Delight
Delivering Joy and Wellbeing to Vulnerable Children at Home
Bringing hope and happiness at a challenging time in the lives of vulnerable children.
Story
Cut off from support, with limited or no access to the internet and basic learning resources, vulnerable children are experiencing the greatest impact on wellbeing and learning during school closures.
"When I picture my most vulnerable children opening their Box of Delight, and finding that it is packed full of activities in which we know they find such solace and comfort, my heart rests easy for the first time since this crisis separated them from school." Head Teacher, Surrey Primary School
In response to these challenges, Surrey arts charity Delight has created Box of Delight to immerse isolated children across Surrey in art-based learning activities at home, as well as bring hope and happiness at this incredibly challenging time. To keep children connected to their schools Delight has teamed up with Surrey primary schools who will deliver them personally to their children.
What is a Box of Delight?
From the moment the Box of Delight arrives on a child's doorstep the adventure begins. Each element of the project is designed to have a 'wow' factor, as children work step-by-step through 4 Rainforest-themed art activities.
Inside each Box of Delight are: Art Materials / Instruction Booklets / Art Activity Journal / 'How-to' Films (Delight YouTube) .
All activities are designed to be child-led, with clear written and pictorial instructions, plus short child-friendly 'how-to' films for those children who do have Internet access. There will be enough materials for a child to repeat activities, or to share the project with siblings or parents/carers.
Delight teamed up with Guildford-based visual arts organisation Paintbox to create the content of the box and Watts Gallery-Artists' Village, which will host a fantastic art installation of hundreds of the children's Box of Delight creations hung side-by-side in the woodlands around the gallery later this year. Each participating child will also receive a 'Golden Ticket' so that they can visit the installation and gallery free of charge with an accompanying adult.
A message from Kathryn Mills, Delight CEO:
"There is a wealth of new online resources available to help keep children learning at home but little practical support for those who lack access to the internet, a printer, or basic resources. Supporting the wellbeing and learning of children affected by disadvantage during the closure of schools is of paramount importance at Delight."
Sarah Jarvis, Learning Curator (Schools, Families, Young People), Watts Gallery-Artists Village:
"We are delighted to be part of this wonderful initiative, reaching out to so many local school children who suddenly find themselves learning from home at this unprecedented moment. We very much look forward to seeing the children's creations and extending an invitation to visit us with their families in the future!"
The Impact
The Box of Delight project is inspired by Delight's successful Delight in Watts in-school immersive arts programme, proven to improve children's wellbeing and learning outcomes. Read our Delight in Watts Evaluation Report 2019.
Why is the project so important?
Children's Commissioner Report, April 2020 :
"There is a well-documented attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children. Without intervention, school closures are likely to widen the disadvantage gap further still. The annual 'learning loss' experienced by pupils each summer is evidence for this. The vast majority of children decline academically over the long summer break, but for disadvantaged children the effect is particularly pronounced.
If schools re-open in May and shut as normal for the summer, children will have spent 16 weeks out of school since the start of the Covid-19 crisis by the time they go back in the autumn. If schools return in September, it will have been 6 months."
Schools and Families are Facing Many Challenges: The Arts Can Help!
In a recent blog for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Julia Lawrence, from the Teacher Development Fund, spoke with five primary school leaders to find out about the challenges schools are currently facing and how the cultural sector can help.
The Challenges:
GETTING THE BASICS IN PLACE (particularly those of the most vulnerable children in their care): including, providing materials such as paper, pencils and felt tips so that children could engage in learning. "We have very high levels of deprivation in our school."
ENGAGING THE WHOLE FAMILY: "We want things that engage the whole family in learning together not necessarily academic activities with learning objectives but using things in the home being creative, etc. We need to help families in just getting along."
MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING: all felt that the arts could be central to this. "Arts-based activities are great as they can calm things down at home, and thats important for our families."
DIGITAL INEQUALTY: all asked were aware that some families had either little or limited access to the internet. "were having trouble with our primary pupils being able to access computers if there are older children in the house."
KEEPING IT LOCAL: continuing to work with local artists and arts organisations was important. "We have a focus on supporting the mental health of parents in our area, and our local artists are aware of this".