Art for a Reason Resources, Products and Training
Cartwheel Arts is a registered charity with over 30 years experience delivering vibrant, innovative, and high-quality arts projects. We use creativity as a tool to promote inclusion and positive change, tackle deprivation and engage diverse communities. This can be challenging - we do not shy from difficult or sensitive issues. We focus on participation, enabling people with little experience of the arts to explore and develop their creativity and talents, generating a sense of ownership and pride.
We call this ‘Art for a Reason’. We deliver an imaginative range of projects addressing a wide range of social issues. You can find more information on the inside back cover of this pack about our projects promoting:
Stronger communities and wellbeing
Improved health
More involved and engaged young people
Greater skills and employability
This pack contains information on some of the key courses and projects in our Art for Wellbeing programme which also includes our creative ‘game’ Wellbeing Dominoes.
Wellbeing Dominoes Wellbeing Dominoes in Schools Wellbeing Dominoes ‘Train the Facilitator’ Course Wellbeing Dominoes ‘Closed Group Sessions’ Creative Team Building Creative Self-Care Courses Community Wall Art
“It was very inclusive and interactive, encouraged people to identify areas of themselves (i.e. skills)” Participant at a team building event held with Shelter
“I am very excited about the opportunities this offers to support vulnerable young people.” Participant at a Wellbeing Dominoes ‘Train the Facilitator’ session
“This project allowed me to be heard and seen and make my mark on the world.” Quote from participant of ‘Make your Mark’ collaborative project
Wall Art Working with families and young people to personalise spaces so they celebrate their community We believe community spaces should reflect the community they serve. Our artists have recently been working with groups across a variety of community spaces to create wall art that reflects their visions.
What is Wall Art? We work with the community to design and create breath-taking wall art that increases their attachment and ownership of the community space as well as builds stronger community bonds. Extensive research, including that by Dr. Felton Earls, a Harvard professor of public health, has concluded that the single most important factor differentiating levels of health in neighbourhoods is the community’s ability to work together on matters of communal interest. This project goes some way in developing communities ability to work together for a joint interest. This work stream is led by our artists who have many years experience working in health and social care settings and are able to adapt to the varied needs and abilities of participants. They sensitively consult with staff and service users to help design a truly impactful community space.
One of our artists recently completed a community wall art project at ‘Around the corner café’ the base for #thrive in Rochdale. We have received many positive comments from the users of the community space as well as neighbouring services.
What To Do Next Our wall art projects are designed to your needs and budget. For more information please give Becky a call on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: becky@cartwheelarts.org.uk.
Creative Team Building Want to creatively challenge your team on your next team building day? If you’re organising a team building day and want it to be fun, innovative and cost effective then give us a call. We specialise in delivering bespoke team building days that utilise creative mediums to achieve your organisational goals. Whatever the aim of the team building day we can help you to achieve it.
For instance: “It was a different way of engaging and team building”
- If you would like to improve team communication, we can couple creative activities like group sculpture building alongside discussions on evidence based approaches to improving team communication.
“I was nervous as I always worry I’m rubbish at art, but it was really fun. Art is whatever you want it to be.”
- If you would like to improve your team’s ability in recording impact, we can develop creative activities to help them focus on the collection and recording of impact.
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Creative Self - Care Course Do you provide support to individuals experiencing traumatic circumstances or difficult health needs? Professionals providing support to others sometimes find it difficult to switch off resulting in what is called ‘secondary traumatic stress’. If not addressed this has been found to result in physical and emotional distress for the professional as well as a decrease in work performance.
What It Involves We have developed a creative self-care course specifically addressing compassion fatigue. Delivered by an emotional support worker this course uses the power of mindful art making to help participants discuss and identify triggers as well as coping mechanisms.
Feedback Previous attendees on the course have reported the course allowed them an opportunity to discuss and learn valuable coping skills which have enabled them to do their job better. They left comments such as: "Having the opportunity to be honest and realistic about trauma" "Having the time to talk about self-care" "Thank you for providing the time to reflect"
Cost We deliver regular courses that you can book on for £130 per person. This includes lunch and take home pieces of art which act as long-term reinforcement of the course discussions. Alternatively, we can work with you to deliver a course that is bespoke to your organisation’s needs.
How To Book On If you require further information on how to book on to this popular course, please give us a call on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: becky@cartwheelarts.org.uk for further information.
Wellbeing Dominoes - Closed Group Setting A unique and engaging toolkit suitable for closed groups to improve participants wellbeing and social integration Wellbeing Dominoes is a user-developed creative engagement tool designed to boost wellbeing and mindful art making. It provides a supportive environment where facilitators and participants can jointly identify gaps in social engagement, develop health and wellbeing triggers and create an increased responsibility of own mental health. Please find a link to a video with more information on Wellbeing Dominoes here http://www.cartwheelarts.org.uk/event/wellbeingdominoes-training.
Results: We have tested the tool extensively in a variety of settings, including community centres and schools. 70% of participants reported improvements in wellbeing. The most valuable feedback provided by the facilitators was a real participant enthusiasm for the weekly activities and the tool provided a medium for previously unengaged members of the organisations to become more engaged with the organisations wider offerings.
Do you think Wellbeing Dominoes would fit in well with your organisation? Wellbeing Dominoes is a fun and versatile tool that works well in any organisation with closed groups. We can deliver weekly sessions over 8 weeks for you or alternatively we can we can train a member of your staff to deliver the toolkit. So give us a call on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: becky@cartwheelarts.org.uk to talk through the delivery models available.
