive, participatory, and physically engaging, ensuring children can explore their emotions in a safe and fun environment.

Schools Programme (April – July 2025)

• A panel of primary school children will work with programme leads to help shape activities that best support their emotional and mental wellbeing.
• Sutton primary schools will be invited to libraries in Sutton, to watch performances by a local theatre company, focusing on wellbeing themes.
• Children attending performances will be encouraged to sign up for a summer reading and activity programme and will be given the resources they need to kickstart their summer of wellbeing activities.

Summer in Sutton (July – August 2025)

• An interactive activities map will guide children and families through engaging wellbeing tasks during the summer holidays.
• Activities will combine physical, learning, and cultural experiences, such as:
  • Read a book, ebook, magazine, or audiobook for 20 minutes
  • Take part in a local Junior Park Run
  • Visit a local swimming pool
  • Follow a Mindful Moments activity
  • Complete a craft trail at a local museum
• Participants will receive a certificate upon completing the activities and returning their map to a library.
• Completed maps will be entered into a prize draw, with prizes sponsored by local partners.

Reading for Wellbeing

• A dedicated Reading for Wellbeing book list will be created by Sutton librarians and a panel of local children.
• Shortlisted titles will be reviewed and recommended based on themes such as empathy, self-regulation, and emotional resilience.
• Books will be selected with input from educators and health professionals, ensuring they offer valuable support for children's mental health.

Why Resilient Futures Matters

By integrating creative activities into public health and wellbeing strategies, Resilient Futures seeks to create stronger evidence and evaluation frameworks that showcase the positive impact of culture on public health outcomes. The project also aims to expand access to creative health approaches and forge meaningful, long-lasting partnerships within the community.

Through this initiative, children and families in Sutton will have new opportunities to engage with creativity, build resilience, and develop positive mental health habits—ensuring a brighter, more connected future for the borough.

 

Looking to apply as one of our creative practitioners? View the artist call-out and apply here: https://libraries.sutton.gov.uk/the-blog/resilient-futures-call-for-artists.