Are you looking for ways to gain a deeper understanding of how children and young people feel about their school experience?

We have found the Drawing their ‘Ideal School’ an incredibly helpful tool to facilitate this!

This helps children and young people (CYP) to actively share and express their views in a way which uncovers their deeper thoughts and values. We’ve found this invaluable to gain a detailed understanding of all the things which CYP feel impact their day at school and encourages CYP to actively share their views in a way that promotes reflection and understanding and insight into what they enjoy and what they would like school to be like for them as individuals. This has led to a range of targeted strategies and interventions which are personalised and have a lasting positive impact.

Our resource pack includes everything you need to facilitate the activity, including:

- Step-by-step instructions

- Creative materials

- Conversation starters to help facilitate discussions.

The Ideal School activity can also be incredibly empowering for the CYP, providing them with the opportunity to actively share and express their views in a creative way. To further facilitate even greater engagement, incorporating the interests of the child, such as drawing, painting, play doh, Lego, or Minecraft gives opportunities to share their views in a safe and supportive way. This can help them feel more supported, listened to, valued, and help create a sense of belonging, which has an incredibly positive impact on their overall school experience.

We've especially found it helpful to support staff in completing the Ideal School with CYP over several sessions, to help reflect and bring about the richness of their own experiences. Once complete, it can be empowering for the CYP to be part of a meeting with staff and parents and hear how each can support them and helps us to reassure and plan support that is meaningful for the individual child. 

With sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr Heather Moran and Dr Jane Williams.