Wellbeing Dominoes - Train the Facilitator An innovative tool to improve the wellbeing of your users Do you run groups for participants who are experiencing low level mental health difficulties or social isolation? Would you like to learn how to facilitate an innovative and engaging toolkit which harnesses the power of creative play? Join us for a one-day session where we share with you an effective tool that we have developed, Wellbeing Dominoes.
What is Wellbeing Dominoes? Wellbeing Dominoes is a user-developed interactive resource which stimulates mindful art-making. Please find a link to a video with more information on Wellbeing Dominoes here http://www.cartwheelarts.org.uk/event/wellbeing-dominoes-training
Why should I train to deliver Wellbeing Dominoes? Wellbeing Dominoes has improved participants wellbeing within various settings including schools, community care and voluntary organisations. Participants had complex situations yet they still reported they enjoyed partaking in the sessions and around 70% reported an increase in wellbeing post-sessions. What’s exciting about Wellbeing Dominoes is that all the information you need as a facilitator is supplied within the toolkit. You will have clear instructions on what material is needed to deliver each task and detailed prompts to help you deliver each task. This will allow you to spend more time focusing on participant interaction.
How is training delivered? We provide a day long training course, which is facilitated by an artist and an emotional support worker. During the day you will be given your own Wellbeing Dominoes toolkit (valued at ÂŁ80) to take home with you. The facilitators will guide you through the evidence base behind the toolkit, deliver example activities from the toolkit as well as give you a selection of top tips to improve the impact of the resource on your participants.
How to book on We can either come out to your organisation to deliver a tailored training day to your staff (up to 12 participants) or you can book on to one of pre-planned courses.
What to do next Contact Becky at Cartwheel Arts for further information on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: becky@cartwheelarts.org.uk
Wellbeing Dominoes in Schools The provision of Wellbeing Dominoes in schools has resulted in improved student wellbeing. What is Wellbeing Dominoes?
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based on the ‘5 ways to wellbeing model’ and support participants in identifying ways to create, experiment, sense, nurture and relax in order to improve their wellbeing.
Case Study: Rochdale Wellbeing Dominoes was provided to 9 schools (5 primary schools and 4 high schools) across the Borough of Rochdale during 2018. We trained school staff on how to use the resource to facilitate closed group sessions. Wellbeing was measured for each participating pupil at the beginning and the end of the block of sessions using the Stirling Wellbeing Scale and analysis found 69% of the pupils showed a positive increase in their wellbeing scores and a further 11% maintained their wellbeing scores through the sessions.
One of the high school facilitators said: “We took a risk – we wanted to take a risk – by involving some of our high profile students, but they engaged really well. They were always there. We never had to send for them. They were always in on the day unless they were formally excluded. They now come and touch base with us at break and lunchtime which never happened before. We are rolling the programme constantly now.”
It also gave students an opportunity to shine reports a primary school facilitator: “We chose the children who worry. They don’t get much attention because they don’t shout. It worked really well, even though we were competing with PE. They loved drawing with their eyes shut – laughed their heads off! The teacher stayed in for some sessions and she was gobsmacked. She had never seen the children so active or outspoken. I would choose to work with these children again.”
The Delivery Model A one off initial cost provides the Wellbeing Dominoes toolkit, facilitator training and on-going support.
Training Course: An experienced Art for Wellbeing artist and a qualified emotional support worker deliver this one-day training course. During the course we cover the evidence underpinning Wellbeing Dominoes, guidelines to deliver the tool as well as provide the teaching staff with opportunities to take part in some of the creative exercises it contains.
Parent Taster Session: As part of the package one of our artists will attend the school and lead the delivery of a Wellbeing Dominoes session to parents of participating students. This will increase parents’ awareness of Wellbeing Dominoes, answer any queries they have and encourage long term adoption of the beneficial creative techniques at home.
Quality Assurance: One of our team will attend the school during a Wellbeing Dominoes session to address any questions the school staff may have on its delivery.
Shared Learning: At the end of the academic year a half-day session is organised for the staff who have delivered a Wellbeing Dominoes cycle to come together and share their successes, learnings and ideas.
What To Do Next: Contact Becky at Cartwheel Arts for further information on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: becky@cartwheelarts.org.uk
We use a consultative approach to create engaging bespoke solutions to deliver our clients goals. Our projects utilise a variety of art forms and can be adapted to meet your organisations specific objectives. Projects are delivered by highly skilled artists and, where appropriate, emotional support workers who combine the latest research with cost-effective imaginative activities to deliver something that is truly unique. Projects we have/can deliver include: workshops with diverse groups of young people resulting in a series of podcasts or videos memorable neighbourhood celebrations which bring people together a programme of work across a community, or communities, leading to a vibrant publication an engaging creative conference exploring a burning issue research and development of tools which enable people to better manage their own health conditions or social situations targeted interventions to support your staff’s wellbeing reminiscence projects tackling loneliness and social isolation
If you would like to discuss any possible projects with us then give us a call on 01706 361300 or alternatively email: admin@cartwheelarts.org.uk.
Organisations we have worked with include:
Rochdale Council, Link4Life, #Thrive, Barnado’s Projects in Rochdale, Bury and Salford, Darnhill Festival Association, TOG MIND, Shelter, Guinness Partnership, Pennine Care, New Springs Tenant Cooperative, Blue Pits Housing, Turnpike Gallery, Heywood Middleton Rochdale CCG, Red Cross, Action Together.